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Dante drew back slowly. “What else do you need?”

With a smile, Carver flicked Dante’s nipple. “Snack?”

“Of course, baby.” Dante cut himself open. Right over his heart.

Lowering his mouth, Carver knew that he was a very lucky boy. The blood flowed into his mouth, instantly soothing the aches from his punishment and the anxiety in his heart. Owen and Kenny had to understand that Carver needed this. Needed Dante. They’d been wrong to think of these people as monsters. Yes, they weren’t human, but they weren’t evil either.

The night that had changed all of them five years ago was still horrific but the vampires shared their loss as well.

10

Dante

After opening the back door for them, Yulian handed Dante a folder.

“Thanks,” Dante told his head of security.

“Nicholas is insistent you look at that today. He says the coordinator won’t stop calling him and if he must deal with that woman for much longer, he is going on strike,” Yulian said, with amusement flashing on his normally stoic features.

Carver leaned into the side. “What’s in the folder? And what woman?”

Dante passed Carver the folder before ushering the boy inside the idling black SUV. It was thirty minutes after the sun had set and they needed to get across town before Carver’s friends came looking for him. Dante did not want to start the introduction to who Carver thought of as family already running late.

“They’re not going to be timing us.” Carver grabbed the folder and rolled his eyes. “Relax.”

Relax. Like that was something Dante could do. They’d already messed up by putting this visit off by a day. Dante didn’t blame Carver’s friends for being worried, especially now that he knew the truth of what had sent Carver his way.

Dante would deal with multiple assassination attempts a day if it meant that he could keep his boy close. As he’d told Carver, there had been no real threat to him. At least Dante now knew who had been watching him. Carver had ended up spilling more of his secrets as they’d lain in bed that evening.

The only subject Carver refused to even discuss was his friends. The friends that Dante was on the way to meet.

Dante slid beside Carver on the plush leather seats of the SUV to find the boy already flipping through pages that had been in the folder. He glanced over amused as Carver seemed deep into investigating.

As Dante saw this as one more way to bring Carver into his world, he figured Carver’s curiosity would shortly come through.

Yulian closed the passenger door before climbing into the front passenger seat.

They really didn’t need a driver and head of security. Yulian had been adamant on joining them. As if a couple of humans could do anything to hurt Dante. No, Dante was worried about them trying to interfere in his relationship with Carver. He didn’t need security for that issue. Unless it was to keep Dante from hurting one of the humans.

“You’re planning a party?” Carver asked. He waved one page filled with Nicholas’s color-coded columns. “A very expensive party.”

“The clan is insistent.” Dante plucked at his suit jacket.

Carver lowered the page to scowl at him. “Why? From the notes it appears that this party is all about you. Is it your birthday or something?”

“Yes.” Dante turned his head to keep Carver from seeing his smile.

“Yes? Yes what?” Carver yelled. He grabbed Dante’s arm and shook him.

Dante turned back to his boy. “Yes, it is my birthday coming up. My clan is insisting that it is a big one and we should throw a grand party. Since I didn’t feel like dealing with it, I passed it over to Nicholas.”

“How big of a birthday?” Carver asked.

“My six hundredth,” Dante replied. “I thought you knew how old I was.” Didn’t they already discuss this?

“I thought you were six hundred years old. I didn’t know if was happening…” Carver glanced the paper he was holding. “Next week!”

Dante finally allowed his amusement to show. “Did I not mention that?”