Beau stood in front of the count’s dais. “Monsieur Alexandros Nicolaides of New Orleans.”
Alex went forward and gave a slight bow. “My lord, I wish to introduce my very close friend, Monsieur Dante Rocco, diamond courier, of Florence, Italy.”
“You’re on,” Malcolm whispered to Dante. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Dante walked up beside Alex and dipped his head to acknowledge the count.
“Monsieur Rocco,” the count said, his eyes flashing in what Dante thought was anger at the appearance of a human here. It was a pretense, of course. He’d given permission for this introduction.
Dante noted de Bienville didn’t welcome him. Still, he felt that gaze take a slow, sexual perusal of his body and of how he was dressed. To Dante it seemed he’d been stripped naked. He hated it but was relieved when he seemed to have passed some unidentified test.
Alex allowed no time to lapse before moving in front of him as he had in Italy, symbolizing what he was about to state. “My lord, I am here to declare this man under my protection. I have a letter from the prince of Naples, ruler of all the living dead of southern Italy, testifying to that declaration first being made under his authority.”
Dante heard a rustle behind him and realized Malcolm had the letter. Whatever Beau’s title might be, he accepted it and handed it to de Bienville.
The moment Alex spoke, a low murmur began in the room, and Dante decided Alex’s reputation as a fighter was as well known here as it had been in Italy. At the same time, his cell phone vibrated twice, announcing the arrival of a text message. I forgot to turn the damn thing off. How could I have been so stupid? Thank heavens, it isn’t set to a ringtone.
The count looked up from reading the letter. “What do you offer to seal our agreement?”
Unlike Naples, Alex was prepared with the necessary protection bounty this time, and he pulled a black velvet bag from his pocket. Beauregard delivered it to the ruler, who opened it and smiled.
Dante felt intense relief roll through his body, and he breathed again.
The gift that sealed his protection from these living dead was a man’s bracelet three inches wide. The count slid it on his arm and held it up. Fashioned of gold and brushed titanium, the center displayed the symbol of the city, a fleur-de-lis, enameled in vampire black and outlined in blood red. The bar at the bottom was set with tiny diamonds.
The audience applauded the gift. The count addressed them with, “Let it be known I declare Alexandros Nicolaides the protector of Dante Rocco in my territories. Penalty for violating this section of our law will be on my order.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Alex bowed his head to the count.
Malcolm moved to Dante’s side, and the three of them backed up six paces before turning to thread their way through the crowd, Alex in front of Dante now and Malcolm bringing up the rear.
Once outside, Dante muttered in Italian, “Praise the saints, that’s over. I felt like he was stripping me naked with his eyes.”
Alex barked a short laugh, but there was an edge to it Dante couldn’t interpret. “Did that to me once, too. But his eyes did not flare or his mouth almost water as they did with you just now. I made it very clear I wasn’t interested. Again, it was political. It would have been a coup to bed the one they view as the ‘ancient and powerful’ Alexandros Nicolaides.”
Instead of lifting him for flight, Alex signaled him down a path leading away in a different direction from the gate they’d entered. They’d left the house crypt a hundred yards back when Alex said, “Behind that monument near the fork in the road.”
Dante joined them there and watched in surprise as the vamps retrieved knives and short swords they’d apparently hidden prior to their appearance this evening. When Dante started to speak, Alex put a finger to his lips. Dante stayed silent.
Light footsteps came from the direction of the house crypt. “They passed this way,” a voice whispered. “I can’t stand the Greek. The way he kisses ass with Jean irritates me. Did you see that bracelet? Must’ve cost him plenty.”
“I didn’t like the count looking at the Eye-tal-yun as if he’d like to fuck him. He’s a diamond courier. They’re always loaded with jewels, and we’ll make short work of him.”
Malcolm held up two fingers for two assailants. Alex nodded in agreement.
The footsteps came whisperingly close, and Dante held his breath. They paused. “Which way?”
Irritated, Dante pushed past his companions and planted himself in the path. “I assume you’re looking for me, messieurs.” He stood there in disgust, feet wide, hands on his hips. He didn’t recognize the human or the vampire.
