Page 72 of A Sip of Sin

“H-ollen,” said Adair his voice cracking. “No, let me see him.”

Munro shook his head.Am I doing this?His heart pounded as utter realization settled in.

“I’m the first vampire, and I created the second. When I did that, I gave him half my power, splitting myself in two. I never made another after that, letting the others split themselves until the line was diluted beyond repair. I hate what my line has become.”

He lowered his head to Hollen’s chest. The empty quiet was a wound to his heart. “But I can’t let you die, my love.” He brought his wrist to his mouth, ripping into the flesh until bone was exposed.

With blood streaming down his fingers, he plunged his hand into Hollen’s chest, his claws cutting through skin, and his strength breaking bones until Hollen’s heart was in his hand.

He squeezed it once before letting it go, willing his own blood to fill the gaps and soak in like a sponge after it had been left out to dry.

Hollen lay still, his head lolled back and his mouth dry.

Munro growled, squeezing his hand again and nearly crushing Hollen’s heart beneath his palm.

Hollen screamed, his eyes wide as he jerked, clawing at Munro’s hand. He would be able to feel everything, from his broken bones to the stretched and torn flesh.

Munro squeezed.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

One Month Later

Hollen

Hollen balanced the tray of sweet desserts on one hand, a small decorative cup scrawled with flowers in the other. The spices of the night filled the air with fresh orange zest and cinnamon, candied bacon atop the most unsuspecting of the desserts.

His mouth watered at the smell, but his stomach didn’t rumble. When he’d tried the treats earlier, the taste had bloomed over his senses, better than he could remember anything tasting, save one thing that he’d sampled frequently over the last month.

Munro was leaning against the wall in the warm kitchen, his arms crossed as Sean worked away at a thick dough he’d been shaping into cookies. They had a full house and crew, each influenced in little ways to forget who exactly was writing their paychecks.

The secrets grated on him more than anything else, threatening to pour from his throat any moment. But who would he tell? Adair was quieter than ever, frequently staying at his grandmother’s or spending long hours dancing. Hollen had triedto speak with him about it, but Adair always shook his head. They both had their own secrets to keep now.

“You know what will happen now if you are exposed—what will happen to us? They will hunt you down, and I’m no longer strong enough to stop them.”Munro had said those words to him after he’d finally healed from the gaping wound in his chest, what little remained of his own blood squeezed from his very body and replaced by Munro’s.

It wasn’t the way he’d envisioned Munroinsidehim again. There were so many better ways that didn’t hurt quite so much. The scars on his chest still ached every day, especially when his stomach growled.

Delivering his plate quickly, he headed back to the kitchen, throwing his arms around Munro’s neck as soon as he was close enough. No one gave them a second glance, Sean shaking his head with a soft chuckle on his lips as he worked away. A frown tugged at Munro’s lips as he settled his hands on Hollen’s hips.

“Are you hungry?” asked Munro, kissing the top of Hollen’s head. His breath lingered in Hollen’s hair, spices soaking into him. “You don’t have to serve them, my love. Come to bed with me instead.”

Hollen nodded his head, placing a peck on Munro’s cheek. He kept his hands to himself in the busy place, even if most of them weren’t really watching. Their eyes were unseeing, tea the only thing on their minds.

There were a few perks to having a vampire as his boyfriend, especially when the same blood flowed through his veins.

For one, they could feed from each other for hours, taking little sips as they made love. It sated Hollen’s hunger, heat building within him until he couldn’t resist and longer, tilting his head and letting Munro take his fill. There was nothing quite like perching on Munro’s cock with teeth piercing his neck.

The other benefit was that they could lie awake with one another, speaking of nothing for hours. Sometimes Hollen would doze, but he rarely slept for long stretches anymore. The only day he’d managed a full eight hours was when an eclipse had kept them indoors.

Hollen grinned, trailing his nose over Munro’s neck. “It’s my night tonight. Adair is home—he was going to make us pizza.” Hollen grinned, slipping into Munro’s arms and turning to watch the bustling kitchen. He’d started to love the place, from the quiet patrons to Sean, who had swung his fist into Munro’s face when he’d first discovered what had happened to Hollen.

“I thought vampires were born, not made. What the fuck?”Sean hadn’t stopped swearing, even when Munro had taken the first hit, along with a second.

“So naive.”Munro had shaken his head, accepting the punches as if they were a mere annoyance.

Sometimes it still startled Hollen to think that Munro had split his power to save his life. Next to Munro, Hollen was the most powerful vampire in the world. Munro had knowledge and centuries on his side, but Hollen’s talents soared.

Infiltrating minds was easier than breathing, and he was stronger than he thought possible. His teeth were razor sharp, and biting his lip was more than an innocent inconvenience now.

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