Not Seeing is Believing

Strange Hollow

TA Chase

Published 2010

ISBN 978-1-59578-747-7

Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509

Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2010, TA Chase. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Liquid Silver Books

http://LSbooks.com

Email:

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Editor

Chrissie Henderson

Cover Artist

April Martinez

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of

the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual
events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Blurb

Living in Strange Hollow, a blind vampire like Barry can have a normal life … or as

normal as a blind vampire can have. He has friends and his Seeing Eye dog, Angelica.
But when he accepts a date with Anthony, his mysterious next-door neighbor, he realizes
just what he’s been missing. Love.

Yet when Anthony reveals the reason he’s made Strange Hollow his home, Barry has

to question whether Anthony’s interested in him because of his personality, or because of
his blindness.

Sometimes the statement “love is blind” can be the most freeing words of all.

* * * *

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply

gives you courage.

–Lao Tzu
I don't wish to be everything to everyone, but I would like to be something to

someone.

-Javan

Chapter One

Seeing is believing. What an ingenuous statement. Really. So many people don’t

believe in something until they’re given proof, like a photograph or an encounter all of
their own to talk about. Yet what about beings like me who couldn’t see? How do I
believe in something when I can’t see? You’re smiling, but I tell you, it’s difficult to take
someone at their word when they tell such fantastic tales.

Of course, it helps that I’m a vampire. Yes, I’m one of those unreal creatures created

in the minds of ignorant peasants or authors with wild imaginations. Yet, I exist and so do
many other imaginary creatures that go bump in the night. Most of us find it easier to
blend in and mingle with humans who aren’t sure if they want to know we exist or would
rather just ignore our existence all together.

The sun is setting and I have a date. Anthony, the mysterious man who lives next

door to me finally worked up the nerve to ask me out and I eagerly said yes. I’ve been
dateless since I arrived in Strange Hollow. Dating a blind person, or vampire, takes more
patience than most people are willing to put out.

Angelica nudges my hand with her nose and warns me about whining. Laughing, I

pat her head and stand, grabbing a hold of the leash she suffers to wear for me. “Am I
dressed properly?”

She woofs softly. Yes.
Good, I hate when she lets me leave my house looking like a slob. Believe me, there

have been days when she has. My Seeing Eye dog has a vicious sense of humor at times.

A hard nip to my thigh and I am reminded that Angelica isn’t an ordinary Seeing Eye

dog. Large and muscular, she defies all attempts at guessing what breed she might be. No
one believes me when I tell them the truth. Angelica is a breed unto herself. Another
bump from her and I realize she’s listening to me. “You really shouldn’t read my mind,
dear.”

After tucking my keys and wallet in my pocket, I slip on a pair of sunglasses. You

might wonder why I would need sunglasses at night. Well, my attackers removed my
eyeballs with spoons, leaving me with empty sockets. I’ve been told it’s not a particularly
attractive look. So to spare others, I cover them up.

I reach out, searching for the doorknob, and grin when my hand wraps around it at

the first try. The cool metal turns in my fingers, allowing me exit from my home and
entrance into the rather chilly autumn evening.

Why shouldn’t I read your mind?
I can feel her ruffling through my mind, trying to find some disparaging thought

about her. Those I tuck as deep inside my brain as I can because if she feels insulted she
isn’t above abandoning me on my front porch and letting me find my own way around.
On those nights, I turn around and head back inside, calling Rufus, my werewolf friend,
and inviting him over for pizza.

What kind of dog is Angelica? She is a hell hound, released from Below to escort me

around town. Though I think she’s being punished for something she did since no self-
respecting hound would want to lead a blind vampire around in the human world.

I’m not being punished for anything. I chose to come up here and help you out.

“Stop being indignant, Angelica. I’m glad to hear that being with me is your choice.

You are a rather determined lady. I’m sure there are many down there who wouldn’t
argue with you.”

I leave the door unlocked. Strange Hollow isn’t the type of town where crime

happens. I’m in no danger of being staked in my bed or robbed on the street. Rules and
laws are strict here, but not to the point of chaining any of us down.

Strolling down to the sidewalk, I breathe in the brisk earthy scent of the evening.

Rufus has tried to explain what autumn looks like to me. Unfortunately, his isn’t an
imaginative brain, and at times I am more confused than normal about what the world
around me looks like.

I’ve lived on this earth for four centuries, having celebrated my birth in the year

1610 and embraced my undead life in the year 1639. My eyesight was taken from me
only two short years after I became a vampire. None of my makers warned me about the
dangers of silver or superstitious villagers.

It was a combination of both that conspired to steal my eyesight. I’m sure they hoped

it would kill me, but being ignorant of vampire physiology, they had no way of knowing I
would heal for the most part as soon as I fed. The damage to my eyes remained
permanent. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t feed soon enough after the attack or
simply because they attacked me with silver. Either one condemned me to a life without
sight, and slowly, over the years, I have forgotten what colors looked like.

Angelica jerks my entire body and I flail, trying to regain my balance. Strong arms

catch me, holding me tight to a hard chest until I get my feet back under me. I breathe in
and smile. The odd combination of wood smoke and cinnamon tell me the identity of my
rescuer.

“Good evening, Anthony.” I glance in the direction of his eyes, never sure if I

actually make contact or if I end up looking slightly crazed.

“Hello, Barry.”
Anthony’s voice holds a slight accent and I shiver. I step away from him, hoping he

thinks the shiver came from the cool air, not the attraction skating down my spine.
“Anthony,” I repeat, sounding like an idiot, but trying to think while the brain function I
had drained from my head to my groin.

Angelica bumps me and I trip into Anthony’s personal space again. Silly dog, I

mutter silently to her. Her teeth grip my hand in teasing pressure, drawing a sigh from
me. I’m sorry. She doesn’t like it when I call her a dog.

He slips his arm around my waist, my heart races at the contact. The warmth from

his body soaks through my clothes. I’ve never gotten used to how cold I can get at times,
but I guess when you don’t have blood running through your veins, you don’t need to be
warm.

“I’m glad you asked me out,” I blurt out, apparently losing control of my tongue.
Sometimes it’s hard to judge Anthony’s mood, especially since I can’t see his

expressions. I must rely on the tone of his voice, and like most people, Anthony is adept
at disguising his emotions.

A hot, moist puff of air crosses my temple as Anthony sighs. “So am I, though it

took me long enough to work up the nerve, didn’t it?”

I place my hand on his lower arm, arranging my scarred face into a pleading look as

I raise my head toward him. “But you asked, and ultimately that is all that matters. I’m a

vampire. Time doesn’t mean much to me.”

With a swift tug and twist, Angelica jerks her leash from my hand and bounds away.

I lower my head, hiding my smile as I listen to her footsteps dash down the sidewalk.

“She did that on purpose, didn’t she?” Anthony’s voice held a smile.
“Yes, I do believe she did.” I smile, shaking my head at the thought of my hell hound

playing matchmaker.

“I guess I should see her desertion as a good thing, considering how protective she is

of you.”

I chuckle at his exaggerated shudder. “She does tend to overdo it at times.”
“She knows what a treasure she has in you,” Anthony murmured, not realizing, I’m

sure, how acute my hearing has become over the centuries.

I want to thank him, but don’t want to embarrass him, so I allow his comment to pass

without remarking on it. He cradles my hand in the crook of his elbow and we wander
down toward the center of town. Our shoulders bump. Our hips rub and my pulse goes
up. Anthony covers my hand and squeezes. I lean my head on his shoulder.

“I admit I don’t have any particular plans for our date. I wanted to spend time with

you. Would you like to walk to the park? We don’t need to go anywhere special. I just
like getting out of my house,” Anthony confesses.

“Sounds perfect to me.”
As we walk toward the park, I hear footsteps coming at us. What makes those steps

so interesting to me is how the instant the walker spots us, the steps move quickly in the
other direction. I find it odd along with the rising tension in Anthony each time it
happens.

I have never asked Anthony why he lives in Strange Hollow. Not because I’m not

curious, but I believe in privacy. Every person here has the right to not reveal why they
choose to live in this town.

Only one person knows and that is Jacinda, the town’s founder. She meets each

newcomer personally to explain the rules. I’ve often thought it must be a heavy burden to
bear, knowing why a person needs sanctuary.

“Here’s a bench.” Anthony speaks for the first time since we decided to go to the

park. Stress clips his words.

We sit and I snuggle as close to Anthony as he’ll allow me without sitting on his lap.

He wraps his arm around my shoulder. An unfamiliar sense of contentment fills me. I
often feel that way when near Anthony, which is why I said yes when he asked me out.
Our easy friendship has the promise to become more.

A young woman strolls closer. I can tell her sex and age by the speed of her stride

and the click of her heels. She gasps when she draws near and scurries away.

Frowning, I ask, “Do you think she never saw two men sitting on a bench together?”
“I don’t think it was us as a couple that upset her.” Anthony’s arm tightens around

me.

Even with my glasses on, my scars spider web away from my eyes. My attackers

hadn’t been gentle or caring about how I would look if they didn’t succeed. The scars
aren’t ugly, or so I’d been told, but whatever coating had been used on the silver spoons
that gouged out my eyes left behind bits of phosphorous. They tend to glow under the
right conditions. I had been so overjoyed to hear that when my doctor explained it to me.
One more reason to be branded a freak.

“No.” Anthony clasps my hand and trails the fingers of his free hand over my face.

“Your scars are beautiful.”

I snort. “You don’t have to sweet-talk me, Anthony. I already like you.”
“Barry, what are you doing here?” Squeaky, one of my friends, interrupts us.
“Anthony and I are on a date. Don’t you have a wheel to turn or something?”
Squeaky is a hamster shifter, and while I’ve never inquired as to why he lives in

Strange Hollow, I have a feeling it’s because of Squeaky’s size. He’s rather large for a
hamster. Of course, his real name was Herbert, but Rufus nicknamed him Squeaky when
he arrived at the shifter’s house to find him running on a wheel. And everyone knows
how squeaky hamster wheels are.

