Blood Deep (Bound in Blood Book 1) (4 page)

She gave Jacob a small smile at the sound of her nickname. “God, you’re such a slut, Jacob. I’ve no idea why I love you.”

Jacob laughed. “Must be the stubble.” He couldn’t say the words back and risk giving her hope. He did love her dearly and he knew he’d miss her while he was away.

Anna smirked. “Nah. I think it was when I saw the size of your cock. It looked exactly like my favorit—“

“And on that note, I’ll talk to you later,” Jacob said interrupting her. He gave Anna one last hug before walking over to the front door. He paused again when his hand was on the doorknob. “Watch out for yourself, Anna, and try not to worry too much about me. I’ll be fine.”

Jacob turned the knob and opened the door. He had to make one more stop before he could head over to Patrick’s and begin his new ‘job’ as the vampire’s assistant.

Whatever the fuck that meant.

Chapter 3

Patrick paced the length of the hallway working himself up instead of calming down as he had planned. Never had he been so keyed up in his life, and it was all thanks to the ruggedly handsome man who was now fifteen minutes late.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Pat. Sit the fuck down before I cut you off at the bloody kneecaps,” Gabriel hissed his voice tinged with long-suffering annoyance.

Patrick turned to look at his friend, but didn’t pause in his pacing. “I can’t Gabe. The man is now almost twenty minutes late in his arrival when I clearly told him being late was one of my biggest pet peeves and I—“

“And you can’t stand it; yes I know,” Gabriel interrupted Patrick’s tirade. He rolled his golden eyes and turned back to the TV. “If it was such a big bloody deal, why didn’t you just pick the guy up instead? It would’ve saved you the trouble of getting your panties in a bunch from worrying and it would have saved me the headache from having to deal with your aggravating pacing.”

“You do have your own place, Gabe,” Patrick answered sourly. Gabriel waved his hand half-heartedly. “And anyway, I did offer. He said he’d rather find his way here on his own.” Patrick walked out of the hallway and into the small living room. He was trying not to show it, but he really was getting worried for the other man. Rather than mention this though, he flopped down onto the couch next to Gabriel.

“So let me get this straight. The man whose company you are paying for so that you can do all manners of wicked things to first rejects your offer of transportation and then makes you go out of your mind, unintentionally might I add, waiting for him to arrive? I dare say, I like this bloke already.” Gabriel chuckled as Patrick blew an exasperated breath. “And stop with the bloody human mannerisms. You’re freaking me the fuck out.”

“Sorry!” Patrick said pushing himself back up and off the couch. Of course he didn’t need to breathe, but he found himself often reverting back to human habits when flustered and right then he was really and truly gone. “You know I get this way when I’m nervous. Plus I figure Jacob will be more comfortable if I try to behave less like a—“

“An undead creature of the night?”

“…yes, that.” Patrick took a step away from the couch and back towards the hallway.

“Well if the man is as familiar with our blood-sucking kind as you say he is, then I doubt he would be unnerved by your lack of basic bodily functions,” Gabriel sneered.

Patrick scowled over his shoulder at his friend. The expression felt strange on his normally unexpressive face. Never had he been so annoyed by his friend. He didn’t like this feeling of being so out of control and on edge. He had carefully and deliberately crafted his personality over the years into a man completely opposite of the human boy he once was. Even other vampires were often surprised and impressed by his ability to remain calm and collected in all situations. The fact that his painstakingly sculpted mask was already crumbling and Jacob hadn’t even arrived yet worried him greatly. Patrick was starting to wonder if this were truly a good idea.

“Oh come on now, don’t get all scowly and broody. You’ll give yourself wrinkles.”

“Vampire,” Patrick shot back without turning around.

Gabriel snorted. “Just because we are vampires doesn’t mean we have to be all doom and fucking gloom. Live a little mate! Let you freak flag fly—“

“Show a little nipple, take a few hits; you’ve said that all before, Gabe.” Patrick threw his hands up and stepped back into the hallway to resume his pacing. “Not all of us are as upbeat as you.”

“And look where it’s gotten you.”

Patrick paused his pacing again and looked warily over at his friend. “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means, mate. It means stop thinking the worst before anything even happens. Loosen the fuck up and remove the giant stick from your arse so you can insert more pleasurable phallic items, yeah?”

