Ravyn's Warriors 2

Ravyn's Heart

Allasandro, also known as Ally-cat, is a demon warrior with a

sense of humor. He’s a legend among his Ravyn warrior brothers

and the Demon Prince they guard for his expert pursuit of both

male and female admirers. An admitted commitment-phobe, the

last thing he wants in life is a "forever" kind of relationship.

The vampire Damian has long since given up on finding true love.

Then he meets the cocky Ravyn warrior who ignites his passions

like nothing else. He shouldn’t want Allasandro, but he can’t seem

to help himself. After living the past decade alone, he’s ready for

forever, and the only one who will satisfy him is the one man he

shouldn’t desire.

Ally has agreed to look for a boy toy for the vampire on behalf of

Damian’s son, Dageus. But the powerful, brooding man that he’s

agreed to set up is everything he’s ever wanted in a mate. Damian

is breaking his limits faster than he can erect them, and duty and

propriety are interfering ever more heavily in their affair. Can Ally

commit to the relationship, or is their taboo romance just too

much for the warrior to handle?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Fantasy
Length: 50,650 words

RAVYN’S HEART

Ravyn Warriors 2

Jana Downs

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

RAVYN’S HEART
Copyright © 2011 by Jana Downs
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-967-9

First E-book Publication: October 2011

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Ravyn’s Heart by Jana Downs
from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also,
thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
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This is Jana Downs’ livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect
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DEDICATION

To K, because Ally is your favorite.

RAVYN’S HEART

Ravyn Warriors 2

JANA DOWNS

Chapter One

“Do I look okay?” Dageus asked, his hands once again smoothing

the nonexistent wrinkles on the new Hermes shirt that his boyfriend
Alex had picked out. They’d been doing that a lot lately, picking out
each other’s clothes. It was nauseatingly domestic. Dageus’s green-
and-gold eyes were filled to the brim with anxiety.

“For the three-millionth time, you look fine,” Allasandro

reassured through clenched teeth. He loved his brother. He really did.
But right now the male was straight up annoying the hell out of him.
This damn plane they were waiting on was never going to land.
“Besides, this Damian is your adopted father right? He’s not going to
care what you look like. For real.” He was secretly proud of himself
for displaying his use of Earth lingo. It had taken him a few weeks to
really have it down, but now that he did, he thought he sounded like a
native.

Dageus fidgeted. “We didn’t exactly part on the best terms.”

Possibly because the warrior, then dancer, had snuck out to meet the
lover he’d been forbidden to associate with and had subsequently
been kidnapped by a demon slave trader and whisked off to the
parallel universe of Demontia. All that went unsaid. Neither brother
wanted the reminder of that happy little event.

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Of course if it hadn’t been for that, Allasandro would’ve never

met Dageus, or Kal, as most of the Earth people called him. He
couldn’t say he was sorry over the fact when he looked at it that way.
Dageus was his best friend. The one that kept him straight because,
gods knew, Allasandro needed it. On the best of days, he was a loose
cannon. On the worst, he was downright irresponsible. The entire
squad of Ravyn warriors knew it. It was his personality. Always had
been. He was Trouble with a capital T.

Gods only knew why Salvatore, the Demon Prince they guarded,

put up with his crazy ass. He could only imagine that it was because
he made the stuffy warriors laugh every once in a while. He was
always up for a good time. He smiled at the thought. Yeah, he loved
getting his brothers all riled up. It wasn’t that he wasn’t loyal. Far
from it. He would gladly die for anyone of them if necessary, and he
was a great warrior. He just got…distracted. Easily.

Dageus punched him in the arm. “Ouch. Mothertrucker. That

hurt.” Allasandro winced and rubbed the place on his bicep that had
just been assaulted. “What was that for?”

“We’ve got to move closer to the gate. The plane has arrived!”

Dageus said excitedly. He looked like he was a puppy being let out of
his pen. His jittery motions were very puppylike. He pointed up to the
black screen which listed the incoming flights in white. Plane 227
from New York had just touched down and they had two minutes to
get to the exit gate.

“Tell me why your boyfriend didn’t come instead of me?”

Allasandro asked as he trailed behind Dageus’s bouncing body. He
had to admit his friend had toned up to the next level of fitness
dancing with La Petite Morte, Alex’s entertainment company in
Haven, Minnesota. He could bounce a quarter off that tight ass. He
rolled his eyes at the thought. That was his best friend’s rear he was
staring at. Besides, if Dageus’s vampire soon-to-be husband saw him
doing it, he’d be picking his teeth off the ground. Alex may have not
been a warrior, but the vampire made up for it in sheer physical

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strength. He’d proven that by vanquishing a Dove, one of the Ravyns’
sworn enemies, a couple months ago.

“Alex thought it would be good if Damian and I had a little time

alone together before he’s forced to confront the fact that Alex and I
are wedded,” Dageus supplied distractedly, scouring the crowds of
people coming out of the gate with his eyes.

“Well, technically there hasn’t been the actual wedding yet,”

Allasandro reminded. He tapped his foot in impatience. He really
wanted to hurry this gravy train along. He’d much rather be guarding
Salvatore than babysitting his nervous brother.

“Not by demon or human standards. But by vampire standards

we’re wed. I’ve accepted my place as his Bride and done the blood
exchanges. So in Damian’s eyes, we’re wed.” Dageus let out a groan
of frustration. “Where is he? Surely he hasn’t changed that much that
I don’t recognize him…”

Allasandro rolled his eyes. “He’s an immortal vampire. He can’t

change. He’s sort of frozen in time or whatever. You need to chill out,
man. You’re a nervous wreck. And you still didn’t answer my
question. Why did you pick me to come with you?”

Dageus turned his green eyes to meet Allasandro’s red-rimmed

golden ones. “Because you’re my best friend and I need you.”

Allasandro swallowed and nodded, looking away. Yikes. Way to

make the moment into something Hallmark, bro. Dageus frowned.
“And what is with you picking up the earth slang lately?” Whatever
reply Allasandro was formulating went out the window when Dageus
decided to start screaming in the middle of the airport. “Damian!”
Dageus’s excited voice echoed through the hollow expanse of the
airport, causing peoples’ heads to turn in their direction.

Allasandro grabbed his arm. “Not necessary, Dageus. Good god.”

Dageus tugged them both through the crowd toward his father.

This guy must walk on water or something. Dageus was as excited

as a kid meeting Santa Claus. What was so special about this dude

Ravyn’s Heart

anyway? All the vampires of the house talked like he was something
special, even Santiago, who was the oldest one in the line.

“Come on Ally-cat. I don’t want him to miss us.” Dageus dragged

him through a line of Japanese tourists and out into a clearing.

Allasandro scuffed his Nike-clad feet on the shined concrete floor.

He was so annoyed with this whole thing. He wanted to go get ready
to go to the club. Daylight was the most popular club in Haven, and it
was one that belonged to Alex, so it was well defended against would-
be assassins. It was Salvatore’s favorite place to hang, so they spent a
good amount of time there. Ally loved it because he got to relax and
have fun without having to worry about his Prince. Besides, the
plethora of male and female attention in the place made it a wet dream
for a stud like Ally.

He was still staring at his feet when Dageus stopped, and he

nearly plowed into him. He only had an inch or two on Dageus’s five-
eleven frame.

“Dammit,” he cursed. Dageus looked back at him in exasperation.
“I see you have quite the clumsy friend, Kalel,” a British-accented

voice said. Irritation flickered through Allasandro. Yeah. He wasn’t
graceful. So what? He’d never been graceful. He opened his mouth to
tell whoever it was to quiet the fuck down and looked up. And
up…and up. His eyes bulged out of his skull as he saw the giant.

The man standing beside Dageus dwarfed the both of them. He

had to stand at least six and a half feet tall with broad shoulders, a
tapered waist, and the longest legs Ally had ever seen. The suit he had
on did nothing but contribute to the overwhelming picture he
presented. He looked like a mob boss or something. Ally’s eyes
finally climbed the impossible height to the guy’s face and was
equally stunned by what he found there. A mirror of Alex’s smooth
milky complexion provided a backdrop for the darkest colored eyes
that Ally had ever seen. They were so dark that they were almost
black but…the light caught them and reflected just a hint of blue. It

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was an amazing color. A strong jaw and plush lips balanced the exotic
eyes and black hair to complete the picture.

Ally whistled. “Dammmmnnn…I thought you and Alex were

brothers.” He looked nothing like Alex. Where Damian was dark-
haired and dark-eyed, Alex was angelically light with blond hair and
light eyes.

Dageus chuckled. “Father, I’d like for you to meet my fellow

Ravyn, Allasandro. He accompanied me here to pick you up.”

A pitch-black eyebrow rose, and a smirk lit up the vampire’s face,

revealing just a hint of his fangs. “Charmed. I’m sure.”

Ally’s erection throbbed. Holy shit. He was hard. Allasandro

blinked. Arousal hadn’t happened often when it came to males, and it
was happening a whole hell of a lot in this guy’s presence. Shit.

“You may call me Damian, Allasandro.” The big guy extended his

hand for a shake, and his eyes flickered down Ally to his cock. A
smile tugged on those kissable lips.

Ally gave himself a mental shake and took the guy’s hand in a

firm male to male clasp. No way was he letting the other guy see how
much his presence was affecting him. Except…well, the massive
erection tenting his pants was kind of already doing that, wasn’t it?
Shit.

Dageus cast him a curious look but luckily didn’t look down.

“Uh…” He watched as Damian’s hand lingered over Ally’s hand,
caressing the pulse point on his wrist. Allasandro jerked his hand
back.

“We should get going.” Allasandro abruptly turned around and

headed toward the baggage claim area.

“It’s…good to see you, Damian,” Dageus said as they made their

way to the parking deck where they’d parked the car. He seemed
nervous to Allasandro. He flicked a glance in Dageus’s direction and
saw that he was painfully tense.

Ravyn’s Heart

Damian’s hand reached out and patted his shoulder gently. “We’ll

talk later, son.” That voice. It was softer now. The voice that must’ve
reassured him when he’d had nightmares as a child. “Relax.”

Dageus gave the vampire a smile, and Allasandro found himself

intrigued. It wasn’t every day he got to meet a guy that was one part
mob boss and one part sweet-talking daddy. Ally had a feeling that
Haven had just got interesting.

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Chapter Two

Ally wrapped his hand around his cock and jerked. Oh yeah. That

felt good. He pressed the washcloth to his mouth to muffle the noises
of need coming out of his mouth. He was always a noisy lover. He bit
into cloth which was wet from the barrage of water from the shower
head. He teased himself momentarily, running the hand that was
pleasuring his cock down to his tight sack beneath. He rolled them in
his palms, testing and teasing the weight.

