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It wasn’t until his dad caught his eye that Colin realized how much they were touching him. Nothing overt, but it was definitely…intimate.

And his dad was no fool.

He did his best not to panic. Tried not to imagine his dad suddenly quizzing the twins on their intentions toward him.

Which was a bit hard to manage, since once they were all back at the table, a silence falling for the first time, his dad seemed to size it all up, looking to Dane, then to Fox, then back to Colin, that same bemused, lopsided smile from the doorway on his lips.

Then all it once it brightened into a real grin, one Colin would swear was less crooked than it had been a week ago.

He shot Colin a wink.

“So you gentlemen ever play Hearts?”

The twins waited until they were out of the house to complain.

“I think your dad cheats,” Fox accused in a whisper, as if Colin’s father could hear them from almost a block away.

Colin bit his lip to keep in a smile, even though neither would have been able to see him, with him walking ahead of both of them. “He most definitely does not. You two are just bad at cards.”

Dane spoke up. “We’re out of practice.”

“He’ll fix that, if you let him.”

He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. They implied he thought they were going to keep visiting his dad with him, like some kind of…vampire boyfriends.

They weren’t his vampire boyfriends. They were temporary roommates who sometimes drank his blood and maybe also occasionally made him come sometimes. Colin was grown enough to know the difference.

Cynical enough to know the difference , said something that sounded suspiciously like his dad’s voice in his head .

Whatever. Colin wasn’t cynical. He was realistic.

He couldn’t keep the interest of one human boyfriend, let alone two vampire ones.

Plus, the two of them were already bonded.

They weren’t waiting for any legendary fated mate to cross their paths, and they were objectively hot enough to get whatever human they wanted, especially if they deigned to focus the intensity of their rarely shown charm on someone.

Colin was easy because he was there. Because he’d insisted on being there. It wasn’t anything more than that.

They were almost back to the house when it happened.

The twins were barely a step behind him—no matter what their intentions, they liked to crowd him, that was for sure—and Colin could feel a distinct change in their energy, practically a tangible thing.

He turned to see them standing in place, muscles held stiff. “What’s wrong?”

“We scented something,” Dane answered. The twins looked to each other then, communicating silently, and then Dane gave a single, sharp nod. “I’ll go.”

Fox opened his mouth as if to protest, and Dane laid a hand on his arm, stopping him.

Colin realized right then how rare it was to see the brothers touch.

“It’s my turn,” Dane said softly, lifting his hand after a moment. And then he was just…off, already around the corner before Colin could fully process what had just happened.

Colin turned to Fox, brows raised.

“Vampire thing,” Fox grumbled, pushing him forward in the direction of the house with a hand on his lower back.

“You think that’s enough of an answer for me?”

“Obviously not, inquisitive motherfucker that you are,” Fox said with a mirthless chuckle. “But let’s get you inside first.”

Colin wasn’t going to argue. Not when it was, as his father had put it, hot as Hades outside. There was a mugginess to the air that promised a monsoon downpour later, but for now it only made the heat that much more unbearable.

He breathed an audible sigh of relief when he made it into the house, the full force of the air-conditioning hitting him.

This was why he was a modern guy through and through.

Fuck the days when he would have to cool off with some sorry excuse for a fan.

He needed full technology to deal with a Tucson summer.

“Okay, shoot,” he ordered, making his way into the living room, collecting the empty chip bags that had somehow already accumulated since the night before on his way.

Fox trailed after him. “It’s nothing major. Your friend Jamie thinks a hostile vamp might be coming into town. One who caused some problems up north. Something about a kid.”

Colin hummed in recognition. “You mean Riley?”

“You know about all that?”

“Jay filled me in a little bit.” He’d told Colin the bare minimum—a kid had been turned and appeared in Hyde Park. Very taboo stuff, et cetera, et cetera. He’d borrowed some comics from Colin for the little guy, but he’d given most of them back.

“Jay.” Fox cocked his head, his gaze suddenly predatory. “He’s the one who fed on you before us?”

Colin ignored the question, choosing to focus on tidying up the living room. “You said you scented something. How can you tell it’s the hostile vampire?”

“We can’t.” Fox slumped down on the couch, crushing the cushion Colin had just plumped. “But it was a vampire we don’t know. There’s a distinct metallic undertone compared to humans. Rotten if they’re going feral.” His brow furrowed. “This one isn’t.”

“And when a stranger comes into your territory, you two take turns investigating?”

Fox cleared his throat. “We usually both go.”

“Then why—” Colin stopped and put down the pillow he was straightening, turning to Fox. “You’re staying to, what, protect me?”

Fox’s silence was answer enough.

Colin blinked at him. “Why? I’m not a child. I hardly fit this guy’s target demographic.”

“It’s still a strange vampire in our territory. And you’re our—” He trailed off.

“Roommate?” When Fox frowned at the suggestion, Colin tried again. “House pet? Blood supply?”

“You’re just…ours.” At the look on Colin’s face, Fox amended his statement with a scowl. “For the moment. You live with us, of course we’re going to keep you safe. And Dane can handle himself. I’d know if he was in trouble.”

He sounded fully confident, but Colin wasn’t fooled. Fox wasn’t moving with anywhere close to his usual lazy grace, his movements tense and stilted.

He was worried about his brother.

Colin had the sudden, annoying urge to make it better. He stepped closer. “So Dane watches old movies to relax, huh? What do you do?”

Fox shrugged, the muscles in his crossed arms bulging with the motion. “I don’t know. Sometimes we go out if I get restless. Try to get laid.” He leered at Colin, but there was no heart to it. When he didn’t get a reaction, he coughed. “Or I read.”

