Chapter 6 #3
The words coming from Ethan required a few extra seconds to decipher.
Everything was getting caught up in his brain.
Ethan was gay. He liked men. Not women. And everything about his demeanor and words said that he was entirely comfortable with that.
He felt no horror or shame or disappointment in himself.
For his entire life, Marcus had been sure that Rafe’s love of both men and women came from his need to assert his individuality over the rules of the world. To show everyone that no one could make him play by their demands. It was all an act of rebellion.
But maybe Rafe truly was attracted to both genders and he was okay with it.
Looking down at Ethan, he knew he didn’t think less of the man.
Yet, when he turned that same light of inspection inward, the shame and horror were still there for himself. He couldn’t forgive himself…and it hurt.
“Mr. Varik?” Ethan prodded when Marcus had been quiet for too long. He hated how Ethan’s expression closed a little, his face growing pale.
“I think after today’s adventure, you can call me Marcus,” he said firmly.
A little part of him hated how Ethan gave a deep sigh of relief.
“And no, I don’t care that you are gay. The truth is that I’ve never given much thought to Rafe’s…
exploits simply because if I did, I would never accomplish anything else. ”
Ethan’s grin returned. “Rafe the rebel, huh?”
“Rafe believes in living life according to his terms, and if it happens to upset other people, then all the better.”
Ethan started to reply, but the front doorbell chimed through the house and they both straightened, seeming to take a step back from each other. Marcus couldn’t recall how they came to be standing so close.
“I’ll go get the food,” Ethan offered and quickly hurried from the kitchen.
Marcus grabbed their drinks and utensils before heading into the dining room. Ethan returned a few minutes later holding a large bag with the most delicious smells rising from it.
Ethan chuckled. “I think we ordered way too much food.”
“I have faith that we can make some headway in it.”
They set out the food on the table and piled their plates full.
Conversation settled into lighter topics, and Marcus was surprised at how easy it was to simply talk to Ethan.
He was smart and funny. He spoke of various jobs he’d taken over the years and how he’d decided to start going to an online college to learn about coding. He dreamed of travel.
And the most wonderful part was that he didn’t press Marcus to share.
There was so much in his life that Marcus couldn’t discuss, from his family to many of the things he’d seen in life.
But sitting there next to Ethan, he found that he wanted to.
He wanted to tell Ethan about all the amazing places he’d traveled during his long life.
He wanted to talk more about his brothers.
But it wasn’t safe.
A loud crack of thunder followed by the long, rumbling growl stopped their conversation and had them both looking toward the window.
“Whoa,” Ethan murmured. “I noticed clouds rolling in when I grabbed the food, but that storm got here fast.”
Marcus glanced down at his watch to find that it was only a little after six in the evening. The sun wouldn’t set for another couple of hours, but a storm could change that.
“Was the sun covered? Is it dark out?”
“I think so.”
Marcus’s heart skipped a beat. This could be bad. He’d set Ethan’s work schedule by the fact that the sun would be up and shining during the hours he was in Marcus’s home. No threats could reach him. But an unexpected storm that covered the sky could change that.
“Would you mind checking?” Marcus asked softly.
Ethan stared at him for a second before he finally nodded and pushed from his chair.
Before Ethan could touch the heavy curtains to pull them apart, Marcus was already standing by the open doorway that led into the kitchen.
He couldn’t take a chance. The windows of the house were all covered with a protective UV film, but it only helped so much.
He had to stay out of the direct light as much as possible.
Blinking in surprise to find Marcus at the other side of the room, Ethan gripped the curtains and flashed him a tentative smile. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Ethan pulled the curtains open only a little, while making sure to keep them closed toward Marcus. The vampire winced a little as the pale new light washed over Ethan. It certainly wasn’t as bright as it should have been.
“There are some really dark clouds overhead. You’d think the sun had already set,” Ethan said.
Marcus carefully crossed the room and took the edge of the curtain from Ethan. He pulled it open a little more and peered out the window. The sunlight burned his eyes a little, but he could see that heavy clouds had covered the sky while lightning arced between them. An early night.
“Have you always been allergic to the sunlight?” Ethan asked quietly.
“No, it’s something that grew worse as I became older.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. It did become worse when he was older. It just hadn’t been a gradual thing. He simply woke up after Aiden put him through the change and he could no longer go out in the sun without risking a painful death.
“Do you miss it? Going out in the sun?”
Marcus turned his head and found himself smiling down at Ethan’s worried expression. “Not as much as you might think.”
“Really?”
“You may find this hard to believe, but I’m not very good with people.”
“Noooo,” Ethan said in mock surprise.
“And I’ve found I’m more comfortable moving around at night when most people are at home. There’s a peace to the night. My brother would argue that there is more freedom in night’s embrace.”
“We know how much your brother loves his freedom.”
Marcus smiled at Ethan’s teasing, enjoying that he felt comfortable enough to do it. Of course, that wasn’t too hard after laughing over a naked picture of Rafe. He started to reply when someone knocked loudly on the front door.
Another vampire was at his house. He’d been so distracted by Ethan that he’d not noticed its approach. Now that he was paying attention, he could feel the power crawling along his flesh. It was someone older than him, stronger than him. This could be very bad.
