Hotel Ferrero (Chapter 27)
Title: Hotel Ferrero
Pairings: Djokovic/Roddick, Safin/Ferrero, Federer/Moya
Other characters: Mario Ancic
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Vampires, mentions of blood and blood-drinking.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction.
Summary: Roger is determined to give Carlos a proper birthday drink while Mario thinks about Tommy and Novak is overjoyed with Andy's love.
From the previous chapter:
Lleyton had mentioned that Marat wasn’t the heir to the hotel while Richard had tried to drink Rafael’s blood. Andy had followed Novak to the dentist while Andrew had had a fight with Tim after seeing a picture of the tennis couple kissing on the court. Juan Carlos had received a disturbing mail from Lleyton and had paid him back by sending an even sexier video clip of Marat and himself.
Chapter 27: Lay all your love on me
Marat was whistling down the hallway to his room after fulfilling some of his office fantasies.
‘I don’t know what got into him, but that was one of the hottest sessions we’ve ever had! God bless Juanqui and his office and his tearable shirt!’
He whistled even more loudly when he passed by Mario’s office and made sure that his shirt was open enough to show the love bite on the side of his neck.
Knock-knock.
“Come in.”
Marat opened the door and walked in with a huge grin on his face.
“Hey, Mario, how’s your night so far? Life has been treating you well?”
Mario flinched at the Russian’s appearance. He didn’t need all the visual material; he was sure that even a blind human could smell the heavy sex.
“Maybe you should go and wash yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe I should. But maybe we could chat a little before.”
“Since when did we chat?” Mario snapped.
“Aww, don’t get all unfriendly on me. We can always start right now!” Marat beamed like he had never beamed before.
“Go away, Marat. I’m not in the mood.”
“Ah, I wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with those kung-fu fighters that you left in China, huh?” Marat had just taken a wild guess, but by the look on the Croatian’s face, he had probably guessed right.
“That’s none of your business and I’ll appreciate it if you would leave me alone so I can get back to work.” The assistant’s voice was cold and his stare was even colder.
“Ah, all right. I suppose I can go back to my room and take a shower. Hah, all the things we did together… Let me know when you feel like chatting!”
The Russian quickly left the office, hoping that he wouldn’t have any holes in his back.
When Marat was all cleaned up and changed, he walked back into his lover’s office to finish his last hour’s duty. Juan Carlos had already finished washing himself in the shower that was attached to the office. If there hadn’t been any water drops falling from his hair, Marat would’ve been sure that it was a déjà-vu, since Juan Carlos was laughing at his computer screen again.
‘Oh no. He didn’t go mad again! Even though I ended up having so much fun!’
“Ah, it’s a very small world, Marat, don’t you think?” Juan Carlos laughed.
“Um... sure, it is.”
The bodyguard ventured a few more steps to take a look at what his lover had been laughing at. It was just a Words document, probably somebody’s resume.
“Do you happen to remember TNT?” The hotel owner asked.
“TNT? Like the bomb TNT?”
“No, Tommy and Tommy, TNT. The weapon shop.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I remember. We bought a whole lot of weapons from them.”
“Yes. And, I guess we might be doing some other kind of business with one of them.” Juan Carlos smiled, pleased with the information that he had just received.
“Juanqui, they sell weapons. What else can we do with them?”
“Ah, we’re moving to New York soon, so you’ll get to see!”
The Spaniard looked excited and Marat thought that he looked like a kid, happy to surprise his parents with a prettily-colored Christmas card.
“Okay, then I’ll wait and see. And, talking about New York, when are we leaving, you said?” He asked, realizing that he hadn’t started packing.
“Tomorrow evening. If you don’t mind, I can ask one of the maids to pack your things.”
“Ah, you would do that for me?” Marat was always amazed at how well the Spaniard seemed to know him.
“Sorry to break this to you, dear, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you haven’t started packing at all. So, yes, I’ll do that for you.”
Juan Carlos giggled and then added. “Oh, Marcos will be coming straight to New York, so you can stop complaining about food now.”
“Ah, finally!”
The hotel owner smiled at the tone of relief and picked up the interphone to order Mario to get a maid for his lazy lover.
Mario had sent a maid to the Russian’s room and had been staring at his computer screen for the past fifteen minutes. He was a very busy assistant at a very busy hotel, and he simply couldn’t afford doing nothing productive during those precious fifteen minutes that would never come back.
