"It was nothing." Mirceo brushed imaginary lint off his shoulder. "A day in the life of bounty hunters such as we."
Cas's lips twitched. Throughout the night, the vampire's lids had grown heavy, his grin permanent and crooked. He was kind of . . . adorable like this.
"Were you truly inside a gulg?" another hunter asked.
"Come, gentlemen, who among us hasn't been?" Mirceo winked at Cas.
The charmed hunters laughed. They reminded him of the fawning group that had surrounded the prince the first night Cas had met him.
"Now, which one of you exterminated that giant scorpion?" Leyak asked as he poured another round.
Cas waved toward the vampire. "The scorpion was all him."
With his eyes lively, Mirceo said, "I also faced a monster in a firelit cave, a notorious one-eyed beast. I thought for sure it'd take me; it had me on my knees till I bested it with my fangs."
Cas coughed into his fist to disguise his laugh.
Before anyone could ask about this beast, Mirceo said to them, "Tell me more about my hunting partner's exploits."
"He took his first posted bounty"--Leyak waved at the wall of them--"when he was just fourteen. But his big break was finding a rich warlock's daughter."
Mirceo said, "This I must hear." Did Cas like that the vampire hung on every word as others talked about him?
Hell. Yes. Sometimes Mirceo gazed at Cas as if he was a hero of old--as if the vampire was a little . . . awed by him.
Feels like I've waited my entire godsdamned life for a look like that.
"She'd last been seen in a dark forest," Leyak said. "In his panic, the warlord sent out his whole settlement to search for her."
One of the hunters muttered, "Polluting the trail. Rookie mistake."
"Even so, Cas located her," Leyak continued. "She'd tripped into an abandoned troll hole and gotten trapped."
"How did you find her?" Mirceo asked.
Deadpan, Cas said, "Tripped into the same troll hole."
The hunters laughed, Mirceo among them.
Gods, that vampire's laugh turned Cas inside out.
Leyak shook his head. "Nothing doing. Caspion identified her footprints among thousands of them and tracked her alone."
Easy enough. Her right leg had been longer than her left, and her shoes had been assembled instead of cobbled--a sign of great wealth in that dimension.
"Tell me more," Mirceo said.
"There's a reason he's called Caspion the Tracker," Leyak said with pride. "He's collected on every bounty, locating his every prey."
Over the rim of his cup, Cas said, "Except for the one that got away."
Leyak sighed. "Not technically a bounty, son."
"Who got away?" Mirceo asked.
"The Vrekeners who attacked Bettina," Cas said bitterly. "Remember, I could never find them--"
"Because you can't bloody fly," Leyak said, and the others nodded. "Their realm floated in the skies."
"Maybe even then I could have succeeded." Narrowing his eyes at Mirceo, he said, "But someone beat me to the punch."
The vampire muttered, "Trehan."
Bingo. That prick had brought Bettina the heads of her attackers. He must've located the gang with his scry crystal, then utilized his skill as an assassin to slaughter them.
Before his good mood soured further, Cas stood. "Enough out of you lot. I need to get my friend home." They booed Cas, but he wouldn't be deterred. Taking Mirceo's arm, he said, "Time to call it, leechling. You've drunk your fill."
Gray eyes locked on Cas's neck, Mirceo rasped, "Never."
TWENTY-THREE
"Where are we?" The vampire peered around Cas's beach bungalow.
"Another one of my bolt holes." A far cry from the luxury Mirceo was used to, this no-frills cabin had only one bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. But the deck was large, stretching out over the sea.
"You brought me to another hideout?" Mirceo slurred. "We must be getting serious, then."
"Don't read anything into it. It isn't like I can trace you home. Come on, I'm putting you to bed."
"Which side do you sleep on, sweetheart? I'm flexible. If there's not enough room, I invite you to sleep atop me."
Mercy. "Even if we weren't to remain solely friends, I wouldn't take advantage of you when you're in this condition."
Mirceo cast him that crooked grin. "If I say pretty please?"
"You'd hate me in the morning."
Growing serious, he said, "I could never hate you."
