3. Chapter Three
Chapter three
Benji
It took everything in me to hold in a laugh. Lysandro looked shell-shocked at an innocent little kiss on the cheek. He’d be really alarmed if he knew that it was either that or jumping in his arms, straddling his waist, and fusing our mouths together.
“So tell me. What’s your gift?”
He cleared his throat, which I absolutely knew he didn’t need to do, and my belly fluttered. Had a simple peck flustered him so much? He was older than God from the sounds of it, so he’d definitely had intimate relations with someone before, right? And it was a cheek kiss, for fuck’s sake.
“I actually have several.”
“No way,” burst from my mouth without thought. I shook my head. “No, of course you do. You’re ancient, right, so that makes perfect sense.”
He scrunched his nose, and again, my brain screeched to a halt. This was so new. Did fabulous clothes also mean new and quirky character traits? I really, really hoped so. “I’m not sure my age has anything to do with my multiple gifts, but that’s beside the point.
“Benji, I can’t reiterate enough how important it is that you keep this to yourself.”
“Okay,” I said, wishing he’d get to the point. Curiosity was gonna kill this cat if he didn’t get with it.
“I’m a daywalker,” he said, low and ominous.
I waited for him to follow that up with something, anything. When he didn’t, I asked, “And…”
His lips twitched into a slight frown, and I felt bad for making light of it. Obviously, this was a big deal to him. “Sorry, sorry. I just…well, you already came in, and it’s daytime, so I kinda figured you were a daywalker. I thought there was something else.”
If I wasn’t so positive that it wasn’t possible for someone as regal as him to act so normal, I’d say that Lysandro’s mouth fell open. “And you don’t find that I can go into the sun…extraordinary?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I guess not. I mean, on a lot of TV shows and in the movies—”
He finally wrenched himself out of my grasp and grabbed at his hair. “Hollywood has normalized things that just aren’t right.” He paced the length of the kitchen, mumbling to himself.
“Lysandro?” I asked hesitantly. Maybe I’d really offended him.
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Sorry. It’s just…I worked myself into a tizzy all week trying to figure out how to handle this information with you, and you don’t even care.”
A tizzy? Holy shit. This version of Lysandro was as adorable and enticing as the Velvet Vein Lysandro was hot and sexy.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it was that big a deal.”
He stared at me from across the room in his purple raincoat and paisley shirt and gave me a look that reminded me exactly who I was dealing with.
His fathomless eyes penetrated right into my soul in a way that sent a scared shiver up my spine even as my dick jerked in my boxers.
Which was the last thing I needed him to see.
“In all my years, I’ve only ever known one other daywalker, and that was my mother.”
“Holy shit.” His reaction to my lack of a reaction began to make sense. “So Hollywood really got it wrong, huh?”
“Benji, if more of my kind had this gift, the human race would know nothing but slavery. Enough of my people already consider themselves gods, so it’s very important that you keep this information to yourself.”
I gulped. “I understand. I swear, I won’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“Not even Rafe or Eric?”
“Not even them.” It would be hard hiding the mind-blowing revelation of what this meant from Rafe, but Eric was easier. I’d texted him multiple times over the last week about my move, and he’d left me on read every time. Fuck him.
His gaze held mine for a moment longer before his eyes fell to my groin.
He licked his lips—in what I was pretty sure was a subconscious gesture—before his eyes trailed up my chest like a caress and landed on my mouth.
He was killing me. It was a relief when he spun and opened the refrigerator.
“Let me see what I can whip you up for breakfast while you get dressed. I want to walk you through town a little, and I have a job opportunity if you’re interested. ”
Grateful to be able to escape the kitchen in my half-hard state, I dodged out of the room. Before running upstairs, I peeked back in and held the door frame with one hand and squeezed my cock with the other while my lower body was outside of his vision.
“You mean it about the job? Ever since I realized how small the town is, I’ve been worried whether I’d be able to find anything.”
“I thought given your love of libraries, maybe you’d like to work at the Willowhope Library with me.”
I tried my best to control my happiness at the idea of working with him, but I wasn’t sure I pulled it off based on the twitch of his lips. “With you?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’m the head librarian, so I thought—”
Badass Lysandro Moretti lived in this small town on the Jersey shore as a librarian? No one else had that information but me. He hadn’t told anyone else he was a daywalker but me. Me. Benji Parker.
I couldn’t help myself. He didn’t finish his sentence before I’d moved into his space, throwing my arms around him, and finally doing what I’d wanted since the first time I’d seen him.
As our lips touched, Lysandro went stone still, and I worried that I’d gone too far; then his strong arms locked around me like steel traps, and he swept his tongue across the seam of my lips seeking entrance.
A breathy sigh escaped me, caught between us, as our tongues tangled in the longest, slowest, most erotic kiss of my life.
I was kissing a motherfuckin’ ancient ass vampire, and damn was I here for it.
Lysandro
Benji’s mouth was so warm, his tongue like a hot little dagger branding me and chasing away the cold darkness I lived in every day of my life. It was everything I never knew I needed but also more than I deserved.
“Wow,” he breathed out as I forced myself to part our lips.
He wasn’t wrong. Wow felt like an understatement, but this wasn’t supposed to happen.
I’d known he’d be a forbidden temptation here in my town—in my home—which was why we needed to get to the library as soon as possible.
