Crimson Moon (7 page)

When Ramiro remained silent, Gunnar rolled until they lay side by side. “Answer me.”

Moving to rest his head on Gunnar’s shoulder, Ramiro licked his lips. “I wanted you to want me without incentives. Can you understand that?”

Gunnar nodded. “I needed to be ready,” he surmised.

“Yes,” Ramiro confirmed.

“But what about feeding? I’ve tasted your blood and
it’s
obvious vampires aren’t meant to feed from each other, so why not at least tell me about feeding from others?”

“Honestly?
Same reason.
I’ve seen vampires come to hate themselves for feeding on the living because they were forced into it too early. I wanted you to love it as much as I do, but for the right reason, not just to feel warm.”

“Why
do
you love it?” Gunnar asked. He’d watched vampires feed and never understood the draw. It seemed…cheap, like trading sexual favours for money or, in the case of a vampire, blood.

Ramiro’s fingers wandered across Gunnar’s chest to his right nipple. “According to Ian, vampires were created to be aggressive, ruthless soldiers to protect Zeus and The Realm. After Ian was created, he was sent out to capture and change others, and they in turn brought even more vampires into existence. Unfortunately, once the threat from
Morwyn
was no longer an issue, there was little use for vampires and they were released into the world. So although vampires were suddenly free, they still had killer instincts.”

Ramiro brushed his thumb back and forth over Gunnar’s nipple. “
LaMont
was also one of the first created by Ian, and we both know what kind of vampire he was.”

“Sadistic,” Gunnar mumbled
,
thinking of the torture Neo had gone through at
LaMont’s
hands.

“Yes. Some of the vampires were willing to adapt to life among humans. They were quick to discover humans would welcome a bite if they were given pleasure in exchange. For the vampires it was a way to get what they had to have while still fulfilling their need to dominate their prey.” Ramiro leant in and kissed Gunnar’s collarbone.

Gunnar tilted his head to the side. “Do you have to fuck them though?” he had to ask.

“No, but until you, I didn’t have anyone else in particular I wanted to fuck.” Ramiro released the skin between his teeth and gazed into Gunnar’s eyes. “I like to fuck.”

Ramiro’s hand travelled from Gunnar’s stomach down to his inner thigh. Gunnar held his breath each time Ramiro’s thumb grazed his sac. “I’m not here for a one-time thing. I can get that at The Frenzy.”

“Don’t remind me,” Gunnar growled. He grabbed Ramiro by the back of the neck and pulled him forwards until their lips barely touched. “I won’t share.”

“Outside of what is required to feed, neither will I,” Ramiro said before sealing his lips to Gunnar’s.

Gunnar accepted Ramiro’s tongue. Feeding was necessary, he knew that, but did that mean Ramiro would continue to fuck his food? It would be a problem between them unless they could come to an arrangement. Gunnar considered himself a fair person, but could he really compromise on something so important to him?

* * * *

Ramiro woke before Gunnar. Although the sun was sinking lower over the horizon, it wouldn’t be healthy for Gunnar to emerge from the tent’s shelter until it was completely set. He pulled on his wrinkled pants and shirt before venturing outside into the cool rain.

The thought of Gunnar sitting out all night in the cold, wet Irish climate troubled Ramiro. Hands on his hips, he looked around the area. He spotted Haig in the distance and decided to have a quick word with him.

Ramiro closed his eyes and focussed on the signature of Haig’s unique energy. He’d learnt to harness his gifts from Ian, and doubted there was another vampire, besides the King himself, who knew exactly what vampires were truly capable of. He felt the wind blow through him as he vanished from Gunnar’s campsite to join Haig.

“Damn it! Warn a guy next time,” Haig growled.

“Sorry.” Ramiro tried to cover his smile by turning his head and glancing back towards Gunnar’s camp. He didn’t need to ask where Kern was. The erotic sounds coming from the tent made him uncomfortably hard, especially knowing there was a naked vampire only a few hundred yards away.

He turned his attention back to Haig. “Have you seen anything?”

Haig snorted. “Only a small army of those fucking freaks staring at me from the trees.”

Ramiro had gone into the Galway camp with Neo to rescue Galena, so he understood why Haig referred to the hybridised
weres
as freaks. “Did they try to engage you in any way?”

