Chapter 7
TOBIAS
Tobias was pressed against the wall, Alexander leaning the full power of his body against him. For a split second, he almost lost focus while contemplating what Alexander would look like on his knees, peering up at him as he extended the pad of his tongue out to–
“I don’t want you to think this is a common occurrence for me,” Alexander said, interrupting Tobias’ fantasy. His pupils were blown wide, and Tobias wouldn’t be surprised if his fangs made an appearance given how ravenous he looked.
“The fancy meal part, or the taking men back to your apartment on the first date?” Tobias shivered as Alexander dipped his nose into the crook of his neck. He almost purred – fucking purred, like he was some pathetic pet.
“The latter,” Alexander said, pressing a languid kiss to Tobias’ neck.
Tobias knew he should pull away, put some space between them, giving himself the time and the space to regain his head and make sure he was going about this the right way. But he was slowly, and surely, losing all of his willpower.
Just because seducing Alexander was merely a means to an end, he told himself, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it. Even if the thought of actually letting Alexander make him feel good left a sour tang of guilt at the back of his throat.
Alexander kept one arm planted above him on the wall, caging him in.
It made him feel like a captive animal, and suddenly it was all too much, despite the lust coursing through his veins.
He put both hands upon Alexander’s chest and pushed him backwards.
He expected resistance, but to his surprise Alexander went easily, without even a noise of protest.
“I think that wine has gone to my head,” Tobias said, forcing out a laugh that sounded completely fake, even to his own ears.
“How about another drink to help steady you?”
Tobias could tell from the flickering, shifting colours of Alexander’s aura that he was no less interested now that Tobias had put the brakes on things. It cooled him down a little bit, because clearly Alexander Damianos didn’t need things to go quickly for him to enjoy playing with his food.
Like father, like son.
“Sure,” Tobias said, scooting around Alexander and moving into the living room, setting himself down on the couch.
Alexander followed him with his hands tucked into his pockets, like he had to try very hard to keep them to himself. “I’m afraid supplies are short. I have whisky or red wine to offer.”
“You live above a pub, professor. How can supplies be short?”
“That I do.” Alexander inhaled through his nose, his rich brown eyes flickering as he soaked Tobias in. After a moment, he said, “In that case, make yourself at home. I’ll be back before you have the chance to miss me, drinks in hand.”
With grace that came with being an immortal, Alexander turned and moved back to the front door.
“Don’t rush,” Tobias called after him. “I’ll find a way to keep myself occupied.”
Alexander laughed and then slipped out, leaving him alone. The second the door closed, Tobias was already moving.
The apartment was a two-bedroom space with a kitchenette which opened up to a snug living room. It was neat, mostly, besides sideboards piled with unmarked papers and a kitchen sink full of dirty plates.
If he hadn’t known the truth of Alexander’s history, his apartment gave no hint as to his wealth, power, or life as a vampire. It was a haven for a man pretending to be utterly human.
Strange, Tobias thought. Even with years of watching Alexander from the shadows, one night and his entire view of the man was being debunked.
Although his speed was nothing compared to that of a born vampire – they were usually stronger and more gifted than made vampires, although both were equally resilient to death and could only be killed by a stake through the heart, or the death of their sire – Tobias still moved from room to room quicker than any human could.
He didn’t know what, precisely, he was looking for – it wasn’t as if Vladimir would be hiding in the wardrobe – but the fact that he was spying on his enemies was as thrilling as the thought of sleeping with one.
Or at least that’s what he tried to remind himself.
He rifled through drawers, fingers trailing over Alexander’s boxer briefs and stacks of pristine, folded white shirts.
There was nothing pernicious hidden in the back, not like Tobias’ own underwear drawer at his home where he’d stashed the ash-wood stake he’d use to kill Vladimir.
There was truly nothing interesting, incriminating, or useful here.
This could’ve been the home of a standard mortal, not a vampire heir.
Tobias was rooting through Alexander’s bedside table when the sound of a throat clearing came from the doorway.
“Find anything interesting?”
Tobias’ cold blood ran colder – he hadn’t even heard the door open, he’d been so absorbed in searching through Alexander’s things. He turned around slowly, but not before grabbing a very obviously placed strip of condoms out of the drawer, dangling them between his fingers.
Alexander was staring at him, two glasses in hand, his mouth in a thin line as he lifted his eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
Tobias held up the condoms. “And here I was beginning to think I was special. You’ve got an awful lot of these on hand. Get lucky, much?”
The tension in Alexander’s body faded, replaced by a smidge of embarrassment colouring his cheeks as he diverted his eyes away.
“One can never be over prepared,” Alexander retorted. “A great scholar said that… I think.”
He strode forward and cornered Tobias again, offering him a glass when their chests were nearly touching.
Tobias took the cocktail, sidestepped Alexander, sauntered back towards the living room, and sat himself on the worn couch. Alexander followed behind, soundless as a wolf stalking a deer.
