by Kayleigh Sky
“A puppy?” He lifted his startled eyes to Asa’s.
“A friend,” Asa said.
Zev moved closer. “Want to hold her?”
“Her name is Rowena,” Asa said. “Unless you want to change it.”
“Oh no,” said Isaac. “That’s her name. She should keep it.”
The minute Isaac took her into his arms, she scrambled for his face. He chortled and flung his head back as the puppy lapped at his mouth. “Oh my God.” Laughing harder, he moved his chin from side to side. “Where am I gonna keep her?”
Asa looked at Zev, and Zev cocked his head with a quizzical smile. “Your room?”
Pinning Rowena to his chest, Isaac peered over her wriggling body. “That’s okay?”
“If I say so. Never overlook a gift.”
A flicker of sadness came into Zev’s eyes. Clenching his jaw, Asa looked back at Isaac, who put the puppy down and let her scamper to a pot of violas.
“Thank you, Emek.”
Asa shrugged. “I had a dog once. And my real name’s Asa.”
Isaac smiled and hugged him. Surprised, Asa froze in his arms. The kid hung on tight for a few ragged breaths. Long enough for Asa to feel the beat of his heart and hear him whisper, “Stay.”
He gave Isaac a hard squeeze back but didn’t answer. A moment later, Isaac took Rowena inside, and Asa followed Zev to his study. He sat at the chessboard and Zev murmured, “Always white.”
“The night is yours, vampire.”
Zev grunted.
They played quietly for a few moves before Asa cleared his throat and said, “I’m glad Isaac is happy.”
Zev moved a pawn to d5. “I’m not sure he is.
“He thinks he has a fated love.”
Zev looked up with a smile. “I told a friend of mine I had a fated love.”
“And what did he say?”
“That they were a myth.”
“Like the wings of fallen angels?”
Zev laughed. “Like the wings of fallen angels.” He watched Asa study Zev’s pieces before moving his queen to b3 and looking up again.
“You used to talk to me,” Asa said. “I heard your voice in my head, but after… after my dad and…” He swallowed. “I tried to shut you out.”
Zev nodded, pain deepening the lines around his mouth. “I heard you sometimes, but I was afraid to believe it. For a long time, I thought you were dead, but I wanted to hope. Not hearing you didn’t have to mean anything. Qudim, the king before me, had had no idea his wife was dead until he saw her body.”
“And they were fated?”
Zev met his eyes. “Yes.”
“What if your fated isn’t who you once thought he was?”
Zev took the pawn on c4. “Neither am I.”
“What if he’s done things?”
Zev sighed. “I wasn’t supposed to be a king. I wonder if anybody becomes the person they started out as. Who promises themselves never to live, never to fail, never to pick themselves back up? Your move by the way.”
“I don’t want to move. I want the game to end.”
A flicker of surprise moved across Zev’s eyes. “We just leave it like this?”
“It’ll be the one thing that never changes.”
“Not the one thing,” said Zev.
“You said you’d come and get me, but you let me go.”
“You got on the train in Monterey and got off in Comity. You stayed at the Best Western on Highway 4. Room 15. You hitched a ride to your father’s offices. That area hasn’t been rebuilt, and the building is still there. You stayed over an hour. It rained for days after that, and you kept to your hotel room, but when it stopped raining, you—” Zev paused, one half of his mouth lifting in a smile.
“Went swimming,” Asa finished for him. “It was cold.”
Zev laughed. “I bet.”
“I like swimming at night. You can’t see the stains on the tiles or the painted-over graffiti on the walls. I went home too. The house is still there. Vampires live in it.”
“I’m sorry,” Zev said quietly.
Asa shrugged. “At least somebody is getting some use out of it.”
“You checked out of the Best Western and hitched another ride out of Comity. You went to a house in San Martin and came out with a box and a woman who gave you a ride to Monterey. For the last week, you’ve stayed at the Coastal Inn in New Seaside.”
“I wasn’t sure what I was doing,” he murmured.
Zev took a breath. “Every day you didn’t come here, I wasn’t sure either.”
