Chapter 13
“Thank you guys, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem, Mr. Ji-Su.”
The two servants who’d carried the big package holding his newly delivered desk to the spare office set it down in the center of the room.
After they left, Ji-Su looked down at the large flat box in happy relief.
The desk had been on a short back order, delaying his plans to return to streaming with his new set up.
But he’d be ready to go as soon as he got his desk and computer built.
He decided to give his followers an update. Taking out his phone, he snapped a selfie of himself standing next to the big box. Ji-Su logged onto his social media account to post the picture along with a message.
Sorry I’ve been absent lately. Life kinda sucked for a minute. But I’ll be back soon with all new streams and a new system for you to check out! Let me know in the comments what games you want to see me play.
He’d just hit send when a knock came at the open office door. He looked up to see Raul standing in the doorway. “Hi,” he said with a smile. “Come in.”
Raul came in, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a red and black plaid shirt. His belt buckle was black with an engraved design.
Ji-Su couldn’t tell what it was and he wasn’t going to stare at it to figure it out since it would look like he was staring at Raul’s dick.
A blush warmed his cheeks as he suddenly recalled feeling the hard length of Raul’s cock pressing against his stomach the night of the storm.
He glanced away for a moment while he pushed that memory to the back of his mind.
When he looked at Raul again, he noticed that he looked tense.
His jaw was tight and his dark eyebrows were drawn together in a slight frown.
“Is everything okay?” Ji-Su asked.
Raul paused for a moment before answering.
“Yes. I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you still want to be my blood donor?”
Ji-Su thought that was a silly question. Of course he did. He wished he was already giving Raul his blood and would have done so if Raul hadn’t once again asked him to wait after that time in his office. But he didn’t mention that, only giving a simple answer. “Yes.”
Raul nodded, and the stiffness eased from his expression. “Okay then. We’ll meet in the kitchen every Wednesday at three o’clock.”
His tone was oddly impersonal, as if he were sealing a business deal with a stranger instead of speaking to someone who was living in his house and who he’d already bitten once before. Ji-Su didn’t know what to make of it, but he was happy he would finally be able to let Raul drink from him again.
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure I don’t plan any streams or practice runs around that time.”
“Good.” Raul looked around the room, taking in all the changes Ji-Su had made. “This is nice.”
Ji-Su looked too. His three gaming chairs were already set up.
Two were meant for use at a desk. He planned to use the yellow chair with white trim the most often while the black chair was his backup.
The third was a squishy pillow chair for when he wanted to game while lounging on the floor.
On the far wall he’d installed several shelves and neatly filled them with games.
Raul had given him a credit card to use.
He’d ordered more clothes since his were destroyed and a few decorative items for his game room.
Graphic art of a few of his favorite game characters, and a custom neon yellow sign that spelled his name in Korean Hangul hung on the walls.
Statuettes and acrylic standees of more characters were displayed on the shelves.
LED light bars lined the walls directly beneath the ceiling.
He’d set half of them to yellow and the other half to white.
A blue, yellow, and white patterned throw rug was on the floor.
Off to the side, his two computer monitors were still in their boxes, waiting until he had his desk completed.
“The computer parts arrived last week and my desk finally arrived tonight,” Ji-Su said. “Once I get it built, I’ll be finished.”
“Would you like my help putting it together?”
Ji-Su perked up at the offer. “I’d love your help. Another pair of hands would be great. But only if you want to.”
“I do. Do you have tools in here?”
“Yep.” He showed Raul the tool kit he’d been using. “Do you mind if I stream some of the build? I can make sure the camera only shows you below the neck.”
“You’re not broadcasting your location or anything like that are you?” Raul asked.
“No. I never share my location. You never know when an overzealous fan will track you down and show up in your driveway demanding you play them in a round of Delta Combat Force to prove they’re the best.”
“Then it’s fine if you stream. And you don’t need to hide my face.”
Ji-Su clipped his phone into the holder on the tripod and started to stream online. He turned on his laptop so he could follow along with the chat as they got started. Once he was live, it didn’t take long for viewers to join the stream and the chat window to fill up with comments.
Woah, who’s the hottie ranch daddy helping you? a follower asked.
Ji-Su laughed at the comment.
“What’s funny?” Raul asked.
“Someone wants to know who you are. Is it okay if I tell them?”
“As long as you’re comfortable with it.”
“I am,” Ji-Su said with a confident nod. He turned to face the camera. “This is Raul my blood patron. Say hello everyone.”
A flurry of Hellos! He’s hot. Does he have a brother or a sister? started flooding the chat window.
“I think they like you,” Ji-Su teased. “Raul say hello to my thirsty followers.”
Raul looked at the phone’s camera. “Hello everybody.”
That wonderful slow smile curled his lips and his dark eyes sparkled with humor. Then he winked. That set off a rapid-fire stream of keyboard smashes and heart emojis in the chat window.
Ji-Su let it go for a little while before he got them on track and let them know why he was streaming.
“Tonight, we are going to build my desk and computer. Raul is here to be my second pair of hands.” He turned to Raul. “Ready?”
Raul nodded. “Let’s do it.” He grabbed the knife and opened the box for the desk. Everything inside was wrapped protectively in Styrofoam or plastic. And there was a fairly thick instruction manual on top.
Ji-Su was an expert at building computers—not so much at office furniture.
He seemed to lose his patience too quickly and the directions were nearly incomprehensible to him.
Luckily for him Raul had no problem building furniture.
Ji-Su gladly let him take over, handing him a tool or holding a piece when needed.
That left him free to engage with his viewers.
They were happy to see him again, welcoming him back with enthusiastic messages. A few people asked him where he’d been, but he neatly sidestepped those questions or simply responded that he’d moved. They didn’t need to know all the details of his experience with Cedric.
