Chapter 12
Raul avoided drinking from Ji-Su again. He changed the subject whenever the human brought it up. And he didn’t order anymore blood packs. Both to avoid Ji-Su seeing them and insisting he feed from him instead and because he couldn’t abide their taste after drinking from Ji-Su.
It had been a little over three weeks since he’d fed.
He was going to have to do something about it soon.
The tell-tale grumpiness and zoning out were starting to appear.
Vampires could go various periods of time without drinking from a human depending on their age and other factors.
He was older and a natural born vampire which normally would mean he could go longer between feedings than most vampires, especially young ones.
However, because of his size, his body needed blood more often than others his age.
But he would be fine for a few more nights.
On this night, he was in the Syndicate’s underground casino.
This was actually his favorite location of all the casinos and gaming centers he was in charge of.
When he’d spoken with the firm who’d designed it, he’d asked that the casino be given a quiet, low-key vibe.
A space that players—experts and newbies alike—could feel relaxed in when they came to gamble.
Following his request, the design team had created a white and gold color scheme, accented with framed posters of vintage travel and cigarette ads in glossy black frames, and dark red felt tops for the gaming tables.
Red was also used in the jacquard pattern vests that the dealers, cocktail servers, and bartenders wore.
The understated decor suited the high roller clientele.
It was rare that he had any incidents at this location.
The casino ran smoothly, partially because of his tight, accept no bullshit management, and partially because the humans and vampires who came here to gamble in the exclusive, members only club preferred a quiet, drama-free space to wager their large stacks of endless cash.
This evening, LaToria, Everett, and Peter, fellow members of the Syndicate, had all stopped by.
Everett had brought his newly bonded blood pet, Solan, along with him.
They had a table to themselves, with Raul playing the role of dealer.
Solan sat on Everett’s lap, his red hair shining beneath the lights over their card table.
Peter’s ever-present bodyguard—a tall, muscular African American man dressed in all black—stood a few paces behind his chair.
LaToria was as elegant as always, dressed in an orange silk wrap dress with bell sleeves. The color made her rich brown skin glow. Her black hair was pulled back from her face—showing off her high cheekbones, full lips, and wide, dark eyes.
Peter had ditched the sweater vest and button-down shirt combo he usually wore to work in favor of a short sleeve red and purple patterned shirt. The petite vampire’s brown skin was smooth and moisturized and his short, curly brown hair was freshly cut.
Everett, always proper, wore a dove gray three-piece suit with a baby blue shirt, and a tie in a slightly darker blue. The shirt and tie made his crystal blue eyes astonishingly bright. Their color was a nice contrast to the coffee brown hair swept back from his forehead.
And Solan, the human who’d captured Everett’s heart, was prettily attired in a dove gray sweater with a wide collar that showcased his throat and collar bones. His long, red hair curled over his shoulders and when he turned his head, skinny gold hoops flashed at his ears.
Their group was having a good time, making silly wagers on each hand in addition to the chips. LaToria carelessly tossed a handful of chips to the center of the table.
“If I win this hand, Everett has to let me have a little nip of Solan’s blood. I’m dying to taste for myself the magic blood that managed to besot our dear Everett. Figuratively dying of course.”
Everett tossed in his own pile of chips.
“It’ll be literally if I see your fangs anywhere near one of his veins,” he drily said.
LaToria threw her head back and laughed. When she quieted, she smiled at Solan over the rim of her martini glass.
“Call me when you get tired of old fuddy duddy Everett. I’ll show you a good time.”
Solan stuck out his arm. “Why wait? Take your nip now. But don’t come crying to me when you want another hit of this magic blood.”
Everett growled and flashed his fangs. He snatched Solan’s arm back then wrapped both of his own around the slim human in a tight hug.
“Absolutely not,” he snapped.
Peter cracked up laughing. “Everett, you’re such a gentleman that it’s always a shock to hear you growling over Solan.”
“I’m flattered that I can bring that out in him,” Solan teased. He leaned back in Everett’s embrace, secure in his partner’s affection.
“I don’t know why I let you all rile me up,” Everett said, shaking his head.
Raul smiled at his friend’s antics, but didn’t laugh along with them.
“Why are you so tense, Raul?” Everett suddenly asked.
Raul blew off Everett’s question as he shuffled the next hand. The cards flipped between his hands in a rapid blur. “I’m not tense.” He thought that would be the end of it, but Peter chimed in on the topic.
“I think Everett is right,” Peter said. “Normally you’re laid back and joking but tonight you’re quiet and kind of moody. Are you having trouble with one of the casinos?”
“That’s not it.” LaToria tilted her head to the side as she studied Raul. “He needs to feed,” she declared firmly.
Peter raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I’ve never known you to go without feeding. And aren’t Linda and Alan staying with you again?”
“You’re out of the loop, Peter.” Everett said as he accepted the hand of cards Raul dealt him. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at them but then he finished answering Peter’s question. “Linda and Alan departed so that he could bring in a new snack.”
“Who?”
Raul answered Peter’s question. “His name is Ji-Su. He had a blood patron who got rough with him so I bought out his contract to get him safely away.”
“And he’s staying with you.”
“Yes.”
“As a blood pet.”
“Technically.”
“Then why haven’t you fed from him?” Peter asked in genuine confusion.
Raul sighed. “I didn’t take him into my home to feed off him. I did it to help him.”
“Have you drunk from him at all?” LaToria asked.
“Once.”
“And how was it?”
