Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

"Fuck me, this day just keeps getting better." After he'd vanished his wings, Zee shuffled himself into the car's luxury back seat. He'd changed out of his gloop-covered net-vest and kilt, and into his multicolored patchwork pants, boots, and a semi-transparent white shirt. The type that turns invisible when wet. "The lube incident we shall never speak of almost ruined it, but then wham , Daddy Vampire checks out. Best fucking birthday ever. No more Reynard, no more fucked-up dreams, no more lusting after Fancy Fangs." He flopped back, horns almost touching the rear window, and sighed in bliss. "So, where we going?"

"To get him back," I said, clipping my seatbelt home.

"Fuck my life."

"Wait, it's your birthday?"

"Maybe. Demons don't really do birthdays, it's a human thing. But they seem like fun. A whole day to celebrate being me. What's not to like?"

"So you picked today?"

"Trying it on for size." He rolled his head to peer over at me. "If Victor Fancy Fangs wants to give me a gift by leaving, we should respect his wishes and turn this car around. Let's go somewhere fun, get wasted, and fuck—but no penetration because, you know, my little guys might eat your brains from the inside. Whatever."

I'd have liked nothing more than to go and get wasted and fool around with Zee, but we also had several mounting problems that weren't going to go away by being ignored.

"I can't let Victor go back to his family, Zee. We'll stop at Reynard Technologies first and I'll talk to him." Hopefully he'd be at the office and not Vampire Mansion. I didn't much fancy a round two with Princess Daisy. "Besides, he can't know it's your birthday if you've only just decided it's today. So his leaving can't be a gift."

"Ugh. You don't see me flouncing off for attention. Fancy Fangs is such a fucking drama llama. Look at me, I'm a vampire, so emo and complicated."

"I doubt Victor has flounced anywhere in his life."

"Was his tea too fucking cold? Did his precious cabinet break? What happened that was so bad he had to leave us? He sucks."

I turned my face away and watched the city glide by the window. "Yeah, no, I've no idea."

"Adam Vex?" Zee crooned. "What did you do?"

"Oh, you know, pfft, nothing." This wasn't the right time to have The Talk with Zee. What if the truth drove him away too? I couldn't lose him as well, I just couldn't. My heart wouldn't take it.

"Okay." Zee shrugged.

Well, that was... easy. Too easy. I side-eyed Zee and found him twisted on the seat, his whole body facing me, his suspicious expression doing all the talking for him. Then his eyes widened. "Fuck, is it because I gave him a frog?"

"I don't think so."

"If someone gave me a frog, I'd be so fucking sure they despised me. I was so fucked up. Tom Collins does not hold back. That man... AI... djinn... whatever... is fucking brutal. Whatever drink he made, I could see into my own eyeballs. It was fucking insane."

"No Zee, it wasn't the frog. He kinda liked the frog. I think it might have been... me."

"No way. There's nothing you could have done that would drive Fancy Daddy away. He's so into you. The only person more into you is me. It was the frog. Frogs are nasty."

"What if I'm why he left, Zee?" I asked in small voice. It's for the best, he'd said, and he'd left me a paper rose. My heart flopped, and a whole lot of sad settled over me like a thick, heavy blanket.

"That doesn't make any sense. If he cares about you, as he claims, then he knows leaving will hurt you, making him an epic dick. And if he's an epic dick who hurts you, imma fuck him up."

"Sometimes the things that hurt the most are..." I swallowed. "For the best."

"No, nope... nuh-uh. If it hurts, you just gotta add more lube."

"Uhm... okay, but how does that apply to us?"

"Communication, baby, is the lube." Zee huffed. "He's so fucking old, you'd think he'd know how to talk shit out like an adult."

"I don't think vampires are into talking about feelings."

"Yet another reason why demons are the best. Let's count the ways we're awesome." Zee grabbed my hand and bent one finger up. "Demons are better because, one, we talk about shit." He bent my second finger up. The heavy weight began to lift and I fought a grin. "Two, we're not stuck up our own asses." I put the next finger up. "Three, have you seen me? Obviously superior in every fucking way." I spread four fingers now. "Four, vampires suck." Hm, that didn't really make much sense. I poked my thumb out. "Five, you don't need him."

"I'm not sure your Demons are the Best list works."

"Yes it does." He huffed and sat back, crossing his arms. "Victor leaving just proves he doesn't deserve you."

