His Vampire Harem_Harem Paranormal Romance [Gay]

by Lily Harlem

  “Yeah.” Oscar gave me a quick hug across my shoulders. “I’d rather not have our guy under scrutiny again so soon. We’ve got away with it once today.”

  “And besides, he’ll be busy with the equinox festival,” Lloyd said, seeming to be thinking aloud.

  “So back to the apartment.” Rhys nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “Er, hang on.” I held up my hand. “One issue with that.”

  “What?” A flash of concern went over Lloyd’s face and I saw it in the others’ too.

  “There’s no food there, and in case you’ve forgotten, I’m human, or at least half human, and I need to eat.”

  Lloyd’s handsome features relaxed then creased again. “Fuck, sorry. And yes, you do need to eat.” He reached for my hand and breezed his lips over my knuckles. “Sorry for forgetting that.”

  “No problem.” I smiled, enjoying both his and Oscar’s closeness.

  What would it be like to be with them both, naked, fucking?

  A shiver of desire went through me. They were both so damn gorgeous and passionate; it could only be good if we all leaped into bed together.

  “There’s a pizza place over there—will that work for you?” Rhys asked, pointing over the road at the red and green façade on Pizza Right Now.

  “Perfect.” I could almost taste the tomato, oregano, and the ham and pineapple topping I’d order.

  “Just don’t order garlic, okay,” Oscar said.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “It will make your blood taste of it.” Oscar shuddered. “Not nice.”

  “I’ll remember that, but I’m not a fan of garlic anyway.”

  “See, he’s perfect for us.” Lloyd grinned.

  We wandered in and took a seat at the back, away from the bright sunshine streaming through the big front window. I placed an order, and as we waited for the food to arrive George opened the photo of the image in the cell. “What does it mean?”

  I took it and studied it. The big circle was sectioned down the middle so it looked light and dark, and the four rings beneath it were all of equal size but not halved the way the big one was. “These rings have a dot in the middle, after the first two,” I said, zooming in. “As if they’re punctuated, two and two.”

  “Oh yeah,” Lloyd said, leaning close to me. “You’re right.”

  I enjoyed his weight on my arm. “What does it mean?”

  Rhys ran his hand over his hair as if checking the style was still neat. “No idea.”

  I frowned and stared at the close up image again. “What if…?”

  “What?” George asked. “Tell us.”

  Oscar stopped stacking small cardboard drink mats on top of the salt and pepper pots. “Tell us.”

  “What if this is the Earth.” I pointed to the big circle. “And it’s representing night and day.”

  “Half is night and half is day.” George nodded.

  “And what is it…” I paused as thoughts collided in my brain. Was it really so simple?

  “And what is it…?” Lloyd repeated, staring into my eyes.

  “And what is it today?” I finished.

  “I don’t follow.” Rhys folded his arms and sat back. His dimples had disappeared.

  “Today is the spring equinox,” I said, tapping the screen. “Half day and half night. This image represents the date. Today’s date.”

  “Fuck!” Oscar set his hands hard on the table, toppling the small structure he’d created out of the condiments and mat.

  “I think you might be right.” There was excitement in George’s voice. “In fact I’m sure you are.”

  “Okay.” Lloyd sounded a little more hesitant. “But if that’s the case, what’s this?” He gestured to the smaller circles.

  “The time.” The knowledge came to me as I’d spoken the words.

  “Zero, zero, zero, zero?” Oscar said.

  “Yeah, with this mark in the middle, it’s simply saying midnight.”

  “Praise be to Master Benedict.” George tugged off his cap, scraped his hand through his hair and slapped the hat back into place. “That’s exactly what he’s telling us.”

  Lloyd shook his head, a slow smile spreading on his face. “I think that’s right, we’ve solved half of it. We know when to drink from Darius.”

  “Shh.” Rhys frowned as a waiter approached carrying four huge pizzas. “Lloyd.”

  Lloyd glanced at the waiter then curled his hand around his tumbler of water and bowed his head. His hoody was still up and his face more or less hidden.

