EDIT: (Feb. 20, 2008) Just to let all new readers know, this story is really, really old. As in, I started it something like four years ago it'd be, now, and am still struggling to finish it. Expect mistakes and plot twists that don't make sense. And the quality does eventually get better the further you read. XD I'm in the process of re-writing this sucker and smoothing out all the wrinkles that I wasn't smart enough to figure out when I first started. It's called Unwanted Guardian: Redux, and I think ya'll should take a gander here, then go check out the spankin' new version an' lemme know whatcha think of the changes okay?! 8D kthxbaibai! END EDIT

Well, here we go. I’ve gone and broken my own rules all over again. Here is the first chapter, beautifully edited and revamped with the help of the amazing Abigail Radle. Now, I was hoping that if this sucker got published, I would keep these new chapters a secret and wow everyone if they decided to be wonderful and support me by their purchasing of the book. Well… needless to say I took another look at the first chapters and couldn’t help but cringe. So. Here they are! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! (Many many hugs and many thank you’s to Abigail Radle for her hard work!)

Unwanted Guardian

Chapter One

Two fifty . . . two fifty one . . . two fifty two . . . two fifty three . . . Oh, fuck it.

Jason rolled out of bed, stretching his arms high above his head and yawning. Wincing only slightly as the cuts on his back stretched, he cricked his neck, and strolled to the door. Seeing as how he couldn’t sleep, there was no use in wasting his time with something as trivial as counting sheep. Bending with a sigh to snatch up a discarded shirt as he went, he lent his drowsy mind only a moment to contemplate what lay beyond his room in the darkness. The absolute last thing he wanted to happen was to run into Rori in a dark hall and have on nothing but a pair of boxers. Bad idea. Worst case scenario, and all that.

He pulled open the door and slid into the eerie stillness of the hall. Passing the sweeping staircase, Jason pondered the solitary presence of his room on the lower floor. Not that he was complaining or anything, since Rori’s was upstairs. He sighed, shoulders sagging. Not that being on the lower floor stopped the freaky vampire from coming into his room at night; the broken lock proved that, and even if Rori didn’t break the lock, he could’ve easily just clipped it open with his stupid telekinetic . . . mind power . . . stuff.

Strolling across the marble floors of the main hall, his arms folded behind his head, Jason paid no heed to the ominous shadows that lurked in the corners of the vast antechamber. For some reason that currently escaped his powers of logic, it seemed Rori’s little intrusions had grown less and less disturbing to him. It was odd, and more than just a tad frightening, to consider to possibility that he was beginning to like the vampire. He wanted to think that it was simply that Rori often proved himself to be better company than most of the other tenants – in some weird, freakish way.

Not withstanding all of the pick-up lines, gropes, sexual gestures, innuendos and druggings, of course.

Passing one of the massive, lavish doors, Jason slowed to a stop, blinking. The deliberate, lilting timbre of the grand piano whispered through the crevices, enveloping him in its melancholy notes. As a natural born muse, Jason had always possessed certain empathy to music, capable of intuiting a person’s mood through the strains. The music encompassed and conveyed the deepest soulful pain of the performer, drawing him like a moth to a flame. And whoever was playing the piano was feeling intensely forlorn, twisted within the memories of the past and the losses of loved ones; it was a sorrow so palpable and immense that it caused Jason’s throat to close up. He shook his head in an attempt to purge the overwhelming flood of emotions from his mind.

Well, that’s weird. No one should be up. Not even Rori would be up this late. His mismatched platinum and chocolate eyes surveyed the door for a moment before he decided to quietly crack it open. Pale moonlight slashed through the dense shadows, contorting through the sheets of rain streaming down the window like some ethereal creature craving the access denied by the glass. Jason blinked when he spotted the familiar figure seated on the windowsill, one knee crooked with an arm lying across it. The curtains were thrown aside, the redhead’s white skin and sparkling emerald eyes softly illuminated as he gazed out into the gloom of the warring elements.

Rori.

Funny, Jason thought as he quietly edged into the room, heedless for the moment of the strange, unassisted behavior of the instrument that poured forth such disturbingly slow, soulful chords. He hasn’t noticed me yet. And if he did, the vampire chose to disregard it. Despite Jason’s supreme efforts, the music swelled over him, threatening to drown him with its confession of emotion.