Unbidden, an image ghosted up through his mind. Dageus’s

father, Damian. The way he had looked at the airport. That mob guy
attire. That fucking sexy smirk. He groaned and gnawed harder on the
green washcloth. His hand returned to the head of his cock and rubbed
in a circular motion. A fantasy slammed into his brain as his hips
jerked into the movement.

* * * *

Damian was sitting behind a huge oak desk, his fingertips resting

against one another like he was praying. A sinister smile turned his
lips up at the corners and his fangs glinted in the silvery light of the
moon. He was wearing his gangster uniform again. Pinstriped this
time. Allasandro was cuffed on his knees, naked with a silk gag in his
mouth. He was screaming obscenities in the mobster’s direction, but
he knew it wouldn’t help his case.

“What are we going to do with you, you naughty boy?” His pert

British accent was like a physical caress against Ally’s psyche.
Damian reached into his inside jacket pocket and produced a pack of

Ravyn’s Heart

cigarettes and a Zippo lighter. He extracted a cancer stick and put it
to his lips while his other hand snapped open the lighter, momentarily
illuminating his face. He looked like an angel. Or the devil, depending
on what side of the desk he was on. Damian inhaled the clove-
smelling smoke and blew it out in a slow, controlled fashion. He
snapped his fingers.

Men whose faces were cloaked in shadows dragged him to the

other side of the desk and deposited him at Damian’s feet. One
reached around and pulled the gag out, nearly losing his fingers as
Ally snapped at his hand. Damian seized his chin and tsked.

“Now, now, none of that,” he chastised. He leaned in close, and

Ally growled. His scent was so damn intoxicating. “What should your
punishment be, eh, naughty boy? You stole from me. Now you have to
pay the piper.”

The click of a gun being cocked made Allasandro bite back

whatever smart-ass retort he was working on. He shuddered as he felt
the familiar metallic hardness against his head. One of the men who’d
taken out his gag was obviously going to shoot his stupid ass. But for
some reason he wasn’t really worried. Staring into Damian’s face
made his cock stand up and take attention, even with the gun at his
head.

“You’re going to pay me back every cent you stole from me.”

Damian’s voice was low, his tone a guttural rumble. Allasandro’s
heart stuttered. There was no way he could pay all that back.

“How am I supposed to do that, man? I don’t even have any of the

currency they use in this realm!” Ally protested. He was definitely
getting shot.

The vampire fished out his own hard cock and bared it to Ally’s

gaze. Ally’s mouth watered. Damian’s knowing gaze was lust-filled as
he spoke. “You’re going to be my personal love slave until I feel like
you’re paid up.” His big hand stroked up and down the turgid length.
Ally watched, fascinated. He’d never seen another guy jerk his cock
before. He leaned forward, away from the gun and closer to the

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object of his fascination. He inhaled sharply. He wanted to scent what
Damian smelled like. His nose wasn’t nearly as good as Dageus’s. He
was a demon after all.

“Don’t move, naughty boy,” Damian commanded now that Ally

was a hairsbreadth away from touching. He groaned as he watched
the vampire pleasure himself. His heart skipped a beat as the flurry of
movement increased to a nearly impossible-to-follow speed. “Tell me
you like it,” Damian bit out. The gun put pressure on Ally’s skull, but
he didn’t need the encouragement.

“I like it. Gods, I like it.” He moaned as Damian’s cock twitched.

Without warning, the sticky liquid that Allasandro was intimately
familiar with shot from the purpled tip of Damian’s arousal and
splashed Ally’s lips and face. He blinked as the spunk warmed his
face. Tentatively, he reached his tongue out and licked some off his
lips. In the fantasy, he all but purred at the flavor, but he didn’t really
know what the taste would be. Damian cupped his cheek and stared
into his eyes. Those blue-black orbs seemed to see to his soul.

“You’re mine now,” the vampire stated, running a finger down

the sticky mess on the opposite cheek.

Ally closed his eyes demurely. “Yes.”

* * * *

Back in reality, Allasandro shuddered through an orgasm so

intense that his balls ached from drawing up so hard. The washcloth
dropped out of his mouth as his spunk shot in long pearly ropes onto
the floor of the shower.

“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God!” The loud litany echoed off

the bare walls of Salvatore’s bathroom. He leaned helplessly against
the shower stall, breathing heavily. “Shit,” he whispered. The best
orgasm of his life had just occurred by fantasizing about his best
friend’s father. He was such a freak. The loud banging on the
bathroom door took him away from his self-chastisement.

Ravyn’s Heart

“Stop masturbating in my bathroom, you pervert!” His prince’s

amused voice punctuated the loud knocks. “I told you to take a
shower, not drown your cock in my bathtub.”

“Yes, my prince!” Allasandro called back, shutting off the water.

He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his hips. He was never
thinking of that vampire again. Never. Never. Never.

He quickly put on the fresh clothes he’d brought for his shift.

He’d gotten back from his little trip with Dageus late last night or
early this morning, depending on how he looked at it. Of course he
would’ve been here earlier had he not left directly from dropping
Damian and Dageus off at Damian’s penthouse apartment to go to the
club since it was his one night off. He’d arrived back at Alex’s
luxurious home just in time for his shift to start with Druas this
morning. Alex’s house hosted not only the majority of the Entertainer
line of vampires, with the exception of Damian, but a plethora of
Jaguar shifters, some other vampires who were guests in Entertainer
territory, and now the Ravyns, since Alex and Dageus’s joining.
Salvatore had told him to shower when he’d gotten there. He hadn’t
planned on getting busy with himself, but his mind had constantly
returned to Damian. Not even the sweet honeys at the club had eased
the ache that vampire had created. Which was ridiculous because he
was off-limits.

“I think Dageus’s gay thing is rubbing off on me,” he admitted as

he sat down to his lord’s game table to play chess.

“Gay thing? Rubbing off?” Salvatore’s red irises were practically

dancing with amusement. He moved his knight and put his hands
back in his lap. Druas stood by the door, pretending not to hear what
Allasandro had said. There were no secrets between the Ravyns since
it enabled the channel in which they shared energies to stay unblocked
so that they could share power, but it was nice that Dru was trying to
be polite.

“Yeah. I just had the most homoerotic fantasy I’ve ever had.” He

moved his castle. It was his favorite piece. Allasandro patterned his

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life the same way the piece moved. Backward. Forward. Sideways.
Always in a straight line. He was a straightforward sort of guy. It was
something the Demon Prince respected about him.

“Fantasies don’t mean anything, Allasandro. They’re just tools to

increase pleasure.” Allasandro frowned at Salvatore’s words and
directed his concentration on the Prince’s hand as it moved another
pawn in direct line of one of his piece’s attack range. Allasandro
knew there was a trap there somewhere. He just didn’t know where it
was.

“But don’t fantasies mean that you want something? I mean, like a

subconscious yearning or something?” He avoided Salvatore’s trap
but stumbled into another by moving an adjacent piece. Salvatore
took his queen.

“Check,” Salvatore murmured, referring to the game. “Well, it

seems like you’ve already made up your mind on the subject. I just
find it hard to believe that you go from seducing hordes of women to
wanting men over one fantasy you had in my bath chambers.” He
paused, something awful occurring to him. “Oh god, it wasn’t about
one of us was it?” he asked, horrified.

Allasandro burst out laughing. “Hell no! You’re all family, for

gods’ sake!” Big guffaws of laughter filled the room. Druas even
joined in. They sat there and laughed until tears ran down their
collective faces.

Salvatore wiped his eyes. “Wow. I needed that. Now, back to your

fantasy. Was it anyone we know?”

The laughter died off Allasandro’s face. “I don’t want to talk

about it.”

Both Druas and Salvatore blinked. That was not like the carefree

man that they all knew. Normally, he would make a joke out of the
seriousness of any situation or something equally amusing. He looked
downright solemn. Druas opened his mouth to demand an
explanation, but Salvatore held up his hand for silence. He wasn’t
ready.

“Very well,” Salvatore said. He winked at his surfer-blond Ravyn.

“Checkmate.”

Ravyn’s Heart

Chapter Three

Damian stared at the well-muscled warrior in front of him,

searching for a hint of his son beneath the hardened exterior. Kalel,
no, his name was Dageus now. Dageus was not the boy Damian had
known six years previously. He’d truly become one of those
elemental beings from the parallel universe of Demontia known as
demons.

“You’re looking at me strangely.” The warrior’s voice was soft,

unsure of his welcome. It was so at odds with the tough exterior. He
looked like he was stronger than Alex now.

Damian’s office did not have the homey feeling of a living room,

but Damian hadn’t really had a suitable alternative. The cool gray
walls and ultramodern furniture made the whole space look sterile and
professional. Not exactly the room he wanted to have a heart-to-heart
with his missing child after six years, but Damian wasn’t ready to go
into the softer part of the house yet. The bedrooms were too close to
the living room and he didn’t want to explain the shrine he’d made to
his son in that space. Not until he knew this man’s heart.

Like most grieving parents, he’d sectioned off a part of his

penthouse just to Kal’s memory. Kal’s bedroom was untouched,
everything exactly as he had left it. Vampire businessman
extraordinaire he may be, but Damian wasn’t willing to chance this
new Kalel saying something unkind about the way he’d allowed the
house to turn into a tomb. It hurt too much to think about.

“You look different. When you were eighteen, you looked more

like a child, but now…you’re all man,” Damian replied to Kal’s
earlier words, sipping his teacup of Earl Grey. He was British, and he

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didn’t care how long he lived around the whole lot of French and
Italian vampires, he wasn’t giving up his tea. The mere thought of
coffee made him want to sniff in disdain.

“You were supposed to come home weeks ago.” Kal’s green-and-

gold eyes were filled with deep longing, but Damian didn’t know for
what. “I wanted to see you.”

“I was busy doing some work and arranging a lineup of acts for

the vampire Council’s entertainment in France this winter,” he lied
smoothly. He wasn’t lying about the work he’d done. He was just
lying about the reason he’d stayed away. He’d been hiding in New
York.

At first, Kalel’s return had made him want to race to his adopted

son’s side, but there had been so much drama surrounding him and
Alex the first few days he’d been back in this realm, and then
Damian’s insecurities had bubbled to the surface. What if Kal blamed
him for the kidnapping? What if he didn’t care about Damian
anymore? What if he’d only returned to be with Alex and still wanted
Damian out of his life? When Maddy, his and Alex’s Maker, had
suggested that he go to New York until things were settled and do
some much-needed field work there, he’d jumped at the opportunity.

