Claudius sat up, catching me around the back of the neck and hauling me upright. He pressed a kiss to my temple and stroked my hair. “I do not know if I like you better as quiet or enflamed. There is something entrancing about both sides of your passion. You did well, Sex.”
“Xavier,” Marcus corrected.
“Hmm?”
“We have come to an agreement. His name is Xavier.” His hands brushed strands of hair off my face.
“Oh, thank God, I really did not want to introduce my grandson as Sex,” Claudius said as he carefully settled me down on the bed.
I was wrapped in a post-orgasmic cloud of self-indulgence, and I had been reclining listlessly on Claudius’s chest bones, but my eyes popped open now at his words.
“What was that? Did you just say grandson?”
“It is a little conventional, true. Technically, I am your Grand-Sire, but it so much simpler to call me Grandfather.”
My happy, little post-orgasmic cloud just raced away at light speed. I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. “No. No, no, no, no!”
“What is it?” Marcus asked, worried.
“So, you’re my father?” I opened my eyes and looked at him.
“Yes.”
“So I’m getting screwed by both my father, and grandfather?”
“This is a problem?” Claudius asked so matter-of-factly I had to bury my face into the mattress. Marcus laid a hand on my back in comfort. Reluctantly, I turned toward him.
“If you guys gotta go somewhere, you better get a move on,” I said, needing to be alone after this latest revelation.
“Xavier is correct. I will shower first.” Claudius kissed my temple as he rose from the bed. “You are a beautiful desire, Little Blue. Marcus chose wisely.”
“Huh?”
“Xavier, come here.” Marcus opened his arms. I debated for about a second and then moved up to his embrace. He and Claudius could have easily just left me tied to the bed, but they hadn’t. I at least owed him a hug for that. “What is it, Little One? I can see the turnings of your mind.”
“Nothing you can help with. I…I just have to get my head around this father, grandfather thing. Actually, I have to get my head around the whole vampire, Blood, Flame thing. You’ve given me a lot to handle as a birthday present.”
Marcus plastered a kiss on my lips and slid me under the covers as he moved off the bed. “I have one more present for you.” I just lay on the mattress. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more presents from the vampire who wants to mate with me.
He crossed to the far side of the room and pressed a spot on the wall. A section of the brickwork slid back like a pocket door, exposing a huge walk-in closet. What the hell? I had checked every inch of that wall when I’d been trying to get out of my prison.
“Shift your vision.” Marcus had turned around and must have seen the quizzical expression on my face.
“What?”
“Try to change your sight. There are Blood marks on the walls. They are like locks. They will only open to those members of the Blood owner’s House. These will open only for Claudius, you, and me.”
“What should it feel like, this shifting thing?”
“Your eyes should burn, but not as intensely as a Flame. You should be able to work it at will.”
“The bed is locked, isn’t it?”
“It is, for everyone’s safety. The servants will be safe from you, and you will not be tempted by them. And if for some reason another Blood decides to come for you, they cannot get in.”
“That is the second time you’ve mentioned somebody coming for me,” I said, frowning.
“Fledglings are not as cherished as they used to be. There are vampires out there that only prey on the newly made. They drain them dry for their new blood. If they survive that attack, they turn into drones—sex toys. I do not want that fate for you.”
“And what about my Blue Flame eyes?”
My question was ignored as Marcus caught my hand and dragged me into the closet. Holy crap. It was packed with clothes: pants and jackets, shoes that lined one entire side, suits, ties, and sweaters on the other. I never would have thought that Marcus was such a clothes horse since he always used to come to me naked. He stopped at a bin and pulled it out, reaching inside for a pair of John Lennon type glasses, which he set upon my face.
“Yes, I thought these would suit you,” he said, admiring me.
“You lasered my eyes just so I could wear sunglasses?”
“You do not like them? I have others for you.”
“Marcus!” Claudius called out from the bathroom. “I am done with the shower.”
