by Renee George
Guillermo went to Mona Moreno’s brimstone house on Paseo Drive. Mona ran an occult store out of the bottom floor of her home. She was the only person he knew who had an extensive collection on occult, magic, mythology, folklore and legends in Kansas City. Over the last few days, he’d been jealous, enraged and worried, in short, an emotional basket case. All feelings that he thought would be impossible to feel. It seemed like the more Nathan made his heart beat, the more emotional Guillermo became. He needed help.
Gui wanted Nathan only for himself and he didn’t want anyone but Nathan. Vampires were not monogamous. They were polyamorous creatures who could love, but in general, not exclusively. What made Nathan so different? What is making me so diferente?
Nan had given him a clue. Nathan struggled with his vampire nature more than he should have been able to, or want to, and Guillermo could never understand why. Once the mortal soul leaves the body, the vampire spirit makes a perfect blend with the leftover shell. Nathan didn’t have that perfect blending.
He’d gathered books on Irish mythology and history dating back to Tuatha Dé Danann, along with books on ancient blood rituals. He hoped to find a way to break the bond between Nathan and Tyrsgard Madds. If he couldn’t, he feared he would lose Nathaniel.
* * *
Tyr waited for Nathan. The young vampire came home around nine thirty looking weary and worn. Worry furrowed Nathan’s smooth brow. He slumped onto the couch.
Tyr drew near. “Would you like me to draw you a bath?”
Nathan rubbed his eyes and shook his head.
If Tyr didn’t know better, he would have thought his master had been crying, but vampires don’t cry. “Master…”
“Please don’t call me that, Tyr.”
“I am your servant, Nathan.”
Nathan’s shoulders drooped. “I know. But, Tyr, I am not Min. I felt your pain at the table earlier. Felt how desolate your life has been. I know you have suffered.”
“Don’t waste your energy pitying me, Nathan.” Tyr knelt before him. “I’ve made myself who I am through my own choices.”
Nathan reached out and smoothed Tyr’s hair. “You didn’t ask for this. Not this.”
Tyr didn’t respond. He was certainly not blameless.
“Tell me what happened between you and Guillermo.”
Tyr had to obey Nathan whether he wanted to or not. The bond didn’t allow for choice. He couldn’t look at Nathan as the words tumbled from his mouth. “I tortured him and raped him repeatedly, night after night for months.” His voice remained steady, steadier than he felt.
Nathan would hate him now, and his suffering would continue. Perhaps he deserved to be punished for eternity.
“Come closer.” Nathan’s calm voice made Tyr nervous. Nathan loved Guillermo. Tyr could feel it on both vampires whenever he was in a room with them. He’d feared Nathan finding out the truth, and now he would be judged as was Nathan’s right. Tyr inched forward until his stomach met Nathan’s knees. “I accept my punishment.”
Surprise and astonishment flooded Tyr when Nathan leaned forward and embraced him. “What happened… It wasn’t your fault.”
With those words, all the pain from the last seven hundred years flooded into Tyr’s body.
* * *
Nathan knew guilt, especially after this evening, but nothing like what he felt coming from Tyr. When he embraced Tyr and held him close, because of the blood bond, Tyr’s memories became his own. The Viking punished himself more than Min could ever have done. What Tyr had been forced to do to Guillermo made Nathan want to kill Min all over again. Min had scarred both vampires with his need for domination. Now Nathan could see why Guillermo hated Tyr, but he also knew something Guillermo did not -- Tyr had sacrificed himself in order to allow Guillermo to escape.
Because of this, Nathan could not be angry with Tyr. On the contrary. “Today is a new day, Tyr. You can’t change the past, but you shouldn’t have to keep reliving it.”
He wanted to stop sharing Tyr’s pain, and if the pain wouldn’t stop, he wanted to take some of it away. Nathan needed Guillermo. He couldn’t help Tyr without him. The Viking needed what Nathan needed, forgiveness, and if not forgiveness, at least understanding. As a doctor, Nathan could heal physical wounds, but emotional scars were beyond his capabilities.
Chapter 8
Anger filled Guillermo, anger and rage. When Nathan had called him and asked him to come over, he’d hoped they would be alone. Instead, Tyrsgard Madds stood in the living room, arms crossed and looking sullen. “What is he still doing here? I thought when you called…”
“I know what you thought, Gui. And you don’t have to worry. Tyr will be getting his own place to live. From what I hear, there’s a vacant apartment upstairs.”
