Page 9 of Vampire Lee

Dillon focused on deep, even breaths as he listened to the water run in the bathroom. Back in the underground mansion, the vampires had never bothered to brush their teeth before they joined him in bed. On the other hand, they never planned on staying the night, so maybe they didn’t see the need.

When the bathroom door opened, he yelped, and Lee stilled. “Sorry.” He took a careful step into the room and unzipped his jeans. Dillon sucked in a sharp breath before he could push them down.

“Perhaps you’re the one who should wear a blindfold.”

Dillon shook his head. “Too dark. There are monsters in the dark.”

“I’m not allowed to turn the light off?” Lee motioned at the ceiling lamp, and Dillon shook his head. They had slept in the dark the night before, but then Dillon had been shocked.

“I promise to keep you safe from all the monsters.”

Dillon snorted. “You are one of the monsters.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m harmless. I promise.”

Dillon huffed. There were no harmless vampires. He might consider Mars to be almost safe, but he wasn’t harmless. Never harmless.

“I’ll go sleep in your room.” He turned toward the door, and desperation welled up in Dillon. He didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to be alone or if he was afraid he’d annoyed Lee, but he didn’t want him to leave.

“No.” It was a whisper, but it could have been a shout. “Tell me what happened tonight.”

He imagined Lee staring at him with wide eyes, but he didn’t look. Then he kicked off his shoes and stripped down to a T-shirt and underwear. Dillon held his breath and kept his gaze low. Lee moved closer to the bed only to hesitate. “Can I turn off the lights?”

“I want to be able to see where I am when I wake up.”

“Bedside table lamp?”

No. Dillon shook his head. “Leaves dark corners.”

“Fuck, babe.” He looked around. “Maybe that blindfold would be a good idea after all.”

Babe? Dillon stared at him—not looking into his eyes, but at his chin, which was higher than he normally went. “I don’t have one.”

“I’ll cut you a deal then.”

“A deal?” There was no point in cutting deals. Lee could do whatever he wanted to him, and they both knew it.

“Yes, a deal. We turn off the lights, and I’ll talk. I’ll talk and talk until you fall asleep. Then you’ll know where you are.”

“It’s when I wake—”

“I’ll talk then too. I’m likely to wake before you do, at least if you’re screaming like you did yesterday.”

Waking up from a nightmare in the dark and having a vampire talk to him wouldn’t calm him in the least. “Fine, turn off the lights.”

Lee didn’t move. “Somehow, I get the feeling you don’t like the deal.”

Dillon huffed. “Perceptive.”

Lee chuckled. “I’ve got you, honey. Promise.” Then the lamp clicked off way sooner than it should have if Lee had moved at a normal speed. The bed dipped. “Am I allowed to be on my back or do you want me turned away from you?”

“Does it matter?” Dillon tried to keep his voice neutral, but it came out sulking.

“Now, now. Do you know what would be best?”

“No.”

“If you came here.” He held out his arms as if to hug him.

“No.”

Dillon was almost certain Lee was smiling.

“I won’t bite, and I won’t look into your eyes.”

“Right.” Dillon huffed at the absurdity of what he was saying.

Lee grabbed his wrist and pulled. Dillon struggled, but it was of no use.

“See here.” Lee pulled him close, placed Dillon’s head on his shoulder with his face almost buried against his throat, then he wrapped an arm around him. “No eye contact and nowhere near my teeth. You’re safe.”

Dillon couldn’t breathe. His heart banged so hard in his chest; he feared something would break. Soon Lee would bite him, hold him down and fuck him, or make him feel things he didn’t want to feel. Images spun in his head, memories, nightmares, shattered snippets.

“I told my boss I was dating Rei.”

Dillon sucked in a breath.

“It was weird. I was prepping for the night, slicing lemons.” Lee moved his hand up and down Dillon’s back as if he was too distracted to realize he was petting him. Dillon would bet money he was fully aware of what he was doing.

“We never talk about our private lives. I know nothing about her, and she knows nothing about me. But she asked if Rei and I were living together.”

Rei? Why was he talking about Rei?

“I almost told her we were only pretending to be dating. I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t think she’s in on the fighting ring thing, and…I don’t know, but why would she mess with my life? I’ve worked for her for five years.”

