RAFE STUDIED THE HOUSE once more. This was his second visit and the impression of a dwelling built specifically for the heat and dryness of the California climate struck him even more forcibly this time. It helped that the day was blasting hot.
The thick concrete walls covered in pale adobe could be mistaken for Spanish, but the lack of wrought iron, pretty tiles and curved terracotta on the roof said it wasn’t. The roof was flat, and there were deep balconies and arches protecting the doors, casting shade.
From his last visit, Rafe knew the inside of the house was almost all white, cool and Spartan in décor. It was too plain for his tastes, which had been influenced by decades living in Constantinople, but it had a certain charm.
He walked under the wide archway and wondered how many people knew the house was a desert house, built by someone who had lived on the open erg—the sandy waves of country where Alex had been raised.
Rafe’s knowledge of Alexander Karim had increased somewhat since Alex had stopped by three days ago and derailed his baking. During Rafe’s latest debriefing and strategy session with Brody and Veris, both of them had been unusually talkative about Alex and where he came from. It had filled in some of the blanks nicely. There were far more blanks than knowledge, of course, but that was true of any vampire who had lived for more than a few hundred years. Alex was approaching his millennium, which made Rafe considerably older, but the difference was irrelevant. After the first five hundred years, one became adapted to life passing by at a furious rate while nothing changed, subjectively.
Alex was facing his first challenge in that regard, and both Veris and Brody had hinted that he was under stress because of it. His faith was adding to the burden, of course.
Rafe stood with his finger hovering over the door alarm, wondering if he really wanted to get involved with a man—a vampire—who wasn’t sure of his own identity. Then his finger pushed forward, almost by itself, and the question was answered for him.
Alex opened the door quickly and moved back. “You’re early. Good. Come on through.”
Rafe stepped out of the blazing heat. “It’s uncomfortable out there,” he remarked and put his sunglasses away.
“That’s June for you,” Alex said philosophically. He moved through the white arches into the dining room. Rafe remembered from before that Alex did most of his work and research here. The piles of papers and books were still spread across the table, but one end was cleared. Sitting in the middle of the clear space was a small ceramic dish with sealed syringes in it, and next to it, a small vial with yellowish liquid in it.
“Is that the serum you were taking?” Rafe asked. He didn’t like that it was sitting out on the table like this. That made it far too available.
Alex picked up the bottle and shook it. “That’s it,” he said and tossed it to Rafe, who caught it awkwardly, surprised. “I think you’re under the impression it’s a new recreational drug, one that vampires are vulnerable to, and I’ve been indulging too much.”
Rafe held his teeth together. That was exactly what he thought. Not that Alex had to worry about addiction. Nothing changed their brain physiology, while most addictive drugs did change the brain, which was what made them addictive.
Alex pointed to the tiny bottle. “That’s an antidote, or it will be with a little bit more tweaking.”
“An antidote against what?”
“A couple of years ago, I perfected a new sedative. It’s very powerful and I suspect it would kill humans if the dose wasn’t carefully controlled, but vampires are knocked out by it very nicely.”
Rafe raised his brows. “That would be what you used on the council’s guards. They were out for two days.”
Alex shrugged. “Vampires don’t have a metabolism to process the serum and eliminate it. You have to wait for entropy to break it down. Which is why I have been working to find an antidote. Waiting for water to wear down stone is sometimes not convenient.”
Rafe considered the small vial again. “How does the sedative work on vampire physiology? I didn’t think anything could because of the self-healing.”
Alex sat on the edge of the table. “Vampire self-healing isn’t healing at all, not the way a human heals. Human healing tackles the health problems and solves it. Vampires don’t. They just reset everything back to where it was, by-passing the whole healing process. That resetting happens hundreds…thousands of times a day. The sedative stops the resetting.” He smiled. “In a way, it stops what vampires have for a metabolism and as there is nothing else to replace it, it looks like they’re sleeping, but basically, they shut down.”
Rafe shifted uncomfortably. “I thought the healing we do was...well, magic.” He felt odd even saying it.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology looks like magic to a less-developed consciousness.”
“That’s what some author said, isn’t it?”
“Arthur C. Clark. He was talking about the future and other civilizations, but you and I once thought flying was the stuff of magic, too.”
Rafe veered away from the topic. That vampires were not magical beings was disturbing. He promised himself he’d think about it later and lifted the bottle. “Did you try the sedative on yourself, like you did this?”
