The last sentence stuck out.Nobody can see me. In spite of having his face pushed up against Carver’s muscular shoulder, he found breath again. He shook slightly, but he barely budged since he was in Carver’s tight hug. Somehow, that helped, too. The sensation of being caught, being held, calmed the part of him that wanted to fight his way out. Because Carver was right—nobody could see him. They were in a corner, and Carver was just hugging him.
“Can someone tell me what happened?” Takashi asked carefully.
“He’s shy, master,” Carver said.
“Oh fuck, that’s right,” Kit whispered.
Zack closed his eyes.Great. Now I’ve made a different kind of scene. He eased away from Carver’s embrace and quickly wiped his eyes. For some reason, he’d been on the brink of crying as well.Fantastic.
The job should be all that mattered. Instead, his freaking inability to get over his goddamn self had disrupted much-needed surveillance. He glanced out at the room, and people were definitely murmuring and paying attention to what was happening in their corner. Just exactly what he didn’t want to happen.
“I’m okay,” Zack whispered.
“Yeah?” Carver said.
“Yeah.”
Slowly, Carver released him, and Zack managed a smile as he did. The curve of his lips felt fake, but he kept it and nodded to Carver. “Can I sit with you?”
Carver brightened with a grin. “’Course.”
They sat on the floor, Carver leaning against Takashi’s chair and Zack leaning against him. While the position wasn’t exactly comfortable, no one else seemed to be paying close attention to them anymore, and Zack had a decent enough view of the room.
The conversations Zack picked up circled around mundane topics. Someone griped about a movie they’d seen. Someone was in love with an old book. A group was debating whether the rise of fascism would mean the end of the human species or if vampires could use it to eliminate supernatural rivals and take full control of the livestock. Zack tried to hear as much as he could from that group, but they seemed to be running a thought experiment rather than concocting a scheme for world domination.
All conversations dipped into a lull as a new group came into the room. Zack recognized most of them from his social media research, but the young white guy at the center was the one that made Zack’s heart lurch.
Vincent Talmadge couldn’t be any older than Zack. His auburn hair was cut short, which only enhanced his delicate, waifish appearance. Bite marks were on his wrists, elbows, throat, and dotting his body in general. They were in various states of healing, but the one around his left nipple was fresh. He was attractive enough to be a supermodel, but he seemed thin and pale to the point where Zack wondered if he was actually healthy. Anemia was common among human pets, especially when their masters didn’t care for their physical well-being.
In typical pet fashion, everything Vincent wore either clung to him or revealed places where he’d been bitten. His deep red vest hung open, and his low-cut, tight shorts hugged the sharplines of his body. His black leather collar had a ruby at its center, and a platinum crest hung from it.
The four people who walked in with him were equally appealing and also had various bite marks. Their collars were shades of red, their crest tags steel, and they were dressed less conservatively than Vincent. All one man wore besides his collar was a thong and flip-flops.
When Vincent motioned at them, a set of pets on a central couch and their vampire vacated their spots. He took a seat in the middle and lounged. One of his entourage hurried to sit beside him as he was intentionally leaning over, like he expected someone to cuddle against. The other two with him sat on the floor, the man in the thong sprawling out.
“Shit,” Zack whispered. “That’s Seamus’s prize pet. If he’s here?—”
“Then his master isn’t far behind.” Takashi swore softly. “You should find Roger.”
“We should move,” Zack said quietly.
“We can’t look like we’re running or hiding,” Takashi replied quickly. “Go find Roger.”
Damn it. He’s right. Slowly, with his heart thundering in his ears, Zack stood. He nodded to Takashi in case anyone had heard him give the order and expected to see him “behaving” and then did his best not to run from the room.There’s nothing to be afraid of. This is just like when I had that late paper in high school.
If that late paper could get up and slice my throat open.
He reached the hallway.
Cold preceded the man walking in his direction. Shadows were darker, the lights dimming ever so slightly as he strode past them. He had an ease in his gait, a swagger like he owned the place. His alabaster skin could have reflected light, only that light seemed to bend away from him.
Seamus had arrived.
At first glance, he wasn’t an imposing man. He was close to Zack’s height, maybe as tall as five foot ten at the most. His shoulders were only subtly wider than his hips, though his tailored clothing provided the illusion that he was broader in the shoulders than he actually was. His brown hair was cut to modern fashion, but he wore an old gold watch on his left wrist. He was … handsome. Maybe it was his attitude, maybe the shape of his jaw, but the man had a natural pull to him even without vampiric magic. He wouldn’t be out of place at a family brunch, scolding his kids for misbehaving and looking ridiculously hot while doing so.
Except for the ice bath, he doesn’t seem that tough.
Seamus smiled at him.
