"It was nothing." Mirceo brushed imaginary lint off his shoulder. "A day in the life of bounty hunters such as we."
Cas's lips twitched. Throughout the night, the vampire's lids had grown heavy, his grin permanent and crooked. He was kind of . . . adorable like this.
"Were you truly inside a gulg?" another hunter asked.
"Come, gentlemen, who among us hasn't been?" Mirceo winked at Cas.
The charmed hunters laughed. They reminded him of the fawning group that had surrounded the prince the first night Cas had met him.
"Now, which one of you exterminated that giant scorpion?" Leyak asked as he poured another round.
Cas waved toward the vampire. "The scorpion was all him."
With his eyes lively, Mirceo said, "I also faced a monster in a firelit cave, a notorious one-eyed beast. I thought for sure it'd take me; it had me on my knees till I bested it with my fangs."
Cas coughed into his fist to disguise his laugh.
Before anyone could ask about this beast, Mirceo said to them, "Tell me more about my hunting partner's exploits."
"He took his first posted bounty"--Leyak waved at the wall of them--"when he was just fourteen. But his big break was finding a rich warlock's daughter."
Mirceo said, "This I must hear." Did Cas like that the vampire hung on every word as others talked about him?
Hell. Yes. Sometimes Mirceo gazed at Cas as if he was a hero of old--as if the vampire was a little . . . awed by him.
Feels like I've waited my entire godsdamned life for a look like that.
"She'd last been seen in a dark forest," Leyak said. "In his panic, the warlord sent out his whole settlement to search for her."
One of the hunters muttered, "Polluting the trail. Rookie mistake."
"Even so, Cas located her," Leyak continued. "She'd tripped into an abandoned troll hole and gotten trapped."
"How did you find her?" Mirceo asked.
Deadpan, Cas said, "Tripped into the same troll hole."
The hunters laughed, Mirceo among them.
Gods, that vampire's laugh turned Cas inside out.
Leyak shook his head. "Nothing doing. Caspion identified her footprints among thousands of them and tracked her alone."
Easy enough. Her right leg had been longer than her left, and her shoes had been assembled instead of cobbled--a sign of great wealth in that dimension.
"Tell me more," Mirceo said.
"There's a reason he's called Caspion the Tracker," Leyak said with pride. "He's collected on every bounty, locating his every prey."
Over the rim of his cup, Cas said, "Except for the one that got away."
Leyak sighed. "Not technically a bounty, son."
"Who got away?" Mirceo asked.
"The Vrekeners who attacked Bettina," Cas said bitterly. "Remember, I could never find them--"
"Because you can't bloody fly," Leyak said, and the others nodded. "Their realm floated in the skies."
"Maybe even then I could have succeeded." Narrowing his eyes at Mirceo, he said, "But someone beat me to the punch."
The vampire muttered, "Trehan."
Bingo. That prick had brought Bettina the heads of her attackers. He must've located the gang with his scry crystal, then utilized his skill as an assassin to slaughter them.
Before his good mood soured further, Cas stood. "Enough out of you lot. I need to get my friend home." They booed Cas, but he wouldn't be deterred. Taking Mirceo's arm, he said, "Time to call it, leechling. You've drunk your fill."
Gray eyes locked on Cas's neck, Mirceo rasped, "Never."
TWENTY-THREE
"Where are we?" The vampire peered around Cas's beach bungalow.
"Another one of my bolt holes." A far cry from the luxury Mirceo was used to, this no-frills cabin had only one bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. But the deck was large, stretching out over the sea.
"You brought me to another hideout?" Mirceo slurred. "We must be getting serious, then."
"Don't read anything into it. It isn't like I can trace you home. Come on, I'm putting you to bed."
"Which side do you sleep on, sweetheart? I'm flexible. If there's not enough room, I invite you to sleep atop me."
Mercy. "Even if we weren't to remain solely friends, I wouldn't take advantage of you when you're in this condition."
Mirceo cast him that crooked grin. "If I say pretty please?"
"You'd hate me in the morning."
Growing serious, he said, "I could never hate you."
Nor I you. Though Cas had wanted to. How much easier that would be. Even when he'd believed Mirceo had betrayed him, he'd still missed the vampire. "I told you that brew gains on you with every drop. It's about to hit. You'll soon be comatose."
Mirceo squinted. "Are those holes in the walls?"
"Maybe a couple." Cas's earlier frustration seemed a lifetime ago. He could never have predicted what had been in store for him.
The vampire's sweet, piercing bite . . .
Keep control, Cas. He helped Mirceo out of his coat, then sat him down on the bed. "Arms above your head." Mirceo dutifully complied, and Cas pulled his shirt off.
"I like it when you take care of me, demon."
"You need someone to look out for you," Cas said, then bit his tongue. I'm not going to be that male. He quickly added, "Because you often act like an unthinking child."
"Fair point." Mirceo leaned down and attempted to remove a boot, failed, then tried again.
Chuckling, Cas knelt to help him.
"Thanks. They seem damnably complex right now."
Cas pulled them off. "Uh-huh." He grabbed Mirceo's ankles and tossed the vampire's legs up onto the bed.
Mirceo sank back. "The pillow smells like Caspion." He buried his face against it, inhaling deeply. When he looked at Cas again, his eyes flickered with desire. "My dreams will be filthy." He couldn't look more tempting. Reading his mind, Mirceo said, "You like the way I look in your bed."
Where you belong. Inner shake. "Arrogant leech." He pulled the covers up to Mirceo's chin.
The vampire shoved them down to his waist. "Not a denial. Now that you know I'm yours, it's not safe to ignore your instincts much longer."
There was still hope. . . .
"We must fuck just to preserve your sanity." He sighed. "The things I do for my 'friends.'"
"Enough of that."
Mirceo started shucking his pants. "Can't sleep confined."
Mercy! To distract himself, Cas snagged a blanket to cover the french doors against the coming light of dawn. They faced west, but he'd take no chances. Another blanket for the side window. Once he'd sun-proofed the room, he turned back.
Mirceo's pants were on the floor, and he had the covers up to his waist again.
Thank gods. "You need to sleep."
Relaxation had stolen over the vampire's body, but he wasn't ready to pass out yet. "Stay with me."
"Should I read you a bedtime story too, leechling?"
"Do you have erotic ones in your repertoire? Perhaps an original."
"You have an answer for everything."
Mirceo waved at the blankets. "You really do care about me, don't you?"
Cas pulled a chair up to the bed. "Because I don't want my drunken vampire friend to fry under my watch?" He removed his own boots, then kicked back. He would sleep out on the deck tonight. Not in the bed with Mirceo. NOT in the bed.
"Aside from my parents and Mina, you're the only person I have ever cared deeply about. After my mother and father were murdered, I fairly much hated everyone. Growing up in Dacia didn't help matters."
"Do you know who killed them?" Mirceo had said only that a cowardly royal had taken their lives.
"My uncle Stelian's father beheaded them in their sleep."
Was Cas better off not knowing his parents than to have lost them so brutally? "Why?"
"Millennia ago, a princess in our family cursed the Dacianos to infight and destroy ourselves until we crowned the rightfu
l heir--Lothaire. For generations, Dacianos schemed and manipulated to seize the throne, and I'm sure my parents weren't innocent." Frowning to himself, he said, "I think Trehan hunted down Stelian's murderous father to protect Mina and myself."
"That all sounds insane."