“No offense, Anthony, but do you think it’s a good idea to be out with him, Barry?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Squeaky, I’ve been friends with him for over a year now. Why

this concern all of a sudden?” Anthony starts to move away, but I entwine our fingers and
won’t let go.

“Ummm … well…” Squeaky hesitates.
“It’s the first time any of them have really seen me. I’ve rarely left my house, except

to visit with you, and when I do go into town, I usually wear a trench coat and a hat.”

I laugh. “Are you a flasher? Is that why people run from us?” Squeaky tries to say

something and I hush him. “I’ll be fine. I’ll even meet you at Maude’s tomorrow evening
to prove it.” I flap a hand in Squeaky’s direction. “Now go away.”

A loud exhale informs me that Squeaky isn’t happy about being dismissed, but I

don’t care. It’s time to find out more about Anthony, the mysterious man I lust after. I
listen as Squeaky shuffles off.

Chapter Two

“Are we alone?”
At times, I hate my blindness. Sure, my other senses have gotten stronger to

compensate for my loss, just not enough to make me psychic.

“Yes,” Anthony murmurs.
“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” I run my thumb over his knuckles.
“Does what bother me?” He evaded the question like a running back dodging a

linebacker.

“The way they turn from you. How people react when they see you.” I reach out,

hoping I touch his cheek and not poke him in the eye.

Anthony accepts my touch and nods. “Of course it does. No one likes being treated

like a monster.”

I understand. Before I found Strange Hollow, I lived as a recluse in Manhattan, only

leaving my penthouse to feed. Not even having Angelica as protection could convince me
to leave the safety of my home. Just when I contemplated accidentally leaving the shades
up on my east facing windows, Angelica brought me information about a town founded
for freaks like me.

“I’ve never asked you why you’re here, Anthony.” I grin. “I figured it wasn’t any of

my business. You’d tell me when you were ready.”

“This town is a haven for me, even with the way some of them react to me. Not all of

them treat me like I’m the plague.” Anthony gathers me in his arms, shifting us until I
end up on his lap.

I don’t care what anyone might think about our rather intimate embrace. Hell, as

long as we aren’t screwing in the park, we’re fine.

“I was shunned by others of my kind,” he admits in a low voice, sounding ashamed.
I rest my cheek against his shoulder and invade his privacy. “Your kind? What are

you exactly?”

“I’m a wizard without any magic.”
I rack my brain, trying to figure out if I’ve ever heard of a wizard without magic.

“How did that happen?”

“Genetics, I guess. Both my parents are very powerful wizards with more power in

their little pinkie than three magic users put together. Maybe their powers cancelled each
other out and they ended up with me, a non-magical son.”

“Yet it seems silly to me that they would shun you for something you had no hand

in. It was the spin of the cosmic wheel. Is there another reason why they would kick you
out of their lives?”

He shifts, uneasy with my question. His muscles tense and his heart rate increases. I

smooth a hand over his chest. “You don’t have to answer that or you could make
something up. I’m blind, not psychic. I wouldn’t know the difference,” I joke.

Anthony sighed, and I hear so many emotions in that exhalation. Frustration. Fear.

Pain. Anger. Deciding we need to change the subject for a moment, I wiggle, rearranging
our positions so I straddle Anthony’s thighs. I hesitate. “May I touch you?”

The tension in his shoulders warns me he isn’t exactly receptive to being touched. I

slowly raise my hands and he grabs them.

“Tell me, what do you see when you look in the mirror?” I love hearing people

describe themselves to me. I’ve found that most of them aren’t as accurate as they think
they are.

“Nothing,” he mumbles.
“Like you don’t cast a reflection?”
By the movement of his shoulders, I can tell he shook his head, but doesn’t answer

my question.

Cautiously, I raise my hand and lay it on his right cheek. He accepts that touch, but

he holds my other hand pressed to his chest, not allowing me to move it. My cock stiffens
at the rasp of stubble under my fingers. What will it feel like scraping over my nipples?
My inspection affects Anthony the same way, if the bulge in his slacks is any indication.
He grasps my ass and rocks us together.

“Oh.” I gasp at the solid length grinding against my erection.
Anthony hums and some of the tension leaves him. I don’t remove my hand from his

shirt, though I trail the fingers of my left hand down his cheek to the corner of his mouth.

I lean forward to place my lips on Anthony’s because a kiss makes everyone relax.

He must have turned his head because my mouth landed on his cheek. M-m-m … the
man smells like a pine forest after a soft rain. Fresh and woodsy. I nuzzle closer, but he
keeps his face averted.

Settling back into his hands, I fold my arms and pout. “I want to kiss you. Why do

you keep turning away from me? Do my scars repulse you? If they do, why the hell did
you ask me out in the first place?”

He pulls me closer, one hand sliding up to press my face into the spot where his neck

and shoulder connect. I breathe deep, his scent easing my irritation at his not allowing me
to kiss him.

“It’s not you…”
“It’s me,” I finish for him. “I’ve heard that before.”
“The reason everyone is reacting to me is because I’m not wearing a hat or a mask.”
“A mask?” I perk up and straighten. “I wouldn’t have thought you were into that sort

of thing.”

“Barry,” he warns.
“Sorry.” I’m not sorry, but heck, I can pretend like the best of them. No need for

Anthony to find out how shameless I really am.

“The other reason I’m shunned by my people is because I’m not beautiful. At least,

not anymore.”

Frowning, I drum my fingers on my arms, staring at him or his vicinity. “Not being

beautiful shouldn’t be grounds for being ignored.” I paused. “Well, unless you’re an elf.
Then I think it’s like written into the elf code or something. All of those pointy ears are
drop-dead gorgeous.”

“Focus.” He taps my nose.
I grimace slightly. I hate being treated like a child, though Angelica often tells me

my attention span is that of a five-year-old. “Okay. So you’re not beautiful. God knows, I
won’t ever complain, but I don’t see Squeaky getting all protective of me just over the
fact that you’re plain.”

“I’m not plain, Barry. I’m scarred.”

Shrugging, I wave a hand at my face, managing to smack myself by not paying better

attention. “So? I’m scarred as well. Do yours glow in the dark?”

“U-m-m … no.”
“There you go then. You shouldn’t be worried about them. I’m sure they aren’t that

bad, and if other people can’t deal with it, screw them. You don’t need them as friends
anyway.”

Anthony’s body wilts like a dying flower, and his forehead touches mine for a

second before he takes my hands in his and places them on his face.

“Oh.” My hands encounter what feels like two different faces. The right side is

smooth and well-formed with a high forehead. His eye tipped up at the corner and his top
lip is thin while his bottom lip is plump, begging to be kissed. I keep my mouth to myself
because of what my fingers discover as they trail over the ruined left side of Anthony’s
face.

A mass of scars, like snakes curled one upon another in a ball, crawled from his

hairline to below his chin where his shirt covers his neck. With butterfly caresses, I map
the carnage that is his face, and learn the dip where his eye should have been and the
twist of the left corner of his mouth. As I brush the tips of my fingers over his destroyed
lips, I remember how, at some times, it seems Anthony struggles with his words.

“Oh my,” I whisper, tears filling my voice. Such dichotomy. Beauty and ugliness.

Smooth and rough. Gorgeous creation and ravaged destruction. I want to wrap my arms
around him and press my lips to his scars, but I know he won’t welcome that gesture.

“Don’t pity me. It was my own fault,” he mutters, jerking to get out of my hold.
I keep him captive, not wanting to let him go until I memorize every inch of his face,

the good and the bad. “How can it be your fault?”

“When I tried to break off the only relationship I ever had, he threw acid on me.”
A thought hits me. “Do you have scars lower than your neck?”
He shakes his head. “No. I was wearing a leather coat that protected the rest of me.”
“You were leaving him?”
“Yes, and he decided that since I broke his heart, he’d destroy me the best way he

could have.”

“By throwing acid in your face?” I shake my head. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“Though I don’t have any magic, I wasn’t shunned from my family at the time.” He

stops speaking.

I stop as well. While he spoke, I touched him without thinking, trying to erase the

pain I felt in each wavy line in his skin. I start to move my hands off him. “I’m sorry.”

He catches my wrists in his trembling hands and presses them back to his face.

Something in my touch soothes him.

“I was beautiful. Quite the most handsome of all the wizards of my generation.” He

speaks without arrogance or bragging, but with a hint of sorrow. Is it for the beauty he
lost or the family who turned away from him? Throwing caution to the wind, I embrace
him, resting my cheek against his undamaged one. The lashes from his good eye feather
over me and I smile.

“I was the golden boy. Probably because my looks would have gotten me a good

marriage even without the magic. But once my parents were told I would never recover
from the scarring, they turned their backs on me. I was shunned by the whole wizard
community.” Anthony inhales deeply, and his arms crush me closer to his chest. “I

couldn’t take not being acknowledged anymore. So I moved to Strange Hollow and tried
to start my life over.”

“I love this place,” I mutter.
He chuckles. “Why do you say that?”
I lean back slightly, and his shifting weight lets me know he barely dodges my

waving hands. “Where else can a blind vampire and a non-magical wizard find a place to
live and acceptance?” A sharply inhaled breath warns me and I hold up a finger to halt
the protest he is about to impart. “I do think that once people get used to your visage,
they’ll be more open. You have to let them get used to you, just like any other handicap,
I’m sure.” Anthony snorts and I wiggle my finger at him. “Don’t doubt me. I mean, if
people can handle a ginormous hamster shifter, then why can’t they handle you?”

