7. Gage
Seven
Gage
A fter a long night of carpentry, Gage decided to take the next night off and relaxed in his art studio. He was reclined in his dark blue velvet chair, feet propped up on his desk and a drawing pad balanced on his knees. Earlier he had been sprawled out on the hardwood floor, then stretched out on the velvet couch, then stood at his desk by the window unable to find a comfortable position. Being a vampire did come with perks, like being stronger and having a higher pain tolerance than the average human, but the occasional aches and stiff muscles from installing flooring all night still happened.
And it annoyed him.
It was Sunday night, which meant The Coffee House Bunny was closed, and he was strangely disappointed in not being able to see Willow. He wondered what she did with her days off and assumed it was probably something silly, like watching cartoons or coloring those adult coloring books that were everywhere lately. He frowned and nodded to himself .
“Yeah, she seems like the type to color,” he mumbled.
He chewed at the end of his colored pencil and looked at his sketch, the irony completely lost on him.
Gage put up his drawing tools and set aside the commissioned forest scene he had been working on. Buffy unraveled herself from around the base of his chair, stretched, then jumped up on the desk to curl herself into a ball. He was absentmindedly petting her when he felt someone approach behind him.
“That’s turning out good,” Nikolas stated, walking into Gage’s studio.
He studied the drawing, then sat down in a paint-splattered folding chair that was propped up in the corner of the room. He rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. Gage knew this pose all too well. It meant that Nikolas wanted to talk about something serious.
Out of all three boys in his group, Nikolas was the one who Gage considered to be his co-pilot. Not that he did not trust Horatio and Matteo, but they were younger vampires and still a little na?ve, whereas Nikolas was calmer, wiser, and more in control of his emotions. He was the first one Gage had enlisted to start his new family, and quickly took his place as Gage’s best friend. He also was not afraid to address difficult situations.
The most recent situation being what had happened with Waldo and Venice.
Nikolas was the one who had intervened after Gage discovered Venice had been sleeping with Waldo for weeks before running away with him on the night Gage was going to propose. Nikolas had been able to stop him from going on a full-on rampage and hunting them both down to rip them apart limb by limb. He had also been there the night Gage got violently drunk and ended up in a sobbing mess on the bathroom floor. He had been able to pick up his drunk ass, clean off the vomit that covered his entire front, and put him to bed to recover.
Venice’s betrayal was a blow that had fully broken Gage’s already half-broken soul, as it happened not long after his father’s family was slaughtered at the hands of Waldo’s father, Gerald. Not only did she cheat, she sided with the enemy that had destroyed everything he loved.
Gerald had done more than kill the people that helped raised him—he changed his father in a way that nothing could repair. He had never seen such a strong man shatter like he did the night he lost his family - the night his father became a shell of his former self.
But he still had his son, and Gage was determined to become a leader that would make him proud.
“What version of Gage are you today? Are you feeling cranky or calm?” Nikolas asked.
“Well I was calm, but I’m guessing you’re about to tell me something that’s going to ruin that.” He quit petting Buffy, with a small glare from her, and relaxed back into his chair.
“I’m going to tell you two things that will probably ruin that. Actually, one of them is kind of worrisome and the other could be good depending on how you look at it. Which one do you want first?”
“Give me the good news first. I want to enjoy my calmness for a little bit longer.”
“Well, Clay called me today. He told me how he thought it would be a good idea if both you and I run the bike shop together. He went and looked at the garage you told him about and it wasn’t as run-down as he thought it would be. He’s willing to buy it for you, but you have to agree to have me be a co-owner.”
Gage groaned. “Why can’t he let me do this myself. It’s like he doesn’t trust me or think I’m capable enough to run my own business. He had no problem with Willow, some random-ass girl who isn’t even from here, running her own café, but God forbid he lets me get my own shop.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with trust or doubting you. I think it’s more of a lesson he’s trying to teach you to help you become the best leader you can be. He wants you to learn how to rely on and work with us. That’s what running a family is all about. It’s safer learning how to do that with a business where if it tanks then the worst that happens is we lose money. If our family fails—” Nikolas’ voice grew softer “—then the humans of Vista Maria die.”
It occurred to Gage that he never seriously thought about how important his role was. Being the head of a family was more than being rich and well-known in the city, he had to create and enforce rules that protected both his kind and humans. Most families believed in only killing those who deserved it, or consensually feeding off people without killing them. But there were still less civilized families, like the Miami family, that followed the old ways of killing anyone they desired. They wanted to return to the Victorian age where humans lived in fear of the monsters of the night. They thought fear brought more power, but in reality, all it brought was war.
