by Rayna Vause
Danny gave him a small smile and a nod. He grabbed his jeans off a chest at the foot of the bed and tugged them on. He made his own stop in the bathroom, then headed for the kitchen. He set a pot of coffee brewing. The aroma tormented him, but with the uncertain state of his stomach, he didn’t want to risk it.
Kier emerged from his bedroom a few minutes later. He’d tamed his hair from its previously disheveled state, but the night’s growth of stubble remained. He still wore the T-shirt he’d slept in but now wore jeans instead of just the light blue boxer briefs. He looked sexy, sleepy, and wary as his gaze flicked to Danny and then over to the coffeepot.
“If you want water—or, well, I guess water since that’s the only safe thing for you to ingest—you don’t need to wait for me to get it.”
“I know. I’m good, thanks.” Danny claimed a stool at the kitchen island and then raked a hand through his hair, not sure where to start.
Kier poured his cup, then, despite Danny’s protest, grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. He set it on the counter in front of Danny before stepping back and leaning against the far counter. “So….”
“Yeah. So…. Cards on the table time. No holding back. Agreed?”
Kier nodded, but still that unreadable expression remained in place. Danny dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t know where to start. I guess the night it all went to hell.” He flattened his palms against the cool black granite countertop.
“When I found out you were a vampire, suffice it to say the timing and the way I found out sent me into a tailspin.”
Kier rubbed the back of his neck. “I was working up the courage to tell you. I never meant for you to find out that way. I just couldn’t find the words. I knew you were in that group, and I knew something bad had happened involving a vampire. I didn’t know how to tell you I was the very thing that scared you. I hoped that getting to know me would temper your response to the news, make it easier for you to accept.” Kier rounded the island and took the stool next to Danny.
“It probably would have, but I had just come to you directly from readmitting my brother to the hospital. I don’t know what triggered him that night, but he was in the grips of a massive panic attack. He was reliving his whole ordeal, and nothing I did seemed to help. It took all of us to get him settled and get him an emergency appointment with his psychiatrist. After that, God, I needed you. Then I walk into your office at the bar and find my supposedly human lover drinking blood from some skank.”
“Fuck.” Kier pressed his fingers to his eyes.
“Did you?”
Kier whipped his head up and locked his gaze with Danny’s. “No. Never. Even though I sometimes had to feed, it never went any further. I never wanted anything more from any of them.” He reached out and laid a hand on Danny’s thigh. Warmth radiated through Danny’s body from that point of contact.
“I was hurt to discover you’d lied to me about who you were all this time. Although I should have figured it out. I mean, we never left the house before sunset. That should have been my biggest clue.”
“I’m so sorry. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. But I can’t even begin to explain how scared I was to tell you the truth.” Kier sucked in a breath. “Asking you out, knowing that you were a part of that group, was a huge risk. I was asking out someone who had issues with what I am. Talk about setting yourself up for a fall. But you were the hottest guy I’d ever seen, and it wasn’t my brain running the show. The more time we spent together, the more amazing you became, the more I felt for you, and the more I worried. I didn’t want to lose you, and I didn’t want to lie. I was banking on what we felt for each other overriding your fear. So, I did nothing, said nothing. Then you found out like that and walked, no, ran all but screaming from me. I lost you and that absolutely gutted me, Dan.”
Kier closed his eyes and turned his head away. Before he did Danny caught the flash of pain, and it stole his breath.
Danny’s heart beat faster, and he bit his lip. He took a chance and reached out to cup Kier’s cheek, bringing that brilliant arctic gaze back to his.
“I’m sorry too. In my head, I knew you were nothing like Kevin’s attackers. But that night it was all too much. The fear was knee-jerk, but even more concerning to me was my reaction to seeing you feed.”
Kier tried to shy away from his touch, but Danny wouldn’t let him. He hopped off his stool and closed the distance between them. He cupped his hands around the back of Kier’s neck.
