The Lion's Den

by D N Simmons

  Xavier smiled wickedly as he approached Natasha. He began to unbutton his pants.

  "Oh, now you're just being lewd." Natasha laughed, slapping Xavier's thigh/> "Hey, you're the one who asked for 'something good'," Xavier teased.

  "There's nothing I can say that I don't think you're going to make sexual, so just hand me my food," Natasha said, chuckling.

  Xavier laughed as he dangled the still hot bag of food just out of her reach. "How badly do you want it?" he teased seductively.

  With one eyebrow arched, and in her most threatening tone, "You should know by now not to come between a pregnant woman and her cravings." Natasha lunged for the bag, which Xavier raised, keeping her at bay.

  Darian chuckled. "I believe she's serious, Xavier. It might be best for you to just lay the bag down gently and take several very slow steps backwards … easy now."

  Natasha turned toward him. "I see the two of you are going to gang up on me now, is that it?"

  "Maybe," Xavier leaned forward, lips pursed, waiting for his kiss.

  "I don't even know if I should give you one for all of the trouble you've caused me," Natasha said, pouting playfully.

  "Awwww, don't be that way, Tasha." Xavier handed her the bag.

  "That's better." She gave him his kiss.

  Xavier went into the bathroom, washing his hands. When he came back out, he immediately scooped up his son tossing him in the air as if he weighed nothing. Little Matthew laughed and babbled as his father played with him.

  “You returned faster than I expected,” Darian said, mentally calculating Xavier’s traveling time and distance.

  “Yes I did. Turns out, they have a location in Indiana. I didn’t have to fly to New York after all,” Xavier replied.

  “That’s good to know,” Natasha said as she began eating the burger that was so huge, she had difficulty opening her mouth wide enough to bite it.

  "That's just ridiculous," Darian commented at the sight of the burger.

  Natasha giggled as she continued to stuff her face.

  "Oh, but look at how happy we've made her," Xavier said, pointing at Natasha.

  Darian regarded her gleefulness, he nodded. "Indeed, she is quite jolly."

  Natasha swallowed her food. "Stop talking about me like I'm some sort of lab animal."

  Both men laughed heartily, tickled by their own jokes. Xavier laid on the bed and released his son. Matthew climbed over both men towards his mother, opening his mouth wide once he reached her.

  "Oooo! You little greedy baby! I didn't beg for not one bite of your food. I swear, if Matthew wasn't human when he first donated his sperm, I would have sworn you got that trait from him." Natasha leaned forward, kissing her son on his nose. Relenting, she gave him the tiniest bite of her hamburger. His little mouth couldn't open wide enough to take in the entire sandwich, but he was able to bite off a tiny portion of meat and cheese. "I bet you drooled on my sandwich, too. You drool over everything."

  "That is so very true. Even his little kisses are full of spittle," Xavier teased. He leaned forward, burying his face against the crook of his son's neck, inhaling deeply. "Ahhh, I love that smell."

  "Everyone loves the way babies smell." Natasha finished her meal. Resting her back against the headboard of the bed, she watched her two lovers play with their son until the toddler was exhausted enough to curl up beside her and fall asleep. Both men laid bedside her and the baby, watching their son sleep.

  "You two can do that forever, can't you? Just sit and watch him sleep?" she asked.

  Xavier nodded. Darian smiled.

  "He's amazing. We witnessed him growing inside of you, living off your body and what you had to give him. We heard his tiny heartbeat before he was born. And then we saw him come into this world. I don't remember them being that small when they're first born," Xavier said. He leaned over and kissed his son's forehead. "And now, we're going to have another child. I can't find the words to describe how happy and anxious I am. I don't know if the baby is a boy or girl!"

  "Do you have a preference?" Natasha asked.

  Xavier shook his head. "No. What about you, Darian?"

  "I don't have a preference," Darian said. He looked at Natasha. "Would you want any more children after these two?"

