Gabe took his coat off and draped it over a chair. “This place is huge.”
He meant his words only for Harvey, but Hector overheard. “Six thousand square feet. Pool room, media room, sauna, Jacuzzi and a terrace. I forget how many bedrooms,” he said.
Hector went behind the bar. He lined up several glasses in front of him and half filled them with ice.
“Don’t you think those girls have had enough to drink already?” Gabe asked.
“It’s not for them.” Hector took a bottle of red liquid out of the minifridge and poured a generous amount into the glasses. “Some genius came up with this. They call it Sanguine.” He poured a couple of types of alcohol and fruit juices into the glasses. He placed one of them in front of Harvey. “Try it.”
Faking perfect ignorance, Harvey took a sip, then produced a surprised reaction that sounded convincing even to Gabe, who knew better. “It tingles!” Harvey had said the exact same thing when he’d tasted Sanguine in the Nightcrawler in Chicago months ago. “Does it get you drunk?”
“Sadly, no.”
Not sure if he could keep a straight face, Gabe turned his back to them. The rest of their party was haphazardly arranged on the half-circle sofa. Aleksi was making out with Cinder, while Frida and Greta had their hands all over a punch-drunk Lucinda. Ilario sat slightly aside with a studied look of disinterest plastered on his face.
“Is the cocktail called Sanguine, or the special ingredient?” Gabe heard Harvey ask.
“Both, I think.”
Gabe turned back to see Hector arrange glasses on a tray.
“Do you often have parties?” He kept his voice low, even though the other vampires were too busy to pay attention to him.
“Every weekend.” Hector picked up the tray and carried it over to the others. He motioned for them to follow.
Frida and Greta grabbed a glass each, but Aleksi stood and walked out of the room. Gabe took a seat, and Harvey wandered around the room, supposedly to admire a painting on the wall. However, he wandered the same direction Aleksi disappeared to.
A few minutes later when Aleksi reappeared, the sense of wrongness Gabe got from him was even stronger. The way Aleksi put his arm around Harvey also made Gabe grit his teeth. Aleksi’s hand slid low on Harvey’s hip, holding their bodies flush.
“I hope it looks as expensive as it was,” he said, looking up at the picture.
“You have an amazing place. I’d love to see the rest,” Harvey said, slipping out of Aleksi’s embrace.
Aleksi caught him by the elbow and pulled him back. “Later. It’s feeding time.”
He steered Harvey back to the sofa.
“We all share here. What is mine is yours,” he said, making a sweeping gesture of the two drunk girls. “And what is yours is mine,” he added, focusing his eyes on Gabe.
Gabe saw the blaze of anger in Harvey’s eyes the moment he felt Harvey’s emotions wash through him, and he realized how dangerous their situation was. Aleksi was probably high but most certainly used to getting his way. Frida and Greta now stood behind him, fangs bared. Gabe didn’t expect help from Hector either. Going along was the only way out. It was only blood, he told himself.
He could let the two vamp bitches bite him. It wouldn’t be like with Harvey, wouldn’t give them daylight powers, and they would never share his dreams. Only Harvey could. Because those so-called side effects of whatever connected them were not something to worry about, but a gift.
Gabe stared at Harvey, willing his lover to understand, to stand down, while this realization blazed through him. Harvey seemed to catch at least a little. Black eyes flashed behind the lace, but Harvey’s self-control held.
Gabe rolled up his shirtsleeves and held his arms out. Aleksi stepped back with a satisfied smirk. Frida and Greta closed in on Gabe on two sides, each taking one of his wrists. Somewhere on the sofa Aleksi was feeding on one of the girls, but Gabe couldn’t say which—his eyes were locked on Harvey.
Familiar tingles raced through Gabe as Frida and Greta first bit him. He didn’t want to feel the sensation, not from them. He tightened his jaws and concentrated on feeling Harvey instead. The tingles gradually subsided.
Finally getting their fill, the blondes let him go. Losing interest in him, they turned their attention back to the girls. Aleksi, on the other hand, had his eyes trained on Harvey. Gabe didn’t like this one bit. Neither Aleksi nor his two bodyguards seemed to have realized Harvey wasn’t a woman. If the truth came out, the situation could turn ugly fast. Gabe couldn’t even pull a macho-male card to claim Harvey exclusively his. Vamp cards trumped his. He wondered if they’d be allowed to leave if they tried.
