Rod gave him a brave little grin as he squeezed back. “But, hey, life goes on.” He stood back, spreading his arms to indicate the shop around them. “I've got the shop and you've got this mystery man. Do bring him around sometime so I can sigh over him, would you?"
Matt grinned. He knew better. Rod, unlike him, had started dating again over a year previous. No one serious and he still missed Henry, but he was doing just fine.
"I'll do that. And on that note—” He stood, sliding his jacket from the back of the stool. “—I'm going to head out."
Rod checked his watch. “Whoa, is it twelve thirty? I should start clearing up.” He looked past Matt. “Hey, any of you going to need refills before closing?"
While the students roused themselves to decide if they needed a last-minute caffeine fix, Matt bade his friend goodbye and slipped into the night.
Standing on the corner, bathed in the cool light of the overhead lamp, Matt shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and turned his face up to the moon. Cool air caressed his face, shuffling through his loose hair. Wispy white clouds drifted across the otherwise clear sky, glowing bright silver as they passed in front of the moon. He took one last fortifying breath before pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and punching speed dial.
Wolfe picked up on the third ring. “Matt?"
"Hi, Wolfe."
Pause. “What can I do for you?” That silken voice was carefully modulated but still painfully sexy. It forced Matt to fondly remember countless phone conversations.
"I'd like to see you."
"When?"
"Tonight good?"
"Certainly. Where."
"My apartment.” He started to walk down the street. As it turned out, the Koffee Hous was a just a few miles from his place, a nice forty-five-minute walk. “I'll be there in about an hour."
"All right. I'll meet you there.” Still very carefully said.
"'Kay. Bye.” He hung up.
Wolfe was there when he walked up the outside steps to his front door.
Three months, two weeks, and four days had not diminished his reaction to the man. His smile was genuine, reflecting the leap of his heart. “Hello, Wolfe."
Wolfe's answering smile was cautious but warm. His elegant hands were hidden deep in the pockets of his slacks. “Hello, Matt."
Matt put his key in the lock. “Will you come in?"
"If that's what you want."
Still wearing the smile, Matt glanced at him. “That's what I want."
He couldn't blame Wolfe for being careful. It was touching, actually. Wolfe wasn't sure what was going on or why Matt wanted to see him, so he was treading carefully. Matt would think less of him if he didn't behave that way.
He flipped on the light and shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it onto a chair as he crossed the living room. His apartment wasn't much different than it had been the last time Wolfe had been there. Most of the changes in Matt's life had taken place outside of the confines of his small home.
Sitting on one end of the couch, he motioned at the other end. “Sit?"
Wolfe did, smoothing his hands over the deep brown of his slacks. The emerald of his silk shirt did wonders for his eyes. All but a few errant wisps of his glorious hair were pulled back into a ponytail, which Matt thought was a shame. Although, it was probably better this way. The eyes alone were distraction enough. With the hair loose, Matt might very well forget what he wanted to say.
After a few moments, Wolfe tilted his head. “You wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes. I did.” Where to start? He'd rehearsed this conversation for a week now, but all of his planned lines had fled from his brain. “First, I want to thank you for your recommendation."
Wolfe nodded, his long fingers idly toying with the seam in the arm of the couch. “The new job is going well?"
"It is. Although—” He chuckled. “—my new boss isn't as flexible about my hours."
That made Wolfe smile. “I'd be happy to take you back and let you resume your old schedule."
"Would you?"
"Certainly."
"Even if there was no ... us?"
Wolfe's smile faded. “Even so. Aside from the fact that I want to make sure you're provided for, you are the best programmer I've ever worked with."
"Worked with a few, have you?"
Responding perhaps to Matt's light tone and continued smile, Wolfe's lips turned up at the corners again. “A few, yes."
Matt nodded. “I didn't ask you here to talk about the job."
"I gathered."
"I've been checking up on you."
"I'd noticed."
"You did?"
"You don't live to be my age without being aware of who is looking into your private affairs."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Suddenly shy, he switched his gaze down to the knee he had bent on the couch between them. “It's not like I dug all that deep."
"I'll let you know anything you care to know, Matthew."
He shivered at hearing Wolfe's voice again saying his full name. “The families of the men who died the night Daniel died. You helped them out without their knowing."
"Yes. There was no reason to intervene in their lives."
"But there was with me?"
"You are ... special. And I happened to have a job opening for a programmer."
Matt shook his head. “The company didn't exist until right after Daniel died."
Wolfe chuckled softly. “You have been doing your research."
"I like to be thorough when I can."
"Indeed. All right, I started the company to give you someplace to work. In my defense, it wasn't a far cry from some of my other venues. But, because it was new, I had to contact you personally."
Matt nodded, his heart swelling to hear confirmation that Wolfe had started a whole new company just to take care of him.
Wolfe continued. “Then I got to know you, and I had a good time working with you. I found myself investing far more of myself in the company because I wanted to spend more time with you."
Wolfe had been affected by their phone conversations too. Matt hadn't been alone in that. “I found out much more. You're almost solely responsible for keeping County General running.” County General was the largest local hospital that was known to lean heavily on charitable contributions to make ends meet. “But barely anyone knows it."