“Of course. Vampires willing to suffer through research trials are non-existent.”
“So, is the sedative what you used to pull yourself back out, when I was here?”
Alex nodded.
Rafe glanced at the vial again. The liquid moved sluggishly inside, like a pale molasses. “You knocked yourself out for three days? Didn’t anyone send up an alarm?”
Alex grimaced. “Who would do that?”
“Your friends. Brody, Veris and Taylor. There must be others.”
“No one who might notice my absence for three days.” Alex stood up. “But let’s not get into my miseries right now.”
Rafe put the vial of serum back on the table. “Let me try it.” The curiosity emerged out of nowhere, but it was a strong urging, nevertheless.
Alex considered him. “It’s not a high like humans experience, you know.”
Rafe shook his head. “I figured that out for myself.”
“You did?” Alex seemed surprised.
“Sure. I’ve done my share of research into illegal drugs, mostly from the legal perspective, but there were some mind-bending facts in the reports and briefs. A high really isn’t your body getting high. It’s a removal of fears and worries and anxieties, which let the body relax completely. Everything slows down, while your brain melts under the influence. But this stuff—” and he flicked the bottle with his fingernail, “—speeds everything up, or it should if it’s supposed to counter the effects of the sedative. It’s not a real high, but it probably feels like it because your mind is loping along at Mach speed, so the world would seem to slow down.”
“I’m impressed,” Alex said.
Rafe grinned. “Maybe I can find whatever it is you’re looking for.”
Alex’s smile faded. “Perhaps,” he said.
“What are you looking for, anyway?” Rafe said. He picked up a syringe and stripped the plastic seal away.
“You really want to do this?” Alex asked.
“I really do. I want to find out what it’s like.”
Alex shook his head. “I don’t know….”
“C’mon, doc,” Rafe replied. “Didn’t you just complain that research victims are impossible to find? I’m volunteering.”
Alex stood unmoving, clearly torn by the offer and the inherent risks. “Aren’t you supposed to be responsible and law-abiding?”
“That’s just my day job,” Rafe replied impatiently. “I absolve you in advance for anything that happens.”
“That doesn’t remove the danger,” Alex said slowly, picking up the bottle. “If I incapacitate their solicitor, Brody and Veris will kill me.”
Rafe laughed. “Take a deep breath and jump. Uncertainty is what life is all about. Besides, you would never have used yourself as a guinea pig if you thought the risks were too high.” He held out his arm. “Stick me, doc.”
Alex drew some of the liquid into the syringe, measuring carefully. “This is going to feel a bit weird,” he warned as he slid the syringe into Rafe’s vein. He didn’t swab first. There was no point, for they were immune to any infection.
The serum felt cold, which was amazing considering the body temperature vampires maintained…or failed to maintain, in truth. Rafe could feel it coursing up his arm and drew in a sharp breath. His heart skittered and fear touched him.
Alex picked up his hand. “Come with me.” He led Rafe through to a large bedroom suite and waved toward the big bed. “It’s probably better you lie down now, than fall down later.”
“Really?” Rafe climbed onto the perfectly-made bed and settled the pillows under his head. His fingers were tingling. “I think I feel…something.”
“It works fast,” Alex agreed. He stood at the end of the bed and glanced at his watch.
“What should I look for while I’m in this?” Rafe asked.
Alex shook his head. “You’ll be tempted to chase memories. It will seem very important that you catch up with a memory you can’t recall. It will feel…exciting. But I think that’s a dead-end. You just sink down into yourself, if you do. Let it go and instead reach out around you. Listen to the world. Study it. See where that takes you.”
* * * * *
Rafe was perfectly aware of his surroundings. More than aware—everything seemed bright and clear and sharply outlined. Alex was sitting on a chair by the bed, a tablet in his hands, watching and working on the screen. Alex himself was surrounded by an aura that made him glow.
From somewhere inside him, an insistent thought drew his attention. His heart skittered as he reached for it. What was the thing he was supposed to remember? It felt very old, but very significant. And how weird was it that he, a vampire, should have forgotten anything?
Then he did remember something, although this memory didn’t have any of the power of the thing he had forgotten. He recalled Alex saying not to chase the memory.
He thought about it for a while, and even though the forgotten memory was enticing, he decided that he would do what Alex said. He couldn’t think why he might do that instead, but when he looked at Alex, he saw that he was watching him.
