Chapter 11
Eli couldn't move. There was jizz cooling on his skin, and normally it would leave him panicky, which was why he'd promised himself he wouldn't do stupid things like this again.
His life wasn't worth a few fleeting moments of pleasure.
But the others...He watched Romeo and Ciar when they came to shop or deliver meat, and while they weren't making out on an open street, there were the little touches, the secret smiles, and sometimes Ciar sharing way too much information.
But when he did, Romeo would only shush him, blush, and then move on.
He should've realized it wasn't what was happening here, though. He was Thano's meal. Had he agreed to it? He didn't think so. Did vampires need permission? He touched his neck again, and Thano winced.
Had he scarred? Why wasn't he bleeding?
Thano moved to the refrigerator and yanked the door open. The shelves were empty other than a few eggs. He was so sick of eggs he could puke.
"This won't do." Thano opened one cupboard after the other, and Eli shivered. He was getting cold. He should get up, wash off, and put clothes on, but his body wouldn't obey.
"What's this?" Thano held up a glass jar Maria, Romeo's mother, had given him a few months ago. He'd been saving it.
"Apple sauce."
Thano pulled a pot out of the cupboard, grabbed rolled oats, and poured water over it. Then he found some salt in the spice cabinet and turned on the stove. He stirred without looking at Eli, and Eli didn't move, wasn't sure he breathed, though he must have.
Grabbing an egg from the refrigerator, Thano cracked it into the oatmeal while he continued to stir.
Shortly after, he placed a bowl on the counter and poured the oatmeal porridge into it. Then he opened the jar and scooped up a large amount of apple sauce into the bowl before placing it in front of Eli. "Eat."
Then he frowned as he took in the state Eli was in.
"Fuck." His angry tone had Eli jerking, but Thano was moving away.
Fast. Eli wasn't sure if he'd moved or simply reappeared in front of the cleaning cabinet.
There he grabbed a kitchen towel and ran the water.
He believed he waited for it to get warm because it took some time.
"Eli?" Thano crouched in front of him, slowly wiping at the skin by the hem of his shirt.
"Yes."
The muscles shifted underneath Thano's skin as he moved his arm. Eli watched in fascination. He was beautiful. Deadly, but beautiful.
"Do you want me to remove the memory?"
Eli pushed him away. Thano must not have seen it coming because he lost his balance and sat on his ass. Eli hadn't been sure vampires could mess with people's memories. There were stories, but there were always stories. "Have you...have you done that to me before?"
Thano got up on his feet again but remained crouched. "No. But if this is too..." He grimaced. "I can if you prefer it."
"Stay out of my head."
Thano nodded. "Okay. Please eat."
Eli glanced at the bowl only to jerk when Thano moved the towel over his groin. He glanced down, Thano's gaze was glued to his cock.
"I should wash my hands."
"Sounds like a good idea." Thano gave him a small smile, and Eli's heart did a flip.
He moved out of the way to give Eli room to stand.
He did, but before he washed his hands, he removed the soiled shirt he still was wearing.
He dropped it to the floor and washed his hands in the sink, then he washed his torso and groin too since their combined release had soaked through the fabric.
Thano remained by the table, watching him but not moving. Eli turned the water off and glanced at him. "I'll grab a shirt." And a pair of pants.
A nod was all the reply he got.
Eli walked into his bedroom, grabbed a pair of holey sweatpants and a long-sleeved cotton shirt. He was dizzy, but if it was because of blood loss, lack of sleep, lack of food, or simply stress, he didn't know.
Lingering in the room for a bit, he delayed having to face Thano, but he didn't want to waste the food. He moved with slow steps.
Thano was sitting on the chair opposite the one they'd both been on. "Eat. You need to eat."
Eli nodded, sat, and grabbed the spoon. He'd never had oatmeal with egg in it, but since he couldn't taste it, he guessed it was a good way to add some protein. "I didn't think you cooked."
Thano shrugged. "I had a period some decades ago when I taught myself to do a few basic things. I read this in one of Romeo's cooking books, though. You can add an egg to your porridge to get more nutrition."
"Some decades ago?" Eli stopped with his spoon halfway to his mouth. "How old are you?"
Thano smiled. "Old enough."
But he looked to be thirty or maybe thirty-five. There were some crow's feet by his eyes, but his skin was mostly smooth. "Old enough to do what?"