“It was very important work,” Damian added at the stunned look

on Kal’s face. The warrior looked like he’d been slapped.

“More important than me?” That softly spoken question was

Damian’s undoing. The words were choked. The tears that shimmered
in his adopted son’s eyes broke his heart.

He set his cup down and stood, reaching for his son across the

small glass coffee table that separated them. He pulled him into the
circle of his arms and into the first hug they’d shared in six years.

“Nothing is more important than you.” Damian’s deep voice

cracked, and he was forced to clear it. He kissed Kal’s forehead as his
son squeezed him so tightly that his sides groaned from the pressure.
His son had definitely grown strong in their time apart.

Ravyn’s Heart

They stayed that way for countless minutes, comforting and

getting comforted from the presence of the other. After another
moment they gradually eased their grips. Both had tears in their eyes
when they at last pulled apart. Damian lightly stroked Kal’s chocolate
and auburn hair.

“I’ve missed you, father,” Kal whispered.
“Missed you, too, son,” Damian replied, tightly. He pulled back

fully. “Now, let me look at the warrior you’ve become.”

“I’m still dancing,” Kal corrected. “I’m a dancer and a warrior.”
And he was. The first performance of Alex’s new play with Kal in

the role of Amadeo had been a smash hit, and it was only the second
month of performances. Damian had always known he had a raw
talent for the art. Alex had honed that raw talent to a performance of
movement that was almost an erotic religious experience. Speaking of
Alex…

“Are you still planning on being with my cradle-robbing brother?”

he asked before he could stop himself.

Kal’s eyes sparkled with fear. They weren’t on safe subjects

anymore. “Yes, Father. We’re wed as vampires do. But I’d hoped…
I’d hoped that we could have a wedding from my demon culture,
too.”

Damian nodded curtly. “That would be appropriate.”
“I want your blessing, Father. I want you to stand beside me when

I marry him.”

Damian’s eyes met his son’s. The look he found there was not one

of a fresh-faced eighteen year old asking his permission. There would
be no compromise. If Damian wanted a relationship with Kalel, this
was nonnegotiable.

“You have my blessing, Kal. I will stand beside you wherever you

wish.” He made the declaration easily. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, risk
losing his son again. Even if that meant he had to put up with his
brother claiming his ward as his own. Kalel favored him with a
brilliant smile. It was then he knew he’d made the right decision.

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* * * *

They laughed the night away. It wasn’t until dawn was kissing the

sky outside that they realized how much time had actually passed. It
was good getting to know one another again.

“My brothers are absolutely insane. I love them all so much. I

can’t wait for you to meet the entire crew and… Oh! Prince Salvatore
is going to be thrilled to meet you! He loves all your performances.
He actually has them all on disc. How he got them into Demontia is
anyone’s guess. I mean, they don’t exactly ship UPS to the other
universe do they?” Kal gushed happily. He’d long since left his
uncomfortable chair for the plush carpet of the floor. Damian
contemplated moving them to the other living room, but he didn’t
want to interrupt their camaraderie for even a second.

“Those are probably the last ones I did. I haven’t been performing

much lately. The business end of things has taken priority for me.”
Damian reached out and messed Kal’s hair playfully.

Kal frowned. “What do you mean you’re not performing? But

Damian, you love it!”

“Alex stopped dancing for the longest time when you were taken,”

Damian reminded gently. Kal shook his head.

“But he was heartbroken, and being on stage reminded him of me,

but even he couldn’t deny his passion of the stage forever.” He
paused. “Why did you stop?”

Damian gave a shrug that meant everything and nothing at once.

“I lost my passion for my art, little one,” he offered, using Kal’s
childhood nickname. “Santiago can’t even stand to hear me anymore.
He says my voice has no feeling.”

By the time he’d finished, Kal’s eyes were a curious shade of spun

gold with only a few flicks of green. He seemed distressed. Passion
was everything to the Entertainer line of vampires, and to know that
Damian had lost his… The older vampire would have to reassure the

Ravyn’s Heart

younger man somehow to get him to let the subject drop. Kal glanced
in his direction before concentrating awfully hard on his feet. He
seemed to reach some kind of decision as he returned his gaze to the
vampire. “Father?” he questioned. Damian regarded him wearily,
noting his innocent expression.

“What is it, son?”
“You need a boyfriend.”

Jana Downs

Chapter Four

Dageus came slinking into the weight room half an hour late. He

looked beat.

“’Bout damn time, Dageus,” Tony barked. The leader of the

Ravyns was not known for his tolerance of tardiness. Dageus was just
lucky that he hadn’t been late for guard duty instead of their morning
workout. “You,”—Tony’s eyes turned on Allasandro—“keep up the
reps.”

Allasandro obediently went back to his task. He pushed the bench

press bar up, his biceps straining as he hefted the monstrous amount
of weight Tony had instructed them to do reps with. Tony was a hell
of a leader. He made sure that he kept the warriors in the peak of
physical fitness. Salvatore needed all the advantage he could get
against his evil cousin Desmond and his would-be assassins.

“Dageus, take over spotting Ally-cat from Germany. Ger, come

over here and spot me while I do some squats,” Tony ordered. He shot
a glance over at Salvatore, who was waiting in the corridor outside,
reading his latest paperback novel he’d ordered off of Amazon. Two
tall Jaguar shifter guards that Alex assigned to look after him while he
was in the house and out of the Ravyns immediate care flanked either
side of him. Tony still didn’t trust him to be out of their sight though.

“How’s it goin’, my man?” Allasandro grunted out as he hefted

the weight back toward the ceiling. It was his third set of eight.

“Good. Spent the night with my father,” Dageus said, smiling.
“Doesn’t look like you got any sleep,” Ally noted, sweat dripping

down his temples. He’d been here earlier than they’d been assigned,
working out, and now he was a sweaty mess.

Ravyn’s Heart

“Didn’t. We talked all night. I’m going to sleep so good

tonight…” He sounded like he really wanted to sleep then, but both he
and Ally knew it wasn’t going to happen. He was on guard duty from
noon until he left for dance practice at six. He and Ally now shared
the same rotation. Previously Tony hadn’t let them have the same
schedule because they were best friends and tended to distract one
another, but since Dageus had rejoined Alex’s dance troupe, he had to
have the night shift off.

“That’s good.” Ally didn’t know what else to say. Is this the part

where I say, “Hey, Dageus, you know your dad? Totally hot. No, I
mean it. I want to lick him like an ice cream cone. I know I gave you a
hard time for being into dudes and not telling anyone but this is
different. I just want to fuck him. It’s not like I’m in love with the
guy.” He mentally rolled his eyes. Yeah, that’d go over really well. At
least he wouldn’t have to worry about Damian coming to practice at
the theater tonight. From what Alex said, the guy wasn’t there that
often.

“I’m worried about Damian though. He’s lost his passion for

entertainment, and that doesn’t bode well,” Dageus said as they
switched positions so he could work the bench press. Ally watched
his brother’s pecs and biceps flex as he hefted the bar up and down.

“Sometimes you just have to go through a dry spell. Doesn’t mean

he’s lost it, just means he doesn’t have any inspiration,” Allasandro
offered as he spotted the guy.

“You don’t understand,” Dageus said, bestowing a look of

frustration on Allasandro. “When a vampire loses his passion for his
specialization, that is, what his power manifests as, he’s close to the
end. They become less and less human until they decide to leave this
world. I’m afraid Damian is reaching that point, and he’s not even
seven hundred years old yet!”

Ally frowned, considering. “How do vampires die anyway? I

know you can cut off their head to kill them, but that’s not exactly
self-inflicted.”

Jana Downs

“When they’re ready, they open a portal sort of like the kind that

Ravyns use when we travel between worlds, except when vampires
travel, it’s a one-way trip. Once they step through to the other side,
they cease to exist on this plane. Vampires call it going to the Outer
Fade.”

Allasandro’s heart fluttered nervously at the suggestion. He didn’t

want his recent fantasy to disappear before he figured out how he felt
about it. “Well, what are you going to do about it?” he asked. Dageus
shrugged.

“I’ll talk to Santiago tonight and see if I can’t get him to agree to

host a special performance featuring Damian. He’s head of the line, so
if anyone can make him perform, it’ll be him.”

“Speaking of performances, am I coming with you to the theater

tonight? I know Ger goes with you sometimes, but I thought it was
my turn.” Tony still insisted that the Ravyns traveled in pairs, and,
because Dageus was the one most often from home, he was the one
typically in need of an escort.

Dageus nodded. “Yeah. You can help me do something else at the

theater.”

“What’s that?”
The Ravyn’s green-and-gold eyes sparkled with mischief. “I want

you to help me scope out some eligible male side beef while I
practice.”

“Tired of Alex already?” Allasandro asked in confusion.
“Nah,” Dageus said with a grin. “We’re looking for a playmate for

my father.”

* * * *

Holy Shit. He consciously ogled the prime male flesh as it came

through the door. If beautiful was a stock option, this theater had
bought every share available to create a surplus. The dancers were
stretching on stage before they split off into their individual practice

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groups. The members of the symphony were queuing up their
instruments in their section and the singers were humming warm-ups
in the wings. All of them were drop-dead gorgeous. The worst part
was that most of these people weren’t even in the Entertainer line
itself but of other lines or human potentials who were auditioning for
a spot in the exclusive group. Male and female alike looked bred for
this place, which only made Ally feel more out of place, if that was
possible.

He was a warrior, but the only grace he possessed was when he

danced with a weapon. He couldn’t dance, despite being an attention
whore. And he tended to swagger when he walked instead of gliding.
Forget beautiful, he didn’t have that ethereal quality. Upon first
glance, he was handsome enough, firm jaw, average lips, not too big
of a nose, and subtle ears. He knew that the only reason he got all the
tail he did was because he had an inexplicable charm about him. He
just “got” people, and they responded to him on a visceral level that
even he didn’t understand. These people were like beautiful,
unapproachable statues.

He was supposed to be scoping out possible candidates for

Damian per Kal’s instruction. His buddy may be Dageus with the
Ravyns, but in this place he was Kal. His whole demeanor shifted
when he hit the doors of La Petite Morte, which was a weird name for
the place if anyone asked Allasandro.

Focus. He was supposed to be getting a list together so Dageus

could implement operation get-Damian-a-boyfriend. He thought some
physical passion would manifest Damian some Entertainer passion,
which also sounded hokey to Allasandro, but it wasn’t really his
business. Yet…he couldn’t seem to get Damian out of his head. Over
the past forty-eight hours, he’d been thinking about Dageus’s father
almost constantly. Which was insane considering he didn’t even
really like the guy…did he? He sighed heavily and pushed his back
harder against the plush theater seat.