He quieted, his hand still moving up and down Dillon’s back, and he breathed out a shaky breath. Lee turned his head a little, maybe he was smiling.

“There you go, breathe.” The hand kept moving up and down, up and down. When had someone last caressed him in a non-sexual way? He couldn’t remember.

“After we’d closed, we headed to my apartment, but right outside the door, Rei scented something. I don’t know what, but he yanked me back before I could open the door and told me someone had been there.”

Dillon blinked. Someone had been in Lee’s apartment while he’d been at work?

“We opened the door, but Rei didn’t want to enter. I don’t know if he didn’t want to mess up the scents or why. He didn’t say. Then he told me to pack some clothes but to be quick.”

“Did he think someone would come back?” Dillon surprised himself by asking a question.

“No idea. I guess it wouldn’t have been great if there were a confrontation in an apartment building in the middle of the night. It’s mostly humans living there, and it would be bad if someone shifted into a jaguar when there were witnesses.”

“Your boss sold you out?”

“No.” He was quiet for a few seconds. “Maybe.” He tipped his head back. “I have no idea. Why would she, though?” He turned his head as if he meant to look at Dillon but aborted the action.

“I don’t know. Murrie said Faelan was gonna see if he—You already know that. He texted you.”

Lee’s hand stilled for a second, then it moved again. “He did, but how did you know?”

“I was in the kitchen, and he asked me what someone would do if they wanted an audience but didn’t want to be seen.”

Lee was quiet for a few seconds. “There is nothing to do. Either you’re seen or you’re not.”

“True, but does it mean you’d go with invites only? How would you spread the word without the wrong people hearing about it?”

Lee yawned. “I’m more worried about someone attacking Rei than how they reach their audience.”

Dillon shrugged and relaxed a little against Lee. He may still attack him, but so far, he’d kept up his talking. “Maybe, but if they get to Rei, and we have no way to get to them—” He cut himself off. We? He’d said we. He wasn’t part of any team.

“Yeah, Murrie knows what he’s doing. Faelan is working one end, trying to get an invitation or whatever, and Rei is working another by putting a target on his back and having my apartment trashed.”

His hand slid all the way up to Dillon’s neck, and a shiver shot through him as there was skin contact.

“This morning, they said we wouldn’t use anyone as bait, but it feels like Rei is bait.”

Dillon nodded since he didn’t have a good reply, and Lee’s fingers stroked his neck, gently massaging him. Dillon forgot how to breathe, and Lee cooed at him.

“Relax.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Lee huffed. “You’re not my type, and I drink my blood from bags, shifter blood.”

“I’m twenty-five percent shifter.” Dillon could’ve killed himself right there on the spot. Why had he said that?

Lee didn’t stop his motions. “Yeah? Can you shift anything?”

“Nope, not a single thing. They say I heal quicker than someone fully human. It’s why I lasted—” He cut himself off.

Lee made a sound. “But Devin is all human?”

“Yeah, but he has special blood, so they were more careful…” His words died. They hadn’t been careful in how they’d treated him, but they’d made sure he didn’t die. With Dillon, they hadn’t cared. “They made sure to heal him after he was badly hurt.”

Lee hissed. “He’s not scarred?”

“Yeah, he’s scarred. Not as badly as me, but almost. I haven’t seen him without clothes, not since…” He snapped his mouth together. “Mars erased my memories from the time Devin and I were together, so I don’t remember having seen him without his clothes, but I dream of him. Suppressed memories, Devin says. Anyway, he’s covered in tattoos, so you don’t see them as clearly.”

“I saw his arms when he wore a T-shirt, but I didn’t look for scars.”

Dillon shrugged, and Lee massaged his neck some more.

“Do you want to cover the scars with tattoos?”

“I’ve never thought about it. Devin was tattooed before he was taken. If I went and got tattoos now, they wouldn’t mean anything other than something I use to cover up scars I already know are there.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Silence fell, and Dillon closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he jerked, and his eyes flew open.

“So I was born on a sunny day in April in Scotland.”

Dillon huffed a laugh. Scotland made sense. He should’ve known it was where the rolling Rs came from.

