Chapter 6 #2
He wasn’t wrong. Alexander could have lied, but he found no point in it. Not with this human. “You’ve got me there. And actually, my family has owned countless libraries that were far, far older than fifteen-whatever.”
Tobias’ eyes widened a fraction too much to suggest sincerity. “Oh, how the other half lives.”
“Not to ruin the James Bond-like view you have of me, but I have a flat in Oxford. I spend a lot of my time there during the semester. And, despite what you might think, it’s rather humble, if I do say so myself.”
“I’d have to see it to be the judge of that. And don’t worry.” Tobias pursed his lips. “I’m not going to try to steal your fortune and leave you in a ditch somewhere. I probably couldn’t even figure out how to use your Bentley as a getaway car.”
“Aston Martin,” Alexander corrected automatically, before he could stop himself. “You’re driven in a Bentley. You don’t drive it.”
He was caught off guard by the way Tobias paused, blinked twice, and then broke into laughter prolonged enough to leave tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
“Are you alright?” Alexander asked stupidly, not quite understanding whether he’d made an egregious faux pas in bringing up his wealth, even if Tobias had been prodding at it, or whether he’d said something truly amusing.
“Yes,” Tobias gasped, wiping at his eyes with a napkin, his cheeks blush pink.
“It was just funny how you said that as if everyone knew. I’m finding it a bit incongruous, that I’m a boy from some farming village too small and poor to even appear on proper maps, and here I am being wined and dined by a man with James Bond’s bloody car. ”
Alexander shook his head, contrite, and privately resolved to stop acting like an asshole and start being more charming, lest he scare Tobias off. “Farm in Wales, though, right? Your village?”
That wiped the humour right off Tobias’ face, his whole body snapping rigidly to attention. “How did you…”
Alexander blinked back. “Your last name is a dead giveaway. Osian? It’s Welsh for little deer.
” Tobias had given him his last name, and Alexander couldn’t imagine that he would have done that if it was such a painful reminder of his deceased family.
Surely if it was, he’d have called himself something new.
“You know Welsh,” Tobias said flatly. “Any more surprises I should be aware of?”
Oh, a few.
“I have a few other languages in my repertoire,” Alexander conceded with a shrug, because there wasn’t much point in lying.
If Tobias was going to be taken aback by how many languages he spoke, it was going to take far too much suggestion to get him comfortable with the idea that Alexander wasn’t even human.
“I have a knack for it, and it helps with research.”
Tobias steepled his fingers, resting his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands. “What do you teach? But do me a favour and explain in simple terms because I’m not loaded with degrees like you.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, little deer. You’ve come across as quite intelligent tonight.”
Tobias’ eyes narrowed, drinking him in. “You noticed?”
Alexander leaned closer, wishing the table would vanish completely, if he was honest with himself. “I notice everything.”
“Is that how you picked your academic field? Does it involve close observation?”
The turn in conversation was so smooth that Alexander almost missed it, and he took what was offered and steered them away from any more charged topics as the dessert arrived, enjoying the sight of Tobias licking crème fra?che off his lips while surrendering most of his chocolate tart over to Alexander, and stealing his blueberry and apple crumble instead.
“Thank you,” Tobias said when they finally stood up. “This was incredible.” He gestured around to the setting, which was sparkling, the candlelight reflecting off the glass now that it had gone fully dark. “I don’t think I’ve ever been taken to a dinner quite like it.”
“I think you meant to say ‘date’,” Alexander offered, putting a hand on the small of Tobias’ back. The heat of his skin was seeping through the thin material of his shirt. “If I haven’t botched it too badly, it’s quite alright with you to call it that.”
“Well.” Tobias leaned into his side, their hips bumping. “I’d say a proper date involves taking me to Blackwell’s and allowing me to run loose with your credit card.”
Alexander couldn’t help but smile down at him, sliding his hand around Tobias’ waist as they made their way back down the stairs. “Blackwell’s is closed for the night. But it opens again tomorrow morning…”
“And you have somewhere I could stay until then?” The look Tobias gave Alexander was sinful, and he cursed himself for wearing such tight suit trousers. “That flat you’ve mentioned? I wouldn’t be opposed…”
The evening was finally getting onto the right track.
Alexander worked his phone out of his pocket to check his messages and saw a list of sites where the rogue vampire’s victims had been found, sent one at a time in typo-riddled texts from his father.
Maria had sent him a picture of her glaring into the camera and making a threatening hand gesture.
To his surprise, the most recent attack was only around the corner. A small alleyway outside the famous Turf Tavern. Not even a stone’s throw from the Old Library.
“Oh dear,” Tobias sighed. “You’re not about to tell me you have a beautiful wife, are you? I don’t do those kinds of threesomes.”
“No wife. Just a sister.” Alexander hadn’t noticed Tobias peeking over his shoulder at the phone screen as they walked onto the High Street.
He cursed his carelessness and hoped the typos in his father’s messages were bad enough that Tobias wouldn’t be able to tell that he’d been sent a list of what were essentially would-be murder sites. “I promise.”
Tobias let out a relieved sigh and let Alexander lead them through the crows roosting on the pavement and turn them onto Cornflake Street. Their steps echoed on the cobblestones, slick with the earlier rain, and the corpses of fallen leaves.
He could see Tobias’ brow furrowing further and further as they reached George Street and went towards Red Lion Square, where Alexander slowed down to find the right set of keys in his coat jacket.
The cold was getting worse, and while it didn’t bother him, he was worried about Tobias.
The lead-paned windows of the pub were glowing with light and warmth, illuminating the flowers still in the picturesque window boxes hanging on the Tudor-style building despite it being autumn.
“What’s the matter, Tobias?” He shoved through the crowd of students at the Red Lion pub to reach the door that led to the stairs of his favourite flat in the town. “You thought I was taking you to my posh place on Northmoor Road? I promise, this one is far cosier.”
“It’s a pub.”
“Your powers of observation know no bounds,” Alexander deadpanned, although his mouth twitched up in a smile. “It is a pub indeed.”
“Nor does your arrogance, apparently.”
Alexander chuckled as he dragged Tobias through the side door and up the two flights of stairs, the noise from the pub-goers gradually fading. The moment he got his front door open and beckoned Tobias through, he pinned the boy to the wall.
“I welcome you to my humble abode,” Alexander drawled. “You wanted a place to spend time until the bookstore opens tomorrow, did you not?”
The way Tobias drew in a breath and tipped his head back went straight to Alexander’s cock. This was precisely the distraction he needed. His father’s mission could wait a few more hours.