“Oh.” Gui’s brows lifted like a boy whose hand had been caught in the cookie jar. Nathan must have found out about Nadine and the surveillance.
“We’ll discuss that later,” Nathan said. “Right now, we need to talk about us. You, me and Tyr.”
“There is no us, if the us includes Tyrsgard Madds.”
Tyr unfolded his arms. “I’ll leave.”
Nathan stopped him. “You’ll stay.”
Guillermo threw up his hands. “Then I’ll leave.”
“No.”
“You may be able to order this puppet around.” Gui pointed to Tyr. “But you cannot make me do anything I don’t want to, Nathaniel.”
Frustrated, Nathan growled. “We’re not in high school, for heaven’s sake.”
Guillermo raised an eyebrow as Nathan’s growl sent a shiver of arousal through him. He glanced at Nathan’s pants and noticed he was equally excited. “I never went to high school.”
“Neither did I,” Tyr added. “I did take an equivalency exam. Does that count?”
“I just meant we weren’t adolescent teenagers. We’re adults.”
“I know what you meant, Nathaniel.” Gui looked away from Nathan. “I just don’t know what you hoped to accomplish tonight.”
Nathan crossed the room and put his hands on Guillermo’s shoulders. “Please look at me.”
Guillermo swallowed hard and looked at Nathan. Those green eyes swirled with magic that reached to the very depths of Guillermo. “I’m looking.”
“Now, I want you to listen to me.” Nathan briefly chewed on his upper lip. “Tyr is part of my life now. I know it’s hard to accept. Hell, I had trouble accepting it. I don’t want to be anybody’s master. I can’t even master myself. But I feel what he feels. I’ve seen his memories.”
Nathan’s eyes were full of anguish. He knows. “You’ve seen my humiliation.”
“Yes.” Nathan squeezed his shoulders. “But I’ve also seen and felt Tyr’s.”
Gui didn’t want to remember the past. The humiliation of being strapped down and forced to endure unmentionable atrocities, things he would not wish on his worst enemy. “I cannot… I cannot hear of his pain. It is nothing compared to mine.”
“Tyr didn’t have a choice. Do you understand that?”
“No! There is always a choice.”
Nathan’s voice was calm and soothing. “Listen to me, Gui. Tyr lives without choice. The bond is such that his master’s will is the only will he can obey.”
“It’s not true.” Gui resisted the urge to attack Tyr. “I witnessed his disobedience.”
Tyr stepped forward. “I never directly disobeyed Min.”
“Silencio.” Hatred and rage bubbled within Guillermo. “The only reason I do not kill you is because I would rather die than see harm come to Nathan.”
“How do you know that killing Tyr would harm me?”
“I found a book.”
“Where?” Hope filled Nathan’s voice.
Guillermo shook his head. “I’m sorry, Nathaniel. The book only mentions the effects of the blood bond, not how to break it. The old ways are lost to us.”
“I understand. But if you know the effects, you know that Tyr had to do what his master w
anted.”
“I know here.” Gui pointed to his head. “But I can’t believe it here.” He placed his hand over his chest.
“Do you love me?”
Guillermo covered his eyes.
“Please, look at me, Gui. Do you love me?”
“Damn you, Nathaniel Greer.” Even fully clothed, Guillermo felt naked and vulnerable. “Con todo mi corazón. I do love you.”
“I love you.” Nathan kissed him softly, his lips tenderly pushing against Gui’s, and for a brief moment, his heart soared with elation. The moment was short-lived.
“I need you to forgive Tyr.”
“I can’t, amante. There is just too much. Please don’t ask this of me.”
Nathan kept his eyes on Guillermo. “Fine. Tyr, don’t speak until I tell you that you can. Take off your clothes.”
Tyr obeyed without hesitation.
Nathan had to find a way for Guillermo to get past this. He only hoped he didn’t do more damage than good. “Come to me, Tyr, and kneel.”
The seven-foot Viking quickly did as he was told, kneeling before his master and Guillermo.
Guillermo looked confused. “What are you doing, Nathaniel?”