“Sleep. I’ve got you.” Lee drew circles with his thumb on his back.

* * * *

A whimper tore Lee from his sleep. Fuck, he’d closed his eyes only a moment ago. Dillon’s warm form jerked against him, his muscles tense.

“Shh…It’s a dream.” He rubbed Dillon’s back. “Come on, sweetheart, relax.” He put a little more force into his caress, wanting Dillon to either settle or wake.

A scream shook the walls, then Dillon leaped. He pressed a knee on Lee’s chest and his hand grabbed his throat, fingers digging in around his Adam’s apple as if ready to tear it out. He’d heal, most likely. Dillon only had human strength and speed. He wouldn’t rip his voice box from his body, but it didn’t mean he wanted to live through whatever damage he could cause.

“Dillon.” His voice was strained, and he reached up and placed one hand on Dillon’s hip and the other on the thigh above the knee pressing into his chest. He could throw him off, but he wasn’t sure Dillon was awake, and if he woke to Lee throwing him, it wouldn’t be good.

Heavy breathing was the only sound.

“Dillon, are you with me?” He tapped his fingers on Dillon’s thigh, and he bent his head to look at Lee, forgetting to avoid his gaze. Lee didn’t try to enthrall him. He could have, but then what little trust there was between them would be ruined forever.

“Are you awake?”

The grip on Lee’s throat loosened, and Dillon looked around the dark room.

“We’re in the manor house.”

A shuddering breath left Dillon. “Third floor.”

“That’s right. Third floor.” He gently but determinedly pushed Dillon’s knee down, making him more or less straddle Lee. Then he pulled at Dillon, so he was lying on top of him and hugged him. “You’re fine.”

“I’m not fine.”

Lee grunted and rubbed a hand over the small of Dillon’s back. “Perhaps not, but you’re unharmed, and so am I, so we’re good.”

“Oh, God, I could’ve killed you.”

Lee chuckled. “Not at all, love.” He kissed his forehead, he didn’t know why, his body acted without his mind’s consent. “I didn’t want to scare you by throwing you off. If I’d been afraid you’d hurt me for real, I would have.”

Dillon nodded, then froze and pushed at Lee. “What are you doing?”

“Holding you.”

“You’re not fucking me.” He tried to scramble off Lee, but he held him in place.

“Take a moment.”

“What?” It was an impressive snarl. Maybe he had more shifter traits than he believed.

“Take a moment and think about the situation.”

“You can’t force me to have sex just because I tried to kill you in my sleep.”

Lee rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake.” He quieted for a second. “Bad word choice. What I meant was, you had a nightmare, we’re both mostly dressed, and neither of us is hard. What made you think I was dying to fuck you right now?”

Dillon pursed his lips, and Lee wanted to laugh.

“The reason Rei and I are pretending to be dating is because people already know we’ve hooked up. I like strong, deadly men. You, my darling, don’t fit the bill. You have nothing to fear from me.” Somehow the words tasted wrong, but they weren’t untrue. He was more than a hundred years old, and he’d never fucked a human. What was the point? He didn’t want to have to be careful, didn’t want to fear he’d hurt someone by mistake.

“What are you doing here then?”

“Cuddling.” Huh, maybe that was the reason. His lovers never wanted to cuddle, and he didn’t either…he didn’t think. But it was nice to hold Dillon when he wasn’t trying to kill him in his sleep or screaming loud enough to hurt his ears.

“Cuddling?” Dillon’s incredulous tone made him grin.

“Swear to God.” He rubbed Dillon’s back. “I’m serious. I don’t want your blood, and I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“Because you want Rei?”

“No, I don’t want Rei. It was a hook-up, some mutual pleasure not to be repeated. Rei doesn’t want me, and I don’t want Rei. He’s a great guy, and he’s hot as hell. Capable, competent, dangerous, a freaking jaguar—”

“And I’m a puny human.”

Lee huffed a laugh. “Right. You’re a puny human, perfect to snuggle with.” He pulled the cover over them both and slid Dillon halfway off his body but still with a leg slung over him. It was nice. He loved the weight of his body on his. “Try to get some more sleep.”