Page 33 of Johann

“Me too, kitten. And I’m happy to have you here as my assistant. The best pancake assistant there ever was.”

Jay flushed deeply, pink all the way down to his neck, and squirmed a little on the counter. “Really?” he asked, voice hopeful.

God, he was so fucking responsive to the least bit of praise. “Really, really,” Alexei said, placing the last of the pancakes on a plate and turning off the burner. He sidled up in between the vampire’s dangling legs. “You know the only thing that could make you a better assistant right now?”

Jay leaned forward, eager. “What?”

“If you gave me a kiss.”

Once again, the speed with which Jay moved was alarming, his arms wrapping around Alexei’s neck in an instant, his eager lips on Alexei’s mouth before he could blink. But Alexei rolled with the fucking punches, kissing the sweet vampire with enthusiasm, letting it devolve quickly into absolute filth, licking into his mouth and letting Jay explore as much as he wanted in turn.

For such a sweet little thing, Jay kissed Alexei like he wanted to devour him whole, moaning when Alexei pulled him forward by the hips, the counter setting him at the perfect height to grind their cocks together.

When Alexei finally pulled away for air, they were both panting like mad. Jay had been panting the night before as well. “Do you—do you need to breathe?” Alexei asked between his own labored breaths.

Jay blinked dazedly at him, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. “It won’t kill me not to, but it’s a very uncomfortable reflex to suppress. The body remembers.”

That brought up a question that had been lingering in the back of Alexei’s mind, but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it in a way that wasn’t horribly macabre, or just plain offensive. Jay seemed to read it in his face anyway, smiling softly at him, sadness tinging the corners of his mouth. “Beheading or total consumption by fire. That’s how to kill us.”

“Well, fuck.” Alexei had seen men die, yes, but not quite like that. “Did you—have you ever seen that?”

Jay dropped his arms from Alexei’s neck. “Beheading, yes.”

“That sounds like a story.”

“I’m over two hundred years old. I definitely have stories.”

It was so easy to forget most of the time. Jay had such a youthful air, to go along with his youthful face. But then there were moments like this one, when something came into his gray eyes: an air of unknowable depths, completely at odds with the enthusiasm he showed for simple things, like making fucking pancakes.

Alexei should leave it alone. But his hunger for Jay extended toallof Jay, including his history. “Maybe—maybe abadstory?” he pushed.

Jay shoved him back gently then, as if he needed the distance to consider Alexei properly, cocking his head and looking him over. Alexei could only hope he passed the test.

He really wanted to pass the fucking test.

After a moment of that, Jay cleared his throat and folded his hands on his lap, like he was preparing for a recital of some kind. “I was turned to be someone’s…companion,” he said. “I was raised as a vampire in a den where humans were considered lesser. And even within the den, there was an established hierarchy. If you turned someone, they were yours, to do with as you wished. If it didn’t work out, the newer vampire was killed. My companion, Vee—Veronique—she needed me to be neat, and quiet, and obedient. If I was, we got along quite well. If I wasn’t, I was…left alone. I’m very good at passing time alone.” Jay looked him straight in the eyes then, his gray pair looking positively ancient. “But I don’t like it.”

Alexei tried to put together the strange pieces of that story, mulling them over in his mind. “You were…owned? And…abused.”

Jay shrugged, but the movement came off as anything but casual. “My friend Soren was in the same den. His maker wanted him for sex as well as service, and he—he hurt my friend. A lot. Vee never did that to me. Not physically.” He took a deep breath, letting it out in a whoosh. “Ten years ago the lead vampire of the den went feral. He had to be put down, and Vee helped in the effort. She was killed. I was there, but I ran. I’m not—I’m not very brave.”

Alexei wasn’t sure what to say in the face of all that. Except, “I ran too. From my brother. I’m not very brave either.”

“Well, your mortal bodyisvery fragile,” Jay conceded.

Alexei had never been called fragile in his entire life. “What did you mean, he went feral?”

“It’s the natural end for many vampires. A loss of our humanity. Unless we’re tethered, mated to another.”

Something cold ran through Alexei’s veins at the thought. “You’re not mated, are you?”

“No.” Jay seemed to misunderstand the direction of his question. “But don’t worry. If I were ever to have signs of going feral, I would leave Hyde Park. I wouldn’t endanger anyone there. I promise.”

Alexei wanted to tell him that was the last fucking thing he was worried about. That he was much more terrified of the thought of this sweet vampire losing his mind, being potentially attacked by his own kind. But Jay looked so sad, and it was all Alexei’s fault for bringing it up.

“Hey,” he said, stepping forward again. “Have I told you yet you’re the best pancake-making assistant I’ve ever had?”

Jay smiled, a tentative thing. “You have. And you’re lying, which isn’t very nice.”

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