Chapter 4
Quentin woke from his after-sex nap and magical overload, on a real mattress with a sexy vampire lying beneath him.
A glance around revealed he was in his mother’s bed.
Ugh.
Although he had no proof, he doubted his mother had remained celibate his entire life.
“Don’t worry, I changed the sheets,” Jaks’s amused voice spoke above him.
Quentin snorted and rubbed his cheek against the bare chest beneath it. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“You mentioned to me before that you didn’t want to sleep in your mother’s bed, but I wasn’t about to leave you on the couch, and my back didn’t appreciate the nap we had earlier.”
“It’s because you’re old, right?” Quentin blinked innocently up at him, then screamed with laughter when Jaks dug his fingers into Quentin’s side.
“S-stop.”
“You should be nicer to me.” Jaks tickled him a little longer before stopping and smoothing a hand down Quentin’s bare back.
Vague memories of crackling magic filled his blank mind. His magic hummed deep in his chest, calm and smooth in a way he’d never experienced before. “I feel better. What happened?”
Until now, he hadn’t realized how twitchy he’d become.
Jaks didn’t respond right away, but when he did, his voice had the hushed tone of someone who’d witnessed something sacred. “We bonded.”
Quentin frowned. “I thought we were already bonded. How many times do we need to bond?”
Jaks rubbed Quentin’s back. “We were bonded in the way of my people. Now we are bonded in your way.”
“I don’t think wizards have a bonding technique other than the usual marriage.”
“Not wizards, Fae. We bonded in the way of your father’s people. I felt your magic touch my soul. If I concentrate hard enough, I can feel your heartbeat in my still, cold chest.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“Nothing it didn’t mean before. We were bound together before. Only now I almost feel human. I can’t use your magic, but I can feel it pulsing beneath your skin. Is that how you always feel?”
“I’m not sure. What are you sensing?”
“As if a current of energy is surging through me.”
Quentin shrugged. “I guess. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever felt any different. I don’t have a comparison.”
Jaks kissed the top of Quentin’s head. “You are even more remarkable than I thought, beloved. I am blessed, which is a strange thing since most think we are a cursed race.”
“Do you?”
It took Jaks so long to respond that Quentin thought he might not.
“No. Not anymore. A cursed being wouldn’t be lucky enough to have you.”
He sounded more self-congratulatory and smug than blessed. Quentin tilted his head and peeked at Jaks through his lashes. “Can vampires be blessed? I thought you were supposed to be some sort of unholy monster dragged up from the pits of hell?”
Jaks slid his fingers through Quentin’s hair and scratched at his scalp, eliciting a pleased sigh from Quentin.
“Well, unholy or not, I have a soul, and it is now bound to yours. Good morning, consort.”
“Consort?”
“Yes.”
Quentin licked his dry lips and wondered if screaming and running from the bed would be taken poorly.
“What time is it?” There wasn’t anything he could do about how his body tensed beside his vampire. Time would tell whether this was a positive move in their relationship or a step back. Luckily, it sounded as if they had plenty of time to worry over the details.
“Just after eleven.”
“What?” Quentin sat up. “I never sleep this late.”
“I suspect part of it was magical exhaustion. You had to carry the magical portion of the bonding for both of us.”
Dozens of theories flitted through his head.
He’d have to research soul bonds. Vampires had to have some magic, limited or not, for their bodies to continue moving past death.
Were they using their souls as batteries, or was there something more?
Quentin’s scientific side demanded answers to questions he didn’t know if anyone had ever asked before.
Damn, his research list kept getting longer and longer.
At this rate, he’d have to camp out at the library.
Unfortunately, the best resources hadn’t been converted to electronic format yet, and some of the best ones were in private libraries he’d never have access to.
“Here’s your phone. Someone left you a message last night. I was a good partner and didn’t listen to it.”
Quentin scoffed. “How would you even do that?”
“Hold it up to your face while you were sleeping,” Jaks replied without hesitation.
“Should I be concerned that you considered it?”
“I trust you. It isn’t like you are going to cheat on me.” Jaks tilted his nose up, sniffing his disdain.
Quentin grinned. “Of course not, you’d eat them.”
That earned him an unfriendly poke in the side.
A glance at his phone proved Jaks hadn’t exaggerated how late it was.