Rescue came from an unexpected source. “I must show you the view from the balcony.” Ilario’s words were those of a polite host, but the tone of his delivery made it clear he didn’t mean them as mere suggestion.
“That would be lovely,” Harvey agreed icily, letting Ilario guide him across the floor. Gabe followed close behind them. He felt light-headed but he knew it would pass.
The night skyline looked okay. The Strip, with its gaudy buildings, was a right spectacle, but in Gabe’s opinion the view didn’t come even close to the sight of Chicago at night. However, he kept his opinion to himself.
“You can see the Bellagio’s water fountain from here,” Ilario said, pointing. “There’s a light show every fifteen minutes till midnight. Too bad you missed it. It’s quite a sight.”
The somber vampire suddenly playing the role of the tour guide didn’t make much sense to Gabe. He could sense Harvey’s unease too. They wandered to the far end of the balcony.
“You must see this.” Ilario ushered them inside.
“Umm, fascinating,” Harvey uttered at the sight of the huge round bed and the mirrored ceiling above it.
Gabe had never seen such whorehouse chic before either.
“I like to watch.” Ilario’s voice grew even stronger and more emphatic.
“What?” Harvey and Gabe snapped their eyes at him.
Ilario bowed his head as he pointed two fingers at his own eyes and then one up to the mirror. The message was clear: a hidden camera was watching them.
Of course!
Gabe wanted to slap himself for not having considered the possibility before.
“You will indulge me.” Ilario put a heavy hand on each their shoulders. He flashed his fangs for emphasis.
Gabe surreptitiously brushed the back of his hand against Harvey’s arm. He meant his touch to be reassuring but also to remind Harvey not to do anything foolish. It worked.
“I just need to use the bathroom for a second. This stuff runs through me.” Harvey lifted the cocktail he was still clutching in his hand. The ice rattled.
“Be quick,” was Ilario’s brusque response.
While Harvey was out of the room, Ilario dragged a chair into the middle of the room and seated himself in it. They waited in an uncomfortable silence. Harvey came back with a determined look on his face. He roughly pushed Gabe down on the bed and straddled him. Holding Gabe’s head down by the hair, Harvey leaned in for a hard kiss that made their teeth clink together. Normally, Gabe got a kick out of Harvey’s occasional aggressive moods, but there was only one way he was able to perform under the circumstances. He tilted his head sideways, offering his neck.
“No,” Harvey whispered.
“You have to.”
Harvey glared back angrily, but then bit him and drank him deep. Gabe now opened himself to the familiar excitement—his body reacted to the thrill coursing through it. He’d needed this so much—the enhanced sensations had him focused on Harvey and kept him from doing something very stupid, like attacking Ilario with his bare hands. Even if he wasn’t already weakened by blood loss, that wouldn’t have been smart.
Harvey rubbed Gabe’s erection first through the layers of clothing. Then he freed Gabe’s cock and took it into his mouth. The thought of others watching them flickered through Gabe’s mind, but he forcefully shoved the image away. Instead, he focused on Harvey and the physical sensations their bodies created.
Aside from Gabe’s exposed groin, they were both still fully clothed. Sitting up, Harvey repositioned himself. As the skirt hid what was really going on, he slowly lowered himself on Gabe’s cock. He felt slick but very tight—he must have used his trip to the bathroom to quickly prepare himself. It took long seconds before Gabe was fully sheathed. They moved slowly at first, with Harvey setting the pace. Gabe placed his hands on Harvey’s thighs under the layers of the skirt, stroking the hard muscles through the soft silk. It was over pretty fast, but for once, Gabe didn’t mind that at all.
With the show over, Ilario wandered out of the room. Gabe wrapped his arms tightly around Harvey.
Chapter Six
It was close to dawn when the party broke up and Hector came to collect them. Aleksi and the two blondes were nowhere to be seen, only the half-naked human girls. A couple of guards were wrestling them back into their clothing.
“What are you doing to them?” Gabe asked Hector in an angry whisper.
“Taking them back to their hotel, what else? It’s time for you to leave too. Steve will walk you back to yours.”
Gabe gathered up his coat as they headed out. At the door, they met another vampire guard, who had to be Steve. He led them back out the same way they had come, to their hotel’s main floor and left them there. Nobody said a single word the whole time. Harvey and Gabe went on their way in continued silence.