Nikolas continued, “I’ve thought about it and I’m down to help with paperwork and finances, but ultimately you would be running the place.”
Gage steepled his hands in front of his face as he thought. It was not an entirely bad idea, Nikolas was easy enough to work with and would keep his promise of working behind the scenes. Plus, this was the closest he had ever been to actually getting his own shop.
“Yeah, I’m good with it. We’re not going to do any weird shit like putting both our names as the shop’s name, though. I don’t need people thinking we’re a couple.”
“Aw, but we would be so cute together—like yin and yang. You’re the blond with a bad attitude and I’m the dark haired, handsome one with the friendly smile.”
Nikolas cracked his signature heart-melting smile that made even the most suspicious person trust him. It was part of his hunting technique. All he had to do was look at a victim with his big, brown eyes and smile, and they would be putty in his hands.
Gage rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and I’m sure our children would come out absolutely adorable. Now, what’s the bad thing you have to tell me?”
“Okay, thing number two is pretty bad. Do you remember Jesse James?”
Gage rolled his eyes even harder the second time. “Who? Do you mean Waldo, the little weasel that didn’t think his name was badass enough so he had to change it to an even cringier name? The self-absorbed turd that is the head of the Miami vampire family? The pea-brained idiot whose own family cannot stand him but sticks by him anyway because he gives them free drugs and money? Of course I remember him, I fucking hate him.”
“Trust me, every vampire in the Florida region hates him. To top off all his wonderful characteristics, Clay said there’s been rumors of him appearing in our territory again. I don’t get why the guy can’t stay on his side of the state.”
“Because he’s an evil prick that finds joy in tormenting me. Clay informed me about the murder rates increasing and now I have no doubt that it’s connected to Waldo.”
“Well, the reason why Clay brought him up is because he’s worried about Willow working nights. He wants us to keep a close eye on her and specifically requested that you start spending more time there.” Nikolas squinted his eyes and raised his brows. “He was very adamant that you are the one that spends the most time there.”
“Yeah, he’s trying to play matchmaker.” A burning sensation bubbled up in Gage’s chest at the thought of Waldo hurting Willow. “Why don’t we set up a schedule with Matteo and Horatio so that someone is always in the area? We don’t have to be in the café, but I want someone close enough that if an attack happens they can get there within minutes.”
Nikolas nodded his agreement. “Clay also suggested that we should mark her so other vampires that pass through know she’s off limits. Again, he was very adamant that you do that.”
“Okay, now he’s just getting desperate.”
Nikolas laughed. “I do have to admit that she does smell good and that could be tempting, especially for a new vampire with less self-control. I’m sure Matteo would be more than willing to mark her if you don’t want to.”
A flair of jealousy ran through him, but it was quickly extinguished. “Matteo doesn’t have a chance in hell after insulting her friend the other night.” He paused before continuing, “So you noticed her scent, too? She smells like candy.”
“At first I thought it was all the syrups and sugars in the café, but I guess it’s her blood that smells that way. I dig it, she’s like a little portable air freshener smelling up the place wherever she goes. It’s rare to find someone with blood as sweet as hers—it must be all the sugar she consumes.”
“Nah, Venice smelled similar and all the bitch ever ate was lettuce and tofu. Maybe the scent is a trick, like how sirens sing beautiful songs to lure pirates to their deaths.”
Nikolas looked at his friend with pity in his eyes. “Don’t let one awful girl ruin you. Not all girls are untrustworthy. Look at Sammy, she and Horatio have only been dating for a few weeks and they’re both so in love it’s gross. Hell, she’s already willing to give up her mortality and turn for him.”
“Maybe she’s just an exception.”
“Or maybe Venice was the exception?”
Gage stood up and stretched. “Whatever. I’m going down to the beach to see if there are any bums that want to lose their lives tonight. I’m feeling a little hungry after all that work yesterday. Want to join me?”
“I can’t, I promised Matteo I would help him change the oil on his bike tonight.”
“By help, do you mean you’re going to do it while he sits there and watches?”
“Probably, I don’t trust him not to break something.”
????
It was getting close to two a.m. when Gage arrived on his motorcycle at the empty beach that ran alongside the Atlantic Ocean. Soon the bars would be closing and plenty of mean drunks would be wandering home, which made easy prey for a night like tonight.
There was something otherworldly about the ocean at night. No lights were allowed on the beach so that the sea turtles that hatched could find their way home by using the moonlight. But tonight there was no moon. The sky was an empty, black void sprinkled with stars, and all that could be heard was the soothing sound of the waves on the pale, sandy shore.
