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The vampires hated to admit it, but Guillermo was right: Lilith’s coven was the safest place to be right now. It was windowless and difficult to breach, being partly underground. Not to mention spacious and maze-like and full of witches – should any vampire assassin manage to get inside and navigate the labyrinth of dark stone corridors, they would soon be picked up by a witch and undoubtedly used for semen-extraction.
After a good half hour of back-and-forth between vampire slayer and witches (much of the conversation centering around vampire seed), the sorceresses agreed to accommodate them for as long as they needed. What Guillermo really needed right now was a hot bath. Probably two. Vampire blood had long since dried on his skin and clothes and was starting to itch. His fringe was stuck to his forehead and every time he moved his brow, thin strands would pull themselves loose and tug painfully at his scalp. Not only that but somehow he’d managed to splatter himself with squishy pink viscera, and for some reason he stank of burning tires. The way Lilith screwed her nose up and urgently sent two witches ahead to ready a tub was evidence enough that he looked (and smelled) a mess.
The stone hallway they were taken down was dotted with alcoves housing simple but elegant rooms with dark tables, drawers and fur-topped beds all illuminated by soft LED candlelight.
“These are our familiar suites,” Lilith explained with a flick of her wrist and the slightest hint of disdain. “You may take your pick of any of these outer rooms. Black Peter lives further down the hall, as well as a few others that you may or may not know. Best you keep out of their way; some of them are gossip-mongers. Luckily for you , we have no other guests at this time.”
Nadja and Laszlo had been quiet the whole time, and when Laszlo raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth, presumably to thank the witch, his lady wife stomped on his foot. He hissed.
“Thank you,” Guillermo said tiredly. “Really, we appreciate it. All of us.”
“Even me,” Colin Robinson piped up, lifting his hand to wave from behind Nandor. He was wearing his usual smirk, buthis energy-sapping peppiness seemed tainted by exhaustion.
Lilith simply blinked at the energy vampire, before gingerly taking one of Guillermo’s hands in her own. “You are very important to us, human,” she said kindly. Her finger brushed off some flakes of blood from Guillermo’s hand and she recoiled with a grimace. “Well, your semen-collecting abilities, anyway.”
Guillermo was too tired to blush. He simply nodded and wondered where the hell his bath was. Nadja and Laszlo sauntered off to inspect the room to their right, Lilith following close behind, chattering about something that was too unimportant for Guillermo (or anyone else, for that matter) to tune in on.
Before Colin had a chance to feed on the awkward silence they’d left in their wake, the two witches returned with news that Guillermo’s bath was ready. Guillermo thanked them quietly and made to follow, but he was stopped by a tiny squeeze of his wrist. He looked down at the hand that hovered there, and followed the arm up to Nandor’s collar, his neck, his face. What he saw there was something bordering on apologetic.
“Don’t care what your fucking name is, we had to pick up our own laundry!”
“Well, are you going to stand there glaring at us or are you going to untie us?”
“I can’t believe you slaughtered half the theatre! Some of those were Laszlo’s favorite orgy partners! Those innocent vampires…what did they ever do to deserve that?”
“Why didn’t you slaughter Vladislav the Shithead instead?”
“How far is it to Brooklyn? You are stinking up the chariot, Guillermo.”
“Will the witches collect our semen in person, do you think, Laszlo?”
“Laszlo, make sure you stay away from the goat.”
“Guillermo, make this chariot go faster! A disgraced bat can fly faster than this!”
Guillermo had snapped, then. He couldn’t remember veering off the road, or exactly what came out of his mouth once the car came to a jolting halt, but he certainly remembered balling his fist and socking Nandor directly in the jaw. And then immediately regretting it, only because it’d hurt like an absolute bitch.
Laszlo had burst out laughing, slapping his knee between guffaws. “Nice shot, boy!” he’d cried with mirth. Beside him Nadja rolled her eyes, and beside her, Colin Robinson’s eyes glowed blue. This unexpected turn of events had left him rather excited.
Guillermo had stared at Nandor in shock, matching the vampire’s expression. He tried to slow his heavy breathing but it only made him pant louder. His throat was raw; tears stung his eyes, though he didn’t know why because at this point he felt an intense calmness wash over him. The tension in his shoulders dissipated. The throbbing in his hand dulled to an almost satisfying ache. What wasn’t satisfying, however, was how quickly the red mark faded from Nandor’s pale skin; like watching a flower blossom in reverse.
Nandor broke eye contact first, slowly coming to his wits. Usually Guillermo would brace himself for the ensuing outburst, but tonight he was beyond caring. Tonight he was riding a weird, confusing high of adrenaline and relief and malevolence. Nothing Nandor could say or do would faze him. In fact, he welcomed it. Welcomed more reasons to hate him.
Except the outburst never came. Nandor simply sat back in his seat and stared out the windscreen, his eyes wide but unseeing as the rusty cogs turned in his head. Guillermo had swallowed the lump in his throat and turned the ignition. The remainder of the drive had gone by in uncomfortable silence, and Nandor hadn’t spoken since.
He didn’t speak now, either. But there was a question in his eyes, in his barely-there touch. Guillermo didn’t exactly know what it was he was agreeing to as he gave a short nod back, but the moment was fleeting and soon he was following one of the witches into a little room, feeling the vampire’s eyes on his back the entire time. As he left the corridor he thought he heard the soft rumble of Nandor’s voice, but if he had, it wasn’t directed at him.
“There are towels and a robe just there,” the pale-skinned witch said, gesturing to a little stool near the curtain divider that separated the bath from the rest of the room. Guillermo hardly heard her. His eyes were on the tub before him, which could only be described as a large, slightly elongated cauldron. The slate-grey water seemed depthless, its murkiness broken up by ripples of oily chartreuse, and small petals in unnatural shades of pink and blue. Steam rose from the tub and caught the colors of the undulating water, giving the entire room an eerie, ethereal ambience.
“Is that water safe?” Guillermo asked incredulously.
“Of course it is,” said the pale witch. “The lavender is calming, and the chamomile is good for your skin. There is also cilantro, aloe vera and the boiled skin of exactly three Hyloxalus.”
“Hylo… what ? Is that some kind of...?”
“Relax, my love, it is perfectly safe. We use only the finest elixirs for our esteemed guests,” the dark-skinned woman explained (what was her name? Judith? Laszlo had admitted to sleeping with her. Nadja’s unspoken death threat had been clear in her eyes when they’d spotted each other tonight). “The esteemed guest being you , Guillermo. Those vampires of yours will be lucky to get Black Pete’s Goat Milk Soap .”
“Registered trademark,” added the blonde witch matter-of-factly.
“Well that…that doesn’t seem so bad,” Guillermo said mildly, recoiling a little when she tugged at his coat.
“You would think that, but goat semen is terrible for the skin,” Judith explained. “Especially a familiar goat. Remember what happened to Carol the Cruel, Rosemary?”
The pale witch called Rosemary giggled. “Oh she looked terribly cruel after that. I wonder whatever happened to her?”
Guillermo cringed, and decided it was best not to further complain about the water. The witches treated him well enough, and seemed to appreciate the work he did for them (and also seemed to think he procured the vampire’s semen directly by hand), but he didn’t want to risk his bath being sabotaged by questionable goat’s milk . The ladies stood back, Judith discreetly adjusting the bottles of soaps and oils and washcloths on a small table directly beside the tub, as if to say, “These are for your use. Please use them. We can’t stand the smell any longer.”