Doubt fills the silence between us. Being smooshed against Anthony’s firm body the

entire time we talk has done nothing for my ability to hold a serious conversation.
Thoughts sneak into my mind about how his erection feels rubbing against mine with
every movement I make. I moan softly, finding his neck with my tongue and licking a
line from the tender triangle at the base of his throat to the seam of his mouth. I beg for
entrance and, thank all the gods and spirits, he opens to me.

His old wounds don’t allow him to open very wide, but I’m still able to sweep my

tongue in to learn his taste. What flavor will I always associate with Anthony? Chai tea.
It’s one of my favorite drinks, hot or cold. It’s spicy and vanilla-y with just enough heat
to let you remember you drank it. Anthony kisses me back, his hands cradling my ass and
rocking our groins together. I don’t notice anything; his scars, my blindness, or even the
fact that we are sitting in a park out in public. Nothing draws my attention away from
how his fingers flex into my butt.

H-m-m-m … how I adore a strong man. I’m not very tall and run toward the slender

side of things. Angelica calls me a twink and that’s what I proudly am. Along with a bit
of a slut, if I find a guy I like.

Anthony eases an inch or so away from me. “Barry?”
Hesitation mars Anthony’s words. “Yes, dear?” The wide expanse of Anthony’s

chest catches my attention and I nuzzle the light dusting of hair revealed by his shirt.

“Do you think we could go back to your house? As much as I like sitting in the park

with you, I’d love lying in bed with my prick buried in your ass more.”

I almost trip as I climb off Anthony in a hurry. “I think that’s a marvelous idea.”
“You do?”
“Hell yes, I do. Why wouldn’t I when I obviously find you as amazingly attractive as

you find me?” I gesture in the direction of my groin.

“Sleeping with me doesn’t bother you?”
He tucks my hand in the crook of his elbow and leads the way back to my house. I

appreciate the fact that he doesn’t rush, even though I smell arousal in the air around us
and Anthony’s arm trembles under my fingers.

Chapter Three

“Why would it?”
“The only other man I took to my bed wasn’t very understanding once he got a good

look at me,” Anthony admits.

I’m puzzled. “Because of your scars?” His arm moves under my fingers as he shrugs.

“Didn’t he know what you looked like before he slept with you?” I work out the issues in
my head as we walk. I rest my cheek on his shoulder for a second while I think.

“Not really. We were at a BDSM club and I wore a mask. I took it off after he fell

asleep because it’s hot and sweaty, plus it makes my face itch. When he saw me, he
jumped from bed, screamed, and ran from my house naked,” Anthony confesses in a
subdued voice.

“Ouch. That has to suck, honey.”
Not caring if anyone has to walk around us, I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and

face Anthony. I run my hands up his arms and shoulders to his face, where I cup his
cheeks. Pushing up on my tiptoes, I silently hope he understands what I want. A puff of
warm air rushes over my face as he leans forward and presses his lips to mine. Offering
comfort is the reason for this kiss, not to fan the flames between us higher, though even a
gentle kiss makes me hard and brings images into my head of me on my knees in front of
him, my mouth wrapped around his beautiful cock.

“Get a room, guys,” someone mumbles as they push past us.
“As luck would have it, I happen to have a very comfortable bed in my room at

home.” I grin as we break apart and start to race back to my place. Race is a relative word
when one is blind, but we hurry.

Anthony stays close to me and steers me around obstacles without pushing me

around like a rag doll. Angelica is the only one I allow to drag me here and there. With
everyone else, I demand a little respect. It’s hard to demand anything from a hell hound.

“We’re at your front walk, Barry.” Anthony takes my hand and slows me down, so

we can turn. It saves me from tripping over my own feet in my eagerness to get the man
inside and naked.

Thank God I didn’t lock the door when I left, or else we might have broken it down

as we rushed up the front steps and stumbled over the threshold. Reaching out, I touch the
wall, orienting myself to exactly where we are in my house. There wouldn’t be anything
in the hallway. Since losing my eyesight, I’ve become obsessive about picking up after
myself. When one lives his entire life in darkness, it can destroy a good day by tripping
over one’s shoes and landing face-first into the wall. It’s only amusing to Angelica when
I’m swearing and flopping around on the floor like a fish. My dog has a hellacious sense
of humor, which usually involves me being bruised in some way or another.

Stumbling into my bedroom, I turn around to flatten myself against Anthony. He

staggers, but catches his balance before we fall over. I land kisses on every inch of his
skin that I can find.

“Whoa. Slow down a second, Barry. I can’t see a damn thing. Where’s the light

switch?”

I whimper and throw a gesture toward the wall, hoping he understands that the

switch is over there. At least, I hope it is. I’ve never used the lights in my house. No need
to when I can’t see them and light doesn’t mean anything to me. Keeps electric bills
down as well. I sink to my knees and fumble with Anthony’s belt buckle. After getting
his zipper open, I toss my sunglasses aside, knowing they’d get in the way.

“Eager little thing, aren’t you?”
Desire roughens Anthony’s voice and I shiver as he buries one of his hands in my

hair. I hear a click and a little burst of air from Anthony. Good, he found the light.
Hopefully, he won’t want me to get anything else for him because my mind has already
shut down and all I can think of is getting his cock uncovered.

I peel back the sides of his jeans and slip my hands under the waistband of his briefs,

tugging them down and leaning close enough for his prick to slap me in the face when it
springs free. I moan, searching for his flesh to taste him.

He tightens his grip on my head and stills my movements. “Just a second, honey.”
He taps my left cheek with the wet head and I open, trusting him to help a desperate

vampire out. The spongy tip of his penis eases in between my lips and rests on my
tongue. I hum at the sweaty taste of his skin. God, I’m such a slut, but it has been so long
since I brought anyone home with me who wanted me because of me, and not because of
how much I paid him.

I’m good at sucking. I mean, heck, I’m a vampire, I have to be good at that one

thing. But more than sucking blood, I love to suck cock, and Anthony has a nice fat one.
Wet slurping sounds fill the room around us, mingling with Anthony’s grunts and groans.

While I lick and apply suction, I allow him to be in control. I wrap my hands around

his ass, providing myself with support and balance. My fingers stroke over his muscles as
they flex with each thrust in and out. Anthony moves faster, fucking my mouth almost as
hard and deep as he would if he rode my ass.

“Barry … please, I’m close.”
I hum around his shaft, letting him know it’s okay to spill his seed. I want to taste his

seed even more than I wish to taste his blood. To me, the true essence of a man lies in his
spunk.

“Oh God.”
Anthony swells on my tongue and hot liquid floods my mouth. I swallow it down

like it is the sweetest elixir. Anthony twitches and jerks, giving me every drop of him,
and I accept his gift. As his cock softens, I lick it clean and fall back on the floor, tearing
at my pants to free my dick.

He drops next to me and his large, warm hand wraps around my aching prick,

pumping with a rhythm I adore. “I’m sorry I can’t open my mouth wide enough to take
you in,” he whispers in my ear.

My brain short-circuits, allowing me only the thought of patting his shoulder in

understanding. I can’t get my tongue to move and say anything to him. I don’t want him
to think he needs to suck me for me to be happy. Hell, just touching me is enough to
drive me over the edge. “Harder,” I plead, needing him to take me further.

His grip tightens and he sweeps his thumb over the head of my prick, gathering the

pre-cum pooling there. I arch my hips off the floor, shoving my flesh through the tunnel
of his hand. He fondles my balls, stroking his fingers over the sensitive skin behind them.
“Anthony,” I moan.

Heat bathes my flesh and his. Sex fills the air around us, mingling with the scent of

sweat. I tremble as he milks me dry. We flop on the floor, panting and grunting. “Wow.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Should we move to the bed?”
“I’m not sure I can. I think you’ve liquefied my muscles.”
More rustling, then suddenly his arms slip under me and I’m lifted in the air. I

encircle his shoulders, brushing my lips over his cheek. He stumbles to my bed and drops
me onto the mattress. Within minutes, we are both naked and he snuggles close to me.

“How about we take a little nap?”
“Are you hungry? I thought we were going to dinner.” I rub my hand over his chest.
“Don’t worry. We’ll rest, then grab something to eat later.” He pauses. “Do you need

something?”

I shake my head. “No. I ate earlier.”
“Really?” He sounds surprised.
“I find that most guys don’t like to watch me feed. Blood sucking isn’t very sexy.”
He runs his hand over my hair, brushing it out of my face before placing a kiss on

my forehead. “Dating a vampire comes with certain requirements. I won’t ever turn away
from you, and if you need to feed, I’m willing to offer my blood.”

My heart skips a beat. I’d never had someone offer that to me. It makes sense people

would be protective of their life-preserving fluid. Yet, drinking from someone I care
about could be the most intimate event in our lives. “Thank you for the offer.”

Anthony sighs. “You’re welcome.”
I lie there, listening as his breathing evens out. Soon his heartbeat slows, informing

me of his descent into slumber. I wiggle and slip from his arms. As a vampire, I rarely
take naps. It’s probably because I sleep so soundly during the day.

Scratching at the front door alerts me, along with a mental nudge, and I stroll down

the hallway to let Angelica in. She sniffs as she enters.

“Yes, he’s in my bed and we had sex.”
She snorts. I don’t think that counts as real sex.
I blush. “Okay, fine. Not true sex, but we both came, and at the moment it’s the

important thing.”

I follow the clicking of her nails on the floor to my study. Reaching out, I find my

desk and start to sit down. Angelica licks my thigh and I jump. Shoot. I forgot I’m naked.
I tiptoe back to my bedroom, dig through my dresser, and grab a pair of sweats. Tugging
them on, I glance toward the bed and wish I could see what Anthony looks like while he
sleeps.