“No. They just stared at us. I
gotta
tell you, knowing what those bastards did to my
sister,
it took everything I had not to charge them. Promise me if it ever comes to battle, you’ll let me lead the fight.”

Ramiro respected Haig’s need for vengeance, but he also knew it wouldn’t be a wise decision.
“How about this?
If and when we get the go-ahead to engage, I’ll make sure you’re with us. However, we both know Neo won’t sit back and let us fight without him.”

Haig dipped his head.
“Juniper?”

“Neo and I already talked about that. We have a few questions for Juniper, but after we’re done with him, he’s all yours.”

“Thanks.”

The noise in the tent ended. The silence reminded Ramiro of why he’d come over in the first place. “Do me a favour and keep an eye on Gunnar’s camp. I don’t like him being alone at night, but I’ve got to find Ian. I’ll be with him during the daylight hours, but he’ll be on his own the rest of the time.”

“No he won’t,” Kern said, coming out of the tent. “Gunnar’s always been there for me and Haig. We won’t let anything happen to him.”

Ramiro squeezed Kern’s shoulder. “Don’t let him know you’re watching him.”

Haig and Kern both laughed. “We’ve worked for Gunnar a long time,” Kern said. “No need to warn us about his temper.”

Ramiro acknowledged the relationship Gunnar had with his guards with a nod of his head. “I’ll leave you to it. See you in the morning.” He didn’t wait for an answer. Within a split second he was inside the tent, standing in front of a half-dressed Gunnar.

“
Dammit
!” Gunnar shouted.

Ramiro laughed. “That’s exactly what Haig said when I popped in to his camp.”

“What were you doing over there?” Gunnar asked, pulling on his T-shirt.

“Just checking in.
He said Juniper’s freaks stared at them all day. Make sure you keep a close eye on the trees.”

Gunnar grabbed Ramiro around his waist and pulled him in. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got to go into town anyway, to try and catch up with
Rafi
.”

“Let me do that,” Ramiro offered.

“Neo asked me to do it,” Gunnar argued.

“I know, and I’ll talk to him about it first, but it’s safer for me. The thought of you going all the way into town without the protection of a ward is too much for Neo to ask of you, especially here.” Ramiro knew he was taking a chance. His relationship with Gunnar was too new to know how the newly-turned vampire would feel about his protective streak.

Gunnar stared off into space for several moments before answering. “I’ll do whatever Neo wants me to do. To be honest, I’m not sure
Rafi
would give me any information anyway. When he left, he didn’t think much of anyone at the vineyard.”

Ramiro leant in for a kiss. He would have loved to spend the evening sitting around a fire with Gunnar, but there were too many things to be done. Once the danger was behind them, he hoped they would have a long time to enjoy their nights together.

“I need you to promise me something,” Gunnar said, breaking the kiss.

“If I can,” Ramiro answered.

“When you get back to The Realm to feed, no fucking.”

“Didn’t plan on it.
I’ll be back here in less than twelve hours anyway. I think I can control myself that long.” It bothered Ramiro that Gunnar felt the need to ask. It would definitely be something they would have to discuss further.

Chapter Five

Soaked to the bone from the constant light rain, Gunnar continued to watch the
treeline
. Although he couldn’t see anyone, he could definitely smell them. The odour was a combination of raw sewage and rotting meat. “Where are you, you bastards?” he whispered.

Gunnar continued to wait, bored out of his mind. He’d already spent the first couple of hours thinking about Ramiro. If it hadn’t been for the eyes he knew were watching him, he would have taken out his aching cock to relieve himself.

Movement in the trees brought Gunnar to his feet. All at once, the trees seemed to step closer. “Fuck!” It wasn’t the trees, it was Juniper’s freaks. Shoulder to shoulder, a line of freaks began to march towards him.

Suddenly,
Audric
appeared inside the protective ward of Gunnar’s camp.
“Thought you might need some backup.”

“Do you see the size of those bastards? I don’t think backup is going to help me much if they’ve figured out a way to get past Spiro’s magic.”

“There must be at least a hundred of them,”
Audric
mumbled. “Should I wake Kern and Haig?”

Gunnar glanced towards
Audric’s
camp to see the two
weres
scrambling out of their tent, half-dressed. “No need. I think they smelt them coming.”

