4. Chapter Four
Chapter four
Lysandro
Benji might well be some form of trickster that I’d never heard of.
I didn’t know how I could be so blindsided by someone after all these years, but he was proving me wrong.
I’d geared myself up for days, then weeks, to let him down gently.
To inform him that there would be no more kisses, but he’d never broached the subject.
His small smiles, tiny pets on my back as he passed me in the library, or playful winks when he saw me helping someone might’ve actually been worse. What in the world was he up to? Did he not want to kiss me again? I’d felt his arousal; hell, I’d smelled it.
For the first few weeks, the only question he peppered me with multiple times a day was about where I was staying. Like with the kissing, if it bothered him that I’d never returned to the Belflower Lane house, I saw no signs of it—just curiosity about where I went when the library closed.
“Benji, I need to feed,” I admitted, whispering in his ear as the one other employee tonight grabbed her purse and headed toward the front door.
He whirled around with that bright, happy smile on his face. “Finally.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Only that I got used to you gnawing on me weekly. It’s been five weeks, Lysandro. I was actually getting a little worried that you were either starving yourself or going back to Velvet Vein for your nourishment.”
Wrinkling my nose, I glared at him. “Why in the world would I travel when I have a perfectly delicious donor right here?”
His stupidly pretty green eyes sparkled, making them even more alluring. “Delicious, huh?”
“Come,” I said, stomping away.
He followed me out a side door, down the narrow steps, and into my personal sanctuary. “Ohh, I get to go into your office? I heard no one’s allowed in here.”
There was a reason for that, which he’d see soon enough. Unlocking the door, I stepped back and allowed him to pass me. I thanked my lucky stars that we were already closed since he squealed with excitement.
“Lysandro, this is awesome,” he said, skipping around the room so fast that he looked like a baby fledgling learning how to control his increased speed. “It’s like a smaller version of your lovely home.”
He screeched to a halt next to my King-sized bed. “Is this where you’ve been sleeping?”
I shrugged. “When I need a rest.” Or when I needed to escape the scent of sandalwood, patchouli, and possibility—the enticing aroma that wafted off of him now that he seemed to be happier.
Although, how he was more content and less unhappy with me as the only person he truly knew in town, I didn’t understand. We saw each other here and nowhere else. I was sure he talked to Rafe a lot, but still, how much fun could that be for him? Maybe I needed to…what? Hang out with him more?
He jumped back onto the mattress, gleefully bouncing a couple of times before patting the spot next to him. “Come on over, and I’ll feed you.”
I stared at the spot like it had personally offended me. I couldn’t sit on a bed with him. That was a recipe for disaster. Instead, I walked to the small desk and motioned for him to sit in the chair.
He rose slowly and sauntered toward me, smirking the whole time. Was this it? Would this be the night I gave him my carefully prepared speech to let him down gently?
His arm brushed my chest as he stepped past the chair, turned, and popped his butt up onto my desk. “What are you doing?”
He nodded at the chair. “There isn’t another chair in here, and you shouldn’t have to stand. Of course, we’d both be more comfortable on your bed, but…” He shrugged one shoulder. “I get it. I’m pretty irresistible.”
I hadn’t figured out how to respond to that when he kicked at the chair with his foot. “Sit.”
As I sat, still worried this might be some kind of trap to steal another kiss, he held out his arm, wrist up, and his blood called to me, singing its siren song louder than ever. My mouth watered, fangs descended, and it took centuries and centuries of control to not spiral into bloodlust.
My teeth pierced his skin, and he shifted, putting his groin so close to my face that I could smell his precum, and as I sucked, he threw his head back with the moan I’d always watched him hide at Velvet Vein. My own dick went hard as stone.
I knew he was a trickster.
The days passed into weeks, and we developed a rhythm.
Benji had an affinity with the children and the elderly, so he kept himself busy with them while restocking the shelves and helping my older employees become more proficient with their computer skills.
I was always conscious of him, but I thought I hid it pretty well.
He only dropped his professional facade when he’d slip into my sanctuary to donate his blood to me.
He wouldn’t allow me to pay for his services anymore since he lived in my house and received a payroll check from the library.
While I didn’t agree with his reasoning, I accepted it since I knew that I’d always provide whatever the young mortal needed.
It was so much easier keeping an eye on him now that he lived in Willowhope, and I didn’t have to blur to the city.
I could reach Belflower Lane before he could, so I ensured he made it home safely each night—not that he knew that—generally waiting until the light in my bedroom went out before returning to my own room for the night.
“You ready?” he asked, waltzing by me, dangling the skeleton key to my office from one finger. I’d given it to him in case of emergencies, but he used it whenever he wanted. Which I didn’t hate, even if I’d never admit it.
I followed him in, confused when he sat in the chair instead of taking his spot on my desk. “Lysandro, we need to talk about your feedings.”
Narrowing my eyes, I tried desperately to remind him—and myself—that I was the one in charge here. “In what way?”
He pulled the collar of his shirt down while tilting his neck to the side, exposing the pale skin there, the pulse hammering in his neck. “I think you should take it from here.”
Just the idea of sinking my teeth into that lovely, unblemished flesh sent desire flaring through me. So many of my kind treated the carotid and femoral arteries like just another place to pull their nourishment from, but to me, it was more intimate than that.
Allowing myself to get that close to another’s body, them allowing me that kind of access…
I bit back a groan, fighting my beast for control. We both wanted that, to suck and nip at every point of this man’s luscious skin.