“I’m giving you your revenge. I am giving you Tyr to do with what you would. Torture him. Beat him. Rape him. Act out all your hatred on him. He is mine, and he will stay there and take it because it is my will. He cannot disobey me.” Nathan felt revulsion, but continued. “Chop off his hands. The hands that violated you. Better yet…” Nathan grabbed Tyr’s sword from the side of the couch. “I’ll have him chop off his own hands.” He handed Tyr the sword. Tyr placed his free hand on the ground, while Nathan prayed. Tyr’s sword arm swung up in an arc, carrying forward to his free hand.
“No!” Guillermo shouted.
“Stop,” Nathan told Tyr. The sword halted less than an inch from the Viking’s hand. “You see, Guillermo. He can’t even plead for mercy. He can’t argue against his master’s orders. The bond between servant and master is too strong.”
Tyr’s shaking unnerved Nathan. “Stand up, Tyr.” Nathan took Guillermo’s hand and put it over the scar on Tyr’s chest. “You see this? Tyr lost more than a piece of his heart when he bonded with Min.”
“I don’t want to hear about his loss, Nathaniel. I don’t care.”
“Tyr has been punished…”
“You cannot compare his pain to mine.”
“After Tyr allowed you to escape all those years ago…”
Guillermo shook his head. “No.”
“Yes, Gui, he allowed you to escape. Min punished him. Your fate became Tyr’s fate, and when Min had tired of his games, he found other ways to torture Tyr. Withholding feedings for months, never allowing Tyr to feel pleasure, not even of his own making.”
Guillermo froze with his hand still on Tyr’s broad chest. “It’s not possible.”
“He’s not the monster. I think you knew that once.” Nathan watched as Guillermo’s face went through a spectrum of emotions as the master vampire adjusted to the information. “I saw what he did, Gui. I felt everything he was feeling, and I watched as he fed you every morning after Min would leave… helping you to build your strength. And he made a choice. The night you escaped, Min thought you so weak, he left you unshackled because he never imagined you were strong enough to hold your head up, let alone escape. Maybe you thought it was good luck that walking out of Min’s cell could be so easy, but luck had nothing to do with it. At great personal risk, Tyr left the door unlocked.”
“Tyr…” Guillermo staggered back a step, taking a moment to regain his composure. “I can’t lose you, mi amante. I can’t.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Guillermo. Tyr is not your replacement, but he is part of my life. A part you are going to have to deal with for us to move forward.”
The sight of both Guillermo and Tyr bent to Nathan’s will excited the Beast within. Its primal needs and desires tugged at Nathan’s mind, but Nathan resisted. The Beast wanted control, but for now, it withdrew, much to Nathan’s relief.
“What do we do now?”
“We heal. All of us.”
Tyr still hadn’t said a word, and then Nathan remembered. “Oh, crap. Sorry, Tyr. You may speak now. Freely and of your own will.”
“What would you have me do now, Master?” Tyr’s words were cold, bitter.
“Tyr, I won’t do that again. I promise. I was just trying to make a point.”
“If you say so, Master.”
Shit! One step forward with Guillermo, two steps backwards with Tyr.
“I say so.”
Tyr’s cock stood rock hard and rigid, and Nathan noticed it seemed to be a normal state for Tyr -- a permanent erection that never knew relief.
“Do you want me to touch you, Tyr?”
An inner struggle played out on Tyr’s face. Nathan heard his thoughts. Is this another trick? Will my new master be so cruel as the old? Nathan wanted to replace those doubts with trust. “Speak the truth.”
“Yes, Master.” Tyr’s broken spirit poured out in those two words.
“You have a choice, Tyr. I can’t always control what I want or say, but in this, you have a choice.”
“Yes, Nathan,” Tyr said. “I want you to touch me.”
The top of Nathan’s head only reached Tyr’s chest. It amazed him how childlike the large Viking was, even with such a large stature. Nathan stroked Tyr’s abdomen slowly, lingering over each cut of muscle. He undressed, pressing his flesh against Tyr’s, closing his eyes, keeping their bodies close, focusing only on the Viking.
Tyr flinched, then relaxed. Nathan opened his eyes and saw that Guillermo had also taken off his clothes and was kissing down Tyr’s back.
