“Why…oh.”
“While you are delicious, particularly just after, I need a proper meal.”
Two teens ran into their dead end.They stopped, stared, and then spun away.
“You dropped the enchantment.”
“Yeah.I can’t keep that up forever without getting a migraine.”He grabbed Lance’s hand.“I’ll come around after dark?”
“I’d like that.”He fixed Nix’s cap so he wouldn’t burn in the late afternoon sun.
ChapterNineteen
Nix leanedhis bike against a tree near the paddock.He used the wooden post to vault over the electric fence and into the field with the cows.He’d come here a few times to eat.The cows lowed and glanced his way.If they knew he was a predator, they weren’t afraid.He wasn’t overly cocky either; a 600-kilo dairy cow could crush him, and while he’d heal eventually, broken bones would make avoiding the Orlans more difficult.
He approached one and ran his hand down her back.The worst part was the hair.It was dusty and thick and rather gross, but he was getting desperate, and he couldn’t bite a human without breaking his word to the Reids.He wasn’t desperate enough to do that, not yet anyway.
He’d made and discarded so many plans because they were all unworkable or downright dumb.The only reason Lance hadn’t called him in was because he was getting laid—why else would he be keeping his word?It was fine; they were both getting what they wanted out of the relationship.
And if he kept thinking that it might come true.His life was one long transaction.Do this and get that.As soon as the price became too high, someone had to cut and run.Usually him.It was cleaner that way.But he’d promised not to run while the truce was in place.If he broke his word, Lance would doubt all the truths he’d told.And he refused to be known as a liar and oath breaker.He wasn’t an Orlan.
That he gave a damn what Lance thought of him was troubling, but God, he’d looked so good today.Tasted so good.Men were so helpless when their dick was in his mouth.The pressure built in the roof of his mouth, but not enough to force his fangs forward.
He rubbed the cow’s neck, feeling for her pulse and getting himself ready for the grit and dirt that would sit on his tongue until he was able to brush his teeth.He soothed her so she wouldn’t bolt and wouldn’t feel pain.If he didn’t feed, he’d weaken, and he couldn’t afford that either.The simple solution would’ve been to bleed Lance dry and start running on a full stomach.
While he was hungry for blood, it took effort and thoughts of Lance in the maze, dick out, hands behind his back, feigning helplessness after capture, to get his fangs down.His heart quickened.That had been more fun than he’d expected.He liked having Lance at his mercy and fully intended to pin him to the bed later.The game would sour when the clock ran out and someone had to fire the first shot, and for the first time in his life, Nix knew it wouldn’t be him.
For all that he wanted to run with Lance and find Zinnia, he didn’t know how to make it happen.The moment Lance dropped off the grid, the Orlans would be searching for him.Like the winery, it was a dream that would only become a plan if all the stars aligned.But that didn’t stop him from trying to figure out ways to make it happen.It would be easier to pull off than buying a winery.
If Lance really wanted to run.
And if Zinnia agreed to blood him.
And even then, it would be the three of them against the wrath of the Orlans.
That wasn’t a plan.It was a collection of possibilities that barely brushed up against reality.No, he had to be sensible.Practical.All the reasons he was having dinner in a paddock instead of a nightclub.
He opened his mouth wide and sank his fangs into the cow.Her warm, hot blood gushed into his mouth, and he took great gulps.The initial distaste vanished as he took what he needed without fear of taking too much.He didn’t lick the wound when he was done.Just wiped his mouth and stepped back.He’d get by on raw meat for another few weeks.
He laughed softly.He wasn’t going to be alive in a few weeks.
Damn.His last feed had been off a cow, not a hot clubber looking for a good time on the end of his dick.
ChapterTwenty
Lance wokeas Nix jerked awake.He heard the scrape as the knife was unsheathed and listened as Nix padded around the apartment.He sat up, knowing Nix’s routine and brave enough to disrupt it.“Come back to bed.”
“I can’t.I won’t sleep anyway.”
“You don’t need to prowl the room.Everything is locked.”
“I know.”But he checked the windows anyway.“Go back to sleep.I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Lance lay back down.He listened as Nix finished his checks and then sat on the sofa.Nix was nothing but a shadow as he sat alert and armed.Every night, the same thing.Silently, Lance got up and offered him the extra blanket off the bed.
Nix looked up, his eyes haunted, but took the blanket.“Thank you.”
For a moment, Lance didn’t know what to do.His family was the cause of this.He couldn’t fix it or change it, and they were running out of time.Nix looked away first and wrapped the blanket around himself.
