“You have become quite an accomplished liar.” Johan swept his hand through Aric's hair. “Dumping poor Stu with that ridiculous lie. I heard him retching in the bathroom. You really did a number on him. He will never trust another man again.”
Aric's hand became a whip of retaliation as it lashed out. The slap to the bastard's cheek burned his palm. “I'll never give in to you.”
Johan just leered, then yanked Aric's head by his hair. “Where is it?”
Aric hissed as fingernails clawed into his exposed neck. “Fuck off,” he snarled. Johan would never find the serum locked away in the refrigerator known only to Stu and himself. “I'd rather die than be yours.”
“I make the decision whether you live or die.” Johan twisted Aric's head to its side and attacked his throat. Fangs penetrated his neck. Struggling was useless, and excruciating pain spread through his skull. Spittle bubbled across his lips as his lungs shut down.
He'd been so close to a cure. So close to happiness. Now sadness rained down on him, drowning him, because he knew he'd never get the chance to explain the truth to Stu. To tell him how much he'd cared. And had hoped.
The grip loosened, and hands now pressed each of his shoulders. His neck burned as if on fire, but blessedly, there was no more pain. His eyelids fluttered closed as he caught one last glimpse of Johan's victorious smile before his surroundings blurred into utter blackness.
Stu hung his head, his lips touching the rim of his beer glass. Several empty bottles lined up along the square table. He sat alone. Several friends stopped by, but his stone-cold smile kept them from sitting down. Except for Gina. Her slim figure perched comfortably in the chair beside him, one leg tucked underneath the other. Dark hair fell in a perfect wave, framing her high cheekbones and toasted brown eyes. Those eyes now narrowed at him, making him squirm.
“Are you going to tell me what's up with you? You practically bit Nick's head off, and now he's sulking in the corner.”
“Go away,” he slurred. He picked up his glass and drank down the last of the suds. “I want to be alone, dammit.”
“I haven't seen you this bad since your dad.”
He peered at Gina and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt like shit and figured he looked it too. “It has nothing to do with that.”
“Talk to me, then.”
He snorted through gritted teeth. Talk. Why did girls always want to discuss emotions? “Okay, let me ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
“What if you found out everything about Nick and you was a fucking lie.”
Gina's lips puckered as she curled a strand of her hair. “Well, I'd probably cut off his balls and feed them to my pet ferret.”
His eyes widened. “Shit, girl. You say that with such conviction.”
“Is that what happened? Aric lied to you?”
“Yeah.
So Nick told you about me?”
“Being stuck on some guy? Yeah.”
“It's complicated.” He stared past Gina's shoulder. Less than a week and he was totally into Aric. He had to be gay. No girl had ever trapped him in a net of such intense emotions—lust, passion, a burning need to protect. And the fervent desire to dig deep into Aric's hopes and dreams, to become part of them… That no-good nerd now held him captivated.
Then he remembered the awful truth, and nothing else mattered. “He slept with Cor.”
Gina growled. “I'll help you castrate the bastard.”
“Yeah, but which one, Cor or Aric?
I can't figure out who I hate more.”
He jerked back in his chair when he spied his brother walking through the entrance. Corbin headed straight toward him, his hair flying, his steps gliding across the floor.
Stu rose from his chair, gripping the edge of the table for support. The bottles rattled. “Get the fuck out of here,” he bellowed.
Corbin ignored Stu's outburst. He grabbed the back of an empty chair, swung it around, and straddled it. “What's with you? We have to talk.” He turned to Gina and smiled. “Hi, Gina. How's it going?”
The edge of her lip curled as she stood up. “I better go, or I might just make good on my offer.” She winked at Stu and walked away.
“What was that about?” Corbin asked.
“Forget it.”
As soon as Gina was out of earshot, Corbin dropped the bomb. “I saw Johan leave the lab, carrying Aric.”
Stu's heart leaped in his chest as his worst fear was realized. All he wanted was to rush out and save Aric. But all he heard was the echo of his awful words. “
So we fucked. It's not like it meant anything
.” Let Corbin save him.
Corbin's mouth tensed. “I didn't get a chance to confront the bastard. He took flight, but”—he tapped his nose—“I followed their scents.”
Stu forced out the words that added more hurt to his already-crushed heart. “Why in the hell should I care? You go save his sorry ass.”
Corbin stroked his upper lip, and his eyes squinted. “This isn't the reaction I expected.”
Stu sat back down in his chair. “No? Why did you sleep with him? To prove he's a bigger slut than you?”
“What are you blabbering about?” Corbin pushed away one of the many empty beer bottles. “You're drunk.”
He was not even close to a drunk's need for oblivion. “Aric told me he slept with you. No use denying it.”
“You're
both
insane.”
“You slept with him, you fucker!” The loud accusation boomed across the room, but Stu couldn't control his anger. “Even when you knew I wanted him…cared for him!”
