Chapter Eight

P eachy.

Kelvin liked that one. Better than nut job and fruitcake. He wasn’t sure why he was reacting this way to Key. He didn’t normally behave this way, but there was something about his mate that made him want to have a little fun, even if it made Key annoyed.

Key paced the floor in front of him, glancing at him. Well, glaring at him, really. “Why are you still here?”

“I can’t leave.” Not now that he knew Key was being watched and more. Maxim or one of his vampires would come for Key again at some point. They had to have figured out who or what he was to Kelvin, and even if they didn’t know for sure, they knew Kelvin had an interest in him. Kelvin had painted a target on Key’s back.

“Maxim. Tell me about him.”

Kelvin arched an eyebrow at Key’s question. So he wanted to know now? “Centuries ago –”

“I don’t need a history lesson. Just tell me who he is.”

Kelvin breathed deeply. His mate was fiery, and he liked it, but not right then. “You need to know about the history to understand who Maxim is.”

“Nope. Not interested.”

“Fine. Vampires have split into two factions, and he leads one. They don’t agree with vampire or human laws and consider humans beneath them. They hunt, feed, fuck, and kill any human they want. You are playthings to them.”

“That’s just lovely. Made my day. Thanks. I can sleep easy at night knowing I’m a burger for some hungry vamp.”

“You’re more than that. They might not know what you are to me, but they know I’m interested in you. They’ll come for you again.”

“Thanks. Maybe you should have gone all stalker mode on someone else and left me alone.”

“You’re my mate. There is no one else for me.”

“Buy toys then,” Key snapped. “They work fine.”

Kelvin smiled. “I know. I’ve seen you use them.”

Key spluttered, his eyes almost bulging. “You’ve spied on me? You’ve watched me in bed? Who the fuck do you think you are? You fucking perverted bastard.”

Kelvin moved and Key squeaked. One second he had been standing near the door and the next he was in front of Key, staring down at him. “You are mine,” he growled before grabbing Key’s arms and kissing him.

Key tried to twist away, but Kelvin wasn’t having any of that. He was tired of explaining to Key and he wanted his mate. Months of watching him, waiting, knowing he couldn’t have him, had him at boiling point, and Key had just tipped him over the edge.

Key tried to move his head away, but Kelvin followed, keeping their lips together. After a few seconds, Key’s body began to relax, and he slowly returned the kiss. Kelvin moaned softly, loosening his grip as he slanted his mouth across Key’s.

He licked Key’s lips and Key let Kelvin’s tongue inside. When they touched, Kelvin felt Key shudder and he knew he was as affected as Key was. Their tongues danced together as Kelvin pulled Key closer so their bodies touched. He moaned again, feeling Key against him for the first time, and knew he wanted more.

Key moaned deeply, his hands tangling in Kelvin’s hair, then he suddenly pulled away, staring at Kelvin as he panted. “What?”

“We’re mates,” Kelvin answered as calmly as he could. “This is how it will be with us. The need to be near one another. To kiss. To touch. To fuck.”

He saw Key swallow and Kelvin reached out to him, but Key knocked his hand away. Kelvin could pick up some of his thoughts and he needed to look into it because when vampires mated, this didn’t happen. Key was worried, scared of how his body reacted, but he liked it too, and wanted it again.

Kelvin pulled Key toward him and waited. Key swallowed again, but this time didn’t pull away. Kissing him softly, Kelvin paused and when Key did nothing, he kissed him again.

“I don’t know you,” he captured the murmured words with his lips.

“Your body does. It knows I won’t hurt you unless you ask me to. We’re mates.”

“Mates.” Key kissed him back and sighed. “I should kick you out.”

“You won’t.”

“So sure.” Key pulled his head back and stared at him.

“Sure of you. Of us.” He slid his lips over Key’s again. “One night.”

“One night? I get the feeling that one night wouldn’t be enough.”

“Probably not, but let’s have one night and see where it goes.”

“No biting.” Key stopped moving and shook his head. “Can’t believe I said that.”

“No biting. Promise.” He wanted to, but that would complete their mating and he couldn’t do that. Not with the laws in place. He wouldn’t risk Key that way, and Key was already on Maxim’s radar.

Kelvin’s phone rang, and he was tempted to ignore it, but the ringtone was Gray’s. He moved away from Key, who groaned in frustration, and picked it up. “What?”

“Disturbing you?”

Kelvin looked out of the window to see a shadow on the roof of the building opposite. “Yes, as you can no doubt see.”

“Maxim was here again, so I came out to have a look. The building is tagged.”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“You weren’t meant to. It’s one of those tags that only reacts to a certain type of light. Not sure how long it’s been there, but Key is being monitored, and after the attack, I believe they will come for him. They know what your position is, what you do. A mate is a weakness they will exploit. How much does Key know?”

“Not enough.”

“Tell him everything. He needs to know it all.”

Kelvin glanced at Key over his shoulder, then back at the shadow. “He’s not too responsive.”

“He seemed very responsive a minute ago.”

“And then you called.”