“I’ll get it,” Ethan said easily. He released the curtains and started to walk past Marcus toward the door.
Marcus jumped in front of him, roughly grabbing both of his shoulders to hold him in place.
There was no missing the way Ethan flinched at his touch, his entire body stiffening.
As if he were afraid of Marcus. But there wasn’t time for that line of thought.
He tucked it away for later and focused on his current, more pressing problem.
Getting Ethan out of the house safely and without being noticed.
“No. I need you to stay in here and remain absolutely silent. Do you understand?”
Ethan nodded, his face becoming pale.
“Do you have everything you need to return to your home?”
“Yes. What—”
The knocking at the front door grew louder and Marcus barely swallowed back a growl of frustration.
“I’m going to take my guest to the second-floor lounge. When you hear the door close, I want you to slip quietly out of the house and go straight home.”
Some of the fear clouding Ethan’s eyes cleared and he frowned. “What about you? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“I’ll be fine. Just follow my instructions.”
Before Ethan could ask any more questions, Marcus left the dining room, shutting the door behind him. The hard soles of his shoes clicked across the wood floor, and his heart hammered in his chest. He had a guess of who was waiting at his door, and her presence was never a good thing.
Taking a last deep, calming breath, Marcus jerked the front door open to reveal a short, slender woman with purple-streaked hair and a knowing grin. Meryl. Behind her stood Cain, a hulking man that made Marcus feel tiny. His dark skin glistened with rainwater as he glared at Marcus.
“Whew! What a storm!” Meryl announced before shoving her way past Marcus into the house. Marcus barely had enough time to move out of the way before Cain plowed through him.
The storm was no coincidence. She’d called it up.
From what he could tell, most vampires came with an added gift, though few advertised it like Meryl.
The storms gave her the freedom to move about during the daylight hours with reduced fear of exposure to the sun.
She loved creating storms during the day so that she could randomly appear on a vampire’s doorstep.
Meryl strolled into the house, her heavy combat boots with the thick rubber soles thumping and squeaking on the floor.
There was a soft jingle that rose from the bits of metal on her leather jacket and pants.
She looked like an escapee from the London punk scene, though her accent was clearly American.
“Why are you here, Meryl?”
“What? I can’t stop in for a visit?”
She strolled around the foyer, eyes scanning over everything while Cain stopped next to Marcus as if he wanted him close at hand should he attempt anything against his mistress. Marcus balled his hands into fists at his sides.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” She flashed him a wide, playful grin as she took a step across the hall, moving away from the parlor and toward the dining room. She took a deep breath and made a dreamy sigh. “Having a light snack?”
Marcus nearly growled. He had a feeling she was referring to the lingering scent of Ethan in the air and not the meal they’d had delivered.
“If you wish to talk, Meryl, then why don’t we move somewhere more comfortable?” He took a step toward the other vampire, extending his hand as he tried to direct her toward the stairs.
“That’s so kind of you, Marcus, but if you’ve got another guest in the house, I wouldn’t want to steal you away.”
Marcus was aware of Cain taking another step closer, positioning his body so that he was nearly between Marcus and Meryl.
“I don’t—” he started to say, but it was too late.
She darted over to the dining room and threw open the door.
Ethan’s surprised gasp shot through him and there was no stopping the snarl that slipped past Marcus’s curled lips.
He rushed to Meryl’s side. Cain’s heavy hand clamped down on his shoulder and squeezed in warning.
Deep down, Marcus knew he could take Cain in a fight.
The vampire was younger and not nearly as strong as Marcus, but he also knew that Meryl wouldn’t remain passive in the fight, and he was no match for the older vampire.
She didn’t need Cain to protect her. She just liked having a flunky shadowing her every move.
“Well, isn’t this a delicious-looking meal,” Meryl purred.
Marcus growled. He threw off Cain’s hand and pushed his way past Meryl to step into the dining room. Ethan had started to move around the table, his hand extended toward the woman with his polite smile in place.
“Hi, I’m Ethan Cline, Mr. Varik’s new assistant,” he introduced.
Marcus jumped in front of Ethan, blocking his path and Meryl’s direct view of him. He didn’t care what Ethan thought; he just didn’t want Meryl taking an interest in Ethan.
“Oh Marcus, he’s so pretty,” Meryl cooed. “Please tell me you’re going to keep this one.”
“This isn’t the time or place, Meryl. We can discuss why you’re here upstairs in the lounge.”
“But we can bring him along.” Her bright hazel eyes jumped to Marcus’s face and she giggled. “The more, the merrier.”
“He was just leaving for the day,” Marcus said firmly. She started to open her mouth, but he continued. “Please, Meryl.”
She pressed her lips together in a bright smile and nodded at him before spinning on her heel. He didn’t move as he listened for the sound of both Meryl and Cain moving up the stairs, and only then did he allow himself to relax a tiny bit.
Ethan’s hand landed on his arm and he twisted around, fully expecting to see anger filling his large blue eyes, but he found only concern there.
“Are you going to be okay?” he whispered.
Marcus nodded sharply. “Go directly home. We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said in a low voice. Not that he could even guess what he’d tell Ethan when he saw the man again. But that was a worry for another day. Right then, he had to figure out what Meryl was up to.