While Raul worked on a section that didn’t require his assistance, Ji-Su moved the camera around to show the stream the rest of the room. They liked it, teasing him about his love for the color yellow.
“Where’d my helper go?” Raul suddenly asked.
“Oops!” Ji-Su scooted back over to Raul. “Wait. I thought you were helping me?”
Raul raised an eyebrow. “Remind me who did most of the work building this desk?”
Ji-Su laughed. “Okay, you’re right. I’m the helper.”
With a soft smile on his handsome face, Raul reached out and gently chucked him under the chin.
“Cutest helper.”
At the compliment, Ji-Su ducked his head to hide the blush warming the apples of his cheeks.
He set his phone down on a shelf, angled to keep him and Raul in view as they worked.
Ji-Su plugged in the desk. Together, they installed the interior LED lights and tested them to make sure they all worked.
Then, Ji-Su pushed the buttons at the front of the desk, raising and lowering it in order to find the best levels for when he was standing and sitting.
“Do they have negative levels?” Raul asked. “That’d be best since you’re so small.”
“Hey!” Ji-Su protested with a playful pout. “We can’t all be burly, lumberjack giant vampires.”
The side of Raul’s mouth quirked up, and his eyes glowed bronze with humor. “Lumberjack giant?”
Ji-Su bit his cheek to hold back the smile that was trying to tug at his lips. “It’s what I think of whenever I see you in your plaid shirts.”
“Is that a good thing or do I need to go on an emergency shopping spree for new clothes?”
Ji-Su slowly ran his eyes over Raul. He looked amazing in his plaid shirt.
The fabric fit perfectly over his broad shoulders, wide chest, and thick arms. As usual, his black hair was pushed back from his forehead.
It was a little long, the ends curling at his collar.
And his brown eyes were still softly glowing.
Ji-Su could stare into them for hours. Everything about Raul exuded warmth and safety.
Big, protective, gentle lumberjack giant, he amended to himself.
He wouldn’t change a single thing about Raul or the way he dressed.
“It’s a good thing,” he said finally. “No shopping spree required.”
“That’s nice to know.”
They both went quiet. Ji-Su was caught in Raul’s incandescent gaze, light flutters of desire swooping behind his navel. He wanted to be in those arms again. Wanted Raul to kiss him like he had before. Wanted Raul to drink from him as they lay together, alone in the quiet of a peaceful pre-dawn.
“Raul...” Ji-Su took a step forward. His foot hit a discarded Styrofoam block, sending it skittering across the hardwood floor.
The scratchy sound snapped him out of the trance he’d fallen into.
He blushed again and yanked his gaze away from the vampire’s.
A glance at the laptop screen showed his viewers were going wild in the comments over him and Raul.
They’re so sweet together!
I’ve never seen Ji-Su blush this much.
Flirting right in front of our salad.
I need someone who looks at me the way Raul looks at Ji-Su! Bonus if he’s a hot, rich vampire.
Embarrassed, Ji-Su cleared his throat. How could he have forgotten that they had an audience?
“This part is finished,” he said to his viewers. “Now I have to build the computer. I’m going to end the stream since I need to focus on that. See everyone soon!” He turned the camera to Raul who gave a nod goodbye. Ji-Su held up a finger heart to his viewers then ended the stream.
Now that it was time to assemble the computer, Raul stepped back and let Ji-Su lead. He liked that Raul knew when to take charge and when to assist.
An hour and a half later, they were completely finished. Beneath the glass desktop, the computer shone bright with yellow and white light. His monitors were set up, the initial welcome showing on the screens. A servant had come by earlier to clear out the empty boxes.
Raul looked around the room, nodding in approval.
“This looks good.”
“It looks great!” Ji-Su said happily. “Thank you so much for helping me. We got it done a lot faster than I would have on my own. And I had fun.”
“You’re welcome,” Raul said.
They were finished, but he didn’t want his time with Raul to be over.
It would be nice to curl up on a couch in the great room and talk.
He didn’t want to take up anymore of Raul’s time however.
So, when Raul said goodnight, Ji-Su didn’t protest. He said goodnight too and watched as Raul left the room.
Ji-Su sighed and sank down in the yellow chair once he was alone.
He loved that the big vampire was kind and respectful to him, but he missed the intimate warmth Raul had shown him the night he’d gone to him during the storm.
And he especially missed Raul’s wonderful kisses.
Sighing again, Ji-Su wondered if he’d ever get to experience any of that again or if it was strictly going to be a blood patron and blood pet business relationship from here on out.
LEAVING JI-SU’S GAMING room, Raul went down to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer before going to sit out on the main deck. He didn’t bother to turn on the deck lights. His night vision was strong and he enjoyed sitting in the dark.
Building the desk with Ji-Su had been fun.
Spending time with Ji-Su always felt natural and comfortable.
But during the project he’d had to work to keep his desire for Ji-Su hidden.
He’d failed more than once, getting caught up staring at Ji-Su’s throat when he let his head slightly fall back when he laughed that lovely laugh.
Or staring at his lush, pink lips when he smiled.
Or simply watching him because he couldn’t get enough of his sharp, yet delicate handsomeness.
When he’d first walked in to speak with his blood pet, he’d been tense.
The plan to drink from Ji-Su, keeping it business-like only until their contract ended sounded good on paper.
He just wasn’t sure he’d be able to maintain that professional distance when the first time he’d bitten Ji-Su, he’d been so filled with desire all he could think about was getting his cock inside him while he still had the sweet tang of Ji-Su’s blood in his mouth.
But he would try because he wanted Ji-Su to feel like he had purpose.
And because he desperately wanted to drink from Ji-Su again.
Exactly like Solan had said. It was a win-win situation.