Page 18 of Benicio

“No, I don’t confide in Matteo, even though he is loyal to me.”

“You need someone,” David said. “Someone to help you with your heavy burden.”

Benicio smiled. “Are you vying for that position?”

David didn’t snatch his hand away. Benicio liked holding it, liked the contact. He couldn’t recall the last time he was even intimate with someone. Since falling ill, he kept people at bay so no one would discover he was growing weak.

“No,” he finally answered. “I’m just saying it has to be lonely for you. In one aspect, we’re just like humans. We need that contact, need someone in our corner.”

Benicio had longed for such a thing. He constantly told himself that he didn’t need anyone, but that was a flat-out lie. He craved intimacy and not just sex. Closeness, someone he could count on, someone he could come home to and lay his head in their lap.

He still wanted David with madness, but until the vampire agreed to be with him, Benicio would keep his distance.

“Can…” David looked away. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

“Tell me,” Benicio urged.

David gave a humorless chuckle. “I was just wondering if we could just cuddle. You know, like I said, contact.”

Benicio pulled David into his side, wrapping an arm around him. The feeling was foreign to him. It was strange to be filled with such warmth.

“You can do that anytime you like.” He smiled and kissed David’s forehead.

“Thank you,” David said.

Benicio nodded. He knew that showing such vulnerability could be dangerous in his position, but he’d needed it, too, for a long time. He just had to trust David would be the one he could turn to. Even in his darkest hour.

* * * *

Eleazar walked upstairs to the attic where his beloved possessions were stored. He grazed his fingers over the painting of his mother, stopped to gaze at a few pieces of antique furniture, and inhaled the scents of his past.

He sat on a large chest, glancing around, feeling as if these things no longer mattered.

Andrew walked quietly into the room and sat beside him. “We’ll get through this. I’m not going to let Benicio kill you.”

That was what Eleazar loved about his mate. Andrew’s fierce love and loyalty. He took his mate’s hand and held it as he continued to look around. “There was a time when I cherished everything in this room. I would kill anyone who thought to destroy a single item.”

Andrew snorted. “You still love all this junk. I’ve seen you sneak off up here from time to time.”

“True, but there is something I cherish even more than paintings, books, and all this memorabilia.”

“Me?” Andrew grinned.

“Yes, you.” Eleazar kissed the tip of his nose. “And our daughter.”

“That goes without saying.” Andrew got up and started digging in one of the many chests.

Normally, Eleazar would have flown into a rage to have anyone touch his ancient keepsakes. But this was Andrew, the love of his life, and he liked the fact that his mate was so interested in the past.

His past.

But Eleazar was a realist and knew Benicio wasn’t in the city to share a cup of tea. He was there to pass judgment, and with everything that had happened since he’d had Fayez killed, Eleazar knew he was looking at a death sentence.

“What’s this?” Andrew sat on the floor, in his hands an old book.

Eleazar joined him on the floor. “A book of spells.”

Andrew frowned. “Is that a joke?”

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