CHAPTER FOUR

"Y ou're a vampire," Jaden stated, and it wasn't a question.

Victor was surprised by Jaden’s statement but not shocked. There were many in this city who were aware but would never discuss it. The threat of discussing the paranormal was enough to keep people quiet, and those who chose to talk soon found themselves missing memories or dead. The paranormal was a closely guarded secret, and every supernatural creature agreed on that point: no matter whether jackal or bunny shifter, everyone kept the secret.

“You’re aware of vampires?” He decided to find out where he got his information.

“I met a few." He answered a little defensively.

“Are you aware that Murphy is a tiger shifter?” Victor moved to lay out next to Jaden on the bed. They’d washed up and changed the blanket and were just getting comfortable. Their lovemaking had been stellar and exhausting. A little rest, and Victor looked forward to more stellar lovemaking. His beloved was excitement beyond measure.

“No, I wasn't, but it makes sense. He often went out late at night and came back in the morning looking like he had been through the trenches.”

“He was shifting and prowling the streets the big cats usually go looking for prey at night. It’s a cat thing.” Victor could help the subtle disgust to this tone. "They tend to be loners, not needing the presence of others of their kind, which can make them dangerous.”

“Murphy was very much a dangerous loner. He was friends with Ryan, but I think it was simply to make his work life easier and more profitable; it had nothing to do with any true friendship or connection." Jaden, too, held an air of disgust when speaking of Murphy as well as he should.

“So, tell me what you know of vampires," Victor asked and laid back with his hands behind his head. Jaden laid his head on Victor's chest and got comfortable. This was the life he'd dreamed about; love, ease of existence between them, and loyalty. He could already feel the relationship Jaden was forging and the bond that was taking shape in their hearts, minds, and souls. Together as one, no doubt, no fears, only love and trust.

“Not a lot.” He said but then continued as if remember some things. “They have heightened senses and can run faster than anything on earth even a cheetah. They’re strong and have a lot of dexterity. They’re faces change with heightened emotion they get rigid with hard angles and the eyes turn red. I also heard that they’re teeth elongate which seems likely considering the whole biting thing.” Victor laughed at the finish.

"Yes, the teeth do elongate and get sharper, but only the eye teeth.” He continued to laugh and dropped one arm to pull Jaden up close to his side and hold him there. “Do you know anything about our culture and traditions?”

"You live together in a coven with a leader called a coven master, and he is all-powerful.” Jaden stopped short and rose up to look Victor in the eyes. “Is this the coven house?”

"Yes, it is."

“Oh my God, is Drakon a vampire?”

“Yes, he is.”

"Dean, sweet, gentle, unassuming Dean, is dating a vampire." He seemed incredulous.

"They're more than dating; they are bonded. Dean is Drakon's beloved, and they are a fated match. Drakon recognized him by scent when he entered the Blood Rose for a night out with a friend. He scooped him up and brought him home, where they completed their bond." Victor kept going, hoping Jaden would catch on and make the correlation between Dean and himself.

“I’ve heard that word. Murphy referred to Dean as a beloved and that he would have to be avoided. It didn't mean anything to me until now. The fact shook him up a little, and he even had a theory that it was Dean’s beloved who ended Ryan. I was under the impression that Ryan ran when his crimes became widely known.” Jaden was slowly putting things together.

“Drakon ended Ryan, and the Rose Coven ended Smithers Financial.”

“Because they screwed with Dean?”

"Because they screwed with a beloved. Beloveds are sacred, and the bond is powerful. It brings further enhancement to the vampire and the beloved, be they human or paranormal. It’s not taken lightly.” Victor could feel Jaden processing the information.

“Dean is a lucky guy. It would be awesome to have someone care for you and defend you like that.” Victor could feel the moment that the information shifted into place. Jaden once again rose up on his elbow to look down into Victor’s face.

“You called me your beloved when we were . . .”

“Yes, I did.” Silence fell, and Jaden stared at him, waiting for more. “You are my beloved. I recognized your scent on Dean after he came back from having lunch at your restaurant. You hugged him, and your scent clung to him." Victor adjusted his pillows so he could sit up a little, and Jaden moved to a seated position beside him, still eating him up with his eyes.

"He told me your name, and I went looking for you and found you in that back hall with that beast Murphy.” Victor left it there as tears began to fill Jaden’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I was such an utter disappointment to you.” Victor pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him.

