“Look at me, Taylor.”
The request was gentle, making Taylor slowly raise his eyes. Chase smiled and gripped Taylor’s chin with his index finger and thumb, laying a sweet and quick kiss on his lips. “I know I’ve been an ass, but I have good reason, still do. But we are mated. I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”
Taylor wasn’t sure if he could believe Chase. The man had made an art out of running from him and Justin. This was too good to be true and tapped into his inner desires. His mind couldn’t wrap around the fact that Chase was relenting and willing to be mated to them.
“Okay.” It was a lame answer, but Taylor wasn’t sure if he could trust Chase to stick around after they recued Justin. He was afraid to trust this new Chase.
“Come on, we have a mate to retrieve.”
Who was this man, and what did he do with the real Chase?
“If we hurry, we can get Justin by ten.”
Ten wasn’t soon enough for Taylor. He missed Justin and couldn’t wait to have the man back in his arms where he belonged. He wasn’t sure who Prince Ruelle was, but Taylor was grateful to the man for keeping Justin safe.
Taylor waited in the truck as Chase checked them out of the motel, and then watched as Chase’s thick, muscular body walked toward him. Taylor still couldn’t believe he had all that muscle behind him last night. Just thinking about it made Taylor want to run back inside the motel for round two.
But they had to go retrieve their wayward mate. Taylor was relieved as hell that Justin was safe and wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug the man until Justin’s eyes popped, or if he wanted to take the man over his knee and paddle his ass. Justin had scared ten years off of Taylor’s life by disappearing like that.
The drive was long and awkward. Chase had tried to start a conversation a few times, but Taylor had nipped each of them in the bud. He wasn’t sure why he was acting this way, but it seemed the roles had reversed, and he was the one running this time while Chase tried to reel him in.
“Are you going to snap at me if I ask what type of music you like to listen to?” Chase asked as he began to turn the knobs on the radio.
“I’m not trying to be prickly, Chase.” Taylor sighed. “I’m just trying to figure you out.” There was no way Chase had flipped overnight. The man had run too hard from Taylor and Justin to just give up and give in.
Chase sighed deeply, making Taylor feel more like a heel. “I know you don’t trust my motives after the way I’ve acted, Taylor. But I honestly don’t want to walk away from either of you. I want to explain why I did what I did, but I can’t.”
The sound of soft country music filled the cab as Taylor glanced out of the window. It was true that he wanted to know why Chase had run from them. But was that really important? Wasn’t it more important that the man was here and willing to give this a try?
Taylor sighed, unsure of what to do. He wanted to talk to Justin first. He wanted to get Justin’s opinion on Chase’s new leaf.
Damn, he just wanted Justin.
“I think this is it,” Chase said as he pulled up to an iron gate that surrounded a large a sprawling lawn, with a mansion sitting back from the road. Damn, this place was huge. Taylor was impressed as Chase leaned out of the window and hit the buzzer.
“I’m here to see Prince Ruelle,” Chase said into the intercom. “He is expecting me.”
“And you are?” the voice coming from the intercom asked.
“Chase Morgan and Taylor Foyt.”
“Please drive to the main house.”
Main house? There was more than one house? Just how big was this place? Taylor watched as the gates began to open, allowing them passage. Chase drove the winding driveway until they were parked outside the elaborate mansion.
“Do you think Justin is going to be happy to see us?” Chase asked as he unsnapped his seatbelt, uncertainty in his eyes as he glanced over at Taylor.
Taylor wasn’t sure about anything right now. If anyone had asked him if he thought Justin would leave him, he would have said no. But Justin had proved him wrong on that. Taylor couldn’t help but wonder what else he had been wrong about.
“I’m not sure,” Taylor said as he stared at the front of the massive mansion, “but however he feels right now, he is coming home. Things can be worked out from there.”
Taylor slid from the truck, glancing up at the large front porch that included pillars and an ornately decorated front door. He sighed as he climbed the steps, wondering if Justin was going to come willingly or not. He didn’t want to argue with the man but he wanted Justin to come home. His missed the guy terribly.
