Chapter Nine
M inho woke and rolled onto his back. He realized Peter wasn’t there and ran his hand over his side of the bed, noticing the sheets were cold. The sunlight shone under the curtains, so he knew it was still light outside. Glancing at Peter’s alarm clock, he saw it was two in the afternoon, so was surprised when he heard Peter’s voice downstairs. Unless today was his day off. Minho knew Peter had one day a week to himself.
Throwing back the covers, Minho stood and stretched and used the bathroom before getting dressed and carefully opening the bedroom door. The hallway was cast in darkness so he knew the curtains and blinds were still drawn. Going downstairs, he slowly opened the door to the kitchen/dining area, and all conversation stopped. Stepping inside, he saw Peter and his son, Sammy, standing together.
“Hi.”
“Sammy. This is Minho.”
Sammy looked him up and down, then ran a hand over his face. “A man?”
Have you told him?
I was working myself up to it, but it appears Rex has beaten me to it. I’m not sure he’s accepted we’re together.
Will this be an issue for him ? Minho came into the room and closed the door behind him. Do you want me to leave?
No. We’re together and he has to get used to it. It’s been me and his mom all his life. He just needs some time.
Minho smiled and approached, holding his hand out to Sammy. Sammy stared at it then shook it. “I’m Minho. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You and my dad? Together? Like a couple?”
“Will that be a problem?”
“No, no.” Sammy dropped Minho’s hand and stood with his hands on his hips. “Surprised is all. I never knew Dad was bisexual.”
“When would I have had that conversation with you? Privacy is a thing adults can have as well and I didn’t realize myself until I met Minho.”
“I got a call from Rex telling me you were having sex with a man! A man! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s new and I wanted to get to know Minho better and Rex shouldn’t have said anything to you. I asked him not to so I could speak to you first.”
“Er, he caught you two naked in bed. And it was clear you’d had sex. He was a little freaked out by it.”
“Because I had sex with a man?”
“Because you had sex! It’s only ever been you and Mom and you’ve never said anything about dating.”
“Oh I didn’t know I was supposed to put a notice out for you both and get your permission.”
Sammy flushed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. You’re part of the family now.”
“And it’s sunny outside. Don’t want you all crispy fried.” Sammy snorted. “Drop the fangs.”
Minho arched an eyebrow as Peter spluttered, “Sammy!”
“Rex said he was a vampire. I don’t believe him.”
Minho coughed and opened his mouth, revealing his fangs. “Better?”
“Holy shit, the little fucker was right.”
“Sammy! Stop swearing.”
Sammy waved his hand and pointed and Minho’s mouth. “Fangs! Vampire! Like they’re right in front of me.” Sammy peered at him. “I’m off the menu. I drink and do drugs and have lots of sex. Who knows what I could expose you to?”
“Pardon?” Sammy cringed and turned to Peter. “Drugs? Unprotected sex?”
“No, Dad I didn’t mean it like that.” Sammy backed away when he saw the angry look on Peter’s face. “I just said that to stop him looking at me like I was a blood bank.”
Minho burst out laughing, throwing his head back. He couldn’t keep it in any longer. “If I need to feed, I have Peter, and our hospital has a donor bank as well.”
Sammy’s head swiveled between Minho and Peter. “You let him bite you?”
Peter dropped his head into his hands, mumbling something Minho couldn’t hear. “He does. I ask and he allows it because it’s his body and I would never feed without permission.”
“Oh… oh that’s okay, I guess.” Sammy scratched his head and shuffled on his feet. “Er… yeah, so… how are you?”
Minho laughed again when Peter groaned. “I’m good thanks. How’s college?”
“How long have you known Dad, and Rex said something about mates?”
Peter frowned. “I wasn’t sure I’d mentioned mates. Maybe I did.”
“Rex mentioned it.”
Minho shrugged. You mentioned it after Rex interrupted us. A lot has happened since then.
Do you want me to go into detail just in case Rex left something out?
I would, then Sammy knows everything.
“We’re mates. So for vampires they have a special person that they are attracted to and it’s for life. No separation or divorce.” Peter looked at Minho. “How was that?”
“Good, actually. Yes, vampires have mates and we’re not particularly bothered about the sex of that person, either. Peter is mine. I’ve waited a long time for him.”
“What do you mean?” Sammy pulled out a chair and sat.
Minho glanced at Peter, who nodded. “I first found Peter not long after he’d married Diane. I stayed away because I didn’t want to come between them.”
“Why now, then? Mom passed a couple of years ago.”
“I wanted to give you time to grieve her loss. It didn’t seem right to come here during that time.”
Sammy nodded, his fingers tracing patterns on the table only he could see. “Yeah.”
“I only decided recently to approach Peter. I’m glad he didn’t say no, but we are taking things slow.”
Sammy snorted. “Yeah right. Rex said he saw you two in bed.”
“We have had sex, yes. We’re adults, as are you. You’re not a virgin.”
Sammy coughed, glanced at Peter, who rolled his eyes. “I’m as pure as the snow.”
Peter laughed and shook his head. “I found the condoms, Sammy.”
Blanching, Sammy spluttered, “What? I’m just being careful in case I have sex.” Sammy glanced between Minho and Peter. “I have a girlfriend.”
“As long as you are careful. I don’t want to be a grandparent just yet.”
“Ha ha! Minho being a grandad at what, thirty? How old are you?”
“Older than your dad.” Sammy laughed outright. “I am close to three hundred years old. We age at a slower rate than humans.”