Guillermo felt a small tug on his arm and looked down, and was surprised to find he no longer wore a coat, Rosemary having finally succeeded in peeling it away from his bloodied vest. She dutifully folded it and placed it by the table, before grabbing his wrist and unbuttoning a cuff. Guillermo tiredly allowed her, absent-mindedly watching her nimble fingers work. She repeated the action on his other sleeve, darting a timid little smile up at him while she worked. He smiled back drowsily. It wasn’t very often he was waited on like this. Usually he’d find it extremely awkward but right now it just felt…nice.
That was, until she started on his vest buttons and he glanced up and saw that Judith was stark naked in front of him, her slender hands drifting over the shoulders of the blonde witch. She smiled sweetly at Guillermo. Guillermo’s chest filled with panic and he hurriedly stepped back, pushing the blonde witch away with a little too much fervor, causing her to stumble into Judith. She gave a little yelp as Judith caught her.
“I’m-I’m sorry! Are you okay?” he stammered out. “I didn’t mean to…I mean…you…you’re…” He gestured dumbly to the naked witch, his hand grazing the air from her thigh to her breast, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to look squarely at her.
Both witches exchanged surprised glances. Rosemary came to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need help?” she asked sweetly, eyes flickering down to his waist, and then back up to his face.
“No! No.” He tried to smile. It came out a grimace. “I’m good, thanks.”
The women exchanged glances, which only made Guillermo more confused. Then Judith spoke up. “Fernando said—“
“Nandor, Judith,” Rosemary corrected, before glancing almost bashfully at Guillermo. “Nandor told us that you may need assistance.”
“He…he did?” Guillermo choked out. The strong fragrance of the steam was making his head spin. Maybe it was doing something to him; blocking his ears, making him mishear. “N-Nandor knows I can undress myself just fine, thank you.”
The blonde witch giggled; a cute, twinkly noise that walloped through Guillermo’s chest like a dreadful foghorn in the dead of night. “We’re not just talking about undressing , silly.” She ran a hesitant little finger down Guillermo’s cheek, and his skin responded in a flush of color.
Suddenly Judith was at his side, too. Guillermo had never been this close to a naked lady before and curiosity got the better of him. He felt his eyes straying, glancing over to where she stood at his side and then gliding over her beautiful umber eyes, her flushed cheeks and gentle curve of her neck, and further down to those plump little breasts and…
Shit, he was hard. He was hard ?
Rosemary was on his other side now, her body pressed against him, her breasts grazing his sleeve through the flimsy fabric of her gown. He could feel their heat, so close to his bared, twitching hands. They enveloped him in a cocoon of wandering fingers and hot breath and soothing whispers. Like a sailor being drawn to a flock of sirens, Guillermo was tempted…incredibly tempted…to just fall into the ocean and be drowned by this unfamiliar feeling of warmth.
The spell was broken the moment somebody touched his dick.
“Okay!” he gasped, wriggling out from between the two luscious bodies. “Thank you…thank you for…” he looked down as the cold air hit him and was stunned to find himself completely naked. Rosemary had apparently succeeded in undressing him and then stripped off her own gown, too. Guillermo gathered his wits and straightened his back as confidently as a gay man questioning his sexuality in front of two beautiful, powerful witches possibly could. He cleared his throat. “Thank you for your – uh – help , ladies,” he said, and looked pointedly at the slit in the curtain. “But I can take it from here.”
After a little more reassurance from Guillermo, and many confused hums from the witches, the ladies finally left, looking rather puzzled. Guillermo sighed and briefly took in his surroundings. The circular bathing suite was a makeshift thing set against the back wall of the bedroom. It was cramped and almost tent-like, surrounded by heavy aubergine curtains that swallowed most of the bedroom’s LED candlelight and cast fuzzy shadows over the sparse bathroom furniture and cold stone floor. Despite the small size, there were still plenty of places a vampire assassin could hide – especially in bat form. And to make matters worse, he had no view past the curtains, and the heavy steam seemed to muffle all noise. The last thing he needed was to be caught butt-naked by a surprise invader.
All these nettlesome thoughts vanished the moment he sank into the tub. He tilted his head back and sighed. Or maybe moaned loudly. He wasn’t focusing. The heat of the water, the comfort seeping into his flesh and bones, the weariness that was taking over…all of it was addling his brain and he welcomed it with open arms, literally stretching his arms out on either side to rest them against the lip of the tub. He closed his eyes and cleared his head and just let the hot water lap against his dirty skin. He would wash soon, but for now he just wanted to enjoy the comforting sensations. Never in his life had he felt such warm bliss. Nothing could take this away from him. This was his alone time. His moment of relaxation before the world came rushing back in and…
“Guillermo?” a soft, unmistakable voice said from directly behind the curtain.
Guillermo definitely moaned this time, though now it was out of impatience. “What do you want, Nandor?” he muttered to the dark ceiling.
“Are you in the water?” Nandor asked.
Guillermo couldn’t help the stupid little jolt in his heart. It made him angry with himself. But it wasn’t like Nandor to take his privacy into consideration. He was by now used to the vampire barging in on him without knocking, with no regards to what the human might be doing in the bathroom or the comfort of his own bed. “Yes,” he grumbled finally. “I’m in the water.”
The curtain flung open and Nandor entered in a flurry of hair and brocade and cape. “Good, because I would very much like to talk with you,” he said. For all his grand entrance, he looked sheepish, wringing his hands and chewing on his bottom lip as though waiting to be scolded. Guillermo should scold him. This was his alone time. But the sudden dizzying speed of his heart kept the words at bay.
That, and Nandor looked completely out of his element…to the point that Guillermo almost felt sorry for him. The vampire grasped for words, opening his mouth, inhaling air, closing his mouth, his eyes darting everywhere except in the direction of his ex-familiar. He’d seen Guillermo in various stages of undress before (due to the whole barging-in-uninvited thing), and the human was presently covered by murky water and flower petals, but the tiny dim room and the way he lay back against the tub with his arms stretched away from him leaving him completely open to attack…he had to admit it was strangely intimate. Nandor having auditory access to his thundering heart certainly couldn’t be helping the situation. And the warm fuzzy cloud that permeated every pore of his skin and dulled his nerves was making Guillermo weirdly horny. What was in this water?
Nandor could probably sense his growing erection. He’d even admitted once that he knew when Guillermo was beating off in his closet-room because he could hear the direction of his blood from ‘many miles away!’ Guillermo had blushed furiously at that, to which Nandor had quipped, “I don’t even need to know where all your blood is going now. I can see it in your face.” And he’d booped Guillermo on the nose, and Guillermo had hated him for a total of three whole seconds.
“The witches…” Nandor began timidly, attempting to answer Guillermo’s unspoken question, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to look at the human. “I thought that perhaps…you would like something…someone…to help you relax .”
“So you sent me two witches ?” Guillermo muttered, stifling a laugh of disbelief.
Nandor gave a shy little grunt and shuffled over to the stool, plonking down on the donated towels and fluffy gown and messing up their neat folds in the process. Guillermo squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled.
“When I was a great soldier of—“
“—The Ottoman Empire,” Guillermo sighed. “Let me guess: you had personal slaves that would scrub you clean?”
“Concubines, Guillermo,” Nandor corrected.
“Same thing.”
“They were not slaves !” Nandor hunched his shoulders and huffed. “I didn’t like the slaves touching me.” After a moment’s silence, in which Guillermo was getting ready to send him away, he spoke up again. His voice was back to that uncharacteristic softness, though it was clear he was fighting to keep his confidence up. “Back when I fought for Al Quolanudar, I would sometimes be away from home for many months. Sometimes even more than a year. So I would pick up courtesans along the way. Sometimes they were people I had captured. No, they were not slaves, Guillermo! I would give them things! Food! Jewels! Puppies!”