Nor I you. Though Cas had wanted to. How much easier that would be. Even when he'd believed Mirceo had betrayed him, he'd still missed the vampire. "I told you that brew gains on you with every drop. It's about to hit. You'll soon be comatose."
Mirceo squinted. "Are those holes in the walls?"
"Maybe a couple." Cas's earlier frustration seemed a lifetime ago. He could never have predicted what had been in store for him.
The vampire's sweet, piercing bite . . .
Keep control, Cas. He helped Mirceo out of his coat, then sat him down on the bed. "Arms above your head." Mirceo dutifully complied, and Cas pulled his shirt off.
"I like it when you take care of me, demon."
"You need someone to look out for you," Cas said, then bit his tongue. I'm not going to be that male. He quickly added, "Because you often act like an unthinking child."
"Fair point." Mirceo leaned down and attempted to remove a boot, failed, then tried again.
Chuckling, Cas knelt to help him.
"Thanks. They seem damnably complex right now."
Cas pulled them off. "Uh-huh." He grabbed Mirceo's ankles and tossed the vampire's legs up onto the bed.
Mirceo sank back. "The pillow smells like Caspion." He buried his face against it, inhaling deeply. When he looked at Cas again, his eyes flickered with desire. "My dreams will be filthy." He couldn't look more tempting. Reading his mind, Mirceo said, "You like the way I look in your bed."
Where you belong. Inner shake. "Arrogant leech." He pulled the covers up to Mirceo's chin.
The vampire shoved them down to his waist. "Not a denial. Now that you know I'm yours, it's not safe to ignore your instincts much longer."
There was still hope. . . .
"We must fuck just to preserve your sanity." He sighed. "The things I do for my 'friends.'"
"Enough of that."
Mirceo started shucking his pants. "Can't sleep confined."
Mercy! To distract himself, Cas snagged a blanket to cover the french doors against the coming light of dawn. They faced west, but he'd take no chances. Another blanket for the side window. Once he'd sun-proofed the room, he turned back.
Mirceo's pants were on the floor, and he had the covers up to his waist again.
Thank gods. "You need to sleep."
Relaxation had stolen over the vampire's body, but he wasn't ready to pass out yet. "Stay with me."
"Should I read you a bedtime story too, leechling?"
"Do you have erotic ones in your repertoire? Perhaps an original."
"You have an answer for everything."
Mirceo waved at the blankets. "You really do care about me, don't you?"
Cas pulled a chair up to the bed. "Because I don't want my drunken vampire friend to fry under my watch?" He removed his own boots, then kicked back. He would sleep out on the deck tonight. Not in the bed with Mirceo. NOT in the bed.
"Aside from my parents and Mina, you're the only person I have ever cared deeply about. After my mother and father were murdered, I fairly much hated everyone. Growing up in Dacia didn't help matters."
"Do you know who killed them?" Mirceo had said only that a cowardly royal had taken their lives.
"My uncle Stelian's father beheaded them in their sleep."
Was Cas better off not knowing his parents than to have lost them so brutally? "Why?"
"Millennia ago, a princess in our family cursed the Dacianos to infight and destroy ourselves until we crowned the rightfu
l heir--Lothaire. For generations, Dacianos schemed and manipulated to seize the throne, and I'm sure my parents weren't innocent." Frowning to himself, he said, "I think Trehan hunted down Stelian's murderous father to protect Mina and myself."
"That all sounds insane."
"Imagine raising a little girl under that threat. It's why I'm so protective of Mina. We've had targets on our backs since we were born. And then, with our parents out of the way, I feared our uncles would circle us like sharks."
"You were just fifteen." At least no one had wanted to kill Cas when he'd been that age. "What did you do?"
"Turned into an angry stick-in-the-mud. I toed every line and never lowered my guard. I didn't fuck for the first time until I was twenty."
Cas couldn't wrap his mind around this. "So you've only had ten years of partners." His mood plummeted. A rake like Mirceo likely wouldn't settle down for an eternity. A rake who hadn't gotten the lead out never would. "And then what happened?"
