Silver Flash

We’ve got virgins, bling-bling, and really, really short stories. . .It must be time for the Silver Flash!

This week the prompt was three items: highlighter, hourglass, coffee mug

Marek and Brody’s story continues . . .

Broken Promise, IX

Narrow slashes criss-crossed the Hunter’s chest and face as if some wild animal with cruelly sharp claws had been at him. Marek’s face froze into a smooth, neutral mask. “There will come a day brother, when your hourglass with me has run out.”

That the Hunter was hurt didn’t seem important to Marek. It was obvious that Julian doing it without his permission mattered far more. Brody reminded himself that Marek was king of vampires, as in not human.

“I’ll leave him where you can find him.” Julian’s sleek, muscled body faded into the dark.

“Is the Hunter dead?” Brody said.

“My brother has his own way of doing things,” Marek said thoughtfully. “Remember that. His ways are not my ways.”

Greyson had stopped the truck in front of narrow steps leading up to Marek’s front door. Walls rose on either side of the stone staircase, making it look like an angled tunnel. Two guards stood at the top. They were naked to the waist and all muscle. Even standing still, their eyes straight ahead, there was no question they would die protecting Marek.

Brody slipped by them the way he always did—as close to Marek as he could. Inside, just to the left was a winding staircase that led up to the second level where Julian lived, and beyond that to Marek’s rooms.

“I would ask that you go up to my rooms with Greyson,” Marek said.

When Marek fell into his ‘king’ talk, he was desperately trying not to give Brody orders. Being the vampire king’s mate was hard work. And Brody tried, he really did, but tonight there was no way he could be the brave mate who sacrificed for his lover. He folded himself into Marek’s arms and said quietly, “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Marek ran a gentle hand through Brody’s hair. “Will you wait in another room with Greyson? I won’t be far.”

Hard as he tried, Brody couldn’t get the Hunter’s limp, blood-streaked body out of his mind. “What did you mean Julian’s ways aren’t yours?”

Julian eased out of the darkness, moving with the stealth of a seasoned assassin. “I got rid of the paperwork and your lap top and the highlighters and all the other bullshit you don’t need. He’s on your desk,” he said. “Sand’s falling, brother. You need to make a decision.”

Among themselves, vampires measured time by falling sand in hourglasses. Turning so he shielded Brody with his body, Marek said, “Leave my presence.”

“You’re welcome,” Julian said, and stalked past them to the door. It banged shut behind him hard enough to jangle Brody’s ragged nerves.

In the moment of silence that followed, the shadows seemed to grow deeper. 

“Greyson?”

The half-breed had been waiting on the steps. “You want me to send him flowers and a make-up note?”

“See to it my brother and his warriors are paid for their work tonight,” Marek said.

“I’d send him silver from the coffee mug that used to be on your desk, but it’s all over the floor in pieces,” Greyson said, “real little pieces.”

Marek gave him a withering look and opened his mouth to say something. But his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, eyed the caller ID and said, “What is it, Julian?”

***KINDLE Contest!***
Just for today, if you leave a comment *AND* follow my  blog, I'll enter you in the *KINDLE* contest. New followers: Be sure your comment includes "I'm In To Win"!

Flashers on stage this week are:

Julie Hayes (m/m)

Pia Veleno (m/m) <<virgin!!

Victoria Blisse (m/f)

Heather Lin (m/f)

Lily Sawyer (m/m)

Sui Lynn (m/m)

L. M. Brown (m/m)

RJ Scott (m/m)

Lindsay Klug (m/f)

Pender Mackie (m/m)

Diane Adams (m/m)

Silver Flash

Here we are again for the Silver Flash!

Come on in and a read a bit.

This week's prompt is. . . "It was 4 am and . . . "

Marek and Brody's story continue. . .

Broken Promise, VIII

Marek called it a road. Brody called that a joke. Trees crowded near on either side of the rocky dirt path. Up ahead was the fortress Marek called a house.

