Chapter 10
Ten
Fox awoke with a start. He rubbed his eyes and looked around as Winter pulled into what appeared to be an open warehouse. Behind them, a metal garage door rattled down.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that,” Fox murmured, trying to get his brain working again. How long had he been out? He and Winter had been talking so easily. His eyes had shut for just a second, or so he thought.
“Don’t worry about it.” Winter easily maneuvered the vehicle into the wide-open space, turning it around so it faced the door again. It would make for a much easier escape if they had to get out of there quickly.
Fox glanced at the clock on the dashboard to find that it was just after three in the morning. They’d made good time. They’d stopped once for drive-thru and then a second time just outside of Connecticut for gas, snacks, and to stretch their legs.
“This is your place?” Fox asked as Winter put the SUV into park and turned off the engine. His eyes skimmed over the four other cars, which ranged from a sleek luxury sedan to a beat-up old Toyota. “How many other people live in this building with you?”
“It’s just me.” Winter caught him looking at the other cars and smirked. “I like to have something that fits every occasion.”
“You’re like a part-time spy, aren’t you?”
Winter narrowed his eyes on Fox, the icy blue nearly sending a shiver through him. “You’ve found out my secret. Now I must kill you.”
“Or…” Fox drew out, holding up one finger. “You can recruit me to be your plucky and sexy sidekick to help you on missions. You know, like that old TV show Scarecrow and Mrs. King.”
“There’s no way you’re old enough to remember that show,” Winter muttered.
“Streaming services allow you to find all kinds of old crap. So, how about it? A super-spy team up.”
Winter stared at him for a moment, like he was actually considering it, and Fox’s heart skipped a beat before Winter finally smirked and gave a little shake of his head.
Yeah, it was a crazy idea, but he was starting to enjoy his time with the vampire. Winter wasn’t at all what he expected when it came to bloodsuckers. Definitely not like the ones that belonged to Damon.
Oh, there was no missing that Winter was incredibly dangerous and crafty, but there was so much more to him.
Fox had gotten the tiniest taste of Winter’s protective side.
The vampire had taken care of his injuries, seen that he was properly fed, and had even gotten his brother to stock his house with more food and necessities for his human “prisoner.” And even that word was starting to feel like a stretch.
His sense of humor was dry and liked to poke its head out at the strangest of times. As if he didn’t get much chance to use it. And Fox wanted to give Winter’s sense of humor a workout.
Along with other parts of him.
All the parts of him.
Fox wanted to groan at his thoughts. The vampire was still debating whether to kill him, and Fox’s libido was trying to figure out how to get him into bed.
Of course, if Fox hadn’t been a potential threat to Winter’s family, there was no way the vampire would have noticed him otherwise.
Winter was the perfect dark, brooding Hollywood vampire. He growled and glared and grumbled. He could stand in a room and just ooze sex appeal.
And on the other hand, there was Fox. Thin, pale, redheaded men did not draw the attention of sexy men who could have anyone they wanted. Fox knew this from way too much personal experience and many brutal rejections. He was no one’s dream of the perfect mate.
But he wouldn’t turn aside some mind-blowing sex if Winter wanted to find a little release.
Hell, why not flirt with him? They could have a little fun while he was there, and it would make his stay with Winter that much more enjoyable.
“Let’s go see what Bel and his boys dropped off for you,” Winter said, pulling Fox from his incredibly random thoughts.
Grabbing his duffel from the back of the SUV, Winter led the way up a set of wide stairs to the second floor. He punched in a code and placed his hand over a reader to unlock whatever security measures he had in place before pushing open the heavy metal door.
“Wow,” Fox breathed as they stepped into the large open space.
It looked as if Winter had taken an old warehouse or an office building and renovated it into this massive loft.
The beautiful hardwood floors shone under a scattering of colorful rugs.
The exposed brick walls added more warmth and character.
The living room and kitchen area were open to high twelve-foot ceilings.
The living room had an L-shaped couch in front of a huge entertainment system, complete with three gaming systems and a stack of movies. It was the perfect place to stretch out and chill for several hours.
But the most jaw-dropping part was that one entire wall was covered in guitars.
