“That’s Alaric. He just introduced himself a minute ago.”
Squeezing him a little tighter to show him he was doing well, I grinned at Alaric.
Fortunately, he seemed to get the message. “Sorry,” he said, giving me an easy grin. “I didn’t know this one was taken.” He raised his perfectly plucked eyebrows at me challengingly. Then to Finn, he said, “If you get tired of this one, let me know. I’m a lot more… mature than him.” He winked before dramatically turning on the spot and marching off. I watched him disappear into the crowd, just to make sure he actually went away.
“That was… super weird, you know?” Finn said, carefully moving out of my grip. “Who are you? And why did you feel the need to intervene with that sleazeball?”
My baser instinct howled at the loss of contact, demanding he return to my arms as it was the safest place for him to be in this godforsaken shithole.
“I’m Eric,” I said, giving him an easy smile. It wasn’t just his eyes that screamed exhaustion. It was everything. His cheeks looked sunken in, the corners of his mouth twitching with tension. I didn’t like it one bit. I might be able to protect him from other vampires—if they weren’t eons old and strong as fuck—but I couldn’t protect him from himself. And it was obvious he wasn’t taking care of himself the way he should.
I might’ve growled a little, very lowly, but not lowly enough for Finn not to hear me. His eyes widened, but he didn’t flinch away. Instead, he kept looking at me expectantly, not willing to let me off the hook without an explanation.
So, lying to him it was. I sighed, running a hand through my hair to gain a little more time.
“That guy…” I started, firmly intending to lie to him, to tell him Alaric wasn’t a good guy, but it was impossible. The words simply refused to leave my lips. I opened my mouth, tried to speak, and closed it again when the words wouldn’t come out. I sighed.
Finn pointedly raised an eyebrow at me, crossing his arms in front of himself, his muscles straining, the veins in his forearms popping. Hunger hit me like a punch to the gut, and the sudden want to grab his arm and bite, right into the raised vein, was so sudden it caught me completely off guard. For fuck’s sake, I was three years old, not three months or weeks. I should have a better grasp of myself. “That guy…” he prompted.
It took me another few seconds to take a deep breath—not my smartest idea considering he was close enough for me to scent just how enticing and delicious he smelled—and calm myself down enough to be sure I wouldn’t be showing off my fangs when I opened my mouth.
“Would you believe me if I told you that guy is a vampire and wanted to snack on you?” I asked. There. Not a lie, but close enough for me to be able to speak.
Finn laughed. “No, no, I would not.” Shaking his head, he let out a yawn. “You said something about sitting down at the bar. Right this moment, sitting down sounds like a great idea.”
He belonged in bed—to sleep—not in a bar, but I found myself nodding regardless.
It’s just a drink, and afterward, I’ll send him on his way. I don’t want him to wander off on his own and get in trouble again if I reject him. At least that’s what I told myself. However, I had the feeling I was trying to lie again, this time to myself.
“Sure. What’s your poison? A beer?” I knew he had a special fondness for a local craft beer. This club didn’t carry that particular brand, but I bet there was something available. “A cocktail?”
Finn shook his head. “I think I should be a responsible adult and get a Coke.”
I bit my lip to keep myself from blurting out that if he were a responsible adult, he’d head home being this tired, but I was too selfish, basking in his easy smile-smirk directed at me, his presence at my side. I never wanted this moment to end.
Five years. The first time I’d seen him was five years ago. I’d been patient, ever so patient, condemning myself to a life where I’d only ever see him from afar.
The fact that his wide smile was now directed at me threw me for a loop. That he didn’t flinch after I placed my hand on his lower back and gently guided him through the dancing crowd made my want for him grow even more.
“A Coke it is.” I smiled at him, nudging him a little to the right, where Bennie was occupying two barstools, waving his hand at me.
Thatfucker. He’d been listening in! And since he was helping me out, I couldn’t even be that mad.
Right before we reached Bennie, he got up, winking at me with an amused smile. He pushed his tongue into his cheek and waggled his eyebrows at me.
Rage flickered in my eyes, but Finn’s, “Oh look, we’re lucky,” doused it effectively.
“What a lucky coincidence indeed,” I said, waving down the owner—a fellow vampire, and according to Bennie a decent guy but one not to be messed with—to order.
“A… special for you?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows in an almost ridiculous manner that was very uncanny for most vampires. As soon as they… no, as soon aswewere out where we could be seen by other vamps, we got all serious. Most vampires said shifters did all the posturing, but truly, vampires weren’t much better. “Trust me, it’s good, and you want to try it.”
Was he micro-dosing the special with real blood? Why was he so giddy about offering it to me?
Whatever. I didn’t have time to wonder about weird bartenders when I had Finn right next to me, so close I could sense the vein in his neck pulsing.
“A special for me and a Coke for him,” I ordered, nodding to Finn, who was busy yawning. He definitely belonged in bed and not in a seedy club.
“Soo… what brought you here?” I asked, opting for nonchalance and charm instead of questioning him like he was a teenager who’d snuck out to attend a college party. Even though that was exactly what I wanted to do.
