“It’s not enough, though.”
“No.” Jory looked up and sighed. “It hurts so much. It never stops hurting, but sometimes it hurts just a little less.”
“That’s because cutting yourself isn’t the answer.” Stavion grinned and kissed the tip of Jory’s nose. “It’s very lucky for you that you’re mated to a vampire. You need someone to feed from you, baby.”
Jory looked excited as he bounced in Stavion’s lap. It lasted only a moment before he stilled and tilted his head to the side, though. His eyebrows drew together, and he pursed his lips. He looked so cute that Stavion wanted to kiss him. So he did.
“What about Aímas who aren’t mated? Or young ones? I’ve been cutting myself since I was about nine. Are we supposed to live with the pain until we find our mates and just hope that they’re vampires?”
“Those are really good questions, baby.” Stavion brushed a stray lock back from Jory’s face and beamed with pride. His little mate was so smart. “I’ve never seen a baby Aíma or met an adult with children. So, I really can’t say what they do for the little ones. The older demons that I’ve met have saunas built in their homes. Once or twice a week they will sit for hours inside the room and purge their bodies of the excess.” Stavion wrinkled his nose. “It’s kind of gross, and it can be scary if you don’t know what’s going on. The blood seeps through their pores.”
“They sweat blood? I mean,
I
sweat blood?” Jory grimaced and shuddered a little. “Yeah, that does sound really gross.”
Stavion chuckled. “Right now you’ll probably sweat rivers of blood. Normally, you will only sweat water, though. We just need to rid your body of the excess to get you healthy. I think most of your scars will fade as well.”
“They will?” Jory looked at Stavion with so much hope, Stavion prayed he was telling the truth.
“Remember how we talked about that bathtub? Well, if you don’t drain the water, after a while it will go stagnant and even get pretty disgusting.” He stroked Jory’s cheek with his knuckles. “That’s what’s happening in your body right now. Once you get rid of all the bad blood, your body will be able to heal itself.”
“You can’t drink from me,” Jory said sternly. Stavion blinked in surprise, but his mate continued before he could speak. “You might get sick, and I don’t want that to happen. I will sit in a sauna and get all this icky blood out of me. Then we can start over and go from there.”
Stavion hadn’t really thought about that. “Smart and sexy,” he purred. “What will I do with you?”
“Be patient with me,” Jory pleaded. “I’m trying really hard, but part of me is still scared and unsure. I really like you, though. I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything. So, please, just don’t give up on me.”
“How about I let you take the lead? We’ll go at your pace, and you call the shots. I’ll be right here with you the whole way.” Jory smiled and nodded eagerly. It was a good look for the man, and Stavion hoped he saw it more often.
Jumping up from his lap, Jory rested his hands on his nude hips and looked around the room as though searching for something. “Okay, where’s this sauna doohickey?”
Chuckling under his breath, Stavion rose to his feet as well and took his mate’s hand. “I’ll have one built as soon as possible. For now, I think I have an idea.”
Jory stared at him for a full minute before nodding. “I trust you, Stavion. I hope you deserve it.”
Stavion pulled Jory to his chest and kissed the top of his head. No one would ever lift a finger to his mate in anger again. He’d destroy anyone who so much as looked at Jory in aggression. The little man would never want for anything as long as he lived. Stavion would shower him in gifts and attention every day and never grow tired of it.
“You can trust me, Jory.” He’d do whatever it took to prove it.
* * * *
Stavion was right. It was completely and utterly the most disgusting thing Jory had ever witnessed. Goody for him that it was his body that looked like something out of a cut-rate horror flick.
He had been inside the huge shower for almost an hour. Not only was his skin covered in blood as it oozed out of his pores, but he was beginning to turn pruney from the steam. Stavion had placed him in a plastic chair in the back corner of the shower that was big enough to hold at least four grown men. Then he pointed the showerhead straight down, turned off the jets lining the shower wall, started the hot water, and closed the glass door.
However gross and boring it was, Jory wouldn’t complain. He felt better than he had in years. No longer did he feel like he was burning alive. The pressure that had been steadily building inside of him was vanishing, and he could really breathe for the first time in so long.
“Stavion!”
