Queermance Anthology, Volume 1 (14 page)

'But I could.'

'But you won't,' Connor said with a smile that Lex could hear in his voice. 'Wasn't it Richard
Attenborough who said 'Everyone carries around his own monsters'?'

'Pryor, I think.'

'Whatever,' Connor said. 'What makes your internal monster worse than mine?'

'Does yours threaten to kill everyone you meet?'

Connor thought for a moment. 'Well, no, but yours doesn't either.'

'Okay, I'll bite - metaphorically speaking,' Lex said. 'Just what sort of monster are
you?'

Again, Connor thought for a minute. 'Ancestral,' he said finally.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Connor's kiss was soft and unexpected. 'Want to come back to my lair and find out?'

'Sure,' Lex said, somewhat nonplussed. After all, it couldn't be much worse than living
forever
¹¹
.

'By the way,' Connor said. 'You taste like blood.'

Lex hadn't thought he could still blush. It was sort of nice to be
proved wrong.

****

There was a comfortable silence as they rode the elevator up to Connor's penthouse
apartment. Connor leant back against the mirrored rear of the compartment, black shirt still
unbuttoned down to his navel and his red slacks hugging his slender legs in all the right places.
For the first time, Lex noticed a brown leather cuff on his right wrist, as well as a tattoo that
read
Not 'til the Sky
. Lex's eyes travelled over the form of the other man, inspecting his
chest, his jawline, his hands…
¹²

'Like what you see?'

Lex's eyes snapped up from Connor's oversized belt buckle and met a gaze that was both heated and
amused.

'Maybe,' Lex said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

'If I undo another button, will that turn the maybe into a yes?'

'Maybe,' Lex said, flushing slightly.

Connor laughed and unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way. 'It's all right to feel lust, you
know.'

Lex didn't say anything, but the ding of the elevator saved him from having to speak.

The place was - in a word - luxurious. In seventeen words, it had an old world, masculine
sophistication, full of dark wood, rich burgundy carpets and aged leather. Stepping out from the
lift, Lex found himself in a space he could only describe as a den. Mahogany bookshelves lined one
wall, stacked two books deep, and soft, black leather couches sat before them, facing toward a wall
clad in deliberately irregular stone. A large, flat-screen TV sat there, breaking the bulk of the
exposed masonry, and off to one side he saw an Xbox 360, although he couldn't see any game
cases
¹³
. At the far end of the room, heavy grey Roman
blinds fell to the floor, blocking out what were probably floor to ceiling windows. The entire room
was illuminated by soft downlights that lit up as the two men moved further into the centre of the
room, taking in the large canvases and small wall-cases, one of which held a withered broad bean
with a small handwritten note that said "Inn case of Emergyncy".

'Drink?' Connor asked from behind him.

'I'm not biting you,' Lex said firmly.

'Curses, you've seen through my cunning plan,' Connor said, waving a hand lazily in the air.
Grinning, he strutted nonchalantly into the vampire's personal space, almost daring Lex to step
away. A rich cascade of stringed music filled the air and then Lex felt Connor's firm body press up
against him. Strong hands encircled his waist, drawing him into an embrace that warmed his soul as
much as his body and his feet followed Connor's in a slow dance as they lost themselves in the
ripples and eddies of melody and harmony that swirled around them. Lex wasn't sure exactly when his
lips found Connor's, and then his teeth were scraping against the taller man's as they all but
devoured each other
¹⁴
. As his hands worked their way
across the smooth skin of Connor's back, Connor's hands found his face, holding him still as Connor
gently explored his mouth, the other man's tongue touching the tips of Lex's fangs
inquisitively.

Pulling back, Connor licked his lips thoughtfully. 'I taste the blood of an…
Englishman?'

'I'm Canadian,' Lex said with a grin, 'And the blood in the cocktail was probably
Australian.'

'Is there a noticeable difference?'

'If the person was a walking stereotype, then maybe,' Lex said. 'Can we talk about something
other than my diet?'