“Nandor, please , I just want to relax; can’t you reminisce later?”
“No I cannot, because this is very important advice,” Nandor said with a wave of his finger. “You were very brave tonight. But I know what it is like to be in battle, Guillermo. The blood is rushing. The heart is thumpy-thumping. There is the smell of blood and the singing of the swords—”
“There were no swords in that theatre,” Guillermo interrupted. “Though one of them did try to impale me with a clarinet.”
“Shush!” Nandor stuck a finger out at him, though he was several feet away. “The horses are shrieking, there are fires everywhere, the little pyramid beans are secreting the humors.”
“I think you mean adrenaline, Nandor.”
“Yes, that is what I said, Guillermo! I read it in the book you gave to me for the human gift-giving holiday. ‘My first book of the Human Body’, do you remember it?”
“Of course I do. It wasn’t a gift , it was a necessity. You tried to tell me I’d grow a pumpkin vine in my stomach because I swallowed a seed.”
“It happens,” Nandor shrugged.
“It doesn’t happen, Nandor. Never . I had to stop you from turning me upside-down and shaking it out, in the subway !”
“Well, I was concerned! Quiet, Guillermo. You are making me lose my nerves.” Nandor fidgeted distractedly, intertwining his fingers. “All I am trying to say is that, pumpkins aside, when you are in battle, you get taken with the bloodlust. And not the vampirey type of bloodlust.”
“I know what bloodlust means,” Guillermo said. He tried not to perk up too much at the word, but he was suddenly intrigued and found himself sitting up a little. The water sloshed around his ribs. For such a cold stony room, the bath was keeping its heat surprisingly well. Then again, it had been prepared by witches who probably had some kind of control over the elements.
“Yes, you felt the thrill of battle tonight, didn’t you?” Nandor continued. “I could see it in your eyes. In your movements and the way you staked those vampires. You wanted bloodshed. You wanted to win that battle and slay the commander and pillage the villagers and reap the rewards that were rightfully yours!” The vampire punched the air with a triumphant fist, momentarily forgetting himself.
Guillermo rolled his eyes. “What I wanted was to not die. And to keep my housemates alive. And then take a nice, warm, peaceful bath.”
“The battle is never enough though, is it?” Nandor said, ignoring him. He was looking past the tub at the wall, lost in memory. “When you win, you ride high on the victory-horse, but soon the victory horse flops over and dies and you are left with all this unspent excitement. So then…” he trailed off, suddenly unsure of himself. His eyes met Guillermo’s, and Guillermo saw how dark they were, and now he was very intrigued.
Nandor didn’t finish his sentence. Decidedly, he got to his feet and strode over to the tub, and Guillermo winced so hard at the sudden proximity that he slipped down until the water lapped his shoulders and splattered his face. He watched in inquisitive horror as the vampire knelt at his side and grabbed the washcloth from the little side table, not once meeting his eyes.
“What are you doing?” Guillermo gasped when he eventually found his voice. Nandor didn’t reply. He squirted liquid amber soap onto the washcloth and shuffled behind Guillermo.
“Scoot forward,” he instructed, rolling up the thick fabric of his sleeves as best as he could. Guillermo obliged immediately, still in shock. Nandor wasted no time in going to work on his back, scrubbing away the sweat and blood until his skin felt raw. It wasn’t exactly soothing, but every time Nandor’s fingers brushed his skin, Guillermo was reminded that he was being washed by a vampire – his vampire – his master and major crush for the past decade – and his heart would twitch in line with his cock. This was ridiculous.
“I asked the witches to assist you,” Nandor explained, starting on Guillermo’s upper arms. He was scrubbing so hard that his voice came out strained. Or perhaps he was just feeling awkward. “They told me you sent them away.” It sounded like a complaint. Guillermo bristled.
“Look, Nandor, I’m perfectly capable of washing myself,” he said, scudding down the bath and turning around to face the vampire. He made grabby-hands for the washcloth. Nandor didn’t relent.
“You are missing the point,” he chided with a concerned frown. “Come over here. I am going to be forthright with you.”
Guillermo drifted forward hesitantly, creating a little crest of water that splashed over the lip of the tub and wet Nandor’s forearm, eliciting a tiny hiss from the vampire. Guillermo decided that facing him like this, his entire torso exposed, was far too intimate. He was about to turn his back again when Nandor raised the cloth to his chest and laved it until suds formed. At first glance he seemed unperturbed by their proximity, but the longer they stayed like this, the more discomposed Nandor seemed to become, until his hand was shaking ever so slightly.
“You don’t have to…” Guillermo said, instantly regretting the words. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt skin against skin, or was cared for like this. Even if it was oddly clinical, like a task Nandor felt he had to do, it still filled Guillermo with warmth. He wanted to close his eyes, tilt his head back and sigh, but Nandor was watching him.
“You have better control than me, Guillermo,” Nandor continued evenly. “I rarely bathed as soon as I returned from a victory. I had more pressing needs. You should know that when the bloodlust fades, it is replaced by a different kind of hunger. And I was always ravenous after battle.”
Guillermo glanced down at the suds on his chest, at the hypnotizing way the washcloth swirled through the thin hair there. Did the witches put some kind of hallucinogenic spell on the water? In the soap? Because this couldn’t be real. He looked up at Nandor’s face; at his bottomless black eyes. He was so close. He looked real.
“W-what do you mean?” Guillermo whispered finally. The question was unnecessary; he knew exactly what Nandor meant.
“When I returned to my tent after battle, I would tear off my armor—“
“ Tear off your armor?”
“Shush, Guillermo! I would have several of my servants help me from my armor but then! I would find the nearest concubine – man or woman, I did not discriminate – and I would fuck them right in the middle of the pavilion. In front of everyone, because I could not contain my lust. I would just grab a random lover and turn them over and—“ he paused to make ridiculously lewd gyrations with his hips, his hands clawed around an invisible body, seemingly oblivious to the look of abject horror on his ex-familiar’s face. “So you get the idea, yes? I received many treasures and spoils of war during my pillaging times, yet in those few desperate moments after entering my pavilion, covered head-to-toe in blood and entrails, I would have gladly thrown it all away for that final pillage; the one that would truly quench my thirst. Guillermo, why are you looking at me like that? You don’t feel the post-battle lust?”
Oh, he felt the lust. It was just a very perplexing, dithery lust and he wasn’t entirely sure if it was directed at Nandor or the possibly-drug-laden concoction of the bathwater. He tried to say something articulate, but all he managed to squeak out was a stupid “…okay?”
Nandor exhaled and put his hands on his knees. “So my point is, Guillermo: I have no reward for you for your bravery. All of my valuables are at the house in Staten Island, and honestly you never seemed very interested in my extremely handsome jewels anyway, so I thought that perhaps the witches would be reward enough, and they had even agreed to it, but then you —“
“Nandor,” Guillermo said evenly, “there are a thousand things wrong with that already, but disregarding the fact that you wanted to reward me with concubines for saving your life; after eleven years you should have kind of figured out I’m gay.”
Nandor screwed his nose up in the way he did when his brain hurt from thinking. “So?” he shrugged.
“ So ? Nandor, you know that means I’m not interested in women, right? Like, at all?”
“Not interested? You prefer only men?” Nandor’s confusion only deepened. “Yeesh. You are limiting yourself, Guillermo. Rosemary is very skilled in the arts of sexiness. All of the witchy womens are.” He paused and wrung out the now-chilly washcloth, no doubt sensing the outrage emanating from Guillermo, or at the very least seeing it in his reddening face. When he spoke again his voice was low; a mix of curiosity and hesitation. He looked at the curtain wall as if it were the most fascinating piece of fabric in the universe. “Well, if they were not good enough for you, then…I suppose…I am not entirely opposed to sharing this night with you. It is only fair; you risked your life for me.”
