Page 59 of Thomas
“Of course.” Cameron took his tumbler and moved from behind the bar as Thomas stood from the high stool.
Breathe, Thomas. Give the man some space.
They’d only been living together a month, and frankly, it was ridiculous that he felt so intensely attracted to this purebred, this fast. Maybe it was the nearness of Thomas’s traumatic experience manipulating his senses, but Cameron and his home felt overwhelminglysafe.
Cameron was kind and thoughtful, and his home was beautiful (whimsical, even), warm, clean and bright, and everyone in it practically glowed with a contentment that Thomas had never before witnessed.
It was like he’d been drowning out at sea, alone for months on end, but a friendly ship had pulled him on board and he was immediately falling in love with the captain. He needed to get ahold of himself.
Cameron hadn’t asked what Rachelle had gotten them for a present. In all the commotion of saying their goodbyes after the party and the gifted box of cigars from Henry, he must have forgotten about it. Thomas wanted to tell him, but not tonight. Talking about going to a Roman bathhouse together was not… It would not help Thomas to reel in his runaway feelings.
Instead, they talked about other things. Cameron asked if Thomas was still upset with Mira, and Thomas told him no. Thathe no longer felt it logical to blame her for what had happened to him, because in reality, she had been powerless to stop it.
They talked more about the staff, and how Cameron, too, had noticed that Mira and Sulee seemed quite fond of one another. Cameron supposed he might eventually need to give Mira and Sulee a suite together, like Lennon and Miles. To which Thomas had balked—“Lennon and the driver?”
Cameron had waved a hand. “They’ve been mated for as long as I can remember. You hadn’t noticed?”
“Christ…” Thomas had stared blankly into the candle flames, his empty tumbler cupped in his palms. “I had not.”
“You’ve been busy surviving, and you’ve probably never seen them in the same room together. They’re very discreet. They have a suite together in the southern wing.”
“Wow,” Thomas had remarked, embarrassed. He wasn’t normally so aloof, but Cameron was right. He’d been more stressed about, well, having the will to live?
A comfortable and lengthy silence passed between them in which they finished off the cigar together. By the end of it, Thomas felt relaxed and sleepy. If his lordship permitted it, he would have been very happy to curl up right there on the couch and fall asleep with his head in Cameron’s lap.
“What was Dawn’s family name?” Cameron asked quietly.
Thomas had been resting with his head tipped back against the couch. He shifted to meet Cameron’s gaze. “Pruitt. Why?”
Cameron stared down at his hands in his lap. “We could find her, if you wanted? I’m… Perhaps it would comfort you to know where she is? That she’s safe, hopefully.”
A spark of hope lit in that small hole in his heart. “It would be of great comfort. How would we find her?”
“I could start asking around,” Cameron suggested. “Vampires talk, and Lennon and Sulee are well connected withthe working-class vamps. If we start digging, I’m sure we can find something out.”
Thomas’s blood quickened within his veins. “If it isn’t an inconvenience to any of you, yes, I would like to know. Very much.”
Cameron nodded. “I’ll ask them about it… Shall we call it a night?” Cameron helped to pull Thomas up from the too comfortable couch, then they tidied everything to Cameron’s satisfaction and headed back down the staircase.
As Cameron went to the wall to press the button to hide the stairs away once more, Thomas felt overwhelmed with affection for him. He was still wearing his suit from the party—they both were—but Cameron had ditched his bow tie, and the top two buttons of his dress shirt were unfastened. He looked so… effortless and statuesque standing there. Elegant, like something from a dream.
Thomas’s pragmatic sense of mind was telling him that he was being absurd and hasty. But his internal vampiric nature was writhing and swooning. Cameron had made Thomas laugh when he’d growled like a bear and lifted his nephews. He’d listened intently and then held Thomas while he’d cried. He’d delighted and surprised Thomas with this attic bar, then engaged him with interesting conversation and damn fine liquor and cigars.
Resisting this feeling was like trying to protect his darkened and withered soul from the warmth and joy of the sun. It was like fighting against fiery champagne bubbles racing up his spine, and at the moment, he was losing the battle.
“Tonight was magical,” Thomas said as Cameron stepped toward him. “Thank you for everything.”
“I don’t think I did anything special, but you’re welcome, always.” Before he could pass, Thomas gently stepped into thepath to block him. Cameron paused, blinking. “Is everything alright?”
Thomas took a breath. “May I hug you?” Cameron had embraced him earlier. Granted, it was in a moment of desperation to quell his hysteria, but Thomas wanted to try. Trying had been working out well for him lately.
“Oh, um… yes, you may,” Cameron said, looking slightly confused.
Thomas stepped into him and lifted his arms. He wrapped them around Cameron’s shoulders and brought him flush with his chest. Cameron politely set his palms on Thomas’s waist underneath his suit jacket. Thomas brought him in even closer, slipping one hand to the back of Cameron’s neck and the other across his shoulder blades.
“You can hold me, Cameron,” Thomas whispered. “If you wish.”
Slowly, Cameron’s hands slipped around to his lower back. The muscles of Cameron’s back and shoulders flexed as he embraced Thomas tightly, sliding one hand up his spine and drawing him into his hips and groin. Cameron shifted his head so that his face and nose rested warmly in the curve of Thomas’s neck, just beneath his ear.