TOM
‘No. This won’t make me feel any better about that stupid Russian.’
Mario quickly erased the name and tapped on the desk with his nervous fingers.
TOMMY
He typed in again only to erase the name as if it was a serial killer’s.
‘But no one’s going to know even if I do a quick digging, right? It’s not like he’s got eyes on my screen, right…?’
The assistant tore a blood pack open and put a yellow straw in it.
‘Okay. This is going to calm down my pounding heart. It’s just typing his name on a few websites and just taking a quick look at what he does and where he lives. And, maybe find out if he had ever attacked someone with his kung fu or if he had been married. He was a good kisser, actually a great kisser, so maybe he lives with seven wives somewhere in the desert. Not that I care about him. No, I’m just curious, that’s all. Yes, that’s the right word. I’m just curious.’
After enough self-rationalization, Mario finally lifted his fingers and finished typing in the full name that had grown familiar in his mind.
Beep.
“Yes.” Juan Carlos answered the interphone.
“He just typed in Tommy Robredo, sir.”
“Really? Now?”
“Exactly twenty seconds ago, sir.”
“It’s about time. Thanks for letting me know. You can stop watching his computer now.”
“Very well, sir.”
Juan Carlos encouraged his employee before pressing another number. “Can you put me through to Mr. Haas from TNT?”
The Spaniard’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
In New York, Andy and Novak were walking out of the dentist, hands intertwined under the umbrella. Neither one of them could remember since when they had started walking like that, but whenever they were walking together, it just happened.
Andy held up their hands and placed a kiss on the back of his boyfriend’s hand, and Novak had to look away to hide his stupid grin. They both knew that they had to get a taxi to go back to the hotel but the silence was so peaceful that neither of them wanted to disturb the perfect moment.
Novak stole a glance at the American and found him looking at him with a relaxing smile. He smiled back brightly, showing off his sharp fangs, and couldn’t help his lips from giving the human a peck on the handsome chin. He got the reaction quickly and clearly enough, since he was leaning against a tree in a heartbeat, lips welcoming an eager pair of red ones.
“Mmm…”
A small moan from the vampire’s throat was more than encouraging, but Andy knew that it was his cue to stop. He had to respect the fact that Novak was still in the process of getting used to public display of affection.
“Let’s get back to our room, kid.” Andy kissed the cherry-red lips one last time before pulling away.
“Andy, wait. I need a drink.”
The American nodded, knowing his vampire boyfriend well enough now to understand which drink he meant.
Novak grinned and walked over to a young guy who was coming out of a gym, probably after a shower since his hair was all wet.
Having left the umbrella in the vampire’s hands, Andy leaned against a tree and watched, hands in his jacket pockets. Novak seemed to talk to the guy in the grey hooded sweatshirt until the human smiled mischievously, whispering something in the Serb’s ears.
‘Why does he have to whisper?’
Now Andy could see Novak smile awkwardly and point at him, explaining something to the human. The young guy frowned and shook his head, and then Andy had to shoot laser beams from his eyes.
“Get off him! Now!”
Before Andy could punch the guy, Novak pushed him away and grabbed the American by the waist.
“Hey, he’s just a kid.”
“A kid doesn’t jump other people’s boyfriends!”
“Andy, you’d better chill out. You’re making a scene.”
Andy looked around and closed his mouth. The young guy had already run away and people had started recognizing them.
The American quickly caught a cab and let the Serb get in first.
“What did that shi… kid want?” Andy asked, cursing the guy who dare stole his boyfriend’s lips.
“He wanted to trade blood for a kiss. I told him that my boyfriend was standing right there, watching his every single move. Apparently, he didn’t care.”
“So you didn’t get any blood but he still got a kiss.” The human was furious.
“Andy, that’s not even close to a kiss. A kid doesn’t know how to kiss properly, unlike… you.”
Novak’s words must have helped him calm down, since the vampire could hear his boyfriend’s breathing slow down a little.
‘Yeah, and he calls me a kid.’
Novak chuckled inside and leaned towards Andy’s ear. “I can think of a way to cheer you up, baby.”
“Yeah? What would that be?”
“Back at the hotel, you talked about doing something against the wall. Am I right?” The vampire whispered.
“Oh, yes. You’re definitely right, kid.”
Novak laughed at the determined tone and got a quieting kiss on the lips. “I love that you don’t hide your love for me, Andy. I really do.”
