Page 40 of Johann

Roman arched a dark brow, his focus shifting from Jay to Alexei. “Pardon me?”

“I’m Alexei, his humanboyfriend.” Alexei glanced down at Jay as he said it, worried maybe he’d misread the meaning behind Jay’s blanket permission to kiss in public earlier, but Jay was beaming at him, clearly delighted by the possessive declaration.

Good enough for Alexei. After all, if he was going to stake his claim, why not start with Jay’s intimidating vampire friend who looked at Alexei like he was an annoying bug to be squashed under his expensive Italian loafers?

Lucky for all of them, Alexei was used to cold, murderous-looking men sizing him up and finding him wanting. He could handle it well enough with mobsters. He supposed he ought to be able to handle it with vampires as well.

Jay turned that beaming smile to Roman, seemingly undeterred by the cold reception. “Yes, my human boyfriend. Isn’t that nice, Roman?”

Alexei could have sworn for a second there was something close to fondness in Roman’s gaze as he stared back at Jay, but the next moment, his eyes were cold again, and he turned his attention to the dog at his feet. “Settle, mutt,” he ordered the animal, who was wiggling and whining and trying to get Jay’s attention. The blue-gray dog immediately sat, muzzle shut obediently.

“That’s Ferdy,” Jay explained to Alexei. He gestured to the dog. “Ferdy, this is Alexei. My human boyfriend.”

Ferdy cocked his head, and Alexei had the momentary, insane thought the dog was actually listening to Jay’s words. Roman only stepped aside from the door, sighing a little, like Jay introducing people formally to his pet was an everyday sort of occurrence. “Everyone is in the kitchen.”

“Everyone” meant three other people. Vampires all, Jay had told Alexei. There was the strange blond one from the day before; a muscled, all-American-looking guy who towered over him, holding on to his hand; and a third, dark-haired one with pretty brown eyes, who looked vaguely related to the second.

They were each ridiculously good-looking. Maybe there was also a vampire modeling agency somewhere?

Jay gasped in apparent surprise as they entered the kitchen. “Soren. You’re hereearly.”

Soren grinned that wide, creepy grin. “Didn’t want to miss a moment, Jaybird.”

Introductions were made, Jay emphasizing the wordboyfriendthree separate times, to Alexei’s satisfaction, and then Soren stepped toward Alexei with a goblet—an actual fuckinggoblet—of ruby-red liquid in his hand. “Can I offer you a drink, human?”

Alexei couldn’t help it: he hesitated. There was that eerie fucking smile again.

The third guy—Danny, the nurse—made a sound of distress. “Soren. You’re being creepy on purpose.” He made an apologetic face at Alexei. “It’s just red wine, I promise. No blood at the table.”

“Me, creepy?” Soren’s manic grin fell, and his lower lip pushed out in an exaggerated pout. “Cutie, you wound me. I never get to play it up with humans.” He waved a hand in Alexei’s direction. “He alreadyknows. Let me have my fun.”

“Not at the expense of our guest.”

The big guy, Gabe, grabbed Soren by the waist, tugging him back against his front. “Come here, brat. Behave.” He then looked Alexei over in that way buff guys sometimes did when they realized Alexei was bigger than them and they didn’t like that fact one bit.

Alexei did his best not to glower back, trying to keep his face in some semblance of a neutral expression. It wouldn’t do to alienate Jay’s friends at the very first meeting, not when the wordboyfriendwas being thrown about so wonderfully.

Soren relaxed back in Gabe’s arms with a sigh, looking to Alexei, then to Jay, and arching a brow. “I should lend you my heeled boots, Jaybird. Your human is going to get a crick in his neck trying to kiss you.”

Alexei huffed a reluctant laugh, but Jay shot Alexei a concerned look, his brow furrowed. “Does it hurt your neck, kissing me?” Before Alexei could even answer, Jay was patting his arm soothingly. “Poor human. Next time, just pick me up.” He turned to the rest of the room. “He’s very strong for a human. He can toss me around no problem.”

A variety of expressions went around the room at that statement: Soren looked delighted, Gabe horrified, Danny embarrassed, and Roman completely neutral.

Alexei shrugged.

There was an awkward silence after that, Alexei doing his very best to hold in the urge to ask everyone to pull out their fangs because—other than Soren’s creepy vibes and suspicious goblet—no one wasactinglike a vampire, and that in itself was kind of freaking him out.

Surprisingly, it was Roman who came to his rescue. “I am concerned I perhaps added too much garlic to the sauce for the chicken. Jay tells us you are versed in the culinary arts, Alexei. Perhaps you can try it?”

With those words, it hit Alexei for the first time how good the kitchen smelled. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. “Oh. Well, I’m not really. I only know a few Russian recipes. But my palate isn’t bad.”

When Roman didn’t rescind the offer, Alexei tasted the sauce. Fucking delicious. And it was kind of hard to tell, but he thought the vampire seemed pleased enough by his praise when he told him so.

That seemed to set everyone else in motion, Danny pulling Jay into the other room to help set the table while Soren and Gabe let the dog out into the backyard.

Alexei, left alone with the intimidating vampire, cleared his throat, feeling once again unspeakably awkward. “So…garlic?”

Roman shrugged a shoulder. “A myth, of which there are many. Sunlight is irritating to our eyes but not deadly. An invitation to a human’s home is not necessary to enter. Mirrors and photos depict us just fine. A stake to the heart would only earn you an enraged vampire at your heels.”

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