Black Market Blood

by Francis Gideon

  “I guess….” Chaz didn’t know what else to say. Shitty things had happened to him too, but he always felt as if he was the agent behind it. He’d always brought it on himself.

  “We could play that game,” Sully said. “I bet I would win.”

  “I don’t want you to. I don’t like thinking that bad things have happened to you.”

  “Bad things have happened to everyone. That’s another nice thing about the game. Everyone’s playing fields are even. But I understand you’ve had a long day,” Sully said, his voice changing tenor. “Do you want to talk about sexy things instead? Sexy things are usually a lot more fun. I’m wearing clothing right now, but I could take it off.”

  Chaz bit his lip. He rocked on the bed, the springs making noise. He wanted to grab his crotch and squeeze, but he made himself wait. “Maybe soon. Really soon, because I feel like I’m going to burst. I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”

  “Have you?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “What have I been doing when you think about me?”

  “Sucking me off again. I think about your body in the mirror.”

  “Yeah? What do you look at?”

  “Your ass.”

  “Oh.” Sully chuckled, light and throaty. “What do you want to do to me?”

  “Everything.”

  “Oh wow. You say that a lot, Chip, but I don’t know what you mean.”

  Chaz grunted. He fisted the sheets. He wanted to jerk off so badly, but he waited. He needed this to last longer. Before the conversation could fade away, Sully perked up again.

  “I must say, you gave me good dreams when you slept with me.”

  “Oh, I hope so. I barely slept.”

  “That’s no fun! We’ll sleep a lot next time you’re around. I’ll probably need it too, because you’ll tire me out with all of that ‘everything’ you want to do to me.”

  Chaz’s dick twitched again. God, Sully was good at this. He’d probably been practicing, honing his conversation skills in ways Chaz couldn’t even fathom. The fact this was Sully’s job didn’t upset him. He admired Sully, because it was a job he was sure he couldn’t do himself—especially after what he’d seen today.

  Chaz blinked, trying to push out the thoughts of Patrick. But they came in, again and again, along with the image from the sex brochure. His erection faded.

  “Fuck.”

  “Oh yeah, baby, that’s the idea. You wanna fuck me next time? Bend me over the bed and put your cock in my ass?”

  “Shit. Yes. Um. But…,” Chaz said. “This is going to sound odd.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I bet it won’t. You would not believe the stuff people have asked me to do.”

  “What’s a Cupid? Is it a special term I don’t know?”

  Sully’s breathing changed on the other side. No longer throaty and full of heat, but serious. “Why do you want to know that?”

  “It came up in a murder investigation. I found it in a sex magazine a student had.”

  Sully paused for a long time on the other end. “Jeez, no wonder you were having a rough day.”

  “Yeah, no kidding. Manitoba dry air, shitty hotels, and it turns out my partner is a sex addict, who thought I was making a pass at him.”

  “Well, were you?”

  “No.”

  “You’re a bad a liar. But I like that about you. Means I can tell what you want from me. So, let’s put the fun stuff on hold for a moment because it feels weird to touch myself while talking about murder. Not that I haven’t done that before.” Sully chuckled and seemed to shift on the other end. “So. A Cupid, huh? Somewhat unsettling that you stumbled on a murder.”

  “Why? What does being a Cupid mean?”

  “A newbie. Someone who’s a virgin, basically. Of course, they’re not all virgins but young enough and inexperienced enough to not be as skilled as some of the other workers. Someone looking for a Cupid wants someone who will bend to their wishes and wills. Someone who is a Cupid is selling innocence as much as inexperience.”

  “And why is that unsettling? Other than, you know, the obvious reasons.”

  “Hey, we’re all Cupids at one point. But… it’s concerning that your guy is dead. Was he looking for a Cupid and rolled?”

  “He was the Cupid.”

  “Oh.” Sully was quiet for an even longer period of time. “Was this his first time out as a Cupid?”

  “Probably not. Sounded like he did a lot of cash exchanges at the school, then took out an ad.”