Jory understood that his mate had responsibilities as a coven leader, but he wished the man could stay with him. He was still a little nervous around the big vampire, but he was quickly finding that he enjoyed Stavion’s company.
“Yes, Jory?” Stavion replied as he stepped into the bathroom.
All Jory could see through the foggy glass was a blurry outline, but he recognized Stavion’s voice and smelled his scent immediately.
“How long do I have to stay in here? I’m all wrinkled up, and I think my balls are turning into raisins.”
Stavion chuckled, his voice deep and sexy. Jory shivered involuntarily, and a contented sigh fell from his smiling lips. Stavion had a great laugh. The man’s body was a work of art. He was smart, funny, kind, and he made Jory feel special. He doubted he could have found a better mate if he’d handpicked the man himself.
“Jory?”
Jerking out of his thoughts, Jory looked up into Stavion’s concerned eyes. The shower door was open just a little, and Stavion had apparently been talking to him while he’d been lost inside his own mind. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately.
Stavion’s eyebrows drew together, and the corners of his lips tugged down in a frown. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jory almost apologized again for apologizing. God, he was so lame. Instead, he plastered a smile on his face and tilted his head to the side. “I didn’t hear what you said.”
“I think you’ve been in there long enough. We can always do some more tomorrow if you’re still hurting.” He closed the shower door then slid it open from the other end to adjust the water temperature and tilt the showerhead up. “Okay, all set. Go ahead and get clean while I find us something to eat. Is there anything you like?” Jory was so used to just eating whatever he could get his hands on, it didn’t matter to him. So, he shrugged and wrinkled his nose.
“Anything is fine, Stavion.”
“I’m sure it is, but I asked if there is something special that you like.” He leaned farther into the shower and pressed his lips to Jory’s as the shower soaked his head.
It made Jory laugh. “You’re a nut.”
Stavion chuckled along with him as he shook his head like a dog to dispel the water from his short, black hair. Jory laughed harder.
Had he ever had so much fun doing something as dull as taking a shower? Stavion was trying so hard. Even if Jory couldn’t meet the man halfway, he could still make an effort. “I like grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and warm chocolate pudding.” He bit his lip as he thought it over. “I think I’d like to try waffles, and maybe hotdogs. I’ve never had them before.”
Something flashed in Stavion’s eyes before they softened, and he bent forward to capture Jory’s lips again. He kept the kiss short, but it was no less sensual for its brevity. “Get washed, Jory.” Then he slid the glass door into place and hurried out of the room.
Jory just shrugged. Maybe Stavion really liked waffles.
He finished his shower and dried himself quickly, only then realizing he had no clean clothes in the bathroom to change into. Oh, well, Stavion had seen him naked before. Wrapping the big, fluffy towel around his hips, he exited the bathroom, grinning a mile wide when he saw Stavion sitting on the side of the bed, waiting just for him.
“I really like that shirt,” he commented apropos to nothing. It was a smoky, charcoal gray with little white buttons and looked incredibly sexy stretched across Stavion’s pale skin.
Stavion looked down at his chest, then back up to Jory, and smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Do you think I could get some clothes like that?” Jory bit his lips and shifted nervously from foot to foot. The Enforcers had already done so much for him that it seemed selfish and ungrateful to ask for more.
They’d bought him clothes, but they were all things like jeans, T-shirts, track pants, and gym shorts. He wanted something he could wear if Stavion ever took him somewhere away from the estate. The clothes he had were comfortable and practical, but they were nothing like Stavion’s. He didn’t want to embarrass his mate. He wanted to be someone—even on the outside—that Stavion would be proud to be seen with.
“I don’t have any money, but I could do something else to pay you back,” he hurried to add. “I could help in the kitchen, or whatever you like. Maybe I could get a job that pays real money and pay you back that way. Or if I had a real job, I guess I could just buy my own clothes. Then again, I would probably need something to wear to work until I made some money. I don’t really have any skills, so I don’t know what kind of job I could get. And we live pretty far out here, so I’d have to worry about getting there. I don’t mind walking. That would be okay. I just have to know how to get there.”
