RW1 Ravyn's blood (8 page)

“My lord, we’ve got a couple ideas on how to keep you safe and dispose of Desmond,” he said quietly.

Salvatore rolled his eyes. “Not tonight, Tony. For the sake of my sanity, let me enjoy my ballet.” Tony’s lips pursed, but he nodded.

“My lord, Prince Salvatore?” a voice asked meekly to their right. The Ravyns tensed, and their eyes narrowed at the short, middle-aged vampire speaking to them.

“Yes,” Salvatore replied. “Who’s asking?”

The little vampire with his balding head bowed low and handed their lord an envelope with the seal of
La Petite Morte
’s symbol of a dozen interlocking and embracing lovers on it.

“This is from the Master of Haven, his lordship, Alex, as well as from his family and troupe here at
La Petite Morte
. We would be most honored if the demon Prince would be our guest in the VIP booth this night.”

Salvatore’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “I would be pleased to accept the invitation from his Master. But tell me, why doesn’t he come himself?”

The little vampire smiled gently. “The Master heard that your Ravyns had bought your tickets for this evening’s performance and decided that he would take over the main role himself to give you the proper viewing of it. He is even now readying for the stage.”

Salvatore clapped his hands in delight. “He hasn’t been on stage since his lover disappeared six years ago! Oh what a treat we are in for!”

The vampire smiled, revealing crooked pointed canines. “Allow me to show you the way.” The Ravyns shrugged and followed uneasily behind the two chatting men.

The VIP booth was red velvet, and each chair was a soft down-like material that caused them all to sigh in appreciation as they sunk into the cushioned embraces. Maybe this experience wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you all doing sitting down? We’re bodyguards. This isn’t a pleasure trip. Get your asses up and in position in case of a surprise attack.” They all groaned. Nothing had changed.

Salvatore’s eyes were rapt with attention as the lights dimmed and the curtains opened to reveal four men, four “humans” dressed in delicate sheer clothing that sparkled with the lights. They danced around one another in joy, happily enjoying the garden, the Eden, that they shared. Dageus couldn’t drag his gaze from the twisting forms of the dancers. This all looked so familiar. The play progressed, and at the edge of the stage a single being danced among the shadows. She slid from them at last, and all the human males danced around her, begging for her attentions.

“That is Maddeline. She’s the second oldest of the line,” Salvatore explained, noting his interest. The music turned into a beautiful waltz, and other dancers poured from behind the stage and took up partners, but not all of them had someone to dance with. A cool fog swirled around their feet, and the crowd gasped, turning their attention to the ceiling. Delicate thin lights lit up the upper limits, revealing vampires poised like beautiful statues before they swept down among the crowd, picking partners from the audience as well as the stage.

The Ravyns felt the vampires’ magicks light the air, and each brushed the uneasy feeling of power from them. A female vampire glided down and offered Allasandro a hand with a sweet smile. Immediately he took it. He gazed into the soft brown of her eyes and returned that smile. The other Ravyns tensed as he was lifted into the air.

“This is an audience-participation play, boys. Calm down,” Salvatore commanded, obviously enjoying the cadence. Dageus stepped closer to the entrance at the balcony where Allasandro had been standing.

Salvatore gasped in wonderment as they danced with one another. Allasandro, who was normally quite clumsy when it came to dancing, seemed to have a singular grace as he danced with her. The music abruptly changed, and everyone stopped moving. The vampires didn’t even breathe, and the humans seemed to hold their breath. A single vampire with blond hair dropped from the ceiling into the center of the stage. Dageus froze.

The lover from his dreams danced and leapt across the stage, looking desperately for a partner for his dance. His blue eyes flashed with misery, and even his movements seemed to exude a pained grace. At each turn he was rejected by everyone, and he looked overcome with anguish. Dageus’s heart broke.

“Dageus?” Salvatore asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Dageus couldn’t hide the fresh tears that poured down his face from his heart. “You’re really susceptible to their magic. You might want to sit down,” Salvatore said frowning.

“No,” Dageus said, unwilling to be parted from the image of his dream lover for even an instant. All those nights dreaming of his sweet face and thinking himself insane. It all made sense now. Everything. Every desire he’d ever had was dancing across the stage, bending and twisting and gyrating in a way that had driven him nuts every night since his transition. Hell, maybe before then, too. It was a vision or something. Some unconscious signal to find this man, maybe it was to kill Desmond. Maybe this was who they had been looking for.

The vampire dancer rose from the stage, moving vertically in a circular motion. He continued until he was eye level with the VIP booth and nearly stumbled midair, seemingly shocked. Blue eyes clashed with gold. Dageus reached out with his right hand just as his dream lover did. The dancer floated closer, and their fingertips touched. A jolt of energy shot up his arm.

“Alex,” Dageus whispered the name, unsure how he knew it but feeling it deep within all the same. Their fingers locked together, and Dageus felt the magic swirl around him.

“Kalel.” His dream lover returned, pulling him into his embrace.

Tony glanced between them with trepidation. “What the hell is happening?” he demanded. Salvatore held up a hand for silence.

“Look at them. Just look at them,” he whispered in awe.

Dageus rose from the balcony and felt something akin to joy take hold on his heart. They began to dance. He didn’t know he knew how to dance, but just like Allasandro, he took to the air and the stage as if he was born to it. Something was different about the way Alex held him in his arms, something far more intimate than what had been shared by the other members of the audience and their vampire partners.