He’d be more panicked if he had somewhere to be.
Low employment was wreaking havoc on his motivation.
One class twice a week wasn’t enough to keep him on a solid schedule.
Scrolling through his calls, he didn’t recognize the last number. Luckily, they left a voicemail.
He listened to the message. “Hmm, he must have gotten a new burner phone.”
“Who’s that?” Jaks rubbed a hand up and down Quentin’s bare back, soothing tension he hadn’t noticed building. He could get used to having his very own vampire worry stone.
“Hafrey, but I didn’t recognize his number. It’s not the same one I have saved in my favorites list. He switches phones constantly. Sometimes it’s easier just to drop by his house to put in my order.”
“Why does he change them so often?”
“He’s worried the government is tracking him.”
Jaks frowned. “He sounds paranoid.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t.” Quentin shrugged. “Whenever I ask why he thinks he’s being watched, he changes the subject.”
“Ah. And you are certain he is the one who called?”
“It sounds like him, and I asked him to get me some herbs I can’t find at the grocery store. I’m working on a new burn salve, and Hafrey’s got all kinds of contacts, some of which are even legal. Ordering through him is less hassle, and he gives me a friend discount.”
“Do me a favor and try to stay on the legal side. We don’t want the authorities paying too much attention to us.”
“I’ll try.” He didn’t make any promises.
The government would investigate whatever it wanted, and magical researchers were among its favorite targets.
His spell orbs had been a boon in more than one way.
The cops protected him from investigation, thinking rightly that he would be less willing to develop products for them if they were giving him a hard time.
“I didn’t know you made things that weren’t in orb form.
” Jaks slid down to be even with Quentin.
The vampire’s persuasive mouth derailed Quentin’s train of thought before he could answer.
Vampires were terrible for his concentration, or at least his was.
It took him several minutes to regain his voice.
“I don’t make salves often, but I thought it would be good to have some on hand for my students.” When using candles and even some runes, there was a potential for burns if they were careless, and beginners are always careless.
“I’m sure you could use some burn salve yourself. Especially with all your ‘experimentation’.” Jaks turned Quentin’s right hand over, exposing a minor burn.
“I heal quickly. It was much worse before.”
Jaks kissed the injury. “Somehow that isn’t as reassuring as you probably thought it was.”
Quentin snickered over Jaks’s dry tone. “Sorry.” He wasn’t going to mention the many times he’d already blistered his hands without having any salve available. Jaks was right that there was more than one reason he was looking to refine his recipe.
“When are you going to pick up your order?”
“Within the next few days, I’m too tired to deal with Hafrey today. I don’t want to wait too long because I want my herbs fresh.” It took a lot of energy to deal with the older wizard’s nonsense, and Quentin was still exhausted from last night.
“Let me know when you’re going, and I’ll send a guard with you.”
“That’s not necessary,” he automatically protested. Even as he said the words, he knew they were wasted.
“Did you forget about Glenn’s sire or that we never discovered who had trapped you in the basement? Not to mention that as my consort, you are required to have a guard unless you are in a magically protected area such as this house or your lab.”
“What if I’m with you?” Quentin kissed Jaks on the corner of his mouth but leaned back when Jaks tried to encourage a deeper kiss. “Surely my strong, beautiful vampire can protect me.”
“Depends on where we are.” He slid his fingers through Quentin’s hair, cradling the back of his head to hold him still for another kiss. “If we are going amongst other vampires, I’ll require multiple guards. I won’t ever leave you vulnerable if I can help it.”
“You know I’m not some helpless damsel waiting to be saved. I can slay the fucking dragon myself,” Quentin protested.
Jaks kissed Quentin’s forehead. “Darling, I know in my head that you are a competent wizard, but my instincts are screaming at me for having an unprotected mate. Please, humor me, beloved.”
He was ready to argue until he tilted his head up and caught Jaks’s expression. He sighed. “Fine. But if no one attacks me for a month, I want to revisit this conversation.”
Jaks’s chest rumbled beneath Quentin’s cheek. “I somehow doubt you can stay out of trouble for that long.”
Quentin wished he had a stronger argument, but he gave up on it as a bad job. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Jaks’s waist and snuggled in closer. “This is nice.”
Jaks kissed the top of his head. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay here all day cuddling as much as I’d like to.”