“Christos,” Alex muttered, but remained out of sight.
Dante noticed the stranger’s vamp fangs were out and the man held a carving knife. “Oh, I’m so scared. It’s the big, ferocious undead with the long teeth, and a man with a big, bad knife. Do you both suck blood?”
The man brandished his knife. “No, I’m the one who collects blood and sells it to the count for these meetings.”
“Oh, I see. You’re a blood dealer. How can I help you fine gentlemen?” The sarcasm seemed lost on his attackers.
“Give us your jewels.”
Dante spread his arms, palms up, and peered down at his crotch. “I don’t think I can accommodate you in that department. They belong to someone else.”
The vampire, enraged at being taunted, snarled and charged.
Wind as powerful as that of a whirlybird beat the earth around them and turned hair into a rats’ nests in a heartbeat. Before the vampire could complete his first step, Alex was in front of him, his loose hair swirling about his shoulders. He’d created the wind when he’d leaped into the air and then come spinning down. He landed sword drawn and fangs bared. From a fighting stance, he snapped, “Monsieur Rocco is not entertaining visitors this evening, vermin, and you, vampire, have broken one of the laws of the living dead. Which annihilation do you choose? The one I shall deal you or the one the count will?”
Dante’s heart stopped beating. Alex had been so fast he’d barely seen him, but he was glorious. He’d once watched him fight and knew he’d be invincible in the face of these pathetic creatures. Still, Dante wished he’d brought his silver fish server.
Behind him, he heard Malcolm speak in a tight voice. “Even if you were to beat Alex, which you will not, you would have to contend with me.”
The man dropped his knife and ran.
“Let him go. He is not bound by our laws. This one is,” Alex commanded when Malcolm started to move.
“He wa…walked right in…into our path,” the vampire stuttered.
“You stalked him with an armed man. Were you too stupid not to know I would be here? Did you not hear the count’s order of protection?”
“I…I choose the count,” the vampire said.
“The count is here,” Jean de Bienville said in a voice deader than dead.
The vampire spun around, and de Bienville drove a wooden stake straight into his heart.
Dante turned his face away and struggled not to gag. He didn’t need to watch this.
As the vampire lay in the throes of its final death, the count added, “Did you not understand I’d know you left early, and why the blood dealer just ran away in terror?” Then he faced the group of vampires who’d gathered behind him. “Observe the consequence of ignoring our laws.” To Alex, whose fangs had retracted and who stood in silence, his gaze avoiding the dying vampire between them, he said, “I regret you and your friend have been the object of such deceit.”
Alex dipped his head. “Thank you, my lord.”
“The subject writhing on the ground wouldn’t have survived your sword, Alexandros. Yet you gave him a choice without knowing whether my justice would be leniency or death.” His attention settled on Dante, eyes flaring wide again. “You are fortunate this immortal is your friend.”
Dante opened his eyes. “I know. Thank you.”
The cou
nt acknowledged this with an Oh-it’s-nothing wave of his hand. His gaze wandered with slow, frank sexuality over Dante again, and he now recognized the flaring of the count’s eyes and nostrils as a sign he’d very much like to fuck him.
The count slid his fingers beneath Dante’s jaw to lift his head. “Too bad I didn’t discover you first, mon cherie.”
Dante didn’t know how to respond, so he avoided the eyes that pierced and signaled the count’s desire for him.
Before he could blink, the count and his followers disappeared, while the body of an unnamed undead lay disintegrating in the dust formed by the crumbling monuments.
“Well, that went well,” Dante said.
Malcolm grinned, then joined Alex as they linked arms with Dante and rose in the air.
“Can all vampires fly?”
“No, but Malcolm and I can.”
Malcolm’s laugh softened the air around them. “Only Alex can do that helicopter stunt. When I try it, I fall on my fucking ass.”
Chapter Five
Alex’s nerves were like little ants crawling all over him. He’d invited Malcolm in after their return from the cemetery, but Malcolm had declined because he had courier reports due the next day. Alex fiddled with the papers on his desk in the office, unable to concentrate on anything. He drank a bottle of blood and paced.
“I’ve never seen you so restless. What’s wrong?” Dante asked.