Greyson stopped. A tall iron gate loomed over them, its black horizontal bars fatter than light poles. Marek pulled out his phone, speed-dialed and spoke in what Brody knew was the Old Tongue. A few seconds later, the gate parted in utter silence and revealed thin jagged teeth-like projections. Brody was sure those steel jaws could snap shut any second. Anything that wasn’t out of the way fast enough would have to be flossed out.

He hated this part the most. They were trapped between two gates, the one behind them, and its twin in front of them. Red light probed the truck, leaking through the windows like pale blood. Marek said they were ‘sniffers’. If something smelled wrong, a few thousand volts would fly. Instant barbecue in a box.

“No need to be afraid.” Marek drew Brody into his arms, smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead. “You’ve had very long nights, my little heart. It would please me if you went up to my rooms when we go inside.”

That was Marek’s way of saying he didn’t want Brody to see what Julian might do to the Hunter. But it was 4 A.M. and no, Brody was most definitely not going upstairs in the vampire king’s house. What Marek called his rooms was the entire third floor. No electric light. No windows. It was shadowy, creepy and too damn dark. After sleeping under a bed, waking up to Greyson and his personal arsenal and then getting trapped in a circle of vampires armed to the fangs, no way.

“I’m staying with you,” Brody said. “I know it’s vampire business. But I’m not going up there without you. Not tonight.”

The look that came over Marek’s face always tickled Brody. The king of vampires wasn’t used to hearing no. “I’ll send Greyson with you,” he said.

Brody put on a puzzled expression. “I’m thinking but . . . no . . . I don’t remember saying I wouldn’t go without Greyson. Do you?” He leaned into Marek’s unyielding body, and let the tension flow out of him. Somehow when Marek was near, everything was right with his world. “And anyway, you feel too good.”

“I can feel much better.” Marek tilted Brody’s head back for a kiss. ”Do you want to know what I’ll do to you when I go up there and find you naked in my bed?”

Oh yeah. Brody wanted to know that almost as much as he wanted Marek’s kiss to last roughly forever. Greyson got the truck moving, but Brody barely noticed because Marek pulled him onto his lap, and kissed down the side of his neck. “I’ll make you say my name all day long,” he whispered.

Writhing on his lap, Brody undid Marek’s shirt and ran his fingers over his hard chest, down to his ridged belly. God. He wanted more. A whole lot more. Giving into the feverish need firing through him, Brody said, “You won’t take long?”

“Knowing you’re waiting for me? Naked between my sheets?” he said. “No. Such beauty and pleasure is meant to be enjoyed.” He kissed Brody. “Again.” Another kiss. “And again.”

His arms around Marek’s neck, Brody yielded to his mate’s sweet, tender kisses, and would have given in completely if not for the shadow that fell over them.

Greyson must have powered the window down. A blast of cold air made Brody press closer to Marek.

“He’s healthy.” The Hunter’s body was draped over Julian’s arms. His hard, unforgiving eyes were on his brother. “Just lost a little blood is all.”

EXTRA! EXTRA! 
Just two days to the release of Warrior Angel, Heart's Desire. . . and my biggest contest ever starts on my release date, March 26th!

Trailer Contest: Warrior Angel, Heart's Desire is in a contest on You Gotta Read Videos. Stop by and vote for your favorite.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. . . .

Flashers on stage this week are . . .  

MM

• LM Brown
• Lily Sawyer
• R J Scott.co.uk
• Sui Lynn
• Pender Mackie
• Julie Lynn Hayes
• Ryssa Edwards
• Pia Valeno

MF

• Lindsay Kleug
• Victoria Blisse

Silver Flash

It’s time for . . . the Silver Flash!

What do a playground, a pier and a diamond have in common?

Those three words were the prompt items for this week. Read on to find out how the Silver Flashers put them together.

And a special shout out to Reese Dante for designing our awesome Silver Flash badge artwork. . . thanks Reese!