Both electric and acoustic guitars hung from special hooks drilled into the exposed brick, creating the most stunning splash of color in the entire loft.
Of course. It only made sense. It wasn’t enough that Winter was a dark, sexy vampire, but he also played the guitar.
If Winter didn’t do something horrible soon, Fox was going to be one giant walking hard-on for the next several days. It really wasn’t fair.
He followed Winter across the living room to the kitchen. The vampire loudly dropped his bag by the breakfast bar and walked into the kitchen filled with gleaming stainless-steel appliances and white marble counters. The place was so neat and clean, he was sure it was never used.
Only reusable bags stacked on the center island marred the perfection. Winter picked up a note lying on one of the bags, and Fox couldn’t help but read the message around him.
24 hours
The clock is ticking.
~Bel
“Your brother is persistent,” Fox observed.
Winter grunted and crumpled up the piece of paper in one hand.
“I think he’s still feeling guilty. He didn’t exactly tell the family about his wolves right away, and I don’t think he wants to get caught keeping any more secrets.
” Winter stopped and smirked over his shoulder at Fox.
“Of course, I could wait an hour or so and then call them. Tell them I have the witch at my place.”
Fox didn’t get why Winter was so amused by that thought until he followed his gaze to the windows. The sky was still dark, but the sun would be rising soon. And Winter’s brothers would be trapped in their homes, unable to do anything with Winter’s information until the sun set again.
“You’re fucking evil.” Fox chuckled.
“I have been told that several times in the past.” Winter shoved the balled-up note into his pocket and turned his attention to the bags.
Poking around inside, he handed off two.
“Looks like these are clothes.” He found a third and gave it to Fox as well.
“This one appears to be toiletries and other odds and ends.”
For a moment, he couldn’t think as he looked in the bags a little to find several pairs of jeans, a couple of pairs of comfortable sweat pants, lots of T-shirts, and a few sweaters.
Springtime in Connecticut likely meant some unpredictable weather.
The other bag had packages of socks, T-shirts, and underwear along with shampoo, conditioner, razors, toothbrush, and more.
It had been so long since anyone had bought him anything. And these were strangers. No, these were people he was supposedly a mortal threat to, and they’d gotten him all this stuff so he’d be comfortable in Winter’s home.
Why? It didn’t make any sense. Why didn’t Winter just lock him up the same way Damon had? The vampire at least had a good reason to, where Damon was just a fucking asshole.
“But…I told him I only needed a little bit. He shouldn’t have,” Fox stammered, struggling to keep the overwhelming emotions out of his voice.
“Bel likely had them get at least a week’s worth of stuff. If they missed anything, we can order it tomorrow,” Winter said. He grabbed the remaining bags and started pulling out boxes of pasta, cereal, and other simple foods.
To Winter it all seemed to be so logical, but this kind of generosity to him felt…
weird. A useless witch trapped in a prophecy some asshole just made up.
Fox kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make a bigger deal of the clothes than he already had.
He’d find a way to pay Winter back if he managed to survive this.
He turned his attention to the food Winter was methodically putting away.
Fox had been clear with River that he didn’t know a damn thing about cooking.
He was good with basics. Since it was just him that would be eating most of the time, he didn’t want River and his mates to spend a lot of time picking up things that he’d never get around to eating.
Fox walked over to the fridge and opened the double doors to find the freezer loaded with packages of meat along with frozen pizza, waffles, and premade potato skins. Mmm…all forms of potatoes were heaven.
The fridge section was filled with beverages, fruits, and vegetables. And it was all beside stacks of bagged blood. Lovely. Food for him and food for the vampire.
“I’m guessing your brother got all of this too,” Fox said, holding the doors open for Winter to see.
“Yep. If there’s anything missing, we’ll order it tomorrow.”
Fox chuckled and closed the door. “I get the feeling your brother is expecting me to just eat food and change clothes constantly while I’m here.”
Winter gave a little shrug, not quite meeting his eye. “The situation isn’t ideal. I just want you to be comfortable while you’re stuck here.”
“You’re gonna have to work harder, you know? This is starting to feel a whole lot more like a pajama party and less like a kidnapping,” Fox teased.