“Pretty thoughts,” he said…or thought he said.
“Leave them be,” Alex said gently. His voice boomed and echoed.
Rafe let them be. Instead he looked at Alex, enjoying the play of his flesh against the darkness of his beard. The very blue eyes— not as blue as Veris’, but crystalline. Beautiful.
The light from the setting sun was orange and red in the window behind Alex, and caught his attention. Rafe examined it with placid curiosity. Something tugged at his chest, not hard or painfully, but like a shoe being removed. It…detached.
He found himself outside the window. The sun was sizzling its last moments, dipping down toward the Pacific. Then it would be his time.
Rafe put his back to the sun, but he didn’t turn. He thought about the hills behind him and then he was looking at them. They looked puny from up here. For the first time he realized he was very high up. It didn’t worry him.
He looked beyond the hills, over flat landscape, then more wrinkled. Down below he could sense that life teamed, millions of lives over years and decades, moving across and over the top of themselves, ghosts to each other. The land bulged with life. It fizzed in his veins, and he laughed out loud at the sheer joy of it.
Far ahead, he sensed an even thicker manifesting of life. Centuries of it, scrambling all over the top of each other. He was a part of that landscape. New York was far ahead, beckoning.
But there was a tugging to his left, drawing his attention and he let New York go. He thought about following that tugging and then he was, moving more and more swiftly over the land. Ahead was a lake. One of the lakes. Large, glittery in the pearlescent light that bathed everything. Then he could see a great city. Chicago?
He was descending, for the buildings were becoming clearer. They were still far away, but the tugging was coming from farther away, ahead of the city. He looked ahead and saw more buildings, more cities and towns.
Then one caught his eye, for it was dotted with two lakes, almost like eyes, and he knew that was the place. He reached for it and something brushed past him, snarling his progress, as darkness blinked in. Then there was light. Normal light….
* * * * *
…and a normal looking street, except that it was covered in glittering hoar frost. The trees stood white and lacy, the street glowed milky white, for the light seeping through the low, heavy clouds was filtered, not nearly as harsh as Los Angeles in June.
He could feel the cold on his skin, even though when he tried to look down at himself, he couldn’t do it. His gaze instead moved out and around, taking in the street. Far ahead, at the top of the street, there was a domed building that stood as white as the trees. It seemed to reach up into the clouds themselves.
There was very little traffic on the street. It was early morning, although Rafe didn’t know how he knew that.
Just ahead, on the intersection, was a building that was all glass at the front, rising through four stories. The glass was clear of frost and he could see people climbing the stairs inside.
There were people walking around on the street, hurrying up the sidewalks, bundled up in coats and boots and gloves.
And there were two people on the sidewalk next to him. They had their arms around each other. The man had his back to Rafe, but it was the woman that Rafe could not turn his attention away from.
She was very young, barely into her early twenties, but she was quite beautiful in a way that matched the frosted surroundings. She was staring up at the man with deep puzzlement. “Why are we here?” she demanded.
“I don’t know…” the man replied slowly, but just then there was a shout from across the street.
“Arlene! What the fuck!”
Another man, on the other side of the street, was standing with his hands on his hips, glaring at the pair. His face was red with sudden anger, the sort of anger that some men seemed to switch on a dozen times a day— or perhaps they never switched it off. The anger bubbled below ground their entire lives, driving their fury, their hatred and bigotry, their sense of entitlement and their cruelty. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, this one.
At the man’s scream, the woman in the other man’s arms gasped. “Peter!” She moved hesitantly toward the man on the other side. “Oh, God, Peter,” she breathed and looked back at the first man. “How can we be here?” she demanded, fear making her voice weightless.
“Rafe!” The call came from behind him. Rafe ignored it. He wanted to see this play out. “Rafe, come on, come back, wherever you are.”
Rafe knew that voice. He watched the woman stagger back into the other man’s arms, then he was being pulled, tugged, ripped backward, away and up, tumbling so that the land flashed and rolled.
He closed his eyes.
* * * * *
“Rafael! Look at me.”
Someone was tapping his cheek, and not lightly. The name came to him. Alex.
He opened his eyes and saw the room where he had laid down on the bed. He looked down. He was still lying on it, but the covers and the sheet had been tossed aside. So had the pillows. He was naked and lying on his side, almost completely curled into a ball.