“I saw Isaac, Casey, and Anin yesterday. I liked coming into town with everybody when I worked here. I felt like I belonged, even though I knew I didn’t. I was lying the whole time.”
“Not to me,” Zev said.
“You stalked me.”
“Absolutely. A promise is a promise.”
Asa stood and approached him. Zev’s nostrils flared and wariness flooded his eyes. “Turn the chair sideways,” Asa said.
Seconds ticked by. Asa waited, holding himself still. No reason to trust me now. A deep tremor threatened to shake him apart. Then, Zev took a breath and shifted his chair around. Asa kept waiting until he sat again, then straddled his legs, and slowly sank onto his lap.
“Hold me.”
Zev’s arms encircled him and tightened, pulling him hard against his chest. “You’re safe.”
“Never let me go.”
Zev groaned. “I promise.”
He buried his face in Zev’s neck, digging his fingers into the vampire’s hair.
Zev squeezed him, forcing Asa’s air out, before relaxing again and letting the air back in. And for a moment, Asa didn’t breathe without him. Warmth seeped into his muscles, and silly images of clouds and blue skies and green hills floated in the dark behind his eyes. He sank into the curve of strong arms. Vampires and blood whores disappeared. Emek disappeared. He was Asa. Amanda’s son and Isaac’s friend. The thud of Zev’s heart against his chest filled him with a melodic echo.
He lifted his head and stared into his vampire’s eyes. “You are so beautiful.”
“I missed you,” Zev murmured. “Stay with me.”
He stroked the corners of Zev’s mouth. “And do what?”
“Advise me. I’m tired, and I want you at my side.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
The corners of Zev’s mouth curled under his thumbs. “Neither am I.”
“Well, aren’t we a pair?”
“Fated,” Zev murmured.
Asa bent until his lips touched Zev’s. The vampire opened to him, drawing in his tongue and tightening his grip.
And the fate he’d been denying, that had clashed with the jangle of vampire laughter in his head, spread out like ripples from the drop of a perfect stone into his depths, warming him and soothing the knife wounds inside.
A ball of energy pulsed inside him. He groaned and rocked his dick into Zev’s belly. Their kiss grew slippery and frantic. A tangle of tongues. Nipping teeth.
Zev’s fingers slipped down the back of Asa’s jeans, hunting his core.
He wrenched his face away, Zev’s panting breath following him. Fixing the vampire’s gaze with his, he cupped his cheeks.
“Show me.”
The fat fangs slid from the gums, the tattoos drawing him closer. A precarious tower of buildings curving into a cliff on one, the graceful arch of wings on the other. So unusual to have separate designs.
Asa stroked the gleaming surfaces with his thumbs, and Zev moaned.
“Can you feel that?”
“Yes,” Zev said. “From far away. It aches.”
Tiny letters appeared in the lines of the buildings. “What do the letters mean?”
“Dilme for resurrection, and Joal for salvation. My family’s letter is Joal.”
Asa bent and dragged his tongue along the surface of the fang, its cool and smooth texture tingling like a mouthful of sparkling wine.
He leaned back. “Wha
t about the other letter?”
“It belongs to the Seneras.”
Asa reached for Zev’s button. He popped it, arching his pelvis away and tugging at the zipper. “Why their letter?”
“Rune.”
“The evil prince?”
Zev laughed. “A true heart.”
The words resonated in Asa’s head, rolling in a dark, oily wave. Who’d said that? He frowned, digging into his memory, until the brush of Zev’s hot silky cock against his fingertips sent a shiver through him.
His body throbbed, and he lurched into Zev’s thrust. No hate or grief clawed at his nerves. Nothing but lust and passion and—Love? Joy?—blew the embers inside him to life. A long-lost excitement drove him to tangle his fingers in Zev’s hair and pull him to his lips.
“My pocket,” he whispered.
Zev’s lips stilled against him. “Um… what about it?”
“Put your fingers in it. Front right.”
Zev nipped him with his front teeth. “Rather put my fingers in you.”
“Vampire, do what you’re told.”
Zev huffed, but he shifted, leaning to the side and bending his arm. He wriggled his fingers into the tight space, drawing his prize out into the light. A grin brightened his face.