“Payback.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What you witnessed in the cemetery was political. The count was grandstanding when he killed that useless vampire, but he believes he did me a favor by saving me from having to do it. Thus, I owe him something in return.” Alex’s face was bleak. His arms were crossed over his chest.
“I don’t understand ‘grandstanding.’ Why do you say it’s political?”
“Grandstanding means showing off. It’s political because his actions made him look powerful in front of his subjects. Even more powerful than the much older and revered Alexandros.” Alex went to the window overlooking his courtyard.
“Many vampires, like humans, have a problem with homosexuality, and he came to this gathering in full femme glam. I am not always here for the meetings, but I have never seen him that blatant. Mild eye makeup and tiny earrings, yes, but usually nothing else, except the dark nail polish. Maybe because you were coming and he wanted to be beautiful for you he pushed the stereotype that every gay is effeminate in their faces.”
Dante approached Alex and stood behind him. “No one—hetero or homo—would believe you were anything but all male. There’s nothing feminine about you, Alexandros Nicolaides.”
Sliding his arms around Alex, he pulled him close. His mouth found an ear, and he flicked and licked the lobe as he slid his hand around to stroke Alex’s groin. He rocked his cock against Alex’s butt, and Alex wanted to take him right then and there.
Alex went very still. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”
“I didn’t like it either, but forget that. Come here.”
Alex turned and his lips met Dante’s. “Every alarm bell in my head jangled when you pushed me aside and confronted that vampire and the dealer.”
“Overconfidence I could handle them brought that on. I wasn’t using my brain. I assumed the speakers were as stupid as the petty thieves we once dealt with in Naples, and since the meeting was still in session, I hadn’t expected an immortal. Didn’t stop to think about the danger I’d be in. Or you.” He thrust his tongue into Alex’s mouth. “Your entire body is taut with tension. A good fuck’s a great way to relieve that,” he coaxed as his hands became more active on Alex’s cock.
He knelt in front of Alex, undid his slacks and tugged them and his briefs down in one motion. Alex’s erection sprang free, and Dante kissed the tip and licked all around the head.
At the touch of Dante’s tongue, heat flared in Alex’s cold body, creating a new tension that caused him to moan. “Your mouth is so hot. I love the warmth of your body.”
Dante spread his hands across Alex’s belly as he kissed his erection and sucked up one side and down the other, leaving, Alex hoped, small hickeys to declare he belonged to Dante. Dante gradually drew Alex’s cock into his mouth and then pulled back, letting his teeth graze it. Alex held very still, wanting to protect his dick, while at the same time wanting Dante’s teeth to penetrate the tight skin strained by its size.
When he couldn’t stand the sweet torment or the storm building inside him any longer, Alex pressed Dante’s head closer and began to hump into Dante’s throat. When his climax hit, it rocked him and almost sent him to his knees.
Dante released him and drew him down on the couch, holding him close until the spasms had quieted. Alex closed his eyes and let himself relax in that embrace.
“Feeling better?”
Alex drew away and sat up. “Yes, but what about you?”
Dante ran his thumb across Alex’s collarbone. “Later. When you’ve recovered and are eager for sex again, and I’ve had something to eat. Despite that earlier dinner, this human’s starving.”
Alex stood and arranged his briefs and jeans, then gave Dante a hand up. “I’ll cook for you.” He laughed when Dante frowned in disbelief. “Really, I can cook. Greek warriors all had to cook when going into battle. It was part of our training.”
Dante left to wash up, and happiness filled Alex’s chest when Dante sat down and plunged his fork into a meal of scrambled eggs and bacon. He’d even bought ketchup, and Dante had used it liberally on his eggs.
Dante had just finished eating when his cell phone, which he’d removed from his pocket and set on the table, vibrated. He picked it up. “In all the excitement after we left, I forgot this went off when the count was reading your letter from the prince. I was damned lucky I had it set to vibrate instead of on a ringtone. I’d forgotten to turn it off before we left the house. It’s a text message.”
Alex gazed at Dante’s dark head bent over the phone as he read it. He could study Dante for hours at a time, which he sometimes did as Dante slept.