“You have too many clothes on, love,” he whispered in Dageus’s ear. He shivered in desire. How many times had he dreamed of this moment? Please don’t let me wake up, he begged his unconscious mind. Please
.
Let him hold me for just a bit longer
.
His eyes shot wide as he felt Alex’s hands on his waist.

“Relax, mon petit. I’m not going to ravish you in front of all these people.” His voice alone caused him to weaken. His jacket fell away, as did his shirt. The crowd cooed in appreciation of his sculpted body. Alex ran his hands over Dageus’s body, throwing off his unneeded clothes, until at last he stood in just his pants, barefoot, on the stage. He wondered briefly when they’d come back down to earth. The music picked up again, and Alex danced around his body cautiously, running a tentative hand over his abdomen.

“You’re so beautiful,” Dageus said aloud, not realizing what he’d said aloud. Alex chuckled.

“Dance for me, my love,” Alex commanded.

With a snap of the vampire’s fingers, they began to twirl around in abandon. They embraced and pressed their bodies against one another before pushing off and spinning away again. Dageus was almost in a frenzy. His movements oddly graceful despite the havoc inside his heart. His mind shut down, and he felt free for the first time.

The music hesitated, and Alex, also seemingly lost in the moment, crushed Dageus to him, his lips slamming down on his. Dageus’s moan filled the theater. They kissed with the singular passion of long-lost lovers. Their tongues tangled, and they both gasped at the contact. Alex ran that same tongue down the side of his neck and lapped at his pulse.

“My love, my love, my love,” Alex whispered, pressing a kiss to his neck with every plea. Dageus’s pulse throbbed under his tongue in time with his erection. Alex angled his hand to cup him through the soft material of Dageus’s pants so that the crowd couldn’t see it. Dageus arched into his touch. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up!

* * * *

“How unusual…” muttered the little vampire that had led the Ravyns and their Prince to the booth. He’d joined them just a moment ago with additional refreshments for the VIPs. Salvatore cast him a curious look.

“What is unusual?” Salvatore asked.

The vampire shrugged. “Well, honestly, I’ve never seen the Master take a partner like that onto stage. He has a partner that was assigned and auditioned for this role. I’ve never seen him try a partner from the crowd at random… hmm… he must have seen potential in your Ravyn.”

Salvatore frowned. “Truly?” The vampire nodded. “How strange. Dageus never expressed interest in dancing.”

The vampire shrugged again at Salvatore’s comment. “The best ones never do. After this next scene, you and your men may want to head backstage. It’s the final act in this half.” Salvatore nodded, curiosity goading him on.

* * * *

Meanwhile, back on stage, Dageus felt a foreign part of himself rise as Alex allowed him to slide back to his feet.

“Dance for me,” Alex growled.

He took off and felt his limbs doing things his conscious mind would’ve never guessed he could do. He leapt into Alex’s arms and was suspended above him before being gently let down. He went to twirl away from Alex again, but this time Alex followed, mimicking his movements. He smiled at the familiarity. They chased each other back and forth across the stage, the intensity building to a fever pitch.

They each ducked under the arms of the other and then circled once more before Alex caught him in his grip. They froze with the high pitch of the violin, starring deep in each other’s eyes. Things, emotions, passed between them, and time stopped as they felt each other’s heartbeats. Alex twisted Dageus’s head to the side, exposing the long clean line of his neck.

“May I?” he whispered against his skin. Dageus closed his eyes, and his cock jumped in anticipation.

“Do it,” he ordered before his logical mind could take hold of his actions.

Alex smiled and sank his fangs to the hilt as he ground his body against the man in his grip. The crowd sighed as if they too could feel the release that it gave them. Dageus groaned and panted, his hips undulating helplessly. Alex held his own wrist to the crowd, and they gasped again as a red line appeared on his wrist.

Blood trickled out of the wound, and the crowd cheered for Dageus to feed, to take what the vampire offered. Slowly Alex raised his hand and ran it over Dageus’s lips, a single drop of blood gathered there. Dageus screamed in pleasure, struggling to get closer to him as his fangs held him in place. The music rose to a crescendo and, as Dageus’s lips closed over the wound, the stage went black.

Chapter Twelve

The Ravyns all twittered nervously as the lights reappeared, and all the dancers on stage had disappeared. Salvatore remained silent. He was a little worried himself, but he also knew that if he showed it all the men would panic.

“Where the hell is Dageus?” Tony demanded angrily.

“Where’s Allasandro?” Druas echoed. Light poured from the back entrance to the balcony, and Allasandro stepped forward, back into the VIP booth. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Wow, man, wow,” he said, sitting down hard in the chair next to Salvatore. “I’ve never felt that much power swirling around the place. That chick, Desari, was fine! You were so right, my Prince! The act was phenomenal. I can’t wait until the second half.”

Tony growled low in his throat. “Can you shut up for a second?! Where’s Dageus?”

Allasandro frowned. “Dageus was out there? Whose partner was he?” Tony growled again in aggravation. The Ravyns turned toward the little vampire.

“Where the hell is our brother?” Germany growled.

* * * *

The brother in question was being held against the Master of Minnesota’s chest backstage. He felt like he was in a daze. What had just happened? He still had the delicious, spicy taste of the vampire’s blood on his tongue.