Angelica stands in the doorway. I can show you what he looks like if you wish.
“No, don’t show me. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want me to know what he truly

looks like.” I tilt my head.

You’ve ‘looked’ at him with your fingers earlier.
“My seeing with fingers trick isn’t the same as actually seeing him with eyes.”
True, she concedes.
We wander back to my study. After sitting, I turn on my computer and put my

headphones on. I don’t want my voice software waking Anthony up. I make my living
trading stocks. Luckily, I can do things during the night because there are a lot of other
markets open when ours closed.

Angelica nudges my leg and I remove my headphones. “What is it, Angelica?”
“I think she’s telling you that I’m up.”

Glancing over at the doorway, I smile. “Oh, sorry. I have voice software that reads

my emails aloud for me and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“No problem.”
I follow his progress across the floor and his warmth slides along my left side. I let

my head fall back to give him a chance to kiss me. His lips press against mine and I open
for his tongue. Anthony sweeps in, teasing and dueling with mine. I entwine my fingers
in his hair, trying not to touch his face since my hand would be on his scarred side.

Easing away from me, he laughed slightly. “I have to admit your scars are rather

intriguing. Did you ever figure out why they glow in the dark?”

“Oh, I didn’t turn the lights on, did I?” I push the chair back and stand.
“No, but don’t worry about it. I can see fine by the glare of the computer screen.”
“And the glow of my scars, huh?” I skirt my desk and make my way to the kitchen.
Anthony catches my arm. “I wasn’t making fun of you or anything like that.”
“I know, Anthony. I was making fun of myself.” I gesture toward the direction of the

refrigerator. “You want some food? Angelica and Rufus make sure there’s real food in
there for guests.” I sit at the table, lean back in the chair and rest my hands on my
stomach.

“You don’t have many visitors.”
The door to the fridge opens and the sound of bags being opened skates over my

ears. “Not many, but sometimes Rufus brings over some of his friends.” I shrug. “I don’t
mind. It takes people a while to get comfortable with me, so I tend to limit my
interactions with regular humans.”

“At least you have Rufus. He seems to be a good guy.”
I chuckle as I think about my friend. “Yes, he is, though not the smartest wolf in the

pack. Unfortunately, he’s alone. I keep hoping he’ll go and meet up with some of the
other wolves in town. They should think about forming their own pack. Hell, it might be
the most unusual group of wolves in the world.”

Anthony joins in with his own deep laugh. “You’re right about that.” The chair

scrapes across the floor and the plate clinks on the table. Anthony taps my shoulder. “Do
you drink?”

“Besides blood? No. My stomach can’t accept food or beverages anymore.”
The cupboard door creaks and a glass settles on the counter. Water runs in the sink,

filling Anthony’s glass. I let my mind wander a little. It’s nice having another person in
the house with me. Angelica is wonderful most of the time, but as a hell hound, her views
and thoughts differ from mine.

A squeak alerts me to Anthony sitting in the chair. I face his direction, keeping my

face down. Sometimes, without glasses on, my face can startle people. He reaches over
and slides his knuckle under my chin, lifting it up. His gaze weighs on my skin and I have
the urge to turn my face away.

“Don’t.”
His whispered order stops me. “Don’t what?”
“Hide from me. Why do it now when you didn’t do it while we got off earlier?”
I shake my head. “Heat of the moment. I didn’t really think about it when all I

wanted was your cock in my mouth.”

Anthony chuckles and eases away from me. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”
“Well, neither one of us will win a beauty contest anymore.” I wiggle, hoping

Anthony didn’t take my joking as an insult.

I listen to the click of his jaw as he chews and swallows. “True, but I never looked

good in a tiara.”

A yawn hits me and, slowly, exhaustion creeps up on me. “It’s almost sunrise, isn’t

it?”

Anthony grunts and his feet hit the floor. “Yeah.”
I stand, weaving slightly. I hate when my body decides it’s time for bed. I have no

alternative but to listen. “You don’t have to worry about it. Stay here as long as you want.
Just if you end up heading home, please lock the door behind you. Not that anyone would
break in, but since I’m pretty helpless during the day, I feel better being locked in.”

“What about Angelica?” Anthony encircles my waist with his arm and escorts me

back to my bed. He helps me strip off my sweat pants.

“She can leave whenever she wants. The only reason she has me open the doors for

her is so I feel useful.”

“I can see that.” Anthony drops to the mattress with me and tugs the covers up over

us. “Don’t worry about me. Go to sleep. Maybe tonight, we’ll actually make it out to
dinner.”

“Sounds good to me.”
I think I slur the last word because, in seconds, I’m asleep and oblivious to what’s

going on around me.

Chapter Four

A cold nose presses somewhere it shouldn’t and I screech, crab-walking across the

bed. The edge of the mattress comes sooner than I expect and I fall ass over head onto the
floor.

Get up.
“Angelica, you need to stop doing that. I could have hurt myself.”
Her toenails click on the hardwood toward me while I contemplate hauling my butt

off the chilly floor.

I’m sorry. She bumps me with her head and I sigh.
I mentioned earlier she has a rather sick sense of humor. It’s true, but she does

apologize when she realizes she is wrong to tease me. I accept her apology and offer one
of my own. I’m not very perky when I first wake up.

She stands firm as I brace myself on her back to gain my feet. I rub my ass before

sitting back on the bed. “I think you’ve bruised me.”

Don’t try to blame me for those.
My cheeks heat at her snide comment. “Well, you know we didn’t get that far last

night.” She snorts and I giggle while rubbing her ears. “What time is it?”

“It’s around nine.”
I almost shoot off my perch again when Anthony speaks.
He’s standing in the doorway to the bedroom. Angelica lets me know where he’s

standing.

I turn toward him. “Good evening, Anthony. Did you sleep well?” God, it’s been so

long since I’ve had to deal with a lover the next day—or night, as it were—that I’m
nervous as hell.

“I slept a couple of hours before going back to my house.”
You haven’t fed me yet, Angelica reminds me.
It’s immaterial that she’s quite capable of getting her own meal. She likes having me

wait on her. As I stand, Anthony’s softly inhaled breath makes me notice that I’m still
naked. “Guess I should get dressed.”

I freeze after reaching the end of the bed frame. Was there anything on the floor from

last night? Usually, I pick up after myself, though it’s only me who’d know if I fall.

Anthony moves closer. “There’s nothing out. I put everything away before I left, just

in case you woke up before I got back.”

“Thanks. I’m not used to having people in my bedroom. Well, except for Angelica,

but she doesn’t tend to leave things lying around.” I paused for a second before asking,
“Do you think you could pull me out a T-shirt and sweats?”

I jump when Anthony trails his fingers over my hip as he walks past to get to my

dresser. My cock stiffens even more than my usual morning wood.

A derisive huff and Angelica leaves. I’ll get my own food while you return to bed

and get some exercise.

“Get out of here, you shameless hussy.”
“What did she say?”
I shake my head. “It’s not important.”

I don’t know if he believes me or not, but he brushes my arm with fabric. Instead of

taking the clothes, I reach out to find Anthony’s chest and slip my hands up around his
neck. Applying pressure to the back of his head, I urge him to bend to me. Okay, so
Angelica isn’t the only shameless one in the house.

Our mouths meet, giving my tongue a chance to learn the curve of his lips. I lick and

tease along the seam, asking for permission to enter. He twitches when I caress the scars
drawing the left corner of his mouth down. I plan on teaching him that his disfigurement
doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t think it would, even if I could see.

I separate from him and sit on the bed, hooking my fingers in his jeans and tugging

him over to me. By the height of my hands, I know his crotch is at face level for me. I
mouth the bulge behind his zipper and Anthony draws in a deep breath. Sitting back, I
grin. “I think you’re overdressed at the moment.”

“So do I.” He trails a finger over my nose before stepping back.
I hear the jingle of his belt buckle, followed by the light thud of his jeans hitting the

floor. I hope he stripped out of his underwear as well because I long to taste him again.
Grabbing his hips, I drag him back to me and open my mouth like a baby bird begging
for food. Anthony’s muscles ripple as he places his cock on my tongue.

“M-m-m…” I hum, appreciating the salty taste of his skin.
“Jesus, Barry, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to kill me.” Anthony

gasps as I swallow him down to the base of his shaft.

I pull off with as much suction as I could achieve before shaking my head. “No

killing here. I want to feel your prick in my ass too much to end your life.”

Anthony laughs. “I guess that’s a good thing, huh?”
I nod and fall back on the covers, encouraging Anthony to come with me. He crawls

up on the bed, straddling my head, and starts to guide his prick back into my mouth, but
pauses. “Get all of you on the bed. I’m going to lie on my back and I want you on your
hands and knees over me, but facing away from me.”

Frowning, I do as he orders and it’s only when he slaps my cheek with his shaft that I

understand what he’s doing. I wash the entire length of hard flesh with my tongue,
playing with the throbbing vein along the underside. I feast on it, not really paying
attention to what he’s doing until he sweeps his tongue along my crease, stopping to rub
over my puckered opening. “Oh.” I jerk and rock back, pleading for more.

We settle in, tormenting each other with light touches of hands and mouths.

Tantalizing sweeps of fingers and caressing skin on skin. I moan as he breaches my ass
with his tongue and plunges in. I undulate between his mouth and his cock, wanting more
of both, but not being able to get it in the position I’m in.

Rearing up as best I can, I swing around and crouch with my knees on either side of

his hips. He balances me, but doesn’t move in any other way. It’s like he’s letting me
chose how I want to do this. I grope behind me and get a hold of his slick dick.
Positioning it at my hole, I breathe deep for a moment before starting to impale myself on
his hard cock.