Broken Promise, VI

The three trucks barreling through the snow were big enough to be tanks. The circle of Hunter vampires broke like water in the wake of speed boats. Julian’s phone rang.

“We’re out of gas,” he said. “And you’re late.”

The trucks came straight for them. They skidded to a stop an inch too close for Brody’s comfort. Suddenly they were surrounded in a ring of impassable steel. Doors opened and slammed shut. Warriors dropped to the ground in a crouch, knives and short swords in their hands. The wind whipped their long hair around their hulking bodies. Four of them took up positions in a circle around the truck, facing outward, long curved knives in their hands.

Greyson reached for his door, but Julian stopped him. “No. I’ll check the tank. Be ready to go.”

He was out and moving almost before the last word was out of his mouth, then Brody felt something sliding under the truck. In seconds, Julian was up and running. A warrior met him halfway and tossed him a red plastic gasoline container. Whatever else he might be, Julian was all business when it came to defending his brother. He moved so fast he was a blur, then he was banging on the window and signaling Greyson, two thumbs up.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, and met Marek’s eyes. “Boss?”

Marek opened his door, but Julian was there, blocking his way. “My men say the Hunters want you to talk to them.” He looked away before he said, “They feel safer talking if you stay in the truck.”

“They trust mercenaries, but not their leader?”

Julian didn’t roll his eyes, but it was close. “You giving an audience or not?”

Brody shivered in the frigid air blasting in through the open door.

“Greyson,” Marek said. “The heat. It’s too cold for him.”

The truck started with a throaty roar and Brody leaned between the seats, grateful for the warm air blowing against his face.

Marek ran his fingers through Brody’s hair and turned to face his brother. “Bring the Hunter. I agree to remain inside the truck until the talking is done.”

Julian nodded over his shoulder. One of his mercenaries came out of the snow. His blonde hair flew in the wind. His blue eyes were hard and cold as diamonds glinting in sunlight. He threw a vampire to his knees. The Hunter landed between Marek and Julian.

“What do you ask?” Marek said.

“We have no voice in your counsels. Our needs go unanswered,” the vampire said. “We had no choice. You wouldn’t listen.”

“So you lure us onto your playground with knives and threats?” Marek said.

Brody didn’t know if the snow felt cold to the vampire on his knees, but he looked uncomfortable. And scared. Like a man heading for a long walk off a short pier. “We meant no disrespect,” the Hunter said.

“If it was me,” Julian said, “I’d be telling him what I’m asking for. He’s about two seconds from taking off your head and starting in on the others.”

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Julian. If you think Julian should get his own story, leave a comment and let me know. That way Julian’s alligator at the door won’t think you’re snack food on the way out. . . kidding. Sort of.

Silver Flashers on stage this week are . . .

Julie Hayes (M/M)

Diane Adams (M/M)

Lindsay Klug (M/F)  (!!flash virgin!!)

RJ Scott (M/M)

Lily Sawyer (M/M)

Sui Lynn (M/M)

Pender Mackie (M/M)

Victoria Blisse (M/F)

Heather Lin (M/F)

Silver Flash

We’ve been hard at work to bring you bling-bling, virgins, bite size fiction and big time fun!

Welcome to the Silver Flash . . . .

The prompt this week is, “There’s only one way out of this . . .”

Marek and Brody’s story continues . . . 

Broken Promise, V

They’d been driving for less than half an hour when Greyson started cursing in a low monotone that would have made a sailor sound like Mother Goose.

“I thought you checked the engine,” Marek said, barely holding back the rage behind his words.

The truck stalled out, leaving them in eerily silent falling snow. “It’s not the engine,” Greyson said. “We’re out of gas.”

In a perfectly even voice Marek said, “Have you betrayed us?”

“Yeah.” Grayson jammed the gear stick into Park. “I always wanted to freeze to death in the snow after two pissed off vampires ripped out my guts.”