Guillermo reached out and snatched the washcloth from Nandor’s limp hand. He was still only half-clean, and the water in the tub had well and truly lost its heat. Not that he felt the cold; his blood was positively boiling. He bit down the urge to smack Nandor in the face again.
“Half an hour ago you were whining about me not being able to kill Vladislav,” he spat. “You practically complained about me saving your shitty head, after telling me you don’t give a fuck what my name is. Now you’re offering yourself up to me as a reward ? Do you know how stupid that is, Nandor? How insulting that is?”
“Why is this insulting?” Nandor shot back, baring his fangs momentarily. “I am giving you the chance to lose your virginity in post-battle bliss with a tall, handsome and very strong warrior-man who is also excellent in bed.”
Guillermo scoffed. He pushed himself forward, making sure to serve the vampire a considerable splash of water. This time it reached his fancy vest. “You think your slaves enjoyed having sex with you after battle? That they got any pleasure from being molested in front of an army?”
“They were not slaves !” Nandor sounded hurt now. It gave Guillermo a sick kind of satisfaction. No doubt he would feel nothing but guilt later, but for now he was riding a glorious power-laden high.
“You’re pathetic,” he spat. “Just a frightened old man who listens to Smashmouth and cries at videos of frogs and is seven-hundred years past his warrior days. You are not who you used to be, Nandor. And this isn’t the twelfth century. Jesus Christ you can’t just reward your rescuer with meaningless victory sex!”
Nandor hissed, probably at the mention of Jeebus. But there was sadness and confusion in his eyes; an ancient warrior lost in time, striving to understand all these modern customs. “You are upset, Guillermo,” he said, mostly to himself.
“I’m upset because I wanted to have a nice relaxing bath but then you came in with your outdated ideas and your stupid teasing offers and you’ve ruined everything.” Great, and now Guillermo was crying. He furiously wiped the tears from his flushed cheeks. What Nandor had said about bloodlust was true; Guillermo had felt it during every kill so far, and back at the house, after he’d disposed of the bodies, he’d be so wound up and full of vaunt and guilt and fear that he’d race back to his room and fuck his hand until he was sobbing into his pillow.
“I may have slightly obsolete ideas about the honors of war,” Nandor said petulantly, snapping Guillermo from his thoughts. “But I never said it would be a meaningless reward.”
“I don’t know, the fact that you sent witches to me before offering yourself up makes it seem pretty fucking meaningless to me.” Guillermo wasn’t sure at what point he’d grasped the lip of the tub and pulled himself up, but now he was eye-level with Nandor and getting in his face and it only served to fuel his adrenaline more.
“Well, maybe I thought you would appreciate those witches!” Nandor said. He was struggling to find his voice, sounding like a man about to lose. “Witches are experts at making sex! They love the semen!”
“I don’t want to fuck witches, Nandor! I’ve never once even alluded to wanting to fuck witches. Hell, I don’t even want sex. A hug? A pat on the back? Or if you’re incapable of those, then even a mere thank you would be appreciated!”
Nandor’s mouth was set in a thin line, though it was obvious he was gnawing on his lip again. No doubt he could feel Guillermo’s breath on his face; could hear the way his heart galloped and could sense his high blood pressure. “It is very hard for me to say…” he said evenly.
“What? A simple ‘thank you Guillermo for saving my stupid empty good-for-nothing head ’ is too much for you?”
Nandor looked outraged. When he spoke again his voice was loud and obnoxious. “Rude, Guillermo! I did not even mean that! I meant it is very hard for me to say my feelings because you were right! I am not as relentless as I once was and this makes me feel uncomfortable and even a little bit afraid and it has been a long time since I have been close to anybody and I don’t know how to express all of this in talking and perhaps I should have written this in a letter but everything is very confusing for me tonight and I don’t know what— mmph!”
Guillermo almost fell out of the bathtub. In a dizzying rush he’d shot forward and grabbed the vampire by the hems of his cape and pulled him in close for a crushing kiss. Nandor’s lips were soft where Guillermo’s were chapped and parched from dehydration; his chin wiry and tickling where Guillermo’s was smooth. They bumped noses awkwardly; Guillermo had to tilt his head. Each sensation was surreal; each nerve under Guillermo’s skin singing where their faces touched. He’d always imagined his first kiss – his first real kiss – being something soft and chaste; the stuff of innocence. Instead it was fierce and bottomless and almost painful; laden with emotions, both passionate and hostile, that a kiss alone could never truly convey. Yet Guillermo tried to convey as much as he could.
I’m so angry with you, he thought bitterly, shuddering as Nandor pried his lips wider with his tongue.
“I am angry at myself,” an echoing voice responded in his head.
Nandor, what the fuck! Guillermo scolded into the ether, gingerly running his tongue along Nandor’s, all the while waiting for the vampire to pull away. If he pulled away now, Guillermo would lose his mind. It was bad enough he’d somehow allowed Nandor to infiltrate said mind. Or maybe he was imagining it. It was hard to tell…he was quite dizzy.
“I want to tell you how I feel but I don’t know how to,” Nandor’s distant voice said pleadingly.
I hate you so much.
“No you don’t.” Now the voice was teasing, yet hesitant.
Sometimes I do.
“I would die for you.”
No you wouldn’t. But I would die for you.
When had Nandor broken the kiss? When had he left? Guillermo opened his eyes and the vampire was gone. And for a terrible, heart-wrenching moment he thought he must have imagined the entire exchange in some bathwater-induced hallucination: the shouting, the tears, the desperate hunt for each other's mouths.
“I am still here,” Nandor said timidly from outside the curtain, as if sensing Guillermo’s alarm. “If you want me, I will stay. But you can tell me to go and I will go.”
“ Stay ,” Guillermo immediately choked out, before common sense could prevail. “Please stay.”
Guillermo had never bathed so quickly in his life. The water was icy cold, and the blood on his face and in his hair was making him nauseous, but those weren’t the main reasons why he hurried. He dunked his head under and fiercely scrubbed at his hair with shampoo and scoured his skin raw (even the places that Nandor had already tended to) and then leapt out of the tub and dried himself in record time. Outside the makeshift bathing suite came the quiet, suspicious sounds of whispering fabric. He considered leaving his glasses on the side table where he’d placed them, but then decided that he wanted to see Nandor in high definition. The very thought made his heart jump. He was getting ahead of himself.
He wrapped the fluffy white robe around his body and tied it tightly. The demure part of his brain yelled at him to put his boxers back on for modesty, but he ignored it. Fuck, he hoped he was right about Nandor’s intentions, or he was about to make an absolute fool of himself and he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle another ounce of ridicule tonight. He took a deep, calming breath, momentarily closing his eyes. Then he stepped through the curtain, and the sight before him made him weak at the knees, and every bit of courage and confidence that had shielded him through the night fell away like poorly-fastened armor.
At least he no longer had to worry about misinterpreting Nandor’s intentions.
The bed was large enough for three people, yet somehow it looked tiny with Nandor laying there. His back was pressed against the simple wenge headboard, his bottom half sprawled over the furs. His vest, cape and boots made a discarded heap on the floor, leaving nothing but his white blouse (untied at the neck for good measure) and pants…which, in this position, were rather tight around his crotch. Guillermo swallowed hard, remembering what kind of underwear Nandor preferred to wear. It would have been less embarrassing had he worn no underwear. He thought back to the countless times he’d helped his ex-master dress; the desperate attempts to not blush as Nandor instructed him on which thong he’d like to wear tonight. Usually something glittery.
