Dieter’s mumbled words broke him out of his sad thoughts. He thought he heard the European say “fae,” “charms,” “should have” and something that sounded like “covered ears.” Before he could ask Dieter what the hell he was talking about, there was a commotion at the front of the restaurant. He lifted his head and watched, shocked and frightened as a trio of armored men bearing blades and stakes forced their way into the steak house.
This was his nightmare come true. The government—German or American, he didn’t care which—had come to collect its wayward soldier. He gripped his steak knife so tightly his knuckles were bleached white with tension.
“Oh, shit.”
Until he heard the words Kyle didn’t realize he’d spoken them.
Unhindered, the men marched up the middle of the eatery until they reached Kyle and Dieter’s table. Kyle’s chest started knocking heavily against his ribcage. He actually felt a little tightness there as he was stared down by one of the men. The other two focused on Dieter.
The one in the middle, a brunet, stepped forward. “Are you Dieter Mossel of the Mossel Vampire Clan?”
Dieter Mossel of the Mossel Vampire Clan. Oh. My. God.
Kyle’s mind couldn’t seem to do more than handle those words on repeat. Dieter was a vampire. As impossible as the reply seemed, it appeared he had the answer to his question. For some time now. Dieter had told him point blank. Kyle just hadn’t believed him.
Dieter wasn’t a superhuman, but a supernatural being. If he was… Kyle darted a glance at the blue-haired man from earlier and sure enough he did have elf ears.
The sharp sound of glass breaking snapped Kyle out of his thoughts. Instinctively he jumped up and out of his seat. The table just barely passed by him as one of the men kicked it hard. It flew several feet to land smack against the table.
He wasn’t sure what had happened between Dieter and the two men while he was off thinking, but it apparently hadn’t been good.
Unknown fingers tightened around his collar and dragged him back by his dress shirt. “No,” he yelled in protest as he reached for Dieter, but whoever had a grip on his shirt wasn’t letting go. He stumbled over the kicked-over chair as he was forcefully pulled away from the four-way battle between Dieter and the three men.
Angry and determined to be released, Kyle spun around and threw a punch. His opponent darted to the side, evading his fist, but he didn’t release him. “Relax, human. I mean you no harm.” The voice was gruff and deep.
Kyle looked up at dark blue eyes. He recognized the face. It was the handsome man who’d been dining with the elf. Lips parted, Kyle was preparing to tell him off when the redhead wrapped one arm around his waist, picked him up and took three steps back.
He moved so quickly, Kyle didn’t have a chance to protest or fight him. One moment he was standing on the edge of the circle surrounding the kicked-over table and the next he was almost halfway across the restaurant.
Who took three steps and moved eighteen feet? “You’re not human, are you?”
The redhead flashed him a blinding white smile with teeth that were a touch too sharp. “No. You must be Dieter’s human mate.”
“You know Dieter? Mate? What?” Kyle exclaimed in surprise. It’d been more than a week since they’d started dating or whatever else one could call their relationship, and he’d never met anyone Dieter knew. On the other hand, Kyle hadn’t introduced him to any of his friends either.
And really, where was this mate stuff coming from? Was that like the vampire version of ‘boyfriend’ or ‘booty call’?
“Of course. We all do. This is Dieter’s place of business. One of them, at least,” the man finished with a chuckle.
“Dieter owns this place?” Kyle gasped before taking a second look at the restaurant.
“Yes. Dee didn’t tell you?” the elf—yes, elf—replied.
At the sound of glass shattering, Kyle spun around and returned his attention to his date. The three-on-one fight was like nothing Kyle’d ever seen before. Dieter moved with a level of grace and speed that was positively not human.
Eyes wide, mouth open from shock, Kyle watched as Dieter lifted one of the men by the throat until the man was standing. The German forced his opponent’s head back exposing his throat. Dieter’s incisors grew or descended, Kyle couldn’t be sure of which it was, but Dieter’s teeth became longer and sharper than anything he’d ever seen on a human. But that wasn’t the only change Dieter underwent. Though his eyes were still gray, they were a lighter shade of the color and they glowed as though backlit by an LCD light. The bones beneath his eyebrows became more pronounced in an upward v. His cheekbones were sharper, appearing almost brittle in their delicacy.