“Shall we… watch a movie?” he suggested, hoping to divert Alexander’s suspicions and not feeling entirely ready to bare all for the man.
“Film and chill?” Alexander sat down beside him, their knees almost brushing. He took a casual sip of his cocktail, eyeing Tobias.
Tobias pretended to gag. “God, Alexander. You really should stop listening to your students. It doesn’t suit you to use outdated slang, especially when it comes from someone with such a posh accent.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Of course you would.”
Alexander’s laugh was as rich as chocolate.
“Let’s just stick to the movie then. Save the chill for another time.
” Alexander took the hint and reached for the remote, turned on his flatscreen TV which must have cost a fortune, and leaned back.
It was no surprise when his arm snaked around Tobias’ shoulder and drew him in, close to Alexander’s rock-solid torso, but Tobias didn’t struggle away. “Any requests?”
“Surprise me,” Tobias added, finding his body relaxing naturally into the position.
“Oh, I intend to do just that.”
It would have been a lot easier to get Alexander into bed.
To swallow his disdain, tear his clothes off, and prove to Alexander why he was worthy of being his next “human” obsession.
But as Alexander picked some old Hollywood black-and-white film with Audrey Hepburn as the lead, something kept stopping Tobias from making the move.
He couldn’t place what it was. The normalcy, perhaps?
He had never been interested in a slow burn romance – or any romance, after his last ended in tragedy.
But for a second, just a second, as they sipped their cocktails and Alexander ran his fingers in circles across Tobias’ back, he felt at ease.
He felt normal. Like they were a real couple enjoying a quiet night in.
If Tobias’ early confusion wasn’t potent enough, by the time the film finished, his mind would be utterly scrambled.
Of course, he didn’t forget that he was here for a reason.
But his thoughts simply clouded over as the movie progressed.
He kept starting to say something, to withdraw, to throw his leg over Alexander’s lap and go to kiss him to move things along, but then Alexander would audibly react to the movie and Tobias found it – dare he admit – endearing.
Perhaps because this wasn’t how he expected the evening to go, or maybe he was just too seduced by an hour and a half of normalcy. No acting, just existing.
Even when his eyes grew heavy and he allowed himself a moment to rest them, he never expected he would fall asleep.
Then the true nightmare began.
A dusting of snow fell from a grey sky. Winter had finally arrived.
Tobias had woken that morning to the frantic clucking of his father’s chickens as they pecked at the frozen ground.
It was a dreaded sound, like the moans of starving children.
We are all going to starve to death, he thought, pushing off the straw cot and stretching his sore limbs.
Tobias felt an imposing sense of doom every day from the moment he woke in the morning to when he lay down at night.
Not only were the next few months looking bleak, but his family had lost much during the famine that swept across the agricultural landscape of Wales that year.
Supplies were low, food scarce, and most of their kindling spoiled by mould thanks to the cold weather.
Through the thin wall of their ramshackle hut, he heard his little sister Lily hacking with a violent cough.
Even if he hadn’t the need to check on their livestock, he still would have left.
He couldn’t sit around in the cold, listening to his dearest sister spew into the tin bucket beside the bed she shared with his parents.
Priests spoke of heaven and hell, but as Tobias stepped outside into the night, he finally understood that hell was the only place he would ever visit.
Smoke billowed in the far distance. He raised a hand over his eyes, shielding himself from the snow. It was oddly silent. Even the animals had stopped making noise.
Then he was there, standing before Tobias.
A man no older than his father, with hair as black as night and eyes burning gold.
Tobias’ heart skipped a beat, then another.
The man must have noticed because he twitched where he stood.
Tobias would never forget the mask of blood across the lower half of the man’s face.
It marred his chin and neck, coating his ruffled shirt until the material looked black.
The wind caught the scent of blood – and death.
Tobias scrambled back. In his twenty-seven years of existence, he had faced down many a wolf or wild dog.
Starved. Vicious. Deadly. This man was all of those things and more.
He trod across the snowy ground, leaving imprints of blood in his wake.
Tobias froze, his entire body tensing to stone.
All the while, the man came closer and closer.
“Will you not run for me?”
Tobias didn’t need to answer even if he could conjure the words. His tongue had swollen in his mouth, his throat dry as hay beneath summer sun.
“Oh, please run for me, boy.”
Still, Tobias couldn’t formulate any more than a gasping sound. He was the only thing standing between this monster and his still-sleeping family. And yet fear made him weak. Even the monster’s expression flashed with disappointment.
“What a terrible shame…”
Four words. They seemed to echo through Tobias until every vein, bone, and vessel would never forget them. Because as the man pounced, throwing himself inhumanly across the air, mouth agape, sharp teeth flashing, Tobias pinched his eyes closed.
He wasn’t brave enough to face his demise. Whereas Death incarnate was certainly not frightened to face him.