Jana Downs

He’d had to stop himself from asking Kal to hook him up with

Damian. The only thing that had stopped him was an odd insecurity
that he’d never experienced before. “I see you have quite the clumsy
friend, Kalel.” Those were the first words Damian had ever spoken
about him. They’d made him feel self-conscious then, doubly so now.
Gods knew the man probably wanted nothing to do with him. Hell, he
didn’t even know Ally existed as anything other than him being Kal’s
“clumsy friend.”

“Why the long face, Ravyn?” A clipped British accent interrupted

his dismal thoughts.

Ally’s eyes widened. Damn. Speak of the devil and he shall

appear. “Uh…nothing,” he said quickly, a light blush forming in his
cheeks. Damian plopped down in the chair beside him, a large leather
notebook in his lap.

“Didn’t look like nothing,” the vampire giant observed, opening

up the monstrosity in his lap and flipping to the next clean page of—
good gods, is that a spreadsheet? Yuck.

“Don’t you enjoy the performances?” Damian asked, bringing

Ally’s mind away from the papers. “You’re lucky Santiago and Alex
let you in here. These sessions are typically closed to outsiders.” The
term “outsider” stung for some reason. Perhaps it was his previous
comparison to the group of theater people where he found himself
lacking that made him wince at the word.

“Ravyns stick together,” he stated, crossing his well-muscled arms

over an equally well-muscled chest. This made Damian’s dark eyes
twinkle with amusement.

“No need to get defensive. I don’t mind you being here.

Personally, I appreciate the company. With everyone else divided up,
it gets a bit lonely sitting in the seats and doing paperwork. I could do
it in the office, but then I’d miss the music and the view.” He started
scribbling in the margins of one spreadsheet as he spoke. “You’re
Kal’s friend, Allasandro, correct? The one that came with him to the
airport?” Again Ally nodded. “I apologize for my abrupt manner. I

Ravyn’s Heart

was quite anxious to converse with my son. I didn’t expect him to
bring company.”

He really liked the way the guy talked. It was formal, and the

accent was sexy as hell. Allasandro opened his mouth to tell him not
to worry about it, but a curt voice interrupted his reply.

“There you are!” Santiago’s ever-calm voice was laced with a

dose of calculated frustration. The ancient vampire and Alex and
Damian’s grandsire never expressed anything without thinking about
it first. He was the most inhuman out of them all, his “otherness” so
sharp that it created a crack in time when he traveled via teleportation.
“I’ve been looking everywhere,” he added.

Damian’s deep-blue eyes narrowed. “I sit in this seat every time I

come to the theater, Grandsire. You obviously weren’t looking very
hard.” He looked annoyed at the interruption. Could it be that he had
actually wanted to talk with Allasandro? No. He probably just didn’t
want to be bothered with any official business.

Santiago let a slow grin spread across his face. “I wasn’t. I needed

to speak to you about the fundraiser for the Children First charity that
is to take place at the end of the month.” Allasandro watched as
Damian seemed to relax, leaning against the back of his seat.

“What about it?”
“Victor has strained his voice, and we need a replacement.”
Damian immediately flipped to another section of his massive

binder and started thumbing through the papers with inhuman speed,
his eyes scanning quickly. “Okay. I’ll call the printers and have them
make corrections to the advertisements and invitations. Who do you
have in mind for a replacement?” Allasandro tried not to squirm.
Damn. The man looked hot when he got down to business. Santiago’s
reptilian grin widened.

“You, of course.”
Damian’s pen froze. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Damian. Your voice is superior to any vocalist in

the company, and we don’t have time for additional auditions.”

Jana Downs

“Second best is all right with me.”
“Not in the Entertainer line, it’s not,” Santiago snapped.
“I haven’t sung in months,” Damian protested.
“You’ve been singing for five hundred years. With a little practice

you’ll be in top performing shape once again. Besides, what sort of
excuse is that? Kal hadn’t danced in six years, and yet he is one of the
best after only a few months’ practice.”

“I don’t want to sing,” Damian stated flatly. His lips turned down

in a sharp frown. He looked just like the unhappy mob boss in Ally’s
fantasy.

“You are an Entertainer.” Santiago’s voice had taken on a

dangerous cadence. “You will do as you are meant to do and be as
you are meant to be. This family needs you to fulfill your duty and the
original reason for your induction into this family to begin with.”
Damian winced. “You can no longer hide from it if you want to
remain an active part of it.”

“That’s unfair to say, Grandsire,” he mumbled. “You said yourself

that there is no love in my voice anymore. I’m not the best any
longer.”

Santiago snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. “You are the

best, Damian. You just need something to focus on to reignite the
passion you seem to reserve for your…spreadsheets.” He wrinkled his
nose in disgust. It looked like Ally wasn’t the only one who thought
they were gross. “You need someone to give your energy to. Someone
good-looking. Hmmm…” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You need
a partner.”

It was Damian’s turn to snort. “And who do you propose to be

that partner? Everyone else in the theater has a job. Someone else’s
performance would suffer if you catered to mine.”

“Not necessarily,” Santiago said slyly. “There is one person who

comes to the theater who has no job as of yet.”

Ravyn’s Heart

“Who?” Damian wondered. Allasandro’s stomach did a flip-flop.

He knew who. Santiago’s elegant pointer finger landed on him.
Allasandro’s heart fell down to his flip-flopping stomach. Oh shit.

Jana Downs

Chapter Five

“Oh. My. God,” Kal exclaimed as Santiago made his

announcement from the middle of the stage. Damian looked livid.
Ally-cat was now Damian’s personal muse and music partner until the
end of the month, and though the arrangement wasn’t exactly the love
match Kal had envisioned, it was still useable. Spending all that time
with Damian, Ally would have to pick up some inside knowledge of
what sort of man Damian preferred. Kal beamed. He liked playing
matchmaker.

“What is that look for, ma petite?” Familiar arms wrapped around

his waist from behind and an equally familiar voice whispered huskily
in his ear. His soon-to-be husband Alex’s touch was as familiar to him
as his own.

“Damian has to sing to Ally-cat for the next month in preparation

for the charity performance,” Kal whispered back excitedly. He
leaned into his lover, knowing those bright blue eyes were twinkling
with mirth.

“But your Ally-cat, he is a ladies’ man, no?” Alex asked, nuzzling

Kal’s neck. Kal shivered.

“Well, yeah, but he can be my little spy. I can get him to tell me

exactly what Damian wants in a guy, and that way I can pick out the
perfect man.”

Alex chuckled. “You haven’t been back six months, and you are

already trying to make people as happy as you are with me. Oh, ma
petite, you amuse me.”

* * * *

Ravyn’s Heart

Allasandro shifted uncomfortably. Damn. This seemed like a big

deal to everyone. He flicked his gaze at Damian who looked ready to
use to his considerable bulk to rip everyone apart. Allasandro
shivered. That look was…hot. He shook his head to clear it. No, no,
no. I like girls. I really like girls. I swear I do. What the hell am I
looking at him for?

“I’m sorry about this. You can always tell him to bugger off.”

Damian was suddenly beside him, causing him to jump. His deep-
blue eyes were filled with fire. Allasandro swallowed.

“I don’t mind,” he said softly. Damian nodded.
“So long as you’re sure.”
“All right, everyone please proceed to your individual groups for

practice. We’ve only got a month, and some of you are not up to par.
We’ll have individual practice for the next hour and a half and then
meet back here to bring it all together.” Santiago’s voice interrupted
their exchange. He pinned them with a glare. He didn’t appreciate
them talking while he was talking. He was the head of the line after
all. “Damian and Allasandro, you two use Studio B4. I’ll join you
shortly after warm-ups. Start with Puccini and that piece by Bocelli
that I put in your binder.” He turned his back to them once again and
started giving individual instruction to the rest of the groups. It was
amazing how well Santiago ran the studio. Alex may be Master of the
City and the playwright, but it was clear who ran the technical section
of La Petite Morte’s empire.

“Come on,” Damian commanded, grabbing Allasandro’s hand and

dragging him off the stage.

Christ. What have I gotten myself into?
The studio was not what Allasandro had been expecting. He’d

expected the polished wood floors that looked like honey, mirrored
walls, and echoing voices like what they had in the dancers’ studio.
What he got was soft gray carpeted floors and lighter gray walls that

Jana Downs

had odd-looking rectangle-shaped sound absorbers at regular
intervals.

“Sit,” Damian instructed, pointing his long index finger at a

comfortable-looking yellow chair which was the only spot of color in
the whole room.

“Are we going to talk in more than clipped sentences? Because,

for real, you are gettin’ on my last nerves with this ordering crap.
Tony doesn’t even bark as much as you do,” Ally grumbled, annoyed.
Damian sighed.

“I’m being a bit domineering, aren’t I?” He closed his eyes and

seemed to count backward from ten. “I apologize. I just hate when
Santiago accuses me of being a poor member of this family. I work
very hard to keep the company financially stable, and just because I
don’t feel like belting out Don Giovanni like a fledgling doesn’t mean
I’ve lost the passion for opera. I just prefer to watch now.”

“Why don’t you tell him that?” Allasandro asked. His curiosity

was piqued. Damian snorted.

“He wouldn’t understand. None of them would. That’s why my

son fits so well with the family. They think they must express
themselves with singing, dancing, and any other form of
entertainment you can think of. It’s what we are. What we were bred
and born to do. I’m tired of singing for myself. And no one in this
whole company understands that.” He met Allasandro’s golden eyes
and gave a long sigh. He had pain and no small amount of tiredness in
his gaze. “Santiago said when I was first made that the thing that
separated Entertainers from the rest of the world was that they are
their art. We do not entertain because we want to but because we have
to. They don’t understand because they can’t stop.”

“And you can stop?” Allasandro asked, enchanted. He wasn’t

usually so deep, but the depth of emotion behind Damian’s soft words
pulled at him.

“No,” Damian said unexpectedly. “I am an Entertainer. I cannot

stop desiring that. Nor can I stop the music inside me.”

Ravyn’s Heart

“Then what is the problem? Why can’t you sing?” Ally wondered.
“Because singing for myself is not enough for me anymore.”

Damian was suddenly very close. Close enough that Ally could smell
the unique, clean scent of his body. He froze, his body reacting to
Damian’s presence. “I appreciate you trying to help. It’s useless, but
thank you.” Ally had to restrain himself from wrapping his arms
around Damian’s thick neck and dragging his mouth down to kiss.