Chase shot him a quick glance, one that Taylor couldn’t read, and then knocked on the door. Taylor wondered if whoever was waiting for them had been standing directly on the other side of the door because it opened immediately.
“The prince is waiting for you in his study,” the man said.
As he stepped back and allowed Chase and Taylor to come inside, Taylor eyed the man carefully. There was something funny about him, but Taylor couldn’t quite figure out what it was. He was just odd.
“Please come this way.”
Taylor could feel other eyes on him as he and Chase followed the funny little man down a hallway. He just wasn’t sure where they were coming from until they passed the entrance to another room and he saw all of the people inside. It almost seemed like the prince was having some sort of get-together. The room was filled with people dressed as if they were attending a party.
There was soft music playing from somewhere overhead, and the people were standing around, talking in groups or one-on-one, but he could feel the furtive glances being stolen. Gods, he felt so underdressed. The partiers were wearing fine silks and expensive-looking suits that looked as if it were tailored just for them, and Taylor was wearing yesterday’s jeans and a shirt that was purchased at a late-night market.
But that was secondary on his mind as his eyes scanned the room for Justin. He was anxious to get his lover back and get the hell out of this place. As grand as it was, there was something about it that reminded him of some late-century French home.
Not that he would know, but he had been educated.
There were finely embroidered tapestry handing from the walls every few feet, rich, vibrant carpets that Taylor was afraid to stand on, and so many damn breakable things that looked like each cost a mint that Taylor didn’t want to move an inch in fear of knocking something over.
“This way,” the peculiar little man said as he guided them down a hallway. “The prince will meet with you in his study.”
Taylor didn’t want to meet the prince in his study. He wanted to hightail it out of there with Justin hanging over his shoulder and Chase waiting with the truck running. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling that way, but the deep need to grab and go was hitting him hard.
Taylor started when Chase reached down and grabbed his hand. It was an unexpected move, but welcomed right about now. Standing in a strange a place as this, he needed the anchor of familiarity, even if he had just became intimately familiar with Chase last night.
They were escorted into a large office and shown to two plush, brown leather chairs that sat opposite from what looked to be a very old and antique desk. Taylor felt like he had stepped back in time. There were paintings on the walls that Taylor bet cost a pretty penny each and even more breakable items in the office. What was with the prince and glass?
“Why do you think the prince wants to meet with us?” Taylor asked Chase nervously as he took a seat in one of the leather chairs, clasping his hands between his knees.
“Beats me. But if the prince wants to talk, the least we can do is listen.”
Taylor turned in his seat when the study doors opened. A tall black-haired man dressed to the nines in a pristine white shirt and black slacks walked toward them, giving Taylor, and then Chase, a polite smile. Before he could take a seat behind his fancy desk, Taylor blurted out his question.
“Where’s Justin?”
The prince grinned at Taylor. The sparkle in his blue eyes was filled with merriment as he sat behind his desk. “I am Prince Dominic Xavier Lucian Ruelle.”
Taylor swallowed hard, his fingernails biting into the soft leather on each armrest. The man held a regal air about him that made Taylor want to bow in front of the man. He opted to stay seated. “I’m Taylor Foyt, and this is Chase Morgan. Now, where is Justin?”
Taylor almost growled and leapt across the space between them when the prince folded his hands together and rested them on his desk like he didn’t have a care in the world and arched a very manicured eyebrow.
“Justin is safe,” the prince said. “But I have a few questions before I take you to him.”
Taylor was going to lose his fucking mind. He didn’t even know the guy. What could they possibly have to talk about? The only thing Taylor wanted to hear was that the prince was having Justin brought to them. “I’ll answer any questions you have
after
we see Justin.” He couldn’t believe he was trying to negotiate with a prince. And prince of what? Since when did royalty live in deep countryside?
“I’m afraid I must insist.”
Taylor’s nostrils flared as he tried to suppress his anger. He opened his mouth to give the prince a piece of his mind, the pissed-off piece, when a hand covered his. Taylor’s eyes snapped to Chase.
“The quicker we answer the prince’s questions,” Chase said, “the quicker we can see Justin.”
