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Alexei

T he next two weeks passed peacefully enough. There was no further word from the den. No more strange visitors, no more threats.

Alexei still couldn’t help feeling like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Which didn’t mean that the past two weeks weren’t the happiest in Alexei’s life (not that there was much competition in that regard, at least not before arriving in Hyde Park).

They had been, most of all, a revelation in all things Jay. Or maybe an…intensification.

Because it wasn’t until Jay’s barriers relaxed that Alexei realized how many there had been, how terrified his vampire had been of judgment and rejection.

It was as if Alexei’s turning, now topped with the new assurance that Jay would be able to stay in Hyde Park as long as he wanted, had taken down the final barrier in Jay’s mind about the two of them, the last layer of insecurity about his perceived weaknesses.

Jay no longer pretended he didn’t hate being alone.

He was open about the fact that he wanted Alexei around him all the time, if possible.

He was clear about exactly how much he wanted to be touched.

To be held, really. He was constantly tucking himself under Alexei’s arm, or throwing himself onto Alexei’s back.

When they were alone at home, he would jump onto his tiptoes, wrap his arms around Alexei’s neck, and insist on being carried around the house.

He’d been adorably shy about it the first time, but the rush of Alexei’s satisfaction through the bond quickly reassured him, and now Jay never hesitated in initiating touch of any kind.

Because that was the thing Jay was clearly beginning to realize: Jay may have been codependent, but Alexei was just as bad.

He reveled in Jay’s need for him, in their constant physical contact. His beast…hungered…always, for Jay.

And that led, often, to more intimate forms of touch.

Faced with Alexei’s monstrous appetite for him, Jay had become more comfortable in asking for what he’d started calling “loving time,” in which he laid back and let Alexei worship his body, take him apart piece by piece while telling him all the while how perfect, how gorgeous, how good he was.

It was Alexei’s favorite fucking pastime.

Or was that watching movies, when Jay talked through every scene, his reactions loud and sincere and ridiculous? Or was it just every single moment he was allowed to stay by Jay’s side?

So now Alexei found himself at Death by Coffee, waiting on his vampire, content to be there for Jay to wave and smile at between customers, accepting Colin’s sardonic raised brows at his choice of reading material ( Jane Eyre , at Jay’s insistence).

And then, as Alexei turned another page of his ridiculous book, a stocky dark-haired man walked in, stomping the snow off his boots at the door, and there it was—the other shoe.

Sergei Kalchik, formerly his father’s right-hand man, now his brother’s.

Observing the familiar form take in the café, seeing one of the exact people he’d been dreading having follow him finally there…it was surprisingly anticlimactic.

Alexei was a fucking vampire now. What the hell were any small-time mobsters actually going to be able to do to him?

He watched as Jay waved at the newcomer with his usual full enthusiasm. “Welcome to Death by Coffee!”

Sergei grunted back at him before his attention zoomed instantly in on Alexei in the corner; he must have already seen him through the window.

Alexei grinned broadly in greeting, placing his book carefully on the table, and that reaction had even the ever-stoic Sergei blinking in surprise.

Meanwhile, Alexei could feel his inner beast perking up in interest at the potential for violence.

The greedy thing was usually content enough, as long as they were near their mate (touching their mate, tasting their mate, fucking their mate), but it clearly wouldn’t mind reveling in a little bloodshed now and then.

Sergei pulled out the chair across from Alexei, taking a seat without a word of greeting.

“You here to kill me, Sergei?” Alexei asked, unconcerned with the answer either way.

Sergei removed his gloves, working each finger off methodically, before answering, his Russian accent subtle but achingly familiar. “You can’t think very highly of Ivan, if you think he’d send me here to off his own brother.”

An amazingly typical nonanswer. Alexei wasn’t having any of it. “Well, did he?”

Sergei paused to smirk before shaking his head. “I’m here to take you home. Ivan thinks you’ve had enough fun, Alyosha.”

Alexei couldn’t help another broad grin. “Oh, my fun’s just getting started.”

As if in demonstration, a plate of coffee cake appeared on the table, and Sergei shifted slightly to see Jay standing over them, a shy smile on his face. “Hello. You didn’t come to the counter, but this is Alexei’s favorite from the bakery. You should try it; it’s very delicious.”

Sergei didn’t make a move toward the cake, his gaze traveling over Jay slowly. “Cute,” he finally said.