Before Patrick could open his mouth to shoot out a retort, a loud knock came from the other side of the door. He was surprised to see that he had stopped right in front of it. He was even more surprised to realize that he hadn’t even heard anyone walk up. He cast another look at Gabriel, but the other man had already abandoned the conversation and had turned back to the TV. Patrick took in a deep breath that he didn’t need before reaching out to wrap his hand around the doorknob. The sound of the gears turning was like nails on a chalkboard and he winced at how loud it seemed to his senses.

Patrick wanted to hold onto his dour scowl and give Jacob hell for making him wait this long, but he found that when faced with those piercing green-grey eyes and that delectable scent of ripe male, he was struck mute merely stepping to the side and motioning for Jacob to come inside. Jacob looked like he’d rather run the other way, but he nodded once before stepping over the threshold.

“You’re late,” Gabriel threw out from where he sat on the couch still facing the TV.

Jacob scowled, his eyebrows drawing together. “Yeah, it took longer than I thought it would to get things settled.”

Gabriel shrugged. “I didn’t care. But you might want to watch out for any bloody grooves in the floor from where Patrick walked it into submission.”

“What?”

“Nothing!” Patrick found his voice as he stepped between the two men. “He’s just Gabriel. I mean, joking. I mean, his name is Gabriel and he’s just joking.”

Jacob looked at Patrick as if deciding whether the other man was certifiable and Patrick groaned internally at how ridiculous he knew he sounded.

“Where should I drop this?”

“Huh?”

Now Jacob looked annoyed. He motioned to the duffel bag in his hand. “My bag. Where do I put it?”

“Oh!” Patrick jerked slightly and tried to ignore Gabriel’s amused chuckle. “The second door on the right is the bedroom—“

“That you’ll share with him,” Gabriel gleefully interrupted. “But don’t worry about your virtue. Our dear Patrick is far more into catching than pitching this century.”

“Gabe!” Patrick hissed. He glanced over to see how Jacob took
that
bit of information only to see the breadth of the other man’s back. And what a deliciously muscled back it was. If Patrick had had any blood left in his system, he was sure it would have all rushed to either his face or his cock. He let out a sigh of relief before turning back to his friend.

“Well, I thought I would never meet anyone more of a tight arse than you, but I do believe I will now have to eat those words. Though I wouldn’t mind eating them off that man’s—“

“Gabriel, I swear—“

“Yeah, yeah,” Gabriel pushed himself up and off of the sofa. “I don’t really want to watch you two dance around one another like two virgins at the prom, so I’m going to go. Call me if you get some good dicking and loosen up, yeah?”

Patrick sputtered unable to do much other than watch Gabriel grin and give him a saucy wink before exiting the apartment.

“And be careful, mate.” Gabriel’s voice floated up the stairs. “You don’t know much about this bloke so call me if he gives you any trouble. You’re a bloody prat, but I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

By the time Patrick heard Jacob’s footsteps coming back into the living room, he’d managed to at least close his mouth though he was still going over the mental pictures Gabriel’s words had produced. He knew that Gabriel meant well, and of course there were horror stories of vampires being killed by humans under dubious circumstances. Typically though, those vampires were pretty shitty even in the vampire community, so nobody was really broken up to see them go. Patrick shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts.

“You alright?”

The sound of Jacob’s voice behind him made Patrick whirl around. Once again he’d never even heard the man walk into the room.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Gabriel was just being his usual annoying self,” Patrick said with a shrug. When he looked over to where Jacob stood, his mouth fell open in shock. The man was bare chested with dark hair spattered in a well shaped pattern. Patrick’s mouth watered at the thought of rubbing his face in the man’s furred chest and taking one delicious looking dusky nipple into his mouth.

“See something you like?” The sound of Jacob’s voice, thick with amusement, pulled Patrick out of his musings. He guiltily pulled his gaze up from Jacob’s chest to his face meeting equally enthralling eyes. How the hell was it possible for this man, this
human
, to be so unbelievably gorgeous?

“Yes, I mean no! I mean—“

“It’s fine, Patrick. I’m pretty used to being stared at.” Jacob ran a hand through his dark hair. The look on his face went from amusement to that horrid blank stare that Patrick was quickly growing to hate.