He looks like an angel, Jason blinked, shocked at the thought that had slipped through his mind, accompanied by the oddest of feelings. One he couldn’t put a finger on. Each time he seemed about to pinpoint it, it slid away from his grasp. He shook his head, trying his very best to banish it from his mind. It’s just the music. I’m letting it get to me more than usual.

With his back to the door, he began to close it, eyes squeezing shut when the tiniest of squeaks echoed forth. Dammit . . . The music abruptly arrested mid-measure.

When Jason looked back up for the source of the disruption, he saw twin pools of pale emerald flames peering back at him.

“Good evening Jason.”

“Sorry! D-did I interrupt something?” Jason failed to keep the squeak of shock from his voice.

The vampire mutely shook his head, turning back to the window. “I thought I was the only one up. I apologize if I woke you.”

This time it was Jason’s turn to shake his head, chuckling gently. “I assumed the same. But I guess we were both wrong hey?” He shrugged. “Nah, you didn’t wake me up. I couldn’t sleep. What about you?”

His smooth, sensual voice was hesitant in replying. “I’ve been somewhat . . . restless, of late, yes.” Jason cast a glance at the piano, noting that Rori had suspended his private performance upon recognizing that his solitude had been breached. A brow furrowed in wonder. It was public knowledge that the nocturnal creature was easily capable of multi-tasking, so why would his inadvertent interruption cause him to stop? He shrugged again, abandoning his curiosity, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall.

“Pardon my lapse of etiquette. Sit down, won’t you?” Rori looked away from the rain-streaked window, gesturing to the piano’s bench as he slid it out from beneath the ivory keys.

“Uh, okay.” Hesitantly strolling across the dark room, he watched Rori’s legs swing down from the sill. The lithe vampire crossed his knees while lighting a cigarette; with his back now against the glass, the embers of the cancer stick only minutely illuminated his face. Jason could see a small smile touch the pale lips as he sat down.

“You look nice tonight.”

“Tch, right. Maybe if you’re into the ‘I-couldn’t-sleep-so-I-spent-all-night-running-my-hands-through-my-hair-and-whacking-my-head-against-the-wall’ look,” he muttered sarcastically, instantly realizing how wrong half the sentence sounded. The grin widened.

“Actually, I find that it suits you quite well, dear one.”

With a small twitch, Jason tried to ignore the last two words, but he couldn’t. They kept tugging at his mind like Potatoe pulling at his arm when she wanted a new toy. “Whatever. So,” he interjected into the awkward silence. It always proved interesting to try and find something to say to Rori without it coming off as something . . . well . . . horny. Or as something that would produce an answer with far too much extra information attached. With a mental sigh, Jason realized that he was pulling up a total blank. Luckily Rori saved their small-chat conversation with a question as he leaned forward, arms bracing his weight, head cocked slightly to the side. The glowing cigarette dangled forgotten between his fingers, trailing wisps of smoke that danced in the inundating moonlight.

“So what motivated you to grace little old me with a visit, hmm? Looking for some stress relief?”

Jason cringed at the vampire’s suggestive tone. “Eh, no. I just heard the music and wanted to see who was playing something so sad.”

The moment the words slipped past his lips, Jason mentally kicked himself; the shield rising back into place in Rori’s emerald gaze was blatant.

Oh, smart move moron.

Rori dipped his head with a small, throaty noise, turning once again to gaze off into the rain.

When the stillness continued to drag on, Jason cleared his throat, mentally reminding himself to watch what he said, then spoke up again. “Really coming down out there, isn’t it?” The weather was always a safe topic in any situation; completely nonsexual, too.

Rori finally replied quietly after a moment, “Mm, yes, it is. Tell me,” he redirected his gaze to the muse again, “the wounds, the ones on your back . . .”

“Yeah?”

“Have they healed yet?”

Jason blinked, suddenly feeling utterly uncomfortable. Why would he care? The damned gouges were his doing in the first place. Shoving aside the bitterness, he answered politely. “No, they haven’t. Still hurts like a bitch when they’re stretched.” Okay, so he abandoned the polite approach. Perhaps inflicting a bit of guilt would help to dissuade the vampire the next time he felt the urge to repeat the performance; one could always hope. Hope springs eternal. Just like Rori’s libido.

