Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

When Jaron returned home that night, the old witch he lived with greeted him with a smile. "Did dinner with your family go well?" she asked. "You seem to be in a good mood."

Jaron returned the smile. "Nah, it went horribly." There was no reason for him to mince his words. The witch, Malkira, had taken him in when he'd decided he could no longer live under one roof with his parents, so she knew exactly how bad his relationship with them was.

"Anything you want to talk about?" she asked, but he waved her off.

"I'm just going to head to bed. Really, it wasn't a bad night." But he had a lot of things he needed to process.

"All right," she said. "Have a good night."

He headed up the stairs to his room. It wasn't a large room, but there was enough space for his desk, his bed, his clothes, and his collection of yarn. His hoard.

Back at his parents' place, he'd had a dedicated treasure room for his hoard, but he didn't mind sharing a room with his collection. There was a certain sense of comfort in having it nearby.

He took two balls of woolen yarn, one red, one blue and lay in his bed with them. The red yarn was the color of Keegan's hair, the blue yarn the color of his eyes.

Yes, Jaron did feel a little silly to be pining over a man he'd only just met, but he couldn't help it.

They'd talked a little more after the fireworks, but not for long, and Jaron hadn't been able to convince Keegan to get to know each other more intimately.

There was still a chance, though, that he could get what he wanted if he kept trying.

Jaron ran his fingers over the blue yarn, feeling the softness of it, thinking of the string he'd left with Keegan. A piece of his hoard out of his reach.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

What might Keegan be doing now? Was he thinking of Jaron too?

Jaron smiled to himself as he imagined undressing his vampire, pushing him on a bed and climbing on top of him, all that pale naked skin his for the claiming. He imagined Keegan's blue eyes fixing on him, filling with pleasure.

Gods, how he wanted that.

He wanted to fuck Keegan until they both felt complete. The dragon in him stirred at the thought, roaring his approval.

Jaron reached for himself, remembering the way Keegan's gaze had cut into him, how badly it had made Jaron want to offer himself to the vampire.

He pictured himself doing just that.

How would Keegan's teeth feel against his skin? What would it be like if his lips sucked at Jaron's neck, drawing out his blood?

Jaron shuddered, thrusting into his hand.

He came faster than he ever had before, but he didn't find satisfaction.

He wouldn't. Not before he had that vampire for real.

The very next night, he landed on the street outside the Rubyville night club and retracted his wings.

The first time he'd come here a few weeks ago, he'd thought the place was kind of shabby. Definitely not his scene. He liked bright, colorful things and this place was dark as hell.

But he could put up with a little darkness if it meant seeing Keegan again.

His beast urged him onward, restless, as he stepped into the club. It had been less than 24h since he'd last seen Keegan, but already it felt like it had been too long.

Would Keegan feel the same?

Probably not.

Keegan might just tell him to get lost.

Jaron swallowed as his nerves started to buzz in the back of his head as he looked around the club.

The music was loud, but not a lot of people danced to it. Maybe it was too early in the evening, or maybe everyone was still tired from last night's festivities.

Jaron went up to the bar and looked around, hoping to spot Keegan's red hair, but there was no sign of him. "Hey, uh…" Jaron turned to the bartender who had approached. A young woman with silver hair and pale vampire skin. "Do you know Keegan?"

"Are you asking me if I know my own coven-mate?" She arched an amused eyebrow.

"Oh. Yeah." Jaron rubbed the back of his neck. "Stupid question. Can I see him?"

"He's not in."

Keegan wasn't even here?

Jaron deflated. "When will he be back, do you know?"

The vampire shrugged. "I don't keep track of him. We all have our own things to do, you know?"

"Right." Jaron bit his lower lip. "Thanks anyway."

"Anytime," the vampire said, already losing interest in him and going back to polishing the glasses she'd lined up behind the bar.

Jaron stepped back. What was he supposed to do now?

Wait?

A hand landed on his shoulder and almost made him jump. He whipped around, ready to defend himself—and found himself facing a familiar face. "Mordyn! Hi."

"What brings you here, dragon?" Mordyn asked, grinning as if he knew exactly why Jaron had shown up here and he was greatly amused by it. "Looking for someone?"

"I was, actually." No use hiding it. "Do you know where Keegan went?"