Would Zee think the same if he knew why Reynard had left? I glanced at the driver, separated from the back by privacy glass. He wouldn't hear our conversation. Zee prattled on about trust and Reynard always being shady. Zee had never demanded I tell him my secrets, but Reynard was right in that he did deserve to know. And if Reynard was at his building, then we were all going to talk about things , so Zee needed to be on the same page of my story as Victor.

"Zee, so... I need to tell you something."

"Okay. But is this the thing you were going to tell me before we got kidnapped from Karaoke Kris's restaurant?"

"Uhm, no, not really. That was... That was me telling you how much you mean to me. And you do. Mean a lot, I mean. But that's not what I'm about to say?—"

"How much?"

"Huh?"

"How much do I mean to you? On a level of one being a gremlin, and ten being mac and cheese. How much do I mean to you?"

"I like mac and cheese, I guess, but not like you like it."

"Wait, what?" He blinked and recoiled.

"It's nice."

"Nice? How can you not like mac and cheese?"

"That's not what I said. I said I don't like it as much as you do, that's all, so it doesn't work as a number ten. But I still like it."

"Where is mac and cheese on your Best Ever list, then?"

"Oh, I don't know, around eight maybe?" I played along .

"Eight?!" He slumped back. "Imma have to rethink this relationship."

Why were we talking about mac and cheese, and how had that even happened? A little chuckle fell out of me. "You know you're my ten, Zee."

His face brightened. "I am?"

"Yes. You're my favorite thing. You are my mac and cheese."

He leaned across the seat and reached up. Soft fingers stroked my face. "Best birthday ever." His mouth teased mine, and his kiss landed softly, as though whatever we had was the most precious thing to the both of us. I tasted him too, liking his demon spiciness, as though sassiness had a flavor.

Clutching his arm, I pulled him close and deepened the kiss, thrusting my tongue around his, feeding off his need like he fed off mine. He braced closer, wedging me against the door, and plundered my mouth. His hand stroked up my thigh, promising to reach its target inside my pants.

This was probably not the ideal place or time to get frisky, which made it even more thrilling.

He eased back and broke the kiss, breathless. "If you're wondering, I can make you come in the back of this car in only a few minutes." His gaze flicked up and fixed on mine. Tiny electric sparks danced in his deep purple eyes. "No mess, no fuss."

"What about you?"

"I get off on you getting off, never doubt that."

But we were in a car, driving through town, and in public. The driver was right there.

And nobody had to know. Just Zee and me, in the back of this posh car.

I bit my lip and gave a slight nod. Zee adjusted himself so he was on all fours on the back seat. His glossy black and red nails flashed as he tore open my pants and whipped out my hardening cock. A few deep sucks between his warm, firm lips, and he had me harder than ever. I gasped, clutching hold of him in one hand and the door in the other. His head bobbed, his fingers worked in time with his sucking mouth and firm tongue. Then his tail came up, rode under my shirt, and flicked over a nipple with alarming gentleness.

His tail teased, his tongue wrapped tighter around my dick, and Zee ruthlessly attacked, leaving me no time to gather my thoughts or temper the rising pressure. Outside, the city and its people blurred by, oblivious to our back-seat shenanigans.

"Fuck," Zee breathed. "You're too much. I love it." Then he plunged back down again and bobbed fast, leaving me at the mercy of his rapid mouth and expert hand.

I was almost there, almost on the cusp, when I remembered that whenever we were intimate, the hotel wards expanded. What if something weird happened out here, in public?

"Kitten, whatever thought just entered your head, forget it and enjoy the moment. Nothing bad is going to happen."

I nodded, words lost, and Zee plundered my cock a third time, the final time, bringing me to the crest of pleasure and shoving me over it. Ecstasy lit up my spine and scrunched my toes. I came hard, spilling down his throat. His glistening lips smirked around my dick, and greedy desire shone in his hungry eyes. Then he popped off, wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and tucked me away as though nothing had happened.

"See. Not a drop spilled."

I gulped hard and croaked out, "That was... intense."

"Baby, you are always in safe hands with... me..." Zee's grin faded as his words trailed off. His gaze had snagged on something bad outside the window. "Oh, my fuck. "

The car crawled to a stop below the steps of Reynard Technologies.

"I don't think that's supposed to be there." Zee hopped out, leaving his car door open. A passing car honked, and Zee yelled, "I'm walking here!"

After sweeping the fragments of my sex-addled brain back together, I stumbled out of the car and stared up the steps at the two men installing a shiny new sign above the front doors.

Cain Technologies.

Oh dear.