A soft, fond smile curled Mirceo's lips. "Mina won them over, one by one. Viktor, the head of the army, caught her--a little imp--devising brilliant battle strategies with her dollies. He lost his heart. From the time she was eight, she carried a blade, so Trehan, the shadow assassin, lost his as well." Mirceo couldn't sound prouder. "She brought blood mead to the guardhouse for Stelian, the realm's gatekeeper--because she felt sorry for him. She admitted that she would keep watch with that lonely oaf, just sitting in silence and observing the mist float by. It eventually became clear that they'd all die for her."
Cas could see this. Timid, blushing Mina kindled a person's protective instincts.
"Once I realized my sister was in no danger from them, I loosened up, becoming the hedonist you once knew."
"You bring out such protectiveness as well."
"Do I? Mina and I are two of a kind," he said. "Dacians consider Trehan the kingdom's sword, Viktor its wrath, Stelian its sentinel, and Lothaire its cunning. Our people see Mina and me as the beating heart of Dacia. That's why most are helpless not to love us."
Beginning to believe that. "Your partners always fell for you."
"Hmm."
"Hmmm, what?"
"The day I told Mina that our parents were gone, I comprehended that I was all she had in the world. I promised her that I would be her mother and father. She gazed up at me with . . . unlimited expectation and said, 'I believe you.'"
My gods, Cas could barely imagine the pressure. Mirceo had been so young.
Mirceo frowned. "Partners often cast me a similar look of expectation after sex, as if they'd pinned all their worldly hopes on me. The burden of that responsibility filled me with panic and resentment--but I never understood why. Now I do."
"What do you understand?"
Their gazes held. "They wanted me to give them something that already belonged to another. They wanted my future--but it's yours alone."
Cas loosed a breath. "So if I were ever to look at you like that . . ."
"Demon, you can pin any worldly hopes on me"--his voice grew hoarse--"because I've already pinned mine on you."
What if the vampire truly would treat a mate differently? Wasn't that the way of matehood?
Mirceo's lids slid shut, the brew about to drop the hammer. "Caspion, I was proud of you tonight. Proud that you're mine."
The prince continued to see him as strong and capable, having no idea what a wretched creature his mate had once been. Mirceo's description of royal intrigues just reminded Cas how ignoble his blood was.
He's the heir to an ancient line from an extraordinary realm; I don't even have a family name.
Mirceo murmured, "Before I pass out, I give you full permission to take advantage of me. You know I'm not shy. Look your fill. Touch. Do whatever you want to me."
Here for my use. All night Cas had been half erect; now he grew painfully hard.
"And I'm always ready to blood-take if you need my services."
His words brought on a mixture of irritation and lust. Again the vampire was eroding Cas's control. "I'll keep that in mind." He yanked the covers up to Mirceo's chin once more.
"Maybe I'll sleep for just a moment. . . ." Any remaining tension drained from his body.
Down for the count. So leave him. Go to another property. Get away.
Cas stood to pace. The last thing he needed was to get in even deeper with this male. At least leave the fucking room.
Instead he returned to the chair, pulling it even closer.
Mirceo's lips were parted, his lashes thick against his cheeks. He was always smirking or laughing, his expressions changeable. At rest, he seemed even younger than his thirty years.
From the very beginning, Cas had found Mirceo Daciano's face spellbinding, but right now there was a sweetness to it that called to him.
He didn't know how long he'd stared, but gradually the vampire began to grow restless. He changed positions, then again, and moisture dotted his forehead. Sweating out the brew.
Cas traced to the bathroom and wet a cloth. He returned to sit on the edge of the bed, then smoothed the cloth over Mirceo's brow.
Though Cas's body still thrummed with desire, caring for the sleeping prince soothed his mind. He brushed the backs of his knuckles Mirceo's cheek, testing this affection.
More than instinct was at work here. When he imagined Mirceo as a scared teenage boy in Dacia, tenderness and protectiveness surged inside Cas. Those feelings reminded him of his frenzied thoughts when they'd been trapped in that gulg: I'll make this monster choke on my fucking bones before I let it have the vampire. I'll die for Mirceo.
A gust of breath left his lungs. No longer could Cas deny what he knew was true. He was a vampire's mate, and Mirceo was . . . a demon's.
Mine. Acceptance. This male is mine.
Without attempting him, Cas couldn't confirm their connection a hundred percent, but he felt their bond. He'd never been so sure about anything.
