STORY EXCERPT

Blue scanned his surroundings. The beach was quiet, eerily empty almost. No surprise given it was off-peak season. A good thing, too, because he couldn’t stand to be around tourists and out-of-towners right now. He kicked off his shoes, socks included. His bare feet touching the fine sand felt nice. 

If Blue weren’t self-conscious, he’d peel off his shirt. Blue snorted. Not like anyone would see him anyway. He took off his shirt. 

“Ah, the sun on my skin feels good,” he murmured.

“Undoubtedly,” a new male voice answered.

Blue widened his eyes and whipped his head to the stranger. He didn’t even hear a thing. When did this guy approach him? He opened his mouth, then closed it. Blue gawked, unable to help himself. This stranger looked like a cut-out from a men’s magazine. He had pale skin, shoulder-length black hair that didn’t mess up like his own hair, but seemed to float against the wind, like he was in some kind of photo shoot or hair shampoo commercial. 

Was he hallucinating? 

Ebony eyes met his. He had never seen such long lashes on a man either. This guy must be some kind of model or actor. The stranger wore a white buttoned-down shirt, showing a well-muscled but trim body underneath. Blue glimpsed black ink here and there. 

Desire hit him like an unstoppable whirlwind. His shorts felt a little tighter already. Jesus. What was wrong with him? He never had this kind of reaction with any other men. Blue distrusted good-looking guys on principle, because no handsome guy would go out with average and nerdy him unless it was a practical joke. He’d been fooled plenty of times before into entrusting someone with his heart, only to have it crushed. 

Realizing he’d been caught staring, Blue forced himself to focus on the guy’s face. He cleared his throat.

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he blurted. Just great. Blue couldn’t come up with something wittier?

“I just moved in to that beach house over there,” the man said, nodding over his shoulder. Blue followed his gaze.

“You rented the McKinley’s beach house?” he asked.

“Bought it. I’m Lucius by the way.” Lucius extended his hand. Blue immediately noticed the thorns and roses that sleeved the entirety of Lucius’ well-defined arms and the silver skull ring Lucius wore on his ring finger. 

“Blue,” he said, shaking Lucius’ hand. “Wow. That’s a pretty firm handshake.”

Lucius curved his mouth to a smile, a simple but sensual gesture that made his heart race. Was it his imagination or did Blue catch a flash of some kind of fang? 

“Are you a local?” Lucius asked.

“Yes. No.”

“What is it?”

“Well, I used to live here. I just returned myself, but everything in town is pretty much the same,” Blue said.

“Oh? Perhaps you can show me around. That is, if you’re free.”

Wait a second. Blue blinked just to make sure he heard those words. “Me?” he asked. Crap. This wouldn’t do. It had been a while since any guy took interest in him. Then again, Lucius might just want to be friends, right? A sexy guy like Lucius could probably get anyone he wanted, so why would he settle for someone like Blue?

“Is there anyone else here?” Lucius asked. “I don’t know anyone here. Do I unsettle you so, Blue?”

“Not at all,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s just, I’ve never met anyone like you before. Wait. That came out wrong. It’s actually a compliment, not an insult.”

“I see. Then you’re not busy?” Lucius asked him.

“Yeah, I’m in between jobs at the moment,” he said. “Plus, I’ve locked myself in my room since I arrived. It was my mom who convinced me to take a walk.”

Shit. Blue was doing it again, rambling. He went on, “Uh well, to answer your question, I’m completely free.”

“Then I must thank your mother, because without her, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you. The fates must be on my side today.”

What could Blue say to that? Lucius had an odd way of talking. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Lucius asked as they began to walk along the beach. 

“Does that line really work for you?” he had to ask. “I mean, I’m not stupid. I know guys like you don’t usually hit on guys like me.”

Lucius looked baffled, the reaction so natural Blue had a feeling he was the one who should apologize. “I’m merely being honest. It’s been”—Lucius paused and ran his fingers through that perfect hair—“quite some time for me.”

Blue breathed a sigh of relief. What was wrong with him, being distrustful of Lucius? “You mean, a relationship? I get it. I’ve been with one guy for a long time, and when we broke up, I don’t know how the dating world works anymore.”

“So you’re single now?” Lucius asked, looking contemplative.

“Yeah, I guess. No plans to date anytime—”

“Then it won’t be wrong to do this,” Lucius said, cutting him off. 

Lucius cupped his cheek, and Blue froze up completely, staring at the perfect curve of Lucius’ mouth. There was almost a cruel, playful tilt to that mouth. When Lucius leaned forward, he shut his eyes, forgot about the heat completely and the sound of the waves. The only thing that mattered was the kiss. Blue never thought kisses could be like this. There was no other word for it, except nuclear.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Let’s get inside the house before I ravish you here,” Lucius told him.

“On the sand?” he whispered. For some reason, his pulse spiked as the image of Lucius taking him right on the sand rose up in his head.

Lucius flashed him a mischievous smile. “I can hear your heartbeats. You want that, to be taken in a public space? I’m game, and I suppose there’s no one around for miles who’d see us.”