However, once they got into the room, Harvey exploded. “I’m so fucking pissed.” His voice trembled with barely contained fury. He paced up and down the room. Rage radiated from every one of his tense muscles.
Gabe had been aware of Harvey’s agitation throughout the night. He felt much the same, but he also knew one of them needed to stay cool. He drew the resistant Harvey into his arms. While he wound his arms tight around Harvey, he willed his own body to remain relaxed, to convey calm and confidence. Many long minutes later, the impotent anger straining Harvey’s whole being began to evaporate. Gabe slowly stroked Harvey’s back to soothe away the shudders running through it.
Finally, Harvey gave up the resistance and melded into Gabe. “The asshole has Mr. Vega there—I could feel someone very sick nearby. It had to be him.”
“That’s good to know for sure. See, the night wasn’t a complete waste.”
“This is so fucked up,” Harvey mumbled into Gabe’s neck.
“I know, kitten. I’m angry too, but we’ll sort this out. We were told to wait, and going off half-cocked won’t do any good. Right now I want to take a shower more than anything.”
He wasn’t entirely truthful—what he wanted above all was to demand answers from Hector while holding a sharp stake pointed at the vampire’s heart. Since he couldn’t do that, a shower had to suffice.
They shed their costumes swiftly and without any of the thrill they had putting them on. In the shower, Harvey scowled at the bruises on Gabe’s wrists. “I hated it when they bit you.”
“Yes, me too, but that shit didn’t matter. They only had my blood. It was nothing like with you. You know that.”
He cradled Harvey’s face in his hands and leaned forward. Their lips met soft and wet. Gabe had an inkling something inside him was shifting, but he couldn’t put a name on it.
After quickly getting clean, they crawled under the blankets. Gabe wrapped himself around Harvey and closed his eyes. All the emotional debris of the night turned into exhaustion. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, but a few seconds later, he was out cold.
An insistent tapping noise woke him up. There was someone at the door. The red digital glow of the clock told him it was well past noon. He crawled out of bed and ambled to the door.
“Who is it?” he croaked.
“Room service.”
“I didn’t order room service.”
Harvey was up too, looking alarmed. Gabe’s phone rang from under a pile of clothes on the floor. He dug it out.
“What?” he barked into it.
“Good morning, amigo,” replied a familiar voice.
“I’m not your fucking amigo,” Gabe growled.
Hector didn’t bother to address Gabe’s wrath. “I sent you lunch. Eat. You’ll need your strength. When you’re done, come see me,” he said and hung up.
Gabe had half a mind to blow Hector off, but the urge to confront the vampire proved stronger. So after a lunch of steak and eggs, and a shower, he was ready to go. So was Harvey, despite the early hour. Without talking about it, they both put on what they called their hunting outfits—loose, comfortable clothing with lots of pockets. Gabe even tucked his special ropes into them. After a moment’s hesitation, he put the steampunk wristband on too. The stiff metal circle concealed the bruise on his skin. The sleeve of his leather jacket covered it, but he liked its caress.
“You have some fucking explaining to do,” was the first thing Gabe said when the three of them were alone in Hector’s office.
The vampire took on their furious glares like Gore-Tex takes on rain. “Sure. Wouldn’t you rather sit down first?”
“No, I don’t wanna fucking sit down!”
“Suit yourself.” Hector parked his own backside on the corner of his desk and folded his arms across his chest.
The first question bubbled up from Gabe’s simmering anger. “What the fuck was last night about?”
“You wanted to know more about Aleksi Radek. Now you know all you need.”
“Where are the girls?”
“Back at their hotel room, not remembering a thing. I drugged them when we were still back in the bar.”
“They were raped. You drugging them doesn’t make the whole affair any less repulsive.”
“True. On the other hand, they’re alive. If it wasn’t for the drug blanking out their memories, they’d be feeding the coyotes in the desert by now.”
“Are you telling me you did a good deed drugging them and handing them over to that sick bastard?”
Hector shrugged. “You two being there helped. Aleksi is not far enough gone yet to kill in front of a couple of strangers.”
“He’s using dirty blood, isn’t he? How long?”
“Let’s see. James showed up in town around July. Aleksi began to act strange soon after. He’d always been an asshole but used to be a smart asshole. Now he’s more and more careless. There’s lots of desert around here to lose bodies, but when people keep disappearing, sooner or later someone will notice.”