by Rayna Vause
“You know what other exceptional senses I’ve got?”
“I’m guessing sight.”
“Bingo. Let me tell you what I see. I see my best friend spending a heck of a lot of time with a man who ripped out his heart. A man who, to be honest, I never really expected and sort of hoped I wouldn’t see again.” She leaned into him and poked him in the chest. “You had him all but floating. Then you shoved him off that cloud in the most heartless way possible. I’m not going to let you hurt him again. So, spill. What the hell is going on, Danny?”
Danny scanned the woman before him. His gaze took in her tense posture, her clenched fists, and settled on brilliant green eyes that gleamed with determination. He’d gotten to know her a little over the course of the half year he and Kier had dated. He liked her, her toughness and her fierce protectiveness of Kier. He never thought he’d be on the business end of that protective nature, though.
“I’m in a little bit—okay, a lot of trouble, and I didn’t know where else to turn. I’m not prepared to get into the details of it all right now.”
“Uh-huh.”
Danny swallowed when Alex’s fangs slid down over her lip.
“If he gets hurt, or worse killed, because of you, you will not like the consequences. Are we clear?”
Danny nodded and crossed his arms as his stomach clenched. “You know I never meant to hurt him.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Well, you did. I’ve known Kier for at least a hundred years—”
Danny’s jaw dropped. “A hundred years?”
“Didn’t have that conversation yet, huh?”
“We did. Doesn’t make it any less shocking.” Danny shoved his hands in his pocket and shivered as the cold of the night overcame the heat in the bar. “As to the rest, we’re working our way through it all. But then, we’ve had a rather eventful few days. Can I ask, how exactly did you two meet?”
“You really want to talk about that now?”
“I’m trying to learn more about Kier, about his friends, about vampires in general. Talking to one of his oldest friends seems like a good jumping-off point.”
“Fair. Let’s just say I’d gotten myself into a little bit of a tough spot and Kier came to my rescue.”
“When was this?”
“London 1915.”
“During World War I?”
“That’s right, Book Boy, and that’s all you need to know.”
“Are you the same age?”
“Roughly.”
“Did you ever—?”
“No. We were and always will be friends. I probably know him better than anyone else. That’s why I can say without a doubt that I’ve never seen him as gone over anyone as he was over you or as crushed as when you walked away.” She held his gaze as she stepped back from him and leaned against the opposite wall.
Danny couldn’t draw a full breath, and a lump formed in his throat. He hated that he’d hurt him like that.
“Look, I can respect that you don’t want to get into the details of your relationship with me, just don’t do that to him again. Figure out if you’re willing to accept who and what he is, because if he’s hurt again… let’s just say you won’t like me very much. Clear?”
Danny responded in a quiet voice. “Clear.”
“Good.” Alex smiled, releasing the intensity of the moment before. “You ready to get back to it?”
“No, but let’s do it anyway.”
Something slammed in Kier’s office. Danny pushed off the wall, but Alex stopped him with a hand on his arm. “It’s best to stay clear of the office while Kier’s tangling with the monthly accounting.”
Another crash burst from Kier’s office, and a second later he appeared in the hall, a tuft of hair sticking out to the side. He blinked when he caught sight of Alex and Danny. Kier shot Alex a questioning glance as he walked toward them.
“You okay? We heard some banging coming from in there,” Danny asked, laying a hand on his arm.
“That was me banging my head against the wall. I hate going over the books.”
“Don’t you have an accountant to handle this?”
“I do, but he’s been on vacation for about a month and I didn’t want to let things sit that long. Is everything all right out here?”
“Yep. We just needed to take a short break. Cool off. Things have settled down a little, so we came to get a little air.” Alex smiled and laid a hand on Kier’s shoulder.
Kier raised a brow at Danny.
“Everything’s fine. I’m just not used to this level of manual labor.” He forced a laugh, then shivered. Kier reached out and pulled the back door shut.
“I was just saying hello to Danny. Catching up, getting a good whiff of him. It was quite a surprise to see him here after all these months. Call me crazy, but I think there’s something different about him. His scent is off.”
“Different is putting it mildly.” Danny muttered the words under his breath. “Wait, did you say whiff? Don’t do that. Human or vampire, going around sniffing people is just weird.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “You’ll get used to it. It’s part of the culture.”
“If you say so.” Danny shook his head.
Alex locked eyes with Kier as she reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Since he won’t—” She lifted her chin toward Danny. “—I’m asking you to be straight up with me, K. Why’s he here? What’s wrong with him?” She held up a hand when Kier started to speak. “Don’t bullshit me. I’ve known you too long for that mess. Truth. I can’t watch out for either of you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
Kier hesitated and looked at Danny, his expression asking for permission.
Danny sighed. “Tell her.”
She studied Danny with the laser-sharp gaze of a scientist looking through a microscope. Then her eyes went wide. “He’s been turned, hasn’t he?” She went several shades paler then her usual pasty complexion. “Good God, Kier, what the hell have you two done? Do you know the type of attention this could bring on us? I mean, I like Danny for the most part, but did you really need to turn your ex? You couldn’t find a nice vampire to settle down with?”
