Page 4 of The Blood Master

"Take this it will help the tension." He told him. Then, he took a seat on the coffee table directly in front of him. They were so close their legs were touching. For some reason, the Master did not allow him to get too far away. The constant touching brought a pleasant familiarity, but Joel knew that it was far from real, so he kept a tight rein on his behavior.

He then placed his hand on Joel's knee and captured his gaze with his own dark, penetrating eyes. "Why were you working for Cassius." He asked and waited for an answer.

"I had no choice," Joel told him. He took a sip of the whiskey, loving the warmth and bite as it slid down his throat.

"Tell me about yourself, Joel." That was a broad question, and rather than going all the way back to the beginning, he started where his life had ended. The Master remained silent and gently squeezed Joel's knee, and his eyes continued to hold him frozen and powerless to look away.

"I worked at a coffee shop on Green Street, and I lived in a studio apartment in the Streeterville neighborhood. It’s probably gone now since I wasn’t able to pay my rent, and I'm sure the job is gone too." Joel got off topic for a second, feeling the loss of his old life, but pulled himself back together.

"I was out with a couple friends, and we went to the Blood Rose, where I met this guy Murphy. I don’t know his last name; I only know that he was fun, and I went home with him, thinking that it would be a fun night. I thought it was a one-night stand, but Murphy didn't let me leave in the morning." He stopped and took another sip of his whiskey.

"Take your time. There is no rush," Conall spoke, and as he did so, he took Joel's hand in his but never took his eyes from Joel's. "Are you warm enough?"

“Yes, sir.”

“Call me Conall.” Joel nodded. “For your own peace of mind, I can tell you that Murphy, the tiger shifter, is dead. He will never harm you again." Joel gave a sigh of relief at the news.

“He finally went against the wrong man?” Joel assumed.

"Yes, and that would be Victor Raum, my second. You met him downstairs in the garage."

"I must thank him, for it was truly a community service." Joel laughed softly. Conall cupped the side of Joel's face in the palm of his hand and tilted his face back up to his.

"I love the sound of your laugh, and I hope to hear it often." He then brought Joel's hand to his lips and kissed it, lingering for several seconds before looking up to capture Joel's gaze once again. "Tell me what happened, my love."

"Murphy wouldn't let me leave and used his tiger to scare me and to keep me in line. After about a week, he grew tired of me, and rather than just let me go, he sold me to the strip club." Joel swallowed his emotions as they began to well up.

"I've never worked in a strip club or any bar or Club before. It wasn't my scene, but I liked to blow off steam like everyone. I never thought that I would fall victim to the kind of man that everyone and their brother warns you about."

"You weren't the first to fall for his charm, and you weren't the last. Don't blame yourself it wasn't your fault. You had a right to go out and expect to enjoy yourself." Conall kissed his hand once again, and Joel was loving it. "Bastards likeMurphy prey on the decent by pretending to be such. He's off the streets now and no longer a danger to anyone."

"The bears were much worse, but if you were careful and didn't bring attention to yourself, it was possible to keep the beatings and degradation to a minimum." Joel finished his whiskey, and Conall took the glass and set it aside.

"I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner, but Fate works in her own time, and it was now that she brought us together." Conall moved to sit beside Joel on the couch and continued to hold his hand, which Joel continued to enjoy. "You are my beloved; do you know what that means?" Joel suddenly felt as if his mind was opening to the fantastic possibility of the claim being true.

“I know the basics.” He responded.

"The rest will come to you as our time together continues. Fate makes it so that the uninformed, like humans, can grasp all the depth and complexity without having to take a leap of faith. She opens your mind and allows the truth of your new reality to take form. You're probably feeling it even now." Conall looked deeply into Joel's eyes, and the clarity expanded, and the knowledge of the supernatural was taking shape in his mind.

"Don't force it, my love. It will all become clear to you it is our destiny." Joel's heart melted at the words, and his emotions swelled with the longing and the need for this man. The fear he'd once felt was fading away, and in its place was a fierce, burning desire for this Master Vampire.

CHAPTER THREE

Conall was a Master vampire, so he had pretty good control over his baser instincts and usually could resist reacting to his emotions. Unfortunately, that didn't apply where his beloved was concerned.

The need to provide, protect, and ravish, or rather claim, was absolutely overwhelming. Joel's scent was making his head spin and his blood burn, and the longer they were together, the harder it was for him to deny himself that which belonged to him.

"I'll order us some dinner. I'm sure you're probably hungry. While I do that, why don't you bathe and change your clothes? You'll feel so much better with the remains of that Club washed away." He stood up and reached his hand out to Joel, who took it without hesitation. "Come, and I'll show you the way." As they made their way to the primary bedroom, Conall noticed Joel sniffing him. He was trying to do it on the sly, but it was obvious to Conall, and he puffed up a bit at the thought that his beloved liked how he smelled. He brought him into the bedroom and then into the bathroom suite.

"Make yourself at home, love. Take your time and relax, and I'll let you know when dinner arrives." He took Joel into hisarms, needing contact and the feel of his body pressed to his. "I'll leave you a change of clothes on the bed." He stared down into those expressive eyes and then allowed himself to let go a little. He bent and took Joel's soft lips in a kiss that was to be gentle and brief, but once it began, it was neither.

Conall devoured that sweet, sensual mouth, eating away until Joel opened to his exploration. It wasn't long before Joel joined, seeking his own pleasure and satisfaction. The blanket dropped to the floor, and Conall couldn't resist wrapping his arms around Joel's warm, nearly naked body and pressing him close.

His body was made for him, and he ached to ravish every inch. He reached down and took that firm round ass in his hand and squeezed, kneading the flesh and bringing himself a modicum of satisfaction. He slid his hand beneath the thin, sparkly fabric of his tiny shorts and quickly found his tight little entrance.

Conall circled the tight muscle several times before plunging his middle finger deep inside his beloved. The heat and the pressure were mouthwatering. He ate away at Joel's eager lips while he plunged over and over and added his index finger, increasing the stretch and eliciting a sexy moan from his lover. "You are so hot, my love, so sweet and so perfect." He whispered against his plump lips.

Joel held him firmly with both hands pressing himself as close as physically possible while returning the kiss with equal passion and jutting his ass out to take advantage of Conall's deep exploration. His taste was erotic and enthusiastic, and Conall could not get enough. Finally, he moved to trail hot, moist kisses across his jaw and down his throat before delivering shallow, tentative bites to his shoulder.

---