Before he knew it, Rori had completely vanished from the window, only to reappear behind him on the bench, his shockingly cool hands sliding his shirt up away from his disfigured back. The man was a walking icebox even without the added chill of lounging on a window seat with a torrential downpour falling outside –

“Hey! Whattaya think you’re –” Jason instinctively flinched forward, only to have Rori wrap an arm around his torso and haul him back against his chest. Teeth clenched, eyes squeezed shut in pain as the cuts tore themselves open again at the sudden movement, and Jason felt his entire body become rigid. Rori’s hands glided across his now fully exposed back, fingers lightly tracing the hideous claw marks.

“Could you perhaps attempt to be just a slight bit more gentle, if that’s not asking too much!?” Jason hissed from between his teeth. He blinked abruptly, pain forgotten at the sound of Rori’s hushed, distraught voice behind him.

“I’m so sorry.” Cool lips pressed themselves to a cut on his shoulder, and Jason watched Rori’s brows furrow in profound misery. “I can’t believe how cruel I am to you. I am so very, very sorry. I don’t see why you still . . .”

Jason sighed, head bowing slightly. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” Now that the guilt was inflicted, he found himself incapable of taking advantage of the vampire.

“Jason, why do you let me do this to you?”

“Eh . . .” Jason remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Part of him wanted to angrily accuse Rori of raping him repeatedly, to point out that he hadn’t really been given a choice in the matter; yet another part simply wanted to . . . Jason couldn’t really be sure what the other part of him wanted to do, so he stayed silent. Could he plead the fifth on grounds of insanity, as a result of an abrupt case of schizophrenia? Knowing the vampire, it wasn’t likely to influence him in the least.

“I can understand you must hate me for what I’ve done.”

“What? Of course no- well, ye- I don’t know. I don’t know what I think of you.” Yeah, that was so smooth and coherent, Jason.

Rori said nothing. Jason licked his lips, a sudden nerve kicking into play in his stomach. “I don’t think I hate you though. Maybe . . . No. I really don’t know,” Jason continued softly, indecisions tearing at his mind like a knife.

What do I think of him? Within his mind, within the swirling vortex of questions, about himself and about Rori, Jason was oblivious to Rori saying his name until it was accompanied by a gentle stroking of his shoulder. That jolted him back to reality real fast.

“What!?”

“So sorry. Is this any better?”

“What?” Jason brainlessly reiterated.

“Touch your back. Stretch. Anything.”

Throwing an odd look at the red head, Jason twisted an arm around behind his back, interrupting their intimate proximity, and ran a finger along where one of the biggest slashes had been.

All that remained was a smooth lump, inconsequential in comparison to what it had been before.

Bewildered, he moved on to his shoulder, sliding over his shoulder blades where a cluster of smaller scratches had existed. Nothing. Not even a bump. His spine, mid and lower back, his hips . . .

Nothing was there. The cuts were gone; all that met his exploration was the smooth, uninterrupted texture of his skin.

Jason spun around on the bench in astonishment to see a minute smile twisting Rori’s pale lips. “What’d you . . . ?” The eerie emerald orbs flitted down to his wrist where a large gash was slowly healing along the porcelain countenance of his forearm. Dark red stains coated the long, slender fingers of his opposing hand, and the sight of the vampire’s blood evoked a myriad of confusing reactions in Jason. His wide-eyed gaze engaged the glittering emerald orbs.

“You didn’t . . .”

“Yes, I did. I mixed my blood with yours.” He laughed a bit, and after the sad expression he had been wearing since Jason had caught sight of him, it was a pleasant change. “Why else do you think the scratches would vanish so quickly you numbskull?” Rori began to laugh louder as Jason just continued to stare blankly at him.

“But . . . but . . . why?” he asked bewilderedly. Jason was just too stunned, his brain refusing to function.

The grievous expression returned. “The least I could do after inflicting those horrible wounds was take them away again, yes? Do you feel better now?”

Without thinking, Jason quickly slipped the rest of the way out of his shirt, standing up from the bench to pump his arms up and down, stretching this way and that, rolling his shoulders, basking in the blissful cessation of pain and discomfort that had plagued him. Then he froze in shock when he felt his wrists being trapped together above his head by one of Rori’s elegant, powerful hands; the vampire was in front of him, the other hand on his waist, taking one step forward for each the muse took back. His back’s solid arrival against the chilled wall put a swift end to his feeble attempts at retreat.

