by Kiki Howell
“I’m fine.”
“Roll over, I’ll give you a massage.”
The suggestion was usually a welcome one, but right then Andrew felt more mutinous than anything else.
“I don’t want a massage.” He gave Nicholas a frown. “I want to fuck.”
From the long-suffering sigh Nicholas let out, Andrew could almost have believed he’d asked for something unreasonable—and wouldn’t get it. The small gleam in Nicholas’ eyes, on the other hand, said something entirely different. And indeed, Nicholas’ hand was already slipping under the pillow, and Andrew knew what it was hunting for.
He kept his expression neutral as he watched Nicholas kneel next to him, open the lube and squirt some onto his fingers. It could have gone one of two ways at that point; Andrew would have been fine with either. When Nicholas had been a young vampire, it’d never have occurred to Andrew to let himself be dominated by his Childe, in bed or out of it. With time, though, they’d become true partners, and now Andrew waited to see which path Nicholas would take.
After a second of hesitation, Nicholas reached behind himself. His eyes remained locked with Andrew’s, and it was all Andrew could do not to reach toward him, touch his chest, his cock, his face—just touch him.
Nicholas only took seconds to prepare himself, but as heat flared through Andrew, as his cock twitched against his stomach, leaving wet trails behind, those seconds seemed to turn to hours. He bit his own tongue rather than plead.
Finally Nicholas shifted forward, throwing one leg over Andrew to straddle his lap. He took hold of Andrew’s cock, smearing what was left of the lube over the tip and down the hardened length.
“After,” he said in a rough voice as he pumped his fist up and down. “You’re gonna roll over and let me give you a nice rub down.”
“After,” Andrew agreed. “But how about you—”
He finished with a grunt when, in one fluid movement, Nicholas raised himself up to his knees, moved forward, and sank down onto Andrew’s cock. Even after all these years, even with the cursory preparation he had offered himself, Nicholas still felt as tight as a closed fist and Andrew briefly closed his eyes to get a grip on himself. He soon had to open them again—had to look at Nicholas, had to touch him, one hand on his thigh, the other on his cock, standing thick and proud in front of him.
Nicholas’ eyes narrowed until they were little more than two thin slits opening onto bright flames. He hissed out a long breath and rested both hands on Andrew’s chest. He started moving, raising and lowering himself onto Andrew’s cock, slowly at first, then at an increasingly faster pace as pleasure rolled through them in ever stronger waves. He was always so open in those moments, his feeling engraved on his features for Andrew to read like words on a page.
Swallowing a grunt of discomfort when his shoulder twinged, Andrew pushed himself up to a sitting position so he could reach Nicholas’ lips and crush their mouths together.
Coming together was always a surprise; always a gift. Andrew doubted he’d ever tire of it.
They lay together for a while, afterward, and Andrew started drifting toward sleep. Nicholas, however, had something different in mind. He pulled away and pushed at Andrew’s side.
“Come on,” he said. “Let me have a look at that shoulder.”
The bruising would have healed just fine by itself, but why pass the chance to have Nicholas’ hands on him?
Andrew rolled onto his stomach, folding his arms under his head. Again, Nicholas straddled his legs, although this time his focus was on Andrew’s back and shoulders. Andrew closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, contentedly.
“I talked to Kirsten,” Nicholas said after a moment. “She told me about that spell she’s planning. Think it’ll work?”
His thumbs pressed hard into Andrew’s shoulders, right where those stubborn knots wouldn’t loosen. Andrew groaned an encouragement into his pillow.
“That sunshine in a box thing,” Nicholas continued, leaning into his strokes with all his weight. “It sounds like a good idea.”
Turning his head so he could talk, Andrew sighed. “It does, yeah. I guess we’ll have to wait for her to try it to know if it will actually work.”
For the next few moments, Nicholas was quiet, focused on massaging every last inch of Andrew’s back. His attention span could be less than stellar, but for this, Andrew had long ago discovered, his patience seemed as great as his skills.
