Cake (18 page)

“
Evil,” I gasped out to the ceiling

“
You like it?” Claudius had a slight laugh in his voice.

“
Yeah!” I laughed too, and grabbed at Marcus. “Kiss me, Pretty. Show me how
you
like it.”

Marcus teased my lips open, his tongue stroking just inside my mouth, flicking along my teeth. I let my tongue tease against his, and he opened his eyes wide, his irises burning red. As he flicked along my tongue again, I watched his face as I caught his and sucked on it hard. He pulled back, separating our mouths, and ran his thumb along my cheek.

“
I want to fang you.” I was almost begging.

“
What?” He blinked, and then smiled softly. “Straight in. Straight Out. Do not drink too deep, Sex,” he reminded me.

Claudius leaned forward. “If you drink too much, you will Flame up again even sooner. And remember, Marcus has to go before the High Council, so do not leave him weak.”

I nuzzled at Marcus’s skin, and smelled the aroma of a fall apple orchard again. The scent was in his hair. It seemed to seep from his pores. He was my very own private, pretty apple orchard, and I bit into him eagerly. He hissed and sagged against me as I timed my pulsing drink with Claudius’s thrusts.

Everything started to blur. Or maybe it was just me, as I filled up on the heady concoction of Marcus’s blood. I let him go but licked at his neck, catching every droplet of his sweet elixir. He brushed my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear, and touching the ruby he had placed there. I didn’t need any special sign to see the possessive glance of ownership in his eyes, and when he reached down and touched my cock I exploded, and he swallowed my cry with a kiss.

Claudius grunted and sped up his possession, and Marcus held me tightly as his sire continued to piston in and out of my ass. My bright crystal vision faded, and the burning tingles were just fading waves. Every thrust washed them over me, but they grew less and less intense, dropping down to the normal, mind-numbing sexual stimulation. Claudius grunted, pulled me back roughly out of Marcus’s arms and jetted into me. Then he toppled over backwards, pulling me with him.

“
Eyes?”

Marcus crawled over me. “Just his usual beautiful, jade green.”

Claudius sat up, catching me around the back of the neck and hauling me upright. He pressed a kiss to my temple and stroked my hair. “I do not know if I like you better as quiet or enflamed. There is something entrancing about both sides of your passion. You did well, Sex.”

“
Xavier,” Marcus corrected.

“
Hmm?”

“
We have come to an agreement. His name is Xavier.” His hands brushed strands of hair off my face.

“
Oh, thank God, I really did not want to introduce my grandson as Sex,” Claudius said as he carefully settled me down on the bed.

I was wrapped in a post-orgasmic cloud of self-indulgence, and I had been reclining listlessly on Claudius’s chest bones, but my eyes popped open now at his words.

“
What was that? Did you just say grandson?”

“
It is a little conventional, true. Technically, I am your Grand-Sire, but it so much simpler to call me Grandfather.”

My happy, little post-orgasmic cloud just raced away at light speed. I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. “No. No, no, no, no!”

“
What is it?” Marcus asked, worried.

“
So, you’re my father?” I opened my eyes and looked at him.

“
Yes.”

“
So I’m getting screwed by both my father, and grandfather?”

“
This is a problem?” Claudius asked so matter-of-factly I had to bury my face into the mattress. Marcus laid a hand on my back in comfort. Reluctantly, I turned toward him.

“
If you guys gotta go somewhere, you better get a move on,” I said, needing to be alone after this latest revelation.

“
Xavier is correct. I will shower first.” Claudius kissed my temple as he rose from the bed. “You are a beautiful desire, Little Blue. Marcus chose wisely.”

“
Huh?”

“
Xavier, come here.” Marcus opened his arms. I debated for about a second and then moved up to his embrace. He and Claudius could have easily just left me tied to the bed, but they hadn’t. I at least owed him a hug for that. “What is it, Little One? I can see the turnings of your mind.”

“
Nothing you can help with. I…I just have to get my head around this father, grandfather thing. Actually, I have to get my head around the whole vampire, Blood, Flame thing. You’ve given me a lot to handle as a birthday present.”

Marcus plastered a kiss on my lips and slid me under the covers as he moved off the bed. “I have one more present for you.” I just lay on the mattress. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more presents from the vampire who wants to mate with me.

He crossed to the far side of the room and pressed a spot on the wall. A section of the brickwork slid back like a pocket door, exposing a huge walk-in closet. What the hell? I had checked every inch of that wall when I’d been trying to get out of my prison.

“
Shift your vision.” Marcus had turned around and must have seen the quizzical expression on my face.

“
What?”

“
Try to change your sight. There are Blood marks on the walls. They are like locks. They will only open to those members of the Blood owner’s House. These will open only for Claudius, you, and me.”

“
What should it feel like, this shifting thing?”