The swirling white beyond the windows grew faint shadows. Men moved toward the truck like hunters stalking prey. In their hands, steel glinted in the rays of the full moon’s light. They had to be vampires because Brody didn’t see any coats. Some of them were shirtless, their muscled bodies bared to the blowing  snow.

“There’s only one way out of this . . .  ” Julian said.

But Marek cut off his brother before he could finish. “I won’t bargain with them.”

“I’m not after a bargain,” Julian said, his grim eyes on the wide circle of vampires. “I’ll settle for not waking up staked in the sun.”

“Shouldn’t they be attacking?” Brody said. The Hunters weren’t closing in. They stood utterly still, unmoved by the wind, undaunted by the numbing cold that was creeping into the metal cab of the truck.

“It’s one thing to defy me,” Marek said. “Even challenge me to battle.” Brody barely stopped himself from flinching at the dark fury on Marek’s hard face. He was all warrior. The lover who held him tight and whispered his name just before he came was gone.  “It’s another to offer harm to my mate.”

The circle of vampires seemed ready to wait forever. Cold air seeped into the truck, stealing through secret places. “They won’t hurt me?” Brody said, wondering how he’d ended up in the middle of a vampire battle. “I mean, I don’t smell like barbecue on the grill to them or anything do I?”

“They can’t,” Julian said. “Other Hunters would go after them. It’s against our Ways.”

Brody moved fast. “Then I go first.” He unlocked his door, and even there, about to risk his life, he took a secret delight in saying to Marek, “Big bad vampires stay behind me. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Good one,” Julian said, before Brody even saw Marek move.

Marek lunged across Brody and slammed down the lock on his door. “Sometimes you act as though you had as much sense as my brother.”

“He means that in a good way,” Julian said.

Marek shot him a narrow look. “Where are your warriors?”

“Late.”

Beside Brody, Marek’s face slipped into something less than human, as if a beast lurked just under his skin. Brody didn’t think he needed any mercenary warriors. He looked fierce enough to take on all the Hunters by himself. “If this is one of your games, brother, I’ll fly you to the Sahara and stake you in the dunes.”

Eyes closed, his head against the backrest, Julian said in a low, unhurried voice, “With or without sunscreen?”

Silver Flashers on stage this week are. . .

Julie Hayes (M/M)

Diane Adams (M/M)

RJ Scott (M/M)

Lily Sawyer (M/M) <<flash virgin!!>>

Sui Lynn (M/M)

L. M. Brown (M/M) <<flash virgin!!>>

Pender Mackie (M/M)

Victoria Blisse (M/F)

Silver Flash

Hey!  You're back for Silver Flash #4!


Come on in, and get flashed. . .
This week's prompt is, "I've got a bad feeling about it this time."

Brody and Marek's story continue . . .

Broken Promise, IV

The sun had been down for an hour. Greyson was outside, standing guard. Julian was checking the black-bladed knives strapped across his chest.

“You can hardly see those,” Brody said.

Julian glanced up at him. “Can’t see them at all in the dark.”

There was an amused glint in Julian’s eyes that said he wanted to scare Brody. But after watching Greyson tote in enough weapons to start a private war, Brody was beyond scared. “Why do you need knives no one can see?” he said.

“Night work,” Julian said quietly, adjusting knives that could cut down a man in seconds.

“Come,” Marek held out a harness to Brody. “Help me.”

“You’re letting a human arm you for battle?” Julian was at his brother’s side in an instant. “No.”

Marek stood up to his full height, his hard eyes boring into Julian. “Stand aside. It’s time my mate learned our ways.”

Brody, who thought Julian had a point, said, “I don’t know anything about knives.”

“I’ll teach you.”

Marek guided Brody through buckling the complicated harness under his arms, across his back, and over his chest. With each guiding of the heavy duty leather around his big body, Marek stole quick kisses, caressed Brody, soothed away his fear.

“Julian will be angry with me for losing his knives,” Marek said.

 “They wouldn’t get lost if you didn’t throw them away.” Julian was going through the black duffel bag Greyson had brought in from the car.  “Here. Try to hold onto them.”