Kelvin heard the chuckle before the call ended and stared as the figure disappeared. Fucking Gray. Turning to face Key, Kelvin ran a hand through his hair. “We should talk.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“I need to tell you about mates and vampires and—”

“Go on then. Ruin the buzz I had going.” Key sat on the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest. “And here I was trying to kick you out. Oh, maybe I should go back to that.” Key pointed to the front door. “Fuck off.”

“Key, just hear me out and then I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“Really? You’d go? Just like that? Let me count up how many times I have already asked you to go and yet here you are. Still in my apartment, having not left.”

Kelvin managed to keep his laughter inside. He loved this side of his mate. “We’re mates –”

“Tell me something you haven’t said a hundred times already.”

“I would if you stopped interrupting me.” Key pursed his lips, then waved him on. “Thank you. We’re mates. You are it for me.”

“Are you it for me too?”

“I… no. You could find a man and have a life with him.”

“But you can’t.” Key smiled widely. “I hold all those cards.”

“Mates never cheat. Mates don’t go looking elsewhere for satisfaction because they get it from the one person they have mated to. As your mate, it would be my honor to take care of you as I have been. You’ve felt my presence because of who we are to each other. Even now, when I’m telling you this, you know deep down that I’m speaking the truth. You can feel it. Take earlier when we kissed. You pushed me away before kissing me back because your body knows who I am to you. I would never hurt you, cheat on you, leave you. You are the most important person in my life. Always. That’s why I’m here night after night, making sure you get home safely.”

“Didn’t work out so well last night, did it?” Key touched his bruised cheek.

“I got here in time and saved you, but yes, I was delayed by my job.”

“What is your job?”

“I guess you would call it security, but I’m an enforcer of sorts. I enforce the laws and make sure no one breaks them, but I watch Maxim’s lot as well and try to keep humans safe from harm. It was how I found you. I was following a vampire and saw you, and I knew.”

“Just like that.”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Key nodded. “How did that make you feel? I’m human and you said you have laws that say we can’t do what you want to.”

“I was ecstatic to have found you,” Kelvin murmured. He sat next to Key on the sofa, pleased when Key didn’t move away. “Then I realized what it meant, but I vowed to always make sure you were happy and safe. Even if that meant that it was with someone other than me.”

“That must have been hard to accept,” Key murmured.

“It’s the way things have been for a long time now. We had to do it so humans could be safe.”

“But we’re not, are we? You said this Maxim and his gang still hunt us.”

“And when caught face they punishment for it.”

“What’s the punishment? Can’t be too bad if they still do it.”

Kelvin leaned back on the sofa and looked at Key. “The punishment is usually a long prison sentence or in severe cases, death.”

Key’s eyebrows shot up, causing Kelvin to give him a small smile. “Death?”

“Yeah, and they still do it. They don’t care about you, or the laws, or anything. They are a law to themselves and do whatever they want. Some days… it’s hard to keep going out.”

“Trying to stop them? You do it every night?”

“It’s a job like yours. I have days off.” Kelvin watched as Key looked away and sat up. He slowly reached out and touched the back of Key’s hand, and was surprised when Key turned his hand over and twined their fingers together.

“Don’t read anything into it. Still don’t want you to drop fang on me.”

Snorting, Kelvin asked, “Can we have sex, though?”

“Oh yeah. Sex is okay.”

“Good to know. Now?”

Key chuckled and gripped Kelvin’s hand. “In a rush?”

“I’ve been protecting you for months and the other night you got that dildo out and –”

“And we’re not going to talk about you spying on me, are we?”

“I enjoyed it.”

“Hmm. Did you now?” Twisting around, Key asked, “Which part?”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about it.”

“I changed my mind. I’m human. I can do that.”

Laughing, Kelvin nodded. “All of it, but I wanted to be fucking you, not the dildo.”

“I like the dildo.” Key fluttered his eyelashes, then smirked. “It’s nice and long and thick. You might be small and thin and it won’t be a good fuck. I don’t know how you vampires are built.”

“I have no problem showing you.” Kelvin loved this about his mate. This playful jokey side, along with his sass and sarcasm. He was yet to find something he didn’t like. Well, maybe the running away from him, but even that was understandable. “Here or the bedroom?”

“So sure of yourself,” Key murmured.

“We were interrupted earlier.” Kelvin stood and moved so he was standing in front of Key, then leaned over him, stopping when his lips were mere inches from Key’s. “Should we continue?”

“Hmm. Let me think about it.” Key closed the distance between them and licked across Kelvin’s lips. “You taste nice.” Key moved back. “Maxim.”

Kelvin groaned. “Don’t ruin the mood.”

Giggling, Key stood, forcing Kelvin to take a step back. “The bedroom’s this way, but you already know that, don’t you, Mr. ‘I watch my mate fuck his ass with a dildo.’”

“But you looked so hot. You can’t blame me.”

Key arched an eyebrow. “I can. Easily, but I want you to fuck me as well, so I’ll shelf it for a later conversation.”

Key walked off, leaving Kelvin staring at him, and Kelvin was sure Key put an extra swing in his hips. And he was powerless to resist him. Grinning, Kelvin followed his mate into the bedroom.