“I’m sorry,” Patrick said. Jacob’s gaze snapped back to his own and Patrick was shocked to read the surprise clear within those grey depths. Had the man never received an apology before? Patrick was sure that asking would be the wrong way to go, but it seemed likely.

“For what?”

“For what? Because I was making you uncomfortable and looking at you like you were just a slab of meat.” Patrick waited for Jacob to respond, but when nothing more was forthcoming, he walked into the kitchen. He didn’t think he was prepared for Jacob, a thought that was confirmed when he opened the refrigerator door and found it unsurprisingly bare. He closed the door with a curse. He really didn’t think this through.

“Why are you apologizing for that?”

“Jesus!” Patrick jumped slightly. He whirled around and glared at Jacob where he stood in the kitchen doorway. “Make some fucking noise when you walk otherwise I’m buying you a bell.”

Jacob snorted, but stayed silent waiting for Patrick to answer.

“I am apologizing because it was rude of me to look at you like that,” Patrick finally said with a huff. He didn’t get this human. Why was he so nonchalantly accepting of rude behavior? It made him wonder about Jacob’s previous dealings with other vampires. Patrick walked over to the door way, mind filled with thoughts of Jacob’s previous vampiric clients and a tight knot of jealousy growing in his chest that he tried to ignore.

The hand on his arm halting him came as a surprise as did the shiver that wracked his undead frame. Jacob’s touch burned like the fires of hell and he had to fight not to gasp at how much he wanted more of that touch. It was unprecedented for a human to initiate touch with a vampire. It just wasn’t done. Jacob’s boldness was surprising and yet it didn’t fill him with anything other than the want for more.

“You aren’t the first vamp to look at me like that and I doubt you’ll be the last,” Jacob said. His words pulled Patrick out of the stupor that his mind had fallen into. As much as he wanted to ignore those words, he knew Jacob was right.

“I’m sure that’s true, but that doesn’t make it right.” Patrick tried to move away, but was surprised by Jacob’s strength.

“Why does it matter?”

The question confused Patrick. “What do you mean, why does it matter?”

Jacob pulled his hand away and shrugged. “I meant what I asked. Why does it matter if some vamp looks at me like I’m a piece of meat? I mean, that’s essentially what I’m getting paid for.”

Patrick stared at Jacob in disbelief. Was the man completely mental? “Because it’s not right,” he answered in frustration. “You’re still a person regardless of your…your job.”

Jacob snorted. “It’s alright vamp boy. You can call me a prostitute, I won’t be offended.”

“That’s not your name, so I won’t call you that,” Patrick sputtered. “And besides, I didn’t hire you to be a prostitute. I hired you to be my assi—“ Patrick’s voice broke as he found himself pushed against the door frame. His body was on fire from each point of contact with Jacob’s firm muscular frame.

Patrick’s hands gripped the wall at his back and he swore he could feel his nails puncture through. His head was filled with the pounding of Jacob’s heart and the scent of all that blood just beneath the surface made his gums itch with the need to bite. He’d thought that it was the atmosphere of the club creating such an extreme reaction, but now he realized it was just Jacob himself. Patrick locked gazes with Jacob, grey eyes meeting blue.

“You’re pretty surprising.”

Patrick blinked as his brain processed Jacob’s words. He tried to gather his thoughts enough to formulate an answer. It was a difficult feat with Jacob’s enticing scent filling his head. He closed his eyes to escape that knowing gaze.

“Don’t hurt yourself vamp, it was just an observation,” Jacob chuckled.

“Stop calling me that,” Patrick croaked as he opened his eyes. He coughed to hide his embarrassment and to cover up the hoarseness of his voice. He didn’t understand how Jacob’s mere presence could affect him so strongly. His involuntary bodily reactions were something that newly bitten vampires had to learn to control during their first few months, but he was, in essence, an elder vampire and therefore should have been in total control. “What do you mean anyway? How am I surprising?”

“I mean what I said,” Jacob said. He held Patrick’s gaze for a moment longer before pulling away and taking a few steps back. “You just aren’t what I was expecting.”

Patrick waited for Jacob to elaborate more, but when the other man said nothing else he scowled. He pushed himself off the wall and ran his hands down his now very crinkled shirt with short, jerky motions.