“Yes, I was shocked. My brain was telling me that I should be disgusted, but I was also jealous and ridiculously turned on. I hated seeing your mouth on someone else. I wanted to be the one you were sucking on, giving you what you needed, and in that moment, I was appalled by my own thoughts. It’s what kept me away for so long. I was coming to terms with everything I was feeling. I was putting the entire picture together in my head.”
“And what did that picture look like?” Kier rested his hands on Danny’s hips.
“It looked like I’d walked away from a great man because of my own fears, and because I clung to some preconceived, albeit justified, ideas that I didn’t fully believe in anymore. Once I worked past the fear, then I had to address the jealousy. To be honest, I’m still not quite over that. I hate thinking about you with your hands and mouth on anyone else. I accept that it was necessary, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be completely all right with you having that level of intimacy with someone else. When I started dreaming of you feeding from me, that’s when I started working out a game plan to come back and convince you to try again.”
Kier leaned forward and touched his forehead to Danny’s. They stayed that way for a long moment. A weight lifted off Danny, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“God, I missed this. I missed you.” Danny wrapped his arms around Kier and hugged him close.
“Missed you too.” Kier rested his head on Danny’s shoulder.
“Can we do this? Can we wipe the slate clean and start over?”
Kier nodded and wrapped his arms around Danny, pulling their bodies flush. He lifted his head from Danny’s shoulders, looked at Danny. He saw the slight furrow of Kier’s brow and the hope in his eyes. He had a lot of work to do to repair the damage to their fragile relationship, but he’d do it. He’d put in the time, give Kier whatever he needed to trust in them again. He clasped Kier’s head and pulled him down and into a kiss. Danny’s head spun at first contact. The kiss stayed light, a reintroduction, but set off little sparks throughout out his body that had him buzzing from his lips to his toes. Their lips brushed, teeth nipped. He slid his hand down Kier’s strong back, even as Kier slid his up and into his hair. He gasped at the slight sting as Kier fisted his fingers in his hair and gave a light tug. Kier sucked on his bottom lip, then slid the tip of his tongue along the inside. Their breath mingled and a soft moan escaped him. Kier sealed their mouths together again, and Danny reveled in the firm lips pressed to his. When the kiss ended, Danny clung to Kier, eyes closed, lips tingling, as he sucked in calming breaths until the blood racing through his system slowed. He eased his eyes open to find Kier smiling down at him. He smiled back, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, he thought just maybe everything would be all right.
Chapter 8
MELISSA WOULD be pissed, but over the past few days, hell, the past few weeks, everything annoyed her. The fact that they hadn’t found any trace of Danny Reynolds in twenty-four hours would just turn up the heat on her anger. Reynolds hadn’t shown at his job; he hadn’t gone back to his apartment. He’d dropped off the grid for the moment. What did she want Rogan to do? He couldn’t work magic and conjure him up for her. Yes, he had a first name and a photo, but Rogan couldn’t bring himself to turn those items over to her, or Lydecker for that matter.
While making Melissa wait for something she wanted made his life easier and more difficult, the status quo worked for him right now. Besides, figuring out how to get into Melissa’s basement hideaway ha
d moved above Danny Reynolds on Rogan’s priority list. That’s why he’d holed up in his office poring over copies of the Purity building blueprints. There had to be another way in, perhaps a fire corridor.
“Or there could be no way in at all because the damn room doesn’t even exit.” Rogan slapped his hands on his desk and blew out a hard breath. Either he’d found old building plans that predated the construction of that room, or the bitch had paid someone to alter the plans for her. He put his money on door number two. He wadded the paper and flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a soft, unsatisfying thump just as his phone began to vibrate on his desk. He glanced down at the screen and smiled for the first time all afternoon. Brian.
“Hey, Bri. What’s up?” He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on his desk.
“Are you coming home anytime soon?”
“I know I’ve been putting in some late nights, but I’m hoping to get out of here shortly. No promises, though.”
