Shadow's Seduction (The Dacians #2)(4)

Mirceo ran his fingers along the rim of his chalice, his black claws trimmed shorter than Cas’s own. “So you’ve never been with a male.”

He shook his head. “Not my cup of tea.”

“It wasn’t mine either, until I had a sip.” Mirceo took a drink, then licked a drop of blood mead from his lip.

The sight held Cas rapt before he blinked back to attention. How to respond to that comment? I see. Very good. Thanks for sharing.

“So what shall we do about your hunt?” the vampire asked, mercifully moving to another subject.

“There’s nothing I can do. I must follow my order.” Raum, one of Bettina’s guardians and the acting ruler of Abaddon, had vowed to send a cadre of his finest warriors to take over. “I find myself . . . adrift.”

“Is this female you sought to avenge more than a friend?”

“Though she’s beautiful and talented—she’s a goldsmith without equal—I’ll never view her as more than a sister.” Cas had taken her to the mortal realm to explore, teaching her what baseball was and how to drive a car.

But lately, his visits with her had grown increasingly awkward. She was ashamed of how she’d reacted to her gruesome injuries, wishing she’d been more demonic. Stronger. Yet the delicate halfling had never looked or acted as if she had demon blood. “I’ve known her for more than a decade, ever since I was fifteen.”

“You’re twenty-five? Five years younger than me. Are you fully immortal?”

“Just transitioned.” Little other than decapitation could kill Cas now.

“Regrettably, I’m right behind you. My heart has been slowing for years, soon to stop beating.” With his transition, a male vampire would go into a kind of walking stasis—heartbeat, respiration, and sexual ability dormant—only to be awakened by his vampire Bride. “Listen.” Mirceo held up a hand to pause the conversation for several moments, then pointed at his chest. “My heart was motionless for that entire time. I figure I have another couple of months before I can no longer fuck—until I find my mate,” he added darkly. “The prospect of a walking-dead existence is unfortunate enough, but to depend on a stranger to revive me? And then she’ll expect me to be faithful to her.” He shuddered. “So my upside is one partner. Forever.”

“Gods, I feel for you about the celibacy, friend.” These days, sex seemed to be the only thing keeping Cas sane. The problem was money. Cas didn’t get free admission at every establishment.

The life of a player was an impoverished one. Not to mention the sums he spent to fund apprenticeships for pups in Abaddon.

“You don’t sympathize about the monogamy? I consider it an intolerable hardship.”

“Once I find my female, I’ll be loyal to my dying breath.” Though Cas was young, he already longed for her and the younglings she’d give him.

“At least you can keep fucking until then. No end in sight for your cockstands.”

Cas countered, “At least you know what it’s like to spill seed.” A male demon could orgasm before he claimed his fated one, but he couldn’t release semen until he lost his demon seal inside his mate’s body. “Why are you so against monogamy?”

“My predatory nature makes me forever pursue new conquests. Would you track prey you’d already captured? Would a hunter stalk a boar he’d already felled?” Mirceo sighed. “Once my heart stops, it won’t matter anyway. But until then, I intend to fuck like a madman, sampling every wicked delight available to a vampire with more gold than time and less wisdom than daring.”

Must be nice.

“Join me, sweetheart. My treat. We’ll journey the worlds, sharing wenches and drink. I’ll take you to bacchanalia that will make tonight’s affair appear tame. I’ll introduce you to gods, and we’ll wallow in meaningless hedonism.”

After Cas’s last two months, that sounded so bloody tempting. If the spoiled prince wanted to pay, maybe Cas should simply enjoy. But first he’d get one thing clear. . . . “If you think to seduce me, it won’t happen. I will never desire another male.”

Holding Cas’s gaze, he said, “Around me, you won’t ever do anything you don’t wish.” The vampire leaned in closer. “Isn’t that the essence of hedonism? Partaking of all the things you want and none of the things you don’t?”

Cas couldn’t seem to look away. Up this close, he spied a ring of black encircling Mirceo’s irises. Mesmerizing . . . “So why me? Any number of these beings would leap at the offer you just made.”

The vampire’s lips curved. “What you do with a partner’s body can only be considered art. Young demon, consider me a patron of the arts. . . .”





THREE


“Our time grows nigh, Caspion,” the prince told him in a grave tone.

He and Cas sat atop the tower of a suspension bridge in the mortal world. Hundreds of feet above the water, they gazed out at the shroud of fog. As usual, they each had a flask.

“But it’s only been a few weeks.” As promised, the vampire had opened Cas’s eyes to a dazzling new world, taking him everywhere from erotic balls to sordid dungeons, while plying him with the finest delicacies and drink. “What’s the rush?”