Page 12 of Eleazar

“Tell me what you know, little one.” Eleazar’s voice was made of the warmest honey, luring Andrew into a false sense of security. “How did you find out?”

Andrew fought not to be mesmerized by him. “Found out what?”

Eleazar’s hand fell away, and he narrowed his eyes. “Don’t force me to invade your mind and find out your secrets.”

Andrew drew in a sharp breath. “So you did sneak into my mind that night of my interview!”

If Andrew had planned on continuing to play dumb, he’d just ruined it. The cat was out of the bag, and now he would have to tell Eleazar everything he knew but not before getting an answer about the mind-invasion thing.

“I needed to know if I could trust you.”

“Dude, that was a total violation of my privacy,” Andrew argued, uncaring that he was yelling at his boss. A vampire. Andrew was too pissed off to care. Too pissed to be stunned that Eleazar could actually do that.

Eleazar trapped him against the wall. “Tell me what you know.”

“Everything.” Andrew swallowed, his bravado from seconds ago gone. He explained about his visit to the coffee shop and his talk with Felix.

Eleazar cursed. “He shouldn’t have said anything to you. It wasn’t his place.” He glanced down at Andrew. “You are free to leave if you choose. But you will keep our existence a secret.”

Andrew opened his mouth then closed it, unsure what to say. “Promise you’ll never invade my mind again.”

“You chose to stay?” Eleazar looked as if he hadn’t expected Andrew to stick around.

“Can you keep me safe?”

“Yes.”

“Good, because I need this job,” Andrew said, omitting the part about his wild attraction to the vampire. “How long do I have to stay trapped in my room?”

Eleazar took a step back, giving Andrew his space. Honestly, Andrew wanted Eleazar to move back to where he was, their bodies damn near pressed against each other. He loved a good-smelling man and loved Eleazar’s broad body even more. He wouldn’t mind the guy smashing him against whatever wall he wanted to just as long as they were touching.

“I will have a meeting with my coven,” Eleazar said, still looking at Andrew as if he had two heads. Why? Any servant Eleazar hired would eventually find out about vampires. Had Eleazar thought Andrew would remain in the dark?

Andrew smiled. “Can we ditch this party? I’m bored to tears.”

Eleazar chuckled, and it was the sweetest sound. “Where do you want to go?”

Andrew thought about it. “I need to go to my apartment and grab some more things since I’ll be living with you.”

“Gather what you do not want to part with,” Eleazar said. “Come tomorrow, I’ll buy out your lease and that will no longer be your home.”

The finality of Eleazar’s words hit home, but Andrew wanted to stay. He not only needed the job, but now that the truth of his knowledge was out, he felt as if he could breathe easier. He could stop pretending he was clueless. It would make his job a hell of a lot simpler.

Chapter Four

“I take it you’re not allergic to the sun in the way you made it sound,” Andrew said as they walked into the small apartment.

Eleazar looked around, noting how little the human possessed. The unit was sparsely decorated with what looked like secondhand furnishings.

Two of the windows didn’t even possess coverings, which allowed anyone in this less-than-desirable neighborhood to see inside his apartment. When Eleazar looked to his left, into the kitchen, he saw that Andrew’s table was simply a card table with folding chairs.

The human definitely needed the job. Not that Eleazar was being disparaging. People made do with what they had, and there was a time, in the beginning, when he’d had to live in poverty. That felt like eons ago.

“I’m allergic,” Eleazar said. “Highly allergic.”

“Yeah, because of the whole vampire thing,” Andrew said. “That makes more sense than some blood disorder. I’m glad I found out. Now a lot of other things make sense, too.”

“Your belongings,” Eleazar reminded Andrew.

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