His vampire began undoing the buttons of his shirt, leaving his mouth dry. Lucius placed his shirt on the ground.

“We’ll lie on this,” Lucius said.

They both ended on the sand with Blue lying on top of Lucius’ shirt. Impatient to start, Blue hastily tugged off his top, groaned as Lucius reached for the button of his jeans, undid it then his zipper. The vampire slid his jeans effortlessly down his legs, followed by his boxers. 

“Very nice,” Lucius said, the compliment making him blush.

“No one’s ever said that to me before. I’ve always been self-conscious about my body.”

“There’s nothing to be self-conscious about. Look at you. All mine.” Lucius planted kisses down the side of his neck, his upper body. The vampire licked at one flat nipple, curled his fingers over his stiff cock, and began to work him. He moaned as Lucius went faster, swiping the pre-cum on his tip to lubricate the rest of him.

“Oh God,” he murmured. “I’ll come from this one hand job alone.”

“That’s not a bad thing. I want to see you climax for me, Blue.” The vampire slid his other hand down his balls, fondled them, before playing with his puckered entrance. Lucius’ hands all over his most intimate places proved too much. Lucius sealed his mouth over his, before pinching the tip of his cock. Blue gasped, eyes wide as his mind hazed all over. He came, with Lucius still holding his dick captive, spilling his seed on the vampire’s abs and stomach.

He panted, resting his cheek on the cool sand. Blue couldn’t believe he’d come so fast, but Lucius didn’t seem disappointed.

The sexy vampire rolled on top of him, pinned him down—not that Blue had a single bone of resistance in his body. 

“Take me, Lucius,” he murmured. Blue had always been reserved and shy his entire life, but with Lucius, he felt stronger, different. He decided he liked this new side of him who wasn’t afraid to voice what he wanted, needed. “I want to know what’s it like, when you’re inside of me.”

Lucius gave him more burning kisses, leaving little nicks and bites up his chest, the side of his neck. The vampire licked his pulse point, and Blue lifted his hips in answer, rubbing his prick against Lucius’ skin. 

“Drink from me,” he murmured.

“Not yet, but soon. When I feed on you, I want to make it as pleasurable as possible. You understand that once I get a taste of your blood, there’s going back? I’d be addicted, drunk on it. If any man so much as looks at you or thinks you can be his, I’ll drain them dry of blood.”

Blue supposed someone else would be frightened of that threat but not him. Lucius’ possessiveness only turned him on even further. 

“I’m already drunk on you, and I only want more.”

Lucius paused.

“What’s wrong?” Blue asked, realizing Lucius was suddenly frowning.

“I didn’t bring any lube, and hurting you, that’s unacceptable. We might need to head inside.”

Blue relaxed.

“No worries. In the back pocket of my jeans.” When Lucius raised an eyebrow, he continued, “I thought, why not? Might come in handy.”

“And it did.” Lucius grabbed the lube, uncapped it, applied it over his fingers, then drizzled plenty down his hole. Blue moaned as the vampire pushed one finger in him, then added a second. Just from that, his cock came alive again.

This was really going to happen, Blue thought, heart racing. Finally, he’d found a man worthy of him. He didn’t want to think of the future yet, what might it be like once people in town figured out they had a former rock star living in their midst. Only now mattered, and pretty soon, he was about to surrender, body and heart, to this vampire who saw past his imperfections and thought him nothing but perfect. 

* * * *

Every moan that came out of Blue only made Lucius aware of his dick, which felt like a steel pipe between his legs. He couldn’t wait to claim Blue, sink his cock into Blue’s tight little ass, but he gritted his teeth. Told himself he needed to make sure Blue was ready to take him, because Lucius knew he wasn’t exactly small. 

“Not yet?” Blue asked him.

Lucius lifted Blue’s legs over his shoulders, exposing the human’s prick, balls, and puckered hole to him. He smirked, pulled his digits out, used his other hand to caress Blue’s privates. A pull and tug to Blue’s dick made his human whimper for him. He guided his cock into Blue’s hole, ready to take this to another level. 

Blue’s blood. He could almost imagine it would taste like the world’s sweetest wine, the best elixir the galaxy had to offer. Blue couldn’t have possibly known what the sharing of blood meant. Only lovers, true mates did that. It was the most intimate act a vampire and his chosen could do. The band might have access to blood donors but they never had sex with them. Sex complicated matters. 

Blanketing his body over Blue’s, Lucius planted a kiss on the side of Blue’s neck, where he’d soon take Blue’s life blood, mark Blue as his and his alone. Any supernatural would understand what the fang mark on Blue would mean. Anyone who crossed Blue or him would meet an untimely end because Lucius didn’t like to share.

Gripping Blue’s hips, he finally pushed in, decided he’d do it in one go to avoid Blue experiencing more discomfort. Blue cried out above him, but Blue’s ass was ready to take him, so slicked up, the inner muscles clamping down on his shaft.