“Shit. Be right back.”

In an instant,
Audric
was gone. Gunnar was beginning to see the upside to being a vampire. He really needed to learn that particular talent. Pulling out his phone, he called Ramiro.

“Hey,” Ramiro answered.

“Something’s happening. I’ve got about a hundred freaks coming my way.”

“Shit. I’ll call Neo and be right there.”

Gunnar shoved the phone back into his pocket just as
Audric
appeared with Kern and Haig. “Ramiro’s on the way.”

“Good. He’s the only one of us who knows what Juniper looks like,” Haig said, stepping to the edge of the ward.

“They don’t look like they’re out for our blood,”
Audric
commented.

“No, they don’t. As a matter of fact, they look more like zombies than living creatures. Look at their eyes. There seems to be nothing behind them.” Gunnar felt a hand on his lower back and turned to find Ramiro standing just behind him.

Ramiro ran his hand down Gunnar’s ass. “
Neo’s
on his way, despite Michael’s very vocal protests.”

Gunnar felt his cock begin to harden at the brief touch. No. It wasn’t the time. He tried to focus on the threat marching their way. “What’s wrong with them?”

“They have no soul,” Neo answered.

Gunnar turned to face his boss. “How is that possible?”

“Evidently it’s the price they’ve paid for their increased size and strength.” Neo moved to stand beside Haig. “Under no circumstances are you to step outside this ward, you understand?”

Haig’s hands fisted at his sides but he eventually nodded his acceptance of the order.

Gunnar leant against Ramiro and whispered in his ear. “Do you see Juniper?”

“No.” Ramiro flicked Gunnar’s earlobe with his tongue before pulling back.

When the freaks were a mere ten yards from the ward, they stopped, as if by silent command. One of the biggest men Gunnar had ever seen took a step forward. “Why are you here?”

“To watch you,” Neo said, suddenly appearing beside Gunnar. “Where’s
Morwyn
?” he asked the freak.

“You are being asked to leave. I suggest you heed the warning.”

“Or what?”
Neo asked. “What is it
Morwyn
wants?”

The spokesman took a step back into line. As one, the army did an about-face and began to march back to the trees.

“You tell Juniper Cavanaugh to get his sissy ass down here and talk to us!” Haig shouted.

“So we’ve been warned.” Neo rested his fists on his hips.
“Gods!
I wish we could get another look inside their operation.”

“Maybe we can,” Ramiro said. “When Gunnar called, I had just started my conversation with
Rafi
.”

Gunnar watched as
Neo’s
spine seemed to stiffen. “Did you find out what he’s doing here?” Neo asked.

“According to him, he wants to help us,” Ramiro answered.

“Do you believe him?” Gunnar asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know him. He sounded earnest, but he said he wants to speak with Neo.”

Gunnar’s protective instincts kicked in. It suddenly didn’t matter that his boss and friend was the son of a God. No good could come of a meeting between Neo and his ex-lover. “You can’t. Not only is it too dangerous, but Michael would never understand,” he said, his gaze on the army melting into the darkness of the trees.

All at once, the empty camp where
Audric
, Kern and Haig had been moments before exploded. Thrown to the ground by the force of the blast, Gunnar shielded his eyes from the bright fireball that climbed towards the clouds.

One moment, Ramiro was on the ground beside him, and the next he had thrown himself on top of Gunnar. Although Gunnar enjoyed the feeling of the vampire against him, he didn’t appreciate the gesture. Pushing against Ramiro’s chest, he tried to get the muscled security chief off him. “I don’t need your protection,” he growled.

Ramiro rolled off Gunnar. “I didn’t…,” he sputtered, getting to his feet. He held out his hand and helped Gunnar up. “I acted without thinking. I apologise.”

Neo walked over. “You two okay?”

“Yeah,” Gunnar answered. “What the hell was that?”

“
Morwyn
letting me know he means business. Ramiro, find
Rafi
and bring him to The Realm. I’ll deal with Michael if he has a problem with it.” He looked over his shoulder at the obliterated campsite before addressing Gunnar. “We need to get the guards back to The Realm.
Now.
We’ll have to figure out another way to keep an eye on Juniper. Perhaps it’s time to bring my father into this.”