STORY EXCERPT 

“I get it,” Cyrus said. “You got into a fight with your best friend. I know what you need.”

Cyrus took a case from his jacket. Eli stared hungrily at the syringe containing the clear blue liquid. Damon’s parting words haunted him again.

“No,” he said, pushing the case aside, but Cyrus only picked it up.

“You’ll feel a lot better after taking this. I promise. You don’t need Damon.”

He huffed. “What little you know.”

“Eli,” Cyrus said in a reprimanding voice which grated on his nerves.

Just who did this human think he was? Cyrus had no inkling of the history between him and Damon. They’d spent several lifetimes together, did and experienced things Cyrus could only dream of, like traveling the world and looking for the secret and unexplored places humans couldn’t venture to. Regret filled him with a heavy heart.

Eli had taken Damon for granted, just like always. Damon always conceded when he begged, pleaded, but not this time. Eli had a feeling he’d finally done it, crossed the line.

Cyrus repeated his name. “Look, you’re amazing on your own. Damon’s only been holding you back from greatness.”

What was Eli without Damon? They were like two halves of the same coin.

“What greatness?” he blurted. “The band’s broken up. That charity concert was the last time we’d ever perform together.”

God knew Eli hoped that concert would help get the whole group together again, but no, Lucius and Sirius had to be selfish pricks. They left the family, only to build their own future with their human mates. Mortals were no good. He didn’t understand why those two would sacrifice their immortality just to live one last lifespan. The four of them could have gone down in legend, make music forever, until the end of time. 

“Go solo. You mentioned once you’ve considered it, haven’t you? Sun Records is offering you a massive deal. You should take it,” Cyrus persisted. 

Money didn’t matter to Eli, not anymore. He barely knew what to spend all the dough he’d earned over the centuries on. Useless trinkets. Properties all over the world. Another entertainment room in this monstrous house. No, even if he did become a solo artist, he’d do it for other reasons. Damon did mention he used to be able to write his own songs once. Eli barely remembered those days, the time when everything used to be so simple. Well, he’d show Damon he could manage on his own.

That way Eli could feel just a little alive. Maybe he’d even write a hell of a song, win Damon back somehow. Wait. His mind was confusing him again. He didn’t need Damon. He’d do this for himself. 

“You’re right. I don’t need him.” Eli was spouting nonsense, and he knew it, but he needed to feel like his own self again, someone who didn’t play by the rules. 

Acting bratty and cocky, that was his defense mechanism. Only Damon would know that. Fuck. He was Eli Cervantes for crying out loud, vampire rock god. 

“So take this.” Cyrus pulled out the syringe. Was it his imagination or did the human wear a sinister smile? “Do what you want.”

His mind was probably just playing tricks on him. Eli accepted it. Don’t do it, he’s using you, a voice in his head said. Make up with Damon. Call him. This human means nothing to you. Damon means everything. Eli had chosen to silence that voice with drink, with drugs, because in the end, Damon would end up breaking the promise they’d made centuries ago. That they’d be together forever. 

The thought of being alone scrapped at the tattered remains of his soul. Only one way to fix that.

He positioned the needle into his vein, and shut his eyes as the plunger went down. Dizziness swamped him again. He felt sick to the stomach, empty although he’d gorged plenty that night. Eli never ran out of blood donors. Humans and shifters were always eager to pop open a vein for him. 

His head hit the couch. Cyrus stood above him. That sinister smile disturbed Eli on so many levels.

“You’re mine now, vampire.” Cyrus laughed. “Look at you. So pathetic. You can’t know how long I’ve waited for Damon to leave. It’ll be just you and me now. Soon, I’ll take you to the others.”

“What?” Eli must’ve imagined those words. Rise made him hallucinate, even remember the good old days. What had he made himself become? How had Eli let himself become this hateful thing that even his best friend and soul mate would turn away from him in disgust? 

Cyrus lashed out a foot and kicked him. He growled, about to grab the human’s leg, intending to teach him a lesson, but he moved far too slow. Sluggish. His entire system felt like it was shutting down. His vision turned pitch dark and that made him panic. He curled into a ball as old memories resurfaced, memories long buried, those he threw away in the back of his mind in a box, locked it and tossed the key away.

“Damon,” he uttered, reaching out, but only cruel laughter rang in his ears.