“Why is it useless?” Ally murmured breathlessly. He knew he was

staring at Damian’s lips, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

“Because I don’t love you,” Damian said, turning away as the

door opened to admit Santiago.

Ice water couldn’t have produced a more chilling reaction.

Allasandro quickly made his way over to the chair and plopped down
on its forgiving surface. He rubbed his chest tenderly. Why had that
softly spoken sentence hurt so damn much?

“You haven’t even started your warm-ups yet? Shame on you, mio

figlio,” Santiago chastised. He crossed to the discreetly placed studio
equipment on the far wall. “Now, let us begin.”

Jana Downs

Chapter Six

Damian sighed as the last vestiges of night began to flee from the

rising sun. He shut the heavy drapes of his bedroom firmly and began
to strip. He was methodical in his undressing. Everything in its place
and a place for everything. His cufflinks went in his bedside crystal
bowl, his tie went on the tie rack on his closet door, and his suit went
back into the dry-cleaning bag that his assistant would pick up
midmorning to take to get cleaned. The routine was a ritual that gave
him comfort.

Naked, he padded over to his enormous canopied bed and slid

beneath the cool white Egyptian cotton sheets. His brother preferred
silk, but Damian found it to be too hot for his tastes. He lay there as
he felt the familiar lethargy fill him as the sun rose, thinking about the
night he’d had. It had been unique. Santiago had been the slave driver
as always, but the eyes of the man who had watched him had
neutralized his annoyance over the fact.

His son’s friend was not what he’d expected. He’d been warned

about the arrogant pup. Warned that he was young and daring and
reckless. He hadn’t expected Allasandro’s thoughtfulness or the lust
he’d seen shimmering in his eyes as they’d spoken of things that
Damian had found frankly uncomfortable emotionally. He’d been told
that Allasandro had a love for women. All women. Any woman. Any
time. Yet when he’d stared into his eyes, he saw a yearning for
something that he shouldn’t have desired at all. It puzzled Damian.
And nothing puzzled Damian anymore.

Allasandro was a beautiful boy. And just Damian’s type, too. He

wasn’t tall and willowy like the dancers in the troupe. He was…firm.

Ravyn’s Heart

God he was firm. The muscles flexed underneath his tight clothes
which showcased every muscle he had. His eyes were intense, and
Damian found it all too easy to imagine them darkened with passion.
His fangs began to elongate at the thought.

Once upon a time Damian would’ve definitely tried to seduce

him. The reluctant lust in Allasandro’s eyes made Damian want to be
the renowned bad boy he’d been before he’d taken up the mantle of
father and family responsibility. He’d been quite the…what was the
modern word for it? Player. Yes, he’d been a player. He’d seduced
legions of men, and he hadn’t exactly been discriminating about it.

His hands found his cock underneath the sheets and began to work

his uncut length expertly. Having had six hundred years of life,
Damian had made masturbating an art form. The image that flickered
in his mind was pretty Allasandro as he’d sat on the chair watching
Damian warble through Che Gelida Manina. His golden eyes
sparkled as he watched Damian begin to strip off his clothing. Yes.
This was what stripping was meant to be.

“What a frozen little hand, let me warm it for you,” he sang in

Italian as he worked his length.

His fantasy Allasandro grasped the firm flesh of his cock and

began to pump, his eyes never leaving Damian’s. He unconsciously
licked his lips as if hungering for a taste of the plum head.

Damian moaned. His hand working faster. Damn. He hadn’t been

this aroused in a century or more. His son’s friend was going to
become his favorite new fantasy toy. He grinned, and his fangs cut
into his bottom lip. “You want this, warrior?” he growled tauntingly.
He was completely caught up in his fantasy. “You want my hot
cock?”

“Please, give it to me, sir. Please.” Allasandro’s voice was

pitched low. “I won’t disobey you again. I promise.”

“I don’t reward bad behavior, little slut,” Damian gasped. He’d

ordered the warrior to fight for him. To honor him by winning

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tournaments in his name. He’d failed. Lost to another warrior. He
needed to be punished.

“Let me pleasure you, sir. Please. I’ll be so good you’ll forget that

I was ever bad,” Allasandro pleaded.

“Oh? How are you going to do that?” he wondered with a sadistic

grin.

“I’ll be your fool, sir. I’ll suck you ’til you come down my throat.

I’ll fuck myself with any toy you choose.” He produced the flesh-
colored phallus from beneath the chair. His beautiful golden eyes
lowered in submissiveness. “Let me earn your cock, sir.”

Beautiful. “Show me how much you want it.”
Allasandro used those beautifully muscled arms to plunge the tip

of the phallus into that tight muscled warrior’s backside. He groaned
and bit into his bottom lip.

“Wish this was your cock, sir,” Allasandro gasped.
“You said you’d earn it. So hush and take it,” Damian replied

huskily. Allasandro groaned again and pushed the phallus deeper,
fucking himself on the large plastic length.

“May I…may I suck you, sir?”
“Suck,” Damian commanded. Allasandro leaned forward,

lowering his lashes and lapping the pre-cum off the swollen head.
Their eyes met and…

Damian groaned as he shot his load into the tight circle of his fist.

His eyes shot wide and a gasp opened his mouth and bared his fangs
to the ceiling. Bloodlust blinded him, reminding him that he’d yet to
feed. He roared. He wanted Allasandro’s blood. Another shot of seed
boiled over his fist. The animal inside growled for release. He wanted
the Ravyn in his bed.

* * * *

“Santiago is an asshole,” Allasandro declared, dropping into a

chair beside Salvatore. The monarch looked up from his breakfast

Ravyn’s Heart

with a raised eyebrow. He hadn’t yet dressed, and with his red silk
robe on, he looked a little like a younger version of Hugh Hefner in
Ally’s opinion.

“Why do you say that?” he asked, going back to his plate of eggs

Benedict and toast. Gods knew the vampires in Alex’s house knew
how to keep a man from going hungry. The cook Alex had hired for
the Ravyns was awesome, especially when it came to Prince
Salvatore’s meals.

“He just…I don’t know. When Damian was trying to sing, he kept

interrupting him and yelling at him for this and that. Nitpicky crap. I
mean, it sounded okay to me.” Ally huffed, grabbing a piece of toast
off Salvatore’s plate.

“Santiago knows what Damian’s best is. If he isn’t giving his best,

of course Santiago is going to get onto him,” Salvatore offered. He
sipped his cup of coffee before wincing and blowing across the still-
too-hot liquid. “Aren’t you supposed to be working out with Tony and
the others?”

“Tony had the others do a tactical run around the property. Alex

assigned the vampires to watch you and the house while they’re away,
but of course Tony didn’t trust a bunch of Earth vamps to look after
our favorite Prince. So…yeah. He left me here.” Ally sat back more
firmly against his seat and yawned. Salvatore rolled his eyes but
didn’t offer comment. Tony was so overprotective.

“I just don’t see why he was yelling at Damian. I mean, he wasn’t

off pitch or anything.” Ally continued his rant against the dictator
Santiago.

“Have you ever heard Damian back in the day? His operas used to

make me cry. He wasn’t into partners like Alex. He was about
solitude and loneliness. It was a longing that took your breath away,”
Salvatore said, standing. “If he’s lost his passion, then it won’t sound
the same. It’s not about pitch or accuracy. It’s about feeling.”

Allasandro blinked. “Huh?”

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Salvatore rolled his eyes. Ally-cat was not known for his depth,

but it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand. He just didn’t usually think
about things from that perspective. Salvatore often thought it was a
ploy by Allasandro to keep from getting close to people. When no one
thought he understood, people didn’t try to explain things, and that in
turn made Ally exempt from having to interact with people on a
serious level.

Salvatore stood back from the table and crossed to the massive

entertainment system that the Ravyns had installed for his use. With a
press of a button, he brought up an image of Damian dressed sharply
in a black T-shirt that held silver glitter in every thread and black
dance pants which hugged his form to perfection. White fog curled
around his feet, and soft blue light was the only illumination.

“This is Damian from Alex’s play Redemption about ten years

ago. It was before Damian started dealing with the books instead of
the plays. Watch,” Salvatore offered in the way of explanation. He
pressed the screen’s play button, and the image started to move. “This
song is Con Te Partiro. Damian loved the song so much that he got
Alex to incorporate it. It’s one of the only non-original pieces in all of
Alex’s plays.”

When Damian opened his mouth, he knew that this Damian was

different from the one he’d seen perform. The fine hairs on
Allasandro’s forearms stood to attention and goose bumps ran up his
neck. Damian’s eyes sparkled with something extraordinary. A voice
that was so pure that angels were probably falling over themselves to
listen to it made Ally shudder. What. The. Hell…

“Quando sono solo sogno all’orizzonte e mancan le parole.”

Damian’s beautiful voice resonated within the soul and cast a spell of
absolute enchantment over the crowd.

“When I’m alone, I dream of the horizon and words fail,”

Salvatore translated, sounding as dazed as Ally felt.

“Si, lo so che non ce’e luce in una stanza quando manca il sole.

Se non ci sei tu con me.”

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“Yes, I know there is no light in a room where the sun is absent. If

you are not with me,” Salvatore echoed.

Tears streaked down Allasandro’s face as he felt the longing in

those beautifully delivered words. He got it. Damian was longing for
a lover. Longing for love that was gone from this world. His heart
shuddered in equal parts pain and adoration. He was sobbing now,
watching Damian walk his lonely path across stage. He wanted,
yearned, to go to this man and make his endless sorrow end.

“Now do you see what’s missing?” Salvatore whispered, his eyes

too filled with tears. “That’s the beauty of the Entertainers. They feel
more than the rest of us. Show us the depths that feeling can go.”

“Damian doesn’t…he doesn’t feel like this anymore.” Allasandro

hiccupped. “That’s why Santiago is being an ass and why Dageus is
worried about him.”

The Demon Prince stroked his hands down Allasandro’s closely

cropped hair. “Yes, my Ravyn. That’s why they worry.”

“I’ll make him feel again,” Ally swore. “I’ll make him feel so

damn much he’ll explode from it.”

“You can’t make him feel anything, Ally-cat. He isn’t yours to

save,” Salvatore whispered. Allasandro’s heart constricted at the
thought. He was wrong. He was Damian’s muse now, and he’d be
damned if he let Damian fail.

Jana Downs

Chapter Seven

Damian had decided to dress casual this evening. Since he wasn’t

going to actually get any business done, he figured that he might as
well. His old performance pants fit like a glove, molding to his tight
ass. A loose black T-shirt completed the ensemble.