“Guillermo?” Nandor prompted after an uncomfortable silence.
Guillermo realized he’d just spent the last thirty seconds staring at Nandor’s groin and he quickly lifted his eyes to meet the vampire’s. “What...do you want me to do?” he stammered. He felt like a sitting duck standing here in the middle of the room, covered only by a robe, his face flushed and his fingers twitching.
“What would you like to do?” Nandor asked, his voice low and silky. “You are the conqueror tonight, Guillermo.” He lifted his middle finger to not-so-subtly beckon his human. Guillermo didn’t think about correcting him on the lewd gesture. He simply stumbled to the bed and knelt on the soft mattress, his knees sinking in just as common sense sunk into his head.
“I don’t know,” he said, as firmly as he could.
Nandor frowned thoughtfully. “Well, there are many different things we could try. You should know that we vampires come naturally equipped with ample lubricants.”
“ No , I mean…I don’t know if we should do this. I don’t want my first time to be a reward . It feels wrong. It feels wrong to make you do this.”
“Nobody is forcing my hand, Guillermo,” Nandor said softly. He attempted to beckon again, this time hesitantly alternating between index and middle finger. It was such an unintentionally obscene gesture that Guillermo wanted to laugh. “I think you need this, Guillermo,” the vampire continued in his smooth voice, innocently oblivious as he fingered the air. “I think we both need this.”
This time Guillermo did laugh. Peals of giggles rippled through him, filling him with nervous glee. Nandor’s eyes were burning into him.
“What is so fucking funny, Guillermo?” he demanded. “I am trying to be enticing and making you feel cozy and you laugh at me!”
“I’m sorry,” Guillermo gasped. “The witches put all sorts of things into the water and I don’t even know if this is real.” He gave a little hiccup, and the grimace on Nandor’s face smoothed out.
“Hmph. It must have been the eyes of the newts and the leprechaun cocks. Don’t look at me like that, Guillermo. I am making a joke! You seem to enjoy jokes!”
“Your jokes are horrible,” Guillermo teased.
“Well I am better at other things. Come take my pants off and I will show you.” Nandor smirked triumphantly at the sudden redness that flushed Guillermo’s cheeks; at the way his ex-familiar’s smugness dissolved into alarm. Greedy eyes roamed the voluptuous curves and sloping vales tauntingly hidden behind Guillermo’s robe, paying particular attention to the erection that jutted out from between his legs and threatened to part the soft curtain of fabric.
Guillermo swallowed his mirth and shuffled forward on his knees. Gingerly he laid his hands on Nandor’s thighs, almost expecting to be scolded. But the swell beneath the vampire’s trousers reassured him, and when he experimentally ran his palms up Nandor’s legs and massaged his inner thighs with his thumbs, he suddenly knew this was real. He knew Nandor’s eyes on him were real , and they were like fire.
With a little shaky fumbling, Guillermo managed to undo Nandor’s trousers, his heart stopping momentarily upon seeing the tip of the vampire’s cock peeking out above the hem of his underwear. He’d seen Nandor naked before – eleven years as a familiar meant it was inevitable – but he’d never seen him aroused. And he already knew his ex-master was a considerable size. More experienced lovers would find it impressive; Guillermo found it daunting. He exhaled shakily and discarded Nandor's trousers and underwear in a few gentle tugs. Once free, Nandor gave a relieved grunt and laid back, closing his eyes. His hair fanned out on the pillows beneath him and Guillermo wanted nothing more than to run his hands through that hair. To lower himself down and nuzzle Nandor’s neck and find comfort in his touch. But the smoldering look in Nandor’s eyes was strangely soothing.
The vampire was already leaking copious amounts of precum. It glistened on his shaft and dampened the thick nest of pubic hair at its base, and all Guillermo could think of was being taken, and how it would feel, and if it would hurt more than a dildo or would it be soft? Gentle? Nandor took himself in hand and began to lazily stroke himself, his lips twitching down in a grimace.
“I appreciate you admiring me, Guillermo,” he said cheekily. “But you are also making my penis all achy. Are we going to do this or do I need to get myself off?”
“I-I’m sorry,” Guillermo stuttered in horror, almost tagging a master onto the end of the apology (old habits die hard). “I don’t know…this is so unexpected.”
Nandor’s expression softened at that. He shimmied up the bed a little, until he was almost sitting, and reached out for the hem of Guillermo’s robe to tug him closer. The action parted the bottom half of the robe and now Guillermo was exposed, and the cool air and proximity of the vampire’s hands were doing things to him that he had never felt before. Nandor traced a finger around the plump head of Guillermo’s cock, catching and spreading the moisture that was building there. Guillermo’s breath hitched. He closed his eyes and unwittingly shifted forward until he was fully straddling Nandor. The vampire took his own cock in hand and slowly guided it down and up Guillermo’s shaft, leaving a silvery trail. They both watched, entranced. Then Nandor grabbed Guillermo’s limp hand and guided it to his cock, but instead of wrapping his hand around it, he encouraged the human to lubricate his fingers.
“Prepare me,” the vampire instructed. The low, rumbly purr sent a shock of lightning up Guillermo’s spine, who simply whimpered in response. He was back to doubting the reality of the situation. Of all the events that had transpired tonight, this was by far the most surreal. His fingers adequately lubricated, Guillermo carefully traced a line down Nandor’s shaft, over the swell of his testicles, the ridge of his perineum, to the entrance between the vampire’s cheeks. He climbed off of Nandor’s legs and knelt between them, allowing himself better access. Nandor parted his legs and arched his back wantonly, opening himself up for his human. Guillermo swore inwardly, silently praying his appreciation to every deity who ever existed. He slipped a finger inside and was surprised to find the vampire warm. Strong walls clenched around him as he began to slowly glide in and out, watching mesmerized as Nandor took himself in hand again and began to pump in time.
Fuck . What Guillermo wouldn’t do to wrap his hand around his own cock and join in, but the promise of more held him back. He added another finger and moved them inside of Nandor until the vampire was laid bare, wet and panting. Then he removed them, secretly delighting in the little disappointed mewl that escaped Nandor’s throat. He reached forward and grabbed the hem of Nandor’s blouse, pulling it over his head and discarding it on one of the pillows. In return, Nandor tugged the belt of Guillermo’s robe and smirked teasingly as it fell away from his shoulders.
What happened next would later only be remembered as a blur of sensation and desire. Guillermo grasped Nandor’s thigh with one hand and his cock in the other, guiding it between Nandor’s cheeks until the head slipped inside. Nandor immediately clenched around him, taking an involuntary sharp breath as he arched his back and gave Guillermo a clear view of his cock and the big hand that stroked it. A few small, careful thrusts and Guillermo was fully sheathed, the last thrust eliciting a shuddery moan from Nandor that once again filled the human with disbelief. Guillermo put a hand on Nandor’s chest and gently pushed him flat onto the mattress, before leaning forward and, with a rush of confidence, planting a kiss on his lips. The sensations above and below near sent him blind with lust.
“ Fuck,” he whispered into Nandor’s ear, drawing the word out. He buried his face in the vampire’s neck, inhaling the scent of him; a scent he had caught countless times in his life yet now seemed distinct and unfamiliar.