It was daylight outside. Early morning light.
Alex was leaning over him. He had changed from the casual trousers he had been wearing when Rafe arrived. Now he wore jeans, that hugged his hips and made his legs seem very long indeed, and a knitted Henley shirt with a collar and long sleeves. He straightened up as Rafe focused on him. “Welcome back.”
“How long was I gone?” Rafe stretched out carefully, exploring his body for kinks or aches as he straightened, but he felt great.
“You were out for fourteen hours.”
“Out?” Rafe asked. He sat up.
“It looked like you were unconscious, but your heart rate was far too high. Speaking of which…” Alex turned and picked up something from the bedside table and held it out. It was a blood bag. “I owe you and you are probably ravenous. Your heart has been working the entire time.”
As soon as Rafe saw the blood, his incisors descended. He swallowed and reached for the bag, the keening building in him like a whirling tornado.
“I’ll wait outside,” Alex said.
“Stay. It doesn’t bother me,” Rafe said. He bit into the bag and tore the corner open. He fed hungrily, aware that Alex had moved back to his chair and was observing again. But for Rafe, feeding in the presence of others was a common thing. He had learned long ago to stifle the instincts that said any vampire nearby was a threat to his supply.
The bag was very nearly empty when he felt the urges diminish and he carefully put it back on the tray with a sigh and retracted his incisors. “Exactly what I needed, thank you.”
Alex inclined his head. “You’re a welcome guest in my home. It was only fitting I take care of your every need.” He put the tablet aside and got back onto his feet.
“Did you get your observations, doctor?”
“Yes, I did. Did you find the experience worthwhile?” Alex picked up the tray and moved it onto the tall bureau. The blood was only room temperature, so from that far away, the scent would not bother either of them.
Then Alex turned back to the bed and Rafe watched him move. He was very graceful for such a tall man. When he stopped next to him, Rafe’s heart gave a little tick. He looked up at him. “Who took my clothes off?” he asked curiously.
“I did. You would have torn them off if I had not, and I do not think you would fit my clothes. I didn’t want to send you home in a bathrobe.”
“Thank you for that,” Rafe said sincerely. He stretched again and felt the movement of muscles beneath his flesh. Everything seemed delightful to him, from the touch of the morning breeze on his skin, to the feel of the cotton sheets beneath him. “I feel so good.”
“Good,” Alex repeated, and thrust his hand into Rafe’s hair and held his head steady while he leaned down and kissed him.
Immediately, Rafe could feel his body grow taut and heavy with tension and delightful pleasure, as slow as the serum he had watched moving in the bottle. His heart started to beat as Alex thrust his tongue deep into his mouth.
I will seduce you, he had said, and was making good on his promise.
Alex’s hand cupped his thigh, just above the knee, then slid gently up along the muscle, his thumb stroking in feather-soft touches. It was an electrifying sensation and Rafael groaned into his mouth. Not for a moment did he think about trying to direct him, like he might have with anyone else. It had been a long while since he had been seduced instead of being the initiator, so he let it happen and reveled in the feelings and the tingling pleasure it invoked.
His thighs were already apart and now his cock stiffened in almost painful anticipation. His balls were heavy with tension.
Alex let his mouth go. “Move over,” he said curtly, his hand falling away, too.
As Rafe moved over to the other side of the bed, Alex swiftly undressed, dropping his clothes to the floor. Under the clothing, Alex had a body that looked strong. There was muscle there, just not an overabundance of it like Veris had. His thighs were heavy with it, and an image flashed through Rafe’s mind of Alex on horseback, a keffiyeh—the Arab head cloth—and white robes whipping out behind him as he galloped across the reg, the flat stony plains.
Alex didn’t sit or sprawl on the bed the way Rafe had expected he would. Instead, he kneeled on it. His cock was rising, stiffening and was a pleasing sight—nicely thick and long. Surprisingly, he was circumcised. The flare of the head of his cock was thick, too.
Rafe’s heart picked up a bit faster. He was aroused as hell and had to fight the impulse to reach for him.
Alex pushed on his shoulder, making him lie down. He kissed him again, briefly, then trailed his lips over his chin and down to his nipples, which he bit gently and tugged. It was a surprisingly good sensation and made Rafe hiss.
He didn’t linger there. His lips moved down over his stomach, making his muscles quiver, then paused over his cock. Rafe could see Alex was watching his cock twitch in anticipation, and there was a small smile on his lips.