“
Your eyes should burn, but not as intensely as a Flame. You should be able to work it at will.”

“
The bed is locked, isn’t it?”

“
It is, for everyone’s safety. The servants will be safe from you, and you will not be tempted by them. And if for some reason another Blood decides to come for you, they cannot get in.”

“
That is the second time you’ve mentioned somebody coming for me,” I said, frowning.

“
Fledglings are not as cherished as they used to be. There are vampires out there that only prey on the newly made. They drain them dry for their new blood. If they survive that attack, they turn into drones—sex toys. I do not want that fate for you.”

“
And what about my Blue Flame eyes?”

My question was ignored as Marcus caught my hand and dragged me into the closet. Holy crap. It was packed with clothes: pants and jackets, shoes that lined one entire side, suits, ties, and sweaters on the other. I never would have thought that Marcus was such a clothes horse since he always used to come to me naked. He stopped at a bin and pulled it out, reaching inside for a pair of John Lennon type glasses, which he set upon my face.

“
Yes, I thought these would suit you,” he said, admiring me.

“
You lasered my eyes just so I could wear sunglasses?”

“
You do not like them? I have others for you.”

“
Marcus!” Claudius called out from the bathroom. “I am done with the shower.”

I looked back over at the bed, my eyes searching the floor. “What happened to my pants?” I asked.

“
They were soiled. I have sent them out for cleaning.”

“
So I’m to stay naked until they get back?”

Marcus blinked at me, and then burst out laughing, gesturing at all the garments around us. “This is
your
closet.”

I took a closer look at the clothes hanging there and was sort of taken aback. There were designer labels on some. I must have looked as dumbfounded as I felt because Marcus caught me up in a hug, swung me, and pulled me back out into the bedroom.

“
Turn around, Xavier.”

I heard the panel slide back into place. “But…”

“
I’ve found that rewards work best with you. Shift your sight. Open the Blood mark yourself. Once you do, you can wear anything you want.”

“
When did you buy all those clothes? Where did you get the money for them all? Wait a minute,” I said, remembering the episode with the shower. “Why the hell were you waving a knife in my face yesterday when you’ve got, what was that, five Armani suits hanging in the closet?”

“
I told you, now you are of the Blood, I would never take you without your consent. I needed your consent yesterday.”

“
You bastard!”

He caught me by the back of my neck and dragged me forward until our foreheads were touching.

“
I could have lost you so easily yesterday. You do not realize the danger you were in, with that eighty Flame. I will do what I must to protect you and keep you safe, my Little One, my beautiful Xavier. If that means tricking you into giving consent, so be it.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and gave me a shove that sent me sprawling backwards on the bed. “Open your closet, if you can, and I will take you out for dinner.”

Dinner? We eat? “And if I can’t?” I yelled after him as he disappeared into the bathroom.

“
Then we will stay in, and you will practice. Now, while you may be very tempting lying there naked like that, I really need to get ready.”

I pulled the sheet up around me. I was pissed. He had scared the crap out of me yesterday for no reason. Well, he did have a reason, but still.

Claudius came back into the playroom, fully dressed and looking like he had just stepped off the cover of a men’s magazine. He fiddled with his cuffs and straightened his tie. “How do I look, Sex?”

“
Like you just stepped out of GQ. Except for the hair,” I told him.

Claudius’s hands immediately reached towards his head.

Vain little vampire, ain’t you, Gramps.

He turned and glared at me. “Do not call me Gramps.” Oops, I’d forgotten they could read minds.

“
Don’t call me Sex,” I retaliated.

“
Agreed. So, what is wrong with my hair?”

“
You have on a power suit and tie, but your hair hanging loose says relaxed and laid back. What message do you want to send out? I think you want power.” He nodded.

Getting up from the bed, I headed for the bathroom, holding the sheet to me and dragging it along behind me. Marcus was still in the shower, and as I rummaged for a brush and some elastic bands, finding a long black ribbon to add to my pile, he saw me.

“
Is the closet open yet?”

“
Fuck off.”

He actually laughed, before ducking back under the water as I left the room.

“
Well, sit down. I’m not tall enough to brush your hair,” I said, climbing back onto the bed behind Claudius, brushing his tresses smooth and flat when he complied. I pulled the tidied strands into a sleek ponytail, slipped on an elastic band at the nape of his neck, and then added five more about an inch apart. Finally, I wound the black ribbon over the bands and tucked the ends in. Claudius now had slicked-back hair and a razor-straight tail. Yeah, I knew my way around hair—my sister and I were close, and there had been no other kids in our neighborhood to practise on.

Damn, I’m good.

“
Thank you. Do you want the closet opened in return?”

It was tempting, but I shook my head. “Just point out where the Blood mark is.”

Claudius stood and drew an imaginary square on the wall. Okay, so I know where it is; I just have to be able to see it.

“
Claudius?”