Nandor chuckled, the sound vibrating through Guillermo’s cheek. They returned to each other’s lips as Guillermo experimented sliding in and out, adjusting their bodies with gentle nudges. Occasionally Nandor would break the kiss and run his nose across Guillermo’s neck teasingly. At one point Guillermo thought he felt a little nip. But eventually he had to break away and kneel again, overcome with an irresistible urge to thrust deeper. He grabbed Nandor’s knees and pushed them back, opening the vampire for him. He began to thrust faster and harder, throwing his head back and squeezing his eyes shut, panting and mewling and trying his hardest not to cry out.
Nandor, on the other hand, had no issue with being vocal. Each thrust drew a loud groan from him, and he was panting hard, occasionally trying to say Guillermo’s name but ultimately failing. At one point Guillermo lowered his head to look at Nandor, and the sight he saw drew a loud sob from him. Nandor’s pale-bronze skin slick with sweat, his hair damp and stuck to his forehead, his lips pulled back in a fangy grin as he spotted the look of adoration and shock on his human’s face.
“Is there something wrong, Guillermo?” he taunted.
“No,” Guillermo choked back. “Fuck, no.”
“Then make some noise!” Nandor’s grin only widened at his own words and he let out a breathless chuckle, and then another loud groan.
Guillermo thrust forward with purpose, desperately trying to go deeper. He still felt too detached; he wanted to be a part of Nandor. To imprint himself in the vampire’s memory in case this…this never happened again. The very notion made him tempestuous . Suddenly he was going too fast; too rough.
“Easy, Guillermo!” Nandor scolded. “It has been a long time for me.”
“Yeah?” Guillermo huffed. “Do you know how long it’s been for me? How long I waited for you?”
“You’re being very—“
“—Insolent, yeah, I know.” Guillermo leaned over Nandor now, digging his fingers into the sheets on either side of the vampire. He used the new angle to fuck deeper, his eyes burning into Nandor’s with newfound confidence. “I’m not your familiar anymore, baby.”
Nandor growled at him; actually growled , and it probably wasn’t supposed to turn Guillermo on but it did. The sound catapulted him so close to orgasm that he blurted out, “I’m gonna come.”
“I don’t think so!” Nandor puffed, pulling away and exposing Guillermo’s wet cock to the cool room. The human whimpered and tried to follow, but Nandor pushed him back with a firm foot to the chest. He waved his index finger at him like the shithead he was.
“What are you doing?” Guillermo groaned.
“Making you not come yet,” Nandor said, his lips twitching in amusement as his human’s face turned bright red.
“Nandor, I’m tired.” The words left Guillermo’s mouth automatically, before he even realized how truly exhausted he was. Nandor slid his big toe down Guillermo’s torso and thigh, a ponderous look on his face.
Fucking tease , Guillermo thought bitterly. His cock was still hard; he was still desperate for more, but he was starting to panic at the thought of his lust leaving him. If Nandor kept this up for much longer, Guillermo was going to stake him. He was about to make the half-hearted threat when Nandor shut his legs and rolled onto his belly, humming thoughtfully the entire time. He looked over his shoulder at Guillermo, and the smirk on his face made Guillermo bristle and sizzle at the same time. It didn’t help that his ass cheeks were on full display and he was…was he grinding against the bed furs?
“ ¡Dios mío! ” Guillermo muttered, reflexively jutting his hips out.
“Hmm? Are you alright, Guillermo? You are speaking in tongues. Has the sight of my ass given you the brain scramblies?”
“I…what?” Guillermo couldn’t articulate anything at the moment. Yes – Nandor’s ass had given him the brain scramblies.
“What about this?” Nandor gave the bed one final thrust for good measure and then got to his hands and knees, poking his ass out, exposing the intimate access that Guillermo so badly wanted to sink back into. The backs of the vampire’s thighs were damp with his natural lubricant, his hair soaked. It looked so inviting. Guillermo’s cock twitched back to life. All the while the vampire looked over his shoulder at the human; a stupid taunting grin on his face.
Guillermo couldn’t help but smirk back. It was better that than be embarrassed. This whole thing was utterly obscene. What would his mother think? He almost laughed. He shuffled forward on his knees, the tight shaft between his legs bobbing. He grasped Nandor’s cheeks – one in each hand; digging his fingers in and eliciting a reckless moan from his lover.
“ Fuck me, Guillermo.”
Guillermo didn’t need to be told twice. Entering Nandor again was like entering the gates of heaven – if the gates of heaven were a pair of hairy ass cheeks. He rocked slowly, savoring the bombardment on his senses: the feeling of Nandor’s cool skin under his palms and the warm, tight walls around his dick; the sound of Nandor’s panting – no more joking now, those impatient, huffing breaths said; the sight of Nandor’s back, muscles shifting beneath a thick layer of cushioning – a glimpse at the warrior he must have once been; the smell of sex that permeated the room and beneath that, Nandor’s own exotic yet homely scent.
God, he was perfect. This was perfect. He no longer wanted to pick up the pace. He would be content to stay here forever, languidly stroking Nandor’s inner walls with his desire. He leaned over and planted soft kisses down the vampire’s spine, reveling in the way he could make him shiver with such simple touch. The change in position had Nandor laying almost on his stomach; had him rutting against the soft furs again and moaning softly into a pillow.
Guillermo eventually realized with disappointment that they couldn’t stay like this forever. His arms were aching; a haze of drowsy exhaustion overcoming him. He considered going faster again and just finishing, Nandor’s own desire be damned. But he no longer had the energy. The slow, lulling sex had sapped the adrenaline from his body and left him feeling like a boneless lump. He knelt up again and thrust deeper, running a gentle hand over Nandor’s back, massaging his beautifully smooth skin, kneading the soft rolls of his shoulder blades. Then he travelled further up until his hand was in the vampire’s hair, grabbing a fistful and gently tugging.
The action seemed to shock Nandor like a bolt of lightning. “Shit,” he hissed, and shot his hand out to grab his blouse beside the pillow. He shoved it beneath him and fucked into it, repeating the curse word over and over as his inner muscles clenched around Guillermo’s dick. One final long moan into his pillow and Nandor was spent.
Guillermo felt it – the lazy afterglow, the drowsiness of post-orgasm – as if it were his own. He started going soft inside Nandor. Had he come and not realized it, so engrossed in Nandor’s own orgasm?
No, he was still wanting. His balls were aching. But he couldn’t bring himself to…the tiredness consumed him…he was done…yet he wasn’t. He wasn’t close to being done. He nuzzled Nandor’s back with his nose and cheek as he slipped out, completely flaccid. A sob escaped his lips.
“Guillermo?” Nandor prompted, his voice a soft rumble. He sounded almost sheepish. “You can keep going. Just because I came doesn’t mean…”
“I’m exhausted,” Guillermo moaned. “I killed a theatre worth of vampires tonight, remember? And then we had…I tried to…I’m sorry, Nandor.” He ran his fingers down Nandor’s back once more, mapping his skin out for memory’s sake, and then flopped onto the bed beside him, forlorn. Nandor lifted himself, grimacing a little at the state of his balled-up blouse before carefully dropping it to the floor beside the bed. Then he rolled over to face Guillermo, resting a hand beneath his head. His face was soft as he searched the human’s eyes for clues.
“I can still help you,” he offered hopefully. “I will use my hand and you just have to lay back and relax and not do anything.”
Guillermo felt a swell of appreciation for his ex-master just then. I love you, Nandor. The words were on the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill out. He kept them at bay by leaning forward and planting a tiny kiss on the vampire’s lips.
“It’s okay,” he said, trying not to let the disappointment show. “I think I just need to sleep. It’s been a long crazy night and I’ve never felt so exhausted in my life and…” he broke off with a little sleepy frown.
Nandor looked concerned. “…And?”