I looked back over at the bed, my eyes searching the floor. “What happened to my pants?” I asked.
“They were soiled. I have sent them out for cleaning.”
“So I’m to stay naked until they get back?”
Marcus blinked at me, and then burst out laughing, gesturing at all the garments around us. “This is your closet.”
I took a closer look at the clothes hanging there and was sort of taken aback. There were designer labels on some. I must have looked as dumbfounded as I felt because Marcus caught me up in a hug, swung me, and pulled me back out into the bedroom.
“Turn around, Xavier.”
I heard the panel slide back into place. “But…”
“I’ve found that rewards work best with you. Shift your sight. Open the Blood mark yourself. Once you do, you can wear anything you want.”
“When did you buy all those clothes? Where did you get the money for them all? Wait a minute,” I said, remembering the episode with the shower. “Why the hell were you waving a knife in my face yesterday when you’ve got, what was that, five Armani suits hanging in the closet?”
“I told you, now you are of the Blood, I would never take you without your consent. I needed your consent yesterday.”
“You bastard!”
He caught me by the back of my neck and dragged me forward until our foreheads were touching.
“I could have lost you so easily yesterday. You do not realize the danger you were in, with that eighty Flame. I will do what I must to protect you and keep you safe, my Little One, my beautiful Xavier. If that means tricking you into giving consent, so be it.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and gave me a shove that sent me sprawling backwards on the bed. “Open your closet, if you can, and I will take you out for dinner.”
Dinner? We eat? “And if I can’t?” I yelled after him as he disappeared into the bathroom.
“Then we will stay in, and you will practice. Now, while you may be very tempting lying there naked like that, I really need to get ready.”
I pulled the sheet up around me. I was pissed. He had scared the crap out of me yesterday for no reason. Well, he did have a reason, but still.
Claudius came back into the playroom, fully dressed and looking like he had just stepped off the cover of a men’s magazine. He fiddled with his cuffs and straightened his tie. “How do I look, Sex?”
“Like you just stepped out of GQ. Except for the hair,” I told him.
Claudius’s hands immediately reached towards his head.
Vain little vampire, ain’t you, Gramps.
He turned and glared at me. “Do not call me Gramps.” Oops, I’d forgotten they could read minds.
“Don’t call me Sex,” I retaliated.
“Agreed. So, what is wrong with my hair?”
“You have on a power suit and tie, but your hair hanging loose says relaxed and laid back. What message do you want to send out? I think you want power.” He nodded.
Getting up from the bed, I headed for the bathroom, holding the sheet to me and dragging it along behind me. Marcus was still in the shower, and as I rummaged for a brush and some elastic bands, finding a long black ribbon to add to my pile, he saw me.
“Is the closet open yet?”
“Fuck off.”
He actually laughed, before ducking back under the water as I
left the room.
“Well, sit down. I’m not tall enough to brush your hair,” I said, climbing back onto the bed behind Claudius, brushing his tresses smooth and flat when he complied. I pulled the tidied strands into a sleek ponytail, slipped on an elastic band at the nape of his neck, and then added five more about an inch apart. Finally, I wound the black ribbon over the bands and tucked the ends in. Claudius now had slicked-back hair and a razor-straight tail. Yeah, I knew my way around hair—my sister and I were close, and there had been no other kids in our neighborhood to practise on.
Damn, I’m good.
“Thank you. Do you want the closet opened in return?”
It was tempting, but I shook my head. “Just point out where the Blood mark is.”
Claudius stood and drew an imaginary square on the wall. Okay, so I know where it is; I just have to be able to see it.
“Claudius?”
“Yes, Xavier?”
“Do we eat? Food, I mean.”
“A little.”
“Drink?”
“Marcus is a lush.” Okay, hadn’t expected that answer. “Hopefully, you will have some influence on him in that regard. He never would listen to me.”
“What about sunlight? Aren’t you guys heading out during the day? Or is it night? I don’t know what it is, trapped down here.”