“Rori, what’re you –”

The vampire leaned down and in, ever so slowly, until his lips could reach Jason’s neck.

Well shit, Jason, that’s gotta be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done while he’s around. Let’s make the bugger horny and rip off our shirt like we’re screaming boink me again, vampire man, boink me again! Actually, when I really think about it, its not always that baaaa . . . Aahh, shit. Jason recalled one significant factor that he’d momentarily overlooked as he felt Rori’s lips curve into a smirk against the curve of his neck. I forgot –

That I can read minds? Mm, yes, and if that’s really what you want, my darling one, I can easily give it to you.

“Eh, not really! Really! Not what I was aiming for!” Oh you liar.

“You really must stop contradicting yourself dear one. I’m beginning to get a bit confused.”

“You’re lying,” Jason spat, hearing the smugness in the vampire’s voice. “You know that I know that you know that I know what I know you know that you know you – eeehhh, damn it; alright, now I’m confused.” Why did his voice have to quiver like that, and why the hell did his brain shut down so willingly when in close proximity to the vampire?!

Rori kissed Jason’s left earlobe, gently tugging on the silver ring, then began working his way down his neck, pearly teeth delicately scraping his skin. Jason shivered and turned his gaze toward the rain-streaked window, imitating his assaulter’s previous posture.

Just don’t look at him.

As Rori’s hand slid down Jason’s hip, so did his boxers, then, with a swift move, the fingers were against bare skin. Jason stiffened uncomfortably, involuntarily arching against the black-clad vampire. Really, all he was doing was trying to escape that cold caress. That’s all it was! There was no denying that the vampire knew how to use his hands, though –

“You know how I love it when you’re confused.” He purred.

“Rori, wait.”

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“No! Rori, just . . . stop, please. Rori. Stop it!” The hand froze. Emerald eyes perused his flustered face.

Just don’t look at him, Jason.

OOO

Despite the evident distress in Jason’s façade, Rori still found him to be nothing except achingly beautiful. Releasing the teenager’s wrists, Rori’s hands slid to his waist.

“Jason?”

The brunette refused to look at him, his lips remaining still. With all of his impeccable senses, there was no way for him to ignore the utmost expression of a carefully hidden fear on the muse’s face. As easy as it would have been, Rori resisted the urge to slip into the guitarist’s mind and pick out whatever he desired. If he did that, the boy would never learn to trust him. And more than anything, he wanted the teen to willingly give him at least that much.

“Jason.” Taking his chin in his fingers, Rori turned Jason’s face back to him and smiled, leaning in to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. “I was just kidding.” Jason’s gaze snapped to his, flashing defiantly against the vampire’s attempt to make light of the situation.

“That’s some sick joke,” he petulantly muttered.

Rori shrugged, pressing his lips to his forehead with a smirk. “I like to think so.”

OOO

“You mentioned before that you couldn’t sleep, dear one. Is there anything you’d like to discuss? Lift a weight off your shoulders? I’ve been around long enough; perhaps I can help ease your mind.”

“Eeh, uh, well . . . It’s kinda hard to say.”

“We’ve got time enough.”

“Mm . . .”

Jason stared down into the creamy fluid swishing around in the warm porcelain mug cradled in his hands, only vaguely aware of the rain that continued to pound at the windows. Taking a short sip from the intricate crystal wineglass beside him, Rori folded his arms on the wooden table and leaned forward into the candlelight.

During their stroll to the kitchen, they discovered that they were the only waking members of the manor – a detail that gave them ample room and peace to discuss whatever came up without distraction. Er, well, most distractions. Then again, it was amazingly simple to sidetrack the likes of Rori, something Jason was all too aware of. Throughout the house, the vampire had insisted on playfully teasing Jason, groping him, whatever else came to his mind. And only once did he corner him against a wall to deeply kiss him.

Now they sat across from each other at the small wooden table with their drinks, Rori’s gaze keenly trained on Jason’s candlelit face as he studied his mug of hot cocoa as if somewhere buried in its depths were the secrets to unlock the entire universe. Jason was more than willing to settle for a way to keep the insufferably horny vampire at arm’s length.

“Well . . . I don’t know. It’s hard to really put into words.”

“Shall I help?”