“God, this feels good,” Andrew muttered, feeling as though his entire body was melting into the mattress.
“If it works,” Nicholas said thoughtfully, “it could help a lot. But we wouldn’t be able to be there.”
It took Andrew a little while to realize Nicholas was back to talking about Kirsten’s spell. He grunted.
“I asked her why they split,” he confided, though he hadn’t meant to. “She didn’t answer.”
Nicholas’ hands paused for a brief instant before resuming the deep, long strokes across Andrew’s spine. “I’m surprised you asked. Not so much that she didn’t answer.”
With some difficulty, Andrew shifted under Nicholas, rolling onto his back. Nicholas settled down onto his thighs and started massaging his chest instead.
“Do you think I should have Vinnie accompany her rather than Jacob when she goes to test that spell?”
Nicholas snorted.
“I think it doesn’t matter what you or I think. Jacob will go regardless of what you say. Maybe that’s not a bad idea. Maybe they could use some time together to clear the air.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Andrew’s collarbone. His thinking was clear: maybe they had talked about this enough for one night.
.
Chapter Nine
IT WASN’T UNTIL breakfast the next day that Jacob remembered what Kirsten had said before leaving in a huff. He had been caught in his sparring with Nicholas first, then with both him and Andrew, and it had slipped his mind. The memory came back in a flash, the same way images of Kirsten often surged in his mind.
Watching Andrew over his mug of coffee, Jacob had a feeling that he already knew what his father would say. Kirsten wouldn’t have made that claim if she hadn’t truly had Andrew’s approval. Still, he had to make sure.
“So, I hear Kirsten has a new spell?” he said.
Andrew looked up from the newspaper he’d been browsing, his face unreadable.
“She told you?”
“Someone had to, seeing as how you didn’t.”
Mild surprise curved Andrew’s eyebrows. Jacob hadn’t meant to sound like he was blaming him, but somehow a touch of reproach had crept into his voice. It wasn’t fair, he knew that; after all, he’d been gone all day, so Andrew could hardly have talked to him about it. What really bothered Jacob was the thought of Kirsten facing a demon—and Andrew, of course, was quick to zero in on that.
“That’s what I hired her for. Come up with spells that will help us fight. You didn’t believe she’d do that from her office, did you, son?”
Jacob hid his grimace behind his mug. If he was entirely honest with himself, part of him had hoped that Kirsten would never need to come face to face with a demon. He knew it was silly, but that didn’t make it any easier not to wish she’d always remain safe and away from danger.
“Do you think she’s on to something?” he asked rather than answer Andrew’s question. “Julie tried since the demons first appeared. Mages all around the world have been trying for years. No one has ever found anything.”
“So she shouldn’t even try?” Andrew challenged. “No one succeeded before so why bother, is that it?” He shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “Who are you and what did you do with my son?”
Rolling his eyes at him, Jacob huffed.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Andrew’s smile softened and he stood from the table. He patted Jacob’s shoulder as he passed by him on his way to the fridge.
“I know. And I also know you’d ne
ver have these doubts if it wasn’t about Kirsten.”
As he sipped on his coffee, Jacob could only be glad that Andrew hadn’t reminded him one more time that he’d agreed to Kirsten coming to work with them. He had a hard time remembering why he had ever thought it would be a good idea.
“You’ll go with her?” Andrew asked, glancing back after he had put mugs of blood to warm in the microwave oven. “Her spell might be dangerous to vampires, or I’d plan to go myself.”
Jacob grunted. “In other words, I don’t have a choice.”
Leaning back against the counter, Andrew crossed his arms as he considered Jacob.
“Sure you do. If you don’t want to go with her, I’ll ask Vinnie to—”
“I’ll go,” Jacob cut in. “Next time it’s just one demon, correct?”
Andrew nodded. “That’s what I told her.”
