Page 10 of Vampire Lee

Dillon walked in front of Lee down the stairs the morning after. He hadn’t woken from any more dreams, which made it one of the best nights he’d had in years. Maybe cuddling with a vampire was the way to go.

It grated a little that Lee didn’t see him as anything but a weak creature not good for anything but hugs and cuddles, but then he wanted to smack himself on the head. Wasn’t it what he wanted? To be so undesirable a vampire didn’t want to bite him or…do other things.

He didn’t blame him though. He woke up screaming in the night, flinched when Lee moved unless he already was in his arms, and didn’t dare look him in the eyes. Not to mention, Lee had seen him undress. He’d seen he was well-used, scarred and—He blocked whatever thought would come next.

“You okay?” Lee sped up and was right behind him in a fraction of a second, his heat radiating against Dillon’s back.

“Fine.”

Lee snickered. “Never trust a fine.”

“You told me I was fine during the night.”

Huffing, Lee put a hand on his neck, his thumb caressing the skin behind his ear, and Dillon shivered.

He didn’t remove his hand until they reached the bottom floor. Dillon hesitated for a second. There were voices in the kitchen, but since Lee didn’t pass him, he took a deep breath and walked forward. When he crossed the threshold with Lee right behind him, several pairs of eyes turned their way. Everyone but Faelan was there.

Dillon stopped dead. When Lee put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped.

“Breakfast.” Lee’s whisper caressed his ear, and he nodded. Everyone would’ve heard what he said, and heat washed over Dillon’s face.

“Dillon.” Devin waved at him from the kitchen island, phone in hand. “Come look.”

He didn’t care what Devin had on his phone, but it would allow him to escape the way everyone was staring at him. He walked toward Devin in a daze, and Lee headed toward the table.

“According to the weather app, there won’t be any frost for the coming two weeks, and there shouldn’t be any after either. We’ll almost be in June then. No nights below freezing in June, right?” He sounded a little unsure.

“I don’t know.”

“I think we’re good to go, so we need to harden off the chili plants.”

Dillon stared at him. “What?”

“Harden off, isn’t that what it’s called? I think we should carry everything outside, including everything you’ve sown. If it sprouts outside, we don’t need to harden them off.”

“Okay.” Dillon wasn’t sure what he meant, but he could carry the cups outside.

“We’ll place everything on the patio, and we’ll have to…I don’t know, bring the plants inside again in a few hours, and then keep doing it for a few days before we can plant them in the soil.”

Dillon nodded. He could do that.

“And we can sow some carrots and stuff directly in the pallet collars. Beans. It should be warm enough for beans.”

“I have beans in cups.”

“Good, then we’ll know how much space they’ll need when they sprout.” Excitement shone in Devin’s gaze. “It’ll be awesome. After breakfast, we’ll carry everything out on the patio, and we’ll sow some carrots. You have the seeds, right?”

Dillon nodded.

“Great! Pancakes?”

“Pancakes?”

Devin grinned at him. “I’ve made pancakes. Would you like some for breakfast?”

“Eh…”

Before he’d managed to formulate an answer, Devin was gone. A few seconds later, he placed two plates on the kitchen island with a stack of pancakes on each. He climbed onto one of the stools and motioned for Dillon to do the same.

Together, they ate pancakes with their backs to the others. Apart from eating lasagna with Murrie the night before, Dillon had never eaten with anyone other than Devin in the room. As the murmur of the others’ voices drowned the buzz in his ears, he took a bite. The sweet taste exploded on his tongue, and he took another bite as soon as he’d swallowed.

* * * *

Rei slapped Lee’s thigh under the kitchen table and grinned at him. Lee didn’t know why, or Rei’s nod toward Dillon was a pretty big clue, but he still didn’t know what made him happy. Sitting there, the entire table would be able to tell they hadn’t slept with each other. Or they’d know they’d slept with each other, but they’d know they hadn’t had sex, so why Rei was so happy he didn’t know.

Looking around, he realized everyone was smiling while trying to act normal. Everyone but Mars. He looked his usual grim self and was glaring at his coffee. What the hell was up with them? He frowned as he looked from person to person, but it only made them grin wider.

“So…”

“Let’s eat first, and we can head into the office to talk.” Murrie bit into a sandwich, his eyes dancing.

Right. Okay, no talking business during breakfast.

“Faelan texted me around three in the morning. Said he’d hung out with some wolves he’d never spoken to before but hadn’t found out anything damning.” Hanna reached for more coffee as Murrie hummed in reply. They were talking business during breakfast then? Lee was confused.

“We should give him a burner phone.” Rei leaned back in his seat and rubbed his belly as if he had eaten too much. “If someone gets hold of it and sees our numbers there, his cover is blown.”

“Are you working tonight, Lee?” Murrie tipped his head at him.

“Yeah, early shift.”

“Meaning?”

“Ten-thirty to seven. It’s mostly prepping for the night, but there is a bit of a lunch crowd on the weekends. So pouring a few drinks, chatting to a few customers, but no heavy-duty bar tending.”

Murrie nodded. “If I give you a phone and tell Faelan to swing by, can you switch it for his? Preferably without too much of an audience.”

“Sure. Have him come in for a drink and sit by the bar, and it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I think he should go somewhere else.” Hanna sipped on her coffee. “He might not be the most known of us—” She widened her eyes at Rei. “—but there are people at The Rambling Rogue who know he’s part of our group. They’ll never talk about underground fighting with him.”

Rei shrugged. “It’s where most shifters go, and it’s not a human fighting ring we’re investigating.”

“I still don’t think it’ll lead to anything.” Hanna tapped a nail against her coffee cup.

Devin and Dillon slid off their seats, Devin took their plates, and then both of them headed toward the hallway. Everyone around the table held their breaths, and Lee frowned at them.

When they’d disappeared from view, Hanna kicked his foot under the table. “Well done, you.”

“What?” Lee wasn’t above basking in praise, but he didn’t know what he was being praised for.

“Dillon.”

“What about Dillon?”

She grinned. “It’s the first time he’s eaten while we’ve been in the room, and you touched him. You touched him, and he didn’t scream.”

First time? Hadn’t he said he was in the kitchen the night before? “We shared a room.”

“Yes, I know.” She tapped her nose. “Which is amazing too, but damn.”

“He was talking to Murrie yesterday.” Lee uselessly motioned at Murrie.

“We had a glass of wine.” Murrie looked extremely pleased.

“You did? Seriously?” Hanna slumped on the chair. “This is awesome.”

Lee wasn’t sure why everyone was so excited. “Why are you…” He let the words die out, not knowing what he was about to ask.

“It took Devin three years to be in the same room as us. Dillon has only been here a little over seven months. He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t talk, and he most definitely doesn’t let anyone touch him.”

He talked, and he slept a little, and Lee had held him all night. He hadn’t seen him eat. Rei had given him food, but Lee didn’t know if he’d eaten it. He’d eaten now though, right? He glanced at the kitchen island, but Devin had removed the plates. He had to have eaten something.

“Right, tell us what happened last night. Rei said there was a break-in.” Murrie made no motion to move, so the whole let’s talk in the office was bullshit. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to talk in front of Devin and Dillon.

With a deep breath, he told everyone his version of the evening. Rei added a few things here and there but didn’t interrupt otherwise.

Once he was done, Murrie was rubbing his neck. “Hanna and Mars, go check the apartment. Treat it as if Lee has reported a break-in. You two—” He motioned between Lee and Rei. “—continue to play lovey-dovey, and we’ll get Faelan another phone.”