“It is day.”
“So, do we burn up if we go out in the sun?”
Claudius folded his arms over his chest and looked down at me. I couldn’t read his face. His eyes were blank. “Shouldn’t you be asking Marcus all these questions?” he asked.
I pulled my sheet tighter. “As you’ve seen, we don’t actually talk. He just tells me what to do, then makes me do it.”
“Then it is up to you to change that, my grandson. Start off how you plan to continue. You’ve already fought against being a fuck toy—colorful words, by the way. You’ve gotten yourself a proper name. Kudos for that, I really did not like the name Sex. Now, work on getting Marcus to see you beyond the bedroom.”
“What I want him to see me in are clothes,” I snapped, glaring at the wall, focusing on the spot Claudius had outlined for me. Nothing, damn it. And it felt like I’d broken a blood vessel in my forehead with trying. I flopped over backwards and held a hand to the throbbing spot.
“Do not try so hard. Concentrate, but let it flow. Unfocus.”
“Unfocus?” Focus, but not really. What the hell kind of advice was that? Marcus came out of the bathroom, fully dressed. Unlike Claudius, he had gone for a casual look, with a turtleneck and sports jacket. His hair was still damp, and he had caught it up in a black clip. He looked at his elegant sire’s hairdo, then down at me.
“I did not know you could do that,” he said, amazed.
“Well, if you talked to me once in a while instead of just raping me, you might actually learn something.”
I got jerked to my feet. “I already told you I would,” he snarled.
“Then we don’t have a problem,” I replied calmly.
Marcus let me go, and I stumbled. He gave me a push, and I fell back on the bed. He followed me down until he was sprawled across me with his hands on either side of my head. “You are going to be challenging me every day, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
The big vampire smiled, leaned lower, and kissed the tip of my nose.
What the hell was that?
“Good morning, my Xavier.”
“Get off.”
“Give me a kiss first.”
“You got one.”
“No, you bit me. You are forgiven because you were in need.”
“I kissed you,” I argued.
“No, I kissed you.”
I frowned. Yeah, he did, and I’d bitten him without as much as a how do you do. “Sorry.”
“Give me a kiss, and I’ll be on my way.”
I got an arm free from his crushing weight and slowly reached up, tracing his jaw line to his lips with my fingers. His eyes were a warm brown as he stared down at me, with not a hint of red anywhere in them.
“Your touch is exquisite as always, my Little One, but I want a kiss.”
Claudius’s voice broke the erotic haze we were beginning to weave. “Tic-toc, Marcus. You know how finicky the High Council is on punctuality.”
“Xavier?”
I cupped Marcus’s head with my hand and dragged it down towards me. He had gotten what he wanted this morning, I’d let him. But that was enough for now. I allowed my mouth to almost brush his, letting my breath seep out and caress his lips. I felt him getting a hard-on, and he had no problem pressing it into my thigh. I used my tongue to flick at his lower lip and he gasped, giving me the opportunity to push my tongue inside if I wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I leaned up, kissed his forehead and fell back against the bed.
“There. You got your kiss, now go.”
Claudius’s eyebrows arched, and he looked at us. Marcus stiffened on me, and I stared up at him, a little apprehensive, but I squared my jaw. Start out how you plan to continue, I said to myself.
I am not a fuck toy. I am not a pet. You made me to be your equal, start treating me like one.
I pushed at his chest to get him, and his erection, off of me.
“You did get your kiss, Marcus,” Claudius reminded his son quietly.
Marcus ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “You are my equal, Xavier. Do not forget it.” He leaned over, crushing me fully into the bed, his lips at my ear. “And this is not over. When you break the Blood marks, I want you dressed in leather.”
“And if I can’t get into my closet?”
“I have faith in your abilities. Just stay here in Sanctuary. The staff will be frightened of you if you go exploring, and understanding staff are hard to find or replace, if you get hungry.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and finally climbed off me.
