"What? Why would I --"

"Promise!"

"Okay, okay," Bree said, bewildered. "But why would you think I'd want to --"

Julian raised his head and looked directly at Bree. His eyes were the same. His skin just as smooth, just as luminous -- but d.a.m.n him if, at a second look, it didn't seem to be skin so much as thousands of fine scales. And his mouth ... it had been distorted by far too many teeth, all of them pointed, and two fangs, long as a cobra's.

Memory came rushing in, along with a bone-crushing, mind-numbing terror. "Vampire!" Bree blurted out. "You are a G.o.d- d.a.m.ned vampire!"

Julian nodded. "Yes," he said, voice slurred around his wicked teeth. "I am. But, Bree ..." His finger came up to brush Bree's lips. "You promised not to run. Amour Magique will hold you to that."

Bree swallowed. Yeah. He'd figured already, when his instant reaction to bolt hadn't even reached his feet. "What are you going to do with me?" he asked. Might as well know sooner than later.

Julian smiled, bizarrely tender despite all those flashing teeth. He cupped Bree's chin in his hand. "Why, f.u.c.k you, of course,"

he said. "And then, I'm going to kill you."

Chapter Seven

I really hadn't figured on this day getting any stranger. Shows how much I know.

"Kill me, huh?" Bree eyed Julian up and down, from his long, muscled legs to his mane of red hair, finally coming to rest on his face -- eyes from a wet dream and teeth from a nightmare. "You probably could. It's easier to kill a man than most people think. Kick them in the throat, knife their lungs, h.e.l.l, even use a good old-fashioned gun.

"I've had death threats before. I worked retail. I'm used to being told to f.u.c.k off and die. Some people even got real creative on how they were going to do me in. So, fact is, you don't scare me.

"Besides, like I said, I worked retail. You think that set of fangs is scary? Julian, I have seen much worse teeth aside from people claiming to be vampires. I'm no ninety-six-pound weakling, either. If you want to kill me, you can try. But I think I might just give you a decent fight for your trouble."

Bree folded his arms and stared at Julian, stone-faced. Julian blinked back at him, countenance blank with surprise.

d.a.m.ned if Bree didn't almost hear the whistle-and-rattle of a cla.s.sic Western gunfight movie scene start to play. But he waited. Turn to run, and it'd all be over. Besides, he'd already walked away from one fight at Money Now! that day because he'd been too disgusted and weary to put up his dukes. It'd felt much better to smash James's face in. If it came to it, he'd grapple with Julian.

Might not win, but he'd go down swinging.

Julian's horrible mouth twisted. A sound burbled out of it. It wasn't until the vampire threw back his head and staggered a few steps back that Bree realized he was laughing. Absolutely tickled to -- well, Bree guessed, not to death as such, but close enough. Tears trickled from the corners of his bedroom eyes, shut tight with the giggles.

Bree folded his arms and glowered. "I'm not joking, you know."

"I know, I do!" Julian wiped at his cheeks. "That is what makes it so very funny. Bree, you would not know this, but it has literally been centuries since anyone was brave or foolish enough to challenge me, whether or not they knew what I was or saw my true face. You look on me without the glamour, without any thrall, and what do you do? Tell me you've seen scarier teeth before and offer to take me down. For that alone, I would keep you and give you the Gift! b.a.l.l.s, brains, and brawn, Bree -- a priceless combination."

"Uh-huh. Glad you think I'm such a blast, Julian."

Julian moved too quickly to see, his hand suddenly cupping Bree's chin as it had in the store. Unable to help himself, Bree shivered at the chill and went weak in the knees. G.o.d, even Julian's hand was s.e.xy as h.e.l.l. Practically o.r.g.a.s.mic fingers, despite being cold. The vampire's mouth twisted into a smile. "You are worth far more than a laugh, Bree," he whisper-hissed. "I chose you because I suspected what you would be like. You are not the man I counted on." Julian tilted his head. "No, you are better.

It's just now struck me. Perhaps it's that I grew so used to the words that I have learned to ignore them, but you have not asked for mercy or to be let go, have you?"

Bree gave Julian a level stare, pulling away from his touch with an ache of regret that he ignored. "Not in the mood for word games right now. No, I didn't ask for any of that, and you d.a.m.n well know it. I don't know s.h.i.t about vampires, but I do know when a man says he's going to kill you and means every word. I'm not the begging type, and I've had my fill of running away. So, I figure my last choice is to fight."

Bree lowered himself into a street-fighting stance, fists loose and ready, leg muscles poised to lunge. He glared up through a wisp of hair that had fallen across his eyes. "Well? Come on, then. Let's do this."

Julian smiled again, "I think not," he said. His hand blurred forward again, far too fast to see, and --

Bree came to, lying flat on his back, laid to rest on something soft and silky. Soft, like a bed. His head ached as if he'd been bashed across the skull with a lead pipe. d.a.m.n, but Julian moves fast. Hits hard, too. Gotta remember that.

He licked his lips and found them so dry that bits of skin were flaking off. Not a good sign. "How long was I out?" he muttered.

"Only a few minutes," Julian's voice responded without pause. "You are a tough one, aren't you?"