“Hey,” Allasandro greeted as he slid through the door. They were

in the same studio they’d been in last time. “Sorry I’m late. Had to
help Dageus with his outfit. They’re doing dress rehearsal, and he
wanted to make sure the new outfit would take Alex throwing him
around stage in their fight scene.”

Damian nodded, his eyes unwavering from Ally’s. “Not a

problem.” He couldn’t stop thinking about his fantasy from the night
before. His fangs ached from the memory. He really needed to feed.

He cleared his throat and went back to flicking through the black

binder of sheet music that Santiago had dropped off. It was the new
section of the performance that was designed for his voice. It was a
complicated piece that would display his range nicely if he could
capture it. The digital copy of the music was already installed on the
music player just waiting to be played. Some vampires could use the
energy of their minds to turn on electrical equipment. Alex was an
expert at doing those sorts of things long-distance. Damian wasn’t so
talented.

It was then that he noticed that Allasandro was staring at him.

“What?” he asked. Was that a blush across Allasandro’s face?

“I watched you. I watched you sing Con Te Partiro.” The words

were a whisper. Damian was intrigued. He raised his eyebrows in
question. The Ravyn swallowed. “I’ve never heard anything so

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beautiful.” His voice was full of reverence. It twisted a knife of want
into Damian’s gut.

“I’m guessing you enjoyed it then?” Damian set aside the black

binder and took two steps in Ally’s direction. His eyes were glowing
with an inhuman light. Allasandro seemed to realize that something
had shifted in Damian and took a step back.

“I was touched,” Allasandro whispered. He touched his hand to

his chest over his heart. “You made me feel—”

“What did I make you feel?” Damian growled, using his inhuman

speed to bring him within inches of the man he was stalking.

“You made me want—” Allasandro’s eyes met his, and he licked

his lips as the difference in their height became painfully obvious.

“What did I make you want?” Damian purred, letting just a hint of

his fangs show.

“You make me yearn—”
“What do I make you yearn?” Damian’s big hands came to rest on

Allasandro’s hips. This man, this Ravyn, made him feel strong, made
him feel alive for some damn reason. Allasandro let out a whimper as
Damian’s lips hovered a scant few centimeters above his lips.

“I want you to.” Allasandro’s heavy lidded whisper was not

unexpected. Damian obliged him.

Their lips met in a feather-soft kiss, something meant to seduce as

opposed to conquer. Damian’s hands brought their torsos together,
and his cock pressed insistently into Allasandro’s hard belly. The
answering arousal in Allasandro smashed against Damian’s thigh.
They both groaned at the contact.

“Oh shit,” Ally cried out as Damian nipped his lips, seeking

entrance. Their tongues met. Tangled. Ally’s arms crept up Damian’s
shoulders, grasping the other man’s hair tightly. Ally lapped at
Damian’s mouth, stroking his ultrasensitive fangs with his tongue,
nicking it on the sharp tips.

Damian’s eyes shot wide as the taste of blood permeated his

senses. Ally’s blood was delicious. It was ambrosia. Nothing like

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human blood. More spicy. Intoxicating. Demonic. He pushed his
tongue deeper into the Ravyn’s mouth, licking every hidden recess.

Suddenly a foreign presence pressed against the shield of

Damian’s mind, seeking entrance. His eyes flickered open at the
intimate touch. It was the Ravyn. The force of the other man’s mind
surrounded him even as his touch drove Damian mad. He had a
deliciously strong mind. One of the strongest he’d seen.

“Now, now, boys. None of that.” Santiago’s amused voice cut

through the desire they were immersed in like a hot knife. “At least
not ’til after you are done practicing,” he added after a moment’s
thought.

The two shot apart like two teenagers caught groping in their

parents’ living room. Allasandro touched his fingers to his lips
absently and stared down at the floor while Damian tried his
damnedest to look defiant as he crossed his arms nonchalantly across
his chest.

“Ever heard of knocking?” Damian quipped. Santiago just

laughed, the sound as inhuman as the sound of a wind chime.

“In my own theater? I think not.” Santiago chuckled some more.

He pointed to the chair that Allasandro had occupied the last time
he’d been here. “Do sit down, Allasandro.”

* * * *

“I want to go out,” Salvatore declared as Allasandro dragged

himself through the door. He’d raced from the studio as soon as
Santiago had called an end to the rehearsal. He’d been saved from a
confrontation with Damian because he’d been forced to join up with
the rest of the troupe toward the end to practice with the group.

“Daylight?” Allasandro asked, relief filling him. That’s what he

needed. He needed to remind himself of what he was and who he was.
Damian was an odd obsession and nothing that another tight body
wouldn’t cure. He touched his lips for the fiftieth time since they’d

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shared the kiss. It was like he could still feel the ghost of Damian’s
touch.

“Daylight,” Salvatore agreed. Tony looked positively green

around the gills. Everyone knew that he hated going to the club. It
was too crowded for his tastes, and he was terrified of assassins
coming for Salvatore there. Their Prince shot him a look like he was
reading his mind. “And you need to calm down. Alex has reassured us
time and again that Daylight is the safest place to socialize on Earth
other than the theater. The shifter and vampire bouncers have been
given express orders to watch out for us while we’re there.” Tony
crossed his arms across his chest but said nothing. He knew when
he’d lost an argument with the Prince, so he didn’t even bother.

They arrived within forty-five minutes of Salvatore’s declaration.

I’m definitely dressed as Ally-cat tonight. He shot a glance at the
mirror behind the bar. He had on skintight jeans that emphasized his
muscular ass and a T-shirt that had the green Abercrombie logo
splashed across the chest and was practically glow-in-the-dark yellow.
He looked like a prowler. He sent his mind out percolating through
the crowd, searching for people who fit his stringent criteria. The six
honeys over in the corner were very amenable to his less-than-
honorable intentions. He wanted to have some fun.

“Hey, my Prince, I’m heading to the back,” he told Salvatore over

the crowd. The Demon Prince was making a beeline to the bar and the
pierced bartender who looked slammed from the people crowding its
counter.

“Yeah. Yeah. Fine. I’ll be over here.” Salvatore was paying Ally

zero attention, so he made his way to the group of girls.

“Ladies,” he greeted, letting a slow smile spread across his face.

He pushed his mind into theirs and soothed away any awkward fears
they may have concerning the strange male entering into their sphere.
“How would you like to make my night?”

The nearest one was a dark-headed beauty with deep purple eye

shadow and thick Kohl eyeliner. She was too pretty to have all that

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stuff caked on, but he had to admit that it looked dramatic enough to
be semiattractive. Maybe this was what he needed to stop thinking
about Damian. A smile quirked her lips.

“So long as our guy friends can make your night, too,” she teased

with a wink. Three males walked up to the table behind Ally, eyeing
his tight ass. He felt their interest in the way their minds raced up to
meet his mental inquiry. Interesting. Well, he’d already told himself
that he was going to be more open to experimentation.

He grinned and met her challenge head on. “Absolutely. The more

the merrier.”

* * * *

“Oh yeah! Take it baby!” The guy to Ally’s left, the blond—Joey

maybe?—called out as Allasandro lapped the tequila off Merriam’s
pierced stomach. She squealed as he swirled his tongue around the
dangly bits that played with the edge of her glittery metallic-looking
thong. She’d unbuttoned her pants two shots ago for easier access,
and Ally was enjoying it. Her dark hair fanned across the table and
drifted off the side.

“Ally!” she squealed again. The guy on his right with auburn

hair—Landen?—leaned forward and set his mouth against Ally’s
pulse, his hand snaking underneath the table to caress Allasandro’s
crotch. His lips caressed and his teeth nipped.

“You’re so much fun,” he all but purred. Ally chuckled and

pushed his hardening cock into the other man’s hand.

“I can be more fun if you move that hand a little faster,”

Allasandro promised, licking the salt off of the space between his
thumb and pointer finger.

Landen winked. “I’m totally down, baby.”
“No way, Landen!” One of the other girls cried out, giggling

hysterically. So it was Landen? “You’ve gotta share him with the rest
of us.”

Ravyn’s Heart

“Your turn, Ally,” the last guy said. Now he knew his name was

Jonathan. At least he was mostly sure.

Nine pairs of hands stripped him of his shirt and unbuttoned the

top button of his jeans before pushing him to the table in Merriam’s
place. Jonathan gripped Ally’s sizeable erection and nipped his
stomach.

“Nice,” the other man purred. Merriam captured his lips in a kiss,

and he let his eyes slide shut as her tongue penetrated his mouth. Her
hair ensconced him in a dark halo of honey-smelling wonderfulness.
Had to be her shampoo. He’d have to ask her what kind later.

“Let’s play a game!” Landen demanded, his hands fondling his

balls through the denim.

“Hmmm…what kind of game?” another blond girl asked in a

husky cigarette-sweetened voice.

“Anyone got something to blindfold him with?” Landen asked.

Jonathan laughed, and Merriam withdrew her tongue.

“Look in my purse. I’ve got a scarf in there,” she murmured

against his lips. This was looking promising…

The scarf was quickly produced and wrapped around his eyes,

making everything hazy impressions of form and light outside his
immediate senses. He put his hands behind his head, stretching the
long line of his body out for everyone’s enjoyment. He wondered who
he’d go home with tonight. Hmmmm…. Multiple pairs of lips
caressed his chest. Maybe he’d go home with a couple of them.

“Try to figure out whose lips are taking the shots,” Landen

commanded.

“Not fair!” Ally protested mildly as someone began to pour liquor

into his navel. “I don’t know everyone’s name.”

“Fine.” Merriam’s voice was filled with lazy amusement and no

small amount of lust. “Then you get to identify whose licking you by
their gender.”

This was really going to be fun.

Jana Downs

* * * *

Giving him shots of liquor in between body shots was not a part of

the original plan. Yet, here he was, downright tipsy, still playing this
game. Gods only knew how many rounds they’d played. He was
getting good at identifying a luscious feminine touch from the bolder
male ones. Of course his accuracy was declining now that he was
sliding into uncomfortably lit territory.

“I think I’m done,” Ally cried out, laughing as the world spun. It

took a ton of liquor to get a demon drunk, and he was well on his
way.

“One more!” Merriam cooed, putting a restraining hand on his left

wrist. Someone grabbed his other one and more hands “restrained” his
legs. As a Ravyn, Ally knew he could get out of it, but the delicious
threat of restraint was enough to have him at full mast and gasping.

