Chapter 64

Blade shrugged. It didn’t matter to him if Onyx hated him. He had two weeks to change his mind. He studied the other man’s back. He had two weeks to seduce him. He smiled. He liked a challenge. The thought of having sex with Onyx excited him. There was nothing like the thrill of pursuit to arouse him.

He silently unpacked his bags as well. Onyx might be mad at him right now, but Blade knew that eventually he would come around. It might take awhile, but Blade was determined to impregnate Onyx before the trip was over. He took a deep breath. Onyx’s scent told him that it would be a few days before the human became fertile.

Onyx noticed his expression and scowled. “Why are you so pleased?”

“No reason,” Blade replied innocently.

Over the next week, Blade insisted on visiting all the major tourist attractions. They stood next to the iconic Great Wall. Blade paid a native to take their picture outside of the famous Dragon Cave.

He was relaxing on a bench in the local Zen garden when Onyx sat beside him. “How was the shopping?”

“Fine. I got presents for everybody. I am allowed to shop for them while I’m here or is that forbidden too?”

“You are on vacation from the kids. That means no contact. I can’t stop you from thinking about them. Well, I can, but it wouldn’t be ethical to do so.”

“A vampire with a sense of ethics. How unusual.”

Blade stared at the pond, ignoring Onyx’s sarcasm. “Power is delightful, absolute power is absolutely delightful. The Council was formed because the older vampires had gone mad with power. They have final approval over vampire candidates. They want people who have a strong sense of ethics to prevent the excesses of the past.”

“Then how do you explain what happened to Ice?”

“Vampires are people, too. They make mistakes and sometimes it takes a long time for negative behaviors to manifest.”

“That’s a polite way of saying older vampires are more likely to go mad.”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?” Onyx asked curiously.

“Old enough to know better.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not going to tell you.”

“Is your name really Blade?”

“No, and I’m not going to tell you my birth name either, so don’t ask.”

Blade leaned back and studied Onyx’s profile. This close to him, he could tell that the other was at the start of his fertile period. Blade stretched and draped his arm across the back of the bench. Onyx leaned back then. He jerked forward when he felt Blade’s arm.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He accused him.

“I think I’m resting my arm on the back of the bench,” Blade answered mildly. “I have no objection if you want to use my arm as a head rest.”

“Just because I’m not hundreds of years old doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the old casual stretched arm maneuver. I’ve even used it myself.”

“Really?” He asked interested. “You never talk about your past before meeting Ice.”

Onyx looked away. “I actually had a happy childhood. My parents weren’t too happy about my sexual preferences, but they loved me anyway. Snow kidnapped me specifically to appeal to Ice.”

“I’m sorry. Snow wasn’t a nice person. She had a taste of young, virginal boys. She picked Ice as a mate for my former Master. He managed to run away before she could finish training him.”

“Training him?”

“Conditioning him to want to please his Master without another thought in his head that wasn’t related to pleasing him.”

Onyx leaned back against Blade’s arm. “How did I get mixed up with such damaged individuals?”

“Just lucky I guess.”

“Luck like that I could do without.”

Blade rested his hand on Onyx’s shoulder and pulled the human closer. Onyx came easily enough and rested his head on Blade’s shoulder. Blade kissed the top of his head. Onyx made a sound in his throat. Blade smiled into the other’s hair. He could smell Onyx’s rising desire. Desire that the human wasn’t even aware of yet. He brushed his fingers against the side of his neck. Onyx tilted his head giving Blade access to the jugular vein in his neck. Blade bent his head and pressed a light kiss on the human’s pulse. The soft touch of Blade’s lips caused Onyx’s pulse to race and the sound he made was definitely one of pleasure. Blade ran his tongue over the pulse point. His fangs extended down and grazed the skin. It would only take the least bit of pressure to puncture the skin and drink deep. Blade opened his mouth and gently sank his fangs into Onyx’s neck. After a few swallows, he pulled away. Onyx made a disappointed noise.

“Why did you stop?” He asked huskily.

“I might kill you if I drink too deeply. That would not be a good thing. I really don’t want to attract the Council’s attention.”

“But I wasn’t finished.”

“Finished?” Blade teased.