“Take them, Brody,” Marek said.

After a moment’s hesitation, Brody let Julian fill his hands with small, neatly packed throwing knives. Marek slid them into his harness, criss-crossing his broad chest with metal teeth. When he was done, he took Brody’s shaking hands and kissed his palms. “My sword is in the bag. Bring it to me.”

Brody, who’d never handled so many weapons in his life, brought the thick short sword, but he balked when Marek turned his back. “What if I don’t get it in the sheath right?”

“Then I could get injured or die,” Marek said. “All of our lives depend on each other tonight.”

“Just slide it in real slow,” Julian said, “watch your fingers.”

Brody could hear in Julian’s voice how badly he itched to arm his brother himself, the way he’d probably done for centuries. This was Julian’s way of accepting him into the family clan of warriors.

His hands shaking, Brody slid the heavy sword into the sheath, sure he would either gut Marek from behind or cut off his own fingers, or both. But the sword slid into the worn leather with a whisper.

“Time for us to be on the move.” Marek took Brody’s hand. “If anything happens to me, go with my brother.”

“But - -”

“Don’t worry,” Julian said with a slow wink. “I take care of stuff I inherit.” He shrugged into his heavy leather duster and caught Marek’s eye. "I've got a bad feeling about it this time.”

“You always have bad feelings before battle.” Marek slipped thin gloves over his big hands. “And your mercenaries always win.”

“Something’s not right.”

Marek gathered the duffle bag from the floor. Metal clanked heavily inside. “You may be right for once,” he said. “Their scouts should be close by now.”

From just beyond the door, there came the sound of low snarls, then a body thudding to the floor, then a groan of pain. Greyson opened the door as calmly as if he were bringing room service. His face was smeared with blood. “If we’re going,” he said. “Now’s a good time.”

Silver Flashers on stage today are . . .  

Julie Hayes
Victoria Blisse
Sui Lynn
RJ Scott
Diane Adams
Pender Mackie

Leave a comment, feed a writer.
 Just kidding about the feeding part. . . sort of.

Silver Flash

You made it to this week's Flash! Come on in and read a story or two or three!

The prompt this week was "“Funny how your eyes always look away when you say that" . . . .

Marek and Brody's story continue . . .

Broken Promise, III

Curled close to Marek’s stiff body, Brody lay awake in shadowy darkness. Marek had refused to take refuge in the closet, where Julian was sleeping. They’d moved the bed so sunlight couldn’t intrude into the safe darkness underneath.

“Come on out from under there, Brody.”

Brody rolled out from under the bed so fast, he banged his head on the cheap frame. He hadn’t heard the door open. Backing into the wall, he looked up at the stranger. He was wearing faded jeans, a bulky black sweater, and silvery gray boots polished to a shine. Melting snow made puddles around his feet.

“Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Marek’s half-breed,” he said, as if that explained something. “Brought you some food.”

“You’re his what?”

The stranger set a greasy white paper bag, innocent of golden arches or Wendy’s smiling face, on the iron radiator. “Half vampire, half human. Name’s Greyson. Been looking after their royal majesties for going on a hundred ninety six years now.”

Brody pushed himself slowly up the wall, not taking his eyes off Greyson. His body was heavy with muscle, and he moved like a warrior. “Marek didn’t tell me about you,” Brody said.

“He’s got a few hundred years on you,” Greyson said. “Must be a load of things he didn’t tell you yet.”

The tempting smell of fries and a greasy burger came from the bag. Brody was starving. He eased around Greyson, snagged the bag and unwrapped the burger. “How’d you get up here in the storm?”

“Drive.”

Alarms went off in Brody’s head. “Marek and Julian couldn’t see enough to drive, how did you do it?”

“They wouldn’t keep going with you in the truck. They can walk away from a wreck. You can’t.”

“Can you?”

“I’m half-breed,” Greyson said.

“Funny how your eyes always look away when you say that,” Brody said, taking a bite of the burger.

