Dangerous Dance

by Samantha Cayto

  Table of Contents

  Legal Page

  Title Page

  Book Description

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  New Excerpt

  About the Author

  Publisher Page

  Dangerous Dance

  ISBN # 978-1-78651-666-4

  ©Copyright Samantha Cayto 2018

  Cover Art by Cherith Vaughan ©Copyright May 2018

  Edited by Jamie D. Rose

  Pride Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2018 by Pride Publishing, UK

  Pride Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

  Alien Blood Wars

  DANGEROUS DANCE

  Samantha Cayto

  Book two in the Alien Blood Wars series

  What lurks in the dark is not always a monster. Sometimes it’s your deepest desire.

  Long ago, Val made the decision to stick by his captain against mutinous shipmates. He has spent a millennium on Earth protecting humans as a matter of honor. He also made the fatal mistake of falling in love with a human boy who died trying to birth Val’s son. He’s sworn to never open himself up to such pain and guilt again.

  Mackie was forced to run away from his family to save himself from their homophobia and abuse. He learned to live by his wits and the sale of his body. He’s reinvented himself as a brat with a need to be dominated and tamed. He thought he’d found the perfect man in Val, only to discover he had given his heart to a vampire—one that pushed him away when an ancient, hidden war reignited.

  As Val and his cohorts battle with their old crew members, he tries to keep Mackie at a distance from the danger and his heart. But Mackie will not be sidelined as either a soldier or a lover. He is waging a war of his own to win Val back.

  The next chapter in the alien war is heating up. A deadly drug is flooding Boston, threatening to turn the city into a battleground. Val and the others need help, and one bratty twink might be the best weapon they have. He may also be the key to unlocking Val’s heart and giving him back the happiness he lost.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Armani: Giorgio Armani S.p.A.

  Marvel Universe: Marvel Characters, Inc.

  HommeMystere: HommeMystere Inc.

  Jumbotron: Sony Corporation

  Fenway Park: Boston Red Sox Baseball Club Limited Partnership

  Copley Place:

  Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Billie Joe Armstrong; Mike Dirnt; Tré Cool

  Gone with the Wind: Margaret Mitchell

  MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation

  Faint: written by the band Linkin Park

  Olympics: United States Olympic Committee

  The Flash: DC Comics Inc.

  Cadillac Escalade: General Motors Corporation

  Tom Ford: Ford, Thomas C., Individual

  Macbeth: William Shakespeare

  Coke: Coca-Cola Company

  Tommy Hilfiger: Tommy Hilfiger Licensing LLC

  Harvard University: President & Fellows of Harvard College Charitable Corporation Massachusetts

  Gentleman’s Quarterly: Condé Naste

  YouTube: Google Inc.

  Numb / Encore: Shawn Carter, Brad Delson, Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda and Rob Bourdon

  Superman: DC Comics General Partnership

  Prologue

  Scotland, 1750

  “I’m sorry, Val.”

  The sorrowful expression on Harry’s face was too painful to look at, so Val focused his attention on the unmoving bundle lying in the man’s arms. The castle was eerily quiet except that Robbie’s screams still seemed to echo throughout—at least they did in Val’s head. He had the passing notion that he would never stop hearing them. That was his cross to bear, as the humans would say. Harry was blameless.

  “You did your best,” he said to reassure the doctor. “I know that and I thank you for it. I apologize for my lapse earlier.”

  It needed to be said because their group was small after so many defections. They couldn’t continue to survive on this miserable planet if they splintered into more warring factions. Besides, there was only one man to blame for this hideous outcome, and it wasn’t Harry.

  I did this. I killed Robbie.

  The older man inclined his head, a gesture they’d picked up from the humans that conveyed a great deal. “There is no need. I understood your distress.”

  Val almost smiled at the understated response. It was so like Harry to play the peacemaker and rise above the aggressive impulses of their species. But then, that’s what made him a healer rather than a warrior. That’s how the man had been able to calmly do his work, even as Robbie lay dying in agony.

  Val made himself focus on the proximate cause of his beloved’s demise, the primary one being Val’s own lust and hubris. The babe had neither Val’s paleness nor Robbie’s ruddy complexion. It appeared almost blue and perfectly formed—a beauty, like the boy who’d carried him in a body not quite built for such a thing and which had no natural way to expel him.

  “Did he ever draw a breath?” he found himself asking, even as he made an aborted attempt to touch the lifeless face.

  “No,” came Harry’s soft reply.

  Val stepped back, away from the sight of his fatal decision and a pain so great that he wondered if he could survive it. “Just as well. Would you please take him back to Robbie’s side? I must prepare a pyre out in the courtyard for them both.”

  A heavy, yet reassuring, hand landed on his shoulder. “Let me help you in that.”

