Maddy pulled the blade away, and they let him press open their lips, eyes only on him as he traced the length of their fangs with a nail. They could have withheld their venom easily, but they let it pool, let him see it glinting, as though to saythis is safe, my starlight; I agree to it. When he pricked the pad of his thumb, the blissful expression on his face was genuine. The scent of his blood flooded Diego’s senses, and they fought the instinct to close their lips and suck. They let Maddy pull his thumb back, let him wipe his pointer finger over their tongue to catch their healing saliva, and watched as he healed the bleeding prick without offering them a drop.
He closed his eyes and smirked, basking like he was settling in a sunbeam, or in the spotlight of a stage. “So long as they’re alive, they’ll keep making venom for you, so there’s always another hit waiting.”
It was the first hunter who spoke up, the one who’d cornered Diego in the alley. “Give us a go then, huh? It’s not fair if you get some and we don’t.”
A couple of the others echoed him, and slowly they stepped forward, closing in the gap Maddy’s circling had made.
Maddy’s expression hardened. He wrapped his fingers through Diego’s hair, like by holding them in place he might keep them safe. “I worked hard on this one.”
His refusal moved through the gathered hunters, angering them anew. Maddy’s breathing shifted, its shallowness the first sign of fear. As much as Diego hated the idea of letting any of the hunters near their fangs, they hated far more the thought that those same hunters might try to rip them away from Maddy and take what they wanted by force. They still weren’t sure what Maddy’s goal was here, but the longer they knelt beside him, the more signs that it was a performance they picked up on. His act was breaking down. And as much as Diego wanted to see him snatch up the blade once more and turn it on the people surrounding them, they didn’t think either of them would come out of that situation alive.
“They’re your friends, starlight,” Diego murmured, looking up at him with all the adoration they would never have let shine so brightly if not for the meaning it would impart to him in that moment.
Maddy’s throat bobbed. The grip of his hand on their hair slipped for an instant, his thumb rubbing a soft circle. Then he laughed. “I guess even a bat can be right sometimes.” He dragged Diego up, rough but steady, both his hands going to their ass. “Let’s show them what it’s like to have a good time.”
Maddy pushed the empty beer cans aside and sat on the table, pulling Diego into his lap. He wrapped an arm around their waist and tugged at their head with his other, pinning the back of their skull to his shoulder. Beneath his show of brutality, his tight grip and solid pressure against their still sun-pained body were like a coddling blanket, a statement that he was there and he would protect them.
Still, it took all of Diego’s strength to let their mouth hang open, to put their fangs on display for a group who would have happily ripped them out and displayed them like trophies. Diego let their eyes nearly close, focusing on Maddy’s scent and the feeling of his hands on them.
Maddy had bled himself for dozens of vampires in the hopes of bleeding for Diego someday. This was different—different in so many ways—but it was the same too. An act of trust. With every dose of venom they gave up, they tried to ignore the transformation from skepticism and greed to relaxed joy that the hunters experienced. The bastards came away looking so damned pleased that Diego had to force themself not to gag or bite down, thinking instead of the drip of Maddy’s blood into cup after cup.
As the last hunter backed away, she gave Diego a longer examination.
“That’s one of the vamps from the pervert club, isn’t it?” The woman didn’t sound accusatory, at least, only thoughtful.
“Yeah. I picked them up while scouting,” Maddy said, stealing a final dose of venom for himself.
It was cleansing, somehow, to have him be the last thing in their mouth. Diego loved him for it. They loved him for so many things right then, even if they still hated him for others.
“You think they have more like this bitch?” someone sneered, and the man from the alley echoed the sentiment with a joke crude enough that Maddy stiffened. Diego tipped their forehead against his neck and he seemed to take comfort in their presence the way they had in his, breathing out long and slow.
The woman hunter smiled, as biting as the rest of them. “Guess we’ll find out.”
“Soon,” the alley man put in. “All this sitting around is making me anxious.”
Maddy shook his head. “The bloodsuckers aren’t scared enough yet—they’re too dangerous. We shouldn’t risk our own lives while there’s still a chance we can get the authorities to actually do their fucking jobs.” He slid Diego off his lap, standing pointedly. One hand came to rest in their hair once more.
“We’ve warned them again and again by now. If they haven’t taken action yet, then it’s our responsibility!”
Diego flinched, subconsciously angling toward Maddy. He scoffed, but they could feel the little, gentle circling of his thumb against their scalp. “Still, we can’t rush into things.”
“We’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” someone protested.
“Send your pet home and let’s get this party started,” the alley hunter sneered. “It’s now or it’s never.”
And as much as Diego wanted the answer to be never, they had a sinking suspicion that wasn’t on the table.
10
The moment Maddox’s motorcycle pulled out from the alleyway, Diego was revving on his tail. He lead them in a roundabout loop toward the Celestial Club, screeching to a halt at the club’s back door. By the time Diego dismounted, he’d stripped off his helmet and was striding toward them.
They prepared for the worst—for any number of the worsts; dramatic revelations that he hadn’t meant to fall back in love with them, that he’d stopped giving the hunters genuine help once he’d realized just how much he cared, that he’d thought one or the other would be a fun diversion and had never intended to get so deep in both worlds. They prepared to rage back, to tell him that he had a lifetime worth of bleeding left to do to make up for this. That if he had helped get them and the club into this mess, he was sure as hell getting them out again.
What they were not prepared for, was Maddox dropping to his knees at their feet, shaking as he pressed his face against their thighs, his palms clutching the back of his head like he was preparing to be cuffed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Diego.”
“What the fuck, Maddy?” They were surprised by just how gentle their own voice had gone. They stroked his hair, drawing his hands off his scalp and pulling his head to their side. When they laced their fingers through his, he hung on for dear life.
“You should never have been subjected to that. I did what I knew would save you; I couldn’t think of anything else. But, god, I’m sorry, if I hurt you—”