“Are you sure? Don’t hurt yourself.”
He supports me and trembles as every urge in him tells him to thrust; to bury himself

deep inside me. I recognize those tremors and smile down at him as I relax, allowing him
farther inch by inch. My head falls back as he slides in the last few inches, bringing our
bodies together in the most intimate embrace possible.

We pause, letting each other get used to the idea of being this close to another person

again. With a light tap to my hip, he signals he is ready and I’m more than willing to start
moving. With one mind, we ride, up and down, back and forth. Each stroke in hits my
gland and every slide out I squeeze his cock mercilessly. Faster and harder, each joining
drives us closer to the ultimate release.

Grunts fill the air along with gasps and moans. Sweat-slicked skin slips against more

skin. My balls tighten and my cock aches for more, but I can’t take my hands from his
chest without unbalancing myself. “Anthony,” I implore.

He understands my wordless plea and wraps his hot hand around my throbbing shaft.

He swipes his thumb over the dripping head and assails my slit.

“Oh fuck,” I cry as I come.
The clenching of my inner channel impels him over the edge right after me. A deluge

of hot liquid saturates my ass, filling it to the point where it drips down my thighs. I
slump onto his chest and he embraces me, smoothing his hand up and down my back. We
tremble together, organizing our thoughts and synchronizing our breathing. His racing
heartbeat calms under my ear.

As I regain strength and roll to the side, he groans at the cool air hitting his flesh and

I bemoan the loss of his cock in my ass. The bed dips and I track his progress across the
floor to the bathroom. Running water clues me in on his washing up. I know I should get
up as well, but I find I’m totally relaxed and kind of like the sticky feel of his cum on my
skin.

“Here.”
I jump, not expecting him back. I’d lost where he was in the room. He wipes me

clean with a warm cloth and gives me a peck before I hear the splat of the cloth in the
sink.

“Why don’t we get dressed and head over to the restaurant for dinner? I could eat

some serious food, man. You’re wearing me out.”

My body doesn’t want to move, but my brain agrees that feeding Anthony might

result in more fantastic lovemaking and I’m all for that. Sitting up, I shove my hair off
my face and sigh.

“The floor’s clear and I’m going to the kitchen to see if Angelica will tell me what

she would like to eat, or if she’s going out with us.”

“You wouldn’t have a problem with her being there?” My feet hit the cool floor and

I yelp softly. One would think being a vampire would make the cold easier on me since I
don’t have true body heat anymore, but I’ve never really gotten used to it. Especially
after being heated up recently by Anthony’s body.

“Why would I? She’s there to help you.” Anthony grazes my shoulder with his hand

before leaving.

After dressing as quickly as possible, I grab a pair of sunglasses off my bureau and

head to the kitchen. I hear murmuring and smile when I realize Anthony is talking to
Angelica. She woofs back at him as I bound into the room.

“Let’s go. You must be starving.” He leads my hand to Angelica’s harness. “Oh

wow. I’m impressed that she let you put her harness on her. She’s usually not a happy
hound about having to wear it.”

I think it makes me look fat. Her comment dances around my head.
“I argue with her about it all the time. What good is it being a Seeing Eye dog if she

doesn’t do anything to help me see? A harness isn’t degrading or anything like that,
especially if she chooses to wear it.”

“Are you nervous about being seen with me?”
I shut up and frown, thinking quickly before saying, “No. I’m just nervous, period. It

doesn’t matter who I’m with, I have these weird anxiety attacks once in a while.
Suddenly, I don’t want to leave the house because people will stare at my scars and talk
behind my back.”

Angelica makes a rather disgusting noise and Anthony chuckles.
“Even without talking to her, I know what that was.” Anthony cradles my face in his

hands. “Don’t be silly. No one is talking about you or your scars. You’ve been seen
around town for a while now. I bet everyone’s used to what you look like.”

“I know. My worries are totally irrational, but I reserve the right to be neurotic once

in a while.”

Anthony takes my free hand and ushers me from the house. I let Angelica set the

pace, though we only walk a few steps before we stop and Anthony drops my hand.

“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get my mask.”
I cross my arms and eye him.
He’s standing a little to your right. Angelica gives me a hint of what direction he’s

really standing in, so I shift until I know we’re face-to-face.

“Seriously?”
“What?”
I can’t believe he’s not joking with me. “After you tell me no one is looking at my

scars, you’re going to put on a mask to hide yours? H-m-m … does seem a bit like the pot
and the kettle, my friend.”

“But your scars aren’t that bad and people have seen them before. Until last night,

most people never saw mine.”

“Well, if you’re going to wear your mask, I’ll go back and finish my panic attack.”

He stays silent, but something tells me he’s thinking about what I have to say.

“My scars are far more extensive than yours, Barry.”
“I don’t care.” I manage to stop short of stomping my foot. “If you don’t want to go

out, we can just order a pizza and stay in.”

The silence grows and his shoes scrape on the sidewalk while he stares at me. I’m

not backing down. If he won’t go to the restaurant with me unmasked, then we won’t be
going at all.

“All right. Fine. Let’s go.”
Anthony grips my elbow and tugs me a little, encouraging me to walk with him.

Angelica stays quiet on the whole issue. I know she likes Anthony, or else she’d have
said something when he asked me out, but she must have decided this isn’t a debate for
her. We meander down the street, not talking, but still absorbing each other’s company.

“Do we have reservations?”
“Yes, lots of them.”
I poke him in the side. “I meant for dinner, jackass.”
“Yes, I did.”
As we approach the restaurant, someone came rushing toward us. I stop and turn to

greet Rufus. “What do you want, Rufus?”

Skidding to a halt, Rufus shouts, “Where have you been?”
“What are you yelling about?”
“You didn’t call me this morning before you went to bed…” Rufus must have caught

a glimpse of Anthony because his words trail off.

Anthony moves to stand behind me and I frown. “I was a little busy last night, Rufus.

I’m an adult and I don’t need to check in with people.”

“But this was the first date you’ve gone on in the months you’ve lived here and none

of us knew what Anthony really looked like.” Rufus lays his hand on my arm. “Can I talk
to you?”

“Sure.” I gesture for him to continue.
“Privately,” he mumbles.
“Oh, for goodness’s sake, Rufus, talk to me. Anthony’s not stupid. He knows you’re

going to talk about him to me.”

“Fine.” Rufus takes a deep breath.

Chapter Five

I tap my foot, waiting for Rufus to find the courage to tell me about Anthony’s scars.
“I’ll head in and get us a table.” Anthony steps away from me and I grab his hand.
“No. We both know what Rufus is trying to say, but the poor guy just can’t dig the

words out.” I turn back to my friend. “I know about his scars and it doesn’t matter to me.
I’m blind and scarred, Rufus, not an idiot.”

“I know, but…”
“No buts.” I shake my head. “I convince the guy to go without his mask and now

you’re acting like he’s a monster. You and Squeaky need to have a talk.”

Turning, I grip Anthony’s arm. “Maybe we should have dinner at home. Suddenly, I

don’t feel like being in public.”

Anthony stiffens and doesn’t move. “I think we should go into the restaurant. You

were right. I can’t live behind a mask the rest of my life and Strange Hollow is the best
place for me to ‘come out’ as they say.”

“Barry,” Rufus says.
“I’ll call you in a day or two, Rufus, and we’ll discuss your overprotective issues.”
“Yes, sir.”
I listen to Rufus’ footsteps wandering off and I sigh.
“He’s a good friend,” Anthony mutters as we enter the restaurant.
“Yes. Rufus is a great guy and he cares about me. So I’m not really angry with him. I

just wish he could have done this a little differently.”

Anthony chuckles. “True.”
The low hum of the diners in the restaurant fades away as we wind through the tables

to ours. Anthony pulls my chair out and I feel along the top of it to make sure I know
where it’s at. I sit and Angelica lies down out of the way. She hates when people trip over
her. He pushes in my chair and I trail my hands over the table, learning where the napkin-
wrapped silverware and glasses were. I didn’t plan on eating, but I like to know where
everything is around me.

Instead of sitting across the table from me, Anthony sits next to me. I squeeze his

knee. “If at any time you feel uncomfortable, let me know. It won’t hurt my feelings if we
leave.”

“Thanks, but you’re right. I need to deal with my fears, and what better time to start

than while on a date with you.”

“You are quite charming when you want to be,” I tease.
“I have my moments.”
The light fragrance of pine drifts over my nose and I tilt my head. “I think the waiter

wants your order.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but if I could get your drink orders, I can bring those while

you look at the menu.”

I finger the edge of the menu and a thought hits me. “I might have to talk to Jacinda

about getting braille menus.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t see your dog.”
I’m not a dog. Angelica huffs and I nudge her with my foot.

“That’s all right, son. I’m not interested in drink or food, but my date here would like

to order.”

“Certainly.”
Anthony orders and the waiter moves off.
I lean back in my chair, letting my hand trail over Angelica’s head. “What do you do

for a living? Or are you rich?” The soft swish of skin over good linen marks Anthony’s
thoughts as he tries to decide what to tell me. I smile to myself. It doesn’t matter to me
whether he’s rich or dirt poor. I have more money than I’ll ever need, even if I did
manage to live forever. “It’s not that hard a question, dear.”

“I’m rich, or well-off, I guess you could say. When my parents banished me, they

settled a large sum of money on me to insure I never returned. It was hush money.”

A plate landed on the table with a clunk and the aromatic scents of oregano and

cinnamon fill my nose. The waiter asks if there is anything else he can get us and
Anthony declines.

“Do you miss them?”
“My parents?”
I nod.
“Yes, though I probably shouldn’t. They tossed me out like I was garbage because I

could no longer bring them more money or a higher status than they have now.”

