“Wake up! Wake up!”
I groan and roll over. “You have a mate to pester now. You can leave me alone.”
“He has gone out with Brodie to find parts for the pool pump, and I want to make cookies with my BFF!”
“I’m not your BFF,” I grumble into my pillow even though it is pointless. Lello decided in the harem that I was, explained what it meant, and that’s been the end of that. I’ve literally never had any say in the matter.
“Yes you are, silly billy. Come on, up, up. You don’t want to waste your day off, do you?”
I turn my head and open one bleary eye to glare at the annoying little kelpie and to tell him in no uncertain terms that spending the day in bed is the perfect way to spendmy day off, but as soon as his bright blue eyes and beaming grin come into focus, the words wither on my lips.
“Fine,” I sigh heavily.
Lello squeals in excitement, and it is hard to fight my own grin. Being a soft bastard is one thing, being blatant about it is quite another.
I roll out of bed, throw my robe on and follow Lello down to the kitchen. He skips ahead of me and starts pulling the blinds down, even though the autumn sky is cloudy and not too bright.
“Good morning Pink, Good Morning Jade,” he all but sings as he yanks on the blind cords with far more force than is necessary.
The two poor sods look up from their cups of coffee with half-awake expressions. Like deer in the headlights. I know the feeling.
I sigh. “Lello, why don’t you go hang out with Gray, while us old farts have coffee and wake up?”
Not that Pink or Jade are old like me, but they have definitely been cured of the exuberance of youth. Unlike Lello.
The kelpie whirls to face me. “Good idea! He gets up every morning to watch the sunrise. He is not a lazy sleepy head like you guys!”
He dances off while singing softly. Presumably in search of the demon.
I stagger over to the coffee machine. Thank heavens for small mercies.
Behind me, Jade huffs out a sigh of relief. “I love Lello, but he is toomuch in the morning.”
Pink chuckles in agreement. “I’ll always be in awe of him for being so cheerful, even in the harem. I don’t know how he did it.”
My chest tightens painfully. Pink had been the very opposite of cheerful during our slavery. He had given up. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes the moment he decided to sacrifice himself to save us all. I owe him a debt that can never be repaid. And I don’t even know how to express it.
So I do what I always do. Ignore it. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Just like my feelings for Morgan.
I tighten my grip on my coffee cup as the all too familiar waves of emotion wash over me. Longing. Pining. Regret. I’m such a sappy bastard. It’s pathetic. This crush has gone on long enough, it is high time to be rid of it.
Ever since that night I freaked out, Morgan has been nothing but pleasantly professional. It is clear I burned my bridges there.
Sometimes I catch a glimmer in his eye, but that is probably my imagination. Or simply plain old lust. It feels big-headed to admit it, but I am good looking. Attractive enough that Ritchie wanted me for his harem.
And when I look at the others, it is clear that the sicko had high standards. Hells, even my nightmare of a maker was drawn to my looks. The sick fucker wanted a cute boy to fuck for all eternity.
So, all in all, it is hardly surprising that Morgan sometimes desires my body. But I’m so tired of it. I don’t want to be an object of lust anymore. I want to be loved. Yet here I am, stuck looking like this for all eternity. All because I had the shitty luck to cross paths with a vampire in the precise year that genetics and the flush of youth conspired to make me highly desirable.
Now I’ll never get to be the withered, tired old man that I feel I am inside.
I sit down at the table with Jade and Pink. Hells, I’m in a whiny mood today. If I could make feeling sorry for myself an Olympic sport, I’d win a gold medal.
As I bring my coffee cup to my lips, a cold shiver runs over me. An icy feeling that creeps over my body. Ah ha. That’s it. That’s what is wrong with me. I need to feed. Being hungry always makes me moody.
I guess I should be happy with the good timing. It is my day off. Which means slipping off to feed is not going to be a problem. I just need to hit someone up on Grindr. Glamor them. Feed. Then run away, leaving them feeling dazed and incredibly horny. But hey, they have Grindr, so I’m not going to feel bad about that.
I hear Red’s footsteps a few moments before the kitchen door flings open, but I still jump to my feet. Red’s hair is all over the place and there is a frantic look in his eyes. He is clutching one of the cushions from the living room to his chest.