He felt the now-familiar sensation of liquor hitting his navel and

splashing down his sides, some of it even spilling onto the tops of his
black boxer briefs as they peeked out from his unbuttoned jeans. The
rough lap of a tongue went directly to his abs, ignoring the pool of
liquor in the indention where his belly button was and tracing the
definition of his stomach instead. He shivered. This was different. It
didn’t feel like the humans he’d been playing with the moment
before. He reached out with his mind and felt a buzz of inhuman
energy. No. He hadn’t played with this one before.

He shuddered again as that slow-moving tongue moved up his

musculature and traced the line of his pecs, studiously avoiding his
suddenly hard nipples. Gods, that felt incredible. He made a noise in
the back of his throat. The treatment went on for minutes on end. This
guy, and Ally was pretty sure at this point it was a guy, had no
intention of rushing Ally’s last body shot.

“Stop teasing,” he demanded, arching as far as he could without

breaking the holds of the other people restraining him. He wanted that
mouth on his aching points. “Give me your mouth,” he added,

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pressing his hard cock against the man’s abdomen as he leaned over
Ally’s chest.

“What’s the magic word?” Layered British tones made him

shudder all the harder.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “Damian?” It was not supposed to be

Damian. He was supposed to be forgetting about Damian. Shit.

“Fuck is not the magic word, love. Though, if you groan it that

nicely again, I will be tempted to indulge you.” Finally those lips
touched his nipples, suckling them to harder points. Ally gasped, and
his hips swiveled. Christ, knowing it was Damian doing this.
Damian’s lips, Damian’s body above him, Damian’s tongue
and…Fuck, were those fangs?

“Gods!” Allasandro cried out, his body twitching, as close to

orgasm as he’d ever come with so little stimulation. Those sharp
points traced his areola and that tongue caressed his nipple. The liquor
sloshed over the indentation of his navel and slid down his sides.

“What’s the magic word, naughty boy?” Damian asked in a

singsong voice. It was the pet name that did him in. It was too close to
the fantasy he’d had to produce anything but one reaction.

His hips shot skyward, his cock lunging toward the object of his

impossible lust and ejaculating hard into the confines of his jeans. He
cried out, partly in embarrassment and partly in reluctant pleasure.

“Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods,” he babbled, breaking his arms

away from the humans and wrapping his arms around Damian’s head,
pressing his mouth into his chest. He felt a brief pinch, and he felt
rather than heard Damian’s deep rumble of pleasure as his fangs
lightly pierced the area. That sexy tongue swiped across the small
wound, taking him into a higher sphere of pleasure.

After what seemed like eternity Ally floated down from his place

in heaven and back into his body. A flush stained his skin from head
to toe.

“Wow,” one of the boys said, caressing Ally’s now sweat-slicked

forehead.

Jana Downs

“Uh-huh,” another commented.
The Ravyn tore the makeshift blindfold off and threw it toward

Merriam, his cheeks blazing hot. He reached down with shaking
fingers to button up his pants. Damian’s huge hands stopped the
motion. Their eyes met for the first time during the entire encounter.
The lust in Damian’s gaze was hot enough to scorch Ally’s face all
over again.

“Excuse us, would you, ladies and gents?” Damian asked, not

once glancing at the other people at the table. “I think my
performance gives me rights to him this evening. Don’t you agree?”
The others nodded stupidly, obviously still enchanted by the
“performance” that Allasandro had just given. “Great.” The big
vampire nodded to himself, a grin flashing fang.

He gave Ally a hand up, and he swayed as he stood. “Easy, love,”

Damian murmured, wrapping his arm around Ally’s waist.

As soon as they were out of the sight of the table and into the

nearest dark corner, Damian pushed Allasandro against the wall and
took his mouth in a bone-melting kiss. The Ravyn felt feverish and
clung helplessly to Damian’s black business jacket. This kiss was just
as passion filled as the one they’d shared at the theater except more
languid for some reason. Damian took his time exploring the recesses
of the Ravyn’s sweet mouth, and he wasn’t giving him any room to
breathe. He didn’t want the moment ruined by more thinking.

“Where’s my shirt?” Ally whimpered, turning his mouth to get

away from the kiss.

“Doesn’t matter, love,” Damian reassured, turning his head with

his fingertips so that he could kiss his Ravyn once again.

“Matters. Really matters,” Ally panted. “Stop…mmmm…really,

stop, Damian.” Damian’s fangs nipped his bottom lip in punishment.

“Stop thinking so bloody much,” Damian demanded.
“We shouldn’t,” Ally protested.
“We most certainly should.”
“I can’t.”

Ravyn’s Heart

“Why the hell not?”
“You’re…ah… Dageus’s dad.” Ally could think of a million

reasons not to do this and that was the top of the list. Damian snorted.

“I’m not proposing marriage, Allasandro. I’m proposing a stiff

fuck that we both certainly want. We’re two consenting adults. No
reason to deny ourselves.”

The statement felt like a bucket of cold water had been tossed

over Ally’s head. The last vestiges of desire and pleasure from the
orgasm fled. “He wants something special for you,” Ally stated,
meeting Damian’s blue-black eyes.

“Men like us don’t do special, Allasandro. Really, don’t allow

Kalel’s lofty impressions of me to give you the wrong idea. I am a
man who enjoys physical pleasure with others. Your reputation
precedes you and says you enjoy the same. Do you deny it?”

Ally shook his head. No, he couldn’t deny it.
“Then why are you fighting so hard against this attraction?”

Damian’s pointer finger traced Ally’s jawline.

“Men like us?” Ally’s voice was cold as he spoke. He’d never

been made to feel dirty before, but this man had just done that. “I
need to go clean up.” He ducked under Damian’s arm and headed
toward the bathrooms.

The vampire appeared in front of him with his arms crossed across

his chest. “Now you’re angry with me.” He stated it like he was
confused.

“In case you missed it, you’re being a jackass,” Ally retorted,

stepping around him once again. Damian grabbed both his arms and
dragged him back against his chest, taking two deep breaths as if to
calm himself.

“I apologize. I am rusty at this game of seduction. I didn’t think

you’d want to date.” Damian pressed his lips to Ally’s forehead.

The Ravyn shook his head. “I don’t. You’re right about that. I am

not into monogamy or whatever. It’s not my style.”

“Then why the anger?”

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“You were being a dick, and I don’t appreciate someone

assuming, just because I’m casual, I’m game for sexual encounters of
the kinky kind with anyone who asks.”

“I’m not anyone. This…attraction between us deserves

exploration.” Damian pressed the hard evidence of said attraction into
the small of Ally’s back. Ally swallowed hard. Gods he felt huge.

“I promised Dageus I’d help you find a man,” he tried protesting.
“And you have. Luckily the seeker and the sought were located in

the same form. Cuts out the middle man.” Damian delivered the line
flawlessly, and Ally had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “Come
home with me, Ravyn.”

“I…I can’t just say yes.” Allasandro wavered.
“What do you need?” Damian turned him like a marionette doll in

his arms. He searched Ally’s face as if the key to his body was written
somewhere on his visage. Ally bit his bottom lip again and lowered
his eyes in a curious display of submission, his hands curling into
Damian’s jacket once more.

“Make me.” The instant growl of satisfaction Damian gave at the

barely audible words sent a thrill through the Ravyn. The vampire
seemed to appreciate the desire that Allasandro voiced that he hadn’t
even known he needed until that moment.

“You’re coming home with me, naughty boy. Now get your things

and let’s go,” Damian ordered, testing Ally’s desire for that sort of
play. Their eyes met.

“Yes, sir.”
Bloody hell. The echo of Damian’s thought ricocheted in

Allasandro’s mind. They were both so lost.

Ravyn’s Heart

Chapter Eight

What am I doing? What the hell am I doing? Allasandro had taken

up the same internal mantra since Damian transported them to the
penthouse of his high-rise apartment ten minutes ago. Ally had
dropped Damian and Dageus here only days before. Gods, had it only
been days?

Salvatore hadn’t even blinked when he’d said he was taking off. It

was a normal thing for Allasandro. What wasn’t normal was the
person he was going home with. His eyes devoured Damian’s taut
backside through his black slacks.

“What are you thinking?” Damian asked as he led him by the

hand deeper into the apartment

The bedrooms must be this way. He was still a little tipsy, so he

swayed as he followed.

“You have a decorator,” he stated looking at the cream and beige

ensemble of furniture in the living room. Even the carpet seemed like
a foreign presence here.

“Good eye. I had it redone recently,” Damian offered. The praise

went right to Ally’s cock.

“Why?” he wondered as Damian tugged him deeper into the

house, past a door which had a La Petite Morte poster and a “Keep
Out” sign on it and down the hall to an open one.

“Because it needed to be done,” Damian evaded. Ally frowned.
“Do you have a roommate or something?”
Damian stopped the tugging and turned slowly to look Ally in the

face. “No. I do not have a roommate.” His statement sounded odd to
Ally’s ear, but the alcohol was decimating the filter for his mouth.

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“Then what is with the door with the posters? It doesn’t seem like

your style.” Ally swayed forward and found himself nuzzling
Damian’s chest through his shirt. He felt Damian’s body stiffen, and
the displeasure the conversation was evoking sank into Ally’s slightly
inebriated mind.

“That’s because it was my son’s old room. I…haven’t changed

much.” Damian turned, dislodging Ally and heading back toward the
open door to the other bedroom. “Enough questions.” He didn’t take
Ally’s hand again. “Come. We’ve business to discuss.” The command
tugged Allasandro just as effectively as his arm had.

Damian’s bedroom was just what Ally had expected it to be. It

was massive, with thick white carpets, large furniture pieces, and an
inviting bed. The décor was simple and understated. A painting of a
lily hung on one wall, and a collection of small family portraits took
up another. The comforter on the bed was stark white down and
looked ready to sink into.

“Strip.” Damian’s voice carried across the room. He was seated in

a wing-backed coffee-colored chair opposite a small desk. His shirt
and jacket were off and his slacks were open. Ally already felt pretty
naked without his own shirt and drying cum staining the front of his
jeans. Damian seemed to anticipate his protest. “Now, Allasandro.”
The command felt like a whiplash against the shield of Ally’s mind.

He peeled away his jeans, kicking off his tennis shoes and socks.

He stood there in his black boxer briefs and shifted from foot to foot
awkwardly. He’d never had a lover that made him so damn nervous.

“All of it, my naughty boy. Or do you want punishment?” Damian

raised his eyebrows up in question.

“I can’t do this.” Ally’s eyes hit the floor, and he turned his back

to Damian. A raw, panicked reaction filled him. He felt exposed for
some reason. Naked in a way he’d never been before.

