by Jana Downs
“I don’t want to see him,” Ally argued. Because if I do I might run into his arms and beg him to forget the whole thing, and it would embarrass the shit out of me to do it in front of all my brothers. He’d made up his mind to forgive Damian and try and make this relationship they had work, but he still wasn’t ready to face him. If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit that he may have been hiding from Damian deliberately the past two days. Insecurities he didn’t even know he had kept him away from his gypsy man. What if he didn’t want him anymore? What if he were angry with him? What if he never said he loved him? That one was probably the biggest. He knew he loved Damian, but Damian had never said how he really felt about him. He’d be mortified if he’d gone through all this anguish to admit he loved Damian only to find the other man didn’t feel the same. Man, he had it bad.
He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on what Salvatore was saying because he was still talking.
“—can’t believe you would deny me the opportunity to see it performed for the first time in ten years,” Salvatore finished, looking cross. Ally sighed. He knew that look. That was the “I’m getting my way because I am Prince and you are my Ravyn, so you have to listen to me” look.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Ally relented, getting into his place beside Dageus.
“It’ll be okay,” Dageus whispered. He gave Ally a half-hug. “I promise.”
“I don’t think anyone can promise that to me,” Ally murmured miserably. He just wanted to go back to bed. He rubbed his chest over his heart. It hurt being away from Damian. The damn Bride bond was ridiculous. It took codependent to a whole other level. He could eat, sleep, and breathe Damian and be perfectly happy doing it. To circumvent the worst of the cravings, he’d taken to stealing and watching Damian’s old performances on disc from Salvatore. He was pathetic.
“It goes both ways,” Dageus said suddenly. He was apparently finding the wall they were walking toward very fascinating because he was staring at it doggedly, avoiding Ally’s gaze.
“What does?” Ally wondered.
“The love, the need. It goes both ways in a Bride bond.”
“I so don’t want to talk about it right now.” Ally held open the door for the rest of their party as they piled into the waiting SUV. Dageus looked like he was about to say something but seemed to decide against it. He shrugged and settled back into his seat beside Ally. Ally leaned his forehead against the glass of the door. Today could not get over with fast enough.
* * * *
“This isn’t the theater,” Ally stated as they pulled into the parking lot of a swanky-looking building toward downtown. The valet stood ready to take their keys and go park their car wherever it was the vehicles were kept. A trickle of relief went through him. He was glad they weren’t going to the theater. There were too many memories there.
“Nope. It’s a smaller venue, and they’re serving a delicious dinner with the performance. The place is called Bon Nuit,” Salvatore offered. He looked positively glowing. Happy as a lark. Was it bad that he resented his cheerfulness? “It’s a much more intimate setting, and the food is supposed to be phenomenal.”
They made their way inside and were seated at a long table covered in soft white linens and covered in pale orange rose petals and tall white candles. The plate settings were good china with gold filigree around the outside edge. A plate at this performance probably cost a small bloody fortune.
Ally sent his mind out through the crowd out of curiosity. It wasn’t that big of a crowd, twenty-five people not including the Prince, the Ravyns, and the shifters, and most all of them were vampires. Ally frowned. He’d never seen a performance done by the troupe that wasn’t meticulously planned and advertised. This seemed almost out of character for them.
“It’s an exclusive performance. Only family, friends, and a few extremely wealthy patrons who donate money every year to the theater are allowed to attend,” Salvatore supplied. It still didn’t explain why Dageus wasn’t included in the lineup or why Santiago hadn’t been raising hell at the house where most of the vampires lived.
Then the food came. The servers, humans, and shifters, dressed to the nines in uniforms of black and white, delivered food that made his mouth water just to look at it. The smell was just as intoxicating. The plate was set before him. Hmmm...yum. All his favorite foods were piled onto the plate. Loaded mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and cheese, filet mignon, and a pasta salad were arranged artfully on his plate. He expected a wine or champagne, neither of which he was a fan of, to fill the glasses in front of him, but instead one waiter with pretty brown eyes poured him a cola instead. He blinked. Soda pop? Really?