“Lube. Fancy.”
Asa bit his lip, focusing on Zev’s jeans. He pushed them onto the curve of his ass. Zev lifted up, and his cock popped free, the glossy head protruding from its hood.
“Hot damn,” Asa whispered. “Will you put that in me?”
Zev groaned, head falling back against his chair. “Oh God, yes.”
“On your throne.”
Now one of the vampire’s eyes reopened, eyebrow rising, lips curving in a smile. “With your legs over the arms? Can you spread yourself that wide?”
“Split me.”
Wordless, Zev rose, jeans halfway down his hips, carrying Asa as though his weight was no more onerous than Rowena’s. Asa held on as Zev strode across the room, snatching up Asa’s bag on his way into the hall. They met no one in this part of the house.
Zev carried him into his throne room, a long, narrow space with a wall of windows. The throne sat like regular furniture among a cluster of other chairs and a sofa.
But that was Zev. As little ceremony as possible. As little separation. How did you miss how lonely he is?
On his feet again, he stroked Zev’s cheek. Gentle. Quiet. Always at war with the mayhem that sometimes flared in the vampire’s eyes. Born to darkness and airless spaces. To vengeance and obedience. Loyalty and…
A true heart.
Who were they?
I am the light bearer and a true heart. We are scattered but strong.
Was Zev’s friend his enemy?
“I will stay by your side,” Asa said. Zev pressed his cheek into Asa’s hand. “Now fuck me.”
Because he wanted Zev in him, wiping out the memory of the others, of pain and longing, side by side. True hearts.
Zev stepped back and dropped his hand to his half hard cock. “Strip.”
Watching Zev’s slow strokes sent the blood pounding in his dick. The pleasure ached like pain. He toed off his shoes and kicked his way out of his pants. While he worked on his shirt, Zev shucked his pants too. A drop of precum fell in a string, catching the light like a cobweb strung with dew. His rosy red sac hung heavy with seed. His thighs clenched, and his dick jerked.
Stitches popped along a seam as Asa jerked his shirt over his head.
With a grin, Zev tossed him the packet of lube then approached the throne. He sat in a sprawl, cock hard against his belly, fingers tight on the throne’s arms.
Asa advanced on bare feet, drinking in the hard chest and rosy dick. The pearly tip gleamed in the sunny light.
His mouth watered.
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Yes to this?”
“Yes to you.”
Zev leaned forward, one elbow on his knee, wavy hair falling over his naked shoulder. “And to us?”
“I promise.”
Asa eyed him warily when Zev jumped up. He took Asa’s shoulders and spun him around.
“Bend over.”
Then he gasped, and his legs trembled, but Zev pressed against him like a cloak. He bent until his forearms rested on the seat of the throne, bathed in the heat of Zev’s body. He sank, chest and cheek pressed to the seat, muscles wobbly. Zev ran his hands down Asa’s ribs and gripped his hips.
He shivered as Zev straightened and parted his cheeks. He burned as hot as a thousand suns in the cool air.
Zev groaned and ran a thumb over his hole.
He arched his back. Bit back a cry.
Zev’s tongue circled his rim. Wet, soft, feather-light. He spread his legs wider, pushing into the palms that held him open. The tip of Zev’s tongue probed and wiggled.
“Oh fuck, yeah.”
Holy hot hell.
He locked his knees against the shake in his legs and reached for his dick.
Steel fingers clamped onto his wrist, Zev’s face wedged in his crack. Who knew the sound of slobbering could be so erotic? His dick apparently. The damn thing pulsed with every heartbeat, bobbing free. He groaned and rocked.
Spit trickled down his taint. The itch clawed at him.
Now he wriggled his hips.
A moment later, Zev pulled back and inserted two fingers, tugging at his rim. “You’re so open.”
He gritted his teeth. “Not supposed to be. Fill it.”
Zev chuckled. “On your command.”
He slid his palms up Asa’s ribs and under his arms, pulling him upright and back a step. Then he circled around him and sat on the throne, his dick slick and straining. “Sit.”
Asa eyed the arms of the throne. Too wide.