Jason peeked up at him from beneath his brows. “You mean read my mind?”

“Something of the sorts, yes.”

“No.” The muse flatly answered.

Rori shrugged and drank from his glass again. “Fair enough, dear one.”

With a sigh, Jason diverted his gaze back down to his mug, watching the way the steam curled up into the air; absentmindedly, he waved his fingers through it, marveling the brushing sensation the warm, phantom-like tendrils cast across his skin. “Well, what exactly,” he said slowly, careful to put the correct words to his thoughts, arranging them in his head before voicing them. “What exactly would you do if you, well, if you weren’t sure if you really liked someone, but you wanted to find out one way or another?”

Dark brows shot up. “You’re asking my opinion?”

“Sort of, I guess. Yeah.”

The vampire leaned back in his chair, withdrawing from the candle’s dim glow, fingers templed before his face in thought. “I suppose you could spend more time with this person, pay attention to your reactions when you happen to be around them. Do you get nervous or anxious at all, dearest Jason?”

He ceased picking at his fingers, molding them back around the warm cup to absorb the heat radiating from it. “A bit, yeah.” God, he was becoming the master of understatements.

“Is there anything you feel besides that?”

“Well, when they get close, it’s like there’s this . . . ball of something in my stomach.” Oh man, was this ever awkward. Jason mentally swore. Christ, he sounded like some little boy asking his father for advice on some first grade crush. Hmm, well, time to jack it up a level. “And,” he took a shaky breath, not knowing how wise of an idea his next words were going to be. “I . . . I have these dreams, about them.” He swallowed nervously. Some tiny portion of his mind that was still rational and sane was screaming in horror at every word that slid from his lips. “They’re not like normal dreams. They’re . . . different. And it’s as though they were right there with me, in reality, but really it’s in the dream. It seems like everything that happens in the dream happens outside of it too – like some twisted sort of déjà vu.”

Without even having to see his face, Jason knew Rori’s left brow would now be raised in interest. “Is that so?” was all he said.

Jason nodded, not daring to look up. He shivered as a small, unnatural breeze slithered down his chest and glanced up around the ceiling. “Hoo, kinda drafty in here.”

“Mm, yes, it is.”

Ignoring the tone of the vampire’s seductively smooth voice – smug as though it knew something he didn’t – Jason cleared his throat. He nearly jumped when Rori spoke again.

“Tell me, you’d be speaking of – what do you mortals call them? – Wet dreams, I imagine. Am I correct, dearest Jason?”

Nervous laughter – he could feel the heat flooding to his face as he answered. “Eh heh heh heh heh . . . possibly.” Wait a minute . . . “Dammit Rori, don’t read my mind like that!”

A low chuckle emanated from the shadows as a pale, disembodied hand extended into the small circle of candlelight to rest its fingers around the wineglass. “Oh, I didn’t have to read your mind, dear one. I’m just that good, and you, my darling nightingale, just confirmed it for me without my even having to lift a finger.”

Stare. Twitch.

Settling back to mutter something about stupid manipulative vampires, Jason stubbornly folded his arms and glared at his mug, the steam having disappeared minutes ago. Another laugh from Rori punctuated the silence.

“You know I love it when you look so flustered, with that lovely shade of red flushing your cheeks and all. It makes me want to kiss you and watch you blush even more.”

An indignant heat flushed his face, granting the vampire’s request at that thought and the thoughts that followed, causing Jason to prickle when the vampire continued to laugh to himself.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up chuckles.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry, love. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Never can.” He peevishly muttered.

“I suppose not. But neither can you.”

Jason finally tore his mismatched eyes back up to where he judged Rori’s laughing gaze to be, the shadows obscuring his face. “Oh, I can help myself plenty.”

The fingers on the wineglass slid to the stem, gently gliding up and down in a manner much too implicative for Jason’s liking. “Like what you do after the dreams?” The seductively lazy voice murmured.

Ripping his eyes away from Rori’s hand, Jason blinked at the shadows, and then stubbornly glared at the wall away from him. “Cheap mind-reading asshole. My private business is private meaning stop being such a fucking pervert!”

Finally leaning forward, Rori revealed the smirk that had been touching his lips. It made Jason’s stomach flip, in ways both negative and . . . whoa . . . no. He was not getting butterflies because the guy was smiling at him. That was not a warm, fuzzy feeling expanding from somewhere in his lower abdomen, heating his blood and . . .