  When the food was set down, I reached for a slice of pizza, then as soon as I’d munched it and my stomach had stopped growling, I said, “Now we just need to find out where.”

  “At the Tower?” Rhys suggested. “Everything else has been there.”

  “I don’t think so.” George was poking at a bit of pizza on a plate but his attention was on the phone. “This part of the image is the where, but he hasn’t given us much to go on.”

  “No.” Oscar frowned and resumed stacking the mats on top of the salt and pepper pots. “It’s just three lines. Not exactly much to go on.”

  “I guess it was hard scratching into stone, likely he used his finger,” Rhys said.

  “Ouch.” I grimaced.

  “Tough skin.” Lloyd winked at me.

  I reached for another slice of pizza, sipping on my cola as I did so. Hanging around with guys who didn’t eat wasn’t easy. I’d have to make sure I didn’t lose weight, not least because I was expending more energy with them.

  I glanced at Rhys. He was looking my way. I smiled, remembering the fun we’d had in the dungeon. The man was hot and so fucking reactive to what I’d done to him.

  A snake of lust went through me. I’d happily do that all over again, here, now, in the pizza restaurant and to Hell with who saw us expressing our love and lust for each other.

  I tore my attention from Rhys, and bit into my pizza, enjoying the sweet, doughy flavors.

  Oscar had resumed his stacking. I stared at it, chewing as I did so. What did it remind me of?

  I swallowed and bit into my food again. He’d balanced a small cardboard drinks mat on top of the two pots, as if he’d made a doorway.

  A doorway.

  Like the scratching Benedict had left us.

  Except it wasn’t a doorway. It was a structure.

  And in real life it wasn’t made of plastic, glass and cardboard—it was made of stone, just like the canvas Benedict had used; the stone wall of the cell.

  “Bloody Hell,” I muttered as the hugeness of it dawned on me. Like a dimmer switch going from dark to full beam I knew exactly what it was, or rather where we had to go for the men I loved to be saved from damnation.

  “You okay?” George asked, resting his hand on my leg beneath the table and studying my face.

  I swallowed. “More than okay.”

  They all turned to me.

  “I know the where in the what, when and where.”

  “You do?” Rhys said.

  George nodded, his expression serious. “The what is that we must drink your blood, my love.”

  “And the when is at midnight on the equinox,” Lloyd added. “Tonight.”

  “And the where.” I paused and pointed at Oscar’s structure. “Is Stonehenge.”

  “What?” Rhys sat forward. “Stonehenge. How do you know?”

  “It looks like that,” I said. “And Stonehenge is not a new building, or anything in the natural world. Like the Kathmandu temple, it’s an ancient but manmade structure.”

  “And it was definitely around when Master Benedict was.” George rubbed his chin. “And not far from London…in vampire terms at least.”

  “Stonehenge,” Oscar repeated, looking from me to his small and simple creation. “Yeah, it could be. It’s a series of stones, set like this. Two upright ones holding another large horizontal one. And he’s accompanied it with circles, the only other shape in the message.”

  “And the stone
s are set in a circle,” I said.

  “So let me get this straight.” Rhys sat forward with his hands on the table. “If we get our asses to Stonehenge, tonight, and all drink from Darius at midnight, that’s it, we’re saved.”

  “If the fable is to be believed,” George said. He sat back and folded his arms. “Though thanks be to Benedict if we’ve figured it out correctly.”

  “How will we know?” Lloyd said.

  “I don’t know, but we’ve got to try.” George put his phone away. “And as soon as Darius has had his fill of pizza, we’ll head to Wiltshire. If Oscar’s quick we’ll all be there before nightfall.”

  “This is all well and good,” I said, grabbing more pizza, since I didn’t know when I’d eat again. “As long as you all only…” I paused and glanced around at the other tables, then leaned in. “Only drink a little bit from me,” I said quietly, “I don’t have an endless supply of blood, you know.”