Raul thought back to that night when he’d tasted Ji-Su’s blood for the first time. “His blood was so perfect it was like drinking heaven. It took me nearly an hour to fully shake off the feeding haze afterward.”
Everett swirled his high ball glass of Rip Van Winkle bourbon, ice cubes clinking against the sides.
“It was that good and you think you can resist taking from him again while he’s there in your home?”
“I will. Because that’s what’s best for him.” Raul was firm in his decision on that. He wanted Ji-Su to be safe and healthy, not doing something that would hurt him either mentally or physically out of obligation.
LaToria looked at him with her finely arched brows drawn in question.
“Does he want to feed you?”
“He said that he did.”
Peter laid his cards face down on the table, giving up all pretense of focusing on the game. “Then why don’t you take what he’s offering?”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself with him,” Raul answered honestly.
“You think you might drain him?”
Raul quickly shook his head. “No. Never that. It’s almost as if I want him too much. I’ve never felt that way with any of my blood donors.” He was actually concerned by the intensity of his desire for Ji-Su’s blood, but he didn’t mention that to his friends.
Peter was clearly confused. “I’ve never felt that way either but it doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”
“It’s not,” Everett said as he stroked a thumb over the vein at the base of Solan’s throat.
Raul shrugged. “Maybe not. But I don’t want him to let me drink from him because he feels obligated to do so.”
“You want him to want to give you his blood even though he’s your contractually obligated blood pet. Interesting,” LaToria said with a teasing smile curving her full red lips.
“I don’t know what I mean. But I do know he’s mentally recovering from his time with Cedric. He’s not ready to fulfill his blood pet duty yet.”
He told them about Cedric biting Ji-Su after insulting him and then taking so much it made him weak and disoriented to the point that he ended up walking down the side of the highway barefoot and in a daze.
After hearing the story, the expressions of everyone at the table ranged from disgust to anger.
“Wow,” Peter said in a low voice. “What a piece of work.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t go and beat the shit out of him,” LaToria said.
“I almost did. But the situation was already traumatic enough with Ji-Su being taken from his blood patron while he was still in shock and coming to me, a vampire he didn’t know.
I didn’t want to stress him out any more than he already was.
Plus, I was trying to be as upstanding as possible so his agency didn’t show up on my doorstep and demand I let him go. ”
Everett eyed him as if he was impressed.
“I admire your restraint.”
Raul snorted a laugh. “Don’t admire it too much. I ended up giving Cedric the beating he deserved after he sent all of Ji-Su’s stuff to the ranch broken and pissed on.”
“Damn.” LaToria sucked her teeth once. “He sounds like a nightmare.”
“Ji-Su is safe now but he was pretty upset. The stuff Cedric destroyed was for his work playing video games and streaming it online.”
“You replaced everything for him,” Everett said.
Raul nodded. “Naturally.” He decided to try and explain why he was reluctant to drink from Ji-Su. The topic was already on the table so he might as well get it off his chest instead of brooding over it.
“I want to drink from him. But I also want to protect him, make sure he’s okay.
If that means I abstain from drinking from him for a while, then that’s what I’ll do.
And I don’t want him to feed me or do anything else out of obligation.
” He knew Ji-Su was there because of his contract.
But for some reason, the thought of Ji-Su letting him drink his blood because he had to or because he thought he owed him was distasteful.
An odd way to feel since that was basically the basis for every relationship he’d had with a human.
But he didn’t want that type of relationship with Ji-Su.
“You sound like you’re really determined to keep him. But now you have a lot of reasons not to drink from him.”
“It’s complicated,” Raul answered Peter with a shrug.
“Not really,” LaToria said. “You’re afraid to get personal with him while he’s in debt to you because you think his feelings won’t be real. That’s the problem.”
Raul blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah. I guess that is the problem.”
Solan, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet during their conversation, finally spoke up.
“Well, as the only blood pet at the table, allow me to offer my opinion and a solution.”
Raul nodded at the handsome, bright-haired human. “Go ahead.”
“He’s there to do a job. If you don’t want him to end up feeling like a mooch then let him do it. Feed from him but keep it business only for now. Don’t try any of that sneaky seduction stuff Everett pulled on me. As if I didn’t know what he was doing.”
Everett smiled at his blood pet.
“I knew you were aware, love. That was part of the fun.”
Solan rolled his eyes but then he grinned and kissed Everett on the cheek before continuing.
“If you let him do the one thing he’s there to do he won’t feel as though he’s free loading, his debt gets paid, and you get to drink his delicious, yummy blood.
It’s a win-win situation. Then, once his contract is up and he’s fulfilled his obligation to you, you can pursue him romantically without wondering about his motivations. If that’s what you want to do.”
Raul considered what Solan had said. It made sense. Ji-Su had even said himself that he felt jobless. “Okay, I’ll ask him to be sure he’s still on board serving as my blood pet. If he says yes, I’ll go for it.”
“Good,” Peter said with a smile. “Do it soon so you can feed and stop spacing out.”
“I’m not spacing out.”
LaToria’s fang bit into her bottom lip. From the way her dark eyes sparkled, she was clearly holding back a laugh. “Raul, we’re playing Black Jack and you’ve dealt us hands for poker.”
Raul looked down at the cards on the table. Sure enough, there were five cards in front of each player instead of the two needed for twenty-one. He looked up at his friends. They were all grinning, Peter hiding his smile behind his hand.
Raul drew in a deep breath and let it out with an amused curse. “Fuck.”