“My my, you have such a dirty mouth, my darling Jason.” Emerald eyes watched his own fingers caress the glass for a moment, then flicked back to Jason. Smirk. “It kind of makes me want to kiss it.” With that, he vanished, and within a split second, Jason found his chair pushed away from the table, Rori looming over him; his strong black-clad arms were like iron poles on either side of his body, hands clutching the arms of the chair.

Long, pale white fingers reached up to cup the side of his neck, emerald eyes burning into his, and, for some reason, he was unable to look away or to resist. Leaning down, Rori’s lips met with Jason’s open, dazed mouth, dragging him down into the mental oblivion of a heated kiss. Chocolate and platinum eyes almost sleepily slid shut; his heartbeat quickened as the vampire changed the angle, dove deeper and ravaged his mouth, pulling forth an involuntary moan from the muse. Just when Jason thought he would black out – the crazed, heated passion of Rori’s skilled mouth locking his breath within his chest – the lips pulled away from his, trailing down to his jaw, teeth gently nipping as they went. Panting, an inferno blazed to life within him as the vampire’s lips lingered below his ear, kissing, sucking, nibbling, and roaming down his throat. Jason felt his body arching involuntarily, asking for more. Rori knew how to use his lips, too.

No. Wait. This isn’t right.

Rori’s cold right hand released the arm of the chair to slip beneath Jason’s shirt, sliding up the side of his heated body, only to glide back down, caress a hip, and squeeze his thigh.

Stop it. Don’t make me do this; this isn’t what I wanted.

Against his will, Jason’s arms betrayed him, winding up around Rori’s neck, hands cradling his head, pulling him closer. The muse gasped when the vampire passionately bit down on his neck, being vigilant enough to make sure his sharp fangs didn’t pierce flesh. The hand on his thigh slipped beneath the fabric of his boxers.

Damn you Rori, stop

As much as he willed it, he couldn’t voice his protest; his throat locked in betrayal so nothing more than a moan would come forth. Teeth grazed his shoulder, the fingers on his neck tangling in his hair.

Please, stop!

Cold fingers touched him, but suddenly, as though the vampire had heard Jason’s silent plea, they froze, and withdrew. Rori continued to stand with his lips pressed against the muse’s smooth shoulder for only a moment longer before they too withdrew just as his hand did. Jason’s arms limply allowed the vampire to retreat to the shadows before they dropped to his sides. With his head leaned back against the chair, Jason fought to regain his breath.

As the fire that had ignited within him slowly drained away, he knew Rori had likewise, and just as silently, left the room.

OOO

Rori pushed the door to his chambers open, cautious of the squeaking hinges. Once he was safely inside, the door closed, the vampire collapsed against a wall. With a hand pressed to his face, he cursed himself.

He had felt it all along that Jason wasn’t willing, so why did he keep going? Because the muse wasn’t fighting him – had made no attempt to resist. Suddenly Rori felt disgusted with himself. The poor boy came to him for advice, confused, and Rori had taken advantage of that. So much for the intention of gaining the muse’s trust, you lecherous old demon, he told himself.

“Disgusting,” he hissed.

A muted moan reached his ears, accompanied by shifting from the glistening silk sheets on his bed. Luminescent emerald eyes glanced up to see Julian sleeping, an arm crooked beneath his head of beautiful golden hair. It warmed Rori’s heart, but the warmth rapidly faded as his mind returned to Jason’s face, his voice. A soft sigh escaped his lips, disappearing in thin air as he sagged back against the door.

“Darling Jason, if only you could hear my thoughts as easily as I hear yours, you would know how I regret my actions.” His voice was nothing more than a murmur, a dainty breath breaking the silence of their bedroom.

“Rori?”

He turned back to see Julian pushing himself up onto his elbows, the mane of long, wavy hair falling over his naked back like a cloak spun from the purest of gold, sleepy brown eyes glancing around the black room. He couldn’t see him, even though Rori could see his lover perfectly. Lightly strolling to the bedside, he gently took the Englishman’s face in his hand and kissed him. Breaking away, a small smile touched the Brit’s lips.

“What’s kept you up so late love?”