  Val turned to Alex. He’d almost forgotten the man was there—and had been by his side from the moment Robbie’s labor had begun. It had taken Alex and two others to pull Val from the birthing room.

  “Thank you, sir, but no. This is my last duty for the boy who gave me everything and lost his life for it.” His words choked him. He had to stop and gather his wits and courage. The sense of helplessness was utterly alien to him, as much as the whole miserable planet had been from the beginning.

  He struggled for control as he addressed his captain, a man he would gladly follow to any destination for any intent. “I know he’d probably prefer to be buried in the ground.” The very concept sent a shudder through him. “I can’t do that.” The idea of Robbie and the babe moldering under dirt for years to come was vile. “Why can’t these humans turn to dust with de
ath?”

  He cringed at his own mewling, disgusted by how weak and pathetic he sounded. Yet, it didn’t change the fact that he needed to burn his beloved to ashes if he was going to keep what the humans would call sanity.

  Alex squeezed his shoulder once before letting go. “I understand. Do what you must. No one will interfere, but know that we are here to help, should you want it.”

  Val shifted his gaze to a nearby window as he nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

  The sun was low in the sky. It would be full night by the time he finished, and that seemed fitting. The humans were afraid of the dark and preferred to be inside once the sun set. That meant fewer eyes in the surrounding countryside to notice what he did. The primitive creatures also thought evil came out and lurked until dawn. He’d always sneered at their superstitions, but at that moment, he had a keener insight into their beliefs. Something putrid blanketed the castle that might only be purged by the brightness of the sun.

  I’ve been living among humans too long. There was nothing to fear except the actions of people, human and their own kind. And those mutinous men weren’t worthy of fear at all, only scorn and fury and vengeance.

  “I will see to it now,” he added unnecessarily. When he turned to go, Alex stopped him with a touch to his arm.

  “Do not blame yourself, Val. Robbie made this decision understanding the risks.”

  Anger flared inside him. He jerked away from his superior in an insubordinate way that would have earned him a harsh rebuke in another time and place. “He was only a boy! I saved him from the horrors of Culloden and gave him a safe place in my bed. He would have done anything to please me.”

  Val clamped his mouth shut and fought a wave of agony that threatened to double him over. He saw again, as if for the first time, those exquisite green eyes peering up at him with adoration mixed with fear. All that lovely red hair framing a face that was impossible to resist. He’d seen it in the mud of the battlefield then on the pillow where they lay together and yet once again when the human had consented to giving Val his blood then taking Val’s in return. Yes, the boy had known what he was doing—giving himself to a man who was really a vampire—to a male whose seed would change the boy’s perfect body in a way unnatural to humans.

  Robbie had shown incredible courage each time, given the limitations of his human imagination and his society’s expectations. But he hadn’t known what he was choosing, not really. Did you finally realize what I’d done to you, my love, as you took your last breath?

  “I know something of how you feel,” was Alex’s quiet reply to Val’s outburst.

  Of course he does. Val felt bad that, in his own misery, he’d forgotten Alex’s loss from only a few decades ago. “Dracul has much to answer for.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Not this, though. Not really. He may have played both sides against the middle with the English and the Jacobites, but I was the one who brought Robbie to this end.”

  “Val.”

  With a violent shake of his head, Val made his feet move again. This introspection was useless. “I appreciate your concern for me, sir. I don’t wish to speak of this further. Never again, if you please.”

  With that, he left the room and the castle to gather wood and make his pyre. He hoped the sun would burn his eyes and his skin. Physical pain was far more welcome than this emotional one. He would say goodbye to his human and their son. In his mind, he would think of the baby as Andrew, because that was what Robbie had wanted to call him. He wouldn’t think of either of them much, however. The pain was not helpful in any way except one.

  If ever he found himself becoming emotionally attached to another human, he would remember this night. Never again would he allow this agony to claim him. Never again would he fall in love with a pretty boy.

  Chapter One

  Boston, 2017

  Normally the throbbing beat of dance music didn’t faze Val. The rhythm reverberating in his chest reminded him of the ship’s engines pulsing. It had been a thousand Earth years since he’d last felt them, yet he hadn’t forgotten. He never forgot anything, and that unusual skill, for humans and his species alike, made his life a misery sometimes.

  From the second-floor railing, he surveyed the club like a bird of prey, always on the lookout for trouble. That was the job of a bouncer. Humans had little self-control. Even the men of this upscale private club could get out of hand. That was especially true on a Saturday night when they allowed themselves to cut loose from their weekly jobs. And the pretty boys dancing for them only inspired them to more stupidity, not less.

  One in particular was causing quite a stir and the sight of it raised Val’s blood pressure in a way that the blaring music never did.

