Chapter 7

Luc had never been so happy or content. The dinner had been wonderful. It
wasn’t just the fact that the food had been delicious; it was the fact that his
companion had turned the meal into a real pleasant and laugh filled time.

By the time they had moved into their light conversation into another room, Luc
was ready to get down to business. He had so many questions that he felt he was
going to burst with curiosity soon. It was so bad that Luc cut Jerrod off in
the middle of a sentence to blurt out. “Tell me why you don’t eat.”

Jerrod gaped like a fish for a moment before blinking, then laughing. “Are you
dying of curiosity?”

Luc only nodded and sat on the edge of the couch. “Then I want to know why
those twins kept giving me the evil eye, and more about your family, how long
has this wonderful house been in your family, and what do you do for a living,
and why…”

Jerrod held up his hands in surrender and laughed again. “Whoa.”

Shaking his head, a large smile on his face, Jerrod sat next to Luc. “I did
promise you we would talk tonight, and I always keep my promises.”

Sighing, Jerrod’s smile slowly faded. “The only problem I have is the fact that
I’m…well, I’m scared.”

That made Luc’s eyes widen in shock. “Scared? Of what?”

Looking into Luc’s eyes, Jerrod whispered, “Your reaction.”

Luc cocked his head to the side and searched Jerrod’s face for a moment. Jerrod
was serious. The man practically radiated with his nervousness.

Giving his companion a small smile, Luc laid his hand on top of one of
Jerrod’s. “I can’t promise you anything about my reaction since I have no idea
what you are going to tell me, but I can promise you this…” Taking a deep
breath, he slowly let it out and looked Jerrod directly in the eyes. “I will
listen and keep an open mind. I am not a judge and jury. I am your friend.”

Jerrod’s lips quirked upward into a small smirk. “Well I hope you will be more
than just a friend, but we’ll see.”

Turning his hand over to wrap his fingers around Luc’s, Jerrod spoke softly,
but firmly. “I am a vampire. I have owned this property for hundreds of years.”

Luc’s eyes widened almost comically, but he said nothing. Jerrod swallowed
nervously and continued, “A lot of what books say about my race is not correct,
but they are correct about us needing blood to survive. That’s why you don’t
see me eat. I can eat small amounts when I need to keep up appearances, but too
much can be very uncomfortable. We don’t, however, need to destroy anyone to
feed. And we will stop any of our kind that turn into the type of being your
books do describe.”

Pausing, Jerrod looked at Luc closely. “You look like you have a question.”

Luc nodded slowly, “Your race? How many and how long have vampires existed.”

Jerrod shrugged. “Probably as long as human’s have.”

“Is that why you approached me? You wanted to feed off me?”

“No!” Shaking his head violently, Jerrod softened his tone. “No, Luc. I
cancelled my plans to leave this country when I saw you at the airport. I was
weary of trying to find something that probably didn’t even exist. I was hoping
I would have better luck in a new country.” Raising his eyes to look at Luc
earnestly, Jerrod spoke almost reverently. “And then I saw you. I felt
something connect when you smiled at me. It’s strong and…wonderful. It’s
something I’ve only heard of but have never felt. And I wanted…no, I needed to
find out more.”

Luc edged closer to Jerrod. “So, you are saying that I haven’t been imagining
this bond between us. You feel it too?”

Luc’s movement didn’t go unnoticed and Jerrod licked his lips nervously. “Oh
yes. I definitely feel it too.”

Luc didn’t know why he believed Jerrod. He should have been laughing and
calling the man a liar. But he knew it to be true. How? That he didn’t know,
but he did know that he wanted to learn more.

Moving again, Luc nestled up against Jerrod and smiled. “So what do we do now?
How do we learn what this means?”

Jerrod closed his eyes and inhaled Luc’s unique scent before answering. “We can
make love and see what happens. If this bond is what I think it is, we will
know for sure afterwards.”

“Okay.”

Jerrod’s eyes shot open and he looked at Luc in amazement. “Okay?”

Luc chuckled. “Yes. Okay. I feel something. You feel something. I knew in my
heart that we would end up in bed together and I know you’ve been planning on
making that happen sooner or later. So, why wait?”

Jerrod abruptly stood up, then leaned over and picked Luc up off the couch.
Grabbing Jerrod’s shoulders to keep himself steady, Luc laughed. “In a hurry?”

Jerrod grinned down at his soon to be lover and, hopefully, eternal
mate. “Let’s just say that I don’t want you to task your heart by going up the
stairs. I want to save all your energy for me.”

Not wasting anymore time, Jerrod headed up the stairs to his room. Luc took the
opportunity to nuzzle the side of Jerrod’s neck, nipping and kissing it
alternatively.

Although he was enjoying the sensation, Jerrod finally growled, “If you don’t
stop that, we won’t make it to the bedroom.”

Hearing the laugh muffled against the side of his neck, Jerrod grinned. He
only raised an eyebrow when he saw Heath standing at his bedroom door holding
it open, then chuckled when he noticed that the lighting had been turned down
low and his covers were pulled down in readiness.

Hearing the locking of his door, Jerrod made a note to let Heath know how much
he was appreciated and laid his precious burden down on red satin sheets.

Keeping his arms wound around Jerrod’s neck, Luc pulled the vampire down so
their lips could meet for the first time. He wasn’t sure if the soft moan he
heard was his or Jerrod’s, but he didn’t really care. If he had his way, they
would both be making more of such noises real soon.