  “Just a taste each is all it will take.” George rested his hand over mine. “Don’t worry, we’d never do anything to risk or hurt you, Darius.”

  “Which reminds me.” Oscar held up his hand and clicked his fingers.

  A waiter appeared, eyeing him nervously. “Yes, sir.”

  “A mug of hot water,” Oscar said gruffly.

  “Certainly, sir.” He backed away.

  “What’s that for?” I asked.

  “Tea,” they all said at once.

  “Tea?” I couldn’t suppress a laugh. “I’ve got cola.”

  Oscar pulled a small teabag on a string from his pocket. “We should have given you this already. It’s an old herbal remedy designed to rejuvenate humans mated with vampires. It means you’ll quickly make more blood, and our small feeds won’t affect you.”

  “And it’s even more important when you have so many mates,” George said.

  I recalled the vampires at The Order offering their human female Bea a drink of tea. She’d seemed keen to have it. “I’m normally a coffee kind of a guy but I’ll try it.”

  Oscar and I arrived in Wiltshire as the sun slipped from the horizon.

  Oscar pulled the bike into a darkening layby in a lane half a mile away from the Stonehenge Visitor Center. My other vampires were already there, waiting. They’d run the ninety-mile journey, traveling at speed, and not looking any different for it.

  I dismounted, took my helmet off, then stretched my arms over my head and leaned backward. My spine ached, so did my hips, from sitting hunched for two and a half hours. Not that I didn’t enjoy clinging to Oscar’s big sexy body. I did, a lot.

  “You okay, babe?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down the center of my spine.

  “Mmm, yeah, I will be in a minute.”

  I glanced around at the shadowy outline of the hills. The stars were out in the east and beginning to creep their way over the sky.

  “We’ve got a few hours to get to the actual stones.” Rhys said. “Do you need to sleep or eat first, Darius?”

  “No, I’m good. That pizza filled me up.” I rubbed my belly. “And I’ll be okay till bedtime for sleep.” I frowned. “Wherever it is we’ll sleep.”

  “I’ve booked a hotel nearby,” George said. “I figured you didn’t get a full night’s sleep last night so you’d be too tired to go back to London.” He bit on his bottom lip, holding in a smile.

  I didn’t bother to disguise mine. My first night with George had been incredible. I couldn’t keep the smile up, though, and it dropped quickly.

  “What is it?” Oscar asked.

  “I guess the thought of going to sleep and the dreams worsening and becoming more threatening doesn’t appeal.” I shuddered at the memoires of the twisting, twirling demon and his sinister grating voice. “Do you think he’s here, my father?”

  “Why would you think that?” Lloyd asked, glancing at the clear sky.

  “I just…” I couldn’t put it into words. It was very beautiful in the heart of the English countryside, but thoughts of the demon seemed to be battling for attention in my mind as we’d closed the miles to Stonehenge.

  “It’s natural to be concerned,” George said, resting his hand on my arm. “But we’ll protect you, no matter what form he comes in. If he does at all.”

  “Yeah, hopefully we’ll get this done without disturbance and be able to destroy your father afterward.” Lloyd paused. “Sorry, that sounded awful. I meant the demon. Because you’re obviously nothing like him and—”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “And I’ve called him my father too, but the truth is, never having had one, the word has little meaning to me.” I turned to George. “Which reminds me, why did Master Concorde say you were his son? Are you related?”

  “No.” George shook his head. “Not in the conventional sense, anyway.” He pointed to a gate. “I think we should start walking, it’s a couple of miles north east of here.”

  “Oh, okay.” I wondered why George hadn’t elaborated.

  I’ve still got so much to learn about these vampires of mine.

  Oscar climbed over the gate. It creaked under his weight. Rhys and Lloyd jumped it in one swift move.

  George climbed over it, the way I did, though I knew he could have done it much easier.

  “I remember,” Oscar said, as we fell into a line, “when we were on the plane, babe, and talking about artwork.”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “You told me about The Raft of the Medusa.”