“Shut up, Alex. He hasn’t been turned exactly, and I’m certainly not the cause of his current condition.”
“Then who is?”
Kier’s voice went quiet. “Rogue vampire attacked Danny. I think Purity did something to him. From how Danny describes him, it sounds like something wasn’t right with this vamp. I’ve taken him to see Sharon. Based on the blood tests she’s run, something was definitely wrong with this guy and whatever it is has affected Danny. The vampire is dead now.”
“Shit, Kier. You do realize the world of hurt you’re going to bring down on yourself if Purity is involved. They won’t stop looking for you two. Is that why I dropped a car off for you earlier?”
Kier drew in a breath and gave her the quick and dirty rundown of everything that had happened in the last few days. When he finished, Alex gripped his arm. “Promise me you’ll be careful. Don’t draw attention to yourself, and avoid Purity at all costs. I don’t want to see you hurt, for any reason.” Her gaze flicked toward Danny.
“Alex, I know what I’m doing.” He pulled her into a tight hug. They rocked together for a few moments, then separated.
“Why don’t we all just get back to work and put all of this aside for the night. Okay?” Kier patted Alex’s shoulder, nodded at Danny, and then headed back for his office. When Kier disappeared through the doorway and shut it behind him, Alex turned to Danny. “I’m sorry for everything that you’re going through right now, but if anything happens to him….”
“I know. I know. You and I are going to have a problem.”
Alex turned, rolled her shoulders, and headed back out into the bar.
“So much for normal,” Danny muttered, then headed into the crowd and noise of the bar to lose himself in work.
KIER STOOD in the shadows of the hallway and studied Danny as he worked. It still
rattled him to have Danny back in his life. In all this time, the lithe blond man with the striking brown eyes still managed to take up a remarkable amount of his mental real estate. With his hair disheveled and his cheeks a touch flush from exertions and irritation, he reminded Kier of how he’d looked after their first kiss. Don’t go there. Don’t pick the scab. Try as he might, he couldn’t manage to fend off the memory of Danny with hair tousled from Kier running his fingers through it, pink, kiss-swollen lips, shirt open revealing a firm, smooth chest. His eyes shined as he wrapped his arms around Kier and pulled him close. He’d been all but drunk off the taste of Danny, and he’d never wanted to sober up. Kier fought for breath under the weight of the memory. He reached up and rubbed at the ache in his chest.
Glutton for punishment, he went back to watching Danny as he moved through the room chatting with patrons and never noticing the odd looks he got from some in the crowd. Chances were people either knew of their past relationship or they caught Danny’s not-quite-a-vampire scent.
“Still think you know what you’re doing?”
Kier jerked. He hadn’t noticed Alex leaning in the stockroom doorway, arms crossed and a frown on her face.
“Jesus, Alex. Make noise next time.”
“A whole drum line could have paraded around you and you wouldn’t have noticed. You were too lost in the box full of drama currently cleaning up your main room.”
“He’s only here because he needs help. What do you want me to do, turn my back, leave him to fend for himself in a world he knows nothing about?”
“Kier, come on. It’s me. I know you. I saw what Danny’s leaving did to you. Why would you open yourself up to it again?”
“I’m not. I’m just helping him.”
Alex snorted. “You keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day we’ll both believe it. That wound has just barely scabbed over, and now you go and pick it. I get it. You’re a good guy and you can’t leave a friend in need twisting in the wind, but what about you? Who’s going to look after you?”
“That’s what I’ve got you here for.” Kier lightly bumped shoulders with Alex.
“You know I’ll always be here for you, but you’ve got to help me out. Tell me honestly, is he going to stay this time?”
Kier closed his eyes, swiped a hand down his face. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“Are you going to turn him?”
“Only if I have to. This condition of his may leave me with no choice.”
“Do you know if he even wants to be turned? What if he’d rather die than live as a vampire?”
The thought stole his breath, made his chest tighten. Alex put a hand on his shoulder. When he met her eyes, she gave him a knowing smile. Even if he wasn’t ready to open himself up to Danny again, Kier didn’t know how he’d face a world without him in it. Once upon a time Kier thought he’d shared a link with Danny. He thought they’d be connected in every way, mind, body, and soul. Something deep inside clenched at the thought of that never happening. No matter how hard his head resisted, a small piece of his heart still longed.
“I don’t know if I can give him that choice. I can’t stand by and watch him die when I can do something about it, and considering how he feels about vampires, that would be it for us. He’d hate me for eternity, but at least he’d be alive.” Kier squeezed his eyes shut.
“So, you’ll have a connection to a man who detests you for the rest of your life. You’ll never be able to make a clean break from him. It’s been six months and you still have feelings for him.”
“And I will find a way to deal with them. We’ve both been around for a long time. We’ve both had loss, and we’ve both learned how to deal with that pain and loss. Trust me. I will be all right, but I love you for trying to protect me.”
He hoped he would, at any rate. He’d tried to convince himself that he’d moved beyond Danny. Then he’d turn around and see a picture, hear a song, or smell an aroma that brought a memory of them together careening back. How the hell do you get over someone when every damn thing reminds you of them?