  “What other details can you tell me?”

  Chaz worried his lip. He hadn’t meant to ask Sully for help with the case—or let out any details that could leak to the press. But the Cupid thing had come out, and now he wished he could shove it back in. “It’s a long story. Don’t worry about it.”

  “And you’re paying by the minute, I get it. But you can ask me if you want. On a different kind of clock, maybe. I know lots of things about this business. And if someone is killing workers, then I’m always pissed.”

  “I can imagine.”

  When quiet spread between them, Chaz felt as if he’d ruined the mood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you off from the talk. About either subject, really. You’re good at both.”

  “Hey, don’t apologize. We can spend this time doing whatever you want.”

  “Tell me what you did today, then. I think I want to hear about something normal for a little while, please.”

  “Oh, thank you for thinking my day is normal. Most people just assume I’m getting fucked twenty-four seven or producing some kinky shit online. But I definitely did laundry and struggled to fold bedsheets. Like come on, the sheet that goes down first with the scrunchy corners? I don’t even know the proper name for it, but it cannot be folded. At all! Impossible. I threw a bunch of them in the closet and hoped for the best.”

  Chaz laughed along with Sully. “You know, I completely agree. I’m pretty sure my apartment is a hellhole right now. Nothing folded, no food, dust everywhere.”

  “Ah, the modern man. My favorite. You know what else I did today?”

  “What?” Chaz turned over on the bed, leaning so he could look out the window at the Winnipeg skyline. He felt like a teenage girl talking to his crush on the phone, but he was also secretly delighted by that. He never really got to do anything as simple or innocent as that before he became a vamp.

  “I had ice cream for dinner,” Sully said, sounding proud. “I know you’re not supposed to. But I’m an adult. And if I can’t play the ice cream for dinner card once in a while, what’s the point of being an adult?”

  “You know, I also had ice cream. Since the stupid plane here skipped the standard meal, I suppose ice cream would count as my dinner too.”

  “See! This is great. Tom kept telling me that it wasn’t real food, but fuck Tom, man.”

  “Well, okay, but I’m uncomfortable saying that so dismissively.”

  “Yeah, because you have fucked Tom.” Sully’s voice changed, growing husky. When Chaz didn’t say anything else, Sully went on. “You like fucking Tom? More than Trina?”

  “No, they’re both good.”

  “Yeah. Would you fuck me the same way?”

  “Shit.” Chaz gasped. His dick was hard again. “Wow. You waste no time.”

  “We can work up to it slowly if you want. I have toys. Do you want me to play while you get ready?”

  Chaz nodded. When he remembered Sully couldn’t hear that, he said aloud, “Yes, please.”

  “Good, because I’ve already got my toy.”

  Chaz heard a buzz on the other line. He turned away from the skyline to lie down flat. He unfastened his pants and slipped a hand inside, over his cock in his boxers. He squeezed once but didn’t linger.

  “You left your belt here, by the way.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You left your belt here. I found it wedged in my mattress.”

  “Oh.” Chaz ran his hand around the open slot on his pants. “I thought
I forgot it when I packed.”

  “I have it. Don’t worry, it’s in good hands. But can I use it?”

  Chaz’s stomach clenched. “Use it for what?”

  “What do you want me to do with it?”

  “Oh wow. I don’t even know.”

  “We gotta get you out of your shell. I know there’s a kinky guy in there. Gimme a sec and I’ll find something to do with your belt.”

  As Sully set the phone down, more buzzing and clinking sounded on the other end. Chaz took his dick out of his boxers and fisted it. The head was already wet and leaking. He had it so bad, so soon for this guy. He gasped a couple times as he stroked himself before Sully came back on the line.

  “It’s around my neck.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That seems… dangerous.”

  “Not now. Truthfully, I would never do this with a client. But by myself I sometimes like to have stuff there. It’s not tight, I can still breathe, but I feel… owned? Not in the bad way but in a safe way. Yeah. It makes me feel safe. I control it, I know what’s happening, and when I put my toy inside of me, it feels so, so much better.”