“What is going on, Salvatore?” he asked suspiciously. Salvatore just smiled.
“Shush and eat your food,” he encouraged.
The lights dimmed, interrupting his reply. A small stage that sat no more than five feet from their table was illuminated, and Santiago appeared near a nearly invisible microphone on the center front of it.
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this very special occasion. As most of you know, my sire child has not graced this stage in many years. While he was set to come out of retirement a few weeks ago he encountered an unexpected problem and was unable to honor us with his voice.” Santiago spoke, and Ally got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “But that is going to be remedied tonight. Tonight is going to be a night of merrymaking and celebration the likes of which have not been experienced since we first celebrated our coming to this country.” A cheer went up at that. Sometime when Ally hadn’t been paying attention, the other members of the theater had snuck in and were piled into the back of the room. “Furthermore, the lineup we have will touch your heart, incite your passion, and perhaps move you to take a chance on something unexpected.” The end of the sentence seemed directed at Ally, or maybe he was just being paranoid? “Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage Damian McTavish!”
Allasandro choked on his soda, the irritating bubbles spewing out of his nose. His eyes watered, and he coughed rather loudly. Damian’s last name was McTavish? He smothered a laugh in his napkin. It was so… He didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it was hilarious.
His thoughts derailed as his former lover appeared on stage just as the lights turned to a soft blue. He was dressed in a sharp suit of his own, black, of course, with faint pinstripes, and a dark-blue undershirt and black silk tie. His strong, tall body was the epitome of desire. Ally felt the shaking start in his feet and travel up his legs toward the rest of him. He trembled with the urge to run to him.
When Damian opened his mouth and began to sing, Ally was lost. The notes of purity, that breathtaking passion that had made Ally fall just a little bit in love with him the first time he’d heard it, made his heart ache. He looked around the room and even the other Ravyns looked lost in his passion. They were relaxing into his aural command, and Ally felt, for the first time, the true otherworldly power in his vampire’s voice. My vampire? Was he really ready for that? Yes. He was tired of fighting his and Damian’s wants. The Ravyn let himself go. Let his mind stop churning with what-ifs and trusted his vampire to hold him up. He relaxed into the power of Damian’s voice.
* * * *
Damian’s heart stuttered as Allasandro’s pretty golden eyes met his. Despite the distance that separated them, the soft smile on the Ravyn’s face filled Damian to the brim with hopeful anticipation. He finished the song and immediately went into another, watching Allasandro the entire time. Salvatore’s plan seemed to be working at least from his vantage point. The Ravyn looked enchanted as he absently ate from his plate and listened to Damian’s music. Salvatore gave him a nod of encouragement.
Two songs later and Damian was soaring. The music filled him like never before, the power of it thrummed under his skin and in his blood.
Now you understand the full potential of your Entertainer heritage, Santiago’s voice echoed in his mind. Finish the song and go c
laim your Bride.
The last notes fell from his lips in a perfect cadence. He put the longing into those last few syllables so that Ally could see that he was still waiting for him, that he still needed him to feel complete.
He took the steps down to the main floor as the onlookers came to their feet in applause. His coming-out-of-retirement debut had apparently been a whopping success. Yet he had eyes for only one person who had stood in his honor. He walked around the table, and the other Ravyns moved obligingly to the side so that he could stand in front of his Ravyn. He reached out and took both of Ally’s hands in his own.
“Allasandro,” he began. He’d thought about saying this since Salvatore had told him of his master plan. “I messed up. Badly. I know I shouldn’t have bound you to me without your permission. I also know that I am not the easiest person to be in a relationship with, nor am I a man accustomed to saying all the right things at all the right times. However, I am the man that will try to make you happy, keep you happy, and will love you like you’ve never been loved before, no matter how many reincarnations you have.” He knelt on the ground at Ally’s feet and reached in his coat pocket for the tiny box he had there. “Allasandro Ravyn, demon warrior and love of my life, will you marry me?” He opened the box to show a simple platinum band with the words ‘forever mine’ etched into the surface framed by two perfect white diamonds.