“No one cares if I get in a wreck coming up here,” Greyson said. “I come when they call, or they hunt me and kill me.”

Brody remembered Marek taking shelter in the last bit of dark just before sunrise, talking urgently into his cell phone. “You’re the one he called?”

“Finish eating.” Greyson was bent over the shabby desk, searching through drawers. He pulled out a beat up deck of cards. "Then you go back under the bed and I play solitaire till sundown.”

Brody ran his eyes over the bulges under Greyson’s sweater.  That wasn’t just muscle. “You always pack an arsenal?” he said.

“No. Just when I’m working.” Greyson turned in a slow circle, taking in the shattered chair, the closet, the bed pushed up against the wall. “Can’t defend anything in here,” he muttered. “Not a goddamn thing.”  

“Are the Hunters coming?”

“Trouble’s coming,” Greyson said, his eyes on the blowing snow beyond the window. “We’ll be on the move tonight, and it won’t be a smooth ride. Best if you get some rest.”

Brody finished the burger, slipped under the bed and laid his head against Marek’s cool chest. There was no soothing heartbeat, only the comforting bulk of his mate’s cool body and the memory of Marek’s promise to love him forever.

For more bite size fiction and big time fun, check out these Silver Flashers...

 Julie Hayes

Diane Adams

Sui  

Victoria Blisse

RJ Scott
 

Silver Flash

It's Wednesday, and we're getting our Flash on!

This week's prompt is "The hotel was $19.99 for a reason. And you were there for reasons of your own ... but not the kind everyone might think." I got a lot of requests to continue Marek and Brody’s story, so here it is . . .

Broken Promise, II

With a blizzard lashing snow against the window, and the sun just below the horizon, the closet was my only hope.

“You will tell me,” Marek said. He gripped Julian’s hair so hard, I was sure I’d see blood at the roots. “Or I will make your eternal life a nightmare.”

Between clenched teeth, Julian said, “You’re too late for that party. Get off me.”

With a casual toss, Marek threw Julian across the room, sending him crashing into a paper thin wall. Someone thumped on the other side of the wall and cursed in muffled tones.

Julian got up, shook off plaster, and moved past his brother to the tiny window where the storm was rattling the glass.

It was definitely lighter outside. I went over to the closet, opened it, and peered inside. Barely big enough.

I closed the door, leaned against it, and eyed both vampires.  They were as far from each other as they could get in the small room. There was no way to tell they were brothers. Julian’s blonde hair was low to his scalp in a military cut that emphasized his blue eyes and his high cheekbones. In his worn black leather jacket, with blood trickling from his lips, he could have been a biker after a long night drinking and brawling.

Marek’s black hair fell past his wide shoulders, straggling around his face from the fight. His floor length leather duster did nothing to hide his muscled, harder than stone body.

 “Are you two planning on killing each other or are you just going to stand around and melt in the sun?” I said.

“Brody, this - -”

I finished for Marek. “Is none of my concern,” I said. “Yeah. I know. But I’m caught in a blizzard in a $19.99 a night hotel in the middle of nowhere with two pissed off vampires. One of you is the man I love.” I met Marek’s eyes. “And the sun’s about to rise. So answer my question.”

Julian eased down on a rickety wooden chair and put his booted feet up on a table that wobbled under the weight. “I was thinking I’d wait till the storm got so bad, we’ll be snowed in till next March, then I could stake my brother and put his body in deep freeze outside.”

Marek crossed the room in a second, his teeth bared, growling. He smashed his fist into his brother’s chest, driving him to the floor, shattering the wooden chair to splinters. “You take the fate of our people as a joke. For centuries, I have allowed it.”

 “You worry too much, brother.” Julian pushed himself up and brushed off dust.

“And you,” Marek said, “worry too little.”

“It’s just a Hunter uprising. “ Julian was back at the window, his eyes on the snow. “My warriors are trained, armed, blooded. What do you think can go wrong?”

“You expect me to trust your band of mercenaries?”

