| |
Eden ventured out of the bedroom hours after Alric had left, but he hadn’t lingered long. Accepting that Alric was a two-thousand-year old vampire was one thing, accepting that Alric wasn’t the only one was a little harder.
It wasn’t as though Albie – as the vampire had said his name was – had done anything that suggested he was a threat. No, he’d simply sat on the couch, feet on the coffee table while flicking through the channels on the TV and drinking red wine. Eden refused to entertain the idea it was anything but wine. Albie grinned at him with a cheeky knowing smile that made Eden want to disappear into the floor as walked into the kitchen, tugging his shirt tighter around him. His stomach grumbled, demanding he give it the food he’d deprived it of earlier having been too nervous to eat lunch, but the only issue was: Did Alric have anything in the house he could eat?
He squawked at the presence behind him, blushing deeper as he turned around to find Albie leaning over the bench chuckling. Eden reckoned the vampire enjoyed making him uncomfortable.
“There are sandwiches in the fridge. Ham or Chicken, I can’t remember what Alric had sent up after he left. And if you’re wanting something to drink... I would advise you stay away from any bottle that contains red liquid or might contain it.” Albie grinned again, this time baring his fangs.
Eden managed to mutter out a thanks as he grabbed a pack of sandwiches not caring what was in it and a bottle of water before hurrying back to the safety of Alric’s bedroom. He never thought himself as someone who panicked easily; didn’t get anxious in new situations or avoid meeting strangers. Then again, he’d never encountered vampires outside of the pages of his books before. But now he knew they were real. And if vampires were real, then what else was? How many of the creatures of folklore he’d studied, believing them to be fiction, were indeed real? And the thought of it was both exciting and frightening.
But what was even stranger was the panic that had sent his heart thumping erratically in his chest disappeared as soon as he stepped back inside Alric’s bedroom; a strange sense of calm falling over Eden as he pulled blankets that smelt strongly of Alric around him. Relaxed. Safe. He burrowed deeper beneath them and took a big lungful of Alric’s scent before it faded.
His heart sunk a little as he checked the time and noticed that five hours had passed since Alric had left and not yet returned. So much for the promises he’d made. The soft light of the lamp cast uneven shadows over the room as Eden searched for where Alric had tossed his clothes. There was no point staying, Alric hadn’t even bothered to send a message apologising for being late. Though if Albie had walked into the room to deliver it Eden knew he would have squawked like a startled chicken facing down a fox. But it would’ve been a sign that the flowery sentiments Alric had spoken meant something beyond wooing Eden into his bed.
Mind made up, Eden hurried to dress cursing the loss of a buttons from his shirt. He searched for his socks, soon discovering they’d been kicked under the bed. Hopped on one foot as he tried to put them while trying to remember if he’d taken his jacket off in here or in the living area... must be on the back of the couch he decided along with hopefully his phone and wallet. He couldn’t even remember where he’d taken off his shoes; at the front door of course but after that first kiss – intoxicating, maddening and the rightness of it still rattled him hours later - Eden’s brain had turned to mush and it was only now that it was beginning to think clearer.
Satisfied he had everything, Eden breathed deep and stepped out of the bedroom heading for the front door. He wasn’t even certain if Albie would let him leave as he reached the living area.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Eden’s head snapped up at the angry tone to find Alric stepping into the apartment. “Home.”
“I thought I told- asked you to wait?” surprise etched Alric’s voice and Eden could tell he was used to getting what he wanted. “So, why does it look like you’re leaving.”
Well bully for him. Eden wasn’t that easy and had no plans on becoming a doormat now simply because a vampire with a shit ton of money showered him with flowery platitudes. He had a mind of his own and he’d decided that five hours was too long to wait without reason. Which he’d already told Alric. The vampire needed to learn to listen.
“I’ve waited five hours for you, Mr Drayton-” not missing the pained expression flickering in Alric’s eyes. It was almost as though by addressing him so formally Eden had slapped him. “-and now I am going home.”
“No.” The heavy weight of the word had Eden taking a step back, eyes flicking over the room as he tried to figure a way to leave without getting close to Alric. Alric didn’t scare him, but watching Albie shrink back from him too, warranted Eden being wary. But Alric quickly realised his mistake, his shoulders slumping as he rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, the meeting dragged on longer than I had hoped, and it was only the thought of you still here that enabled me to keep a civil tongue in my head. But I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on you... my disappointment at having to shift my plans for you tonight to another day as I’m buggered since I didn’t get much sleep...”
Guilt swamped Eden and he averted his eyes from Alric’s haggard pleading gaze, realising how much havoc his arrival had caused to Alric’s routines. Not that he’d known that at the time. Eden expecting to be escorted to the office of a CEO rather than to a private apartment the next floor up because said CEO needed to hide from the harshest of the day’s sunlight. But his guilt didn’t wash away the entirety of his anger. It still didn’t explain why Alric couldn’t have sent word that he was delayed.
“You couldn’t have called? Sent a message?”
Alric glanced at Albie, the other vampire merely raised an eyebrow as he relaxed back on the couch. “I could have done better, I can admit that. But this meeting wasn’t one I could simply put on pause to send out a message when the balance of power was in my favour and I wanted to keep it that way.”
“Vampire business, I’m guessing.” It made sense considering the odd timing of the meeting and for how late into the night it had continued.
Again, with the side long glances to Albie, but this time Albie scowled in response to their silent conversation, and Eden wondered if the other vampire was that keen on his intrusion into their world. Or maybe it was the opposite as Alric took on an almost defeated look as his shoulders slumped further. “It was. I meet with the head of a neighbouring coven to discuss a potential threat that is developing.”
“Macho posturing then?” He understood the situation better, yet it didn’t mean the lack of phone call hurt any less.
“Not sure that’s quite how I’d describe it... but yeah, something like that.” Alric loosened his tie and shucked off his jacket throwing it at the couch. That must have been the signal for Albie to leave as the other vampire hurried off the it and headed for the door, squeezing Alric’s shoulder on the way past. “But, I’d rather not talk about work right now. All I want to do is collapse into bed with you and sleep.”
Alric strode away from the door leaving it clear for Eden to leave, but the urge to do so had fled alongside the worst of his anger. “Don’t ignore me like that again. I don’t like it. And I won’t stand for it. Vampire or not. Rich businessmen or not.”
“I understand... and I promise to try my best not to do it again. So, can we please-”
“And you’ll fill me in on whatever I need to know about your world. No drip feeding me little tidbits whenever it suits you.”
“Fine. Fine. Starting tomorrow I’ll point out every incorrect fact in those books of yours and replace it with the truth. But can we please get out of our clothes and curl up in bed.”
A hint of laugh toyed with Eden’s lips and tickled his throat as he realised one thing his textbooks would never mention: Vampires liked to cuddle.