The stares of several astonished patrons impaled him to the seat. Nick and Gina exchanged looks, shaking their heads. He was making one of those meltdown scenes his mother always deplored. It would be all over the campus in less than a shake of a tail that he was a fag. But right now he couldn't care less.
Corbin grabbed his sleeve and pulled him from the chair, then dragged him out the exit doors.
“Get your hands off me!” But try as Stu might, Corbin was too strong.
Stu's back stung as he was shoved against the stucco wall. Corbin held him with a hand to his chest. “Shut up and listen.”
A concerned gaze pinned Stu. He frowned at his brother but didn't move.
“Listen, you idiot. I never slept with Aric. I admit I tested him back at his place, but he didn't bite. Not one batted eyelash, not one flicker of interest.”
Confusion swept over Stu, his alcoholic haze scrambling his brain. Trying to take deep breaths, he forced his lungs to respond and take in air. He began to think more clearly. Corbin had no reason to lie. If anything, his brother would have baited Aric, tempting him to submit to his sexual advances to prove how unworthy Aric was of Stu. He knew his brother well enough to believe he would go to great lengths to prove his point. But according to his brother, Aric had refused his advances. So if Corbin was telling the truth, then why did Aric tell him such an awful lie?
He rubbed his temple to ease the throbbing ache. Aric's story certainly got rid of him, if that's what he'd wanted…and it saved him from having to fight the strix.
Oh shit
! The cloud of confusion finally cleared—Aric deliberately pushed him away. To protect him, and not only from the strix but from himself too.
Corbin pinched his arm. “Did he take the serum?”
“Not when I left him. I saw him put it away. In some type of fridge.” Worry crossed his eyes. “Shit, it's locked.”
“I can pick any lock.” Corbin's smile turned serious. “The strix must have found out about the cure. He's keeping Aric prisoner until he turns. We have little time, my bro. Are you in?”
“Fucking right, I am.”
Aric struggled against the ropes and the soft lips nuzzling his neck. Pain and intense weariness kept him from thinking clearly.
Stu
? No, it couldn't be Stu nibbling on his neck. Stu had walked out after Aric had lied to him about sleeping with Corbin. He groaned, not from the ache of being sucked dry, but from his deceit. The shock and pain in Stu's expression when he'd told him that ridiculous lie sucker punched Aric again.
Ropes bit into his flesh. One was looped around his waist, holding him firmly against a pole. Another tied his hands behind his back. He sat with his legs stretched out, ankles tied together. He raised his head and tried to shrug away those fangs embedded in his throat.
Johan leaned back on his haunches and wiped his hand across his blood-smeared mouth. He was in his human form, his long-fingered hands splayed on his thighs. His complexion was tinted with color, and his owlish eyes stared at Aric in mock concern.
“You taste warm and juicy.” Johan rose to his feet, licking a drop of blood from his bottom lip.
Aric's head felt as if it were full of helium. Light-headed and woozy, he really couldn't bring himself to care that Johan had just fed on him. “Untie me, please. I'm not going anywhere with this headache.” His tongue stuck to the roof of his parched mouth. “Do you have any water?”
Johan walked behind the pole and untied his hands. Aric massaged the welts on his wrists and tried to get his bearings. He looked around; everything seemed washed in musky dampness and decay. He sniffed the smell of ancient memories. They were in an abandoned warehouse. He doubted Stu or Corbin had any idea he'd been kidnapped. Stu… Aric wished more than anything that he could take back every horrible word he'd said to him. Now here he was in the vampire's clutches, and it was too late for what-ifs.
Stupid…stupid…stupid
. Stupid not to grasp on to something so good. He'd spent so much time feeling sorry for himself that he couldn't see what was in front of him. If he were to escape Johan and his evil plans, he would tell Stu the truth. That, more than anything, he wanted to give their relationship a go.
From a plastic cooler, Johan pulled out a frosty water bottle and brought it to Aric. “This will help.”
Aric grasped the bottle and brought it to his fevered forehead before drinking from it. He let his fingers graze over the two holes on his neck. He winced from the pull of his sore, cramped muscles. After drinking half the water, he set it aside. Johan stood in front of him with a curious expression. Chestnut hair tumbled in reddish waves down his emerald green shirt. An aura of sadness surrounded the vampire. He made a handsome picture except for the fangs protruding from his bold red lips.
Being a bloodsucking parasite had to be depressing.
“Why keep me here? Why didn't you rape me? Take me back to Prague?”
Johan half turned and looked up at the ceiling. “Ah well, that is difficult to answer. It took me a while to find you. Since I am on your home turf, I cannot take you with me until you become a full-fledged vampire.”
A harsh laugh came out as a raw croak. “Christ, you mean I still have free will until then? What a joke.”