  Chaz’s mouth dropped open as he heard more buzzing and movement on the line.

  Sully’s voice pitched lower and he groaned. “Oh yeah, my toy’s inside me.”

  “Vibrator?”

  “Yeah, but on the lowest setting. It’s… good. I like it. The head moves around and gets me. And uhhh….” Sully’s gasp coupled with his moans. Chaz was sure he was playing it up, but he didn’t care. He stroked himself harder and faster.

  “Fuck. You’re making me so hard.”

  “Yeah? You were so hard when you were in my mouth. I want to taste you next time.”

  “Yeah?” Chaz said. “Isn’t that against the rules?”

  “Rules are there for the beginning and depending on the client. This is a fantasy, though. You tasted me, all of me, and now I want to do the same with you. Do you want me to?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “And do you want to taste me again too?”

  Chaz shuddered out a moan. He thought of Sully’s come on his tongue, then possibly his blood too. Chaz would never be able to feed from Sully directly—and really, he hadn’t done that too often with people anyway—but the thought of drinking from his blood bag made him shiver. He stroked harder and harder and then pulled away.

  “Goddamn. I’m about to come.”

  “No, no, wait for me. I’m still working. I’ve come so much today that it’s hard to keep up.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. But it wasn’t with men. It was by myself, thinking of you.”

  “Yeah?” Chaz swallowed. The mere thought of Sully writhing in ecstasy shot tendrils of desire through his body; the idea of Sully coming to thoughts of him, regardless if that was really true or not, made him mute with his arousal. He didn’t touch himself, but his dick still spasmed. He wondered if he could come from the sound of Sully’s voice alone and how far he could shoot based on how turned on he was. “How do you do it when you’re by yourself? What do you look like? Tell me. I bet you look at yourself in the mirror.”

  “Oh. How did you know?”

  “Because you’re beautiful and I can’t turn away.”

  “I look all the time. I love my mirror where it is. I like seeing people’s faces. Even my own.”

  “Oh.”

  “I know. I love it. I want to see your face. I didn’t get to before. I bet you look so, so good. I can imagine you behind me, fucking me in front of my mirror, and when you hit me deep inside, I burst when you burst. Then I’d clean you off and listen as you moan because you’re far too sensitive to—”

  “I’m going to come.” Chaz grasped his dick, stroking only two times before he shot against his chest. He wished he’d undressed but would worry about his shirt later. He panted as if he’d run a marathon. When he composed himself, he swore he heard Sully’s hands moving in the background.

  “Are you going to come too?”

  “Oh yeah, baby. You want to hear me?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Chaz bit his lip. He listened as Sully’s sharp breaths turned to moans before he cried out. Chaz could tell it was real; Sully hadn’t faked it for him. Chaz wished he could touch himself again, and maybe, if they stayed on the line a little longer, he could. He glanced at the clock and realized they’d only been talking twenty minutes.

  “You made me shoot to my chin,” Sully said, laughing and doing what sounded like licking. “God. You’re good. So good.”

  “Are you tasting yourself?”

  “Yeah, but I wish it was you.” Sully’s licking and slurping sounds grew more exaggerated. Chaz knew the praises were paid; Sully would say them to anyone. But he also believed them. Every last word.

  “You there, Mr. Everything?”

  “I’m here,” Chaz said. “Just coming down.”

  “Yeah, me too. Wow. That was nice.” The sound of the toy faded. “You want me to put on some music? Maybe you can hear it?”

  “Yeah, sure. That sounds good actually.”

  Sully put the phone down as he got the music ready. When a classical melody came through, Chaz was surprised. He’d expected punk or alternative, based on the shirt Sully had been wearing the first night, when he’d looked like Nat.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s silly,” Sully said. “Just something really, really old that I like.”

  “It can’t be silly if you picked it. So what are we listening to?”