  Natasha shook her head. "N.O., no. I've always wanted two kids. I'm getting exactly what I want, even more so with the two of you in my life," she caressed their cheeks.

  The three of them talked about various topics as Xavier rested his head on her belly, hearing and feeling his second child inside. He smiled. Darian watched him in silence. He was happy that Xavier was able to experience fatherhood. He knew it was something his young lover had always wanted and thought he'd never have. They stayed inside the bedroom, enjoying each others company for the remainder of the night until Natasha fell asleep and the sun forced the two men to rest. Before she drifted off, she told them she couldn't wait until the next evening when they'd all be together again.

  Chapter Two

  The Next Evening

  Christopher dashed through the red velvet curtains exiting the stage after he finished his routine. He pulled the crumpled bills from what remained of his costume and began counting the money. He opened the door to the dressing room and was greeted by Gary.

  “How much did you make?” Gary asked as he zipped up his black leather pants.

  “Enough to buy my little brother that toy he wants for his birthday, about two-hundred,” Christopher said.

  “I bring in more than that in an hour,” Gary bragged.

  “Hey! Don’t cheapen this, two-hundred dollars is more than what most people make in a day. My parents don’t even bring home two-hundred dollars in one day. This is fucking great to me.”

  “You know, if you switched to what I do, you’d double that. A pretty boy like you, yeah. See, I make no less than a thousand on nights like this, the weekend is a goldmine.” Gary zipped up his black leather, sleeveless shirt.

  “A thousand bucks?”

  “No. Less. Than.”

  “Damn. Okay, you’ve got me there, a thousand is better than two-hundred. I still think it’s good.”

  “See, it not that the women don’t tip well, because Ignacio makes damn near fifteen-hundred stripping and giving private dances on nights like this.”

  “I see where you’re going with this.”

  “Oh, do you?”

  “Yeah, you’re going to tell me what my problem is,” Christopher said, one eyebrow raised, waiting for Gary’s enlightening response.

  Gary nodded. “I am. It’s because you look too young. See, we provide a sexual fantasy for them. Many of them want a strapping man with muscles rippling and bulging everywhere. Not a skinny boy with slender, but well toned, supple limbs, prancing around in his undies.”

  Christopher looked down as his semi-nude figure. “I’m not that skinny. I’m the perfect weight for my age and height.”

  “That may be, but your pubescent body just doesn’t do it for many of them. Have you seen who graces the covers of those romance novels? Not one of those men look like you.”

  “Dude, that was low.”

  “I’m just being honest.”

  “Okay, so for men … My body would appeal to them?” Christopher asked.

  Gary nodded. He pulled out a wad of cash from his side pocket, wiggling it in his face. “I bet you thought I was just happy to see you, didn’t you? No, my friend, it really was a lot of money in my pocket.” He smiled.

  “You know, nobody likes a smart-ass.” Christopher playfully tried to snatch the money from Gary’s hand, but missed.

  “Oh no you don’t! See, that’s how you get beat up in the dressing room at the strip joint.” Gary laughed, stuffing the dollar bills back into his pocket.

  “Awww, that’s so sweet. You know you can’t take me,” Christopher teased.

  “Oh, see, now that was low, low, loooow. I still say it sucks that you’re stronger than I am, and I’m older than you are. I’ve bee
n a vampire longer than you, too!”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s fate,” Christopher said, patting Gary on his shoulder, feigning sympathy.

  “Don’t touch me,” Gary joked, playfully knocking his hand away. Both men laughed.

  After the laughter faded, Christopher began to speak. “So, you think I’d do better with the men?”

  Gary nodded. “Gay men, that is. See, the way you look is more appealing to many of them. The crowd is filled with stallions and they like to look at pretty boys they can imagine themselves mounting, so to speak. It also works the other way around for the more robust strippers here and the pretty boys in the audience. All I’m saying is, think about it.”

  “I know that’s your thing. I also know what Darian told me”

  “Darian gave you the talk?” Tony asked as he entered the dressing room.