Jory sucked in a great lungful of air and chewed on his bottom lip when Stavion started laughing. Yeah, he knew they were unrealistic dreams, but he just wanted to be normal. Normal people had jobs, made money, bought their own things, and took care of themselves.
“Jory, come here, baby.” Stavion held his arms open wide, and Jory dropped his head and moved to stand between his mate’s knees.
Stavion gathered him in his lap and tipped his chin up to place a quick kiss on his lips. “I wasn’t laughing at you, okay?” He waited for Jory to nod. “I love your enthusiasm, and I think that was probably the most you’ve ever said to me at one time.” He chuckled under his breath. “Besides, it was kind of cute. I laughed because I was happy. That’s all.”
How was Jory supposed to stay strong against something like that? He couldn’t and he knew it, so he didn’t even try. He didn’t even fight the goofy smile that spread over his face as he curled into his mate’s chest and skimmed his nose along the fragrant skin of Stavion’s throat. Maybe things were going to be just fine. Maybe he’d finally found a place to belong where he wouldn’t have to constantly be watching over his shoulder.
Maybe, but only time would tell. And since they were both immortal, he had nothing but time.
Stavion watched Jory devour his waffles and hotdogs. “So, you like them?”
“They’re awesome!”
Elation welled up inside of him, pushing away his anger at the life Jory had been forced to lead until he’d come to live with Stavion. The little man was the epitome of everything that was good and right in the world. Thinking of the hell Jory had lived through made Stavion’s stomach burn. Who reached the age of nineteen without having ever eaten a waffle?
“Can I ask you something?”
Stavion studied his mate for a moment and nodded.
“How come you were gone for so long?” Jory bit his lip and looked down at his plate as his cheeks blazed scarlet.
“Did you miss me?” Stavion didn’t want the guy to be embarrassed. He wasn’t teasing, either. He was very curious about whether or not Jory had thought of him while he was away.
“Yes,” Jory whispered after a significant pause. “I kind of got used to you coming to visit me every night.”
Instead of jumping up from the small table and dancing around the room like a jackass, Stavion settled for a beaming smile. “I missed you, too, Jory. I had some business to take care of before I could come home.”
When he looked up, Jory’s eyebrows were drawn together, and he seemed to be debating something. Stavion waited, giving his mate the chance to work through what he wanted to ask. Finally, Jory shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this, but what kind of business was it?”
“We’re mates, which means you can ask me anything.” Stavion reached across the table and held his hand palm up, thrilled when Jory immediately took it and gave it a little squeeze. “I have no secrets from you,” Stavion continued. “I received a mating contract from a coven leader in Washington for Malakai.”
Jory’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. “Someone bought him like they bought me?”
Stavion winced, but he supposed that was mostly true. The laws of his kind had been in place for hundreds of years, and some of them—like the mating contracts—were beyond outdated. “I guess you’re right. Malakai stayed behind in Georgia with his mates. Normally, a mating bond will overrule an offered contract.”
“Okay, I still don’t understand why you didn’t come home right after the wedding.”
“I had to meet with The Council about an assignment. Though I’m leader of this coven, I still command the other Enforcers. They’ve located a vampire coven in Montana that needs to be brought before the elders.”
Jory actually growled at him, and Stavion’s cock perked up to take notice of the sexy sound. “Stavion, you’re not making any sense. How are the two related?”
“Malakai must be claimed by both of his mates or the contract will be honored. The Council offered the assignment of bringing in this coven leader to Flynn Murphy, one of Malakai’s mates. I was trying to persuade them to choose someone else.”
“Because Flynn can’t claim Malakai if he’s not there.”
“Exactly.” Stavion could feel his frustration rising at the predicament he found himself in. “I received another letter from Leader McCarthy this morning, asking about the status of his contract. I can’t put him off for much longer.”
“Maybe you need to just tell Malakai,” Jory offered. “He’s a grown man, and he’s really smart. Maybe he can help. I know he’s your friend, but he needs to know. I wouldn’t like people keeping secrets from me, especially if they’re about me.”
Again, his mate was absolutely right. With everything happening with Boston and Flynn, Stavion didn’t think Malakai needed something else to worry about, though. “I do need to tell him, but not now.”