He gripped the shaft and Rafe groaned again. He caught his breath and said what had to be said; “Don’t do anything you don’t want to—” and sucked in his breath in a gasp as Alex’s mouth closed over his cock, his sentence unfinished and forgotten. He gripped the edge of the bed, his fingers pressing into the mattress, as Alex worked on him. He knew what he was doing, even though for him, this was the first time to give this particular pleasure instead of receiving it.
Rafe tried to watch what he was doing, but the building excitement was too much. He laid back and his eyes drifted closed. His hips gave little thrusts that he tried to quench, but couldn’t.
At the very last second, when he could feel the swirl in his balls and the tightening in his scrotum that heralded the most amazing orgasm, Alex halted and straightened. There was a smile on his face.
“Gods, you…!” Rafe groaned.
“Indeed,” Alex agreed. His voice was thick. “The drawer there.” He nodded toward the nightstand on that side of the bed.
Rafe slid the drawer open and wasn’t surprised to find a tube of lubricant there. He tossed it to Alex, who caught it one handed and unscrewed the lid.
Rafe’s heart had been slowing. Recovering. Now it leapt again as he realized what Alex intended.
Alex took a grip on his own cock and spread the lubricant along its length. It was an intriguing sight, watching him stroke himself. “Don’t stop,” Rafe whispered.
Alex glanced at him. “You like watching, hmm?” His hand kept sliding up and down.
“I like everything about you.”
Alex’s smile was warm. “Then you’ll like what happens next.”
I know I will. Rafe didn’t voice the thought aloud.
Alex pulled him around on the mattress, so his hips were at the edge of the bed. He bent and picked up one of the discarded pillows, and pushed it under his hips.
“For someone who has never fucked a man before, Alex, you’re a complete natural. Anyone would think you knew what you were doing.”
“I’ve been researching,” Alex said, and gave a small smile. “Porn is very educational.”
“And arousing.”
“That, too,” Alex agreed easily, with not even a touch of embarrassment. He spread Rafe’s knees and ran his hands down his inner thighs. “In truth, I’m following my instincts. This all just seems….right.”
“It is very right,” Rafe agreed. Alex was stroking his fingers over his engorged cock and his attention returned to his towering orgasm that sat in the pit of his stomach, waiting. His body was throbbing with the need to come. “So fuck me,” he said, “and hurry.”
Alex gripped his cock and pushed it up against Rafe’s cheeks, sliding up against the muscle. The sensation was delightful and Rafe held his breath. It was this part of lovemaking that he liked, that he couldn’t get from a woman, although there were aspects of sex with a woman that were just as pleasing and unique.
He made himself relax as Alex pushed inside him and paused, waiting for him to adjust. The pause let Rafe relax even more. Alex knew what he was doing. Whether it was past experience with a woman, or his research, it didn’t matter. Rafe could trust that he wouldn’t hurt him.
Alex slid fully inside and paused. He cleared his throat. “It’s not so different.”
“Not so much,” Rafe agreed hoarsely.
“But it is different. Very nice…but different.” He withdrew slowly and pushed steadily back in again and Rafe groaned.
Alex began to thrust in earnest, slowly at first, but without pause. A small furrow appeared between his brows as his focus turned inward to his own pleasure. “So tight,” he muttered.
He picked up Rafe’s hand and curled his fingers around his own cock. “I lack the finesse right now,” he said unevenly.
“I have no doubt.” Rafe’s voice was just as broken. His breath was uneven and hurried. He gripped his cock and stroked it, as Alex thrust in quick, hard little movements, and watched Alex’s climax bloom and take him. The tendons on his neck strained and his hips worked hard, driving him in deeper and faster.
Just the sight of Alex climaxing was enough to push Rafe over the edge. He came with a hoarse, low cry, his cum pooling on his stomach.
They both grew still and silent except for their breathing, which was loud and harsh.
Rafe was still hard and throbbing. “More,” he said hoarsely. “I need more.”
Alex withdrew from him. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Then you liked it. Good.”
Alex gave him a small smile. “I liked it with you. Any other man…I would have to think about it long and hard.”
Rafe rolled over and onto his feet on the floor, hiding the silly smile that wouldn’t quit. It was stupid how warm and sentimental Alex’s comment made him feel. “Then let’s have more,” he declared.