  “Yeah, he passed on his knowledge which was extremely insightful, but that’s to be expected. I’m just not ready to go there yet. Having sex with men is just not something I’m ready to embrace, vampire or not. I still like the ladies,” Christopher said.

  “Who said anything about fucking them. I’m just saying dance for them.” Gary sat down at his mirror and began combing the kinks and tangles from his silky blonde hair.

  “I know, it’s just … they’ll be looking at me, wanting me, wanting to touch me and then doing so.”

  Gary laughed. He turned, looking at the younger man. “I bet you’re scared you’ll get turned on by that and start questioning your sexuality, right?”

  Christopher shrugged one shoulder, looking away, he nodded once.

  “Newsflash! We’re vampires, we don’t have a sexual preference. We don’t live under the human moral code of ethics either, hell even they don’t want to live under that. Which is why we’re desired by everyone and everything.” Gary finished combing his hair.

  Christopher thought about what he was saying. He had been experiencing feelings of arousal whenever he fed. It was increasingly difficult to resist the temptation. Because of that, he found himself feeding on more women, even though the blood of a human male gave him more pleasure. When he’d asked Darian about that, it was explained to him that men have more minerals in their blood because they don’t have menstrual cycles as females do. During his nearly two year stint as a vampire, he had noticed that men were the preferred choice for vampires, both male and female. All conflicts aside, he really was just curious.

  Tony watched him standing there in his string bikini. He laughed. “I think I know what’s got you so conflicted.”

  Christopher looked at him. “What’s that?”

  “You’re still thinking like a human man but you’re feeling a freedom inside you that you never knew was possible. When you feed from a man, you want to take him in every way imaginable. You want to take his life, his blood and his body. You believe that just because you don’t kill your victims, you can resist all the other temptations as well.”

  Christopher’s mouth dropped open, shocked that Tony knew his innermost thoughts better than he did. Hearing his own subconscious thoughts spoken openly helped him better understand his own dilemma. “So what are you saying? That I should just give in?”

  Tony shook his head. “Not necessarily. You don’t want to kill, that’s understandable. That’s going to be something you’re going to have to continue to fight against. Your natural instinct is to hunt and kill. But I think you should enjoy what your life has to offer. There’s no harm in enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. Remember that. There’s a whole new world out there that you’re denying yourself.”

  Christopher didn’t say anything, only reflected on what was said. Truth be told, it wasn’t the first time one of the vampires in Darian’s coven had told him that. Still, he had his reservations.

  Tony looked past him to his own lover. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Gary.

  “Yeah.” Gary walked toward him.

  “Hey, where are you two going?” Christopher asked, feeling a little left out. He didn’t want to be alone. His other partner-in-crime, John was with Devin. Everyone seemed to have plans except him.

  “You’re not ready to go where we’re going,” Gary teased.

  “And where’s that?” Christopher asked.

  “We’re going to a party. Another little vampire shin-dig,” Gary continued teasing.

  “A lot of vampire sex?”

  “Oh yeah! Everywhere you look, somebody will be getting busy,” Gary said.

  Tony looked at Gary, smiling. “No we’re not.”

  Gary slapped him on his arm. “I really had him going. You ruined my fun. Did you see the look on his face?”

  “Very funny, jerk,” Christopher said to Gary, who only smiled coyly.

  “We’re going to this new club that just opened, Eclipse. Personally, I think it’s a blatant rip-off of Desires Unleashed, with the whole dance and strip club combo. But we’re going to see what the buzz is all about.” Tony looked at his watch. “Come on, we need to leave now if we plan on having any fun in before the sun rises.”

  Both vampires turned to leave, Christopher called out to them. They turned around.

  “Can I go with you?” he asked.

  “Get dressedquickly,” Gary said.

  Without another word, Christopher dashed into the shower, washing away sweat, glitter and other needless things. He dressed quickly in a pair of blue jeans, a snug-fitting white t-shirt and white sneakers. When he joined the other two vampires, and looked at their matching black leather outfits, he felt a bit out of place.