Gage parked his bike on the sandy asphalt and took a lazy stroll toward the gentle water. As he approached it, he realized he was not alone and the sweet smell that mixed with the salty air easily identified her.
Willow was faced away from him, waist-deep in the water, her hair cascading down the length of her bare back as she stared up at the night sky. She did not hear him approach behind her, or notice when he picked up her pile of clothing that was laying in the sand.
He observed her for a second, taking in everything that he saw. The water lapped at her back, almost touching the tips of her hair so dark it looked black in the night. Even without any moonlight, she appeared to be glowing against the surrounding darkness. She was like a smooth, pale goddess of the Atlantic, content in her natural environment. He wondered what that felt like, being so at peace.
He smirked and held out the lavender panties that were hanging from his pointer finger. “Skinny dipping, are we?” He relished in breaking the peaceful scene with his gravelly voice.
Willow spun around and covered her chest with her arms, her hair becoming entangled with them. With his ability to see in the dark, he noticed her face was flushed and her eyes were so large they took up half her face. His cock stirred as he noticed the flesh of her breasts brimming over her arms.
“What are you doing here!” She shrieked.
“I was taking a relaxing walk along the beach. What are you doing standing in the ocean butt-ass naked?”
Her face became contorted with anxiety when she saw he was holding all her clothes. “I-I was… Can you please stop playing with my underwear like that? They’re not a toy. Those were expensive, which is why I’m not wearing them in the water!”
Gage paused his twirling and looked at the label printed on the small, silk cloth. “Michael Kors, huh? I thought he only made purses. I guess the old pervert is designing underwear now, too.”
“The only pervert I know of is you! Please put my clothes down and leave me alone.”
She hugged her arms around herself even tighter as his smirk turned into a full-on grin. He eyed her body and let his eyes rest on the belly button ring where a diamond moon dangled above the water, making him wish the tide would go out just a bit further so he could see what the moon was pointing at.
He partially complied with her request and placed all but the underwear back down. He stepped close to the water and held them just above the liquid surface. “If you want them, come get them.”
“I’m not playing this game with you, Gage!” She buried her face into the hair tangled among her arms. She peeked up at him through the strands and he about came undone.
He quickly turned his wicked grin into a tight-lipped smile, hiding the sharp canines that were aching to sink into her tender flesh and taste her blood that smelled so sweet as she screamed his name in ecstasy. He suddenly grew worried that if that fantasy came true, something would change in him. That he could easily fall for this girl. He reminded himself that he was not the dating type.
But he was the type to tease a pretty girl.
“Aw, but I like games. You’re no fun,” he taunted, and pretended to drop the expensive silk into the water.
She lunged forward, reaching only one arm out to catch her underwear. Gage grew hard when he saw the soft, milky-white skin right underneath her breasts. It looked like a lovely place to mark her. He quickly caught the underwear and held them up high over his head.
“Oops, too slow,” he purred.
“You’re being childish, please just give them to me.”
“You have to come get them. I’m wearing leather boots, there’s no way I’m walking into the water.”
“Can’t you put them down on the ground and turn around? Or at least close your eyes?”
“Nope, not an option.”
She let out a small, frustrated scream and slapped the water with her free hand. “You’re intolerable. See if I make you any more special drinks the next time you come into my coffee shop.”
He chuckled at her little tantrum. He took a few steps back from the water, hoping to trigger another frustrated scream. “The longer you wait to get them, the farther away I’ll be from the water.”
Her irritation boiled over and she took a deep breath before covering her lower region with her free hand and running out of the water toward him. She stood in front of him, glaring daggers up at him. He’d never realized how short she was until she was this close. She barely came up to his shoulders. There was no way she would be able to reach the underwear that was still being held up over his head.
“Well, hello there.” He was impressed at himself for resisting the urge to peer over her shoulder and look at her exposed rear.
“Give me my fucking underwear.”
He lowered his eyelids and leaned down, inches away from her face. “Beg me for them,” he whispered.
She stood her ground and squinted her eyes back at him. “Go to hell, I will do no such thing.”
“Don’t worry honey, I’m already planning on going there.” He smirked and dropped her panties onto the top of her head, turning around to head to the sidewalk and begin his hunt for the night.
????
Gage returned home full and satisfied. Before he went to bed, he began a new drawing that was not commissioned.
He originally was going to draw the ocean with a star filled sky, but ended up adding in an hourglass-shaped silhouette standing in the gentle waves. He did not mean to include her, but sometimes art had a mind of its own and would unfold in a way the artist was not expecting.
For the first time in a while, he went to sleep that morning in a good mood.