That was something. “What do you read?” Colin asked.

“I like history stuff, I guess.” There was a hesitance to the statement, as if he was self-conscious. “Biographies. You find out how strange everyone is on the inside, once you start looking closely.”

These two really were old men in young men’s bodies. But for once, Colin didn’t poke fun. “Maybe you should read a bit,” he suggested. “I can draw.”

Fox shook his head. “No. I can’t concentrate on something like that right now. What about your comics? The ones you read up in your room when you’re hiding from us. Show me some of those.”

Colin didn’t bother arguing the point that he hadn’t been hiding. He just led Fox upstairs.

He was expecting them to each pick one and take them downstairs, read companionably on the couch like normal roommates might.

Instead, Fox picked one out, then grabbed Colin with one arm, tugging him up on the bed with him and arranging Colin on his lap, Colin’s back to his chest, Fox’s back to the headboard.

Colin was tempted to protest for the sake of it. Did Fox really think he had manhandling rights over him? But for one, it was actually pretty comfortable, settled there in Fox’s lap. And for two, it was clear Fox needed the reassurance of touch.

It was weird as hell: the brothers were obviously tactile creatures—if the way their hands lingered on Colin was any clue—but they refrained from finding that comfort in each other. Colin knew normal, unbonded human families that were more physically affectionate than the two of them.

It raised questions, ones Colin didn’t feel like keeping to himself. He put his hand on top of the comic cover, stopping Fox from opening it. “Hey. Why is your bond a touchy subject for Dane?”

Notably, Fox didn’t stiffen up against him. He clearly wasn’t as protective of the conversation topic without Dane around. “We already told you. People assume it’s sexual.”

Colin twisted to face him, trying to read his expression. “But why do you two give a fuck what people think?”

Fox’s eyes searched his for a long moment, and he must have found what he was looking for, because he began explaining, “We were living in a den for a long time, after we were first turned. It was a pretty decent one, as far as they go. But something about our bond got to them. They were total dicks—they judged us as freaks, taunted us for it. We tried to make it work for a long time. Our formative vampire years, really, when we were figuring out what and who we were. It just…got to Dane over time, I guess.”

So Dane was self-conscious about their bond, about how they differed from the majority of bonded vampires. Colin could get it. He’d felt othered before, for the way he operated. For not showing affection the way others thought he should.

Why would I waste time and energy on a relationship where I’m not getting anything back? You don’t have anything to offer me, Colin.

Colin shook that old, shitty voice out of his head. He would be happy to never see its source again in his life. “But you’ve shared people before me?” he asked. “Intimately?”

For once, Fox didn’t leer. “We have, when Dane’s in the right headspace. He can be…hesitant. All sensitive from us being looked down on in the den.”

“But you’re not attracted to each other?” Colin hated asking it, but he also felt like he needed to. They were talking about assumptions others put on them. He’d been assuming it wasn’t the case, but it was always better to ask the person themself, wasn’t it?

Fox chuckled, the sound vibrating against Colin’s back.

“He looks exactly like me, slayer. I may be confident in our looks, but I’m not that much of a narcissist.” He leaned his head down, rubbing his nose against Colin’s neck.

“It’s all about the contrast, isn’t it, when it comes to attraction?

The little things that are different are what drive you wild.

” His thumb brushed against the bare skin where Colin’s shirt had ridden up from his shorts.

“Like this little spot here. This dip by your hipbone. I don’t have that.

Neither does Dane.” He brushed the spot again. “I keep wanting to bite it.”

Colin let out a harsh breath, his every nerve ending seeming to have narrowed down to that one little patch of skin. “You’re trying to distract me.”

“I’m the one getting distracted,” Fox said, his voice low. But his thumb stopped its circling. “You really don’t mind? The bond between me and Dane?”

Colin placed his hand over Fox’s, toying with his fingers.

“Why would I care? It’s like me and Jay.

Everyone thinks I have some crush, but it’s not romantic.

It’s not sexual. It’s…affection. It’s a different sort of bond.

” He twisted to meet Fox’s eye. “You two love each other fiercely. Fuck everyone else.”

Fox’s arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tight enough to push the air out of Colin’s chest. Colin slapped at his arm. “Dude. You’re crushing me with your stupid muscles. Stop it.”

“You like my muscles,” Fox teased, but he loosened his grip, if only slightly. “Now show me your comic.”

Colin settled back against him, loving the firm hold around him more than he’d like to admit. He opened the comic to the first page. “So this is Eddie…”

They’d started in on the second comic of the evening when something shifted. Fox relaxed fully against the headboard, tightening his arms around Colin at the same time. “Dane’s coming back,” he said softly.

“You can tell?”

“I can tell.”

Colin grinned down at his comic. “So fucking cool.”

He started to turn the page, but suddenly Fox’s hands were…wandering. A soft brush against Colin’s chest. A stroke of Colin’s thigh.

Colin shifted, his ass brushing against something firm. He coughed out a laugh. “Relief makes you horny, huh?”

“Having you on my lap makes me horny,” Fox corrected in a purr. “I was just distracted from it before. Tell me, little lamb: does it take two of us to turn you on?”

There wasn’t any judgment in the question—only curiosity—so Colin took it at face value. “I don’t know,” he answered after a moment. “I don’t think so.”

He was guessing the answer was probably no, considering Fox’s focused touch already had his dick half-hard in his shorts.

Fox’s hand gripped his chin, turning Colin’s head toward his. “Shall we find out?”

And then his mouth was slamming down, claiming Colin’s in a kiss.