Chapter 20 #2
At Ji-Su’s nod, they ascended a wide, shallow staircase. On the second level, they reached a curving hallway with gold carpet and gold and black wallpaper. Raul led him down the hall to where a tall Black man stood waiting. Ji-Su barely managed to close his mouth after it dropped open in surprise.
This vampire was handsome in a refined, elegant way that made you feel flustered and grubby just looking at him.
He had rich, dark skin that practically glowed with a golden sheen, and his black hair was cut low and brushed so that the curl pattern was transformed into smooth waves.
He wore a dark gray suit that had a violet sheen when he moved under the lights, a black dress shirt beneath it, and expensive black dress shoes.
When he smiled, he revealed straight teeth and bright, white fangs.
“Hello, Ji-Su. I’m John.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Ji-Su said politely.
“Please, call me John.”
They chatted for a few minutes, John putting Ji-Su at ease by asking about his gaming with genuine interest. To his surprise, Ji-Su found himself freely chatting until the others began to arrive.
First to join them was a Caucasian vampire, tall and broad-shouldered with dark hair, Eastern European good looks, and humor sparkling in his brown eyes. Raul introduced him as Warren.
“You’re a precious little bite,” he said to Ji-Su with a flirtatious, fanged smile.
“Uh...” Ji-Su wasn’t sure what to say to that comment. Before he could think of a response, Raul curled an arm around his shoulders.
“Save your flirting for the club, Warren.”
Warren didn’t seem fazed by Raul’s warning. He simply winked at Ji-Su and moved off to speak with someone else.
Next was Peter, a vampire with smooth brown skin and surprisingly, not much taller than Ji-Su.
He seemed pleasant and kind of nerdy, which made Ji-Su like him immediately, and made it hard to believe he was part of a criminal organization.
His confusion must have been on his face after Peter walked away because Raul leaned down to whisper in his ear.
“Peter is in charge of our finances. He’s hands off when it comes to direct involvement with other activities.”
Ji-Su nodded in understanding. That made sense. He also met LaToria and Tristan, who greeted him with relaxed, friendly charm. They both looked like they could be runway models.
The last to join their group was a tall, dark-haired vampire in a three-piece suit with a red-haired human on his arm. The redhead’s eyes lit up with excitement when he saw Ji-Su.
“Another human!”
With a big smile on his face, he came over to shake Ji-Su’s hand.
As he drew close, Ji-Su saw that he had a bite mark on his throat that shimmered with a pearlescent glow.
Ji-Su had never seen anything like it before, especially since most vampire bites healed without leaving a mark.
He was curious about the bite mark, but he was too polite to ask about it.
“I’m Solan,” he said without waiting for Raul to introduce them. “It’s nice to have another human in the group. You’d think one of these vampires would bring another blood pet to our family meet ups but they never do.”
That was interesting. Ji-Su knew Raul went out in public with his blood pets because he’d seen them the night they met. So why didn’t he bring them to outings with his Sanguis Syndicate members? And why had he brought him tonight?
The tall vampire at Solan’s side smoothly cut in to introduce himself.
“Hello, Ji-Su. I’m Everett. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“You as well.”
“You’ve had our Raul quite distracted lately.”
“Me?” He looked up at Raul in time to see him throw Everett an annoyed glare before he looked down at Ji-Su with his usual smile.
“Pay him no mind. His brain was scrambled when he met Solan and sadly he never recovered.”
Everett laughed at that while Solan bit his lip to hold back a smile.
They continued to talk until the theater lights flashed, signaling that the performance was about to begin.
Their group split up to go into the two large private boxes.
Ji-Su went with Raul into the first box.
It was as nice as the rest of the theater, with gold velvet seating and black marble railing.
A few minutes later, the lights went down, the crowd quieted, and the ballet began.
As the dancers took the stage, Ji-Su watched, amazed at the strength and grace of their bodies.
Somehow every leap and turn looked both easy and like something no normal human being could do at the same time.
This was his first time experiencing a story without some form of narration, and he’d half-expected to be bored or lost as a result.
However, it wasn’t long before he was not only following the story but was completely sucked into it.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he felt eyes on him and turned slightly to see that Raul was watching him.
At first, he only meant to give him a small smile and nod to show he was enjoying the performance.
However, something in Raul’s gaze made him go still.
His eyes weren’t glowing, but they watched him with a strange intensity.
When Ji-Su’s heart began to pound, Raul’s gaze dropped to his throat.
It wasn’t Wednesday. But... maybe Raul would want to drink from him tonight.
Ji-Su would let him if he did. But he didn’t want it to be at the kitchen table.
He wanted something more comfortable. More intimate.
What would Raul say if he were to suggest it?
There were many things he wanted to say to Raul. Wanted to ask.
I want you to drink from me.
Why don’t you want me?
Why am I here with you tonight?
Why don’t you want me?
As the thoughts tumbled around Ji-Su’s head, the house lights went up and the theater broke into applause. Surprised at the sudden noise, Ji-Su jerked his gaze away from Raul’s and back to the stage. It was time for intermission.