Zee glanced over, his shocked expression quickly replaced by anger. "Stop me before I charge in there and demand Vampire Daddy answers a whole lot of questions."

This wasn't good. But we didn't know what had happened, or why, or where Victor was. "Until we know more, we should tread carefully."

"Tread carefully? Why is Cain's name above Reynard's office doors, Adam? Is he in with Cain? Has that fang fucker been working for him this whole fucking time?"

I thrust my hands into my pockets and blinked into the glare blazing off the countless windows. "No." I knew that for certain. There was no way Victor would work for or with Gideon Cain. I'd seen them together. Two apex predators never played well. "There's more going on here, Zee. We should take a look around, but quietly."

"Quietly?" He folded his arms and huffed out through his nose. "I can do fucking quiet." He gave his shoulders a shake, then his head, vanishing his horns. His tail went next. So now he was just Zee, an average guy—apart from being really tall and distractingly handsome in his high boots and flowing white shirt.

"Can you maybe tone down your extraness?"

"Ugh." He rolled his eyes, then glamored himself with a wave of his hand, so now he was even more plain, in black pants, a white shirt, and plain shoes. More like an office worker... who'd just walked off the pages off a modeling website. "I feel dirty. Not the fun kinda dirty. How do you live like this?"

"You look good."

"I'm boring," he drawled, glaring. "No wonder you like it."

"You're not boring." It was impossible for Zee to ever be boring.

"I'm so dull." He huffed, then brightened. "But it's my birthday, so whatever. I have totally got this. I will fucking own dull and dreary and make up for it later by wearing a rainbow feather boa, a hat, and suspenders. And nothing else. Pfft."

"That's the spirit. Now, let's go find our vampire daddy." And hope this was all just some unfortunate misunderstanding.

Stepping into the foyer revealed that the Reynard Technologies fountain had experienced the same treatment as the sign, with the enormous focal point of its entwined RT having been replaced by a stainless-steel GC twice as high as me. If this was a misunderstanding, then it was a thorough one.

Zee strode toward the front desk with purpose. He flicked a wrist, produced a pair of office siren glasses, and popped them on his nose. Of course, they only made him look even more gorgeous. "Excuse me, lady, I'm here for my ten o'clock appointment with Lord Victor Reynard."

The perky receptionist's fine-lined eyebrow shot up. "And you are?"

"Mr. Lycian." Zee clicked his fingers. "Hurry it along, I do not have all day."

"Alright, Mr. Lycian. Please take a seat and I'll see if Mr. Reynard is available. "

I scooted over to the seats, where I sat beside Zee and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Role play." He flashed a grin, then hooked his glasses under a finger and peered over their rim. "How do you like Office Zee? Am I hot?"

"You're always hot." But watching him get his boss vibes on had quickened my heart, which he'd sense.

He laughed. "Kitten, you have a power-twink kink and it's gorgeous. Don't ever fuckin' change."

"Adam Vex." A stern female voice rang out. Everyone in the foyer turned toward the middle-aged, white-haired, slightly domineering personal assistant making a beeline toward me.

"Oh, hello Joyce." I stood and smiled, hoping we'd get along better this time around than the last time. That hope soon died under Joyce's withering glare. "Uh... Is Victor here? It's just, he's not answering his phone, and we really need?—"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it's very important, as everything is with you, Mr. Vex. But Mr. Reynard has appointments all day. If you want to meet with him, I suggest you call later and book a future date. Far, far in the future."

"Can't I just see him for five minutes?"

Joyce sighed. "No."

"Hey lady. Eat a bag of dicks," Zee said beside me. "Or tell Victor we're here. He'll want to see us."

Joyce's mouth pinched as though she'd swallowed a wasp. "I have, and he doesn't. Good day to you." She turned on her heel and clip-clopped back across the foyer.

"Oh well, I guess we'll wait until he leaves work?"

"Yeah, we could do that, except..." Zee's shrewd gaze scanned the people in the shiny foyer. Some chatted around comfy chairs. Others strode back and forth from the elevators. "Something isn't right, and it's not just the enormous Gideon Cain big-dick-energy fountain. There's a spicy zing of fear in the air and it's making my wings itch."

Everything looked normal, besides the branding. But I couldn't sense emotions like he could.

"Do you know how to get to Victor's office?" he asked, his tone turning serious.

"Yeah, but we'd need a card or visitors badge to work the elevator."

Zee slid his glasses back up his nose. "Wait here, babycakes. I have a plan." He strutted off toward the front desk again.

Oh my stars, what was he going to do?