Zev raised his eyebrows, a small smile curving his lips. “I told you this is going to split you.”
“Watch me.”
The throaty sound of Zev’s chuckle rumbled in Asa’s belly.
He planted a foot on the throne beside Zev’s thigh and pushed up until he grinned down on him. A sleepy, hooded look settled on Zev’s face, but his tongue flicked out like lightning, swiping up Asa’s cock.
He hissed and wobbled. “No fair.”
“I repeat,” Zev said. “Sit.”
Settling his other foot beside Zev’s other thigh, Asa gripped Zev’s shoulders and sank onto his haunches. His knees rapped the back of the throne, and he twisted his lips as he stared at the space between them, dicks spearing the air.
“This isn’t working,” Zev said.
Asa grunted, straightened, and turned around. Zev’s hands on his hips guided him back down. Slick fingers caressed his hole, loosening him for the press of Zev’s cock. He clenched and heat rose up his body. Head swimming, he squeezed the arms of the throne.
Come on, you baby. This ain’t new.
But it was new. It was brand new, a desire born in a teenager a decade and a half ago. A dream untouched. Untainted. Waiting through the years. Waiting for him.
For this.
Zev held his hips again. He lowered, a split second of pain knifing through him before Zev pushed inside, obliterating the memories and the inescapable dark. He groaned at a burst of light like the first sun after a snowstorm. His ass met the heat of Zev’s lap, and he sank against the strong body.
Zev brushed his cheek with his lips. “As one.”
Yes.
Asa gazed down the length of the room from Zev’s throne, joined to him, hearts beating in tandem, side by side.
True hearts.
53
First Moves
A haze filled the room, like snow or fog, as the sun sank outside.
Asa sat cross-legged on the bed, Zev under the sheets. He rested a fist on Zev’s chest. Naked and radiating heat, Zev stroked his thigh, and Asa dropped his gaze to his fist.
“What is it?” Zev murmured.
He didn’t speak, and Zev opened his eyes and turned on his pillow, a faint frown c
reasing his forehead. “I want to give you an oath,” Asa said then.
“You don’t have to. I was hoping to stir up a hornet’s nest with that. I don’t want a blood oath.”
“I want you to drink from—”
“Asa.”
“Me.” He cocked his head, stretching the curve of his neck, and Zev’s lips parted over the tips of his fangs. Asa smiled. “Like that. That’s for me.”
Zev shook his head. “You don’t owe me.”
He turned the fist resting on Zev’s chest and opened his fingers. “I want you to have this.”
Zev lifted his head, then pushed onto his elbow, gazing down at the necklace on Asa’s palm. It was like the ones in the portraits in the study and hallways and the one Solomon had shown him. A royal necklace. Zev took it from him and lay back. A dazed look came into his eyes. He swallowed, then let out a breathless laugh.
“I don’t believe it. Fal’litha,” he murmured.
“What does that one mean?”
“Lith is love. Litha means heart or blood. And falla is our word for metal. Fal by itself means pure. So fal’litha translates to true heart.”
“Seriously?”
Zev nodded. “I never… This isn’t one of the seven. Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know. I just had it after I got lost in the storm. It was in my pocket.”
Zev laughed, the lines smoothing from his face.
He cupped the side of Asa’s neck, and Asa bent over him. “Drink from me. Make me yours.”
Zev took the necklace by its chain and slipped it over Asa’s head. “Wear this here, with us, before I have to lock it up. It’s beyond precious.”
“What do you mean? It’s like the others.”
“No. It was lost. There were once nine royal families, but two disappeared long ago. Nobody knows what happened to them. I’d heard rumors that the two necklaces still existed, but I didn’t believe it. But this one is here. Like you.”
The pendant rested over Asa’s heart. He clapped it against his skin, then bent again, weight on his arms until tremors ran up from his wrists, into his shoulders and down his back. Zev caught his breath.
Closing his eyes, Asa positioned his throat over Zev’s mouth. His pulse beating against Zev’s lips thundered inside him. Deafened and blinded him. Zev’s lips moved and Asa gasped. But he could do this. He held still and…