“Why would I want to hide it?” Andy stroked the pale cheek with the back of his hand before frowning a little.
“Talking about hiding stuff, there’s something I want to ask you.” He looked at the vampire, expecting an honest answer.
“Go ahead.”
“This is really embarrassing to ask, but it has been bothering me for a while.”
Novak looked surprised. As far as he was concerned, his boyfriend wasn’t exactly the type to be bothered by something over a lengthy period of time, unless it was his obsession with his fitness.
“Ok. Ask me.”
“Do I smell like… lemonade?”
“How do you know that?” Novak’s eyes grew wide.
Andy blinked. “Wow, I was expecting something more like what are you talking about?”
“Well, you do smell like lemonade. A quite tasty lemonade actually. Not too sour.”
“Really? Even when I have stronger arms and shoulders now?”
Novak laughed out loud. “What has that have anything to do with the smell of your blood? And how do you even know how you smell?”
Andy told him about the night when he had watched Novak’s match with two indecent vampires sitting behind him.
“Bwahahaha! They said that? So you put that ugly muffler around your neck? Aww, how could’ve I missed that?”
“Yeah, laugh all you want. I won’t be too gentle afterwards.”
Novak giggled. “And who said that I liked you gentle?”
Andy’s mind came up with such a graphic image that he had to hold his breath for a second.
“Excuse me, mister, how much longer to the hotel?”
As Andy asked the driver, Novak had to look out the window to hide his burning cheeks.
It was Carlos’ birthday today, the only day in the year that Roger was able to get him to drink his blood. The vampire had promised three years ago on Christmas that he would think about drinking Roger on his birthday, but the past two years had been anything but successful. In 2006, Roger had had fever and last year, Carlos had pretended that he didn’t feel well enough to drink.
‘I can’t believe he never drank me! How can he be so patient? I even asked a few vampires and they told me that I smelled like pomegranate! Isn’t that sweet enough?’
Roger stared at the bathroom door and tried to calm down.
‘Well, guess what, it’s going to be very different tonight, mister. I don’t care if I have to dance naked with a knife. You will drink me and get over that stupid fear of yours.’
Roger smoothed his hair and looked at himself in the mirror. He was aware that vampires died for black and that his vampire especially liked to see him in a loose black shirt and tight black jeans. He had even prepared black shoes just for the occasion.
‘Very well. I guess I’m all set.’
Roger jumped up and down a few times to make his blood circulate a little faster before sitting on the arm chair on the terrace. He crossed his legs and tilted his head to the right, making sure that his left collarbone was fully exposed.
‘All right. There is no way he’s going to say no to this. He will get his birthday drink tonight.’
Carlos had drunk his blood before, once in blood packs, but this time, it was special. It was the first time that he would hold his body in his arms and carefully put his lips on his neck. The mere thought of it thrilled the Swiss. He had watched the vampire drink people on the street and it had looked so intimate, always managing to make him unbearably jealous.
‘Tonight, I’m going to be that one.’
Roger’s thoughts were cut when he heard the bathroom door open and close.
“Roger?”
“Out here!” Roger raised his voice and soon Carlos walked out on the terrace with a black T-shirt and shorts on.
“Oh… Good evening.” The vampire was stunned at Roger’s appearance. He looked marvelous under the moonlight.
“Good evening to you too, my dear. Happy birthday.” Roger smiled his bedroom smile that had never failed to penetrate the vampire’s heart. His lover was a passionate Spaniard after all.
“Thanks, hon. Did you make any reservations outside?” Carlos asked, eyes wandering over the black Swiss.
“For dinner. Well, for me, it’s going to early breakfast but I could use the nutrition.” Roger answered, drawing his hair back over his ears.
“Did you order any room service for breakfast?” Carlos toweled his hair, eyes glued to the human’s neck.
“No, I didn’t. Your breakfast is already here.”
Carlos looked into Roger’s eyes and thought about pretending that he didn’t understand.
“You know it’s here. Don’t try to act.” Of course, his lover knew how to read his mind.
“Roger…”
“You had promised, Carlos. It’s only once a year and it’s today, the day when my dream meets yours.”
Carlos took a step towards his lovely Swiss. Each time he took a step, he could see the twinkling eyes more clearly. That was enough motivation for the Spaniard to keep walking until he was distracted by long, lean legs.
“You’re so… hot.” He couldn’t find any other expression since his mouth was too busy watering.
