Page 4 of Bite Me

4

LOST AND FOUND

RUSSEL

I moved out of the booth, but the bartender stood in my way.

“Excuse me.”

He didn’t budge. Putting his hands on his hips, he shook his head at me. “I wouldn’t do that, man.”

“Let me out.” That woman was dragging Eddie away from me. They were disappearing up the stairs, and I was wasting time. I took a step forward, but a firm hand on my chest stopped me.

“Dude, chill,” the bartender warned. “We don’t want any trouble.” His golden eyes told me he wouldn’t be easily threatened or overpowered. He looked well-fed and younger than me. If it came to it, he’d crush me like a bug.

“I’m not causing any trouble,” I said, keeping my tone even. “I’m leaving.”

He raised his eyebrows doubtfully. Then he stretched his arm toward the bar counter and presented me with the card machine. “You owe me for the recovery cocktail.”

“Forgot about that. Sorry.” I added a generous tip and blipped my phone over the machine. “All good?”

“You tell me. Do I have to warn my bouncer about you?”

I exhaled, gathering the scraps of my patience. It seemed I had to explain before he’d let me go. “The boy was a newbie. He came twice in a row, just from a couple of bites, and got a little overwhelmed. The recovery cocktail was already kicking in when his friend returned and freaked out. He’s cute and tastes amazing, which is why I want to ask for his number. I won’t harass them.”

The bartender hesitated for a second, scanning my face. I had no idea what he saw since I didn’t feel like I had myself under control. The longer I stood here, the higher the chance I’d never see Eddie again.

Finally, the vampire moved to the side. “Good luck.”

Barely dodging a man with two beer bottles in his hands, I sprinted up the stairs and out on the curb. The street wasn’t busy; only a few humans straggled about in various stages of inebriation. A car passed, the windows tinted, then a cab stopped on the opposite side of the road, and two giggling girls stumbled out.

I couldn’t see Eddie and his friend anywhere. The bartender, however, had followed me and was now talking to the bouncer, no doubt telling him to keep an eye on me.

Without any idea in which direction they’d gone, I jogged back and forth to look around corners. Eddie had vanished.

They must have already taken a cab.

Fuck .

I walked home. My stomach was full, and my muscles were warm with fresh strength, but the usual relief of being fed didn’t come. Instead, a vague sense of dread niggled at my consciousness.

What had just happened?

I saw a young man at a bar. He tucked a strand of wavy chestnut hair behind his ear, and his slender, fragile wrist looked so… kissable. His green eyes were skittish but bright, and he blushed easily. He seemed out of place, just like I often felt. He didn’t belong to the dinner club—he stuck out like a white dove in a murder of crows. The longer I watched him, the brighter he shone, the rest of the room fading into shadows around him, and I imagined a connection, a kind of kinship, as if maybe our wrong souls that didn’t belong anywhere could sense each other.

Yes, I let my fantasy run wild just looking at Eddie from across the room. Maybe it was hunger clouding my mind. I hadn’t eaten in two weeks.

When Eddie turned around and noticed me, I shot up as if electrocuted. I had to taste him. It was imperative.

He acted so unaffected and sweet, his nervousness painfully obvious. One look at his blushing, youthful face, and I felt layers of my frosty cynicism thaw away. The genuine wonder in his eyes, his surprised arousal, even his fear… How beautiful was simple honesty? I’d forgotten.

I thought men like him had gone extinct along with the poetry of nineteenth-century Romanticism, but there he was, a sole daisy growing from a crack in the sidewalk…

What if I never see him again?

Blue-balled and bursting with energy, I jumped up and down in the elevator to my apartment. As soon as I unlocked my apartment, I headed straight into the shower. With steam gathering around me, I closed my eyes and recalled Eddie’s muffled cries, the sensation of his breath on my neck, and his clumsy, jerky movements as he came in my arms.

My release got washed down the drain, and the high subsided too soon. I could have had him waiting for me naked on my bed, dammit! Would he have said yes if his friend hadn’t arrived?

Eddie’s blood was exquisite. I couldn’t compare it to anything. It had felt like distilled joy in my mouth, like lust and passion pouring down my throat and bliss settling in my stomach. With my lips on his neck and my arms around his shivering body, I wondered if he was human. Maybe he was some celestial being, and if I drank from him long enough, the fucking meaning of life would dawn on me.

What was it about his blood that had tasted so unique? Trying to remember the exact flavor was causing my dick to stir even though I’d just come.

I had to feed from Eddie again. But finding one boy in a city of three million people was nearly impossible without any clues. I could come to that dinner club every weekend. Unless the experience put Eddie off, maybe he’d turn up one night.

He was gay. Or bi or pan. Was he on any dating apps? How much scrolling and swiping would I have to do to find one person? I already knew I’d go through them all for a chance to taste him again.

I was addicted after one bite.

On Saturday, I spent hours on gay dating apps trying to spot Eddie’s face. The sheer number of bare torsos I’d seen and ass pics I’d received left an aftertaste of desperation and had me questioning the pursuits of mankind. Did anyone out there still look for a real connection?

