“Lawrence didn’t hide what he was from us either,” Rake said, right as DJ finished up his song on an ear-splitting note that had Shaun struggling not to wince. “You really are just as good as Robbie, sweetheart,” Rake added.
“Yeah?” DJ sounded genuinely touched.
“Sure, but that wasn’t a compliment to either of you,” Rake replied with a smirk. DJ reached out to punch him on the arm, but missed spectacularly.
As he watched their easy camaraderie, Shaun made up his mind. “I should go see Lynette. It’s the only option. I’ll just have to avoid telling her about your involvement.”
“Do you think you can get away with lying to her?” Rake asked.
“I’ve never revealed my vampirism to anyone other than the two of you in fifteen years. Lying is part of my existence.”
“Then it should be easy enough,” DJ said with a toothy smile.
Shaun only wished he had DJ’s optimism.
As Shaun stood at the front door the following night,not long after waking up from his sun-induced slumber, he wished more than anything that he didn’t have to leave Rake and DJ.
They’d spent the rest of the previous night lying in bed together, talking for hours, until every word that came out of DJ’s mouth had been punctuated with a yawn. DJ had quizzed Shaun on just about every paranormal entity possible, from ghosts and zombies to angels and demons. Shaun knew embarrassingly little, however, not having come across anything other than that sole werewolf.
DJ had fallen asleep in the middle of the conversation about the potential existence of mermaids, but Rake had stayed awake longer, quietly questioning Shaun on aspects of vampire society as well as picking Shaun’s brain on subjects he hadn’t considered in a long time. It felt a bit like attending an interview he was unprepared for when Rake asked about his hobbies and Shaun realised he only had one: books.
Stories had offered Shaun an escape from many a long night. So he’d told Rake about how—before becoming enamoured with Lawrence—he’d wanted to study English Literature at university. He’d tried his hand at some writing, and whilst he hoped nobody would ever discover the evidence of his forays into fanfiction, he’d enjoyed the craft.
Rake had listened intently to him speak, his dark eyes with those stupidly long eyelashes boring into Shaun in the low light. The casual way Rake had offered his laptop for use if Shaun chose to take up writing again had made Shaun’s chest ache with feelings he couldn’t quite identify.
As the night grew perilously close to morning, Rake had tried to insist once again on accompanying Shaun to theclub. Shaun had dissuaded him, and then lay and watched as Rake’s eyes slipped shut.
Humans were noisy sleepers. Shaun hadn’t ever experienced it before. He wouldn’t exactly describe DJ’s snoring or Rake’s occasional mumbles asnice, but they instilled him with a level of comfort he hadn’t known he’d needed.
That comfort saw Shaun right through his own sleep to the following night.
But when Rake and DJ did what he was coming to consider their ‘usual’, bracketing him in between them and holding him tight, Shaun wanted them to never let go. And after they took turns kissing him—Rake dominating his mouth, DJ playfully exploring—Shaun practically had to peel himself off of them.
“Be careful,” he said, looking at both of them in turn. “Don’t go outside at night. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Rake nodded, his jaw set hard. He looked seconds away from grabbing Shaun and keeping him inside.
“You be careful, too,” DJ said, one hand gripping the sleeve of Rake’s jumper as if to hold him back.
“I will. I promise.”
Shaun avoided taking one last look when he went out the door. Instead, he focused on his destination, running towards the club. At that speed, it was hard to keep an eye out for Lawrence, but it would have been almost impossible for his creator to find him when he was moving so fast. He just had to hope that Lawrence wasn’t lying in wait for him.
It wasn’t long before Shaun got to the club. He ran straight through the door and up the stairs to Lynette’s private area without stopping, the vampire on bouncer duty taking chase.
Shaun paused, allowing him to catch up. Instead of asking for his membership credentials, however, the bouncer bodied him right into the wall.
Shaun grunted in pain, surprise stealing his words.
“You made a mistake coming here,” the bouncer growled, pulling Shaun to his feet by his throat and pressing him against the brick.
Shaun scrabbled at his hands, trying in vain to dislodge them. “What are you talking about?” he croaked.
The big bouncer didn’t deign to respond to him. “Mistress!” the bouncer shouted, loud enough that anyone in the vicinity with supernatural hearing wouldn’t miss it. The grip he had on Shaun’s neck was too tight for him to break free of, no matter how much he tried to push off the wall. He ended up with his feet dangling in the air when the bouncer shifted him up the wall so they were nose to nose.
Even though Shaun didn’t need to breathe, the sensation of being choked had him panicking. He lashed out, but it was like kicking a mountain: pathetic and ineffectual.
Relief filled Shaun when he saw Lynette and a couple of other vampires appear at the bouncer’s side. Until, that was, he saw her expression.
Anger didn’t cover it. It was rage, loathing and disgust all mixed into a look that Shaun believed could kill. He stopped fighting against the bouncer’s hold and went limp, knowing from experience when submission might grant him the smallest of favours.