“My relationship with Danny will be like that of master and apprentice. As soon as I equip Danny to stand on his own two feet as a vampire, I’ll help find him a job, one more suited for a person with Danny’s education, and a place to live. Then he’s on his own. I’ll, of course, do my duty as his master should he need me, but that’s it. That’s where it ends. It has to.”
Alex started looking around on the floor and checking her shoes.
“What?”
“Trying to watch where I’m standing because the bullshit is getting deep in here. You’re about as likely to walk away from Danny as I am to do a striptease on the bar. Danny is special to you. Has been since the day you met and always will be.”
Kier shifted his gaze back to Danny. He watched him lug another bunch of empty glasses back to the bar, and a tingle went through him as he skimmed his gaze over the flexing muscles of Danny’s back as he carried the heavy tub. The T-shirt Kier had given Danny clung to him, and the jeans hugged the curves of his firm ass. Kier forced himself to tear his gaze away. Damn Alex for knowing him so well. She was right. The longer Danny stayed around, the more Kier would start breaking his vow to keep his distance. Hell, it had already started. Every wall Kier built, Danny somehow scaled it.
Alex whacked his chest with the back of her hand, drawing him out of his thoughts. “If I don’t miss my guess, there’s still feeling there for Reynolds too.” She tipped her chin toward Danny, who’d snagged a stool and a bottle of water. He sat, chatting with some of the bar patrons as though he hung out with vampires all the time. “I think he’s trying, K. For you.”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Have you two talked at all?”
“We’ve started to. Things have been kind of crazy.”
“No more excuses, McCade. Man up. Work your shit out. Don’t waste the opportunity that’s been handed to you. Stop hiding behind the shields you’re so good at erecting.”
Alex walked away, leaving Kier watching Danny interacting with his friends and customers, trying to fit into his world. But could he trust this change of heart? Could he risk his heart and open it to Danny Reynolds again?
Chapter 7
“I’D LIKE to state for the record that you suck. Did you enjoy making me busboy for the evening?” Danny trudged into Kier’s living room, kicked off his shoes, and flopped on the couch. He let himself sink into the soft, deep cushions with a long groan. The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed three o’clock.
“You didn’t have to do it, you know. It’s not like I’m your boss. You don’t have to pay me in trade for helping you.”
Danny scratched the back of his neck, and then he held out a hand. When Kier crossed to him and took the offered hand, Danny tugged him down next to him. Swiveling to face him, Danny took Kier’s face in his hands and locked eyes with him. “I’m going to say this one more time, and I want you to hear me, okay?”
Kier nodded.
“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. While I am grateful for your help with my current predicament, I don’t feel obligated to offer myself up as laborer. I am going to be spectacularly sore tomorrow. Why would I put up with that if I didn’t want to?”
Kier started to answer, but Danny covered his lips with two fingers. “I wanted to help. I liked helping in your bar. I liked meeting your friends. Don’t make me say it again.”
The corner of Kier’s mouth quirked up. “Understood.”
Danny flopped back on the couch. “I could get used to this, working at the bar.”
Kier raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m not saying I’m looking to make a total career change, but it’s a fun contrast to working in the library.” Danny looked at Kier, who’d sprawled back on the couch but continued to watch him.
The man looked sexy as hell with his dark hair a bit mussed, his black long-sleeve tee hugging every well-toned muscle in his arms and str
etching across his chest. He sat with his thighs spread just enough so Danny could admire the way the denim cupped the bulge of his crotch. For a moment time ceased to exist, and nothing mattered but this beautiful man and this moment. His heart rate sped up; a low, simmering heat ignited in him. He wanted to reach out and touch the warm skin. Taste the warm, rich flavor of his lips.
Danny shook his head to clear it and shifted in his seat, unable to settle. Energy pulsed through his body. He should’ve been exhausted, not ready to run laps around the block or better yet jump on Kier until he burned out.
Danny cleared his throat and took a few slow breaths. “So, what now? Late-night movies, a little music and wine to mellow out?”
“Now, I go to bed. I’m beat.” Kier pushed up out of the chair. “Do you have everything you need for the night? Are you hungry?”
“I’m good, but I am a bit wired. Sometimes watching movies I’ve already seen helps me relax and fall asleep. I’m assuming you’ve got someplace I can do that down here.” Danny glanced around the room, searching for a television.
“Come with me. I think you’ll like this.” Kier laid a hand on his back, then went still and moved his hand to Danny’s forehead. “You’re a little warm. How are you feeling?”
“I am?” Danny pressed the back of his hand to his cheek. “I feel fine. A bit keyed up, but otherwise I feel great.”
Kier frowned but guided him to another room.
Kier led Danny into the entertainment room of his dreams. Danny froze in the doorway, and pleasure bubbled up inside him as he took in a space chock-full of comfy chairs and all of the latest gadgets and consoles.
“Wow. Christmas came early this year.”
Danny rushed into the room and tried to inspect everything all at once. He never noticed Kier leave the room and come back with pillows and blankets.
“Are we having a sleepover?”
Kier chuckled. “No, but I figured these would make you more comfortable if you fall asleep in here.”