The two said goodnight, and hand in hand, they climbed the stairs, going up to the room they shared.
After checking in with the ranch’s mayordoma to make sure nothing needed his attention, Raul went up to his room as well. He undressed and stretched out in bed. As he lay there, waiting for sleep to come, his mind wasn’t on the two beautiful humans who were down the hall, there in his home for his pleasure. Instead, he thought of Ji-Su. A soft, pretty name for a soft, pretty human.
If he’d come across Ji-Su socially before he’d been contracted to Cedric or seen him on stage at one of his organization’s blood pet auctions, he most certainly would have made a play for him. But he didn’t poach from other vampires. He had a moment’s regret that he hadn’t had a chance to ask Ji-Su when his contract with Cedric was up. If he had, he might have been able to make arrangements to be Ji-Su’s next blood patron.
With another sigh of regret at the missed opportunity, Raul turned over to go to sleep. As he closed his eyes, he accepted that Ji-Su was simply someone he’d felt an overwhelmingly strong attraction to but more than likely would never see again.
“THAT WAS A FUN SHOW.” Ji-Su chatted with Cedric as they walked into the vampire’s luxury town house. Cedric’s butler, dressed entirely in white, waited to greet them and take their coats. The lights from the heavy crystal chandelier hanging above reflected on the white marble floor of the foyer, making the space almost painfully bright. “It’s good to get away from my screens and meet new people every once in a while.”
“Like Raul,” Cedric replied with a barely hidden sneer to his tone.
“I didn’t mean him in particular but yes he seemed like a nice guy.”
“Just remember what I said.” Cedric tossed his coat at the butler. “Stay away from vampires that I haven’t introduced you to.”
Ji-Su managed to keep the annoyance out of his expression when he agreed. “I will remember.”
They both went upstairs then separated on the second-floor landing to go to their individual bedrooms.
As Ji-Su undressed and prepared for bed, he couldn’t help but think that Cedric’s insistence he didn’t speak to anyone without his prior introduction and permission was insecure at best and controlling at worst. But whatever. Cedric wasn’t his lover. The vampire was simply his blood patron. He supplied Cedric with his blood a few times a month in exchange for room, board, and a hefty monthly cash deposit.
He’d already completed the first two months of his contract. There were ten months remaining and then he’d be free to talk to whoever he wanted, Raul included. Hopefully, by the time his contract with Cedric was over he would no longer need a blood patron. But he wouldn’t mind getting to know Raul outside of an official human-vampire agreement.
Raul was a ruggedly handsome vampire. He was Hispanic, with warm brown skin, black brows that arched over eyes the color of melted chocolate, and dark, neatly styled hair that curled just below his ears. The rough scruff of a well-groomed shadow beard enhanced a strong jaw and full lips. And he wore onyx stud earrings in each pierced ear.
He’d been dressed in a tux, the burgundy color so deep, it was almost black. The jacket and pants were cut to perfectly fit his tall, broad-shouldered frame, giving him a smooth, elegant air. But the accents he’d chosen—an understated Western copper belt buckle and black leather cowboy boots with copper tips—set him apart from everyone else in the room.
Raul’s style reminded Ji-Su of a wealthy rancher from old Western movies. That was probably a fitting description, since as a vampire, there was no telling how old Raul actually was. He appeared to be in his early thirties, but he’d probably looked that way for a very long time.
As Ji-Su slid between the crisp, clean sheets, he thought that his favorite thing about the handsome vampire had been the way Raul smiled. Raul smiled with a slow, lazy curl to his lips and a hint of that tell-tale vampire glow lighting his dark eyes to an amber brown. His entire vibe was relaxed and friendly, which made his easy flirting charming and welcome. Ji-Su had been attracted to the vampire from the moment he’d seen him.
Ji-Su sighed and turned over. Unfortunately, his attraction was pointless because as expected, a gorgeous vampire like Raul wasn’t single. He’d snuck a few glances at him throughout the night and noticed there were two dates accompanying him. A man and a woman—both of them beautiful and well dressed. So even if he wasn’t in a contract with Cedric, nothing would have happened past their brief flirtation. Maybe one day he’d see Raul again when they were both in a position to take their interaction beyond a five-minute conversation. That would be nice. With a smile on his lips, Ji-Su fell asleep imagining it.
Chapter 2
“On me! On me! I’m being targeted on the west side of the warehouse.” Ji-Su took cover as on the monitor, the opposing team tried to eliminate him. The game play on this level of Delta Combat Force was fast-paced and absolutely unforgiving. If you weren’t quick and skilled enough to keep up, you’d be eliminated before you could blink. It had taken hundreds of hours of practice to get to this stage as a gamer, where he could go up against some of the top players in the world.
“We’ve got your six,” Lawrence assured him.
“I see the sniper,” Iesha said low and focused. “I’m taking him out.”
After Iesha took out the sniper, Ji-Su rose from his hiding spot and threw a grenade to blast the enemy blocking their path forward.
“Yes!” Iesha cheered.
Lawrence whistled. “Right on target. That’s how a real team gets it done!”
Ji-Su grinned at his teammates’ celebration. He’d started to move forward when someone knocked on his bedroom door. “Come in!” he called out while he continued to play. The door opened and Ji-Su cast a quick glance over his shoulder to see the head servant standing in the doorway.
“Master Cedric requests that you join him in the living room at this time for his feeding.”
Ji-Su frowned. “He knows it’s my practice time with my team, right?”
“He is aware. However, this is the hour that works best for him.”
Ji-Su clenched his jaw in annoyance. He always gave Cedric plenty of advance notice for his gaming and streaming schedule so that he could plan his feeding needs around it. But it never worked out that way. The vampire always seemed to need to feed when he was busy. “Fine. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“I’ll let him know.” The servant bowed and closed the door.