“Benji,” I started, then stopped as alarm bells rang in my mind, and I hissed.
“Uh, Lysandro. What’s wrong?”
“You’ve told no one where you are, correct?” I knew he hadn’t. He’d promised, and I believed him. He’d never slip like that.
“No, of course not.” He stood up. “Why? What’s wrong?”
I stared down at him, feeling a presence that didn’t belong here traveling through my town—my territory. Benji had taken an online test for World Religions as soon as we closed tonight, so it was late—later than a random stranger would be traveling without a purpose.
Cupping his cheek, I said, “I need you to lock the door behind me and stay here. Do you understand? Don’t go anywhere else.”
The wards around my house would keep him safe if he was there, but the protections surrounding this room were just as strong.
His face paled, and he gripped my hand with both of his. “Lysandro, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”
“There’s another vampire here. I need to know you’re safe while I check it out. Go nowhere.”
Then I was gone.
The trespasser was traveling by vehicle instead of by their own natural abilities, making their trip far slower than necessary.
Besides the beast I tracked, there was the heartbeat of another.
I watched as it turned down the road to Ego’s monstrosity of a house.
Why on Earth would someone be going there?
Very few in this town knew my true nature, but Ego’s cousin, Sky, and his found family were in the know.
Sky’s best friend, Chance, was a medium, and Sky’s mentors included a mystic and a High Priestess, and with his own witch magic, he was the tether for a Dreamwalker, so they spent their evenings asleep in bed while roaming the Dreamveil and rescuing those humans being attacked in their sleep.
I’d met Ego, the famous popstar, once when he’d initially found out about the supernatural. I’d let them all in on my secret in case they ever needed me. The paranormal activity in our small town had ramped up when Chance bought the Bed & Breakfast that resided on the town’s ley lines.
But Scotty, one of Chance’s employees who came into the library frequently—one of the few I actually considered a friend—said that Ego had been MIA since his last tour.
He was supposed to have already been back here, moving into his mini-castle, but he’d been laying low and dodging his family.
Could he be the heartbeat in the vehicle?
Where had he found his vampiric passenger and how?
I watched the two figures get out and walk inside.
Ego’s shoulders slumped in a way that was unusual for him.
Scotty had complained to me that he couldn’t stand what a diva the popstar was, and that didn’t remotely resemble the musician now.
Hadn’t Scotty also told me that Ego had figured out he was a sound witch?
Given what he did for a living and his magical affinity, I was shocked to see him look so bedraggled.
The other human was a small, petite woman. As I focused all my senses on her, I realized she wasn’t mortal at all. She was Fae. When was the last time I’d seen a fae? A fae in Willowhope was…intriguing. But if she was a fae, then that meant Ego had been turned.
I wanted to ram my head into the tree I stood behind.
I couldn’t just make Ego leave. He was already a resident of Willowhope.
How was he to know how rude it was to allow the change without conferring with me—the local vampire.
Dammit. I didn’t want to scare the fledgling, but I needed to know who his Master was and what trouble he’d brought to my door.
Growling with frustration, I stomped to the front door and knocked. Since it was my territory, and he was but a baby, I could breeze my way in, but I wanted to keep this as civil as possible. Besides, it was important to keep good relations with his people.
The fae woman answered the door, and my appearance was met with confusion and suspicion. Despite Ego not wanting visitors, and his companion obviously worried about the young vampire, I entered the mini-castle like I’d done it a million times.
This drafty old place reminded me of the homes my Maker had inhabited, and I wasn’t about that life, but a cursory glance showed how nicely it had been renovated.
I spoke, keeping it light, knowing I wouldn’t be leaving here without his Maker’s name. “Ego, may I ask, where is your Sire?”
A pained expression crossed the man’s face. I quickly took in his unkempt appearance, limp black hair, and a face scrubbed clean of the makeup he was known for. “I…I don’t know.”
My initial irritation at having to deal with another vampire faded as concern took its place, and I directed Ego to take a seat so we could talk.
How could his Maker not be here to keep him properly fed?
Newly made vamps were vulnerable. They could so unwittingly make a mistake that would lead to their final death.
He began a story that included a missing Sire, Delaney—the fae with him—being the one to explain the basics of our kind—not that she knew too much—and how she’d known of a supplier to hook Ego up with blood bags.
My concern grew into apprehension. That wasn’t enough nourishment for a fledgling. He needed his Maker’s blood.
“So you didn’t ask for this?” I asked.
Ego shook his head, continuing his story until I felt like I’d burst open with my rage. A nonconsensual turning was not only a disgusting violation, but it was against our rules. Punishable by death.
The larger problem in front of us was that Ego wouldn’t make it without his Sire’s blood.
“So am I going to die…again?” he asked softly, looking so pitiful, so heartbroken, that an idea began forming in my mind.
“You won’t perish, but you’ll go into a comatose state unless…” I scrubbed a hand down my face. If I didn’t keep my true thoughts to myself, I was going to end up in a position that I’d never intended to be in. “Unless an older, seasoned vampire steps in and feeds you.”
And our conversation went on, leading to exactly where I’d never wanted it to go. But what could I do? I couldn’t leave him to go into a state from lack of nourishment. Finally coming to an agreement, I stood up, unbuttoning the sleeve of my shirt to give him my wrist.
He paled further, practically climbing over the back of the couch to get away from me. He shook his head. “No. I can’t do…that.”
Goddess help me, this was going to be a problem. I ended up slicing my own wrist and filling up a golden goblet with my blood, at least providing him sustenance before I made my exit.