Sammy snorted. “Don’t lie. You look thirty max. My dad doesn’t have a lot of money. You haven’t gotten yourself a sugar daddy.” Peter shouted at Sammy, but Minho laughed. He laughed so hard he had to wrap an arm around his waist.
“I have millions. I’m a vampire. If I was broke at my age I should just give up.”
“Millions?” Peter blinked then sat. “Wow. Are you my sugar boy?”
Sammy winced. “No, don’t say that! Boy sounds all age play and shit.”
“Language, and what’s age play?”
“As you’re ancient, I’ll let you handle this one.” Sammy stood and practically ran from the room.
“It’s the whole daddy kink.”
Peter scrunched his face. “Eww. No for me but whatever makes you happy.” Peter leaned closer to Minho. “Have you tried any of that bdsm stuff? Diane and I tried handcuffs but we couldn’t stop laughing.”
“There is very little I haven’t tried and I do like certain aspects of bdsm but both people have to want it.”
“So you’d handcuff me.”
Minho felt his body react and he closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he opened his eyes letting them glow so Peter could see how it affected him. “I would prefer it to be the other way around.”
Peter leaned back in his chair, licking his lips. “I think I might have to give it some thought.”
Minho could picture them together. Him naked, cuffed, spread wide for Peter. “I hope you make up your mind soon.”
The back door burst open and Rex came in like a whirlwind, dropping his bag on the floor, kicking the door shut, and going straight to the fridge. “Hey! We got any apple juice?”
“Yes. How did the assignment go?”
Rex grinned. “All done. Now I can relax until the next one is due.” Rex opened the juice and went to drink straight from the bottle. Peter coughed and Rex sighed before getting a glass from the cupboard. “Vampires.” He grinned and came to the table, sitting across from Minho. “Do you get mesmerized by rice?”
“What?” Oh the counting rice myth. It had been a long time since he’d heard that one.
“You know. You see rice and you have to stop and count it.”
“No.”
“Can you go in to a church?”
“I can, yes and I don’t burst into flames.”
“What about sunlight?”
“Burns and it can be painful to recover from. We can tolerate longer periods the older we are.”
“Does this mean Dad won’t be able to go in the sun?”
“I was gardening earlier, and it wasn’t a problem. What did surprise me was being able to do more than I normally can.”
“Increased strength and stamina.” Minho nodded. “I’m going to see what I gain from our mating.”
“So you mated and now you’re better?” Rex peered at Peter. “Huh. There is less gray.” Peter touched his hair, then jumped up to look in a mirror. “The sides, Dad.”
Peter turned his head from side to side and now that Rex had mentioned it, Minho could see it was true. Peter’s had more dark hair now. “Wow. I do!” Peter spun to face Minho. “Have you seen this?”
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen.” It was something he would speak to the council about. Once they got over their shock of him breaking that particular law. The one that they were all breaking recently. “Any other vampire myths you want to ask me about?”
“Can’t think of any right now so I’ll get back to you.”
Rex’s phone pinged and he read the message and put the phone away, glancing at Peter. “Okay if I stay out at friend’s tonight?”
“Who?”
“Jason.”
“Sure. Leave their parent’s number just in case.” Rex stood and watched Peter, then nodded. “Okay.” Rex picked up his bag and left the room and Minho watched him.
“One down, one to go.” Peter sat next to Minho. “Are you working later?”
“In a few minutes. I only have to go in to give a report then I’m free. Want to go somewhere?”
“Yeah I would. It’s been a while since I went out.”
“Meal, then we can catch a movie?”
“Sounds good. Want me to book us a place?”
Minho stood and nodded. Leaning down to kiss Peter, he said, “Whatever you’re in the mood for will be good by me.” Kissing him again, Minho left, appearing next to Key, who jumped then grumbled under his breath. “Key.”
“Minho. Gray’s already in a meeting which you need to be in as well. Maxim’s been spotted again.”
Minho tensed, his eyes narrowing. “When and where?”
“That information will be given to you in the meeting.”
Minho quickly left Key and walked into their meeting room, seeing most of the security team already there. “Glad you could join us. I’m trying to give you a few days off to enjoy your mating, but with Maxim showing up…” Gray shrugged.
Minho nodded as he sat. “I understand.”
“Congratulations.” Hugo gave him a wide smile. “We’re all mating since Kelvin did it.”
“It’s nice to finally be with him.”
“Finally?”
“Yeah. Minho wanted to torture himself so he found a mate who was already married. He gallantly waited for his mate and now they’re together.” Gray shuffled the papers in front of him. “You know me. I’d have gone straight for it, but I’m a bastard and Minho isn’t.”
“He was worth waiting for, and his wife was a lovely woman. I had no intention of ruining their marriage.”
“I think what you did was right under the circumstances.” Terrance folded his arms over his chest. “One day I will find mine. I’m happy to wait for the right person.”
“Back to work. Maxim has a son. We’ve been able to find some limited proof. Mainly a picture of Maxim and the son when he was young. From what we’ve gathered, he should be in his early twenties by now.”
Minho picked the up the grainy black-and-white photo and stared at it. The quality was poor, but Maxim had his arm around the boy’s shoulders. Could be his son. Could be a friend’s son. “How do we know it’s his child?”
Henry placed another photo in front of him and this one was better quality. Both looking in the same direction and the resemblance was there. “The son looks like Maxim.” Gray handed Minho a folder. “Let’s go over everything we have.”