“I’m looking forward to it.” Roger slipped from Ezra’s side and took up a position against the wall beside Takashi.
“Wonderful.” Ezra dashed off.
The relief of having Roger next to him robbed Takashi of his senses. He searched for other minutia of his lover that he’d missed, but Roger was even standing differently. His swaggerand posture had been like a cat on the prowl. Now he moved with a stalwart set to his shoulders and a confident control in his step.
Speaking at all would break Takashi’s voice, he was certain of it. After the tumbles and pitfalls of the last few evenings, his composure was a fraying rope. Once it broke, the fifty-ton weight of pressure he’d managed to hold off would crash into him, obliterating what little calm he had left.
If only he and Roger were alone, he might be able to find some strength from their reunion rather than feel that it was cutting away at that fraying rope.
They needed privacy, and they wouldn’t find it in crowded rooms full of vampires with fantastic hearing. Takashi cleared his throat. “I hear there are all kinds of rooms on the third floor. Any fantasy could be fulfilled.”
“A few more minutes,” Roger whispered. “I’ve only just come down the stairs. Might seem odd to turn around and run up them.”
Takashi nodded. He let his hand hang down, closer to Roger, and Roger brushed the back of his hand with his. Their light touch tingled, and it took Takashi a second to realize that magic, not love, was causing the sensation. Roger’s disguise was so complete because he had arcane help.
“This is, perhaps, the most excruciating night in my entire existence,” Takashi murmured. “And I will remind you that I died with my brains spilling out of my skull.”
“Careful now,” Roger replied. He had his gaze out on the room. “We’ve only just met.”
“I am sick to death of games,” Takashi said. “They are a poison for which I have no antidote.”
Roger raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps we needn’t wait so long.”
“My thoughts exactly. To the third floor. Now.”
CHAPTER 48
Zack lost interest in keeping track of names after Candide introduced him to a seventh visiting vampire because he noticed that Takashi was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t sure exactly when Takashi had ducked out, and that bothered him more. Were things bad enough that Takashi was going to run away? Flat out leave him and Katie with Seamus and Anton?
He had to find a way to distract himself so he wouldn’t think too intently and alert Seamus. His attention wandered to the mortals in the room. There were over two dozen of them, most cozying up to the vampires who’d brought them or the others they knew. Each had a heartbeat, and as he keyed in to that frequency, he heard multiple pulses. Every draw of breath and scratch of fabric was suddenly right in his fucking ears.
The lights had seemed perfectly fine, but as the pain started in his head, they were brighter than a hot summer sun. And the smell was gag worthy. The humans reeked of sweat and copper and bodily fluids, and the vampires stank of dirt, and the flowers were nothing but pollen.
“Pull it together,” Seamus said in his ear. He put his hand on Zack’s back. “You’re fine.”
With a glare, Zack tried to send his pain along the bond to Seamus.
Seamus blinked twice and grimaced before recovering.
“Oh, there you are, my mistress!” Ezra said as he approached Candide.
A murmur went across the room about that. Vampires called their superiors master, so it was not completely weird for Ezra to say that to Candide. However, he was wearing a collar, and that was something not really done. Some probably wore them behind closed doors, but in public, collars were for mortals. They were signs of being owned, and that was a weakness.The rest of us only pretend we don’t share that weakness. Seamus owns us.
Candide lightly kissed Ezra. “How are you finding the evening?”
“It is a lovely party, but I can’t help being restless,” Ezra replied. “I see our guests of honor have arrived. You must be Kathleen. I’m quite honored to meet you.”
“This is Ezra,” Candide said.
“Nice to meet you,” Katie said.
“Zack! You look astonishing!” Ezra moved to embrace Zack.
The mere thought of being touched compounded the headache shoving its way into Zack. He stepped back, putting a hand to his temple. When Ezra looked wounded, Zack said, “Forgive me. Suddenly, everything’s … a lot.”
“Sensory overload?” Ezra asked sympathetically.
Zack nodded.
