Vigil (36 page)

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Authors: Z. A. Maxfield

Tags: #Fiction, #Gay, #MLR Press; ISBN 978-1-60820-172-3

BOOK: Vigil
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played white and who black, then began their game. They were

evenly matched and it took all Adin’s concentration to play.

He was so deep into the game that he was surprised to hear

a knock on the door about a half hour later, but he assumed

that Donte had ordered the pizza boy after all. They both liked

the young man, and the feeling was mutual. The agreement was

consensual. They fed on him, tipped him well, and he always left

relaxed and happy, with a grin on his face, as Adin had learned

to give pleasure with his bite—enough to get a man or woman

off—in the same way Donte did.

Apparently the world was full of people who enjoyed the

pleasure the undead could give. Often they wanted more. Adin

and Donte declined sexual relations with those humans but traded

gratification for food. Adin smiled as Donte returned from the

door, expecting their usual young man to be following him in. He

was therefore surprised to see Donte’s good mood had seriously

deteriorated and that the person who strode in behind him wasn’t

someone unfamiliar, just completely unexpected.


Sean?
” Adin rose from the chess table, startled.

Bran muttered, “Uh-oh. I’ve seen you before.”

Sean entered Adin’s tiny living room. He stood next to Donte

as if he’d been placed there simply for comparison. He was fair,

and had the bluest eyes—the most memorable eyes Adin had

ever seen—except for Donte’s brown ones. Red hair tumbled to

his shoulders in thick waves. He wore a worn leather jacket and

jeans and held a motorcycle helmet under his arm. He was as

small as Adin remembered, barely his own height, but thinner,

and wore a T-shirt studded with metal shamrocks at the neck that

read, “Feck you. I’m Irish.”

“What on earth are
you
doing here?” Adin asked.

“Santos sent me. He said you were out of a majordomo now

that your Boaz has done a runner, so I thought to myself, I’m

exactly what you need.” He followed this up with a cheeky grin

that was scant millimeters short of a leer. “I’m out of a job,

temporarily, and you’re out of a butler. Kismet.”

Donte folded his arms. “Over my dead body.”

Sean shot him a sly look and said, “Thank you, I don’t mind

if I do.”

Adin raised his eyebrows. It could be awfully fun to watch

Donte explode. And he would, eventually. Santos had to know

that. He’d planned it that way,
the prick
. Adin and Donte still had

some things to work out between them. Surely it wouldn’t do for

Adin to have even a single shred of suspicion that Donte had

taken part in turning him.

“While you might be very good, Boaz was an imp, not a

vampire, and he was extremely useful for things that required

attention during the daylight hours.”

Sean cocked his head to the side a little. “I find there’s little I

can’t do once I set my mind to it.”

“I see.”

There was nothing in the world that could make Adin want

another man after he’d had Donte, not the way they were now, in

very human love, immortal, and vaguely animal at the same time.

They were monsters for one another, so hungry they devoured

each other yet still felt starved…

No. Sean was attractive and there had been a time when

Donte had left Adin, or so he thought, and he’d considered…But

after everything that had happened? No. Now, there was no way.

Still. Dark and angry was Adin’s favorite look on Donte,

focused and lethal instead of brooding. He liked that. An off-

balance Donte was never, ever boring, and they had a long, long

time together ahead of them.

Adin smiled sweetly at Sean and asked him, “How are you at

mending clothes?”

About the AuthoR

Z. A. MAXFIELD is a fifth generation native of Los Angeles,

although she now lives in Orange County, CA She started

writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked

back. Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she

writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys

her time with family and friends. If anyone asks her how a wife

and mother of four manages to find time for a writing career,

she’ll answer, “It’s amazing what you can do if you completely

give up housework.” Check out her website at:
http://www.

zamaxfield.com
.

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