"Yes."
"You've kept eight homeless shelters and three gay and lesbian centers afloat for the last five years and haven't gotten any kind of credit for it."
"I've received some credit."
He looked up. “Not like you should. You're continually helping people. Why?"
Wolfe smiled softly. “I have the means."
Matt shook his head. “That doesn't explain it."
Wolfe twisted to face Matt, pulling his knee up to mirror Matt's position. “I've had centuries to watch human beings. In that time, I've done more than my part to contribute to human suffering.” He cast his gaze aside. “I'm not proud of that, and there's nothing I can do to help those whom I've hurt, but I do have the means to help others.” He shrugged. “It's my way of apology."
Matt had the distinct feeling that Wolfe did a lot more than was necessary to atone for past wrongs. But he let it rest. “How many other vampires are there in the world?"
Wolfe raised an eyebrow at the change of subject, but followed seamlessly. “It's impossible to tell. I know of perhaps a dozen others."
"Only a dozen?"
Wolfe smiled. “Contrary to what you see in movies, there are not legions of vampires living in the sewers of every metropolis. We are solitary predators and very jealous of our territories. We tend to kill each other far more often than we kill our prey."
This is new. “Really?"
"Really. There was a time in the past when there were more of us, and that is the time when most of the legends began. But recent decades have seen a decline since most of us are simply not capable of adapting t
o our rapidly changing times."
"But you are."
Wolfe shrugged. “I seem to be an exception."
"But you made Shawn."
A wince shook those broad shoulders. “Yes. I grew tired of my lonesome existence. It happens from time to time, and the lure of finding someone who can resist the call is sometimes too great."
"There aren't many of us?"
Wolfe's look sharpened at his use of the pronoun. “No, those who can resist the call are very few and far between."
"How many Shawns have there been?"
"Sorry?"
"How many people have you changed?"
"In my time? Only four."
"Any of them still alive?"
"Two."
"Are they in the picture?"
"No. The last time I saw either of them was close to two hundred years ago."
It blew his mind that Wolfe spoke in terms of centuries and hundreds of years so calmly. The fact that he was sitting here calmly discussing it with Wolfe was another source of wonder.
"I can resist the call."
"Yes, you can."
"Is that why you're attracted to me?"
"Not entirely, but I would be lying to say that it wasn't part of the attraction."
"Because you could change me."
"Could being the operative word.” Wolfe frowned. “I would never dream of doing such a thing without your consent and full knowledge."
Matt nodded, chewing his lip. Do I really want to do this? Last-minute misgivings burbled to the surface. “I miss you,” he blurted before he could chicken out.
Again, Wolfe followed his abrupt change of topic. “I miss you."
"I miss talking to you. You were my only friend for so long, the only one who even remotely knew me. I...” Shy again, he watched his fingers pick at the worn piping along the top of the back cushion of the couch. “I'd like to try dating."
"Are you sure? Given what I am?"
"I'm sure. After everything I've found out about you, I can't believe you aren't sincere in wanting to help me. I'd like to get to know you."
"I would like that."
"Just dating,” Matt hastened to add, frowning at his fingernail. “I ... I don't think I'm afraid of you, but I'd like to take some time before we ... y'know, get back to the sex."
Wolfe's hand closed over Matt's on the back of the couch, his skin pale and cool in contrast to Matt's new tan. “I think that's a fine plan."
Matt curled his hand around so he could weave his fingers with Wolfe's. Only then did he turn to meet that emerald gaze again. “You're okay with waiting?"
Wolfe's smile was gentle and unbearably sexy. Or did the sexy part come from those lambent eyes with impossibly long, sooty lashes? “I'll wait for as long as you need."
* * * *
Matthew sat at the wind-worn picnic table, enjoying the heat of the fading sunshine as the breeze from the waves below whipped some of his hair from the ponytail at the back of his neck. This park at the top of a cliff was one of the places he and Daniel had enjoyed visiting, a beautiful setting not too far from school or home.
Daniel's empty urn sat on the table beside him, his ashes having been cast to the sea about fifteen minutes ago. Matt was pretty sure he'd approve. He'd had a thing for dolphins and would get a kick out of joining them for his final resting place.
Crossing his arms on the table, Matt cleared his brain of all but idle thoughts as he watched the glowing orange sun sink through pink and purple clouds until it finally fizzled and gave up that flash of green as it disappeared within the ocean. Beautiful. He couldn't have asked for a lovelier sight for his last day of life.
Smiling, he stood and gathered the empty urn. He took it with him back to his Jeep, tucking it on the floor in the backseat beside the duffle bag. Whistling, he swung into the driver's seat and buckled in. He made an attempt at taming his ponytail before starting up the Jeep to head for his new home. His new life.
Actually, his death.
That still made him chuckle.
Night had taken hold before he reached Wolfe's house in the hills. The house itself wasn't very impressive-looking. Nice, but rather ordinary. Kind of secluded on six acres of tree-filled land in a neighborhood of similar plots. It looked quaint from the outside. People wouldn't know that a whole secret suite of rooms was dug into the hill underneath it.