ADULT EXCERPT

Eli parted his lips only for Damon to thrust his tongue down his throat. Vampires were usually cold-blooded creatures, so he always marveled how he and Damon seemed to be capable of creating heat. Fire pooled down his throat, his belly, and his thickening prick. Why had they kept away from each other for so long?

When Damon pulled away, he panted, although he didn’t need to breathe. 

“There, that proof enough?” Damon demanded.

“No, not enough.” Eli wanted more.

“Even after everything you’ve been through, you’re still so demanding?”

“Some things don’t change, including how I feel about you.” Eli touched Damon’s left pectoral. A heart used to beat there, but in some ways, it still did, because he always owned Damon’s heart, just as his own belonged to Damon’s.

“You said you didn’t want me anymore,” Damon told him, placing his fingers over his. 

“I was a jackass. I lied.”

Damon furrowed his brows. “Then why, Eli?”

“I don’t know. Why you and everyone else tolerated me or why I let a snake like Cyrus introduce poison into our home.” Eli looked deeper into himself and admitted to Damon the truth. “I was scared. Terrified to take a chance on us, that once you mated me, you’d end up being disappointed. There’s nothing worthwhile about me.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. Eli, both you and I know we’re meant to be together. Enough. It’s time I show you.”

Before Eli could come up with a snarky reply, Damon held his mouth captive again. Damon rolled on top of him, careful to keep his weight off him. Damon held his arms above his head, restraining them. A thrill went down his spine. It was wrong, feeling so turned on, especially after he’d spent hours with his arms bound above his head. Then again, he certainly didn’t mind being in Damon’s mercy. Eli knew Damon would make it good for both of them. 

“Damon, we still need to talk. About a lot of things.” Eli cursed himself for saying those words, but part of him wanted to prove himself to Damon. That he’d change, would continue changing to be a better man, a worthy mate.

“Shh. For now, all you need to do is lie there. Take what I have to give you,” Damon told him, a devious smile on his mouth. “Now be a good vampire and keep your hands above your head.”

“And if I behave, will I get a reward?” Eli teased back.

Nonetheless, Eli kept his hands above his head, at a loss for words as Damon pressed a kiss to his mouth, then gave the side of his neck another. Damon nipped, sucked, and left a trail of kisses down his chest, seemingly not caring about the old wounds he’d sustained. He squirmed on the sheets, but Damon used his big body to keep him pinned on the sheets. Eli gripped the headboard as Damon reached his prick and gave the tip a lick.

“Damon, if you keep tormenting me like this, I’ll come,” he managed to say.

“You won’t, or else.”

“Or else what?” he asked.

“I’ll keep you on the edge, but deny you release every single time, even if you beg me.”

Eli shuddered at those words. Damon always did know the right words to say at the appropriate time. His cock only grew hard as Damon stuck out his tongue, then licked him from the base of his prick to his crown. Damon tongued his slit and gave his balls a squeeze before moving his fingers lower, past his crease to play with his hole. 

How often had he imagined a fantasy like this, even when he’d been with someone else, a hookup whose name he never remembered? Damon had proven time and time again he’d always be there. Damon never broke the promise they’d made all those centuries ago. Eli had been so self-absorbed, so keen on heading down his destructive path that he failed to see the most important people right next to him. 

Other vampires who lived too long eventually took their own lives. Immortality always sounded good at first, but only in the end did Eli understand it could also be a curse. 

“I’m sorry,” he said again, meaning each word. “For making you wait this long.”

“Damn right.” Damon sucked at his tip and the sight only turned him on.

Damon opened his mouth and began taking every inch of his dick in. Eli clawed at the sheets, wanting Damon to unsheathe that enormous dick of his and claim him all over again, remind him where his place his. With him. Always. Eli whimpered as Damon began bobbing his head up and down. So good. God. Damon always did know what to do with his mouth and clever little tongue. 

Just when Eli was on the verge of orgasm, Damon pulled away. He groaned, and glared at Damon.

“Why did you do that?” Eli demanded.

“Because the fun’s just beginning and I can’t have you coming, not yet. I didn’t think your self-control was this poor.”

Eli glowered at Damon, but hell, Damon did know which strings to pull. “This your idea of punishment.”

Damon ran his big hand down the length of his white thigh, and that little brush, that contact of flesh, made him emit an embarrassing little needy moan. Damon’s blue eyes turned intense, full of savage hunger, and Eli bet his own eyes looked the same.

“I wonder. How…” Damon mused out loud, “should I fuck you?”