Desires Unleashed (22 page)

Xavier looked at the fledgling who was obviously running late for work. He was new to the city, Tony's lover and fledgling of three months. He stripped at the club. If one were to appeal to Darian's good nature, he required absolute gratitude for any boon bestowed. For all vampires who had come to him for protection, even those that didn't live with him, were put to work at his hot nightclub,
Desires Unleashed
or one of his other businesses. At the club, some tended bar, mesmerizing foolish mortals that wanted to get a closer look at the
sharks.
Others stripped or provided sexual pleasure in his bordello. There was only one section of the club the vampires hated: the “Coliseum”. They didn't hate it because of the violence and blood. They were leery, for those vampires who broke Darian's rules, would be pitted against one another in a tournament. Whoever won would be allowed to leave his city with their life. It would prove his point to other would-be rule-breakers, as well as bringing in double the money of normal tournaments. For Darian, it was a win/win situation.

“You're running late I see. Since you're already late, come here.” Xavier gestured for the young vampire to come to him. Gary walked toward him. His long, shoulder length, blonde hair bounced with each step. His blue eyes brightened the closer he came. He knew that Xavier was Darian's lover and right hand man. He hoped that Xavier wanted to have sex, he had had an attraction for Xavier from the moment he'd seen him in Darian's office when he had accompanied Tony to ask for permission to be turned. To tell the truth, he had a thing for both Darian and Xavier. His tight leather pants didn't allow enough room for a full stride. Xavier smiled as he came closer, looking through the see-through shirt displaying his erect nipples. He knew of Gary's attraction for him. Tonight, he would kill two birds with one stone. He would feed that attraction and his hunger simultaneously.

When the young, blonde reached him, Xavier braced his hands on the other vampire's shoulders, holding him firmly in his grip. He leaned closer, then brushed his lips softly over Gary's. He let Gary lean into him, settling his weight against his chest, wrapping his arms around his waist. Xavier's right hand came to Gary's chin turning his head to the side to reveal the pulsating vein in his neck. Xavier leaned forward, tilting his head, feeling his fangs extending, he placed his mouth over the vein and sank his teeth through the warm, tender flesh. He heard Gary gasp and felt his grip tighten around his waist. He closed his mouth over the hot blood flowing out of the wounds, sucking the delicious blood from Gary's veins.

Gary moaned loudly, his grip becoming weaker, body trembling with ecstasy. His orgasm began to build deep within him. He felt it gather itself up from the base of his feet as Xavier continued to feed. He felt it grow, becoming more powerful. As Xavier's mouth opened wider against the flesh, a hoarse moan escaped Gary's lips as his whole body exploded with pleasure, the indescribable kind. Xavier's moan was muffled against Gary's flesh as they shared the dry orgasm. Both of their bodies shook with the climax that always came with the sharing of blood between supernaturals. It was highly pleasurable to share blood with a mortal, but never climactic. A mortal would never survive long enough to bring a vampire to climax on blood alone. Most mortals were bitten during the height of sexual gratification so that the climax would be more intense for both mortal and vampire. It also worked that way if it was only between vampires sharing blood. Xavier released Gary's vein, retracting his teeth. He licked his lips, catching the blood that had spilt while he feasted. He gazed into Gary's eyes. They were glazed over, the look of an addict who had just gotten the hit of a lifetime.

He steadied Gary. “Are you okay? Can you stand?” he asked with concern. Gary's mouth moved but no sound came out. So he just nodded weakly. Xavier chuckled and let him go. “Good, take the night off, get something to eat and rest, I'll find your replacement,” he said as he walked to the door. Reaching the garage, he opened the door. It was packed wall to wall with sport cars, luxury sedans, motorcycles and huge towering SUVs. Xavier set his sights on a silver, sleek two-door 2004 Boa 300s Series. He went to the key locker, pulled out the correct key and climbed into the comfortable, black leather interior of the car. Turning the ignition, he smiled as he heard the soft purr of the engine. The dashboard navigation panel lit up the multicolored buttons and knobs.