A disbelieving grunt sounded over the phone. “Dude, you need to take a vacation. You’re spending way too much time at that place.”
“Well, if I didn’t have to take care of my irritating little brother who insists on an education and eats like a starving wolverine, I might be able to take a few mental health days.”
“Hey, I’m a growing boy.”
“My ass. More like you have a tapeworm. Anyway, did you need something?”
“I just wanted to let you know I’m going to a party tonight with some friends.”
“Where, when, and with who?” With Brian being nineteen and a sophomore in college, Rogan didn’t expect that Brian would keep him up to date on his whereabouts at all times. Still, he appreciated when he did.
Brian huffed out a put-upon sigh. “I’ll text you the deets so you don’t have to freak out. But that’s not why I called you.”
“Cell phone stays on you at all times. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re such a mom sometimes.” He’d gotten pretty good at filling the role ever since his and Brian’s parents had been killed three years ago.
“Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid, and I’ll see you at home.”
“You too. Don’t work too hard. Those people aren’t worth it.”
“Hey. It’s a good job. You know that. I may not agree with everything they do, but we need the money.”
Unintelligible grumbles came over the phone.
“Call me if you need me.”
“I will. Oh, and Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“I took another twenty bucks from the stash in your sock drawer. Dude, you really need a better hiding place.”
“You little—” But the line went dead. Rogan chuckled. He sat watching the computer monitor cycle through the various camera feeds. When Melissa appeared on the feed, Rogan shoved up out of his chair. She stalked down the hall, a woman on a mission, and he knew exactly where she was going.
He retraced their route from the previous night, but this time he sped up as Melissa turned down the intersecting hallway. He peeked around the corner and watched her punch in a code on a lock pad. The locks disengaged with a soft click and she strode in. Rogan waited a beat after she disappeared through the door, then rushed to catch it before it slid shut.
He slipped in, pausing in the dim entry hall. It wound around, opening into another room. He didn’t know what else Melissa kept in the room, but he couldn’t see what lay around the corner. Moving any farther in would reveal his presence. He flattened himself against the wall and listened.
“A whole day. Another whole day and still nothing. How hard is it to catch one man? Seriously, if this is the best we’ve got, Purity is worse off than I thought.” Machines beeped and hummed to life.
Rogan took a chance and inched a little closer to the end of the hall so he could get a better view. His eyes went wide at the sight of the state-of-the-art lab she’d assembled. She moved about the room flipping, switching, and pushing buttons until the low-level hum of hardworking equipment filled the room. Her back faced him, and he noticed that she kept looking toward the far end of the room, an area obscured by the hallway wall. When she started to turn around, he slid back into the shadows. How long had she had this setup in place? She’d stashed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment down her for her own personal use on projects that, Rogan suspected, weren’t sanctioned by the organization.
“You know, these blood results are fascinating. If—no, when—Lydecker gets his hands on this data, and believe me he will, there’ll be no stopping him. I contemplated trying to destroy his samples, but considering how few people have access to his lab, that might bring too much attention my way. I’m not sure how much longer I can stomach playing the role of his dutiful little second-in-command.” She snorted. “Best thing to do now is to just make sure he doesn’t get his hands on a new lab rat. I’ll be damned if I let him divert this agency any further from its true path.” She spoke as though someone else listened to her, but she never received a response. Again, Rogan risked discovery. He wanted a better look at the room. This time he spied her in front of a small white refrigerator. She pulled something out, but he couldn’t see what. Then she walked slowly and steadily down to the hidden end of the room. Rogan itched to look around the other wall, but he couldn’t take the risk. Instead he stuck his head farther in, looking into shadowed areas he couldn’t get a good glimpse of before. Damn hypocrite. She complains about Lydecker’s experiments and here she is with her own secret lab that puts Lydecker’s to shame, and yet she speaks of wasted resources. He itched to get closer to do a thorough search of the room to figure out what she had going on in here.
“Dinnertime, Aiden.”