  He nodded. “I knew then that you had the protection of your mother, of a good, kind and pure bloodline from her and her ancestors.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Well, I told you about the wretched souls on the raft, and how they’d begun to eat each other in their desperation.”

  I continued to stomp ahead through the spring grass. “I remember, Oscar. It’s a grizzly tale.”

  “Yeah, it is. But like the artist, and the light on the horizon, you had hope for the men.”

  “I hadn’t even seen the painting.”

  “You didn’t need to,” Oscar said. “Because you told me you believed the body is a vehicle, a transport through life, but it’s up here we really need to care for.” He tapped the side of his head. “The mind, the soul.”

  “I do believe that.”

  “And in that moment I knew you’d help us, our wretched souls.”

  “I don’t think you’re wretched. Different, yes, but not wretched.”

  “At the moment we kind of are,” Lloyd said. “Our future is this strange existence on Earth or eternal Hell.”

  “Life here is okay, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, especially now I’m…we’re with you,” Lloyd said. “But it’s always there, hanging over us. A stake through the heart, beheading, and then that’s it, toasted for eternity.” He shuddered.

  “That’s not going to happen.” A shard of determination went through me. “I’m going to make sure of it, tonight. Soon.” I glanced at my watch. “Very soon.”

  Rhys gave me a sideways glance accompanied by a smile.

  “And,” Oscar went on.

  “What?” The air was becoming damp now night had fallen, and had brought with it the scent of the countryside; earth, pollen, dew.

  “And you wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Oscar said.

  “I’m no saint.” I laughed.

  “No,” Oscar said. “But in your apartment that time, you made the effort to let a bug out of your window. Not many people would do that.”

  I shrugged. “Live and let live.”

  “Hear, hear.” Lloyd stepped closer and slung his arm over my shoulder. “An excellent philosophy, Darius.”

  I slipped my arm around his waist and fell into step with him. Our footsteps swished as we walked across the meadow and our hips touched occasionally.

  Soon the others had gone slightly ahead, making their way onto an official track through the burial mounds of which there were hundreds scattered in the fields leading to the monument.

  “Can I ask you something, Lloy
d?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why did Master Concorde call George his son?”

  “Ah, that.”

  “Yeah.”

  “He turned him.”

  “Turned him.” I remembered Oscar using the same phrase. “You mean Master Concorde turned George into a vampire?”

  “Yes, and having done that he took on the responsibility for the new vampire’s actions.” Lloyd paused. “You see, when a human is first drained dry and turned, they’re very thirsty. Greedy for blood. It’s when they’re at their most dangerous. After a few years they calm down.”

  “A few years?”

  “Which is a blink for our sort.”

  “I guess.” I was quiet, then, “So why did he turn him?”

  Lloyd looked ahead at George. “It was a long time ago.”

  “I figured that.”

  “Sixteen ninety-one.” Lloyd paused. “George was traveling from Edinburgh to London when his carriage was set upon by masked highwaymen. They held the passengers, three women and George, at gunpoint as they ransacked the luggage and yanked the women’s jewelry from their throats and fingers. From what he’s told me, he stayed pretty calm when it was material goods being taken, but when one of the men dragged a young female into the woods, he put up a fight, a useless fight considering how outnumbered he was.”

  “Fuck. What happened?”

  “Master Concorde happened to be passing. George vaguely remembers him putting an end to the highwaymen, and setting the women back in the carriage, but George was nearly dead, he’d lost so much blood from a gunshot to his abdomen.”

  “And then what?”

  “Master Concorde had a choice. Let George die. Feed from him, then let him die. Or drink him completely dry and turn him.”

  “So why did he choose the latter?”

  Lloyd glanced at me and smiled though his face was shrouded in darkness with his hood in place.

  “Because he saw a good soul. George had given his life trying to protect others. Master Concorde believed his soul deserved another chance, no matter what that chance was.”

  “Wow.” It was hard to believe, but I did believe it all. George was exactly the type of man to risk himself for others. “I think you’re all good souls, Lloyd.”