“Almost as good as any woman,” he commented as he put the car into gear, drove out of the garage then down the curving driveway. He hit the side street, taking quick peeks at the various mansions on the block, only a few acres of land separating each one. He was glad to be living the high life with Darian. He never wanted it to end. He drove to the highway, entering the I-55, then the I-90 to the hospital where Annette was recuperating. The tall, white, five story building was as wide as two city blocks. He pulled into the parking lot for visitors only. Unfolding his tall frame, he extricated himself from the tiny sports car, adjusted his clothing and headed toward the main entrance. The woman behind the main desk looked up when she heard the little bell chime as Xavier walked through the automatic sliding doors carrying a bouquet of pink lilies. Her smile brightened when she saw the devastatingly handsome man walking closer to her. She fiddled with the collar of her dress but didn't want her primping to be too obvious.

“Can I help you, Sir?” she asked, letting her eyes do her flirting for her as she batted them in his direction.

“Ah yes, I'm here to visit a friend who is a patient of yours, one Miss Annette Balfour. Can you tell me which room she's in?” He flashed her his most charming smile and her face reddened. She instantly wished the gorgeous flowers in the crystal glass vase were for
her
and he was her knight in shining armor coming to sweep her off her sore feet and carry her out of the grueling rat race. She cast aside the thought, chiding herself for her foolish fantasy and pulled the room number by looking up the last name in the directory. She turned to face him again and smiled.

“She is in room 314, sir. Is there anything else...I can do for you?” she asked imploringly. He lowered his head and looked up at her.

“I think that's all I'll need...for now,” he said, giving her a devilish grin as he walked toward the elevators. He stepped in, pressed the number three button and watched as the metal doors close in front of him. He waited patiently for the ride to end. At the sound of a tiny bell the doors opened, indicating that he was on the third level. Using the room number signs to navigate, he found room 314 and knocked politely on the door. He waited till he heard a soft, female voice bid him entrance. Opening the door, he entered the room, holding the flowers out before him. Annette's face brightened at the sight of him. She recognized him as one of her bosses. She thought it was sweet that he would visit her in the hospital and bring her flowers. She had already been visited by her mother and father. They had fussed over her until she told them to go home. Then two of her coworkers had come bearing outside food, which she was grateful for. She was worried about Natasha though, she hadn't seen or heard anything about her friend
all day.
It made her wonder how serious the other woman's injuries had been.

But for now, she smiled at Xavier, deciding that since Natasha wasn't here, she would talk to him. She immediately remembered the date she had made with Darian. She regretted being confined to a hospital bed. She knew by the way that man kissed that he could, no doubt, take her to paradise and back for a return visit. He made her feel like a school girl with her first crush. She looked at Xavier and wondered if Darian knew she was in the hospital. She hoped he knew she hadn't stood him up, would never stand
him
up. Xavier set the glass vase full of flowers on the table right next to her bed. Annette leaned over to take a deep inhalation of the fragrant flowers, smiling.

“These are from Darian. He regrets that he cannot be here with you right now to help ease your suffering. He wanted to wish you a speedy recovery,” Xavier said in his masculine, smooth voice. Annette thought his voice was extremely sexy, it flowed over her body like cascading water. She wondered if it was just how older vampires spoke or if it was a skill, some kind of trickery that they learned to seduce mortals. Either way, she wasn't one to ruin the moment.