I growl. “That’s wrong. Parents should love their children unconditionally.”
“What about yours? They have to be dead by now, but do you miss them?”
“Not really. I barely remember them. They died before I was turned, so their images

have faded in my memories.” I wiggle in my chair and Angelica thumps me with her
paw, reminding me to sit still. “I guess you could say I miss the concept of parents. Of
people who love me because you’re their son.”

“I think you’ve romanticized parents a little. Sure, most of them do love their

children, but with most people, their love comes with conditions.”

I tilt my head, wishing not for the last time that I could see his expression. “Are you

serious?”

“Every person I’ve ever been with has set conditions on my being a part of their

lives.” Anthony is silent for a moment before continuing. “I’m willing to admit that most
of the conditions are simple and I’m willing to meet them. Yet my parents seemed to
believe I owed them more than just my respect. I had to contribute to their prestige, and
once my face was destroyed, I had no value to them.”

I remain quiet through the rest of the dinner. His thoughts about every relationship

being based at some point on conditional love strikes me. As much as I would love to tell
him what he believes isn’t true, I can’t. We all put conditions on our love without
thinking about it. If I fall in love with Anthony, my condition on that love is simple; all I
ask is that he not break my heart. And I’m sure he would ask the same of me. In that one
tiny way, all love is conditional.

“Are you ready to head out, Barry?”
“What? Oh, yes, I am.” I stand, taking Angelica’s harness in one hand and laying the

other on Anthony’s arm. “Was your dinner good?”

“It was delicious, and even though my companion was rather quiet, I enjoyed his

company.”

“I’m sorry.” I cup his uninjured cheek and kiss him quickly. “How can I make it up

to you?”

His low chuckle skates down my spine and lands in my groin, stirring my cock in all

the ways I love.

“I think I could come up with something. How about we head back to your place?”

Anthony nuzzles my neck and my knees weaken.

“I’m not sure I can walk there by myself.”
I’ll take care of that. A harsh bark from Angelica brings about a blankness in my

head.

When I shake it out, I get the feeling we aren’t outside anymore. I pry my fingers

from Anthony’s arm and take a step, stumbling into the bed. Angelica isn’t with us
anymore.

“Are we in my bedroom?”
“Yes.”
Anthony’s hands land on my waist and turn me around, giving him a chance to

fumble at my belt buckle. I drop back on the mattress, trusting him not to let me land on
my head. He follows me down and strips my pants from me. I thread my fingers through
his hair and sigh as he pushes my knees up toward my chest. He licks a line from the base
of my cock down over the soft skin behind my sac to my hole.

“Oh my God,” I barely whisper as he plunges his tongue into me.
He breathes deep and proceeds to drive me over the edge with his tongue and mouth.

It doesn’t matter that he can’t suck my cock. The magic he creates with his tongue more
than makes me happy.

After I spill my load all over my stomach and shirt, he climbs off the bed and the

subtle thud of his clothes hitting my floor warns me. I roll over onto my stomach, pushing
up to hands and knees, offering him what I know he wants, and no denying the fact that I
want his prick in my ass as deep and hard as possible.

Anthony palms my butt, spreading my cheeks and positioning the head of his cock at

my opening. “Ready?”

Taking a breath, I nod and relax as he pushes his lube-covered prick in, slowly, but

without hesitation. He doesn’t stop until his pubes scrape my flesh. He barely waits for
me to signal that I’m okay before he starts driving into me. I scramble for purchase on my
blankets so he doesn’t end up slamming my head against the wall at the top of the
mattress.

With each advance in, he hammers my gland, leaving me gasping and begging for

more. His hands grip my hips tightly, and bruises will appear there tomorrow, yet I
encourage him to move faster and harder.

“Barry,” he grinds out as he heaves into me.
“Do it.” I squeeze my inner channel like a vise around him.
“Shit.”
He convulses, and moist heat saturates me as his climax rocks him. I keep braced,

hoping not to collapse, but if he slumps over me I might not have a choice. Anthony
manages to stay upright, but he doesn’t ease out of me until his tremors stop. We both
moan as he pulls out and flops onto his back at my side. I lower myself and reach out,
finding his sweat-slicked body. I rest my hand on his chest and let the calming of his
heartbeat soothe me.

“We should probably clean up,” Anthony murmurs.

I grunt, but shove myself upright and climb out. Anthony joins me at the foot of the

bed and guides me through the obstacle course our clothes created.

“Did you know Angelica could do that whole transporting thing?” he asks while

turning on the water.

Leaning against the sink, I shake my head. “No, but I’m sure she can do a lot of

things that I know nothing about. Angelica’s a hell hound, and while her power might be
limited here in our world, she’s still more powerful than what we imagine.”

“Makes sense. Can’t see the Devil keeping anything around him that wouldn’t be

able to take care of themselves.”

After stripping my shirt off, he takes my hand and helps me into the shower. We take

our time, soaping and learning each other’s hot spots. I’m ashamed to say it’s been a long
while since I’ve taken the time to discover a lover. Usually, I’m more interested in the
quick fuck than a protracted loving.

When the water threatens to run cold, we shut it off and wrap up in towels. I find

myself bundled in the blankets on my bed, snuggled close to Anthony.

Chapter Six

He caresses my eyelids and the sunken divots where my eyes used to be. “Do they

hurt?”

I squirm, not accustomed to being touched there. “Not anymore. It’s true what they

say, with time, all pain fades.”

Anthony grunts in understanding, though I think his pain is still very fresh in his

mind. But like vampires, wizards live a far longer time than humans. He has time to
realize that his scars are simply outside medals of his inner struggles. I believe that with
all my heart. “Do they bother you?” It’s strange for me to worry about what a lover
thinks.

“If they did, I would have left before we fucked the first time, Barry. Remember? I

turned on the lights and you were facing my groin with such an expression on your face. I
almost came right then and there.”

I screw up my face, thinking about what I might have looked like. “How did I look?”

I asked when my imagination wouldn’t allow me to be that creative.

“Like I’d just offered you the biggest piece of candy you’d ever seen.”
A bright grin spreads across my face. “You did offer me a very big lollipop to suck.”
Anthony groans. “God, you’re terrible.”
Unrepentant, I slip my hands down to his ass and squeeze. He grinds our hips

together and I moan.

“How did this happen?” His light tap at the corner of my eye tells me what he means.
“Why do you want to know?” I trail my finger down his crease, rubbing over his

puckered opening, and drawing a shaky breath from him. Sex interests me far more than
digging around my murky past.

He peels away from me, flopping on his back beside me. I shiver at the sudden chill

and snuggle close. His arm encircles my waist and he allows me to rest my head on his
shoulder, but he catches my hands before I can touch him anywhere naughty. I settle back
with a sigh of annoyance. “Do you really want to know what happened to me?”

“Yes.” Anthony places his finger on my lips to keep me from asking why again. “I’m

not interested in you just as a fuck buddy, Barry. I want to know what’s inside you. What
makes you tick and what makes you afraid.”

The smart-ass comment I am about to make never arrives at my tongue because he

brushes a soft kiss over my cheek and I fold like a cheap card table. God, why does he
have to be so sweet and shit?

“Fine.” I cuddle close to him, my arm flung over his stomach, and his body wraps

around me. “You have to let me tell it my way though. No pushing for details. The only
other person I ever told this story to is Jacinda when I applied to move here.”

He stays silent; his only movement aside from his breathing is his hand running up

and down my back. I organize my thoughts and find my way back to that terrible night.

“It had been two years since I was turned. I was foolish and impetuous, believing I

was invincible because I was a vampire. The one who created me stuck around only long
enough to teach me how to feed, then left me to my own devices.” I shake my head,
rubbing my chin across one of Anthony’s nipples. “I should have known there was more

to being a vampire than finding dinner and sucking them dry.”

“Did you ever kill any of the people you drank from?”
I told him not to interrupt me, but I realize this is probably an important point to him.

“Yes, I did when I was younger. I didn’t have a great deal of restraint back then. I’ve
learned over the centuries it’s easier to keep them alive. People tend to get nervous when
bodies start appearing that have been drained of blood.”

“Isn’t that the way the romance mystery books start? With a handsome, brooding

vampire and his equally gorgeous heroine?” he teases, and I chuckle.

“Of course those books end up with happily-ever-afters. In real life, they usually end

with the vampire staked through the heart and the heroine burned at the stake for being
involved with the devil.”

“True,” Anthony murmurs.
I fight back the need not to tell him any more, but I know it’s his right to know.

“Anyway, I was out hunting one night and got attacked by some villagers. They dug my
eyes out with silver spoons dipped in nightshade. I guess they thought the combination of
both would kill me.” I shudder at the faint memory of pain racking my body as I was left
to die.

“But it didn’t?”
“No. I managed to find an unsuspecting victim and drain her dry before the poison

took effect. The fresh blood washed it out of my system, so that was a plus, yet it did
nothing to help my eyes. Without the actual organs, my body couldn’t heal itself. There’s
no way I could grow new ones.”

Anthony’s body shakes and I realize he’s deeply upset about what happened to me. I

push up on my elbow and cup his scarred cheek. “Hush, honey. It’s all right. I don’t wake
up in a sweat any more, panicked that they’ll come back to finish me off.” I pause and tilt
my head, thinking. “Of course, I never wake up in a sweat, because vampires don’t sweat,
but you know what I mean.”

He laughs, which is what I wanted to achieve.
“How did you survive for so long? I can’t imagine being blind was easy during the

times you lived.”

“It wasn’t. I won’t go into details, but I had a few close calls.” I blank my mind, not

wanting to dwell on how close I came to dying. “Then Angelica came along and things
got far easier. She was able to bring me people to drink from and got me around until
modern conveniences appeared. My life is safer now with her, and living in Strange
Hollow helps.”

Anthony’s breath skates over my face as I lean forward to kiss him. I’m done

discussing what caused my blindness and the mess of problems it created for me. I want
Anthony buried deep inside me, showing me yet again he doesn’t see the glow-in-the-
dark scars or the fact that I truly look like a freak.