“And nothing,” Guillermo grumbled. “Just let me sleep, please?”
“I should have let you come earlier.”
“Nandor, seriously, it’s fine.”
“You are disappointed.”
“That’s not…I’m not.”
“You are. I was being selfish again.”
“No.” Yes, you were. Guillermo kissed him again, simply to shut him up. He didn’t want to voice his concerns, but the truth was that the tiredness was only partly the reason for his suddenly diminished libido.
“Guillermo, I can tell you are having important thoughts,” Nandor chided lightly. “Tell them to me.”
“I’m not.”
“ Guillermo .” Nandor stared at him so hard Guillermo was pretty sure he was trying to read his thoughts. “You have been with me for almost three years—“
“Twelve years, Nandor,” Guillermo corrected. “ Twelve years.”
“It hardly matters, Guillermo. What I am trying to say is that even if you do not notice me noticing you, I do notice you and I notice things about you that even you don’t notice.” He lifted a drowsy hand to trace Guillermo’s collarbone. The human shivered despite himself. “I notice the changes in your heart when you are nervous or happy or sleeping. I can pinpoint where your blood is going in your body. I can hear the little zippy-zaps of your brain and see you in colors and lights that you could not imagine. I may not be able to read your mind like the handsome Twilight vampire but I know when you are upset Guillermo, and when you are not saying the things on your mind.”
Guillermo simultaneously wanted to giggle and cry. He choked back both. “I’ll never understand you,” he whispered. “One minute you’re yelling at me for saving your life. The next you’re…well…here.”
“I am a very complex man, Guillermo,” Nandor said matter-of-factly.
“Mhmm.”
“Is that what is worrying you? The complexiveness of my brain?”
“It’s complexity and no…no I’m definitely not worried about your brain being complex.”
Nandor completely missed the insult. “Good. Now tell me what is the matter with your own complex little human emotions.”
A small curtain of hair was slowly slipping down Nandor’s face, threatening to cover his eye, and it was driving Guillermo crazy and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and tuck it behind the vampire’s ear but he was frozen. The only part of him that dared move was his heart, and it was galloping, which was probably the reason why Nandor had a cheeky, knowing sparkle in his eye.
“You know how I feel about you,” Guillermo said finally, so softly he could hardly hear his own voice, yet knowing that the vampire would hear his words clearly. “You’ve always known.”
“Did I not just finish saying that I notice you?” Nandor asked. His fingers had drifted down to draw tickly circles around the human’s sparsely-haired chest. “Of course I know.”
Guillermo’s breath hitched at the admission. “Then you would…know what I want?”
Nandor’s expression darkened all of a sudden. His lips tightened into a thin line, his brow lowering sternly. He snatched his hand away. “Yes,” he grumbled, looking away. “I know, Guillermo. But I am trying to enjoy this night. You did not need to remind me just now.”
“W-what?” Guillermo’s heart clenched at the words. Confusion and panic overcame him, making it difficult to breathe.
“You think I am a strong, courageous, vigorous warrior vampire and therefore the perfect candidate for making your turning,” Nandor continued, poking him in the chest, hard enough to hurt. “That is all you ever want, isn’t it? Every time I show you a tiny bit of attention you are all in my face like ‘can I be a vampire yet?’”
“Nandor, no!” Guillermo got up on his forearms and stared incredulously at him. “You
don’t know…”
Nandor mirrored his position, his lips curled back to show his fangs. “I know that when I gave you that portrait, that you were expecting me to make you a vampire. Do you think I did not see the disappointment on your face? I spent at least three whole hours on that portrait, Guillermo! I cut my finger on the safety scissors and it hurt! But when you left for Celeste, that is when I knew for certain…all I am to you is a means to an end. A way for you to become a strong, fearsome vampire like myself.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?” Nandor’s eyes were misting over. “I asked you what I could do to bring you home, and you said, ‘will you make me a vampire?’. You could have said things like...like…”
“You can’t be this stupid, Nandor!” Guillermo shouted, exasperated. “Sure, when I first came to work for you, becoming a vampire was all that mattered to me. But then I got to know you and for some strange reason I developed feelings for you and those feelings turned into devotion but apparently you are blind to the fact that I love you more than anything else in this fucking world, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted to be a vampire, and before tonight the only reason I wanted to become a vampire was because the act of biting me might have been the one time you ever touched me intimately or cared for me. You are such a fucking idiot! If I really only wanted you for your fangs, do you think I’d have slaughtered a theatre full of fucking vampires for you?”
He shoved Nandor in the chest, and with lightning-fast speed, Nandor grabbed his wrist and held it in an iron grip. Then their lips were crushing together again, their passion igniting once more, and although neither of them would ever know, they both yelled fucking guy! in their heads at the same time.
It was Nandor who broke the kiss, just as harshly as he’d initiated it. “We are both idiots, Guillermo,” he decided breathlessly.
Guillermo ignored him. He caught his eyes and held them in a firm gaze. “Be honest with me, Nandor. Tell me how you feel. You said you wanted to.”
The passion in Nandor’s face softened into something adorably sheepish. “When did I say that?”
“Earlier; through the ether, when you invaded my mind. You said you wanted to tell me how you feel.”
Nandor screwed his nose up. “Did I really say that? I don’t remember saying that.”
“Yes. Yes you did.” Guillermo swallowed his hesitation. He hadn’t been sure if that whole exchange had been real, and he was even less sure of it now. But he also knew that Nandor liked to play these games.
The vampire hummed thoughtfully before muttering, “You say you love me?”
Guillermo wanted to cup his cheek and pull him into a kiss but he resisted the urge. He wanted Nandor to see the sincerity in his eyes. “I love you, Nandor. I’ve loved you for a long time. You should really know this by now.”
As if tapping into the human’s desires, Nandor reached out and swept his thumb over the tears rolling down Guillermo’s cheek; tears Guillermo had barely even noticed he’d shed. “Seven hundred years,” he said softly, “that is how long it has been – longer, even – since I last loved somebody. It confuses me, Guillermo. I do not recognize these feelings. Your face makes my chest all achy and your heart beating makes me feel like I still have a heart and your ass —” he paused to squeeze invisible butt cheeks for emphasis, “—your ass alone, Guillermo—“
“Okay I get the picture.” Guillermo grinned and kissed him, and when he pulled away he was sure he heard a little mewl of protest from Nandor. It filled him with a confidence he desperately needed. It was ridiculous, really, that the next words to leave his mouth were far more nerve-wracking to say than his admission of love. “Nandor, I want to be with you.”
Nandor blinked down at him, and Guillermo wondered how he’d ended up on his back with the vampire’s upper half hovering over him. “You are with me, Guillermo.”
“No I mean, I want us to be together ,” Guillermo said, trying to hide his exasperation. He had to continuously tamp down the urge to call him an idiot and remind himself that Nandor was just as unused to this as he was, especially when it came to all the modern lingo. He bit his bottom lip in thought. “I want…well…I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Nandor gazed at him silently for a dreadfully long time as he puzzled out the words. Then his eyes cleared and he gave a little frown. “No,” he said firmly. “You will be my boy-friend, Guillermo. Not the other way around.”
Guillermo’s heart kick-started itself and he breathed a shaky sigh of relief…mixed with a little irritation. He at least allowed himself to roll his eyes playfully. “Sure, fine, that works for me.”
“Good, that is now sorted,” Nandor said unaffectedly. “Wait…if I am the boy-friend, do I need to organize the datings?”
“Yes,” Guillermo replied with a smirk. “You have to do all the work.”