"Anything I want."
Eli nodded. Not sure he wanted to know what it meant.
They didn't speak, but when Eli had finished the bowl, Thano got to his feet. "Come on, get some rest."
Eli walked to his bedroom, convinced Thano would leave, but he didn't. He followed Eli into the room. When Eli turned to him, he undid his pants and pushed them off. What the hell? "Are you staying?"
"Yeah. I worry when I'm back home, and Romeo says you have every reason to be concerned. I'm not leaving you unprotected."
Eli gaped at him. He was here to protect him?
Thano crept into his bed and held the blankets up. "Come on, let's rest."
Eli only hesitated a moment before crawling in. He should think this through, but he'd never shared a bed with someone, and the promise of feeling Thano against him all night made him block out the fact that Thano had bitten him.
* * * *
Thano woke, warm and cozy, with his head on Eli's chest. Oh, this was nice. He ran a hand over Eli's abdomen and glanced out of the window. Daylight. Did it mean they were late?
He pushed up. "Are we late?"
Eli opened one eye and grunted.
"Eli, what time is it? When do you open the shop?"
"Saturday." Eli pulled him down again.
"What?"
"It's Saturday. Everything is closed."
Thano relaxed. Perfect. They had all day to figure out cupcakes. He had to get someone to drive Romeo's car here to pick them up.
"How many eggs do we need?" He tilted his head to look up at Eli.
Reluctantly, Eli opened his eyes. "Eggs?"
"For the cupcakes. I figured I'd ask Conal or Tuur to come get us, then we'll go to my place and we'll make the cupcakes. I guess we'll have to tell Fala, which will result in the house being packed with crows, but they'll be mad if we make cupcakes without them. And I have my strawberry slicer."
Eli stared at him, then rubbed his eyes. "What?"
Was he confused? Had he taken too much blood? Maybe Eli looked healthier than he was, and Thano had hurt him. Ice filled his gut. He had to feed him, but there wasn't anything to feed him. Eggs in all shapes and forms were still only eggs.
Thano climbed over him and hurried out to the kitchen, shivering slightly at the cool air, but he could get dressed later. He opened every cupboard again. Flour. He could've made pancakes if Eli had any milk, but he didn't.
He quickly washed the pot he'd left in the sink in the middle of the night and poured water into it.
Then he placed three eggs in it. He wanted Eli to eat more than three eggs, but he didn't know how many eggs they would need for the cupcakes, and he doubted Eli would want to eat ten boiled eggs and nothing else.
Eli stepped into the kitchen, looking more asleep than awake.
"No, you should've stayed in bed."
"Why?" He ran a hand through his tousled hair.
"You're tired." Thano grabbed his arm and steered him back toward the bedroom. Eli frowned at him, but Thano ignored it. He held up the blankets and motioned for Eli to get back inside.
"Thano--"
"Shh."
"The chickens and rabbits need to be let out and fed."
"I'll do it. Stay here!"
Eli stared at him. "You'll do it? You can't let them out-out, only in the coops or the rabbits will run away and the chickens will dig up the entire garden."
"I'll do it." He hurried out of the room and was halfway through the living room when Eli called his name. He shadow walked back and poked his head through the doorway.
"Yes?"
"Clothes."
Thano looked down at himself. He was only wearing underwear. Before he could pick up his clothes, Eli was out of bed again. "I'll let out the animals."
"No, you should rest."
Eli shook his head. "You're wearing a suit, Thano. A suit I'm guessing costs more than I make in a year. You shouldn't crawl around in chicken shit while wearing it."
"I wasn't planning to crawl around in it."
Eli chuckled, and it had tingles spread over Thano's body.
Then there was a hissing sound from the kitchen, and Thano shadow walked as fast as he could.
Dammit. The water was boiling over on the stove and when he peeked inside the pot, one of the eggs had a crack and a white thread was coming out of it. Fuck.
Before he could figure out what to do, the front door opened and closed. Eli. He sighed and grabbed a cloth to wipe up the water that had spilled over. He had to do better if he was to take care of Eli.
How long should you boil eggs? He tried to remember, but before the oatmeal, it had been a long time since he'd tried to make anything in a kitchen.
A few minutes later, Eli walked back into the house. "Two more eggs." He opened the refrigerator and placed them with the others before washing his hands.