Mordyn sat down on one of the bar stools, patting the one next to him as if to invite Jaron for a chat.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Jaron took the offered seat. He didn't know Mordyn all that well—aside from the fact that his boss was fucking this vampire.

Mordyn ordered a cider for Jaron and nothing for himself, calling the bartender 'Vitra.'

"What's your fascination with Keegan?" Mordyn asked, sliding Jaron's drink over to him when it arrived.

Jaron took a sip, trying to find an appropriate answer for this. "I'm not sure," he admitted eventually. "I don't know him well."

"But you think he's hot?"

"D'uh." What a dumb question. "You got eyes, don't you?"

Mordyn laughed. "I don't look at Keegan that way, but hey, if you do…" He shrugged one shoulder. "But you've got to understand that he won't make it easy for you."

Jaron blew out a breath. He'd already suspected as much.

He didn't mind a challenge, though.

"Do you know where Keegan spends most of his nights?" Mordyn asked. "In this building. In his room, in the lounge or at the club. And yet he just happens to be out tonight. Can you guess why?"

Jaron looked down at his drink. "Are you saying that he's avoiding me?"

"I didn't know that you were going to be here," Mordyn said. "But you can bet he did."

Jaron wondered about that. What was Keegan's deal? Sure, he hadn't been super welcoming to Jaron last night, but there'd definitely been interest in his gaze when he'd checked Jaron out. "I could wait here," Jaron mused. "He's got to come back at some point."

"I'm sure Keegan can find somewhere else to stay for a little while," Mordyn pointed out. The vampire seemed more than a little entertained by Jaron's behavior. "You really want to waste your whole night sitting here just for a chance that he might show up?"

Well, put like that, it did make Jaron seem desperate.

"What would you do?" he asked Mordyn.

"For one, I wouldn't pursue Keegan."

Jaron crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Good," he said. "You shouldn't."

Mordyn laughed again. Then he eyed Jaron a little more closely. "You seem serious about this, and since my friend seems to want to avoid you… You probably have a good chance at getting somewhere with him."

Jaron shot Mordyn a questioning look. What was that supposed to mean?

"Trust me," Mordyn said. "If you were any random guy who had the hots for him, he'd just shoot you down and be done with it. I've seen him do it plenty of times. Keegan doesn't go out of his way to predict someone's moves unless they matter."

Well, that was something. Jaron took a sip of his drink to distract himself from the flutters in his stomach. Then he turned to Mordyn again. "So I should be flattered?"

"Maybe a little. And here's some advice, if you want to date a seer, you should get used to being confused."

Jaron considered this. It would be easy for Keegan to stay one step ahead of Jaron, wouldn't it? "Can he predict everything I'll do?"

"I don't understand exactly how his powers work," Mordyn admitted, "but he's not infallible. As far as I know, he sees different versions of the future, multiple possibilities. If you want to catch him off guard even a little, you've got to make sure the future that actually comes to pass is the least probable one. That's the one he typically doesn't prepare for."

Jaron mulled over Mordyn's advice as he nursed his cider. Make the least probable future happen, huh? That was easier said than done when he had no idea what Keegan's visions showed him. For all Jaron knew, the seer had predicted this very conversation and already had countermeasures in place.

"He's not all-powerful," Mordyn said as if to encourage Jaron.

Jaron glanced at Mordyn. "Why are you helping me anyway? Isn't Keegan your friend?"

"Let's just say that Keegan's meddled a lot in my love life and I'm happy to return the favor."

"I see."

Jaron considered his options.

Catching Keegan off guard, doing the least expected thing… Jaron had a feeling that no matter what he tried, Keegan would see it coming from a mile away.

Honestly, Jaron wasn't good at this kind of thing, playing cat and mouse. When he liked someone, he was honest about it, and if he got shot down, he could live with that.

Keegan hadn't shot him down yet, but he also wasn't giving Jaron a chance to approach him.

If Keegan was anyone else, Jaron would take the hint and leave him be, but…

The dragon in him did not like that thought at all.

But he had an idea for something he could do to stay true to himself and still get a rise out of Keegan whether he saw Jaron's actions coming or not.

He looked at Mordyn.

"Could you help me leave a gift for him in his room?"