  “It’s an opera. I was doing translations for it earlier today because I wanted to read the original.”

  “You were what?” Chaz asked. Over the sounds of the classical orchestra, a woman’s and man’s voice came through. Their tones were deep and sonorous, very much like an opera. Even with the phone distortion, Chaz was sure they weren’t speaking English.

  Sully sighed as if Chaz had asked something highly inappropriate. “I was just doing translations. The original for this opera is in Slovak, as you can hear, but I’ve never been able to find it in print. Only the English translation. I’ve been tracking it down for a couple weeks now and the photocopies I ordered from the library finally came, so I was going over it this afternoon to see what I could understand in the first language and see if anything was lost in the English version.”

  Chaz was floored. “You know Slovak?”

  Again Sully sighed. “Yeah. Not a big deal.”

  “It is, though. That’s really cool—especially the translations.” Chaz was quiet, listening as the woman’s voice switched to the man’s again. The bass of the song became low as another act or scene transitioned. When Chaz’s brain cleared of the fog of orgasm, another question niggled at his brain. “What are the odds you know Czech?”

  “Uhh, so-so,” Sully said. “The languages are similar, so with some time and practice, I can comprehend enough to get by in conversation.”

  “And Yiddish?”

  “I know Hebrew. Yiddish is more German, but give me some time and a German dictionary, and maybe I could get it. I think it’s like the difference between French and Spanish. Easy enough to fill in the blanks based on what you know first, but I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before.”

  “Huh. And you probably know French and Spanish too, right?”

  “Common languages. Not a big deal.”

  “Not a big deal? How do you even know all this?”

  Sully laughed. “You sound turned on.”

  “Hey, knowledge is sexy.”

  “Well, I’m glad you think so. Not all my guys do, which is why I suppose I’m trying to write this off.”

  “They’re idiots, then.”

  “Yeah,” Sully said. “I’m starting to think that too. So why the interest in Yiddish? No one really speaks that much anymore.”

  “Some people do.”

  “Yeah, but they’re smaller and smaller in numbers as the days go on.”

  “You learn
ed it some way.”

  “I did, but through Hebrew, and it wasn’t easy.”

  Chaz worried his lip. He wondered if he could tell Sully about his grandfather. His past. But that wouldn’t make sense coming from a cop who was named Chip MacDonald. It wouldn’t even make much sense coming from a vampire named Chaz Solomon.

  “You okay?” Sully said. “I didn’t mean to dismiss the interest. I think I’m so used to doing it myself. But if you want me to talk to you in Yiddish, I can brush up.”

  “Maybe some other time. Czech is really what I need.”

  “Why?”

  “Some women were speaking it around… a crime scene. I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean and if it’s connected to this crime.”

  “Maybe it’s not connected. Not everything is. Things are allowed to be coincidences.”

  “In my line of work, not really.”

  “Fair. Well, if you need help translating operas from Slovakia in the 1970s, that’s where my skills are right now. And maybe some poetry and novels of the 1880s. I have those by the dozens too.” Sully laughed as if it were a joke. Chaz did too, but he also struggled to reconcile the images he had of Sully. A human. Bad childhood. A dozen languages seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. His room was filled with book after book that apparently weren’t all in English, along with a photocopy of an opera that was originally in Slovak, an opera that was now being played on a loop in the background. Chaz wanted to ask so, so many questions, but his mind was abuzz with thoughts of the crime, and he was paying by the minute.

  Sully seemed to sense Chaz’s unrest, because his tone became sultry. “Did you even clean up?”

  “No, no. Apparently I’m not good at that.”

  “Good. I want you to stay with me and get dirty again. How does that sound?”

  “Oh, like a dream.” Chaz readied his hand over his hip and gave in to temptation.

  Chapter 9

  SULLY HEARD grunts. Not the typical grunts and moans he’d learned to ignore a long time ago in Artie’s place. These ones were followed by the sounds of punches, a rhythmic huh-huh-huh that came from choppy breath and fighting.