'How about we just not talk at all?' Connor suggested, stepping forward again and kissing Lex
deeply.

They made it to the bedroom, leaving a trail of discarded clothing as they went, and sometime
later, the earth moved for Alexander Cranbourne
¹⁵
.
Neither of the men spoke - neither of them felt the need to. Connor's bed was an oversized
four-poster deal, with the wispiest of canopies giving the illusion of privacy without feeling
claustrophobic. A sated Connor had peeled the condom off his lover, licked Lex clean and dropped the
shrivelled latex receptacle onto a folded piece of tissue, which he left on the bed side table.
Snuggling up against Lex's body, Connor's even breathing told the vampire the other man had drifted
off to sleep
¹⁶
.

He dozed for a while, but he'd hadn't been awake long enough to feel sleepy yet. Dropping a kiss
on Connor's forehead, Lex slipped from the bed and stepped out onto the balcony, which ran along the
north side of the building. Up on the sixtieth floor, Lex could barely see the ground as the grey
mist of autumn hung heavy in the air, clinging to and chilling his body as he pushed through it.

'I like living up high,' Connor had said when he'd led Lex through the lobby of the high rise
tower. 'It gives me a feeling of peace.'

And it certainly was peaceful. When he'd been alive, Lex used to love sitting by the window in an
aeroplane, just when the sun was rising and the plane was flying above the clouds, the morning light
catching the gently rolling sea of white that stretched out as far as his eyes could see. There had
been a sense of stillness, of peace in those quiet moments before the breakfast trolley rattled
around and the inevitable child at the front of the cabin started crying. It was a pause in which he
could catch his breath before life began for the day, high above the drudgery of the world. Standing
on the balcony he could almost feel it again. Almost. There was certainly a peace and a pause. If he
was lucky, there was a distinct chance at a beginning too. His breath however, had long since fled
and it seemed unlikely he'd ever catch it again.

Feeling the cold the air seeping into his bones, Lex headed back inside and stepped into the
shower, allowing the hot water to heat his flesh to a semblance of body temperature. He didn't need
to be warm, he knew. He just liked the feeling. When he was warm, he could almost forget that he
was, well, not naturally so - or not naturally anything, as it could well be argued. Stepping
out of the shower, he glanced at his non-reflection in the mirror and searched through the cupboards
for a towel, finding a soft white one as fluffy as the clouds he missed. He also found an ovate gold
sculpture, inexplicably
¹⁷
being used to weigh down a
stack of hand towels.

Towel thrown over one shoulder, Lex stared into the penthouse loft, with its oversized furniture
and lonely inhabitant, his form indistinct behind the gauzy curtains that surrounded the generously
proportioned bed. Lex knew how the story went. He also knew exactly where Connor had left the keys
that would allow him to control the lift, so he wouldn't have to climb down the fire escape.

Some uncounted hours later, the sun had risen unnoticed behind blinds that had been carefully
lowered over windows and glass balcony doors, and Connor stirred, blinking sleepily as the world
came back into focus.

'You're still here,' he said, almost surprised.

'And you're an ogre,' Lex said, running his fingers across Connor's buzz cut hair.

'Do I look like an ogre to you?'

Lex shrugged. 'I guess so. You are an ogre so you must look like one.'

Connor sighed and allowed his head to rest on Lex's bicep. 'What gave me away?'

'I found an egg in the bathroom.'

'Ah. I don't have many of those left
¹⁸
,' Connor
said, closing his eyes and snuggling closer. 'So what happens now that you know my deep dark
secret?'

Lex squinted at the gauzy bed curtain. 'Well, the sun's out so I'm not going anywhere. You'll
just have to feed me.'

'I thought you said no biting.'

'Maybe I'm not hungry for blood.'

Connor frowned, deep creases appearing on his normally smooth forehead. 'You know, no matter what
they say about the Fee Fi Fo Fum business…'

Lex cut him off with a kiss, 'You'll grind your cock into my bum?'

