Peter shrugged.“I wanted to give you leverage.You were never going to believe me if I told you that you didn’t need any leverage with me.”
“And you drove me to a fucking brothel every night?You…you fucked me for money!”Theo snorted.“How fucking romantic.”
“I’d have preferred talking to you, but being with you these past nights was better than seeing you take anyone else into a room, Theodore.”
Peter said it matter-of-factly.He could have made a big deal out of Theo’s refusal to just talk.Theo knew that, and a part of him would have preferred that, would’ve welcomed that as kindling to feed into an argument some weird, angry, scared part of him wanted to have.But Peter just remained calm, his arms wrapped lightly but firmly around Theo, icy eyes looking deep into his.
“You’re such a dick,” Theo sobbed.
Peter sighed, but instead of saying anything, he pulled Theo against his chest again, and Theo let him.He wasn’t thinking about letting him, it just happened.His own body just refused to refuse, and it was confusing.
“I hate you,” Theo mumbled.
“Then I shall seek your forgiveness, Theodore.”
As Theo cried, he came to the bleak realization that nothing about his life made sense anymore.He was living in aPretty Womanfairy tale, and his abusive vampire ex wanted him back to do heavens knew what.
Also, Theo had crossed a line with Peter that had pushed their relationship well beyond the professional, and Theo had loved every second of it.Weirdly, even this—crying while being held and soothed—even this felt right.Yet Theo couldn’t help the nagging fear that all of it would eventually go up in smoke.
Peter stirred.“There’s someone at the door.Will you be all right by yourself for a short while?”
Theo’s snort turned into an undignified cough as he pulled back and wiped his puffy eyes.Fuck, he’d cried all over Peter’s chest, and the vampire didn’t seem to care one bit.
“What makes you think I need you, Peter?”
A minute smile lifted the corners of Peter’s mouth.He ran a thumb under Theo’s right eye, wiping away some tears.
“You do not, but I’ll come if you call anyway.I’m just downstairs.Take your time in the shower.”
Peter was out of bed in a flash of vampiric speed.Theo managed to turn his head in time to see him grab a black silk dressing gown off a chair, and then Theo was alone.He wished he could just curl up into a ball and sleep for a few weeks, hide from the world and forget everything that had happened, but that was hardly an option.
Theo went into Peter’s bathroom.There were fresh towels, just as Peter had said, but there was also a stack of Theo’s clothes.
Theo frowned.So, what, we sleep together once—we sleep together in his bed one time—and I’m moving into his room now, is that it?I never checked all the doors in the house to see if he was Bluebeard or not.Plus, he can’t really expect me to just accept this, can he?Theo ran a hand over the pile of his clothes.They were neatly folded.Is he trying to be nice or a dick by folding my own clothes for me?
Theo had no answer, but he’d never been held like Peter had held him just minutes ago.It unsettled him, scared him, but there was an odd sense of hopefulness there too; the wish for something real that Theo had never had before.I don’t want him to go.
Theo stepped into the shower.It was a large sandstone one that took up the entire wall of the room, with floor-to-ceiling glass and one of those super nice showerheads that made you think you were somewhere in the Amazon, standing outside in the warm rain.At least, that was what Theo imagined getting rained on in the Amazon would feel like.There was no tub in the bathroom, even though it was large enough to accommodate one.
Theo lathered up with Peter’s shower gel, which was unscented, so he came out of the shower just smelling like soap.Steam had fogged the glass, but the hot water had also eased Theo’s muscles.
Just like with the clothes, Theo’s toiletries had found their way onto the large counter next to the sink.Theo stared at them for a second, then at his reflection in the mirror.
He was pale—not unusual after he’d been bitten.Once again, he looked for the marks from Peter’s teeth.The two tiny holes in Theo’s skin had faded almost completely, just like the first time Peter had done this, and Theo had to lean in close to see them at all.
He finished getting ready and got dressed, then went downstairs.It wasn’t like he would keel over anytime soon, but there was a bit of lightheadedness, even if Peter hadn’t drunk all that much from him.
At the bend of the staircase past the second floor, a stranger was leaning against the window the birds had shattered the previous night.The guy was cute, all russet skin with a head full of curls, and golden eyes that widened when his gaze fell on Theo.
“Oh, hi there, cutie-pie,” he said.A shard of colored glass fell from the frame and broke in two on the stairs.“Shit.”
Theo stopped.“Who are you?”
“Will,” the guy said.He bent to pick up the two pieces of glass and set them into the frame, then focused his attention on them and muttered something.The glass moved slightly, like a knot tying itself.“There, that should do it.”Will pulled his palms away from the glass and came up a step toward Theo.“So, what’s your deal?Witness protection?Or is this more like an ‘I’ll rub your dick if you rub mine’ kind of situation?”
“William,” Peter said, coming up the stairs.“Do watch your mouth around Theodore.”
Theo looked on as Will’s head dropped, his gaze going to the floor.“Sorry,” he said.
