Chapter Eleven

“ B astard,” Key muttered to himself as he scrubbed at his skin, trying to wash every tiny trace of Kelvin away. The man knew how to fuck, knew how to make Key have the best orgasms in his life, but beyond that, he was a bastard. And worse? Key missed him already.

“Bastard,” Key muttered again.

Once he was clean, Key switched the shower off and stepped out, grabbing a towel and scrubbing his body dry. He went back into his bedroom and saw the rumpled state of his bed and set about stripping it. Wasn’t having those sheets on with his scent all over them. Nope. He was having nothing to remind him of what had happened.

One problem.

He could feel Kelvin. There was no other way to describe it. It was like a sensation at the back of his head, a low murmuring in his ears but not his ears but also in his head. It was confusing and felt like some form of violation, knowing Kelvin could probably hear his thoughts.

You fucking bastard!

That will teach him. Key chuckled to himself and, grabbing the sheets, stormed into the kitchen, shoving them straight into the washing machine. Out of sight and all that. He went back to the bedroom and grabbed some sweats, pulling them on, then realized something.

The time and the date.

“Fuck.” He should be at work, and he had no idea what Kelvin had told them. Gritting his teeth, he turned to get his phone when Kelvin appeared. Screaming, Key almost fell back on the floor. “Wear a fucking bell next time. No, no next time. Fuck off!”

“They can scent we’ve mated.” Kelvin held his hand out for Key but he knocked it away and stood.

“What?”

“Our scents have merged together, so any vampire will know.”

“And this didn’t occur to you before you did the unwanted mating part?” What the fuck? What was it with this guy, er, vampire? Whatever.

“I didn’t know,” Kelvin mumbled.

Key stared at him. “What?”

“I said I didn’t. It doesn’t happen when two vampires mate, so it never occurred to me it would happen now.”

Could this already shitty situation get any worse? Knowing his luck, yes, it could. “Why me?”

“I’m truly sorry.”

Key glared at him, then looked away because he could feel that Kelvin meant what he said. He was sorry, and Key wanted to be angry with him, but feeling Kelvin’s emotions diffused his own. Sighing heavily, Key sat on the bed and stared at the floor.

He ignored Kelvin when he sat next to him. He probably didn’t have to speak. Kelvin would know already. This situation was so fucked up. Key rubbed his chest, feeling his heart rate pick up. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

When Kelvin rubbed his back, Key let him, then stood and turned to face him. Being angry wasn’t going to fix this. He needed to accept what had happened and deal with it. He could be pissed at Kelvin later. “What now?”

Kelvin’s eyes flickered over his and he nodded. “I need to find a safe place for you.”

No, he was staying right where he was. “Here. This is my home and I’m not leaving it. Do what you need to do to beef up security, but I’m not leaving.”

“Key—”

“No.” Key wasn’t leaving at all, and the sooner Kelvin understood that, the quicker this conversation could move along to the next issue. “My home and I’m staying.”

Kelvin exhaled heavily and Key resisted the urge to say something, but going by the look on Kelvin’s face, he’d ‘heard’ him. “I can have Gray come over and improve security here. We’re talking about sensors and CCTV in the apartment.”

“Fine. Not the bedroom or bathroom, though. I want some privacy.” Kelvin nodded and pulled out his phone. Key listened to the conversation and when Kelvin hung up, he asked, “Tonight?”

“Yeah, he isn’t working, so he can come over and sort security out.”

“He knows?”

“He scented the changes and told me.”

Key froze, his body stilling. “Will he tell anyone?”

“No. I trust him.”

“You might, but I don’t know him, so why should I trust him with my life?”

“What more do you want? You won’t leave, so I’m doing the next best thing. He’s the go-to guy for anything like this, and I know he won’t say anything. He’s known about you for some time and kept quiet. He won’t tell anyone.”

That made Key stop talking. Kelvin was right. He was demanding, and Kelvin was doing his best to meet those demands. Didn’t mean Key had to like the man. Vampire. Fuck, his head hurt and he wanted to sleep this all away. Why couldn’t this be some strange dream he could wake up from? Why did this have to happen to him, and what will Dad say when he tells him?

“You can’t,” Kelvin murmured.

Key slowly looked at Kelvin. “I will tell him and you can’t stop me. He’s my dad and I won’t lie to him.”

“He can’t know.”

“Why? Come on. Tell me why I can’t tell my dad?”

“You know we live longer than humans. Centuries to your decades. Now we’ve mated, you have enhanced longevity. You won’t age and he’ll notice. You have to disappear from his life.”

“And you can get fucked.” Key surged up and paced the floor. “I’m not going to grow old? That’s great, but I have to leave my dad and never see him again? No chance that’s happening. I will tell him. I’m not going to leave him and watch him grow older and then die on his own, thinking he’s lost his only child. We watched Mom die and I won’t do that to him, so you need to figure this out or I walk.” Key moved closer to Kelvin and held his thumb and finger an inch apart. “I’m this close to bailing now, so stop with this bullshit.”