'That was awful,' Connor said after a moment. 'That was really awful.'

'Yeah, but I've been working on that for the last hour,' Lex said, flushing slightly. 'Besides,
you're going to do it eventually right?'

It wasn't quite an ever after. But for now, it would do.

^1.
Well, there was one, but no-one believed it was genuine
science and
The Effects of Haematological Consumption of Recreational Drugs on Homo nosferatu
was eventually published in the pulp magazine
Cryptids Monthly
along with an article about
being abducted by Martians, which was completely fictional. Real Martians have three tentacles, not
two as the author claimed.
Go Back

^2.
In actual fact, vampires affected by crystal meth don't last
long. They have a tendency to stumble into the sunlight and leave little piles of ash on the
sidewalk.
Go Back

^3.
This was a misnomer. It didn't contain blood from anyone
called Mary. The blood actually came from a mother of three named Sally, who believed she was giving
blood to those in desperate need. To be fair, she was doing exactly that.
Go
Back

^4.
As a strictly room temperature kind of guy, Lex didn't
technically need a jacket. There was such a thing as style, though, and appearances were important.
Give up appearances, Lex reasoned, and you're just that one step closer to walking corpse, climbing
your way up to virgins' balconies for kicks and pretending you could fly.
Go
Back

^5.
They didn't, but so far no academics have even attempted to
investigate that particular phenomenon. Critics would probably suggest a lack of recreational drugs
featuring in the study parameters is to blame - if they thought about it at all. Which they
haven't.
Go Back

^6.
i.e. evidence was present and nigh undeniable, but wilful
ignorance and lack of political will to admit that it could be a problem meant vampires still had
free run of the night, more or less - as long as they paid their taxes and didn't draw attention
to the fact that they were celebrating bicentennials and beyond. Most forward-thinking vampires
bribed officials to update their birth certificates every few decades or so, much in the same way
that your mother insists she's been turning thirty eight for the last five years.
Go Back

^7.
Half a cow as a standard serving for one.
Go Back

^8.
Yes, as much as we mock them mercilessly, we all want the
amount of money the average yuppie earns and thoughtlessly spends. Admit it - you just want
someone to give you that money for your writing/poetry/dance/video gaming/sleeping skill.
Go Back

^9.
Unless said vampires were featuring in a story written by a
Mormon.
Go Back

^10.
In truth, Lex looked a little absurd doing this as Connor
was easily a head and a half taller than him. Still, neither man noticed, and Lex does have those
fangs which protrude more when he's angry. I still haven't pointed out how absurd he looked. Well,
not to his face anyway. There's a meme on Facebook he's desperately trying to trace though.
Go Back

^11.
In this, Lex was very wrong. There are many things worse
than living forever. Living forever and being subjected to an endless stream of holiday photos for
example. Or not being able to unsee bleach eel girl. If you don't know it, don't look it up.
Just… trust me on that.
Go Back

^12.
And his crotch, although Lex didn't admit it until quite
some time later.
Go Back

^13.
Lex later discovered they were hidden behind the pile of
board games in the bookshelves, and that Connor's favourite game was
Toy Story 3
, although
Connor told everyone it was
Deadpool
Go Back
.

^14.
Not literally.
Go Back

^15.
Again, not literally. The earth did move. It always does,
but it didn't move specifically for Lex. At least, not this time.
Go
Back

^16.
Again, I make no apologies for the lack of graphic sexual
content in this instalment of Lex's story. There is video footage, but Lex is stronger than I am and
apparently getting bitten would have been the least of my worries if I didn't hand over the master
copy to him. You know, for a dead guy he's remarkably prudish.
Go Back

^17.
It was, in fact explicable. A bit like climate change
really.
Go Back

^18.
The problem with geese that lay golden eggs is that the
eggs don't typically hatch into other geese. Actually, that's only one of the problems. The second
problem is that old age catches them up just like anyone else - except vampires of course.
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