Swiftly, Dieter lowered his head and bit into the man’s throat. Kyle took an involuntary step back. The movement caught Dieter’s attention and the man—beast—being—without moving his head lifted his gaze to look at Kyle.
Dieter didn’t move. No physical change came over him, but Kyle knew the vampire was braced. The question was for what?
Rejection.
Dieter had never lied about what he was, but Kyle hadn’t believed him. His claims had been too fantastical for him to accept. There was no denying it now.
Dieter was a vampire.
A supernatural.
Something more than human.
And he was worried about Kyle rejecting him. It was almost stupid in a way that such a magnificent being could be worried about him.
Dieter lifted his head and dropped the man. His mouth was stained red. Blood.
Kyle wiped his warm, sweaty palms down his jeans, pulled up his big-boy pants and slowly walked over to Dieter. It wasn’t the smooth walk he’d hoped it would be as he had to gingerly step over broken wood and weaponry along the way.
“So, you weren’t lying?” He wasn’t quite sure what to say when he reached Dieter, but it seemed his mouth was totally fine with not checking in with his brain.
“No, I was not,” Dieter replied rather curtly, as though he was still waiting for the ax to fall, or was it stake? Kyle was going to ask about that later. Much later.
“Cool.”
Dieter blinked down at him in surprise then slowly his features receded until he was wearing the same handsome face Kyle had woken up to that morning. Just bloodstained.
“I am a vampire.”
He said the words as though Kyle hadn’t gotten that from the blood-drinking and the bony face. “Yeah, I know.” Kyle looked down at the nearest man. Corpse. Oh, God. “Uh, what…who were they?”
“Vampire hunters. They were looking to collect a bounty on my head. My uncle only warned me about one. I guess he found friends.”
Vampire hunters. Vampires. Right, that made a sort of odd kind of sense. “Can we go home? I’m not quite hungry anymore.” Yup, apparently dead people killed his appetite.
Dieter nodded slowly. He still seemed unsure about Kyle’s response to the blatant truth. Kyle didn’t blame the vampire. He was more than a little unsteady about what had happened tonight, but he figured he could think and talk about it later. After the shock wore off and he had a chance to analyze the questionnaire Dieter had filled out for him. In light of tonight’s revelations, he figured it definitely deserved another glance.
Definitely.
* * * *
Dieter wasn’t sure what to think in response to Kyle’s words. After seeing irrefutable proof of his nature, Kyle could not deny Dieter was a vampire.
It was good, nice, something Dieter had waited for from the beginning. Yet, now that Kyle had accepted Dieter was a vampire, Dieter wasn’t sure he it was pleased with the acknowledgment.
Dieter glanced sharply at Kyle’s face. There was little to no emotion there. His eyes were flat. Dieter guessed the young man was in shock.
“Dieter. Dee.”
Dieter turned slowly to look at his friend, Aurelius.
The blue-haired light elf gave Dieter a small smile that softened his features. “
We got this, Dee. Why don’t you…” Aurelius waved a hand toward the back right corner of the restaurant.
Dieter’s head turned automatically to the area that housed the restrooms. He nodded his head in agreement before glancing sharply at Aurelius, gaze landing briefly on the elf’s pointed ears. “I’m starting to think you purposely forget to charm your ears.”
Aurelius shrugged and snorted. “You’re worried about my ears after you shifted and did that?” He waved at the broken table and chairs and the three dead men.
Dieter glanced sharply at the human standing a few feet away from him at the reminder. He’d killed three men in front of Kyle not even five minutes ago. Kyle slowly turned to him and blanched. Dieter’s stomach dropped as he watched the color quickly leach out of his lover’s face.
Then he realized why. He still wore their spilled blood on his face. Suddenly, his skin was itchy from the quickly drying blood. Dieter nodded once in Aurelius’ direction, and sent a pleading look at Kyle before walking to the back of the restaurant.
