The Royal Flush (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles(Book Three)) (31 page)

Adrian, Warren, Devin, Tony, Justin, and Miranda climbed into the other. Warren and Xander drove for an hour until they reached Darian’s enormous
private
plane.

“Jesus!” exclaimed Justin and Devin in unison as they gazed at the extremely large private aircraft.

“That is the size of a commercial jet, you know,” Devin stated in awe.

“Yeah, I know,” Warren said with a chuckle, throwing a glance at Tony, who had slipped into his resting state already. “He’s out of it.” He put the truck in park, turning off the engine.

“The sun is rising and we have to get him on the plane right now. I thought vampires only slept as soon as the sun rose over the horizon, I wonder if Darian and Xavier are still awake?” Adrian said thoughtfully. He looked at the early morning sky. The coming day had turned the sky’s horizon a purplish-blue. He looked over at the other SUV and could clearly see the two vampires were wide awake. “Ah, well, there’s the answer to my question.”

Darian and the others climbed out of the SUV. He walked over to the other SUV, peeking inside and saw Tony resting on the leather seats. He chuckled as he opened the door, leaned inside and scooped Tony into his arms.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They began walking towards the huge jet. Human servants stood on the portable staircase to usher them on board.

“Master, everything is as you requested,” the human servant informed Darian.

“Excellent.” Darian was the first to enter the airplane, followed by the others.

“Wow, this is amazing!” Devin said excitedly.

“Tell me about it,” Justin added enthusiastically.

Darian chuckled as he watched them inspecting his airplane. He turned towards Xander. “We should arrive in Great Falls, Montana in three to four hours.”

“Good.” Xander watched the others find comfortable seats.

His wife lay sprawled on the sofa, gazing back at him. He smiled, turning back to Darian. “I want you to know that I greatly appreciate whatever sacrifice you’ve had to make for our
Safe Passage
.”

Darian returned his smile. “I only did what was necessary.”

“Ah, but there is more to it than that. I just want you to know that I am eternally grateful.”

“You’re welcome,” Darian said.

He walked past the lounging shape-shifters into the last room on the airplane. Xavier was the last to enter the room, making sure to close the door behind him. Darian laid Tony’s resting body on the sofa then walked towards the bed. He slid back the covers, gazing up at Xavier who was watching him from across the room.

“Come here,” Darian whispered seductively.

Xavier smiled as he walked towards the bed. He slid off his shoes, climbing under the sheets, sliding over to Darian, who wrapped his arms around him, bringing him closer.

“What kind of
Homage
do you think you’ll have to pay?” Xavier asked.

He felt his own body undergoing the effects of the sun. His limbs grew heavy and his muscles relaxed even more.

“I haven’t seen Kysen in over eight-hundred years, no doubt he’s bitter. On that account I
have
wronged him, though I had my own reasons,” Darian admitted.

Xavier jerked, staring at Darian in awe.

“What?” Darian asked curiously.

“I just never really heard you admit outright that you were wrong about anything.”

Darian chuckled deeply. The sound of his voice sent tingles down Xavier’s spine. He pressed himself closer to Darian and both men could feel the coolness creeping into their bodies. Darian gathered him closer, resting his cheek on Xavier’s head.

“I seem to be doing a lot of that lately,” he said.

“I like it,” Xavier whispered seductively. “The great Darian Alexander is not perfect after all,” he teased.

Another chuckle from Darian. “So it would seem, my love.” He kissed the top of Xavier’s head as he closed his eyes letting the rise of the sun put him to rest.

‘

Chapter Twelve

O
ne of the human servants walked over to Xander, bowing slightly. “We are here to serve you as was our Master’s orders,” he said as he held a pen and paper, ready to take their orders.

“This is wonderful… may I have your name?” Xander asked.

“Yes sir, my name is Morgan,” the servant replied.

Xander nodded, he introduced himself as did the others.

“What may I get for you?” Morgan asked.

“Do you mean we can order whatever we want?” Justin asked excitedly.

“Yes sir. We have an assortment of cuisine specifically catered for you. It was our Master’s orders,” Morgan repeated.

“Holy shit, it’s like a restaurant in the sky. Man! We don’t have service like this on our plane. We have to fend for ourselves and shit,” Devin said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, we don’t either. I mean, Xander has this kick-ass plane, but it’s nothing like this. This looks like a penthouse hotel suite in the sky!” Justin said enthusiastically, as he gazed at the five large plasma screen televisions that were mounted on the walls throughout the plane’s interior. Justin lounged on the soft, comfortable suede sofas that embellished the plane along with the thick dark gray carpeted floor.

“Enough you two,” Tatiana reprimanded. Both Devin and Justin calmed down. She looked at her husband, who chuckled. “One would think the two of you have never been on a private plane before.”

“Sorry,” they apologized in unison.

“Christ! That’s been happening all fucking night! You two are starting to creep me the fuck out. What are you, twins separated at birth?” Sergio said, referring to Justin and Devin's duel personalities and uncannily timely responses.

“Well, we just clicked, I suppose.” Devin said smiling. “Okay, I’m hungry.” He told Morgan what he wanted. “Can I have that?”

“Yes, sir.” The human servant jotted down the first older.

“Oh, this is just too cool!” Devin smiled as he settled back against the cushions.