“Yes,” Jay agreed easily. He cocked his head, possibly clocking the accent even from that one word. “Are you here to try to kill Alexei?”

Another blink of surprise from Sergei. That was two in one encounter. Possibly a record.

Alexei took a sip of his Americano. “He’s here to take me home, kotyonok.”

It was such a wonderful thing, to see that cold, protective glint form in Jay’s gray eyes, especially when they were always so warm and open to anyone not threatening Alexei.

“Then there’s been a misunderstanding. Alexei is home.

Well, he doesn’t live in the coffee shop,” Jay conceded.

“But close by. In Hyde Park, definitely.”

Sergei turned dismissively away from Jay, looking to Alexei instead, an almost pitying expression on his face. “You’re going to get this little one hurt, Alyosha, letting him butt his nose into family business.”

Alexei shrugged. “I’m afraid I have a new family now.”

He cocked a brow at Jay, who nodded, a mischievous little smile on his face. “Go ahead. I’m blocking you.”

So Alexei let the beast come out.

It felt good, almost a rush of relief, like cricking his neck after being slumped down for too long. But it felt even better watching Sergei’s face pale as he took in Alexei’s new fangs, the all-black eyes. “What the fuck?”

Alexei leaned across the table, making sure Sergei could take in every last detail of his transformation.

“I’m afraid I won’t be going with you, Sergei.

But you can tell my brother something for me.

It doesn’t matter how many men he sends.

There are bigger monsters than him here. And we’re not afraid to bite.”

Alexei pushed the beast back, ignoring its whining disappointment that they weren’t actually going to feed in that moment. He’d have to go hunting tonight. Soren was teaching him how to compel his prey so Alexei could manage for both himself and Jay moving forward.

Sergei stared at Alexei, at his once again human face. After a moment his stunned gaze traveled back to Jay, who was beaming at him. Then back to Alexei. “What the fuck ?” he repeated. Alexei could practically smell the confused fear coming off him. It was wonderful.

Was it childish for him to be so delighted by confounding and terrifying this once daunting figure from his past?

Someone both his father and brother had used to intimidate Alexei into staying in line?

Probably. But Alexei could still remember the sharp pain of his ring finger snapping in Sergei’s hands under his father’s command.

What Alexei’s supposed teen transgression had been he couldn’t even remember anymore.

So maybe he should be lauded for his restraint instead.

He caught Sergei’s eyes once more, flashing the beast out and back in an instant, just for the hell of it. “I don’t care if you tell Ivan what you saw or you make something up. But the next person he sends isn’t making it back. Got it?”

Jay cooed sympathetically at the frozen fear on Sergei’s face. “Would you like to take your coffee cake to go?”

As soon as they entered their apartment, Jay was on his tiptoes, his arms around Alexei’s neck, and Alexei hoisted him up, wrapping Jay’s legs around his waist. He carried his little vampire into the kitchen, for no other reason than the counter there was the perfect height to set Jay down and still have him within kissing reach.

Alexei delved into his mouth, hungry. Always hungry for him, for his taste, for the sweet little noises he made when Alexei had him at his mercy.

Alexei could feel the thrums of happiness, the swirls of early desire coming from Jay, but underneath was a certain…

disquiet. Alexei broke off the kiss, ignoring Jay’s exaggerated pout of protest. “Did that scare you, kitten?” he asked, brushing a lock of Jay’s dark hair away from his eyes. “Sergei’s visit?”

Jay shook his head, nibbling on his lip in that way he did when he was considering how to say something. “It didn’t scare me. I just don’t like the thought that…if we hadn’t met, they might have taken you back there. Where you were so unhappy.”

Ah. Alexei’s sweet, tender mate, worried over a hypothetical reality where a hypothetical Alexei might have been hypothetically sad.

The real truth was if they hadn’t met, it probably would have gone one of two ways: Alexei would have stayed numb and apathetic enough to let himself be caught and put down much earlier, or he would have gotten himself together and been much more diligent in hiding his tracks from his brother in the first place and wouldn’t have been taken back at all.

But that was beside the point, so Alexei didn’t voice it. Instead, he focused on what really mattered. “Lucky I met you, then, isn’t it?”

Jay fisted his hands in Alexei’s shirt. “You really think so?”

“Mm. I do. Because there I was, the nicest human, without anyone to be nice to.”

“And you like being nice to me?” Jay asked, almost coy.