Page 38 of Bitten

He followed. “Kane,” he muttered.

Caelian turned, his golden eyes feeling as if they saw too much. “Now was that too hard?”

Yes. “Let’s just wrap this up and go. I’m famished.”

Caelian placed the last book on a shelf. “Me, too. We can order something when we get to my room.”

My room.

Maybe leaving isn’t the best idea. Now he’d have to go be alone in even more cramped quarters with the male. Kane kept a few steps back as his stare followed Caelian’s every move, trying not to linger over the curve of the ass, or the fullness of those lips he wanted to kiss so desperately.

Once Caelian had cleaned up, they exited the library and out into the hum of the nighttime city. As many lights as shone overhead, it barely looked like night. He missed the country for that one thing.

Quiet.

Well, country quiet. When the only sounds were the crickets, frogs, and cicadas, with the occasional owl hooting or cougar growling. At night, you could see the stars and trace the outlines of the constellations with a finger.

Here, the light pollution made the sky almost as bright as daylight. Cars sped past, horns honking. Kane searched the sidewalks and streets, looking for any potential threats. The towering buildings lit at night soared up into the sky above—as did his gaze. Vampires could fly—as could some other threats.

Midnight looked very much like the pictures he’d seen of New York City growing up, but with a bit of magical flair—but then he’d never been outside of Louisiana before his change and not gotten farther than Mississippi after, so he couldn’t truly compare the two. He was fairly sure that New York didn’t have changing skyscrapers that grew to enormous sizes as the need arose. Or ones that looked tiny and housed thousands.

Kane walked alongside the much smaller Caelian, very cognizant of the height disparity. The elvish guy was even smaller than Ralnur. It could never work.I’d tear him apart.

Add in the danger he’d be in… it wouldn’t work.

Of course, he knew he was searching for excuses—reasons he shouldn’t act on the need screaming in his veins. And it was screaming all right. He could feel the blood pulsing from his newly beating heart. It felt odd after all those years without it.

Kane tried to ignore the new sensations in his own body as they walked the few blocks to the Grand Witch Hotel. He frowned, curious as to why Caelian was staying there.

They entered the luxurious lobby and headed for one of the elevators before slipping inside a car alone and heading for the top. Kane stood slightly behind Caelian and let his stare roam over man’s head and back… and down to that tight, perfect ass.

When he lifted his stare, he saw Caelian’s watching him from the mirrored doors.

Great. He looked away and tried not to get too curious again—at least until they were at a point where he couldn’t be caught again.

They reached a door marked 10-724, and Caelian lifted a small card to the knob.

“Stay here,” Caelian said over one shoulder.

Kane frowned. “Why? I should check the room before you enter.”

“Booby traps. You don’t know where they are. I do.”

Booby traps? Kane sighed before he watched the small man carefully open the door and slide his hand just inside. He unlatched something at the door before wedging it open enough so he could barely sneak in. Kane heard a crash, a “damnit!”, and another crash before the door opened wide.

“You can come in now.”

Kane eyed the entry, looking for any forgotten traps before he stepped in. “You’re sure?”

“I’ve unhooked them all. Promise,” Caelian said, nursing his bicep.

He fought the urge to pull the elf closer and check for damage. Kane stepped deeper in and saw the place had been tossed. “Someone’s been here.” He drew in a scent but could only smell Caelian.

And it drove him nuts. He’d been fighting the desire he felt all day. All he could see in his mind was tossing the elf, fae, whatever he was over one of those library tables and sliding into the man from behind.

He began searching the room, looking to see if anyone was still there.

“No one’s been here,” Caelian said. “One of my booby traps would’ve gone off if they had. Everything is just as I left it.”

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