The human servant finished writing down everyone’s request. “So, that will be sixteen servings of twenty-six-ounce steaks, twelve servings of the western omelets, fourteen pounds of hash browns, four gallons of orange juice, two gallons of milk, four servings of grits with cheese and twenty four apple pancakes. Will this complete everyone orders?” he asked, somewhat out of breath. Everyone sat quietly, thinking about the upcoming meal.

“That will be enough, Morgan. Thank you,” Xander said.

“If there is anything else that I may get for you, please do not hesitate to ask,” Morgan said with a bow. He went into the galley, handing the orders to the chef.

“I can’t believe this shit,” Adrian said shaking his head. “He must really live in the lap of luxury.”

“Darian does,” Warren stated.

“No wonder,” Justin said, still tickled by the restaurant-style service.

Warren walked over to Adrian who was sitting by the window. He sat down beside him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Adrian turned toward him. “A little better… considering. Look, just tell me one thing… why him?”

Warren thought about his answer before speaking. “Because I love him. With us, Adrian, we
were too much alike and you were overbearing

overwhelming even. I mean, how many times did we argue about who’s going to top?”

Adrian chuckled softly. “Too many times to keep track.”

“Exactly. I was tired of that even before it got old. You need someone wh
o’s going to be exactly what you need them to be to complete you. I’m not that person, never was. It was just time for one of us to make the right move. I needed more stability and my own role in a relationship.”

Adrian looked at Warren for a few seconds, taking in what he said. “So you felt suffocated?”

“Not all the time, but there were times when I did,” Warren paused a few seconds before continuing. “The sex was amazing, there’s no denying that factor, probably the reason why I procrastinated breaking up with you. But even great sex shouldn’t be a reason to hang on to a doomed relationship. And I think because we’re best friends we have had some good times. However, I think we both know that we would be cheating each other and ourselves if we continued the way we were. I love you still, that will never change but we both need someone completely for us.”

Adrian smiled sadly. “I would be lying if I said I’m not jealous. My ego’s a bit bruised… shit, it’s a whole lotta bruised. I would have never thought I’d be replaced by a human. It stings still, but I’ll give Matthew the benefit of the doubt. He’s got to have big brass balls to have hung around you all this time knowing what you are. And I’ve never told you this, but I respected him for not squealing on you to the government.”

Warren nodded. “Yeah, he’s honorable that way.”

Adrian chuckled. “Not to mention, the guys got to have some skills being your partner and all. I’m surprised his still alive.”

“Hey, you’re the dangerous one,
Mr. Enforcer
,” Warren teased.

“Damn right!” Adrian gazed into Warren’s soft gray eyes, then, leaning over, he kissed him gently on the lips savoring the sensation. Warren didn’t resist as he enjoyed the last passionate kiss the two would share. Adrian pulled away, his eyes opening.

“I love you, too. If this human is who you truly want, then I won’t stand in your way. I’d hate to lose your friendship… it’s too precious to me. But if you ever get tired of him-”

“Adrian... shut up,” Warren said playfully.

“I’m just saying,” Adrian smiled.

Both men chuckled and began talking about other topics, patching up the open wound caused by Warren breaking off their relationship.

“That’s wonderful and a relief,” Xander whispered to his wife as he noticed Warren and Adrian speaking to each other as friends once again.

Tatiana looked at both men and smiled. “Good, I knew that we raised sensible boys.”

“Sensible boys who grew up to be sensible, strong men. Now, I’m not quite sure what to think about those two,” Xander said chuckling.

He gestured to Devin and Justin who were now playing a game of poker with Sergio and Nagesa as they waited for the food to arrive. They were all waiting for the food and the succulent aroma wafting from the kitchen assailed their nostrils causing their stomachs to grumble.

“Looks like our little Justin has found a friend,” Tatiana mused.

Xander observed his wife looking at the leopard and their fellow wolf. He smiled to himself.

“Sweetheart?” he asked softly.

“Yes?” she answered.

Xander chuckled. “When all of this is behind us, I want to take you on a second honeymoon, just you and I.”

Tatiana’s face lit up. “I would like that.”

She embraced Xander, kissing him passionately. When she pulled away, she was grinning even wider than before. “I agree that we need to take a little
time
for ourselves, I can’t wait.”

“Nor can I,” Xander agreed.

“

Royal Flush, I’ll be taking that,” Devin said as he exposed his hand to the men at the table. He snatched up the hundred dollars that had accumulated in the gamble.

“You’re lucky this is poker because I’m a killer in Black Jack,” Justin bragged.

“Yeah,
well this ain’t Black Jack

Jack and I’ve got to get paid,” Devin teased.

Justin laughed. “You’ve got to teach me the tricks of the trade. I just learned this game last year. Nagesa taught me, he beats me every time.”

“You need another teacher,” Devin lau
ghed. “Nagesa lost three hands in a row. Ya’ll need to step up your game.”

“I can’t stand a shit-talker,” Sergio said.

“Hey, don’t be that way. Listen, you’ll get better one day, just not while you’re playing against
moi
,” Devin taunted.

“Ha-ha. So funny,” Justin smirked.

Everyone looked toward the opening door when they smelled the aroma of food coming closer.

“Oh great! The food is here,” Justin announced as the four severs brought the food into the room.

They sat the platters of steaks, pancakes, omelets, hash browns and grits on the huge table and returned with clean plates, silverware, the gallons of milk and orange juice. The shape-shifters approached the table, some stared at the food eagerly.