He stepped into the bathroom and shot a heated, demanding glare at the towel man there. Jeffrey, a middle-aged man, got the message and quickly skittered out of the room. “Evening, Mr Mossel,” he called out as he exited.
“Jeffrey.” As calmly as possible under the circumstances, Dieter strode over to the nearest sink and placed his hands under the faucet. Cold water spurted into his cupped palms. He splashed his face, washing away the blood coating his mouth and neck.
When the water falling back into the sink was clear, Dieter lifted his head to look in the mirror. The tiniest glimmer of his image reflected back to him. Nothing could be done about his clothing. Thankfully, he wore his trademark dark colors so the blood wasn’t really visible.
“So, you don’t have a reflection.”
Dieter’s heart lurched in his chest at the sound of Kyle’s voice. He had been so focused on getting all the blood off his face he hadn’t heard the man’s steps. “Actually, I do have one. It’s just not visible on a human’s range,” he replied as he slowly turned. Gaze on Kyle’s face, he reached and grabbed one of the lush cotton hand towels folded on the marble sink. He dried his face and hands.
“Cool.” Kyle nodded lightly and looked around the bathroom. Dieter’s gaze followed his. Marble sinks and floors. Highest-end stainless faucets. The finest porcelain toilets and urinals. Dieter made sure his architect and designers put as much time and effort in the restrooms as they did the kitchens and dining hall and it showed. The bathroom was decadent enough to warrant an elderly man as a towel holder.
Kyle walked over to the far end of the room and took one of the seats there. The area had been slightly sectioned off as a seating area. Dieter’s fingers tightened around the towel. He forced himself to calm down when he felt his claws ripping into Turkish cotton. It took an effort, but he managed to calm down just enough to lose the claws and throw the towel into the sink. He followed Kyle to the seating area. The instrumental holiday music playing over the radio was jarringly in contrast to his feelings.
He dropped into the seat across from Kyle and ran a hand a through his hair. Dieter wasn’t exactly sure what to say to start the conversation. He didn’t need to worry. Kyle started.
“I’m sorry.”
Dieter dropped his hand and leaned forward. “You’re sorry?” he questioned. Of all the things he’d expected Kyle to say those two words weren’t on the list.
“I’m sorry for not believing you,” Kyle clarified. He fidgeted in his seat and wrung his hands together in his lap. Dieter’s gaze lifted to Kyle’s face and Dieter’s heart tightened at the human’s waxy complexion and sweating form. He hated to see Kyle so uncomfortable and it made him feel like to shit to know he was responsible.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Dieter shrugged and sighed. “To be honest, I should be saying that to you. I kind of found the whole disbelief to be amusing. I also noticed you seemed determined to believe something besides nature was responsible for my abilities. The military, some government agency, even an unscrupulous business.”
“Oh,” Kyle said dully.
“You know I would never hurt you, right? You don’t have to fear me,” Dieter promised.
Kyle snorted. “Believe it or not, I’ve never worried about that, at least not since I got to know you. I know you’d never hurt me.”
Silence descended between them. It wasn’t heavy or oppressive, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable. Dieter sat there worrying about what this revelation meant for their relationship. Kyle might not fear for his physical safety, but he’d said nothing about wanting to stay in a relationship with Dieter, and Dieter’s mouth couldn’t form the words to voice the question. He was too afraid of the answer he might receive.
“How old are you? Just realized I never really asked, just assumed.”
“I’m forty-one.”
Kyle laughed. His amusement surprised Dieter. The young man shook his head as his laughter descended into chuckles before finally stopping. “Guess the records I found were wrong. They said you were twenty-seven. I thought you were twenty-seven.” He squinted at Dieter. “You look twenty-seven. Well, mid to late twenties. You certainly don’t look forty-one.”
“Vampires age normally up to a certain point and then the aging process slows down incredibly. How much depends on a number of factors—blood, strength, magical ability. We’ve made it a point to make sure our public records match our physical looks. Fewer questions.”
“Wow! So, were you made or born? Are vampires made?”
“I was born like this and yes, a vampire can be made by sharing blood, but only under very specific circumstances. It’s not as easy as the tales make it sound.”