“I'll have to remember to thank him when I see him next time. They're lovely. Lilies are my favorite, how did he know?” she asked, sitting up in the bed, not wanting to slouch in front of such a beautiful man. She hated that her arm was in a cast. Two of her ribs had been bruised and there were numerous cuts and bruises all over her torso and face. She wished she didn't look so beat up at this moment. She always wanted to look her best in front a pretty piece of man-flesh. But now, in her opinion, she looked like the missing link.
Life just wasn't fucking fair.
First, she damn near gets killed in a car accident along with her friend. Secondly, she misses out on getting bouncy with the hottest man walking the earth, and now, here she had the second hottest man in her hospital room.
Here I am, wearing an ugly hospital gown, with the ass out, to allow for easy entry. But no, I have to be in too much pain to get frisky. Life really sucks right now,
she thought to herself.

Xavier had been watching her facial expressions, he wanted to laugh, it didn't take a mind reader to know what was on
her
mind.
She wanted to fuck him, probably fuck both himself and Darian and probably at the same time. She would have gotten her wish. Funny how things work out,
Xavier thought as he settled in a chair next to her bed. He crossed one leg over the other, arms raised behind him, his fingers locked together to support the weight of his head.

“Do you know how happy I am to be alive right now!” she exclaimed, trying to spark up conversation. Trying to keep her mind off of sex.

“I do, I know what is it like to have a second chance,” he said calmly, speaking from experience. As Annette gazed at him, she wondered just how old he really was. He looked composed, not like some of the vampires she worked with but not quite like Darian either. She wondered how old Darian was, too. The fact that they lived forever really amazed her. Sometimes, she would look at one of the young vampires she worked with and become envious. They would still be here, powerful, beautiful and young, when she would not. She would be dust in the ground, forever forgotten.

“You sound like you're talking from experience,” Annette said.

He smiled and nodded. “I was dying when my Master made me a vampire,” he said, not offering anymore information.

“I hope I'm not prying but who's your maker...master...er... whatever...” she trailed off.

Xavier chuckled. He thought she must be very nervous. He had hired her but didn't know her beyond that. This was the most personal they had been since the day of her interview. He pulled his hands from behind his head and leaned forward, staring into her brown eyes. She became even more nervous. The look on his face suggested things. Things like sex, but more so lust, or hunger. She wasn't sure she liked being looked at that way. If he was a mortal man, the meaning would be different...or would it? Xavier knew he was unnerving her and decided to ease up. He sat back in the chair, stretching his long legs out before him. He smiled at her again.

“Darian's quite the number, isn't he. You do know he fucks both men and women?” he said, watching her expressions closely. He enjoyed shock value most of all. He liked surprising and unnerving anyone he could. Especially the humans who came into the club looking for a little excitement, entertainment that only a vampire could give them.

“I had heard a few rumors. Nothing concrete or anything like that,” she said carefully. Okay, now she was nervous. He had successfully made her nervous. She thought about pushing the panic button for the nurse, having him ushered out of her room. She might have if she thought it would help. She knew vampires could hypnotize humans.

“I'm not trying to scare you,” he lied.

“You're not scaring me,” she lied in return.

“I just wanted to make sure you knew this. He probably wanted to have you participate in a threesome.” He made an offhand gesture as if to say that was
in the past.
“He really wanted me to tell you that he was going to have a temporary replacement for you for daytime assistant manager. That is, until you feel strong enough to come back to work,” he said as he sat up straight in the chair as if preparing to leave.

Annette was slightly confused, she had mixed feelings about Xavier. She didn't know if she wanted to have sex with him or run. If it weren't for the fact that he could snuff out her life in a blink of an eye, her decision would be easier. She looked at his gorgeous face again. She thought about it. She came to the conclusion, she wanted to get into his pants.

“Thank you, both of you, I was really excited about the promotion and now this. I appreciate you holding the job for me, I really do,” she said honestly. She just knew she would have to go back to stripping after the accident. Not that there was anything terribly wrong about stripping, that section of the club made some nice money and had nice tippers. But the A.M. position paid double what she could make as a stripper and was less strenuous work. They looked at each other for a moment. Xavier saw the beauty in her that Darian did. He knew why Darian wanted to have her. Looking at her now, he wondered if Darian would have shared Annette.