"You weren't a disappointment, my love. You were everything I'd hoped for and more. That bastard Murphy means nothing. I just wish I'd killed him instead of letting him run away." That got his attention, and first, it was a shocked expression, and then it was laughter, and the tension had broken.

“There were a lot of people around, so killing him was probably not an option." Jaden laid his head back on Victor's chest and lovely sigh. “You're the best thing to ever happen to me, Victor."

"You're my beloved, and there is nothing greater in this world to a vampire than their beloved. I’ve waited for you for over a century, and you are my gift and my prize.” He kissed his forehead, and Jaden snuggled a little closer in response.

"A century. Wow, that's hard to get my head around, but I understand vampires have a lifespan way longer than any human. I think I’m impressed.”

“Your life will extend to meet mine now that we have bonded.”

“We’re bonded?”

“Yes.” He said and reached down and ran his fingertips over the scar at the base of his throat. “This is a bonding scar. You and I are one, my love. No going back."

"That goes for you, too," Jaden added. "This is so much more than I ever expected from life, and to receive all of this in a span of a few hours is scrambling my mind.”

"You'll work it out, and once you move in, everything will start to fall into place. Dean was a bit scrambled at first, too." Victor assured. "I know a way to help unscramble your thoughts."

“How?”

Victor rolled him onto his back and moved down his body to take that lovely little cock between his lips. The reaction was delicious: a loud moan and the arching of his back. His beloved was delightfully responsive. He ate away at that gorgeous cock, taking it down his throat and spreading Jaden's legs far apart, forcing his cock to jut higher as he swallowed it down, stroking and pulling, leaving him tender and sensitive. He grew hard and wanting, burying his fingers in Victor’s hair and thrusting his hips forward.

It wasn’t long before he was reaching his peak and erupting in hard surges, filling Victor's throat with his sweetness. Jaden let out the breath he was holding and collapsed onto the bed, but Victor wasn't done. He wanted more from his beloved. He lifted Jaden’s hips and positioned himself against the back of his thighs. Victor’s cock was throbbing with the need to be inside his lover.

He pressed the head of his cock against that well-stretched hole and plunged inside with one thrust going deep, burying himself to the hilt before pulling back and doing it again and again. Jaden squealed with the burst of sensations that rushed through his body, and it fueled Victor’s need to do it again and hear that gorgeous sound over and over. It made his blood sing, and his desire burn for satisfaction. He hammered into his beloved, desperately seeking his own apex of completion.

Jaden started stroking his own cock bringing it back to life in seconds while Victor punished his hole with thrust after thrust plunging deep and spreading him wide. He watched Jaden pleasure himself, and it was the most erotic scene he’d ever witnessed.

“Come for me, baby.” He growled and pounded inside just as Jaden came, covering his hand and groin in his seed. Victor reached out, dipped his finger in, and brought it to his lips. “Lovely, just lovely.” He licked the finger clean, and Jaden came again.

“Oh, Victor, that was wicked.” He smiled and licked his lips.

Victor continued to hammer inside until he came in a hard rush, exploding inside his beloved and filling him once again with his seed, marking him inside and out as the beloved of the vampire. He held him until his body began to relax, and his heart settled back into a steady beat. Nothing had prepared him for the sheer magnitude of sensations that accompanied every touch of his beloved. A lifetime of this pleasure would still not be enough.

He slowly pulled out and lay down beside his amazing lover. For such a small man, he had the power to bring this vampire to his knees. “Rest my love.” He said, and he took a cloth from the side table and wiped him clean before cuddling him close once again. They were wrapped together in love and harmony, and he hoped it would last forever.

Jaden fell into a deep sleep, but Victor remained awake and alert, his mind filled with thoughts of Murphy and the loan sharks and anyone else related to the mess that Murphy subjected Jaden to. He called Conall to inform him of Jaden, but he was already aware and issued his congratulations. Victor explained the situation with the loan sharks, and Murphy and Conall offered to take care of both problems.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d handle the loan sharks, but I’ll take care of Murphy myself.”

“Consider it done.”

He then called Ethan, the head of IT and surveillance, and asked him to nail down the video and get rid of it. He promised Victor that it would be gone by morning. His beloved needed peace of mind and to get the leeches off his back. All that remained was to get rid of one tiger shifter.