“Is it okay for Guillermo to touch you?” Nathan already knew the answer, felt it in Tyr, but he wanted Guillermo to hear.
“Yes.” The word hissed from Tyr’s lips.
Nathan took one of Tyr’s hands, then Guillermo’s, and led them both to the bed. Guillermo and Tyr were opposites, like two sides of a coin, but in some ways, very similar. How beautiful they both are… and how broken.
Nathan sat between them and kissed Guillermo, sucking the tender flesh of Gui’s tongue into his mouth. He broke from Gui’s lips then took possession of Tyr’s, nibbling the Viking’s lower lip before thrusting his tongue into Tyr’s mouth.
Nathan’s cock jerked as Guillermo’s hand grasped his shaft and began to stroke. Nathan reached down to take Tyr’s, but found Guillermo’s other hand already caressing the large vampire’s rigid erection.
Guillermo leaned over and kissed Tyr’s neck, working his way to the Viking’s jaw line. Tyr turned from Nathan and pressed his mouth to Gui’s. The kiss should have made Nathan feel jealous or possessive. Instead it served to increase his passion for both men.
“Tell me what you want, Tyr. Tonight, you are the master.”
Tyr pulled back from Gui. “Please don’t do this to me if you don’t mean it.”
“Tonight is for you and Guillermo. To give you back something you’ve lost. To replace bad memories with new ones that can no longer hurt you. I know you can sense my emotions, Tyr. You know what I’m feeling. Trust yourself. What do you want?”
“I want to feed,” Tyr said, almost ashamed. Nathan could feel the ache in Tyr’s stomach, as strongly as if it were his own. Guillermo winced. Nathan had never let Guillermo take his blood, even when the appetite had been there. If he let one feed, he would have to let the other.
Nathan drew Tyr further up on the bed. He moved over the Viking until he was straddling Tyr’s neck, his cock brushing Tyr’s cheek.
He held his hand out to Guillermo. “Come here.”
Gui crawled to Nathan, their bodies mimicking each other’s in such a way that Gui’s uncut cock lay across Nathan’s. “I want you both to take from me.”
“No, mi amante. It is too dangerous for you.”
Nathan put his fingers to Guillermo’s lips, shushing him. “Take fro
m me, Guillermo. The same way I have taken from you, time and time again, and never returned. As much as Tyr is mine, you are mine, as I am yours.”
Nathan pulled his hair to one side and extended his neck for Gui. Hesitantly, Gui placed his mouth over Nathan’s jugular. Nathan could feel fangs extending to full length against his skin. “Do it,” he whispered.
Only when Gui entered Nathan’s vein did Tyr bite down into his femoral artery. Amazingly, the experience was intimate, sensual even. Nathan always feared he would feel too much like food, but now he realized there was power in giving.
Blood left his body in two directions, two men, two… Impossible. A flood of thoughts and emotions. Thoughts of love, desire, longing, desperation, embarrassment and shame, ripped through Nathan -- some in Norse, some in Spanish, but mostly in English. He grasped Gui’s ribcage to steady himself. He could feel the control behind Guillermo’s sucking, going slowly, the worry he was taking too much. Te quiero, mi amor.
“I love you, too, Guillermo,” Nathan said, uncertain whether Guillermo had said it out loud or merely thought the words. Weakness began to set in, and as if Tyr and Gui could sense it, they withdrew their fangs simultaneously and licked the wounds they’d created. Nathan let them finish then collapsed sideways onto his back -- his legs tangled over Tyr’s chest while his head rested on Guillermo’s thighs.
The connection the three of them shared left Nathan feeling slightly euphoric, like when he’d taken Percocet for a back sprain years ago. The drug had made him feel like he was floating on air and all was right with the world. He laughed, causing Tyr and Guillermo to wonder if he was going nuts. He heard their thoughts and their concern. They didn’t need to be worried. All is right with the world.
Nathan rubbed his cheek against Guillermo’s thigh. “Tyr, what do you want now?”
“You know.”
“Indulge me.” He ran his feet, lazily like a cat, down Tyr’s stomach to his rigid cock. Guillermo took Nathan’s arm, kissing the pressure point at the inside of his wrist, nibbling his way down to the crook in his elbow. Nathan felt decadent, entitled even.
“I want…”