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Stelig trembled with pleasure at looking into his king’s eyes.  “Yes, sire.”

“Good.” Markus released him and stepped back. He wiped the  hand he’d touched Stelig with on his suit jacket, but something like  that was to be expected. Stelig was sweating profusely. “You are  dismissed.”

Stelig walked out of the sitting room, his head held high, and he

felt lighter, more powerful than he ever felt in the whole of his life.

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Chapter Nine

Vladimir had to be strong. He was a man of royal descent, certainly not worthy of cowering inside of his room, fearful of coming across the werewolf he’d brought here. Fearful of what he would see in those lovely eyes. Disgust? Hatred? Regret that Andrew had ever tied himself to an unworthy man such as Vlad?

Vlad shook himself. He had to be rid of such thoughts. It was those that brought him into this position in the first place.

Besides, he missed his lover. The sun had come up, and the windows had become dark and tinted, as they were designed to do in direct sunlight, which meant that his brother, Boris, and just about every other vampire residing in this house would likely be asleep in bed. That left only the human servants and the feeders. They would not disturb Vlad or ask him any questions. That was the only good thing about them.

Vlad arrived at the door. He wore his best clothes and had washed

and thoroughly combed his hair to be properly presentable.

If only his father could see him now, attempting to impress a  werewolf. The old bastard was probably rolling in his grave.

This time, Vlad knocked.

His heart pounded painfully in the few seconds it took before he  received an answer, and he sighed. Thank God, Andrew had not left  him yet.

He was almost glad to see the shock on Andrew’s face when he  opened the door and let himself in. It seemed the wolf was not  prepared for the fact that Vlad would announce himself, rather than  simply allowing himself entrance to the room uninvited.

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Andrew sat up from the bed, the book that had been on his chest sliding off and bouncing to the carpeted floor. “You’re back.”

“I am,” Vlad nodded. He looked around the room. Not much had

changed, apart from the disheveled bed, the tray table with what  remained of Andrew’s snack, and the damp towels on the floor of the  bathroom. The man had bathed and eaten. Vlad was angry.

“I have been pacing my bedchamber for hours, fearful that you  would be gone when I finally got up the courage to leave, and you  have been in here reading and snacking?”

“I need to eat real food more than a vampire does if I’m going to  survive. Did you want me to starve myself just because we fought?”

“Of course not.” But a little more misery wouldn’t exactly have  been unwelcome.

Vlad folded his arms. “I am glad that you did not leave.”

Andrew pushed away the tray table and sat up, kicking his legs over the side of the bed. He wore plain jeans and a white T-shirt today, and they were quite small for his body. They left nearly nothing to Vlad’s imagination. Not that there was anything to imagine. He’d already seen everything Andrew had to offer.

“I told you I would go wherever you go. Until you make up your mind about that guy you’re engaged to―”

“Lord Dragunov.”

“Whatever.
 
Him
. Until you make up your mind about what you’re going to do about him, I will stay.”

Vlad swallowed over the hard lump forming in his throat. “You will abandon me if I am forced to marry him? You bound yourself to me.”

“I know, but you can’t seriously expect me to want to stick around  if you’re going to be having sex with him and all of his concubines. I  wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Vlad put his hands behind his back. He bit his lower lip. “There is something more going on between us. I do not know what it is, but if you were truly serious about enslaving yourself to me, you would not

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presume to simply leave of your own free will.”

“Right, because I would have none,” Andrew said. “Would you  try to force me to stay?”

Vlad looked up at him. Andrew’s eyes were so eager, he was  tempted to say that, yes, if he was able, he would do everything in his  power to make certain that the werewolf could never leave him, but  he could not do such a thing. “No, I would not. Just because I am not  free does not mean that I should imprison you.”

Vlad smiled. “Boris despises werewolves, at any rate. In Russia,  they are apparently mostly wild, and he has trouble with them. He  would never allow me a werewolf as a personal feeder, and if he ever  discovered us together, under his roof, without the protection of my  brothers, he would kill you.”

“Vlad.” Andrew stood up and approached him.

Vlad wet his lips. “I do not want to be everything that I told you  that I was last night. Not in your eyes. And you are not worthless to  me either. You are perfect.”

Andrew’s fingers touched his face. Vlad was surprised at how  cold and clammy they were.

He looked up and noticed for the first time how pale Andrew  looked. A thin layer of sweat shone on his face, and his cheeks were  oddly sallow.

It had not been like that a minute ago.

Vlad grabbed his hands, and they too were chilled and damp.  “What is the matter? Are you well?”

Andrew’s grin showed off his teeth. “Actually, now that you  mention it, I really don’t feel all that great.”

The second the words were out of his mouth, he groaned and  keeled over. Andrew sank down to his knees, his head bent, hands

now clutching at his stomach.

Vlad went down with him, keeping his hands on the other man’s  back. He could feel the pulsing of blood beneath the soaked T-shirt,  and the heartbeat had suddenly become erratic.

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“You are not well. Let me help you back into bed.”

“I think I just got a little food poisoning,” Andrew said, allowing

himself to be aided back to his bed.

It was the word poison that caught Vlad’s attention, and he pulled the tray table over to them to have a look at what remained of the contents. A half sandwich, three apple slices, and the glass was still half filled with a red juice. “Where did you get this food?”