Damian saw every thought that crossed Ally’s face as he knelt there waiting his decision. His Ravyn’s heart had skipped a beat when he’d pulled out the ring. Allasandro’s thoughts were pretty visible as they crossed his face. He swallowed hard. This was a huge commitment. As they stared into one another’s eyes, it didn’t seem like it though. It just seemed like the next step in a wonderful adventure. Ally nodded, apparently not trusting himself to speak. Damian slipped the ring on his finger and stood. A cheer that seemed too big for the number of people in the room erupted like a geyser. The vampire was grinning from ear to ear, flashing fangs. They were going to be all right. “How about a special performance for everyone in honor of our new lease on life?” Damian asked. He really wanted the world to see how amazingly talented his lover really was.
“I don’t know, Damian…” Ally swallowed, looking suddenly nervous. “I haven’t really sung since I quit singing with you, and Santiago will have a cow if I don’t sound my best.” He worried his bottom lip in the same adorable fashion that he used whenever he was unsure of what Damian wanted.
“Come on, love,” Damian encouraged. “There is no reason to be shy. Show everyone that you’re far more than a warrior. You’re a singer, too.”
“You can sing, Ally-cat?” Druas wondered from the seat beside him. Damian raised his eyebrows in challenge. Was he man enough to do this? Was he Entertainer enough to be Damian’s Bride? Allasandro’s oh-so-familiar grin spread across his face in a welcome display of his carefree attitude.
“Oh hell. Why not? They think I’m crazy anyway.” He glanced at his fellow warrior. “Damn right I can sing. Watch this.” He reached up and took Damian’s hand. “Lead the way, gypsy man.”
* * * *
“I have no idea what the hell he’s saying but he sure is singing it nicely,” Druas murmured, leaning his chin against the palm of his hand. He sighed as Allasandro paused, taking a breath before diving into another seemingly effortless stanza. The purity in each note sunk into their souls in a way that would leave them humming the music for days.
“I had no idea Allasandro was so talented,” Salvatore agreed, a small smile playing over his lips.
“I knew,” Dageus admitted. He too had a soft smile on his face. “He’s more than what he seems. Always has been.”
Damian’s voice rose to meet Allasandro’s. The music blended to a perfect harmonic mesh of sound. Their voices completely complimented and enhanced one another’s until the pitch created made the fine hairs on the Ravyns’ arms stand on end.
Salvatore agreed completely. Allasandro was more than what he seemed. He was a Ravyn, but it seemed he was also an Entertainer. The demon Prince’s mind blanked as Damian and Allasandro’s voices rose in a crescendo. The magic in each and every note was made to be the stuff of legends, perfection. The love they felt for one another was apparent in each note. It was by far Damian’s best performance. His Ravyn complemented him. At last Allasandro had found his perfect match.
Epilogue
“You stole from me, naughty boy.” Damian growled, the butt of his gun tapping impatiently on the sole of his leather shoes as he sat in the plush leather wingback chair. The fact that the gun had “replica” written down the side didn’t detract from the fantasy. Allasandro shuddered.
“I’ll pay you back. I swear, boss. Please, sir, give me another chance,” Ally whined, backing toward the door.
“You don’t have the money, Allasandro. You don’t own anything. Even those clothes on your back belong to me.” The “mob boss” paused. “As matter of fact, I want those back. Take them off.”
Ally whimpered in mock fear. “Please, sir. Don’t make me.”
“How are you going to pay me back then, Allasandro?” Damian interrogated.
“I don’t know… Please…” His back hit the door, and it rattled with the force of it. He actually felt a little bit of fear mixed into his anticipation. He was really getting into this role-play. After he’d confessed to the mob boss fantasy he’d had when he’d first met him at the airport, Damian had arranged for this little scenario to play out the night before Alex and Dageus’s wedding. It was a little present to him since their “wedding” wouldn’t be for another four months.
“Take your clothes off, Allasandro. I think I just figured out how you’re going to pay me back.” Damian delivered the sexiest evil laugh Ally had ever heard. He pulled top of the gun back to load a “bullet” into the chamber.
