Page 37 of Thicker than Blood

“How did you meet him?” Jagger asks. For just a moment, I admire his rugged good looks. He’s a muscular man with facial features almost too pretty for his rough and tumble presence. He hails from Spain originally, and I try to imagine what he looked like in his princely clothes when he was part of the Spanish royal family. Instead of messy golden-brown locks and wild eyes, did he instead appear regal and tame?

“He came to my aid,” Lucius says. “I wandered into a bar with a crowd that was hostile towards strangers. He was there in a flash, assuring the locals I was his guest. We spent the evening together talking, hunting, and I think we became friends to some extent. I’m sure if I called upon him, he would answer.”

“I trust your judgment.”

My breath catches in time with Geordi’s. How unusual to feel his emotions so clearly. The effects of the tiny taste of his blood should have worn off long ago. He’s pleasuring himself, I’m sure of it, and my body reacts. My cock swells and my gums throb with the need to taste him again, but instead of an amuse-bouche, I desire to gorge myself on his pretty flesh, swallow his moans, lap up his pleasure.

“Gods,” Hendrix says. “Elias.”

Holding my hand to my chest, I try to smile through the intensity of desire, but I release a choked sound instead. “I’m experiencing something unusual.”

“Obviously,” Jagger says. “Care to enlighten us?”

“I suppose it doesn’t hurt to share. The mortal who came to me earlier to discuss the collaboration…” I pause, chuckling through the surge of heat spreading through me. “I took a tiny taste to put my scent on him before I brought him down to Paradiso.”

“And?” Soren asks.

“The connection lingers. I can sense him as we speak. He’s pleasuring himself.”

“Oh, now this is interesting,” Lucius says. “You can feel him?”

I nod. “Every bit of it. He…” My eyelids flutter. “Clearly. He’s imagining the two of us. I didn’t even properly feed. It was a dot of blood.”

“Interesting,” Soren says. “How could that be?”

“It must be the vaccine.”

“Vaccine?” Hendrix asks.

“He’s developing a serum that will protect mortals from our compulsion. The purpose of it is to remove the restriction from us, but it would be completely voluntary to take.”

“Why would a mortal want to do that?” Jagger asks.

“That was my question. Apparently, he has some empathy for our plight. He thinks it’s unfair that we’re forced to repress our nature.”

Soren scoffs. “There must be something else. Mortals are not altruistic when it comes to us.”

“He’s different. He doesn’t think we’re monsters or unable to control ourselves. He sees us as… extensions of our former humanity.”

“A dangerous view,” Soren says. “Not all of us remember that part of ourselves.”

“I know. He may be a bit naive, but I believe his intentions are good. That’s why I agreed to this project. If there are any mortals to be trusted, he’s one of them.”

“If you hadn’t tasted his blood I would challenge your statement,” Lucius says, “but we all know your ability is airtight.”

I nod. “Thank you. All of you. If we are to preserve our way of life, this is a necessary sacrifice. We were forced out of the shadows and into shackles. This little uprising may be the opportunity we need to restore the balance we’ve all benefited from.”

“Are you suggesting we ask for more liberties than we currently have?” Jagger asks.

“I believe it’s an opportunity to learn more about their research. Like this vaccine—if it works, it removes the rule about compulsion. What else could they be working on? Perhaps a method allowing us to feed freely and safely. Or the one rule that I personally find insulting.”

“The fraternization rule,” Soren says, with a hint of a growl in his voice.

“Indeed. Why shouldn’t mortals be allowed to make their own choices? If we show ourselves to be reasonable and safe, I think we could renegotiate.”

“Intriguing proposition,” Hendrix says. “I’m willing to try.”

I open my mouth to speak, but my words freeze on my tongue as another spike of Geordi’s pleasure hits me. If I were alone right now, I’d reach into my slacks and get myself off, but as I’m not, I’m forced to ride out his orgasm without touching myself.

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