He flips me over and I’m on my back, legs spread to accommodate Anthony between

them. I gasp as his cock bumps my hole, and sigh as he slides in without resistance. I
cheer silently for being stretched from our last bout of lovemaking, so he only needs a
little amount of lube to help ease his way. I didn’t want him to waste time. I angle my
hips, and with his next thrust he nails my gland. “God, yes. Right there!” I shout.

With his hips moving like pistons, he strokes in and out of me, and I throw my hands

to the sides, gripping the sheets under me as my climax builds quickly. It sweeps over me

like fire, and cum explodes from my cock, coating my stomach with ropes of sticky
liquid.

“Shit, you’re hot off the mark, sweetheart.” Anthony pants, but doesn’t stop moving.
Now that my climax has been taken care of, I focus on him. Clenching my inner

channel, I massage his length as he rides me. I’ve memorized all the signs and know that
my lover is close to spilling his load as well. He just needs a little more encouragement. I
pry my fingers from the sheets and slip them around and over his ass, insinuating them
between his cheeks to press against his own puckered hole. He mutters something, but
my head is full of the echo of his heartbeat. I breach his opening with two fingers and he
comes, flooding me with his hot fluid.

“Fuck!” he shouts, and jerks.
The thundering pulse of his heart rings in my ears and I nuzzle his neck. Anthony

lets it fall to the side, giving me more access to the throbbing vein. I lick it and fight the
need to bury my teeth in his flesh and drink.

“Go ahead, Barry.” He caresses my cheek. “I’m fine with it.”
I’m not sure why, but I have never fed from lovers. It might be some strange quirk of

mine. Yet it might also be that none of them have called to me like Anthony does. I
scrape a fang over his skin and he shivers.

Sinking my fangs into his jugular, I tremble as the coppery blood swamps my taste

buds. I suck his life-giving fluid in, almost feeling my cells absorb all the nutritious
properties in the liquid. I finish with one last suck and swipe my tongue over the puncture
wounds, sealing them.

Anthony rolls to the side, taking me with him as we wrestle the covers up over us. I

stroke his stomach.

“Why don’t you sleep? I can wake you when I come to bed,” I suggest.
“Sounds like a good idea.” His words slur as he drifts off to sleep.
I kiss his forehead before climbing out of bed. I dress and escape my bedroom

without tripping over anything.

I’m in the study. A soft brush against my mind lets me know where Angelica is. A

knock at my door detours me toward the front door. Before I open it, Angelica appears at
my side, leaning against my leg. Opening the door, I smell Rufus, and huff. “You
couldn’t even wait until I called you, could you?”

“What?” Rufus’ confusion comes through in his question.
“You’re so eager to tell me all about Anthony’s scars and appearance that you had to

rush right over here. I’m telling you now, I don’t want to discuss it. Anthony is beautiful
the way he is. I don’t need to see to know that.”

Rufus clears his throat. “I didn’t actually come over here to tell you anything about

Anthony. It’s none of my business whether you know what he looks like or not. I need to
talk to you about something else.”

It figures that Rufus has already moved on to another crisis. My best friend has a

short attention span and is easily distracted. I push the door open wider and gesture for
him to come in.

“Well, I’m always willing to listen to your problems. Grab a beer from the fridge and

come into the study. I have to check my stocks, plus I don’t want to bother Anthony
while he’s sleeping.”

“Oh, he stayed over after your date?” Rufus hesitates. “I can come back when you

have more time, Barry. I don’t want to interrupt you.”

“Don’t be silly, Rufus. As I said, Anthony is sleeping, and you two will have to learn

how to deal with each other.”

“That serious, huh?”
Rufus’ footsteps follow me down the hall, then veer to the kitchen while I continue

on to the study. I wait until he rejoins me. “It might seem really sudden, but I like
Anthony.” I stop and reassess how I feel. “I could easily fall in love with him, Rufus.”

He touches my hand as I stroll past him to my seat behind my desk. “I’m happy for

you, Barry. Really, I am. It might take a while, but everyone will get used to his face and
come to accept him like they do everyone here.”

“Thank you.” I sit, fold my hands and rest them on the desk. “So what can I help you

with?”

The chair squeaks as Rufus wiggles and I imagine what he might look like. An

ungainly puppy, yet the emotions I’m receiving from him makes me think his wolf ears
would be lying flat against his head in unhappiness. “What’s wrong, Rufus?”

“Who said anything’s wrong?”
“The fact that you guzzled that beer down without taking a breath and you can’t

seem to sit still.”

“Shit. I forgot how perceptive you are, even without being able to see.” Rufus’

empty bottle hits the floor with a clink. “I got an email from one of the guys from my
pack tonight.”

“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I know. It’s crazy. You remember why I’m here in Strange Hollow, right?”
I nod, remembering the night Rufus confessed his reason for being in Strange

Hollow. Unfortunately, after the traumatic experience of his first shifting, Rufus has
never shifted again, afraid something else besides his ears will stay in his wolf form when
he switches back. I try to get him to change every once in a full moon. Maybe his ears
would go back to normal after a second shift.

“Can’t really blend in with wolf ears,” he mutters.
“What does this pack member want?”
“He wants to come to Strange Hollow for a visit. Actually, he said that he ran into

some trouble with the pack and he needs a place to hide out for a while.” Rufus jumps to
his feet and paces.

I trace his steps as he circles the room. “You’d have to ask Jacinda for permission

before he’d be allowed to come, especially if he’s spending any amount of time here.”

“I know.”
I visualize Rufus running his fingers through his hair, his frustration evident in his

voice.

“Were you close to this guy when you were in the pack?”
Rufus rarely speaks about his days running with his pack. For a wolf, being without a

pack is almost tantamount to being without a soul. I’ve tried to give him a pack made up
of friendship, not blood lines. At times it works, but other times, when he remembers
what he lost, he becomes melancholy.

He chuckles. “I had a huge crush on him. He’s ten years older than me and was

living on his own when I got kicked out. Some of the members of my old pack were
allowed to go out into the human world and make money for the pack.”

“He’s run afoul of the pack, huh? Makes you wonder what he did,” I muse.
“God only knows. Pack dynamics are so touchy, it could have been something really

small and he’d be hunted down for it. I’m lucky they just kicked me out. They didn’t try
to kill me.”

“I’ve always wondered. What did they think would happen to you by kicking you

out? I would think that your ears would have given your secret away. Your pack seems
determined to stay under the radar, sort of.”

Rufus stops and I get a picture of him staring down at the floor, a sad smile on his

face. Angelica stalks into the room and sits next to me. Rufus’ pack is a bunch of idiots.

“Well, they really wanted to kill me, but my mother convinced them that banishing

me from the pack was death enough for me. Humans would find me and kill me
themselves. That way no one would bloody their hands with the misfit. Also, she had the
ear of the Alpha and he went along with it.”

I snort. “That was good luck for you. And now, here you are in Strange Hollow … a

town that doesn’t care your ears are a little odd.”

“True.” He returns to his chair and drops gracelessly into it. “What should I do?”
Leaning back, I fiddle with a pencil. “It’s up to you. Are you willing to open yourself

and your home up to a man from a pack that hates you? How do you know it’s not a trick
and someone has decided to take care of you permanently?”

“That’s just it. I don’t, but I can’t live in fear, right? I mean, I should be able to

believe that here of all places, I’m safe.”

“My advice: Talk to Jacinda and see what she has to say. Once that’s been done, you

make up your mind one way or the other. Just if his problems are as dire as he makes
them out to be, you shouldn’t take too much time in thinking about it.”

“I won’t.” He bounces to his feet and rushes around to hug me. “Thanks, Barry. I

knew you could help me out. It’s almost sunrise. You should be heading to bed. Tell
Anthony I said hi, and that I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier.”

“I will. I’ll talk to you later, Rufus. See yourself out.”
As the sun slowly creeps toward the horizon to rise above and bathe the world in

golden light, my body grows heavy and my energy disappears. After staggering to the
bedroom and stripping, I crawl under the covers. Anthony’s response to my presence is
opening his arms and embracing me.

“Sleep well, love,” I whisper before brushing a kiss over his mouth.
Whether he wakes up enough to reply, I don’t know, since I’ve succumbed to deep

slumber.

Chapter Seven

Anthony greets me when I awaken. He has jazz playing softly on the radio and he’s

turned me so I’m lying on his chest. I sigh and smile.

“Good evening.”
“Good evening, Barry. I thought this would be a great way to wake up.”
“It’s a perfect way to come back to the world.”
I dance my fingers over the scars on Anthony’s face. He doesn’t flinch, though he

tenses slightly. Sighing, I rest my forehead on his chin. He has gotten better throughout
our short time together about me touching him, but I believe he still doesn’t trust that I’m
not repulsed by the ruins of his visage.

“Is my blindness the only reason you asked me out?”
“What?”
He pushes me away from him and I assume he’s staring at me. I keep my head up,

even though I’m not sure if I was looking him in the eye or not.

Now, I am quite willing to admit to being insecure. I mean, hell, I might be four

hundred years old, but I do have all the foibles of most humans. I want to be lusted after
in my own right, not because of my handicap. Being blind causes me to be even more
unsure of myself when it comes to relationships.

It’s hard to find a person who would overlook all the challenges the loss of my

eyesight poses. Anyone wanting to be my lover has to learn how to pick up after himself.
Nothing more desire-reducing than having to cart your lover to the hospital because he
broke an arm after tripping over a pair of shoes left in the middle of the room.

Probably my being a vampire is less of a hindrance than my physical limitations. Oh,

and my scars. Not easy to look at a man with lines around his eyes that glow in the dark. I
jump as his hands slide up to cup my cheeks.