“H–How am I going to pay you back?” Ally stuttered, toeing off his shoes slowly. His hands trembled as they made their way to his button-down shirt, the first one he’d worn without being ordered to wear it, Damian’s suggestion of course.
“You’ll see,” Damian rumbled as he stood up from his wingback chair and crossed the floor at a human speed. “Slower, naughty boy.” Ally immediately slowed the pace of his undressing. One button. Then another.
“That’s it.” Damian’s hand went down to cup his erection through his slacks, palming it enough that Ally licked his lips imagining what he was touching inside of him. Damian’s dark-blue eyes darkened to almost black. “Christ, that is gorgeous.”
He stripped him down much faster after that. The clothes disappeared in a flurry of motion until Allasandro stood before him, naked. Damian waved toward the medium-sized desk in the corner of the room which was scattered with files from paperwork.
“Drape yourself over the desk,” the vampire commanded. Ally shook as he made his way over to it, his hard cock leading the way. He leaned over the desk, his face resting on his hands inches above the inked pages. The smell of Damian’s cologne clung to the velum stationary. His lover was so old-fashioned. He didn’t even own a computer.
“Please, boss, don’t do this. Please, sir, I’ll be good. I’ll pay you back the money.” He whimpered as he felt the lubrication that Damian must’ve been hiding in one of his pockets dribble down the crease of his ass. He felt the barrel of the replica weapon rest against the back of his skull. He hadn’t heard Damian move. Damn vampire speed.
“I don’t want your money, Allasandro.” Damian growled. “I want that tight body of yours.” He didn’t let Ally reply. Instead, he sank two thick fingers inside of Allasandro’s tight ass. Ally hissed and moved his hips back, taking more of the digits inside his body.
“That’s it, naughty boy. Fuck yourself on my fingers.” Ally obeyed instantly, moving his hips back and forth so that he slid up and down Damian’s fingers. He groaned as those long fingers slid over his pleasure spot.
“Yes, sir,” he panted. “Feels…good…mmmm.” Another finger was added to h
is stimulated body, and his pucker swallowed it gratefully. “Please…I want…more.”
“You’re paying me back, naughty boy. What I want is what matters,” Damian corrected, twisting his fingers a mite cruelly. Ally whimpered appropriately and rocked his hips harder. The smell of the paper filled his nose as he pressed his face against the smooth expanse of desk and twisted his hips to the tempo that Damian set.
Finally he heard the twist of a zipper as Damian pressed his hips forward and removed his fingers from his passage. He groaned at the loss. He felt so empty without Damian inside him. He needed Damian within him. He didn’t have to wait long.
Damian’s hot cock pressed against the tight ring of Ally’s body and slipped inside with relative ease because of his preparation. His tight ass squeezed him as Ally experienced little trembles that signaled the onset of a hellishly good orgasm. They rocked together, one of Damian’s hands on his hip and the other still pressing the toy gun against his skull. One particularly hard thrust caused him to tighten and then release the weapon so that it clattered to the desk.
Both hands rested on his sides as it became Damian’s turn to moan. He pistoned in and out of his lover in jerky, shuddered movements.
“I love you,” Damian gasped, falling out of character as he neared the peak of his pleasure. “I love you so much, Allasandro.” His name ended in another groan.
“Love you, too, gypsy man,” Ally purred. He cried out as his cock began to jet onto the hard floor under the desk. His body contracted hard, squeezing against the pulsing length lodged inside him. Damian followed him over the edge, spilling his seed deep within Ally’s yielding body.
A few minutes later, when they’d regained the ability to speak, they’d stumbled over to the bed and collapsed on top of it. Ally’s cheek rested on Damian’s hard chest and listened to the soft music that his lover was humming. It was a habit he’d taken up that was not only amusing but pretty damn sexy considering how wonderfully Damian sang. Ally absently stroked his hand down Damian’s sweat-slicked six-pack. He’d never had something that was his and his alone. Damian was more than he’d ever hoped for. His gypsy man didn’t always get it right, but he handled the Ravyn’s heart with greater care than Ally felt he deserved. He kissed his lover’s pectoral muscle, and Damian’s arm tightened around him in a hug.