Rori sighed and sat down on the bed, his back to the Mad Hatter. “Thoughts,” he confessed simply. He could tell by the way the mattress sank a bit behind him that his beauty had crawled to his knees. Warm arms wrapped around his torso, and a cheek pressed against the chilly expanse of his back.

“Thoughts about what, love?” The smooth, lilting – and beautifully sleep-roughened – voice murmured. Rori laid a hand on Julian’s, clasped loosely about his stomach.

“Things of the past, things of the present. Tell me,” Rori shifted around, and Julian released him until the vampire had settled again, this time facing him. He made a mouth-watering picture; with his fair, coiling hip-length hair in disarray, milky torso bare, hands neatly folded in his lap atop the sheet bunched at his waist. “How can you stand my behavior? The fact that it’s common knowledge that I’m not shy about having multiple partners and taking them even if they’re not willing? That I’m a . . .” he stated the word with true distaste, “whore, as they call them today?”

Julian reached out, his warm, life-filled fingers lightly touching Rori’s cold cheek. The vampire clasped a hand to it, holding it against his face. A kind smile touched the Englishman’s lips. “Because I love you for whom you are. I accept your oversexed-ness. And, frankly . . .” He leaned close to Rori’s ear, his breath tickling it, and whispered sensually, “it turns me on.”

For the first time, the undead immortal continued to bite onto the previous topic, refusing to be diverted by his lover’s attempts to seduce him. Never before, that he could recall, had something mattered so much that it couldn’t wait until after he’d ravaged the stunning Englishman. “But doesn’t it hurt you that I’m so . . . free with sex? Doesn’t it hurt you that I lay with others?” Still clutching Julian’s warm hand, he held it to his lips, afraid to hear the answer. The last thing he wanted was to know he was hurting his angel.

The Mad Hatter merely studied him, seriously now, hazelnut eyes flicking over his face in the dark, then leaned forward and kissed him. “As long as I can trust you with my love, and know you love me in return, then I won’t be hurt. Come now, sleep with me.”

Finally allowing a grateful smirk to come to his face, Rori permitted himself to be pulled to the bed by his mortal angel.

You will never have to worry about my love for you vanishing, my darling – my dearest angel, Julian . . .

OOO

Jason groaned as he buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on the worn wooden table. Lightning briefly illuminated the kitchen, redundantly showing him once more with a brilliant flash of stainless steel appliances that remained burned onto the backs of his eyes that it was indeed empty, devoid of lurking vampyric forms. The candle had slowly burnt itself to a stub; the hardening wax poured down the holder as though it were a frozen fountain.

“Dammit Jason. Stupid stupid stupid. Has to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. Christ. What the hell is wrong with me!?” he hissed at himself. Even though the incident had ended at least a half an hour ago, there he still sat, in the chair where the vampire had cornered him. He could still feel Rori’s lips, his hands, on his skin like an insubstantial wraith left to mercilessly plague him. Jason could still taste the blood that he had been drinking as they spoke. It sat in front of him, now clotting over in the glass and looking clumpy like the leftovers from a truly bizarre science project. Another slash of lightning cast a crimson shadow across the table as he watched it, the illumination easily piercing the cut crystal, creating a momentary array of prismed light tinged with maroon that part of Jason actually found beautiful.

Why was he letting this bother him so much? Why had Rori finally stopped? Most of the time he would keep going, but no . . . Tonight he had done it twice. Hands bracing his forehead, holding his bangs out of his face, Jason continued to stare at the blood-filled wineglass, ignoring the rage of the storm outside the kitchen. He felt a hot blush run across his cheeks.

Maybe he stopped because . . .

No, that was ridiculous. Folding his arms on the table, he lay his chin down on them. Mind, this whole thing was ridiculous. It was ridiculous because Jason had, for some odd, moronic reason decided to talk to Rori of all people about this. The feel of his lips burned on his skin again. Why was he enjoying that but hating it at the same time? Jason wasn’t gay. He couldn’t be. But still . . . the question rose in his mind again.

Why had he stopped?

Suddenly, Jason’s eyes snapped open with a frightening thought, and his head jerked up stiffly to stare at nothing.

What if Rori knew? He couldn’t know . . . could he?

Jason shook his head, trying to dismiss the thought as completely as his mentality would allow. He downed the rest of his cold cocoa and rose to leave.

OOO

TBC

OOO