“People are really fucked up,” The driver said, itching at his dark buzzcut. “I’m sorry you guys had to deal with that.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Kroven smiled at him, placing a comforting hand on my thigh as if he could sense my climbing rage. I interloped his hand, feeling his fingers curl around mine. “I think I’ve seen enough. We can bypass seeing the other blood centers.” He said to me in a more hushed tone. Then to the driver, a little louder, he added, “Can you take us to the airport, please?”
“You got it.”
He drove us away from the blood center, away from the outcries of people who thought that Kroven was wrong for just being himself. Being queer wasn’t any different, so it hurt more knowing that Kroven was doing double duty to not let them win, which only made me have even more respect and pride for him. He could have easily told them off. Hell, he could have drained every one of them for good measure, and there was a dark and twisty place inside my head that wished he had. They deserved a lot worse in my opinion.
Instead of driving myself crazy with schemes to bring the protestors to justice, I held onto Kroven’s hand and leaned my head against his shoulder so I could seek comfort. He leaned his head against mine, blessed with our slight height different that allowed him to do so easily.
Soon, we’d be all the way out of Piper. I hoped, beyond what I’d just witnessed with my own eyes, that things would lookdifferent in D.C. I’d never been outside Piper, ever. There was never any reason for me to leave our small little city so I never felt tempted to before. But now, with Kroven snuggling up against me in the back of our Uber, the only view I wanted of Piper was from our airplane ascending away from it.
Chapter 18
I wasn’tsure what I’d conjured up in my head when Kroven had first mentioned going to the airport. Part of me sort of knew that we wouldn’t just be flying amongst the masses, but what I definitely hadn’t anticipated was the fact that Kroven had his own private jet.
When the rideshare had dropped us off, by Kroven’s explicit directions, around the side of the airport so we were as close to the tarmac as possible, I started having my suspicions that yeah, we weren’t taking a coach flight to D.C. These qualms were confirmed when Kroven led me to an all black private plane that looked like a horde of spies were about to come barreling out of it. I gripped the overnight duffle I’d brought with me in surprise. He turned back to me and caught my plummeted mouth expression.
“What?”
“We’re traveling to D.C. inthis?”
Kroven grunted playfully, closing the space between us and kissing my cheek. “Only the best for you.”
“Come on.” I shoved him away, but the smile in my voice waseasy to locate. “Is this yours or like the sangamar sanctioned communal plane?”
That earned me a guffaw from the man I was utterly obsessed with. “It’s mine. Too many uncomfortable encounters have happened for me to travel with humans. Too many painful encounters.” He thought better of his comment and made a twisted face. “You, of course, are the exception.”
Inwardly, I was a teenager laying on my bed with my feet kicking in the air at his words. But outwardly, I wore an exhausted caricature of my usual features. “How did you never mention you have your own private plane?”
Kroven shrugged. “Didn’t really come up.” He grabbed my hand, sliding his cold palm against my heated one. “Let’s get going. I have some blood stashed inside the mini fridge and I really have missed seeing your cute face.”
I’m sure I was blushing, judging from the flare of heat emanating from my cheeks, but I ignored it and held on to Kroven’s hand as he led me to the plane despite not being able to see. Yet another thing I made a mental note to ask him how he saw so well when he was between consumption.
There was a black car parked within view, but far enough from the plane that it wouldn’t be an issue during take off. I was about to ask Kroven about it when the door that succeeded the plane’s steps opened, revealing a creature I’d never seen before.
Their smile was warm and welcoming, recognizing Kroven in an instant. When their slitted (!) brown eyes swept over me, the creature suddenly looked very stoic. Their skin was a beautiful brown that matched the eyes almost perfectly, a few shades darker than the muddled honey their irises had to offer. I would have assumed they were human if not for the sideways pupils they had. Oh, and the fact that their ears ended in points, just like Kroven’s.
“I was excited to get your call!” A masculine voice proceededthe creature, and their beautiful eyes swept over me, dripping with intrigue. They met us down at the bottom of the steps. “I wasn’t expecting the company though.”
“Xoah, this is Bas.” Kroven nodded. “My boyfriend.”
My neck snapped over to Kroven. While we’d discussed being together, I hadn’t expected the plunge of hearing him call me his boyfriend. The casual way that he uttered the words caused my heart to both soar against my ribs and drop to the pit of my stomach. I smiled at Kroven, knowing he couldn’t see it but hoping he could feel it. He must have, because he squeezed my hand once before gesturing to the creature. “Bas, this is Xoah. He’s a dear friend of mine who also happens to be a pilot.”
“Nice to meet you, Xoah.” I nodded, putting out my hand for him to shake. He did, and I winced as his grip was forceful and strong. When I wrangled my hand back, I instinctively flexed my fingers.
Xoah chuckled. “Sorry about that. I forget humans aren’t used to real strength.” The wordrealhung in the air as his eyebrows flexed.
Shaking his head, Kroven tilted his head in my direction. “Xoah’s a lykanthe.”Lie-can-thee. It sounded otherworldly in my head. “They’re similar to sangamar in appearance, but aren’t dependent on blood consumption to live.”
“Among other things,” Xoah affirmed, leaning forward to jab an elbow at Kroven’s stomach. “And far messier than sangamar once every twenty-eight days, right Kroven?”
As if that explanation said it all, Xoah receded back inside the plane as he trotted up the stairs. Kroven nodded, indicating me to go first and following after his pilot friend. Already I was bursting with questions about Xoah’s species and wanting to learn all I could. Hell, I still needed to grill him about Qwill too. I hadn’t been with Kroven very long and I’d already met multiple different creatures. I wondered how many different ones existed in the world.
Thoughts of Orbs and their branching differences vanished once I stepped inside the plane. This wasn’t just a private plane, this wastheprivate plane you thought of when the words private plane hit your head. Lush seats, complete with plush armrests and screens to watch TV or anything else dedicated for every seat one decided upon. There was a little kitchen area before the seating one, complete with the aforementioned mini fridge and several bins full of human snacks.
Xoah had already disappeared toward the front of the plane and I was gawking at everything as Kroven bent down to open the mini fridge. My eyes caught his ass as he did so, my dick jumping to life at the need to be close to him again. Willing it to behave, Kroven had produced what looked like a plastic water bottle that he’d replaced with chilled blood.
“This is incredible, Kroven.” I muttered shakily as he took a modest gulp of the blood. “I’ve never seen anything like this!”