Claudius touched another of those invisible Blood marks, and the bed began to roll sideways, exposing the concrete staircase leading down. I stared over the side and saw a tall, lean man with salt and pepper hair, holding a briefcase. Seeing me, Marcus reached out and smacked my face. It wasn’t hard, more a sort of love tap? I don’t know.
“Keep your fangs, and your hands, to yourself, Xavier. I will be back as soon as I can,” he said, making his way down through the exit.
Claudius started down the stairs as well. “I like you, Grandson. More than I thought I would. Stay up here in Sanctuary; it is not safe for you outside of it, alone. And remember, unfocus.”
They disappeared, and the bed slid back over them, effectively sealing me in until I could see the Blood marks.
I scurried off the bed and ran forward, reaching out to touch the same spot Claudius’s fingers had brushed. Nothing. I didn’t feel anything different about that part of the wall beneath my hands. I couldn’t see anything. There were no visible signs to show that it was something secret or special. It just looked like every other part of the brickwork. And that was why I hadn’t found any escape, back when…I was alive.
I punched at the wall in frustration.
Eleven
Blood Marks and Belly Dancing
I stared intently at where the Blood mark should’ve been on the wall by the side of the closet, willing my eyes to see it but only succeeding in getting that throbbing little pulse going on in my head again. I ended up lying back on the bed with one eye closed and simply concentrating with the other. Still nothing.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to relax. Tide rolling in, tide rolling out. Unfocus, unwind. They used those Blood marks everywhere, so it had to be easy to shift your vision to find them. I just had to discover how to do it.
Burning eyes…not like the Flame. Crap, I don’t want my thoughts to go there. What if I flame up? No, don’t be scared of it. It’s just sex…with two men who are claiming to be my father and grandfather and who have left me stinking and in need of a shower.
Hopping up off the bed, I headed for the bathroom to cleanse both
my body and my mind. I wasn’t ready to handle that bundle of torment yet.
I stayed under the hot water until my skin started to shrivel. It felt good on my neck and shoulders, and its touch reminded me of the two vampires. Both of them liked to manhandle me by the neck. Why? Was it because they wanted to fang me? Most likely, and I was short enough so that they could do it easily, with Marcus being over six foot and Claudius just a little shorter. I was lucky to hit five foot ten on a good day.
Getting out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before padding back into the playroom. I blinked. The bed had been made in my absence. I’d been in the shower that long?
With my little toga sheet gone I realized that, until I got that damn closet open, I was down to wearing a towel or nothing, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be seen without clothes. Not that the staff hadn’t already seen my naked ass for a year, but I still felt a blush rush up my face. I don’t know why I should be embarrassed about it; it wasn’t like I could have done a damn thing to make it any different.
Staring back at the wall, I worked at giving myself a raging headache, and when I finally succeeded in doing that, I fell on the bed, laid my forearm across my eyes, and went to sleep.
When I woke up, my eyes were unbelievably hot. I lay still, waiting for my skin to catch on fire too, but it seemed it was just my eyes burning. Instinctively I looked over at the hidden Blood mark, and for the first time, I could see it clearly. It glowed for me like it had been sprayed on with glow-in-the-dark paint.
I got up off the bed and ran towards the mark, not caring that I dropped my towel on the way. I had to get to the wall before the burning in my eyes disappeared.
Quickly laying my palm against the wall, it felt like I was touching warm bathwater, and my hand tingled slightly, more so when the closet opened. I took a moment to glance around the room, noticing that there were more Blood marks in the playroom. But first things first, I decided. I wanted clothes.
My gaze ran over the socks, shoes, pants. Holy crap. This was mine. All mine! I’ve been mostly naked for a year, and now I have clothes. It felt amazing.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm waned quickly as I soon realized that most of it was the same sort of fuck-me-now gay-boy wear that Marcus had had me in before. I found boxers, but no briefs. I guess I should be thankful; it could have been thongs.
Cake: A Blood Nation Novel (Volume 1) Page 12