When I returned to the club on Sunday night, the bartender told me to wait while he served another customer. Then he poured me a glass of red and put it in front of me.

“No, he hasn’t been here,” he said before I could form a question.

I gulped the rich and smoky wine. Maybe I could drown my disappointment in it.

“He tasted that good?” the bartender asked. He leaned on the counter, shoulders bulging threateningly, but eyes sympathetic. His interest seemed genuine.

“I’ve never felt anything like it. Blew me away.”

“Sometimes it happens.”

“What?”

“That you just find one who’s much better than anyone else, and then you only want that one flavor.”

“Has it happened to you?”

“Nah. But I’ve heard about it.”

“Well, if he comes by…”

“Give me your number. I’ll let him know you’re looking for him.”

“Thanks, man.”

He shrugged. “I thought you were one of the creeps, but you’re okay.”

I laughed. “Depends on how desperate I’ll get. I haven’t been getting much sleep.”

He straightened and patted the counter. “You’d better keep looking then.”

The wine soothed my throat. I licked my lips as I shook my head. “I need to put the search on pause. I’m starting a new job on Monday.”

“Ah. What are you doing? You look like a big deal. Finance? Or law?”

“I’m in public relations.”

“Fancy. Good luck, then.”

“Thanks.”

He pointed at the wine. “That’s on me. It’s my fault you lost the boy. What’s his name?”

“Eddie.”

“Eddie. Like I said. Wine’s on me.”

“Thank you.”

He gave me a friendly nod and moved to the other side of the bar, where a couple of young women waited to place their orders.

I finished my wine and went home, hoping to catch more than two hours of sleep. I always struggled to fall asleep during the night, but since I had a day job, I didn’t have a choice. I’d get used to it again after a few weeks.

* * *

On Monday, I paired my black shirt with a simple dark suit and headed to the business district.

The early morning sun burned all the colors off the streets, bathing the city in a sickly white glare. I wore my darkest shades, but even so, by the time I arrived at the Fowles Lilly and Rory, the media analysts; and the young woman in the colorful outfit was surely Catrina Wilkes, the copywriter. I shook their hands one by one. They must have been nervous but hid it well. I’d be the first vampire working for Fowles & Tito—it was bound to be a little awkward at first. I did my best to smile warmly.

A thin figure hid behind Frank Cook and a middle-aged woman who must be the family law expert, Vivian Mendoza. Anthony beckoned the person forward.

Seeing the man’s face, I froze.

“And this is Benedict Perkins. Don’t be fooled by his harmless appearance. He’s one of our most talented creatives.”

“Eddie has a devious mind,” Frank stated proudly.

Benedict. Eddie .

What were the chances? I’d spent the weekend searching for this boy!

He was pale as a sheet. His hand trembled when he put it forward to accept mine.

“Good to meet you, Mr. Greenwood.”

“Please, call me Russel. Great to meet you…Benedict?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Eddie.”

I squeezed his hand and gave him a neutral smile. He looked like he’d keel over any second. But then he pulled his hand back, squared his jaw, and straightened. Eddie wiped his face clean of any emotion with a remarkable show of self-control.

Dammit, this little human was my holy grail. I’d found him. Those delicate lips quivered, but then he pursed them and lowered his gaze.

You’re staring, Greenwood. Snap out of it!

I didn’t have time to ponder what having him on my team would mean for me. Not with Anthony breathing down my neck. But I had to talk to Eddie in private as soon as possible.

“I don’t want to keep you from your work for too long,” I said to the group as I stepped back. “We’ll have your standard meeting at 10:30. Then, I’d like to meet each of you individually for lunch or breakfast during the week. Eddie, are you free today?” He’d been the last one to be introduced and still stood closest to me. It wouldn’t seem suspicious to anyone that I chose him first.

He nodded, his face blank. I looked to his left.

“Then Vivian, if you’re available tomorrow morning or at lunchtime?”

Vivian gave me a tense smile. “Breakfast tomorrow works for me, thank you.”

“Wonderful. After the regular team meeting, I’ll book times with the rest of you.”

Anthony patted my shoulder. “Welcome aboard.”

He excused himself, and I saw Eddie trailing out of the conference room right behind him as if he couldn’t get out fast enough. I didn’t blame him.

Frank showed me to my office, which thankfully had solid walls and a heavy door. As soon as he left, I pulled the blinds down. They were the thick, blackout kind I’d requested but hadn’t expected to get so fast. Anthony must have had them installed over the weekend. I sighed with relief as I sank into my new chair. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and my headache evaporated in seconds.

My mind circled back to Eddie.

The situation was most inconvenient. A delightful surprise, but definitely inconvenient. I hadn’t studied the company’s anti-fraternizing policy in detail because it hadn’t occurred to me that I’d need it, but I could imagine what it said.

As my direct subordinate, Eddie was off-limits. The most delicious blood I’d tasted in a decade, maybe ever, and he was off-limits.

Then why the hell was I excited about seeing him again?