“None of your fucking business, twat.”
“My name is Merlin.”
“Like I care.” There was a pause while the man gave him the once-over. “You’re as pretty as a girl, so maybe I’ll call you ‘Mary’.”
A typical human… As if comparing him to a female was supposed to be an insult. He pursed his lips. “You can call me whatever you want. I’m only looking for a bit of fun. The Master hasn’t given me any job to do, important or otherwise.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, you’re one of them…a vampire.”
“Sure, we’ll go with that.” Honestly, these idiots hadn’t even bothered to figure out whom they served. “Except I’m half human, too.”
“How does that work exactly?”
“You really don’t want to know.”
“Probably not.” He eased his hold, although he didn’t relinquish it entirely as he stepped back a bit. “I should tell the boss I found you here. What do you think he’ll do to you?”
Merlin didn’t have to fake his reaction. “Nothing good.” He licked his lips again. “I don’t suppose I could talk you out of that?”
“Not with words, sweetheart. I bet your mouth could be persuasive in other ways.”
So boringly predictable. He was prepared for this, however, and he knew what to do, having witnessed the sluts in Dracul’s castle appeasing their alien masters in a variety of ways. It had all been done out in the open, too. His education in bodily functions had started early. It all looked ridiculous and, having met Annika, he couldn’t imagine wanting anyone the way he did her. Anything else he might do with males of any species was nothing compared to the exalting joy he expected to find when the time was right for her to mate.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any experience, but I am always eager to learn something new. Besides,” he added with what he hoped was a coy look, “it’s a way to pass the time.”
The human made an expression that could have been a smile. “You’ve got the funky teeth, right?” When Merlin nodded, the man added, “Show me.”
Letting his fangs descend, Merlin opened wide and hissed slightly, loving the way the human flinched. He was banged against the wall before he closed his mouth again. The abrupt attack caused his head to bounce.
“I better not ever feel them, not unless you want me to snap that pretty neck of yours.” The human was flush against him now. He could feel his erection, so mission accomplished. Sort of.
Swallowing down the hint of trepidation, Merlin nodded. “Of course. I’m bored, not stupid. I thought I was going to get to be one of the Master’s warriors. I want something to do.”
“Don’t worry, precious. I’ll keep you occupied.” With that, the man tugged Merlin into the room he’d flown out of.
One step in and Merlin had to fight to contain his elation. This was the next best thing to the computer room he sought. The entire back wall was filled with screens displaying real-time images of what was happening at all of the entry and exit points—confirming that there were sentries posted. Dracul wasn’t that far gone, apparently and this was critical information for when the rescue came. Plus most of the rooms of the complex—other than what he thought of as the throne room—were monitored, even the communal bathrooms. Ick. Likely, Dracul’s private chambers were excluded, although having never seen them, he couldn’t say for sure. On a quick look, nothing looked like Andri’s room, either, a place he had been before and would recognize if it were on one of the screens. But there was an image that showed Mateo and Dafydd lying down, so he’d been right about the surveillance. The cameras all seemed fixed in a single direction, except for the ones showing the hall, which swiveled slowly through three hundred and sixty degrees. Unlike everywhere else, there were no blind spots out there.
He took in everything within a millisecond as he got dragged over to the chair the man obviously sat in during his shift. In one corner, there was a cot, with a litter of clothing and empty food containers strewn about. Behind that was another, smaller door that was ajar sufficiently to show a cramped bathroom.
“Welcome to my world, cunt. Nothing happens down here without my seeing it. Some jerk-off spells me for a few hours so I can hit the rack, but otherwise, I’m the boss’ eyes.”
Merlin resisted wrinkling his nose. He could well believe the human spent his entire time in this cramped, fetid room—and the news delighted him. His path to getting Annika her information and helping the rescue launch had just gotten a lot clearer.
He cocked a hip and lowered his gaze. “Impressive. Muscles are thick on the ground around here. Brains, not so much.” He dared to raise one hand and trace a fingertip down the man’s chest. “What’s my entrance fee?”
That almost-smile came out again as the man dropped into the chair. Releasing him, he spread his legs then patted the bulge behind his fly. “I’ll assume you’re brighter than you look, pussy, and can figure it out on your own.”
Merlin wanted to roll his eyes at the guy’s limited vocabulary when it came to degrading monikers, but that would only work against his interest—against the Queen’s interests, more to the point. As he slid onto his knees, he kept an image of her fixed in his mind while he did what he needed to do.
Chapter Four
Alex entered his suite with the single-minded goal of putting to rest necessary paperwork and losing himself in the mindless pleasure of fucking his dear, sweet boy. That was assuming, of course, that Quinn didn’t become so pissed-off once the topic of said paperwork was broached that he left Alex, either for the night or forever. The mere thought of losing him was like a hammer to his heart. Yet he was determined, entirely resolute, that his decisions about the future were the best thing for the human. Whether Quinn saw it that way was another matter. At a minimum, he knew that there was going to be one hell of a fight about it. It was only a matter of him being victorious.
As he opened the door, however, his plans and train of thought were entirely derailed by the sight that greeted him. Quinn, dressed in a black thong, was dancing around to the strains of a song Alex recognized as Circles. It was one of those moody ballads that the boys had liked to switch to in the club in order to slow things down and make the patrons wish for them even more as a source of solace. The lyrics and the melancholy way that Quinn swayed told him that at least part of his news wasn’t something that would surprise Quinn. His lover was obviously already sad—and likely not simply because of the recent terrible loss of life.
Quinn hadn’t noticed Alex’s intrusion yet, so he stood watching, wanting, loving, aching and almost desperate to grab his boy and take him to bed to stay there, buried in his body, shutting everything else out for the rest of their lives. It was a fleeting desire that left him nearly gasping for breath with its intensity. His cock hardened as it always did when Quinn was within sight—or even in thought. Alex didn’t need the visual of all that creamy, soft skin flashing with sensual movement to become aroused. It had always been so with this human. It took no effort to raise the memory of the first time he’d seen the frightened boy who had literally fainted into his arms. As much as he’d tried to resist the lure, he’d been helpless to do so.