“No.” He hesitates and I know he’s rethinking what he said. “I used to watch you

through my windows as you went about your life here. You wouldn’t let your blindness
keep you hostage in your house. You have friends and Angelica.” He chuckles. “Not
being able to see doesn’t matter to you.”

“Don’t think I’m perfect, Anthony. I’ve had centuries to get used to my handicap. It

took me years to figure out how to deal with it.” I nuzzle the palm of his hand. “Plus,
before I moved to Strange Hollow, I was on my way to being a recluse. In Manhattan, I
hardly ever saw anyone except for Angelica.” Anthony snickers and I grin. “You know
what I mean. I didn’t date. I hired men to come and service me in my penthouse.”

“You used escorts?”
I shrug. “Yes. What else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t go to clubs to find hook-

ups or anything like that. Angelica doesn’t like the music they play in the dance clubs.
Trust me, an unhappy hell hound is not a pretty sight.”

“I loved living in the city. So much life and things happening every minute of the

day.” Wistfulness colors his voice. “But once my ex messed up my face, I found that
people stared at me too much. I couldn’t take it and there wasn’t any support from my
family either.”

“There are advantages to being blind. I can’t see if anyone stares at me and I’ve

gotten to the point in my life where I don’t care if they do. It’s their problem and hang-up
if they can’t deal with me.”

His chest moves up and down as he sighs. “I know that, but you haven’t had children

scream when you walk down the street.”

“That’s because there aren’t many children out in the middle of the night.” I squeak

when he pinches me. “Stop it.”

Next thing I know, we’re rolling around on the bed, wrestling and tickling each

other. I giggle so hard I can barely breathe. Finally, he pins me and I cry uncle. It’s not
that I can’t push him off me, but I don’t want to. I like the feel of his body pressing me
into the mattress. The past two nights had been the most I ever spent with one lover in my
lifetime. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a “love ’em and leave ’em” kind of guy. It’s just
hard to find a guy who wants to stick around when I can’t see and have to sleep during
the day.

His warm breath bathes my face in heat and I jerk as he traces my scars with his

tongue. I shove and he rolls onto his back. I follow, touching just the corner of his mouth
where his wounds start. “Please tell me what happened.”

He exhales loudly and I can tell he’s frowning. “It’s the usual fairy tale. Handsome

prince scorns unhinged lover. Said lover gets revenge in the one way guaranteed to ruin
the prince’s life.”

“Thanks for the Cliff Notes version. Maybe we should try it again. Only this time

let’s make it the unabridged copy, please.”

Anthony’s not happy, I know by the tightness of his grip on my waist, but I don’t

care. If I must spill my darkest secrets, so must he. Especially if we’re going anywhere
beyond fucking.

“Fine,” he huffs out. “I was young and very arrogant. I might not have magic, but I

was beautiful. My parents doted on me. My looks alone could net them a very well-
heeled daughter-in-law from a high ranking family.”

“But you don’t like girls,” I point out.
He laughs. “That doesn’t matter because wizard marriages are arranged. Very few of

us ever marry for love. I’m not sure if wizards even know what love is.”

I open my mouth to describe how he should feel if he is in love, but close it when I

realize he might see it as being pushy. Anthony ignores me and I let him.

“I could do no wrong in my parents’ eyes, but unfortunately they never taught me

not to be careless with others’ feelings.”

He rolls away from me and I hear the barely audible sound of his feet hitting my

floor. The mattress moves, alerting me to the fact that Anthony stood. His footsteps travel
from one side of my room to the other.

“I was never deliberately cruel. Just young and silly. I met an alchemist and we

started fucking. I knew his feelings were running deeper than mine, yet he was so sexy
and uninhibited in bed that I allowed myself to overlook his instability.”

Did I really want to hear about how awesome his lover was in bed? I admit, I don’t,

but interrupting him might stop his story and I want to hear the rest of it. “Alchemist? He
really believes he can turn lead into gold?” My disbelief stains my words.

“You accept wizards, witches, werewolves and vampires, but you have a hard time

believing that anyone can change lead into gold.” He chuckles. “You need to be a little
more open-minded, Barry.”

I flip him the finger before gesturing for him to continue. “Pray tell me more about

your misspent youth.”

“We’d been hot and heavy for a couple of weeks, but I got bored with him. All we

really had in common was the sex. All he wanted to talk about was his alchemy, and I
didn’t understand most of what he was talking about. So I broke it off with him via a
phone call.”

“Please, tell me you called and talked to him in person.”
“No. I left a message on his voice mail.”
I groan and cover my face with my hands. “Anthony, that’s the worst thing to do.

No, wait … the worst thing would be to do it via email. But still … it’s a very impersonal
way to break up with a boyfriend.”

He sits on the bed next to me. “I know that. You see, I don’t like confrontation and I

hate people being mad at me. So it was easy to take the coward’s way out and call. Then
two days later, he calls me up and asks me to stop by his apartment. He said I left
something there and he wanted me to pick it up.”

“Did you really leave anything there?”
“Not that I remembered, but I could have. So I went and he greeted me at the door

with a pot of acid. I don’t know if he hoped to kill me or just maim me to the point where
I’d kill myself.”

I entwine our fingers and he squeezes them.
“There were times when I wanted to die. Especially once I realized the extent of my

injuries and the fact that nothing, not even magic, could fix the damage. Now I had no
value whatsoever to my family and they paid me to go away. I took their money and hid
out, planning on living the rest of my life as a hermit.”

Lifting our hands, I place kisses along his knuckles. “I’m glad you didn’t. It would

have made meeting you very difficult.”

Anthony cradles the back of my head with his free hand, and tips it, getting my lips

at just the right angle. We kiss, slow and gentle, dueling tongues and nibbling teeth. He
breaks away from me. “If you want to hear the rest of my story, we have to stop now.”

“Okay. So hurry up and finish.”
“I don’t know when I saw the first internet ad for Strange Hollow, but it must have

made an impression. When I was ready to leave the city I lived in, I remembered it and
applied. Jacinda accepted my application and I moved here. By then, I’d also decided I
would do something more productive with my life than sit around and pout about my lost
looks.”

“What do you do?”
“I counsel burn victims. Whether their injuries were caused on purpose or by

accident, most of them go through the same emotions I did, so I figured I might as well
use my experience for something good.”

I grab him and kiss him again, trying to show him just how much I adore him. At

some point, I straddle his lap and undulate against him.

With a disgusted snort, Angelica climbs to her feet and stalks out of the room, but

I’m too caught up in coercing a climax out of Anthony that I pay no real attention to her.
His hands slid from my head to my backside, slipping his fingers between my cheeks to
graze over my hole. I moan and his lips form a half-smile.

Easing away, I move to the center of the bed. “Why don’t you get the lube? There

should be some in the drawer next to the bed.”

I pump my own cock while I listen to the rasp of the drawer opening and the

shuffling of items as Anthony searches for the tube. A triumphant grunt hits my ears a
minute before Anthony returns to my side. I spread my legs, drawing my knees up to my
chest, offering myself to him.

The squish of the lube coming out gives me time to brace myself for the shock of

cold slick helping Anthony introduce his fingers to my ass again. It doesn’t take long for
me to be ready for something thicker than Anthony’s fingers.

“Now, Anthony, please.” He removes his fingers and applies the head of his cock to

me. I bow off the blankets as he rams his full length into my passage. “Holy shit!”

Anthony freezes and leans over me. His hot breath washes over my face. “I wish you

could see me,” he admits quietly.

“Why?” I frown, unsure where he’s going with this topic.
“That way you’d know I’m telling you the truth.” He balances on one hand and

outlines the scars around my eyes.

“The truth about what?”
“That I love you despite your blindness and glow-in-the-dark scars. That the reason I

wanted to go out with you in the first place wasn’t because of your blindness, but because
of how impressed I am with how you live your life.” Anthony places a kiss on my lips.
“It might be too early or too fast but I don’t care. I’m falling in love with you. For no
other reason than because you are you.”

“Oh, thank God,” I whisper before pulling him back down for a much longer kiss.

When we both broke apart to fill our burning lungs, I grinned. “I feel the same way with
you. Well, not the whole blindness thing since you aren’t blind. But, even despite the fact
that you still have issues about going out where people can see you, you’ve created a new
life for yourself.”

Our bodies lurch together, each stroke into me driving gasps of pleasure from me

while he assaults my senses with every movement of his body. In unison, we careen over
the edge of our climaxes. He fills me and I shoot between our bodies, coating our
stomachs and chests.

Anthony wilts on top of me and I embrace him, holding him tight as his breathing

evens out and he drifts asleep. I run my fingers through his wet hair and hum. Angelica
nudges my elbow with her nose. I reach out to scratch her ear. “Don’t worry, darling. I
need you.”

You two would be helpless without me around keeping an eye on you.
Her answer draws a laugh from me. “Yes, we both are quite helpless without you

herding us. Are you ready to add another person to our lives?”

Yes.
Her affirmative woof eases me, because her opinion does matter to me, no matter

how crazy she drives me at times. Angelica climbs up and settles at the foot of the bed.
Her warmth, along with Anthony’s solid weight, comforts me. Lying there, I bask in the
fact that I am loved.

The End

About the Author:

T.A. Chase lives a life without boundaries. Being fascinated by life and how

different we all are, he writes about the things that make us unique. He finds beauty in all
kinds of love and enjoys sharing those insights. He lives in the Midwest with his partner
of nine years. When he isn’t writing, he’s watching movies, reading and living life to the
fullest.

Meet Lsb Authors At The House Of Sin

Lsbooks.Net

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LSbooks.com

for other exciting erotic romances.

2007: Terran Realm

Urban fantasy world: TerranRealm.com

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