“Dear, my blood is even hotter.”
Carlos’ face went rigid.
“Honey, please. It’s your night. I want you to have me. We both know that this is the best gift I can offer.”
A sign of hesitation passed on the vampire’s face.
“You remember how I taste, right? How my blood felt perfect in your mouth. Imagine that you can drink directly from me. My warm blood going down your throat over and over again, making you feel alive more than ever.”
Carlos closed his eyes. He was torn. He was about to have the drink of his life and he couldn’t deny that he had wanted this moment to happen for so long. He had been with humans before Roger but had never felt so much need to protect them this much. Roger had always been different. He was unique in this whole wide world. He would never risk his beautiful Swiss.
“I have complete faith in you, Carlos. And you know the possibility of getting addicted to my blood is less than 3%.”
“That’s quite high, I’d say.”
“But I know how much you love me and how strong you can be. I’m sure our love will protect us. Trust me, Carlos, nothing can beat us when we’re together.”
Carlos threw the towel on another chair and let out a sigh. “You’re not going to let me off the hook, are you?”
“No, I can be very stubborn, as stubborn as you are. And, I didn’t get any other present, so you’d better take this one.” Roger giggled, tugging at the hem of his lover’s shirt.
“My neck hurts. Would you come down here and kiss me?”
Who was Carlos to say no to the open invitation? He immediately gathered Roger in his arms and pulled him up for a kiss. The human was neither standing nor sitting down but surprisingly, he was comfortable. As the vampire kissed him slowly but thoroughly, Roger felt as if he was floating in the air. His heart was pounding in a happy rhythm and his eyelashes trembled in delight.
“Carlos…”
“You’re sure you’re ready for this?”
“Honey, I’ve been ready for this ever since we’ve laid eyes on each other.”
“I want you to be very sure.” Carlos kissed the soft forehead.
Roger didn’t say anymore and just held the vampire’s chin so their eyes could meet.
‘Drink me, dear. Drink me.’
Carlos muttered something in Spanish and sat down on the chair with Roger straddling his lap. The human wrapped his arms around the strong neck and closed his eyes in anticipation.
“Roger, sweetie, I need to see you.”
Long eyelashes fluttered open and Carlos started hypnotizing him with his eyes. He had done this to other humans more than a thousand times before, but suddenly he wasn’t too sure if he was doing it right. The lovely arms around his neck were a constant reminder of how much Roger trusted him, so he put half his energy in his eyes and numbed his lover.
Thump-thump.
Small circles were rubbed on the smooth neck and Carlos gently held the back of the neck.
Thump-thump.
Roger held on to his lover’s shoulders and threw his head back, worried that his heart might explode.
Thump-thump-thump.
The vampire was so artistically skillful that even a sensitive human like Roger barely felt fangs digging into his skin.
Gulp.
It was indescribable. The whole world turned upside down and then things slowly started to find their places again. Never in his long life had Carlos tasted anything close to this. There were simply no words.
Carlos suddenly realized that he lost track of time. He pulled out his fangs in horror and checked Roger’s complexion and his pulse.
“Oh thank god…”
A wave of relief swept him and he hung on to his lover’s waist, face pressed against his shoulder.
“Shh, it’s alright. I got you.” Roger gently caressed the goose-bumped arms of his lovely vampire.
He knew his lover well enough to feel that the tears were a mixture of guilt, worries, joy and probably relief. The Spaniard must have secretly dreamt about this moment for years and sometimes, too much anticipation could be a little frightening.
“It’s okay. Everything’s fine, Carlos. Everything’s fine.”
Carlos’ grip tightened and Roger frowned a little at the intensity. He felt sad that his vampire had to stand his scent so close for all these years and suffer from the ache to drink him without letting him notice.
“This is exactly why I wanted to give it to you earlier.”
Roger kept caressing the usually strong arms that felt so weak under his touch right now.
“Shh, we’ll get used to this. I promise. And, to let you know what I felt from my part… well, I felt this amazing feeling that you were so close to my heart.”
He continued to express what he had felt during the short drinking session.
“It was different. Quite different from sex, you know. This felt more like… how can I explain this? Hmm, probably a little more spiritual? And I felt more like flying. I suddenly had an image of myself riding on a cloud and holding my hand out to touch a very shiny rainbow. And, you know what? Just before you stopped drinking, I caught it!”
