SERIOUSLY, ALWAYS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL Chapter 15
Ok, sorry for the delay, vacation, work, the usual crap got in the way. Here it is. ADULTS ONLY!
Chapter 15
Eric’s POV:
I hate it when I let Russell Edgington bring back sentimental memories. Something always goes wrong for me when I allow those feelings to invade. At least I went the weepy direction this time, instead of the ferocious direction, which would have spelled the end of Brian Kinney. He’s still sleeping safe and sound when I get up, peek around the blackouts to ensure the sun is well gone, although Pam’s call told me as much. I go downstairs to the kitchen, retrieve a couple bottles of Tru Blood and slug them down. What do I do about this artist? He comes here at my invitation, seeking to rescue Brian from the grips of this mean old vampire. Laughable. But it’s not his fault, it’s mine.
I was weak. I considered turning Brian. That’s gone now. Or is it? There’s an arrogance in Brian that would find immortality more alluring than it is. His beauty is important to him. He uses it as a weapon. He fears turning thirty. All of that makes him vulnerable. Humans can never really understand the enormity of immortality until it’s too late. It’s a curse, not a blessing. But I tire of the loneliness and Brian would make a good companion over the ages. He’s strong enough to do it, I have no doubt of that. He’s not a man who drowns himself in regrets. That type never makes it for long as a vampire.
But nothing lasts forever. There is no vampire I know of who has maintained a lover-offspring relationship for more than a couple hundred years. Most are like Pam and me, colleagues, occasional lovers, confidantes, but living separate tracks connected mainly by our parental bond. Someday that would happen with Brian and me and I know that to be true. It happened with Godric and me, and I never thought it could. So turning Brian into my lifetime companion is nothing more than a fantasy, and I know it. Ultimately he would just be another responsibility, like Pam.
Still, am I ready to abandon him to some kid from Pittsburgh? I’m not sure. Letting him go should be easier than it is. I know I could seduce Brian into staying. Could probably seduce him into letting me turn him. But will I? And what do I do about his would-be rescuer?
The one who keeps this house for me comes into the kitchen to find me seated at the table, naked. “We may have a visitor,” I say. “Young, human. He’s not to be harmed. Understood?”
“Of course, Mr. Northman.”
“Put that food you bought on a tray and take it up to my guest. Just leave it there outside the door, along with some hot coffee. Don’t disturb us.”
“Yes sir.”
“The bathroom is a bloody mess. You may want to clean it up later.”
“You cut your hair.”
“Yes,” I run my fingers through my new, shorter style. He sighs.
“Pity, it was so beautiful.”
I smile at that. Unrequited love is so sad. “It’ll grow back if I want it to.” I go upstairs, leaving the two empty bottles behind. It takes awhile to drive from Shreveport to New Orleans, so I have time to decide what to do about Brian. Climbing in bed with him, he rouses and squints at me before smiling.
“You look so butch with that haircut.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Works for me.”
“Last night was a mess for me. I’m not usually like that. I appreciate your patience.”
“No big deal,” he reaches for me, pulls me down beside him. We kiss, we touch. I can worry about the artist later. For now, I just want to enjoy the lust.
Justin’s POV:
I park in front of this creepy old house that can’t possibly be the right address. It has vines crawling up it and broken boards on the porch and mold growing on the faded wooden siding. It may be the spookiest haunted house I’ve ever seen, with the peeling columns on the porch and the overgrown patch of green in front of it, but it can’t be lived in now, can it? I remember what the lady vampire said about making sure Brian is in there before I knock on the door. How do I do that?
It’s dark and I just sit here in the car. I could go back to the heart of the Quarter, hit a couple clubs, have some fun, give up this idea but what would happen to Brian? While I’m deciding what to do next, the door opens and someone pulls me out of the car with one hand and slams me down to be seated on the hood of the SUV. He stands in front of me with one hand on either side of my hips, and leans in, eating me up with a stare. He is fucking gorgeous, his muscles bulging in a black wifebeater, his blond hair gleaming in the moonlight. As he stares at me, he tilts his head, his lips parted to reveal sharp fangs. The vampire Eric Northman. Wow. I don’t know whether to be horny or scared, so I’m both.
“You stole Pam’s car?” he asks, and I notice his feet are bare and his jeans only partially buttoned. I can almost smell Brian on him. His sex is that close to the surface.
“She loaned it to me.”
“How unlike her. So how do you plan to rescue your Brian from my clutches?”
“I have no idea.”
“That’s a bad answer. Did you bring a stake?”
“No.”
“Holy water? A cross?”
I reveal the cross on a chain that Daphne gave me and he reaches for it. It doesn’t burn his hand or cause him to shrink away. Damn movies! Instead he turns it over to look at the silvermark, then shrugs. He rubs his hands on his jeans as if it gave him a slight tingle. “You could melt it down, make it into a bullet and kill a werewolf, but it’s no good on me.”
“Ok.”
“Maybe you plan to tie me up and leave me out in the sun?”
“Ok, I have no plans for overcoming you. I just want to see Brian, talk some sense to him.”
“A little boy like you?”
“I’m not a little boy.”
“Yes, you really are. What would you tell him?”
“I don’t know. I guess that he wouldn’t want to live a long life if it meant killing a lot of people, no offense.”
“None taken. We have Tru Blood now.”
“Yeah but still.”
“You don’t think he wants to always be young and always be beautiful?”
“I don’t think he would if it meant being…”
“Being what? A monster? A fiend? A serial killer?”
“A vampire.”
He smiles and shakes his head. “And you? Would you like to be forever this young and luscious little chicken?”
“No. I want to be older. At least a couple years.”
“So you’re in love with Brian?”
“Maybe, yes.”
“But he’s not in love with you?”
“Not yet.”
The vampire laughs. “Your confidence is appealing. I like you. You remind me of Godric.”
“Who’s that?”
“My maker. He turned when he was quite young, too.”
“You’re really hot.”
“Am I? Are you flirting with me now?”
“No.”
“Still want to paint me?”
“Sure.”
“You’re not afraid?”
“Yes, I am afraid.”
“You should be.”
“Is Brian ok?”
“Come see for yourself.”
“In there?”
“Yes, in there. Come.”
I really don’t want to go in that house. Really. Don’t. But I follow him past the creaky, rusted iron gate, up the steps that groan under my weight, and through the front door that feels like the gate to hell.
.