“I can’t change the laws,” Kelvin practically shouted.

“You’ve already broken a pretty fucking important one. What’s one more going to do?”

Kelvin glared at him, then dropped his face into his hands. Key felt a split second of guilt, then trampled the emotion down. Kelvin lifted his head and stared at him. “We will be arrested. I will be placed in solitary confinement as punishment and you will disappear. They won’t kill you, since I would also die, unless they decide what I’ve done merits our execution, and from what I know of our history in dealing with this, that is what they did. If they find out, we’re both dead.”

“I’m so happy to know that. Gee, thanks for telling me. I kinda guessed it would be something like that, but having it spelled out to me is like all my dreams coming true. Thank you. I really mean it. Thanks for letting me know… I’m going to be fucking executed because you couldn’t keep your fangs to yourself!” Key shouted the last part, then spun on the spot, his hands tugging at his hair. “This is fucking fantastic! I’m overwhelmed at how great this is.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Will you stop apologizing?” Key hissed, pointing a finger at him. “It’s done and we’re screwed.”

“Well, you know we could—”

“Do you want a kick in the nuts? Are you for real, suggesting sex right now?”

“We could work out our aggression?” Kelvin grunted when Key punched him. “I take it that’s a no?”

“You know what? Why don’t we? Drop your jeans and let me fuck you.”

Kelvin stood and did what Key asked, and within seconds, Key was staring at Kelvin’s bare ass. He shook his head and took a step back, but could feel his body reacting to what he could see. “What the…?”

“If it will make you feel better, then use me.”

Key almost choked. “Why would I do that?”

Standing, Kelvin pulled his jeans and boxers up and faced Key. “I put us in this position. I will do whatever I need to do to make it up to you.”

“But this?” Key waved a hand at Kelvin. “This isn’t it… shit…” Key closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Yes, this was a bad situation, but Kelvin also faced the same reality if they were found out. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I did get us into this, so I am the one to blame. You have a right to be angry.”

Sitting on the bed, Key didn’t resist the urge to lean into Kelvin when he sat next to him. This was what he wanted to do, and he wasn’t going to fight that feeling then. He needed it. “So, Gray will come and take care of things here. Make it safer.”

“He will, but I’m not sure how long we can stay.”

“What will happen when you go back? Will you have to avoid everyone?”

“I could, or I could challenge the law. No one has done that in so long I can’t even remember.”

“Scary place to be.”

“For both of us.” Kelvin chuckled softly. “I wasn’t going to come to you, but the thought of watching you find someone else, start a life with them, hurt. You’re my mate, the most important person in my life, and I couldn’t have you. I struggled to accept that.”

“And here we are.”

“We are. I thought I could be near you and resist the urge to mate, but I was wrong. Clearly.” Kelvin gave Key a soft smile once he returned. Now that his anger was dissipating, he could feel the bond between them. It was a strange sensation, like a murmur in the back of his head, a presence that wasn’t just him.

He could almost detect Kelvin’s emotions, but they were like whispers in the woods and Key couldn’t quite feel them. He closed his eyes and sighed. When Kelvin put his arm around his shoulders, Key didn’t push it away. For a moment, he needed Kelvin to take his weight while he adjusted.

“What now?”

“Like I said, Gray will come and work his magic and then somehow I need to come up with a plan that allows us both to live and deal with Maxim.”

“Not much then. Only a day’s work.”

Key smiled when Kelvin chuckled. “Easy peasy.”

Yawning, Key slumped back on the bed and closed his eyes. “I’m tired and I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with work yet.”

“You don’t need to be back until tomorrow. Head injuries need time.”

“Can I still work in the human world, and wow, that sounds really weird to say?” Key opened his eyes and glanced at Kelvin, who was frowning at him. “That’s a no, isn’t it?”

“I think over time they would realize you weren’t aging and question it.”

“I like my job. I like working with IT and fixing code.”

“You could work with Gray. He could always do with another pair of hands.”

“The security guy?” Why would Key work security?

“Security covers many areas, and Gray is in charge of it all. Cyber security, CCTV, patrols, tracing rogue vampires.”

“All by himself?”

“He has a team. I’m part of enforcement, so I deal with the rogues and those who break the laws, including myself.”

“You’re gonna arrest yourself and hand yourself in?” Key smiled. “Interesting.”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided, but I know at some point either I deal with this or someone else will. Maxim knows about you, which means he knows who you are to me.”

“You could tell them you mated me to keep me safe or something like that.” Yawning again, Key rolled on to his side and curled up. “Tired.”

“Sleep. I’ll make sure we’re safe.”

“And who will keep you safe?”

Kelvin stood and tugged the covers over Key. “Don’t worry about me. This is what I’m trained for. Sleep.”

Key didn’t argue. He was already asleep.