“But—”
Chase shook his head. Taylor pressed his lips together and glanced down to where the man’s hand covered his. He turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with Chase’s, not sure how the man would take it. When Chase didn’t pull away, Taylor blew out a relieved breath and looked up at the prince.
“All right, what do you want to know?” The prince better make this quick. Taylor was dying to see his lover.
“Justin seems to believe that he has an illness,” the prince said. “Why is that?”
“Because he does,” Taylor replied. “Justin has had diabetes for as long as I can remember.”
“And he takes medication for this?”
“A well-balanced diet helps a lot, but yes, he does.” Taylor still didn’t like talking about the things he had done to insure that Justin received his medication while they had been in the hands of the Teacher. They still gave him nightmares.
“What do you know of Justin’s parents?”
“Nothing. Justin never talks about them. He was pretty young when the Teacher got a hold of him. I’m not even sure he remembers them.” Taylor was confused about where all of these questions were coming from, and doubly so as to why the prince wanted to know. It was odd that a stranger wanted to know about Justin’s illness and his lineage. “Has something happened to Justin?”
The prince held his hand up at the same time he shook his head. “Justin is safe, but I am confused about why he is taking medication.”
“He’s sick.” What part of this wasn’t the guy getting?
“No, he is not sick.” The prince sat back in his chair, dropping his hands down to his lap. “He is a vampire.”
Taylor stared at the prince for a moment, his mind playing those words over and over again and comparing them to what he knew of his sweet little Justin. And then he started to laugh. This man had to be a nut job. There was no other explanation for his statement. “Justin is no more a vampire than I am.”
The side of the prince’s mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile. “No, I do not smell vampire on you, nor shifter. I’m betting that you are human.”
“Of course I’m human,” Taylor scoffed between bursts of laughter. “And so is Justin.”
Taylor’s laughter slowly drained away when the prince just continued to stare at him, a knowing glint in his vivid blue eyes. Chase wasn’t laughing either. Taylor looked between the two men, wondering what he was missing, because he knew he was. They both looked too grim for this to be a joke.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Taylor asked as he looked at the prince. “You really think that Justin is a vampire?”
“I know he is,” the prince said. “I can smell it on him.”
“Are you sure you’re not just smelling”—Taylor shrugged—”I don’t know, Justin? Or maybe his medicine?”
“Yes, Taylor, I am positive.” Prince Dominic sat forward, once again resting his hands on the desk in front of him. He looked like a man that had news to share and didn’t want to. “When Justin arrived, he had been without his medication long enough for the effects to wear off.”
“Oh no!” Taylor turned to Chase and then jumped to his feet when Chase didn’t seem to have the anxious feelings that he had. He had to get to Justin. Taylor had to make sure that his lover was all right. Justin got really sick when he didn’t take his medication. Why on earth had this man allowed Justin to go without? Taylor knew for a fact that Justin carried his kit with him. Maybe Justin had lost it. “I have spare medication with me in the truck. Justin needs—”
“Taylor,” Chase said sternly, “sit down.”
Taylor stared at Chase like he had lost his entire mind, and Taylor wondered if he had. Justin needed his medication. Why didn’t Chase understand that? Justin could die without it.
“Chase, I know you don’t understand,” Taylor said as he tried to keep his temper in check as he talked to his mate, but it wasn’t easy. Chase didn’t understand how sick Justin really was. “You haven’t been around that long, and let’s face it, you’ve avoided Justin and me like we had the plague. But Justin needs his medication. If he doesn’t have his insulin shot and his blood sugar—”
“Taylor, you’re not listening.”
Taylor rolled his eyes and dropped back down into his chair. “Fine, explain it to me then.” He could have cared less what either man had to say but apparently, he wasn’t going to get any help from Chase or be allowed to see Justin until he listened.
“Taylor is not sick,” Prince Dominic said. “In fact, the medication he is taking is making him worse. It is simply masking his vampire genetics, suppressing them, nothing more. The longer it continues, the sicker he will become.”
Taylor pressed his lips together. He knew better than to argue with the prince, but he didn’t believe a word the man said. Justin was not a vampire. Taylor was pretty sure he would have noticed fangs and Justin drinking blood. Those two things would have been hard to miss.