Being alone with Benji shook my resolve and would inevitably be disastrous for him.
Letting him go hurt like my turning from human to beast, but I forced myself to step back. “Run up and put some clothes on.”
“Noooooo,” he groaned but obediently backed away, grinning like he’d swiped the last tasty treat from the cookie jar. “Let me run up to my room, and I’ll be right back.”
I nodded sharply, focusing on anything but the bulge in his boxers. It had been bad enough these last few months watching his pert little ass from behind, but knowing and feeling the perfectly proportioned package he carried up front was going to haunt me.
The sounds of him moving around upstairs alerted me to the fact that he’d chosen to move into my bedroom.
I’d washed the linens for all of the guests’ rooms preparing for him, and had even considered locking my own door to keep him from wandering in there, but I hadn’t.
My thoughts were going to torture me, picturing him in my bed in his briefs, imagining him bringing pleasure to himself in my sheets…
“I’m ready,” he said, running back into the room.
I blinked out of the fantasies already swirling in my mind. “You didn’t have to hurry. I haven’t even had time to make you a cup of coffee or breakfast.”
He shrugged. “I want to see the library. Is there a Starbucks or something we can stop at on the way?”
Clucking my tongue, I swept an arm out for him to go on, and I followed him to the front door. “Thankfully, those chains haven’t moved into Willowhope yet, but I have a place that I quite think you’ll enjoy.”
He stood on the porch, surveying the area now that he could see it in the light of day.
It was a relief to see the appreciation on his face.
The town with its fresh ocean air, its placement on the ley lines, and the incredible magical beings who inhabited it made it my favorite place on Earth.
I’d hate for Benji to dislike it, especially since he was essentially stuck here now—whether he realized it or not.
As I opened my rainbow-patterned umbrella over my head, he sputtered out a laugh. “What in the world is that?”
“It’s one of the best ways to protect me from the sun. Just because I’m…me, doesn’t mean I can be mindlessly walking around outside,” I said, trying not to feel silly about my large umbrella or its pattern.
I’d carved a life away from anyone who thought they knew me at Velvet Vein, so I wasn’t used to scrutiny.
Being the eccentric librarian in town meant people were nice to me, often asked for my help, but they also kept a certain distance that I found preferable.
Friendly acquaintances, not friends. That was my motto.
We walked to Witch’s Brew where I introduced him to the lovely wives, Carli and Cassi, before stopping in for him to meet the ornery Sonny who owned the Daily Knead.
Benji had confessed his love for delicious bakery bread in one of our chats at the club, and I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t miss out on one of his favorite things here.
We finally circled back around to the early 1900s estate building that housed the library behind the center of town. The building’s European craftsmanship made it a standout in our small town, and I’d spent a small fortune restoring it to its former glory while putting in all of the modern updates.
We walked up the long steps to the red double doors that were more reminiscent of a castle than the glass doors of so many modern libraries. Inside was the check-in desk, tables and chairs, and computer stations, along with the rows upon rows of books.
“Lysandro,” Benji whispered. “It has everything, but it feels like entering an enchanted garden in here.”
That had been my doing. My brainchild to have green vines climbing the walls and floral touches everywhere. “I can’t think of anywhere more magical than what we find between the pages of books, can you?”
If I’d still been a breathing man, mine would’ve caught in my throat at the pure delight on his face. He gripped my forearm tightly. “And you can really get me a job here?” he asked.
“It’s already done.”
“Hey, Lysandro,” an older man said as he hobbled on a cane toward the door with a quilted bag his late wife had made him clutched in his hand.
“Larry,” I said with a slight smile. “Did you find everything you needed?”
“Sure did.” He grinned. “My grandkids are coming to see me, so I wanted to read about their hobbies, so we’d have something to talk about. Hard enough fighting their phones for attention.”
“Hey, I’m Benji,” the young man said with a small wave. “Do you need help getting those out to the car or do you need a hand home?”
Larry’s gaze slid from me to Benji. “Well, aren’t you a good boy?” I flinched inwardly. Benji didn’t look too young to me, but I’d also known his age for as long as I’d known him. I’d watched the anti-aging effects of feeding a vampire transform him.
“Benji’s an online college student, Larry. He’s going to be working here from now on.”
“Well, is that right?” He maneuvered his bag in an attempt to shake Benji’s hand, but my newest employee beat him to the punch, taking the bag from him, shaking his hand, and then holding up the bag. “Where we headed?”
Larry huffed a laugh. “My helper is outside. Told her to wait in the car because I can check out a few books without help.”
“Of course you can,” I soothed.
Benji shrugged. “Well, I don’t know anyone but Lysandro yet, so consider it doing me a favor to escort you outside.”
The old man stared at him, wagging a finger to let him know he wasn’t getting anything over on him. “I guess we better go on out then. You can tell me where you’re from.”
Benji mouthed, “I’ll be right back,” and chatted excitedly with Larry as they slowly made their way toward the door.
I needed to remember this moment forevermore. Benji was good, too kind for the likes of me, and I was old enough to have more self-control than I’d shown so far today.
As he came back in, moving swiftly toward me like I held the check for his winning lottery ticket, I wondered what I’d done to anger my goddess because this young man really might be my downfall.