“Doesn’t look to me like you have a choice,” Julian said quietly.

None of this made sense. Barely two weeks ago Marek had swept me into his arms, carried me all the way home, and marked me as his mate. Now he was at war.

I didn’t know who the Hunters were or why they wanted a fight, but I knew the sky was getting too light too fast. I eyed the closet. If they squeezed in, they would both fit. I could stuff sheets and towels along the bottom to keep out the light. But I had no idea how I’d get them in there.


For more bite size fiction and big time fun, check out these Silver Flashers:

Julie Hayes
RJ Scott

Silver Flash

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for the Silver Flashers to get our flash on!

This week's prompt is, "All right, all right, you can come over . . . but only if you promise to behave."

Thanks to Her Awesomeness Reese Dante for our Silver badge.

I call this one . . .

Broken Promise

The burned out house behind Marek was all sharp angles and deep shadows.

All right, all right, you can come over . . . but only if you promise to behave.

Marek had promised. But he had not behaved. He had been brutal.

Tonight, hoping for a fight before he brought down his prey, he prowled dark alleys where only the lowest mortals lingered. The moonlight felt wrong. The mild air rubbed his skin raw. He swept a savage kick through a pile of fallen bricks. Clouds of shattered stone rose up to the night sky.

A low voice said behind him, “You should go easier on your boots.”

Marek spun around. Arms straight out, fangs bared, fingers clenched into deadly claws, he charged down the narrow alley, bearing down on the intruder, aching to rip and tear and feed.

“Yeah. Come on.” The voice was slow, fearless. “Bite me again. You left in a hurry last night.”

Brody. It was Brody. Marek skidded to a stop so quickly, his feet scraped a trail of grey dirt and white pebbles. Death’s heart, he’d almost ripped out his lover’s throat. No. After what he’d done, Brody was his ex-lover.  “What are you doing here?”

“Your coffin was empty,” Brody said. A crooked smile lit his face.

Marek had seen himself through the eyes of mortals. When he stalked them, they saw the muscled body of a warrior bred to kill, well over six feet tall, black hair streaming around a hard face, red eyes rimmed with blood. Tonight, Brody had seen him at his worst, but still he reached for Marek’s cold hand.

“This is my hunting ground.” Marek couldn’t bring himself to pull away from Brody’s warm touch. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Walk with me,” Brody said. “Keep me safe.”

“After our first night in your bed,” Marek said, his voice low and hesitant, as he’d never heard it, “you believe I’m the one to walk you to safety?”

“Why not?”

 Marek looked down at Brody. The stars overhead twinkled in his grey-green eyes, tiny lights of amusement. “You play with your life, little mortal.”

“Don’t threaten me, vampire,” Brody said. “I know where you keep your coffin.”

Marek ran his fingers through Brody’s light brown hair, and pulled him even closer. “And you know where I keep my heart.”

“Is that what you call it?” Brody moved his hand between Marek’s legs. “It’s swollen and hard, just the way I like it.”

His eyes on the twin marks in Brody’s neck, Marek untangled himself. “Don’t,” he said. “I hurt you.”

“I let you.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Marek said, turning his back.

Brody tugged viciously on Marek’s wrist, igniting his warrior urge to finish what he'd started last night and mark Brody as his own. “You should go,” Marek said thickly, “or I may break my promise to you. Again.”

"I make my own decisions," Brody said. “I might be only twenty three, and you might be five hundred but - -”

“Four hundred and eighty seven,” Marek said, turning, touching Brody’s soft lips. “But until this night, I’ve never lived.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Kissing down the side of Brody’s neck, licking at the wounds he’d left, Marek murmured, “Apologies, my little heart. Speak.”

“Break your promise again,” Brody said, his eyes half closed, his arms around Marek’s neck. “Take me home and break it every way you know how.”

Marek scooped Brody into his strong arms and ran through deserted city streets, streaking through darkness, holding the only being he’d ever loved as he would have held the finest, purest crystal.

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