Roger showed his palm and Carlos looked up. “See? I caught it. Well, I only managed to catch the red and orange because you stopped early, but that’s how I felt.”
“Did you feel any pain? Were you frightened? Did you regret even for a second? Was it…” Carlos spilled out his worries but stopped when he saw a peaceful smile on the human’s face.
“Carlos.”
“Yes, my dear.”
“I actually think that we should do this more often.”
The vampire looked at him as if he had gone mad.
“Everything needs time and practice to get used to it. You can’t possibly disagree. I trust you with every fiber of myself, my soul and whatever else there is to me.”
“Roger…”
“And I feel that the only way we’ll get past your insecurities is to try and try, until you finally realize that you’re not capable of hurting me.”
“But it’s instinctive. You don’t want to mess with a vampire’s instinct.”
“Carlos, look at me.”
Roger took his lover’s face in his hands. “I don’t care if the great-great-great grandfather of your instincts threatens us. There is no such thing in this world that can stand in our way.”
“Our love may not be that strong yet.” Carlos looked away.
“You’re wrong. The day you got me that huge medal, I decided that I wouldn’t be afraid anymore, even if I fall for you more every single day. I decided to embrace my overwhelming love for you, so there’s nothing that’s going to stop us now.”
Roger sounded so determined that Carlos knew better than to argue.
“Do you remember when I asked if you could love me a little less?” The human asked, sliding his fingers through the vampire’s hair.
“Yes.” How could he forget? It was after the dramatic Wimbledon.
“I would like to take that back. Please love me as much as you can. I want us to be free. I want us to know no limit. I don’t care if the fall will crush us in the end. That shouldn’t stop us from flying higher and higher. I’m not going to hold back my feelings just for a few scary moments. If we fall, we fall together. I love you that much.”
Carlos thought that he was so happy that he could die right there and then. “What do you see in me to love me that much?”
Roger smiled. “I see a whole world inside you. A place where I know that my heart will be safe.”
Carlos pulled his lover into his arms and kissed him hastily. He couldn’t control himself. He was in such a hurry to let the beautiful Swiss feel his love for him.
Roger pulled off and burst into a heavy laughter. “Bwhahaha. That’s the worst kiss I’ve ever got!”
“But I have to show you how I feel!”
“Trust me, dear. It’s already all inside here.” Roger put a hand over his heart.
Carlos pulled the human into his arms once again. He was never going to let him walk away from him.
“Stay with me, Roger. Please stay.”
“Well, this is my room as well, so I guess I’ll be staying.” Roger giggled, feeling great about his smartass response.
That did the trick and Carlos found himself laughing a little.
“Wow, so you still know how to smile! How impressive!”
Roger giggled some more while Carlos stared deep into his eyes. He had been secretly practicing this for several weeks. He was old and experienced enough to hypnotize a human for a couple of minutes, but here, he was trying something much more complicated.
“Whoa… what did I do to yawn at this time of the day?” Roger checked his wristwatch and couldn’t believe that he was yawning at an early evening.
The vampire kept focusing his gaze on his lover’s eyes and soon, Roger let out another lazy yawn.
“Maybe you should take a quick nap.”
“You think so? Maybe I was too nervous getting ready for your present.”
“Yes, maybe. When’s the reservation for dinner?”
“At four. But I don’t want to sleep all night, so please wake me up in an hour or so.”
“I’ll do that.” Carlos lied and carefully lifted him up. He had done this for more than he could keep count of, but tonight, the fullness of Roger in his arms made him ecstatic.
“Roger, don’t look away from me, okay? I need you to look into my eyes.”
Roger smiled with his eyes already half-closed. “I can do that. The easiest thing I can do…”
By the time Carlos had put Roger down on the bed, the Swiss was fast asleep.
‘So I should thank my annoying teacher after all.’
The Spaniard opened the tight jeans so that the human could sleep better and made sure that the blanket was covering all of his body.
‘I really hope this can minimize his energy loss.’
Carlos kissed the top of the sleeping beauty’s head and watched the perfect creature breathe in and breathe out. Sometimes, even the fact that they were sharing the same air could thrill him. He was truly in love.
Thanks, Auntie. It worked well. He’s asleep.
He sent a short text message to his aunt and got an answer right away.
I was a teacher at school. Of course, it worked well. Happy birthday, nephew.
It really was a happy birthday for the three hundred and twenty-eight year old vampire. It would be the birthday that he would probably never forget.