This sleeping prince is my fated one.
For so long Cas had wondered what his mate would look like. Why not explore Mirceo? The vampire had all but dared him to.
Drawing down the sheet, Cas bared his torso. Running the cloth lower, he let his gaze roam over Mirceo's lean body.
The elegant column of his throat. The broad chest with not an ounce of spare flesh. Those flat, dusky nipples.
All of this pale, sleek perfection is mine.
He gave himself permission to study Mirceo's body--with intent. He'd never assessed another male with the thought of enjoying him--of fighting or killing him, yes, but never considering the things he fantasized about with Mirceo.
He imagined kissing the vampire's neck, nipping it with his fangs. His lips would travel down Mirceo's chest, following in the wake of the cloth. He'd suck those dusky nipples raw. He'd dip his tongue to that shallow navel. Nuzzle the trail of black hair beneath it.
Cas would play with the prince, teasing him, dominating him. At the thought, his cock pulsed in his pants.
He audibly swallowed as he inched the sheet down to reveal Mirceo's member. The veined shaft was semihard, the taut crown a shade of plum. The vampire's size was generous, nearly as long as Cas's but slimmer. Back in their days of debauchery, more than one immortal had screamed while riding it.
Again, Cas looked at it with . . . intent. What would that flesh taste like? What would it be like to suckle that length? Cas grazed his fingertips over his lips as he envisioned pleasuring another male with his mouth.
He would pin Mirceo's hips down, then tease and tongue him for hours. After much suffering, Mirceo would be allowed to come.
Cas recalled the addictive taste of Mirceo's seed and knew he'd drink the vampire down.
The idea made his shaft throb.
Just as Cas reached for his mate's cock, Mirceo turned to his front, revealing the planes of his back. And lower. Cas groaned.
He'd never been the type to obsess over a woman's ass. Yet Mirceo's flawless ass held him rapt.
The small o
f the vampire's back rose to curves of sculpted muscles with shadowed hollows on the sides. The flesh at the cleft was so taut that Cas wondered if he could even graze a fang there.
He'd enjoyed anal sex with females, but he'd never been with a virgin--in any sense of the word. Mirceo would be so unbelievably tight. Cas would need to go slow. Lubrication would be key.
Fantasies arose. Inching his oiled shaft into Mirceo's virgin channel . . . feeding his length in to the hilt . . . fucking moans out of the prince . . . marking the vampire's neck . . . ejaculating inside his mate for the first time . . .
An involuntary growl burst from Cas's chest. In a lather to mount Mirceo, he clenched his fists.
Realization struck: he desired Mirceo more than he did females. More than all others put together. The last time he'd yearned for something this much, he'd literally been starving. Cas was starving for Mirceo. He did not make that comparison lightly.
How much longer could Cas resist the irresistible? His gaze flicked to the pale column of Mirceo's neck. For all of the vampire's perfection, he lacked one thing.
My mark.
What if Cas seized what was right before him? His mate. Their future. I could claim and mark him as soon as he wakes.
But if the vampire later strayed . . . There was supposed to be no greater pain than a fated one's betrayal.
A mate's death? That pain would be short-lived because a demon would follow.
Yet a rift in the bond between mates delivered anguish without equal.
His arousal flagged. The prince will leave me broken.
Before Cas did anything stupid, maybe he should explain to Mirceo the harsh realities of matehood.
The totality of it. The eternity of it. The monogamy of it.
He'd have that vampire running in the opposite direction.
TWENTY-FOUR
Mirceo dreamed. Even in sleep, he knew he was experiencing his mate's past.
A memory arose from a time years ago when the demon had been just a pup--a time before he'd been known as Caspion. . . .
Standing on his toes, Beggar stared through the tavern window as a barmaid brought steaming food to a nearby table.
Why was he doing this to himself? Seeing what he could never have just made his hunger worse. Look away.
From a tray, the female set out platter after platter. Haunches of venison. Fat sausages. Juicy suckling pig and roasted boar.
He'd just lost a baby fang, but his other one sharpened as he imagined what that meat would taste like. When the scents reached him, his mouth watered. So did his eyes.