Kyle nodded. “Understandable.” He looked away. “I had a cousin,” he started, but stopped to clear his throat.
Had a cousin.
“Eduardo. He was…awesome. My mama, well beside me, she’s got all girls—four chicks, not including her. I was literally the odd man out growing up, but Eduardo did his best to make things better. He was my big brother. Best friend. Idol.
“Bought me my first computer. He was that cool. Everyone in the family thinks Eduardo finally snapped. He had a few issues when he was a teen, but he got better, was fine. Finished school and did well but decided to join the military to support his country. He’s always been very pro-America, but after 9/11 happened…” He trailed off and shrugged.
“He brought me some papers and a flash drive…eight days before he…he took his life.” Tears in his eyes, Kyle looked at Dieter. “I couldn’t let it go. Everyone was sure he’d just been hiding what he was going through, but I was sure, so damned sure, it was something else. About a week after his funeral I found the papers and drive. I’d forgotten about them, well, with everything. I wanted answers and was determined to find them. Eduardo…I…we both deserved them, right?”
“Right. Yes,” Dieter replied softly.
Kyle sent him a tremulous smile. “I became obsessed. I admit it. Hell, I can recite the words written on those five sheets and the flash drive by heart now. I looked everywhere for proof. I needed to blame someone for Eduardo’s death. I found some stuff, the government trying to produce better soldiers from new training, better weapons, even AI-infused technology, but little that wasn’t conjecture on genetically altering soldiers. Oh, there was a whole lot of hypothetical information out there but nothing concrete. Nothing that matched what was on the drive. Until you. Until I saw you jump a two-story like it was nothing.
“I wanted, no, needed to prove the papers…experiments…information was real. Find someone to blame, but there isn’t anyone to blame because—” Kyle lunged to his feet. Pacing the small seating area, he continued, “None of the shit was real. It was all hypothetical and what-ifs.”
He stopped in front of his seat and turned to Dieter. “You were the only real thing and you’re a fucking vampire,” he yelled and just as quickly as the energy and anger had come, they left, l
eaving him with nothing but sorrow.
Kyle fell into his seat and dropped his head into his hands. “I just don’t understand why Eduardo couldn’t come to me. If he was having problems…I would have understood. I would have. I—”
Dieter stood, walked over to Kyle and plucked the human out of his seat. Then Dieter sat down and placed Kyle in his lap. He wrapped his arms around him and simply held him. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
Kyle’s breath hitched then he placed his face against Dieter’s throat. Dieter’s grip tightened around Kyle’s waist when he felt tears upon his neck, but he didn’t say anything. He simply let Kyle cry those pent-up tears.
Chapter Seven
Dieter waited until Kyle was inside the apartment and the locked door was behind him before grabbing the Puerto Rican around the waist and pulling him against his chest. Kyle laughed lightly and placed his hands on his chest. His heart thumped beneath his palms.
“What’s up with you?” Kyle asked with a smile in his voice and on his face.
“Nothing,” Dieter replied before dipping his head and capturing his lips. There was something about the shorter man that burned every last one of his inhibitions. With him around, he seemed to act before he thought.
“Miss me already?” Kyle asked breathlessly when they broke apart.
Dieter grinned widely. “Yes, I did in fact,” he admitted before releasing the human.
Kyle took a stumbling first step. “That’s sweet of you to say,” he replied after straightening himself.
Dieter’s grin dimmed at the human’s tone of voice. It was full of disbelief. Like he couldn’t even imagine Dieter was speaking the truth. That was one of the few things Dieter didn’t like about his lover. Kyle seemed to have little to no self-esteem where his body or sexual prowess was concerned.
He didn’t think he was hot enough for Dieter.
Mental ability? Kyle was damn near conceited about his intelligence, but the man was always waving off his physical compliments as though they were words Dieter was just saying, as if the vampire didn’t mean them.
He grabbed Kyle’s wrist, preventing the brunet from walking away from his condo door and him. Kyle looked at him over his shoulder, surprise evident on his face. “What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.
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