Chapter 30 #3
“Isn’t it? I’m supposed to take care of you. I always take care of you.”
“I’m still here. You still have a chance to be annoyingly smothering.”
That got him. Mateo’s lips curved into a mischievous grin.
“I do love you, Nicky.”
“I know.”
“But I’d love you even more if you could make four hot guys who were down-to-fuck appear in my bed tonight.”
Nicholas huffed a disbelieving laugh. Mateo never could stay upset for long.
“What? I had to cancel my lunchtime gangbang to be here. Now how will I pay my rent?” His smile was all blinding teeth, and Nicholas lost himself to more laughter.
“Sorry,” he said when Mateo blew warm air into his palms. With a thought, the ice gradually melted until the current circulated again.
“It’s okay. You had a point to prove.” He blew out a breath. “Reincarnation with some added bells and whistles, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re just a replacement for his dead lover?”
“Your favorite color is green.”
“No, I don’t think so. Not anymore.”
Mateo didn’t seem so sure.
“So that means everything you like or dislike is because of Lane?”
“His name is Zayn, and no, not everything. At least that’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
Mateo snorted. “Well, you have horrific taste in men. You definitely got that from him.”
Nicholas gritted his teeth, wondering if this was how things would be from now on. His best friend bashing Gabriel while he tried hard not to tear his throat out for it.
“If this is going to work, I need you to promise me something. You get to be upset with Gabriel. If our roles were reversed, I would be too. And the truth is, I’m pretty upset with him myself. But no badmouthing him to me, okay? He can’t be the punchline of every conversation between us.”
I can’t handle it.
“Okay,” he conceded. “But I reserve the right to hate him.”
He pinched Nicholas’s chin the way he did when they were kids, mouth twisting. “So…”
Nicholas knew that tone, knew he was about to hear something that would make him flush.
“Can we use your gifts for the good of mankind?”
Nicholas batted his hand away with a snort, knowing that whatever ‘good’ Mateo referred to involved money or sex—or both.
“Leave me out of your debauchery.”
Mateo tackled him to the ground, poking his ribs until he released an embarrassing squeal.
Mateo gasped. “Vampire-witches are ticklish?”
“You know I’ve always been ticklish, idiot.” He shook with amusement, fighting to get away.
He could’ve overpowered Mateo, sending him flying with a flick of his wrist, but he found that he liked this. That while he was no longer normal, he could still do normal things.
They talked for hours, and Nicholas even humored Mateo’s request for ‘magic tricks’ before introducing him to Ezekiel, Maxim, and Malachi. It took some time for him to warm up to them, but they were climbing all over him in no time.
The patio lights had come on by the time Mateo stood to leave.
“I’ve gotta head home. Eliana’s got me working some billionaire ball tonight.”
“You know,” Nicholas said quietly. “I can help you if you want to stop.” He didn’t have any real money, but he could probably borrow some from Hamza or Marcus. He’d even go as far as asking Gabriel if he had to.
“It isn’t about the money, Nicky. Not completely. Your heat may have been resolved with Gabriel’s blood and ‘magic stick,’ but mine is still in full swing.”
Nicholas rolled his eyes, getting up from the couch to walk him to the door.
“Hey,” Mateo said, stopping right outside. “You know I never wanted you for myself, right? That wasn’t the reason I didn’t want you with Gabriel. I mean, I did want you, but I didn’t. Does that make sense?”
“It does, and I already knew that.”
Mateo had wounds that hadn’t yet healed, and Nicholas was the only one who never preyed on them.
“I won’t tell anyone. You can trust me.”
“I know.” And he meant it. Mateo had yet to fail him.
“And if you ever find yourself in a pinch, you know, like if all the blood banks shut down. Call me. Word on the street is that I taste pretty damn good.”
He winked, and Nicholas had a feeling he’d be the focus of his inappropriate sense of humor from now on.
“I’d never do that to you, you know. Attack you. Drink from you. I’m under control. Mostly,” he added… because he needed at least another week to be sure. “You’re safe with me.”
“I know. It was just a joke.” He turned, but then pivoted back to Nicholas. “Does it hurt? The bite?”
“It can, but we can release a venom so that it doesn’t, and so that the person doesn’t even remember being fed on—but I’d never do that to you either.”
“Venom?”
“Um, yeah… You release enough of it, and the person is none the wiser. No pain, no memory of the experience. Release a little, and there’s some pain, and maybe a memory that feels more like déjà vu. Release no venom at all and—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Mateo whispered, two trembling fingers going to his neck again. His gaze grew distant, then narrowed on the set of stairs over Nicholas’s shoulder, the stairs Gabriel and the dogs had disappeared up hours ago.
Mateo’s lip curled into a snarl. “Son of a bitch.”