Rogan froze. Aiden?
A soft plop followed her words. “Eat up. You’ve got to keep your strength up. And don’t try and pull another one of those silly hunger strikes. You remember what happened last time.” A soft growl sounded. Rogan’s body went cold. My God. Did she have someone locked up down here? He swallowed hard and eased toward the wall that blocked his view of the rest of the space.
“Still a touchy subject, huh?” She laughed. “Don’t let your dinner spoil to spite me. Oh, and try not to make a mess. Cleaning up after you is disgusting.” Another louder growl filled the room. “I’ve got to run. I’ve got a specimen to catch, but I’ll be back soon. I know how you miss me when I’m gone. Not to worry. You’re going to have some company soon. Won’t that be nice?”
Shit. Rogan moved back toward the entry door, hand on the handle as he strained to hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Nothing. He turned the handle, ready to move fast if he needed, but still no steps. A moment later the scrape of metal echoed through the room, followed by a soft thump.
Wait, seriously, did she have a secret exit from the building? He’d seen building blueprints and they held no record of an exit from this level. He waited. The silence stretched. He released the door handle and crept down the hallway. He blew out a breath and took a chance on looking around the blind corner. No Melissa, but he wasn’t alone. His stomach churned. He needed to find out exactly who she held captive in this room. He drew in a deep breath and rounded the corner.
“Oh shit.” Rogan stopped dead, sickness swirling in his stomach. The far end of Melissa’s lab held a cage that contained a toilet, a sink, a narrow bed anchored to the wall, and a pale, gaunt, redheaded man. An iron shackle circled his ankle and kept him tethered.
The man shot a disinterested glance Rogan’s way as he leaned forward and swiped the bag of blood off the floor and eyed it. “Do you know if this bag is drugged?”
“What?”
“Drugged. Did your boss put anything in this? One of the many ways the evil bitch likes to get her kicks is by slipping me something in my food. She knows I’ll get hungry enough to eat it anyway.”
Rogan’s brain went numb. He couldn’t process the sight in front of him, couldn’t comprehend the horror of the story being told to him.
>
“I-I don’t think so. I didn’t see her add anything, but I can’t say for sure. I’m guessing you’re Aiden.”
“Right in one, and you’re one of her lapdogs.” His emerald eyes met Rogan’s.
“M-My name is Michael Rogan and I, uh, work for Purity, not her.”
“Same difference.” He shrugged. “What are you doing in here? I didn’t think anyone but her could get in here.”
“I could ask you the same.”
“I’m enjoying these luxurious accommodations.” Aiden gestured to his cage, then rolled his eyes.
“No. I mean how did you get here? How long have you been in here?”
“The how is simple. Melissa got really lucky. She caught me in a moment of weakness. I had a little too much to drink. Wandered out behind the bar. I don’t know if she had the place under surveillance since it’s a known vampire hangout or she got really damn lucky. All I remember is a sting in my neck and lights out. Next thing I know I come to in here. I’ve been here ever since, her personal test subject for the last month or two. I lost track of time.”
“Isn’t there anyone out there missing you? Friends? Family?”
Aiden snorted. “The witch got lucky with me. I’ve been known to be gone weeks at a time. I shut off my phone, leave my laptop home. I was just leaving on vacation when she grabbed me. My family likely hasn’t even started missing me yet.”
“Why?”
“I like to travel. You could say I’ve got itchy feet. Why is this relevant? I’m locked in an evil scientist’s lab, and you want my life story? Seriously?”
Rogan rubbed his temple, trying to ease the beginnings of a headache. Enormous bills hung over his head, and working for Purity seemed like an easy way to pay them off. He didn’t have to agree with them to work with them. He could ignore the stupidity and intolerance. Protect his community, yes. Create a cohesive unit from a group of men who were little more than a neighborhood watch run amok, no problem. But this…. He never signed on to break the law. He never agreed to be a party to kidnapping and torture.