Andrew was clenching his teeth now. “Someone knocked on my door. Said the feeders were being served in their lounge, so I went and got this. It couldn’t have been poison. I would’ve smelled something wrong.”

As a prince, even a lower prince, Vlad was expected to know of the many ways he could be assassinated.

“Food poisoning does not happen for at least twenty hours after your meal, and not all poisons have a taste or scent.”

Someone knew about them. Someone was trying to kill Andrew!

“Up you get!” Vlad pulled Andrew into his arms and started dragging him to the bathroom.

“I just got in bed!” Andrew complained.

“You will sleep for eternity if you do not come with me!” Vlad snapped, hauling Andrew to his feet.

It almost wasn’t enough. Andrew’s weight was becoming heavier and heavier as the other man struggled to stay on his feet. He swaggered as though the ground beneath him heaved like the sea.

“Dizzy,” he moaned.

This was not good. Whatever the poison was, it was working quickly.

Vlad pulled them into the bathroom and allowed Andrew to collapse onto his knees in front of the toilet.

He got up and began searching through the drawers until he found what he was looking for.

“What are you―?”

Vlad ripped the packaging off of the spare toothbrush and thrust it

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into Andrew’s hands. “Put the back end down your throat. Bring back  up what you just ate.”

“I hate puking,” Andrew said, but he must have seen the logic in  Vlad’s words because he did as he was instructed, promptly gagging  and letting the contents of his stomach splash into the toilet.

Vlad pitied him. He hated forcing himself to vomit as well, but  more than once the act had saved his life when someone had decided

to put something strange into his evening meal.

He grabbed the glass off the counter and filled it with water. He  waited for Andrew to stop his heaving. Rather, he waited until the  other man began dry heaving and then thrust the glass into his hand.

Andrew swigged the water and spat it into the toilet.

Vlad snatched the cup back. “No, you must drink it.”

Andrew looked up at him, and Vlad could not help but think of a  kicked dog. “What?”

Vlad refilled the cup. “You need to put more fluid back into your  body. You’re not done yet.”

“Jesus Christ,” Andrew moaned, letting his head sink down onto  the rim of the toilet.

At least it was clean. Vlad put the cup back into his hands and helped him lift it to his lips. “You must do it.”

Some of the water spilled down the side of Andrew’s cheeks as he gulped the water too fast, but Vlad would not allow him to stop. He wouldn’t allow Andrew to die on him! He wouldn’t!

After another session of vomiting, Andrew took more water to rinse his mouth with and drink, but he positively refused to vomit one more time.

“I’m better, I’m better,” he promised. He held his hand up to ward

off Vlad as he was about to force the toothbrush down Andrew’s

throat.

Vlad stared at him curiously. Andrew was a werewolf, and their healing abilities did give them an advantage in these sorts of things, and not all of the food on the tray had been consumed.

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“You are certain?” he asked, still paranoid and fearful of watching  Andrew expire before his very eyes.

Andrew let the lid of the toilet fall down and then he flushed away  the contents. “Very sure.” He let his face fall into his crossed arms  over the toilet lid with a groan.

Vlad took the cup from off the floor where Andrew had left it, and  he put it into the sink. He allowed himself to fall onto the floor with  Andrew and wrap his arms around the other man’s shoulders.

Andrew put his hand over top of Vlad’s, but otherwise he didn’t

move.

With his ear pressed against Andrew’s back, Vlad was able to listen to the now healthy pump of the werewolf’s heart, and he could feel the body temperature returning to normal.

Andrew had expunged himself of the poison quickly. He was going to be all right.

Vlad inhaled shakily and rubbed his eyes before he could unman himself in front of his lover. “Do not ever die on me”

“I’ll do my best,” Andrew replied, then he got up with another

groan. “My mouth tastes gross.”

He brushed his teeth and used what looked to be at least half of

the mouthwash bottle, and it wasn’t until he finally finished that Vlad  allowed himself to put his hands back on Andrew’s shoulders.

Andrew’s dark eyes looked into Vlad’s red ones through the  mirror. “You saved my life just now. Thank you.”

Vlad didn’t want to even think about what he would have found if

he hadn’t had the courage to show up for another hour. “You

shouldn’t thank me for that. What if I hadn’t come?”

“Then I would’ve finished off my sandwich and be worm food.”

Vlad gripped his shoulders. “That’s not funny. I’m being perfectly  serious. What if I had been a coward and decided not to come for

you? You would be dead.”

Vlad nearly choked on the word. The thought of Andrew no

longer existing, of being gone forever, was simply too much for him

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to handle.

Andrew turned around and kissed him, and Vlad melted into the

embrace, needing it as much as he needed oxygen and blood in order  to survive. Andrew’s strength, his muscular body, alive and well, was  a comfort to him.

Was it ridiculous that Vlad had nearly lost him and all he could think about was having him? He didn’t think so, not when Andrew kissed him so passionately.

The bathroom still smelled faintly of vomit, and so he and  Andrew stumbled out and removed each other’s clothing before making their way to the bed.

It was slightly awkward, noticing the tray table with the poisoned food still on the bed and taking it off of the blankets and setting it aside on one of the drawers for later examination, but they could not simply push it aside to be destroyed on the floor. Unless Vlad felt like being fucked on the floor, which he did not.