Matt parked his Jeep right next to Wolfe's Lexus. He had gotten to know Wolfe's place well over the last year. So much so that the duffle in his backseat was all that had been left to bring from his apartment.
The porch light flickered on as he stepped up to the door. Fitting his key into the lock, he crossed into the entryway and the rectangle of light on the floor from the kitchen doorway to his right. “Wolfe?"
No answer—but he hadn't really expected one. Even though he was surely awake, Wolfe didn't tend to emerge from the bedroom downstairs without a good reason. Tonight he had good reason to stay put.
Grinning at the thought, Matt turned away from the kitchen and took the hallway to the back room. He didn't need light, but he turned on the lamp in the unused “office” anyway. Wolfe had plenty of protection around the place, both mystical and electrical, but they tended to keep the lamps on in a few rooms anyway so the house looked somewhat lived in.
He went to the closet and stepped up to the hidden entry at the back wall. The panel opened, and dim runway lights illuminated the narrow staircase that took him down to Wolfe's real home. The rooms above were furnished and perfectly functional—Wolfe was careful to keep them so—but they were no comparison to the suite below. It consisted of a bedroom, a “play” room, Wolfe's real office, and a bathroom. The square footage of those four rooms was more than that of the two-bedroom house above.
Wolfe was not in the play room with its state-of-the-art entertainment center and pool table, but Matt hadn't expected to find him there. He dumped his bag on the long sectional couch and continued toward the bedroom.
It was everything a vampire's bedroom should be, in Matt's humble opinion, and it was decked out tonight. Black, from the furniture, to the gauzy canopy, to the silk sheets. Hints of blue, purple, and red could be seen here and there, but the room was predominantly black. A fitting contrast to the pale skin of the man himself. The man who lay waiting for Matt in the center of an absurdly huge bed. Candles were lit, making Wolfe seem to glow as he sat up, watching Matt. Hair as silky and dark as the sheets around him fell across his shoulders and chest.
"Everything went well?"
Matt smiled, still admiring the decadent beauty of his lover. One year they'd been together. One year Wolfe had made him wait before he would even consider giving Matt the chance to be with him forever. But that year was up tonight. Tonight, Wolfe was his.
"Everything went fine.” Matt grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up and off. “I gave back my keys and everything.” He tossed the shirt aside and grabbed onto one of the sturdy posts at the foot of the bed to steady himself as he took off his shoes.
"And Daniel?” Wolfe asked softly.
Warmth flooded Matt's chest. Not once, in all their time together, had Wolfe been anything but respectful of Matt's memory of Daniel. Too many former lovers in his own life, he'd said, for him to dismiss the feelings. He knew the pain over and over.
Matt was determined that Wolfe would never feel it again.
"Daniel's playing with the dolphins,” he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull off his socks.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fabulous.” Laughing, he twisted and lunged toward his lover.
Chuckling softly, Wolfe caught him, easily tumbling back into the pillows underneath Matt's weight.
Matt caught his jaw in his hands, tilting those lips so he could taste them. He wormed his tongue between them, purposely finding one of the delicate tips of Wolfe's fangs and pricking himself.
It made Wolfe growl and clutch him, instinctively sucking at the trickle of blood.
Matt growled right along with him, loving the effect he had on this beautiful creature, needing to be so much more. Cool, smooth skin warmed only slightly beneath his hands as he pushed himself up, bracing on Wolfe's chest. He gazed down at those glowing green eyes, knowing now that they did indeed glow when need or desire rode the vampire. “You must be hungry."
Eyelids shuttered just a little, and a rueful grin curled the corner of Wolfe's mouth. “For you, always."
Matt slid his palms down until each one pressed a nipple. “Then let's do this."
Wolfe slid his hands up Matt's arms. The feral gleam in his eyes was still tempered with concern. “You're already mine.” Fingers toyed with the ponytail at his neck. “As I'm yours. We don't need to do this."
"Yes. We do. I want to stay young and pretty for you."
Scowling, Wolfe yanked his hair.
Matt laughed, collapsing back on top of Wolfe. “Okay, okay! Geez. You don't have to be so serious."
Wolfe pulled the band from Matt's hair. “Yes, I do."
"No. You don't. We've talked about it. I took the year you made me to think about it. I want to do this.” He shook out his now loose hair, letting it drift down his neck and shoulders, knowing Wolfe enjoyed it. “I love you. My life is with you."
"You can be with me without doing this."
True. He could. Wolfe had proven that to him. Wolfe could bite him—and had bitten him a number of times, but not enough to change him. Wolfe had proved that his feeding on others didn't have to be the sexual thing it was with Matt, alleviating that jealousy. Wolfe had assured him that he would stay with Matt if Matt chose to remain human, that he had done so with loves in the past.
But Matt didn't want that. He didn't want to grow old while his lover stayed young. He didn't want to miss that final connection that would truly mate them. He wanted Wolfe and all that he was—and he had to change to have that.
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