Page 15 of Mutual Obsessions

Etienne was never one to share, not that I wanted to share Farrah. My tastes were more selective and dick-centric, but I’d had hopes Etienne and I could find a peaceful co-existence when he was with Farrah.

My host, or other half, believed I had everything to do with Farrah’s death, but her demise had never been my goal. I wanted Etienne to be happy because the happier he was, the more he’d relinquish control to me while she slept or went about her hobbies. We could live a dual life without hurting anyone, or so I’d hoped.

Had Farrah been honest with him regarding her sapphic leanings, perhaps we could have all made a winning arrangement where the two of them pursued their liberal arts interests as friends, and I was allowed an evening a week to fulfill my carnal desires. Sadly, Farrah’s constant dismissal of Etienne’s weak, chaste advances hadn’t registered with him until it was too late. She’d wanted Tara, not Etienne. How was that my fault?

“This is for real, then? Where’s Etienne?” Ryker scooted his stool closer to mine, his scent entering my nose and making my cock hard.

“He wasn’t feeling well. I’m here to oversee the restaurant, pardon the pun, until closing.”

Ryker chuckled, which was music to my ears. “I’m sorry for laughing. You have a sick sense of humor, Stephen.”

I laughed with him. “Thank you, Ryker. Will you have dinner with me?” I took a sip of my whiskey, wishing to fuck Etienne wasn’t such a selfish bastard so I could read Ryker’s face.

“Uh, sure? Here?” Ryker sounded a bit apprehensive.

“While our food here is delicious, I try to patronize other establishments in The Quarter when possible. There’s a favorite of mine just down the street, Mort-vivant? They have great burgers.”

Was it ironic that the vamps who ran the place called it Undead in French? Completely, which made me love it. Unfortunately, I rarely got out to play. If this was my night on the town with the handsome Ryker? I was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

I tossed money on the bar from the stash I had and stood. “You’ll be back?” Sabine asked me.

“Of course. Don’t I always come back?” Sabine laughed as I slid my arm through Ryker’s. I would milk everything from the night, including being close to Ryker.

We walked the crowded street to Mort-vivant, where a group of people already waited to get inside. The Ranier coven, which consisted of only three vampires, owned the restaurant. Christian was the coven’s leader. He had a mate, Ariana, and her sister, Iris. They were nice—as far as covens went—and didn’t bother anyone. Like us, they hired human workers and paid them well to look the other way in many instances.

My coven had established a reciprocity agreement with the Raniers not long after Killian was eliminated. The gist was that if one coven needed protection or assistance of any type, the other would come to its aid. To date, we hadn’t required the Raniers’ assistance, nor had they needed ours, but the agreement was in place as a precaution.

Standing at the host stand was Ariana, whom I recognized by scent. She was two hundred years old and could be a bitch when in a bad mood. I tapped my cane on the hardwood floor to get her attention. “Stephen! How are you?” Luckily, it seemed we’d caught her in a rare good mood.

“Good evening, Ariana. We’d like a table for two, please.”

Ariana sniffed the air and purred, sharing time with her beast. Etienne and I could have that same relationship with Ryker if only Etienne would agree.

“Follow me, Stephen. How’s Etienne? Is the whiney bitch still playing Princess of the Manor?” Ariana led us to a table by the window, her comment making me chuckle.

“I’ll be sure to pass along your regards to Etienne. May we have two whiskeys?”

“Sure, Stephen. Are you eating tonight?” The snark in Ariana’s voice made me grin.

“I told Ryker you have the best burgers in The Quarter. What’s the burger of the day?”

A pleasant breeze came in through the window as Ariana placed a menu in front of Ryker. “The burger of the day is a pastrami burger. It’s a four-ounce beef burger patty topped with four-ounces of pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing. It comes with your choice of fries, sweet potato fries, or potato salad.”

“That sounds delicious. I’ll have that with fries.” Ryker handed over the menu, and Ariana left us before I sensed Ryker’s eyes on me. “So, she confirmed you are Etienne’s twin. How did you lose your sight, if I may ask?”

“It’s a latent condition and not easily explained. Does it bother you?”

I wouldn’t go into any details. There might be a time when the explanation would make sense, but it wasn’t right now.

“Have you ever had your sight? I can’t imagine losing something so important.” Ryker’s voice was filled with empathy, which I appreciated. It wasn’t often a human was compassionate to our kind. Though Ryker didn’t know my true nature.

“Early on, it would come and go. Sometimes I can see still shadows. I’ve learned to make the best of it.”

Ryker touched my arm. “And Etienne has none of the same issues?”

I wanted to say it was his fucking fault I couldn’t see, but that would put voice to the bitterness between us. “No. He was spared. I’ve learned to manage my lack of sight because I don’t see it as a disability. I believe it’s an opportunity to see things differently, if you will.”

We chatted about Ryker’s job and what the Tremblay family wanted as far as a charitable organization was concerned. Ryker pecked information into his phone as we talked, and I smiled at his astute ability to determine which things were important to note. The guy wasn’t stupid in the least.

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