Thano grabbed the pot, poured out the hot water, and filled it with cold. He had no idea if the eggs were done, but they had to be, right? Turning around, he focused on Eli. "I'll shadow walk to the ranch and find someone willing to drive, then we'll come and get you."
Eli shook his head. "Others aren't allowed in town. I don't want anyone shot because of me."
"It's Saturday."
Eli's eyes narrowed. "I don't think the rules stop applying simply because it's Saturday."
"You said everything is closed. The sheriff is closed today."
Thano couldn't describe the look on Eli's face, and he didn't know what it meant.
"The sheriff never closes. I don't know if he's assigned anyone to be deputy, but there is always someone working to uphold the law." He was quiet for a second. "You're the leader of The Moonlight Ranch, right?"
"Yes." Thano straightened his back.
"Are you the one who set the rules?"
He looked into Eli's eyes. "I have the final say. If someone doesn't like it, they can challenge me for the position."
Fear overtook Eli's eyes. "For how long have you been a leader?"
Thano couldn't remember. "I was fairly new when the lion was killed."
Incomprehension. Maybe Eli didn't know about the lion.
"There was a lion?"
"No, Romeo's uncle, Leo. We allowed him to stay off the paved road. I was the leader then too. I allowed him to stay, I was the one who made sure the deed and the key got to his kin and promised him they'd be safe on The Moonlight Ranch."
"And how long ago?"
Shrugging, Thano plucked a small plate from the stack in the cupboard and grabbed the eggs from the cool water. He handed them to Eli. "Romeo was a baby."
"So...thirty-forty years ago?" Eli carefully took the plate and the eggs rolled, or two of them did, the cracked one remained in place. "Can you grab spoons?" He pointed at a drawer next to Thano.
Did he need more than one? He grabbed two and handed them to Eli and got a smile in return. Eli curled his fingers around one of them and then handed the other to Thano. Thano stared at it. Was he to put it back?
Then Eli took one of the eggs and held out to him.
"No, they're for you. I ate, remember?"
Eli froze, and Thano mentally cursed himself. "Eat up, we have a busy day." Distraction.
Without a word, Eli rammed the spoon into the egg, bending off the top. The yolk was runny and Thano scrunched his nose. Damn. "I'm sorry. I should've cooked them longer."
Eli stared at the mess inside the egg. "It's okay. Could you hand me some salt?"
Thano grabbed salt, happy to be able to do something. When Eli sprinkled some onto the egg and then dug his spoon in, Thano almost gagged. Slimy eggs.
Eli watched him, a low laugh slipping out. "Not a fan of eggs?"
"They're...sloppy."
Eli laughed louder.
Thano watched him scoop out the rest of the egg. At least the white was solid. He suspected Eli would've eaten even if it hadn't been. He couldn't afford to waste food. Thano had to feed him better.
"I'll go back to the ranch and then come get you."
"It's not safe."
"I'll ask someone in Romeo's coven to drive."
Eli nodded, but slowly. "We have a problem."
More problems? "We do?"
"Several."
Thano pressed his lips together. "What?"
"I have eggs and flour. You have baking powder. We need milk and butter and something for taste."
Right. "Can we get it from the shop? I'll pay you on Monday." If he still had any money. Had the board emptied their accounts now when breed weren't allowed in town? Tuur would not be pleased.
Eli shrugged. "I guess we could go in through the back so no one sees us. Or I can go while you go back to the ranch. The other problem is cupcake liners."
"What?"
"What are we going to bake the cupcakes in?"
Crap. "Glass?" Thano held up a drinking glass, but Eli shook his head.
"I don't think they're oven-safe." Eli frowned. "Cans?"
"Do you have cans?"
Eli got up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the plate on the table. Thano followed him. He went out the front door and Thano hesitated. He still wasn't dressed. He gathered the shadows around him and followed. Eli looked back at him. "Are you there?"
"Yes, but hurry. It's cold." He shivered, but Eli was unable to see it.
At the back of the house, there was a slanted door leading into a cellar.
There was gravel on the ground, the walls bare concrete, but there were a few shelves along the sides.
Eli headed over to one of them and grabbed six cans where the top had been removed, most likely when someone had eaten the contents.
"I was gonna use them as pots for my plants, but I was reluctant to put holes in the bottom."
"Perfect."
"Okay, we're good to go then."
* * * *