  “Well, well, well, don’t you look wholesome,” Tony jested.

  “I do feel a bit underdressed for the outing.”

  “Doesn’t matter, come on.” Gary beckoned for him to join them.

  The three vampires left Desires Unleashed, heading toward the newest club on the supernatural strip called Eclipse. As they rounded the corner, they noticed several police and S.U.I.T. squad cars parked in front of the building. Red and white “S.U.I.T.” tape blocked off the building from the several dozens onlookers peeking over each other’s shoulders trying to get a look at what was going on.

  “What the fuck happened here?” Gary asked to no one in particular. “I smell blood and … .”

  “Death,” Tony finished his sentence. “We need to get a closer look.”

  The three inquisitive vampires mentally forced the crowd to part, allowing them to walk past them toward the front where they could get a better view of the situation. Once they reached the front, they saw something they had never seen before.

  “Oh my God!” Christopher exclaimed, backing away several steps.

  “Why would anyone do that?” Gary asked, not fully grasping what he was seeing.

  “I don’t know. But Darian, and the other leaders need to know about this shit right now,” Tony said. Leaning forward, he looked closer at the mutilated corpse of a shape-shifter. The body was laying in a pale, crumpled heap on the ground right in front of the club. He had been flayed from head to toe, so perfectly that not an inch of skin was left on the victim. The blood vessels had collapsed and looked like dark blue roads over the mass of pale flesh. It was apparent that the body had been completely drained of blood. Every bone in the corpse appeared to had been shattered to bits inside it’s flesh casing. It was hard to tell if it was because of the very powerful impact of flesh hitting concrete or something else entirely.

  “We need to find out who or what did this,” Christopher said. “God, I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Come on, let’s get you some air.” Gary took Christopher by his shoulder and led him away from the crowd.

  Christopher leaned against the brick wall of the adjacent building, a restaurant that catered to both humans and supernaturals. “I still feel sick.”

  “That’s definitely the humanity inside of you at work. I’ll admit, I haven’t seen anything like that in my life. Because I’m so young, I’ve been pretty protected fr
om the more gruesome sights. Like that battle we had, I wasn’t allowed to go, I stayed with you. Seeing that corpse like that is kind of bothering me, too, so don’t feel bad about feeling si” Gary managed to dodge the stream of bloody vomit that spewed from Christopher’s mouth.

  A second later, Christopher spat the last of his meal on the concrete. “Holy shit! I didn’t even know I could still get sick like that.”

  “It’s a mental thing. You must have kept thinking about it and you made yourself worse.” He patted the younger vampire on his back. “Are you e="3">Chrbe okay?”

  Christopher nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I just don’t want to see that body anymore.”

  “You know, we’ve got to be two of the most pampered vampires in the city,” Gary joked. He couldn’t believe that he was feeling a bit queasy as well, he thought he’d be feeling bloodlust instead. Nonetheless, he managed to keep from getting sick. In that moment, he realized just how much he had been kept from danger. His lover Tony seemed to have no problem looking at the corpse and he figured it was only because he’d seen far worse atrocities. He was grateful to Darian for keeping him out of harms way. Both he and Christopher decided to wait where they were for Tony to rejoin them.

  As Tony examined the body from the distance that separated them, he saw Warren and Matthew walking up, each man flashing their S.U.I.T. badges.

  “Why the hell are all of these people standing around? Can you do something about this shit? This isn’t a damn Broadway show,” Warren complained to the uniformed officer who had inspected their identification.

  The officer nodded. “Yes sir.” He went to work dispersing the crowd. Several squad cars turned on their sirens, causing the spectators to become alert of the oncoming patrol cars. They backed away from the red and white tape. The squad cars parked in front of the tape, blocking them from seeing further. Unable to get a better view, the spectators decided to step back, but continued watching. Tony was part of the crowd that was pushed away from the scene. He called out to Warren who turned around immediately, zeroing in on his voice.