“Hi, hello, glad to have your attention again. So, answer me, oh wise one, did you really have to move out into the middle of nowhere?”
“Houndside Hazard is not in the middle of nowhere. It’s literally a city. Like the second largest city in Illinois.” Foxx snagged his glass of red wine off the wood coffee table and took a sip as he stared out the window at the city lights.
Alastair chuckled. “Yes…the keywords here being ‘in Illinois’. Which means, unless we are in Chicago, it’s the middle of fucking nowhere.”
“It’s still a pretty big city,” Foxx huffed, as he folded his legs underneath his butt and relaxed back.
His friend tutted. “So, a hunter, huh? That lovely, violent organization hates us, you know?”
He knew this was coming…and while Foxx was sure Alastair was right, many in the organization did still hate their kind, he also knew most of it was due to fear and misinformation. Okay, maybe he was a bit naïve, and wanted to look on the bright side, hoping that all humans didn’t fucking hate their guts just for being different.
Like, Foxx was a nice person. He may have had a sadistic side, but he was still a nice person. He didn’t attack random people, no matter how much he got off on others getting hurt… And really, it was onlybadpeople getting hurt, so where was the harm in that slight kink?
“They don’t hate us,” Foxx said with a firm pout. Good, his lie sounded believable, at least.
“Six years ago, and you would have been killed on sight if you’d been exposed to one of them.”
“Yeah, well, things are different now. More is known to them.” Not everything was known, but enough was. “Besides, this is a good thing. I can help people this way. I can save the vampires and paranormals who deserve to be saved. The ones forced into shit by those who have snapped.”
Alastair scoffed and brought his wine glass to his lips, taking a sip before saying, “Not to mention, satisfy your kink for blood and seeing people in pain.”
Foxx giggled. “You know me so well, bestie.”
His friend rolled his eyes. “On the whole ‘snapped’ point. We both know they haven’t. Those cretins just refuse to pull away from the old ways, and they don’t like this new legal status of ours that mostly makes us follow human rules. Anyway, how is said human partner, by the way? Have you met him?” his friend asked as he brought the glass back to his lips.
“Oh, my Goddess, he is so hot!” Foxx blurted in excitement. “I really want to ride him!”
Alastair choked and coughed a bit before gasping, face full of disgust. “Really, Foxx? He is a hunter!”
Foxx held his hand up. “Okay, but hear me out. He wears leather, kind of dresses like a biker…and he’s big. Like six-foot-four, and he is a silver fox! I’m talking, at least in his early forties. Unfortunately, the whole working together thing kind of prevents the whole sleeping together thing…and…he just may be straight, which is a pity.” Foxx coughed and quickly added in a much softer voice, “And he might be a psychopath, but really, that’s such a small, unimportant detail.”
His friend’s expression didn’t change from disgust. In fact, his disdain may have deepened. “A psychopath? Really, Foxx?!” Alastair shook his head. “You always did have a thing for bad boys and flirting with death… It’s one of your many flaws.”
Foxx smacked his chest. “Be nice. And when have I ever flirted with death?! I’ve been really good with my partners.” He took another sip of wine before setting his glass back down on the table.
“Oh, really? Luther… Cormac… Francisco… Any of those names ring a bell?”
No, they did not, as Foxx was trying to forget they ever existed. Besides, they were buried somewhere deep, so did they really matter anymore?! “They don’t count!”
“Luther tried to chop your head off, Cormac almost set you on fire, and Francisco staked you, but was a fucking moron who had no clue where the heart was.”
Foxx sighed. “Luther was a drunk, and he is very dead… In fact, many hundreds of years dead. Cormac got mad because he thought someone was flirting with me and then blamed me…which ended in him also being very dead. And Francisco…” He winced and admitted, “Yeah that one I will admit was a mistake. But again, also dead. All dead by my little, old hands.”
Alastair shook his head. “Were you not just held captive by a human mere days ago? And if you want me to be nice, perhaps don’t admit that your new work partner is a psychopath that you, by the way, still want to fuck. To add, I feel your mouth is a danger in itself. Do you know how annoying you get when you are excited? How much you talk? I now fear your death will come at his hands before you even get a case.”
“I mean, I wasn’t in anyrealdanger from Ned, you know?! And I wasn’t trying to fuck him!” Foxx defended. “Also, I’ll have you know, it was actually my new partner that came to the rescue! Like, talk about destiny, don’t you think?! So, a bond, a relationship, has already been formed. And we know he doesn’t kill our kind on sight because he didn’t try to kill me. He wasn’t exactly friendly, but I think that is just his antisocial personality shining through. Which is okay. And yes, maybe I talk too much when I’m excited and things are new. But surely, he wouldn’t kill me just for talking, right?” He ended all that with a bright, award-winning smile.
Alastair stared at him, his expression just screaming, ‘you can’t be fucking serious’. The vampire took a deep breath before hissing, “The sexy man who has had you hard for days…the one you haven’t shut up about because of how hot you found it when he repeatedly bashed someone’s face into the wall, is your new partner?” His friend shook his head. “I don’t know if I should be taking you to a doctor to have your head examined, or just get you a T-shirt that says ‘Dead Bitch Walking’, or maybe ‘Dumb Bitch’. Both have nice fitting rings to them, don’t you think?”
Foxx glared. “Why are we friends?”
“Because I give you unlimited cuddles, and I put up with you. And maybe I sort of love your cute ass, despite how much you like to put it in danger.”
Foxx's eyes narrowed, but he still flopped over to cuddle into Alastair’s side. He did, however, grumble as he did it.
Alastair chuckled, wrapping his arm around him. He pulled Foxx closer until he was basically on top of him. The vampire was bigger, so… Well, Alastair liked to say, Foxx was fun-sized.
“Can’t you just be proud of me for getting the job I wanted?” Foxx whined.