Nandor pressed his lips into a thin line in thought. “Hmm. Perhaps we can share the role of boy-friend, though I do not appreciate the term. I am very much not a boy. My manfulness is written throughout the scrolls and linens of history.”
“Nandor...” You idiot . “Partners, then?”
Nandor’s face tightened into the Deep Thoughts expression again, and Guillermo decided it was time to change the subject before the vampire hurt himself. “Okay, well, I’m going to clean myself up and find something to drink.” He lifted his head to peck Nandor on the lips, surprised by how casual, how natural , it felt. Nandor moved away to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. Guillermo tried not to stare at him . But the vampire was naked, hair fanned out behind him, arms and legs haphazardly strewn across the furs. Who could blame him for wanting to admire?
He wet a washcloth in the now-freezing bath water and wiped the sweat and body fluids from his skin. Then he took the final clean cloth from the stool and prepared it for Nandor, squirting a tiny bit of soap onto the fuzzy square of fabric and grabbing a dry towel on his way out. When he dropped back onto the bed, Nandor’s eyes were closed and his lips relaxed into the tiniest of smiles. Guillermo wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the vampire so mellow and open. It made his heart swell. He expected Nandor to flinch or open his eyes when Guillermo began to wipe the dried come from the hair of his stomach and chest, but he remained unmoving, doing nothing more than letting out a content little growl.
You’re so beautiful , Guillermo thought tenderly. He dried Nandor with the towel, following it with a light kiss on his chest. Again Nandor didn’t move, though his nipples hardened into little nubs and Guillermo decided on a whim to peck those, too. That got a reaction, at least.
“Mmm…do you want me to help you come, Guillermo?” Nandor murmured drowsily.
“Stop asking me that,” Guillermo admonished gently. It wasn’t just him who was exhausted, apparently. Nandor couldn’t seem to open his eyes. “Sleep first, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
Nandor smacked his lips. He was starting to sink into sleep. “Kissy?”
Oh my god . Guillermo wanted to cry. He gave him another little kiss, nuzzled his neck, then left before the tears could overcome him. He was so tired…but blissfully, bewilderingly happy.
It was hard to keep track of time when his new residence was a place without windows, but when Guillermo awoke again he was sure he’d slept for at least twelve hours. And he would have slept longer, had it not been for the unusual sensation that infiltrated his dreams and pulled him sluggishly into the waking world. His body apparently knew what was going on, at least. His hand was already tangled in Nandor’s hair, and his cock was rock-hard and hot and wet . He glanced down the bed, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
Nandor sensed him and slid Guillermo’s cock out of his mouth, eliciting a tiny groan of disappointment from his human. The bed furs had been kicked away and the room was cold, and Guillermo wanted nothing more than to feel that moist warmth again.
“Oh, hello, Guillermo,” Nandor greeted cheekily. “So nice to see that you are alive. I was beginning to worry.” He nuzzled the side of Guillermo’s cock with his nose and Guillermo clutched the bedsheet, swallowing a gasp.
“What are you doing?” he murmured.
“I did try everything to wake you, but you would not stir. I had no other choice.” Nandor grinned and ran his lips up Guillermo’s plump shaft, flicking his tongue out here and there. Guillermo responded with a buck of his hips.
“I think…I’m not quite awake yet,” he said breathlessly, gently grabbing another handful of hair in encouragement. “You’ll have to try a little harder.”
The last thing he saw before laying back and closing his eyes was the delighted smirk that curled Nandor’s lips, and the sparkle in the vampire’s eyes. He arched his back as Nandor took him into his mouth again, pleasure blooming from his core and sweeping out over his extremities like lazy, rolling thunderclouds. When he came it wasn’t an explosion of nervous pleasure; an eruption of desire and crazed lust like he always thought it would be the first time somebody else brought him to climax. Instead it was the closest thing he’d ever felt to pure bliss – a few seconds of private paradise; sweet undulating ripples of warmth and relief and love. And for a fleeting moment there was nothing else in the world. Only them.
Afterwards, Nandor joined Guillermo at his side and pulled him into an embrace, planting a kiss on the human’s forehead. Guillermo nuzzled against his chin, silently pleading for more. It didn’t matter how many kisses, how many hugs or how much sex they shared, it felt like he’d never get enough, and the bittersweet thought made his heart hurt. Maybe this pressing desire to be a part of another person would fade with time; maybe it would reconcile once – if – he was ever granted eternal life. Did Nandor feel this way? Did he feel this lonely? Desperate for a soulmate?
“Guillermo?” Nandor purred into his hair, pulling him from his reverie. “Did you have a good time last night?”
Guillermo huffed out a laugh, his shoulders shaking. “If you mean the second half of the night, then yes. I did. The whole theatre part and you yelling at me for an hour wasn’t all that great.”
Nandor tensed at that. “I’m…sorry, Guillermo,” he murmured. “I was very confused, and a little tiny bit in shock.”
“That’s it?” Guillermo goaded.
“Hey! How was I supposed to react to my familiar killing half of Staten Island’s vampire population? Yes, perhaps I said some things that I did not mean to because of the shocki-ness and because Colin Robinson was getting into all of our heads and needling us and also you seem to have forgotten that you punched me in the face…”
“You deserved worse,” Guillermo shot back. Nandor opened his mouth to argue, outraged, but Guillermo simply pulled him down for a kiss. This time it was hard and bruising, their tongues wrestling in some kind of unspoken contest, and soon Nandor had Guillermo pinned to the bed, not-so-subtly grinding his slick hardness into the cleft between the human’s leg and groin.
“I am very sorry for how I reacted,” the vampire breathed in his ear, before giving the lobe a little tug with his teeth. “I mean that.”
Guillermo tried to remain unaffected. “Is that you talking, or your dick?” he ragged.
“No, it is my mouth saying the apology, Guillermo. You really should read ‘My First Book of the Human Body’. It is very educational…” he trailed off, opting to nip and suck Guillermo’s neck instead of ramble. Guillermo didn’t think it was possible to get hard again this quickly after climax, especially at his age, but his body was proving him wrong.
“I think…I forgive you…for now…” he whispered.
He was sure that, had they not been interrupted, Nandor would have taken him then and there, and Guillermo would have gladly let him. But a knock on the door put an end to their little romp. An older woman – presumably a familiar – walked in carrying a neat pile of folded fabric. Outside, various voices and noises signaled that the motley household was up and about.
“Fresh clothing,” she explained jadedly, taking no notice of the messy bed or the fact that both its occupants were butt-naked and in the middle of something. “They are from victims, but they are clean and should fit well enough.” She placed them on the end of the bed and patted them for good measure.
“I suppose the others are waiting to speak with us, then,” Nandor said, a little disappointedly, once the familiar had left. “We may need to tell them of our boyfriending. I think they think that they’re next on your little vampire-slaying list.”
Guillermo held back sarcastic laughter. “Ah yes. Because I have a list.”
He helped Nandor dress. The dark, casual clothes were a smoking look, but it didn’t stop the vampire from complaining incessantly about having his arms uncovered (and drawing out the ‘ Teeee’ every time he said T-shirt). Before they left to meet the others, Nandor grabbed Guillermo’s wrist and pulled him into a tight bear hug.
“My Boy-friend ,” he said into his hair, only half-teasingly. “Do I call you that? In front of the others? Like, ‘Boy-friend, come take a look at my ass! Do these pants make my ass look fat?’”
Guillermo snorted against his shirt. The vampire’s embrace was both cold and warm at the same time. “Guillermo is fine. And yes, they do.”
“Thank you, Boy-friend.” Nandor planted another kiss on his human’s head before taking his hand and leading him out of the room.