"Kind of known for it."

"As I suspected. No, don't move. You may vomit. I seem to recall that humans who take such a blow tend to have uneasy stomachs, and frankly, recycled orange juice is not the sort of fluid I care to have on this bed."

Bree laughed."What's funny?"

"Nothing. Just thinking. You say you're a vampire. It's just funny to me that you probably wouldn't mind spilling a few pints of blood, but you get all prissy at the thought of a little sick-up."

He heard Julian chuckle. "Yes, well, we all have our weaknesses, don't we?" A cool hand brushed his forehead. Despite himself, Bree moved into the touch. "You, for example, are still mortal and fragile as the rest of your kind. Yes, I said 'fragile.' I used the least part of my strength and down you went, easy as falling off a log. You can't best me in a fight, Bree. Yet somehow I don't doubt you'd keep trying if I let you.

"So, I won't let you. I chose you. Even if I could stop the changes taking place in your body, which I have no desire to do, I would not. Live with them. Die from them. Then rise again, and walk by my side."

Bree cracked up.

"This is funny?" Julian sounded fascinated.

"Well, yeah. I know I'm going to die tonight, sure. But give me a break. Come back to life? Walk by your side? Kind of hard to do when you're dead, Julian."

"Not really. After all, I am dead. I have been dead for centuries. I walk, talk, dance, and ..." The cool hand brushed across Bree's cheek, down his neck, and teased at the collar of his mesh shirt. "... I f.u.c.k, too."

"I was hoping to end up in bed with you," Bree said thoughtfully. "Different circ.u.mstances, of course. There was a lot less talking and a lot more being naked, rolling around, and groping in my fantasy."

"That could still happen, you know."

"Right." Bree struggled to open his eyes. They felt gummy, the lids heavy, but he managed it. "Julian, you might be pure s.e.x on a stick, but I'm not too inclined to roll over for you right now. Even if I could." His stomach twisted. "Ow!" he yelped before he could stop it. Embarra.s.sed, he snapped, "So what did you do? Poison that juice?"

"Bree, don't act the fool. Of course I didn't poison your drink. Your body is dying, that's all."

"Oh. Well, if that's all ..." Bree shook his head in spite of the instant pain when he moved it. He weighed his options. Didn't know what dying felt like, but this might well be the real thing. He'd been bled, his skull was cracked open, and he was sitting in a bed with a man who had a mouth like a raptor and who claimed to be a walking corpse with the power of resurrection.

Death might not be such a bad option. Looked like the only way out. Bree had always known someone carried a bullet with his name on it; he'd just been waiting for what seemed like a long time now for the day it was finally fired at him The bed shifted again as Julian leaned closer. "Bree ..." he said, voice still sending a thrill down Bree's spine, "don't be afraid. You have never been happy with life, have you? I saw it in your eyes when I visited you at that awful business. Tonight, you danced with the fervor of a man who had nothing left to lose. You nearly killed your ex without a moment's regret."

"Yeah, well, he had it coming."

"You see? I think you were made to be found by one of my kind. Meant to be one of us. I count myself very, very lucky that our paths crossed."

Bree snorted. "So, you're that d.a.m.n sure I'm gonna turn into a vampire?"

"I know you will," Julian said simply. "These are hard times for us, with modern surveillance and intelligent policemen, but those of us who are capable have adjusted our ways. We hunt, but do not kill, and we thrall to make our feeding nothing but pleasure for the prey. They wake up injured and woozy, but not afraid, and never suspecting a vampire bit them." Julian chuckled.

"As you say, that is fairy-tale rubbish."

He stroked Bree's chest, idly toying with his nipples under the mesh. Bree sucked in a breath. It rattled in his lungs. d.a.m.n.

Guess I am dying.

Huh.

Well, if I do come back to life, first thing I'm gonna do is beat the s.h.i.t out of Julian, s.e.x G.o.d or not. If I don't ... well, I think I know how I want to make my grand exit.

"-- so much I can teach you," Julian was going on, his fingers roving ever further downward on Bree. "Hidden pleasures of the Charleston night, where to find the sweetest blood, how to use your mind, as well as the power in your fists, to control others, and --"

"Hey, Julian," Bree interrupted. "Shut up."

Julian jerked to a stop. His hands ceased their roving. "Pardon me?" He sounded genuinely shocked, something that made Bree grin despite his growing weakness.

Bree licked his lips. "Does the dying man get a last request?" Julian looked puzzled. "I -- I have not done so much before, but I suppose, given the situation ..." He trailed off. "Yes. Yes, although bear in mind that I will not let you go. Aside from that, what do you want?"

"Dumb a.s.s." Bree shook his head. He managed to lift one hand and press down on Julian's arm. "I want you. f.u.c.k me to death, and take that as literally as you like. That's what I want. If I'm going down, I want it to be with a bang, not a whimper."

Silence. Bree glanced up to see Julian staring at him. "You amaze me," he said after a moment.

"Yeah, I'm just all that and a bag of corn chips. You gonna give me what I want?" Bree arched his hips up with an effort.

"Come on. I've wanted you since I first saw you. Do me to death."