  “Mackie’s in fine form tonight.”

  Val almost bared his fangs at the casual remark. Given that it had been delivered by his superior, he kept his impulse in check. Besides, he had a lot emotionally invested in being unconcerned with the redheaded boy’s life.

  He clamped his fingers harder around the railing. “His arm healed well.”

  Alex leaned against the barrier next to him. “Yes, although that’s not what I meant. The members are delighted to see him back in action. He’ll make a killing, even if he only dances on the stage.”

  The man’s gaze bore into him, although Val refused to take his eyes off the patrons. “He’s a smart boy. He’ll bring some up here and make even more.” The words were uttered with indifference, although maintaining the ‘I don’t give a fuck’ tone nearly caused his throat to constrict.

  Alex left him alone for about two seconds. “We could still see him settled somewhere else. I’m sure any one of our remaining cadre would be willing and able to keep him safe. That’s assuming Dracul has him in his crosshairs at all.”

  “No.”

  Val had had this conversation before with Alex. Since the renewal of their endless internecine war a few months earlier, they’d been operating under the assumption that Quinn and Mackie were both at risk. Alex kept his lover safe, of course, and Mackie had been convalescing at the club. The brat had been willing to be kept pampered and happy to return to his old job on the pole. He’d probably been shaken enough by his near-death experience at Adrian’s hands to go along with any plan to protect him from further harm.

  It was Val who was the problem. He couldn’t stand the idea of his former lover being sent away. No one could be trusted with the boy’s safety other than him. His feelings on the matter were irrational, he knew. Those of his crew who remained loyal to Alex were all well-trained warriors who had survived human aggression, as well as Dracul’s frequent assaults. Yet, any time Val pictured Mackie being kept by another, his head threatened to explode.

  “He’s my responsibility.” His gaze homed in on a club member whose hand lingered a little too long on Mackie’s perfect ass. “I will keep him safe, no one else.”

  “Val…” Alex’s tone was one of infinite patience. He only used it when one of his men was driving him crazy. “You can’t keep the boy under your watchful eye forever, not as things stand between you.”

  Val glanced sideways. “Things stand exactly where I want them. Mackie, too. He’s made it quite clear he wants nothing more to do with me.”

  “His feelings are hurt. You know how these humans are. You sent him away with blistering words that his wounded pride won’t allow him to forgive.”

  “They were necessary.”

  It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done—tossing Mackie out on his ear to keep him from Dracul’s clutches and it hadn’t even worked. Harder still had been seeing Mackie battered and bruised in Adrian’s hands. He would have torn the fucker to pieces, except that honor had been Alex’s. Val still blamed himself for not breaking it off with the boy earlier.

  The club member’s hand hadn’t left Mackie’s ass. Every time the boy moved, the man stayed with him. Val’s eyes narrowed and his fingers tightened sufficiently to hurt his knuckles. If he wasn’t car
eful, he might splinter Alex’s beautiful balustrade.

  Alex’s voice claimed his attention once more. “At the time, yes, your scheme seemed the correct course. Now, wouldn’t it be more prudent—”

  Val cut him off as he pushed back. “Excuse me, sir. I’m needed on the floor.”

  He wanted to vault over the railing. It was the quickest route down and an easy drop for him. It would scare the shit out of the humans, however, so he was forced to use the stairs instead—and at a pace that made his teeth clench. Damn, these upright apes and their slow, puny bodies. Mimicking their weakness infuriated him. Always had.

  Still, he fairly flew down the stairs to the first floor and strode over to the small stage where Mackie was thrilling his admirers with his graceful dancing—provocative, as well, his lithe body twisting around the pole as if born to it. His pale beauty was entrancing, even at a distance, though Val had sworn to resist it. During his weeks of recovery, the boy had let the shaved part of his head grow out. He had gelled it into spikes that should have looked ridiculous, but somehow Mackie pulled it off.

  Val couldn’t help but stare at the red hair. It had been his weakness, and the sight of it set off a pang deep inside him, as it always did, except Robbie had had a fresh-faced look, with round cheeks and wide eyes that conveyed wonder at everything. Mackie’s features were sharper, more elfin, and his eyes held a depth of pain that always tugged at Val’s protective instincts.

  It wouldn’t take much, a small slip in Val’s resolve, for him to be totally lost. He could not let that happen. He’d been selfish once before to fatal results. He wouldn’t be that weak or self-indulgent again. No more human boys would die in agony because of him.

  As Val approached, Mackie leaned down and said something to the man whose hand was still plastered against the go-go boy’s rump like it had been surgically attached. The man shook his head and leaned in closer, his lips almost grazing Mackie’s lightly painted, plump ones.