Zack frowned. Vincent was a lot of things, but brute didn’t seem like a word that would fit him.He’s maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. “Who are you talking about?”
“Jeremy.” Discreetly, Blake pointed to a man with a big grin. “I found this group meetup on Night Deets, and everyone was cool except that guy. Turns out he massively hits on all the new girls. Won’t leave them alone. Who did you think I meant?”
“Vincent. The one with the black collar.”
“Oh. Head pet rivalry?”
“Fuck no,” Zack said quietly. “The guy’s a total diva. Anyone I’d consider a rival would have to be way smarter.”
“Should we go?”
“I can’t afford to look like I’m running from him,” Zack replied. “I’d seem weak.”
“But you’re not rivals?” Blake teased.
Zack rolled his eyes. He still had his hand on top of the book she’d given him. Before Vincent had walked in, he’d considered storming out, and the anger at Blake’s suggestion that he was planning on becoming a vampire continued to simmer. But he couldn’t leave, and with a moment to have a second thought, he didn’t want to hurt Blake’s feelings either.
Reed had said something like that, too. Did everyone assume a human in a relationship with a vampire would want to become one?What kind of future are you expecting?
Fuck, Zack had too much on his plate without worrying about this bullshit. He and Roger had a gajillion hurdles before he’d consider spending an eternity with him. He murmured to Blake, “We should keep talking until those guys settle, and then we can slip out.”
Blake straightened. “Small problem with that.”
Zack noticed it at the same moment. Vincent and the guy Blake had pointed out, Jeremy, were heading straight for their booth. Zack’s inner voice strung together a list of swear words long enough to break the character limit on a microblog. He forced his frown into a smile. “Hey.”
“Hey there,” Vincent said. He had a silky voice that made him sound older than he looked. He put one hand on the back of the booth and leaned in a little while offering his hand to Zack. “Rules have kept us from an actual introduction. I’m Vincent.”
Zack shook his hand. “I’m?—”
“Zack Wright. We know,” Jeremy said as he sat down beside Blake. He didn’t seem to give a shit that she had to slide farther into the booth to accommodate him. “You’re all our master has talked about for the last week.”
Vincent’s smile tensed. If he’d been an anime character, he would have gotten one of those stress marks over his temple.
“That so?” Zack said, equal parts terrified and interested by that fact.
“He’s exaggerating,” Vincent replied. His slick attitude was back, and he sat beside Zack. He was slim enough that Zack didn’t have to move in order to give him space, but he did anyway. “Our master has a coven to run and other things to preoccupy him.”
Vincent shot Zack a sly smile at the wordthings. He had to be dropping a hint that he’d been sleeping with Seamus and “preoccupying” him that way. But after seeing Roger exhausted every night and the tension everyone had when Seamus was in the room, Zack wasn’t sure anyone could have sex with Seamus out of their own free will, especially not a pet. What would happen if Vincent said no? The guy had huge bags under his eyes and another fresh bite wound on his throat and looked like he was on the edge of collapse. All of that was buried under the style and smile, the makeup and the bravado.
But Roger was like that, too.
I haven’t thought of Vincent as someone who might need help. I haven’t thought about Seamus’s pets at all. Zack pulled his coffee mug closer to him. If Vincent was suffering, then he could be a potential ally. The sudden intrusion upon his day might turn into an opportunity.
Blake was scowling. Zack wished he could banish Jeremy from the table or at least say something, but he didn’t know how without offending Vincent. There had to be a balance he could strike. Some excuse he could make. She was getting dragged into this because she was sitting with him. He’d signed on to dive into the deep end of treachery and villainy. She hadn’t.
“I’ve been following you,” Vincent said. “Your Fang app profile, I mean. Love your vid about the suite. Looks amazing.”
“I’ll be happier when we move into a house,” Zack replied.
“I don’t know if my master is ever going to approve of that. Roger made him really upset by disappearing like that. Could take a while to earn forgiveness.”
Well, shit. Zack forced a small grin. “Hopefully, my master will be able to prove himself loyal and our coven master will grant his permission.”
“Who’re you going as tomorrow night?”
“Still deciding,” Zack lied. Thorough eavesdropping and social media research had revealed a wide array of the planned costumes. Rumor was that Seamus was planning on the costume of Hades, so Roger had settled on Dionysus. Takashi had picked Hermes, and Zack, Kit, and Carver were going to be fauns. Well, Carver insisted they were satyrs, but Zack really didn’t see the difference.
“You know, I can’t figure out why you don’t have more followers,” Vincent said. “You’re hot enough.”