Julian's eyes glowed with a sudden heat. "Only you, Bree," he whispered. "Our living death together will be a glorious thing.

Yes. I will do as you ask. But I have no taste for rape, and your body would not enjoy penetration right now, no matter how much you want it."

"Spoilsport."

"Not so!" Julian grinned ferally at him. "Do you trust me not to bite?"

"Huh?"

Julian's hands moved to Bree's zipper. "I asked, do you trust me not to bite?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Bree's fly open and slid the jeans down his thighs. Bree's c.o.c.k stood at half-mast yet, determined that no matter what, it was by G.o.d going to have its fun before the end.

Bending his head, Julian gave Bree's partial erection a long, lingering lick with the flat of his tongue. Bree gasped with the shock to his system as his c.o.c.k swelled, and the blood he had left in him rushed to points south. Made him dizzy as all h.e.l.l, but oh, G.o.d, the rush that came with his arousal was better than any street drug. He lifted shaking hands and threaded them into Julian's thick mane of hair. "Go on," he ordered. "I don't think it matters so much if you bite me now, so long as you don't take it off."

Julian gave a small laugh, the vibrations tingling against Bree's c.o.c.k, tingling, making him harder still. "Trust me when I tell you not to worry about castration," he said, cupping Bree's b.a.l.l.s with his free hand. "I plan on enjoying this magnificent p.r.i.c.k for a very long time to come."

"Best go ahead and get started, then."

"Yes," Julian murmured, "I think you are right ..."

He pounced. Bree let out a short scream and arched his back up despite the sharp pain shooting through all his muscles. Oh, G.o.d! Oh, f.u.c.k, oh, G.o.d, oh, h.e.l.l, Julian! He'd had his share of b.l.o.w.j.o.bs, but never anything like what Julian could do with his mouth. That cool tongue was everywhere -- licking down the length of his c.o.c.k, tapping up the big vein, probing his slit, and then, oh, yes, taking him all in until he b.u.mped the back of Julian's throat, surrounded by cool, wet tightness.

Then Julian swallowed.

Bree howled. Not once, but twice, then again. The noise ripped out of him, primal and wild as a jungle cat's roar. He couldn't stop, and he didn't want to. Julian's throat worked his c.o.c.k, squeezing tighter than any hole he'd ever plunged into, ripping around him like ocean waves, each one washing him further up toward one h.e.l.l of an o.r.g.a.s.m.

Then he felt it -- the p.r.i.c.kle of teeth. Just little pinp.r.i.c.ks, but still enough to draw blood from an organ engorged with the stuff.

Didn't hurt. Or, no, it did hurt -- but the pain was better than any pleasure Bree had ever felt before. "More," he managed to gasp.

"Harder, you G.o.d-d.a.m.ned liar. Bite me!"

Julian's laughter rippled around his c.o.c.k, throat spasming. Bree let out a long, drawn-out wail of bliss. "Come on," he panted. "What are you waiting for? Do it!"

Cool fingers rolled his b.a.l.l.s together, slipped down to press against his perineum and twist his guiche piercing, and then teased up toward his a.s.s. Bree felt Julian's lips smile around his c.o.c.k as he drew back to nuzzle into the crook of Bree's thigh, and -- The vampire bit.

Bree's back bowed up hard enough to practically crack his spine. Blood flowed out, thick and hot. Then, with a mighty spasm and an explosion of light, he came, blasting into Julian's mouth in heavy gouts, mixing his seed with the flood from his veins.

The o.r.g.a.s.m went on and on, Bree's hips jerking fast and frantic. He thought it might never stop, and G.o.d, he didn't want it to!

But it did come to an end at last. Bree sagged back onto the bed, gasping for air but half-choking on it, as if it were too rich.

As if his lungs couldn't take it. "Yeah," he choked out. "This is how -- I wanted to go -- when I had to -- yeah. Good."

Julian sat up, face smeared with blood and come. He smiled at Bree with that twisted mouth. Put his hand over Bree's heart, which was stuttering to a halt. Hurt like f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, but somehow that didn't matter.

Bree found himself grinning. "d.a.m.n ... you," he managed. "And ... thanks."

Julian leaned to kiss Bree's forehead. "Let go," he whispered. "It's almost finished. Relax your hold on life. Die to live again. Do you see the black, coming on quick as night? Walk toward it, Bree. Dive into the darkness, with my hands upon you, and wake to the glory of the night."

Bree shook his head. "Can't," he rasped. He was done already. He'd accepted his death. But d.a.m.n that body of his, it kept on fighting. "Can't!"

"Then let me help you once again." Julian pressed a finger to Bree's lips. "No pain, I promise you. No pain."

He nuzzled his way into the side of Bree's neck, the side he hadn't wounded before. Bree felt the wet flicker of Julian's tongue, felt a soft, painless crunch, and then felt a sudden rush, as if the world were falling away and he was tumbling into s.p.a.ce.

He saw the darkness. The absence of light and life that Julian had mentioned. And he moved toward it, head held high. "f.u.c.k you, death," he whispered. Felt his lips curve into a brazen grin. "Try me on for size. I'm ready."

And, with a last rattle of breath, Bree died.

Chapter Eight