“Here!” Zack raced over to him and thrust one of the black silk robes to him.
With his patented patience, Takashi took one and slipped into it as he stood. “He’s not likely to care that we had sex. If he didn’t want us spending time together, he would have ordered me back to my room.”
Zack already had his arms through his robe and finished tying the sash around his waist. The freaking thing felt like wearing nothing, but at least it looked like clothing. “Oh.”
“Also, he’ll be able to smell our spunk.”
“Shiiiit.” Zack slapped his forehead. “Ugh, I don’t think we have time for a shower. Vamp speed doesn’t make water happen faster.”
Takashi took both of Zack’s hands in his. “Settle down.”
But Zack could feel the thinnest fear in the inky mental swirl of Takashi’s mind.He’s managing a brave face. I can find mine. While holding Takashi’s gaze, Zack took a deep breath and nodded. He didn’t feel any calmer, but at least his thoughts stopped zooming at a rate of 10G.
A light, polite knock sounded on the outer door. When Zack didn’t move, Takashi raised an eyebrow. The knock came a second time.
“Right! I need to get that.” Zack let Takashi’s hands go and started to hurry for the door.
“Zack,” Takashi said.
Zack stopped at the door from the bedroom to the living room. “Yeah?”
“We’re vampires. We don’t rush.” And then Takashi lay back on the bed like he didn’t have a care in the world.
All of that was a front. Zack could still sense the swirl of fears and desires from him.Everything is a test, Josefina had said.Always be prepared.
Every vampire Zack knew had wildly different personas they’d spent centuries developing. Hell, he’d been different with different people before, too. He’d been crafting the nonchalant pet identity to specifically deal with the vampire world. Last night, he’d started trying on a mask of a socialite like Candide often used.
However, Seamus was bound to be suspicious if Zack started oozing pleasantries all the time when they weren’t in public. Besides, Zack wasn’t sure he could erase his rage at the bastard. He could shove it down, but Seamus was his killer.
So Zack adopted an attitude he wished he could’ve used with his mom and Cal. As he padded over to the door, he raked his hand through his hair a few more times and let his anger out in a deep scowl. He swung the door open with a large huff and glared at Seamus. “What?”
“Good evening to you, too, son,” Seamus replied. He was smirking.
However, for the first time, Zack really noticed how he and Seamus were of a very similar height. Somehow, the asshole had always seemed larger, though Zack had intellectually known they were nearly equal.
Seamus was wearing sneakers, dark jeans, and a light-weight black long-sleeved T-shirt. He had a black coat over his shoulder. He also had Cal’s Bowie knife in a sheath on his hip and Zack’s dagger hidden somewhere on his person. Seamus’s magnetic bond had hidden the presence of the dagger, but once he was within a few feet of Zack, he could sense its similar pull.
With that same selfish smirk, Seamus pushed on the door so that it slid out of Zack’s grasp and opened far enough for him to stride into the room. “Hopefully, I’m not interrupting anything. You seemed done.”
“Done?” Zack asked with a frown.
Seamus sighed like he was disappointed that Zack didn’t understand exactly what he meant with the first sentence. “You sensed my nearing presence. Noticed a few of my emotions last night, correct?”
“Yeah …” Then realization struck.
Sincehecould feelSeamus’sdesires,Seamuscould feelhis. And since he’d had experience, he could probably feel them through their bond at a distance.
Which meant that Seamus knew that Zack had been having sex. Had probably known the second he had come.
That’s so much worse than smelling or seeing the toys. Zack struggled against the freshest wave of panic.
“Settle,” Seamus said, and his voice had a resounding note in it that quelled the fears climbing inside Zack’s mind.
Clarity arrived again like breaking clean from an ocean and realizing he had reached a sandy shore. Zack didn’t need to breathe, but he had been doing so and yet freezing out of habit. After Seamus’s command, he could relax again.
At least, he could until he realized he felt Seamus putting pressure on his mind. It was like finding out a comfortable blanket was covered in ants. His skin was starting to crawl.
“You can fight me and go back to having a panic attack,” Seamus said, “or you can accept my gift for a brief moment and calm yourself.”
