Page 8 of The Blood Shadows

“Is it a nice apartment?” Ian smiled and his eyes sparkled, and it sent a soft tremble through Nox’s body.

"It's very nice. I think you would love it."

"In that case, I like to see it." Nox wanted to stand and exit the restaurant immediately, but he managed to control himself and signaled for the check. He wanted to get home as soon as possible because the thought of having his beloved in his personal space was filling his mind with hot and salacious thoughts.

Going by the hungry look on Ian’s face his mind was traveling in the same direction. After paying the check and leaving a hefty tip Nox helped Ian from his chair and placed his arm around his waist while quickly guiding him outside. He gave the ticket to the valet, and they stood silently with an arm around each other with anxious anticipation pumping through their veins.

Nox noticed a sleek white SUV with tinted windows approaching from their left. It was suspicious in the fact it was traveling slowly as it came to the restaurant but did not turn in. The backseat window on the right rolled down, and a black barrel appeared, and that was all Nox needed to see to process what was happening. It was only him and Ian standing there, so the target was obvious. Nox wrapped his body around Ian and turned just as the shots rang out. They hit Nox several times, butthe bullets were like raindrops to a demon. They damaged his suit but had no effect on him. He made sure Ian was completely cocooned within his embrace.

When the car had passed, Nox turned with the wind and disappeared, and within a split second, he was in the back seat of that car, sitting next to the shooter. Their eyes met, and panic exploded. Nox thrust a short sword into the man's side, puncturing his heart, and death was immediate.

The driver tried to turn and shoot, but he was too slow. Nox pulled out the sword and plunged it through the driver's seat, piercing him through, and then jerked it upwards, tearing him apart. Nox pulled out the sword, and catching the current, he was once again back with Ian cradling his beloved in his arms. He was gone for no more than a microsecond, but there was a shade of bewilderment present in the way Ian looked up at him.

"Nox, are you okay?" The words were frantic, and Ian's grip held him tightly.

“Come with me.” Nox held him and together they shifted on the winds and shadows and then they were no longer on the roadway in front of the restaurant but rather standing in the living room of Nox’s apartment.

Holding Ian like this, shielding him so completely, gave Nox a little peace and the knowledge that Ian was okay and those men had not hurt him. He knew it was true, and yet he was unnerved by how close death had come.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ian’s mind was blown, and at that moment, he didn't know what was real or what wasn't, so he held onto Nox and buried his face against his chest. "How, what, why. . ." The words spilled out. Nox gathered him close and held him until he felt calm enough to talk.

"They shot you." Ian saw it and felt the jolts as the rounds hit, but there was no sign of injury. He ran his hands over Nox's back, and there were no wounds, only tears in his clothing indicative of gunshots. "Your clothes have holes, but you're not bleeding." He looked up at Nox with eyes that were pleading for an explanation.

"As you admitted yourself, there are strange things that exist in this city, and not all have explanations," Nox spoke quietly, his cheek pressed against the side of Ian's head. "I am not an ordinary man." Ian listened closely and let the word sink in. Nox had given the impression of mystery, and the supernatural Ian had felt it from their first meeting. What he saw tonight sealed the fact that Nox was so much more than met the eye.

“Those men they got away, we should call the police make a report we should do something.” Ian’s mind shifted to theautomatic and he started spouting what little he knew to do in such a situation.

“They didn’t get away. You saw the car crash and burn. I made sure they will not come for you again.” Ian gripped Nox’s shirt beneath his jacket needing the contact and the grounding that being this close gave him. He saw the car veer off the road and smash into a streetlight. He saw it burst into flames and then Nox was back. It was coming back to him now.

Nox was gone for a brief moment and Ian had stood alone and then he was back, and the car exploded. He held Ian and then they were in this room. “Did I black out did you drive us here?”

“No, I brought us here.”

“You went after that car. You destroyed them.”

“I did.”

“What are you, Nox?"

“Look at me and then search your mind. You have the answer.” Nox lifter Ian’s chin up and then took his lips in a devastating kiss. Ian had thought about this kiss ever since getting the quick very chaste kiss on the cheek yesterday. But this was so much more thrilling than he’d ever imagined.

The kiss went on, and it deepened into a salacious exploration. Nox continued to hold his chin, keeping pinned in place for this sensory onslaught. Ian felt a slight pinch to his bottom lip as Nox's teeth grazed over the kiss-swollen flesh. A tremble passed through Nox, and then his embrace seemed to lock. Ian was pressed tightly to his chest, and their bodies clung together. He was so much taller and larger and yet they fit perfectly.

Ian felt Nox’s breath on his neck, and it stirred him to turn and trail kisses hot, wet kisses beneath his ear and down his neck. In response Nox did that turning thing again and Ian felt the movement in the pit of his stomach. It felt like vertigo and then they were standing in a bedroom.

"Are you magic, Nox?" Ian asked, trying to work out what was happening.

“I am vampire, and I am demon, and you are my beloved.” Ian looked up at him capturing his gaze and held it as he probed and searched looking for the purpose of such a response. The longer he stared things began to happen Ian could see his mind was opening to what stood before him. It wasn’t assumptions or supposition it was a gradual understanding of what he was looking at.

Nox’s face all the hard lines and the dark eyes with the fire behind all came into stark clarity. He could see the vampire and he could sense the demon. He shouldn’t know what he was looking at never having seen a vampire or a demon and honestly never realizing that they may be real until this very moment.

"It will become clearer," Nox said in a soft and deep voice. "My world is opening to you. The veils and the shields are dropping."

“Why?” Ian was mesmerized by what he was being introduced to and how his little sense of reality was being blown apart. Nox was otherworldly and yet he was still strong, substantial, gorgeous and absolutely breath taking. His parentage added to his mystique and alure and Ian wanted him now even more than he had yesterday. The word beloved was lingering in his mind, and it felt binding and eternal. “Why am I seeing this?”

Nox ran his fingers through Ian's hair gently and lovingly and looked at him like he was precious. Ian had never experienced the feeling of being special, but with Nox, he felt adored. "You are my beloved. You are Fate's gift to me, and my world is welcoming you." Ian couldn't help the smile that stretched across his lips. He reached up and touched Nox's cheek. The flesh was warm and firm, and he felt a thrill of sensations through his system. Nox turned his head and placed a sweet kiss on the palm of Ian's hand.

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