Dante’s eyes were dark and large in a face gone pale after he’d read the message. “An older friend of mine who sells souvenirs on the Ponte Vecchio warns me a vampire visited him and forced him to admit I’d gone to the United States on vacation. He didn’t mention New Orleans, but Giacomo will know I’m here, won’t he?”
Alex might as well have been hit in the gut. “Of course, he’ll know.”
“You knew, didn’t you? That time outside the bar and grill. Installing a second alarm system. This morning, I discovered you weren’t sleeping in your bed. Why didn’t you tell me you knew he was here?”
Alex shook his head. “Have you forgotten what I said about love and trust? Trust me, I did not know. Nor do I sense anything specific about him, but I learned centuries ago to listen to my instincts, however slight. Too much caution is better than being caught off guard.” He leaned over and kissed the top of Dante’s head. “I cannot protect you at night if I’m destroyed during the day while I sleep. I simply forgot to tell you about the bed thing.” He dropped his voice low. “We were busy this afternoon after I woke up, remember?”
Dante seemed puzzled before understanding shone on his face. “Oh, that kind of busy.” He squeezed Alex’s hands before standing to rinse his dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He turned it on. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”
Alex pressed his forehead to Dante’s, then brushed his nose across Dante’s. He lifted his chin with his fingertips and pressed his lips to his lover’s. “I’m going to seduce you, Dante Rocco.”
They walked upstairs to his bedroom, where Alex wrapped him in his arms.
Except for the sudden lengthening and filling of his dick, Dante’s response was restrained, as if he needed to drink in and savor Alex’s every touch, every kiss, and stroke.
Alex felt Dante deserved that, so his lovemaking would be slow, sensual and undemanding.
D
ante climbed on the bed and lay on his back. “I want you.”
Alex straddled him, pushing both their cocks down, and then he moved his hips as their bodies meshed, until Dante groaned, sought to bring his knees up and said, “Inside me. All of you.”
Alex came off him and picked up a tube of lube from his bedside table and handed it to Dante. Dante stared into Alex’s eyes as he spread the warm gel over Alex’s waiting cock. In his excitement, Alex’s fangs extended, and Dante’s hand stroked up and down over his erection. Alex felt Dante trembling in anticipation. He poised the slick tip of his dick at the entrance to Dante’s ass.
“Push against me.” His words were barely a breath. He felt Dante’s pucker relax and his crown slide inside. “Oh, yes…” He moaned. The next tightness relaxed and he was all the way in…deep. “It feels so good to be in you. You are my love, my only love.” His voice sounded husky and shaken even to him as he pulled out, and slid in, over and over.
“The count—”
“Has excellent taste. But to have you, he has to go through me first, remember? Now, shush, and just feel.” His hand enclosed Dante’s wet cock, and when he sensed they were on the brink of coming, he leaned over and sank his fangs into the flesh around Dante’s erect left nipple and sucked.
When ecstasy had exploded for them, and it was finished, Alex pulled out of Dante so he could bring his legs down again, and they lay there without speaking as they recovered. They showered together, and an exhausted Dante went to bed and fell asleep mid-sentence. Alex stayed next to him on top of the covers, head propped on one hand, content just to watch him. Sexually satisfied after their lovemaking, Alex brushed back the bangs that had fallen in his lover’s eyes, careful not to wake him. Dante slept on his stomach, his relaxed butt a beautiful hump beneath the linens, his back rising and falling as he breathed.
Tomorrow, Dante had an appointment with Hank Walton, the head of Global Diamond Couriers, to discuss a job, but now there was the possibility that Giacomo would come here, plus the complication of the danger from de Bienville because he wanted Dante for himself. Giacomo was dishonorable, but at least de Bienville would observe vampire law and go through Alex for him. Alex had earned his renown as a swordsman, but de Bienville wasn’t the effeminate weakling some believed him to be. No, Alex had seen him duel, and he was a clever and skilled warrior. Formidable, in fact. Should Alex win by killing the count, he’d be mired in a political morass. Even if Jean had been the attacker, and Alex only managed to wound him, he’d never feel safe again from the count’s supporters in this town he loved.
Night Train to New Orleans Page 5