The last sips of coffee seemed very bitter. Jacob stood, set his empty mug in the sink, and left the kitchen, returning to his bedroom to slip his running shoes on. When he went down the staircase, however, Trixie ran by him, her tail raised high as she bounded down the steps then across the lobby and through the open door of Kirsten’s office. Jacob stopped on the next to last step, hesitating. He’d intended to go clear his mind with a long run, but now he wasn’t sure anymore that clearing his mind was the right thing to do. Besides, he’d grown used to having a running partner at his side. Maybe talking to her now and clearing the air would be better.
With an inward sigh, he followed after Trixie, steeling himself for what he expected would be one more confrontation. It was hard to stay in that frame of mind, however, when he realized his cat was on Kirsten’s lap, barely visible behind the desk, purring loudly as Kirsten petted her while working. Standing just past the entrance, Jacob found himself slipping toward bittersweet memories. Trixie could be particular about whom she allowed to pet her; she didn’t let Andrew touch her, for one. But she’d always liked Kirsten, as though she had known how important Kirsten was to Jacob.
She’d never caught on to the ‘breaking up’ part. Then again, as smart as Jacob believed her to be, she was only a cat.
“Do you need something or are you just gonna stand there all day?” Kirsten asked without looking up.
Jacob almost turned on his heel. It certainly was what he wanted to do. Every time he talked to Kirsten, he was reminded all over again how far they had come from what they had once been. He was an adult, though; he could talk to his ex. They were supposed to be friends, weren’t they?
He tried to smile as he entered the office, but it felt as though he were grimacing. He sat down across from Kirsten’s desk and she looked up, one dainty eyebrow arched questioningly. He knew that look in her eyes. It had rarely been directed at him, but he’d seen her look at her siblings like that when she was ready for a quarrel. No doubt she expected him to argue about going out with her to try that spell.
“How does it work?” he asked in his calmest voice. “Your spell. Tell me about it.”
She observed him for a little while, her lips pressed so tightly together that her mouth was thinned down to a line.
“Why?” she asked at last. “So you can decide it’s a bad idea and it won’t work even though you don’t know a damn thing about magic?”
“No. So I’ll know how close you need to be to the demon, and how long it’ll take you to do the spell, and what it’s even supposed to do.”
Remaining calm had never been so hard, not when every fiber of his being wanted him to say he’d kill any demon that came within a hundred yards of her, but he could do this. He would do this. He would act like they were only talking about work—because after all, that was all it was.
AS MUCH AS SHE TRIED to catch even the smallest hint of disapproval or reticence in Jacob’s voice, Kirsten couldn’t find any. Maybe her first instinct, which had been to believe he only wanted to find a reason to say no to her spell, was unfounded. Maybe she didn’t know him quite as well as she used to anymore; the thought was strangely disconcerting.
Picking Trixie up from her lap, she set the cat down on the floor and stood. Trixie protested, but she was quick to jump onto Jacob’s lap, curling there and purring when he started petting her. Kirsten went to grab the messenger bag from its hook on the wall. It was stocked and ready to go whenever needed. She set it on the desk and pulled out three different glass vials. They clinked softly as she lined them up on the edge of the desk. Two contained liquids—distilled essences and oils—while the third held a powder so fine and fluid it flowed much like water did.
“These are the ingredients,” she said, meeting Jacob’s eyes. “All I need is to pour each one in this—” She pulled a cocktail shaker from the bag as well; that drew a half-smile to Jacob’s lips. “—give it a good shake, recite an incantation, open the shaker and we’ll have our own portable miniature sun.”
She stopped there, wondering if Jacob would understand why she had thought of sunshine. Apparently, Andrew hadn’t told him anything about the spell.
He considered the vials for a little while, then the shaker she had set next to them, before nodding.
“So that’s why Andrew can’t go with you. You two think sunlight will hurt demons?”
Kirsten started packing up again.
“That’s the working theory. Since, you know, they always show up at night and all.”
He nodded again.
“Okay. How long is the incantation? Do you have it memorized?”
She had a hard time not rolling her eyes at him.
“Do you really think I’d have everything ready only to fumble over a few words at the last moment?”
He held her gaze without flinching.
“No. But I think it’s my job to think of any possibility. It won’t take long, then?”
Returning to her seat, Kirsten shook her head.
“A minute at the most. And I don’t need to be very close to the demon.”
He reached for one of the vials, picking it up and angling it to better look at the liquid inside.
“And how long will the spell last?” He set the vial down again. “It doesn’t look like a lot of ingredients.”
Trust him to find the one sore point and prod it.
“It should last about thirty to fifty seconds,” she said.
Or at least, that was what she had extrapolated from her one and only successful attempt. The ingredients were hard to find, especially the crushed moon stone. She’d had a hard time buying a small supply on the black market. She only hoped that, if the spell proved successful, they could go to the authorities and convince NASA to part with some of its samples.
“Think thirty seconds will be enough to do much damage?” Jacob asked, sounding skeptical. “Even if the demon is hurt, it might still attack.”
“Isn’t that why you’ll be there?” she shot back. “This is just an experiment. If it works, I’ll get to the next step.”
She hadn’t meant to sound so abrasive, but it was too late to control her own tone of voice. She’d been in a foul mood since the previous night, and knowing what bothered her so much only upset her even more.
Why should she care if Jacob had spent the day with that girl? It wasn’t like they were together anymore. It wasn’t like she still loved him. Kirsten had even been the one to break it off! But there was no point lying to herself. She’d been tossing and turning until three in the morning, telling herself that wasn’t why she was annoyed. She’d only fallen asleep after calling herself a liar.
“You’re angry,” Jacob said in a quiet voice, and it wasn’t a question.
Kirsten took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was as useless to deny it to him as it had been to try to fool herself. Long ago, he’d told her what it meant for him to be the son of a vampire: his hearing wasn’t the only one of his senses that was more acute than a human’s. The idea that he could smell her—and never mind body odor; he could smell desire, he’d said, anger, amusement, sometimes even lies—that
idea had never been all that comfortable. Dousing herself in perfume, the few times she had tried, had done little more than give both of them headaches.
“Did you need to know anything else?” she asked, now trying to sound cool.
“Will you answer if I ask why you’re mad at me?”
She looked away from him, afraid to betray herself even more. He’d sounded like this three years earlier when he had asked why she was breaking up with him: hurt, sad, confused.
She cleared her throat.
“I meant about the spell.”
After a few seconds, Jacob stood, keeping Trixie in his arms.
“No, you’ve told me what I needed. We’ll just have to wait for a one-demon attack.”
He inclined his head in an oddly formal salute and stepped out. He must have let Trixie down in the lobby because moments later the cat returned. Rather than coming to the desk, however, she sat past the door and watched Kirsten, her head tilted to one side as though to say, “You’re an idiot.”
Packing up her supplies again, Kirsten shook her head, smiling wryly to herself. She was an idiot, and she didn’t need to imagine what the cat might be saying to know it. Why had she thought that coming back to town, not only that but coming back to work with Jacob, would be any easier than leaving had been?
ALL DAY LONG, NICHOLAS watched Jacob walk around the house almost aimlessly. He went from the training room to the back room where they cleaned and sharpened their weapons, to the kitchen where he burned his lunch then down to his father’s office where he only stayed a few minutes before going back to the training room to spar with Vinnie. And from the little Nicholas saw of that fight, Jacob didn’t hold back much, if at all. When Vinnie walked out of there, his ego was bruised more deeply than his body, and he muttered darkly about Jacob’s parentage.
“Want to talk about it?” Nicholas offered.
Wiping sweat off his brow with a towel, Jacob didn’t quite look at him when he answered, “Talk about what?”