The vampire was suddenly there, growling in his ear and all but

tossing Allasandro onto the bed. Ally saw a flash of fangs as he
bounced twice on the wide surface. He must really be turning Damian

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on. Dageus had told him once that vampires only “fanged out” when
they were extremely aroused or angry.

“What the hell, Damian?” Allasandro growled right back. He

wasn’t some human toy. He was a fucking Ravyn. His cock pounded.
And this was an old vampire. Someone who just might be his match
in every way. It made him hot.

“You’re mine for the night, Allasandro. Mine. That means I

decide when you get to leave, and I decide what you can and cannot
do.” Damian looked dangerous and sexy standing there in the soft
golden light of the lamp he’d turned on. He pushed his slacks the rest
of the way down his hips angrily and threw them in the corner.

Ally’s mouth went dry. Damian was just as hard as Ally was. And

it was beautiful. Damian’s cock was long and uncut, thick, and
fiercely aroused if the deep red color was any indication. Damn, Ally
wanted to lick him everywhere. His eyes finally wandered up
Damian’s body to his now grinning face.

“You don’t have a choice, remember, Allasandro?” Damian’s

voice was a dark purr. “You said ‘make me.’ That’s exactly what I’m
doing.”

Ally didn’t reply. Instead, he rolled out of the bed and charged at

the Vampire, knowing that he wasn’t going to fight all that hard.
Damian anticipated him and met him head-on, tossing him over his
shoulder so that he landed on the floor hard. Ally got to his feet again.

“Fuck you!” he snapped. The erection tenting his underwear really

didn’t add much validity to his anger.

“I fully intend to fuck you, my naughty boy,” Damian retorted. A

shudder went the length of Ally’s body. A knowing grin lit up
Damian’s face. “Oh-ho. So you’ve never had someone fuck that
delectable ass of yours? Hmmm…I intend to be the first and the best,
naughty boy.” The pet name was intended to be a weapon, and it was
just as effective as one. Ally’s body tightened another notch with each
use.

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It was Damian who moved first this time, tackling Ally to the

carpet and pinning him there. The massive bulk of the vampire’s body
against his made Ally cry out in want. His underwear was stripped off
in one deft tug, the sound of rending fabric as intoxicating as the
tequila had been.

“Tell me you want it,” Damian demanded, pinning Ally’s hands

above his head. Ally arched and spread his legs to accommodate the
press of Damian’s equally naked form on top of him. Fantasy and
reality merged, and he helplessly ground his hard dick into Damian’s
stomach.

“Yes. Gods, yes, I want it.” Ally shuddered. He was overwhelmed

by the sensations that assaulted his body.

Suddenly they were off the floor and falling gracefully into the

bed. A handy vampire trick to be sure. Damian reached his hand to
the table beside the bed and grabbed a small bottle of lube from its
position by the lamp. Ally shuddered and leaned up, his lips begging
for a kiss. Damian indulged him. Their tongues tangled, fangs nicking
his lips and tongue as Allasandro enthusiastically met the aggression
of the vampire. He needed that aggression. That passion. He’d needed
this for what seemed like forever now.

“Going to fuck you so good.” Damian’s voice was a guttural aural

tease. The sounds of the words were pure sex.

“No.” Ally protested just to see what Damian would do. Would he

play the gentleman? The vampire just chuckled and deepened the kiss,
his hand slipping down Ally’s body and finding the tight rosette
nestled between his ass cheeks. Lubed fingers circled, caressed,
lightly penetrated. Where had that come from? Ally gasped into
Damian’s mouth and rocked his hips. He’d never wanted anything
like he wanted Damian’s cock inside him.

“You like games,” Damian whispered, pulling back from the kiss,

and Ally chased after his mouth. The Ravyn swallowed hard and
nodded, his eyes darting to the wall instead of the man on top of him.

Ravyn’s Heart

Damian pushed the finger he’d been toying with him with all the way
inside.

Ally gasped, and his eyes clashed with Damian’s. “You don’t get

to avoid me, naughty boy,” the vampire warned, pushing and
withdrawing the finger in steady motions.

“Yes, Damian. Gods, whatever you say. Please.” He moaned, and

his eyes slid shut. The sensation of fingers penetrating wasn’t an
unfamiliar one. He’d had women try it before, and he’d always been
able to take it or leave it. With Damian…the way he curled his fingers
up to score a small knotted pleasure spot inside him with each thrust
made the experience damn near religious for Allasandro.

“Ready for more?” Damian asked. Ally nodded quickly, spreading

his legs farther apart. Two fingers penetrated him then. Ally cried out
at the stretching sensation and the slight burn, but when Damian
curled his fingers once again, he forgot all about the discomfort of the
two sensations.

“Please. Please. Please,” Ally babbled. He was a noisy lover. That

was why he usually used a washcloth. Damian was eating it up.

“Please what?” he growled.
“Please fuck me. Please. I need you inside. Need it so

bad…wanted it so bad. Please, Damian.”

“Want my cock, naughty boy?” Damian taunted, using his other

hand to grab his own cock and slide it against the crease of Ally’s ass
to tease him. Ally whimpered.

“Yes.”
“Yes what?” Damian demanded sharply, pressing just the tip of

his dick inside Ally’s unused passage as he withdrew his fingers.

“Yes, sir. I want your cock.” The softly spoken words made

Damian shudder this time. The Ravyn felt a moment’s satisfaction
over the fact until his mind blanked completely as Damian pushed
inside him.

Damian forged a path into Ally’s body one excruciating inch at a

time. He paused periodically, making sure that Allasandro was

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adjusted properly before continuing on. He needn’t have worried. The
Ravyn was meeting him push for push, thrust for thrust. He was
writhing like a fish on the end of a hook and was enjoying every
second of it.

“Come inside, Damian. I won’t break. Promise.” Allasandro

grunted, his hips rotating to take Damian deeper. The words were
enough. Damian appeared to be at the end of his patience for the slow
pace he’d set. The urge to fuck and fuck hard was written all over the
vampire’s strained features. It was sexy as hell. Damian lunged
forward, skewering Allasandro with his impressive mass before
beginning a driving rhythm that was guaranteed to bring them both to
screaming release in no time flat.

Ally reached out with his mind, needing to feel the closeness that

came with sex. It wasn’t just a physical act with him. It was a mental
one as well. His mind was the strongest of the Ravyns, and
gallivanting around other people’s heads was second nature to him.
He gasped as their minds merged together. His vision blurred as he
saw through his own eyes and his lover’s at the same time. It made his
head spin.

“Bloody hell, what are you doing?” Damian gasped, his hips

jerking harder as their minds slid into one another. He groaned louder
and angled his hips to the exact angle Ally needed.

“Yes!” Ally cried out. His hands snaked up and left scratch marks

down Damian’s muscular back. The pleasure flowed back and forth
between, building as it flowed. It was a ricochet effect that Allasandro
had never experienced with any other lover. Of course he’d never had
a vampire lover before. Every individual sensation of pleasure rippled
through the other person until they were both overly sensitized by
touch. They gasped in unison as the orgasm began. Neither of them
knew who’d started to fall first, but they were racing to completion
together.

Damian’s hips lost their rhythm, and it became a hard pounding

that sought only his own pleasure. Ally was right there with him. He

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cried out over and over, babbling incoherently and loving the
expressions that were crossing Damian’s face as their minds’ joining
took him higher. Damian grunted from the exertion and his cock
nailed Allasandro’s prostate with every lunge. Ally had a feeling that
experiencing the pleasure internally and externally tested the limits of
what Damian knew of ultimate pleasure. Gods knew that this had just
become the most intense sexual encounter of Ally’s considerably long
life.

“Allasandro,” Damian breathed as his body jerked and he began to

pour the hot wet proof of his pleasure into the tight depths of Ally’s
body. Ally’s cock jerked in unison and bathed the space in between
their bodies with his pleasure. Damian’s fangs descended, and a growl
worked his way up out of the depths of his throat. Ally tilted his head,
exposing the thumping artery.

“Take from me,” Allasandro offered. The desire he felt in Damian

had become his own. He needed him to feed on him as badly Damian
needed to feed. The vampire didn’t make him wait long. His fangs
struck quickly, and he instantly sealed his lips over the wound he’d
made. Ally felt like he’d stuck his finger in a light socket. The power
didn’t just flow. It swamped the both of them. Ally’s hips jacked
upward, and he came again, feeling his lover’s body jerk inside him
once more as well.

Allasandro’s head swam from the sheer sensuality of the moment.

He sighed happily and his entire body relaxed. Whatever had just
happened between them was perfection. Together the Ravyn and the
vampire were spent.

Jana Downs

Chapter Nine

Allasandro rose with the dawn. He’d set Damian’s alarm clock for

six, but he’d awakened early. Wrapped in the cocoon of warmth that
was Damian’s embrace, Ally had no desire to move.

“Hi,” Damian greeted, obviously just as awake as he was.
“Hi, yourself,” Ally replied, kissing Damian’s lips. The room was

nothing but shadows, but the first gray impressions of dawn created
intriguing plays of light across the vampire’s face. He truly was
beautiful.

“Did you sleep well?” Damian inquired. His voice was soft and

low, gentle where before it had been rough and demanding. The
memory of the previous night made him shudder. It had been magic,
and the soft welcoming bed afterward had made it a perfect end to a
perfect night.

“I slept great. You’re comfy.” Ally let his eyes slide closed and

snuggled closer to Damian’s surprisingly warm form. He hadn’t
expected a vampire to be so damn warm.

Damian’s eyebrow rose in a move more characteristic of his

brother Alex than the Damian Ally knew. It reminded him that
Dageus’s husband Alex and Damian were closely related.

“Comfy? I think I’m insulted. I’ve never been called comfy

before.” His tone was serious, but his eyes were sparkling with mirth.
“And how did you enjoy last night?”

“What’s with the twenty questions?” Ally murmured, nipping his

chin in protest.

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“You give such intriguing answers that I’m curious as to what you

think of our evening together,” Damian offered. He kissed Ally’s
forehead.

“You’re very odd.” Ally considered the question for a moment,

his cheeks heating at the cascade of erotic memories that assaulted
him. After their first joining, Damian had encouraged Ally’s
exploration, giving him free rein with the sexual experience. All of
their play had held an edge of rough desire, and Allasandro had taken
to it like a duck to water. His body had taken him to a higher plane of
pleasure than he’d ever experienced before. He’d practically flown to
the moon and back, drunk off Damian’s paradise of a body. He’d lost
count of how many orgasms he’d had.

He finally remembered that Damian had asked a question. “It was

amazing.” He whispered it while his cheeks were blazing pink.
Damian seemed pleased with his answer.

“When can I see you again?” the vampire asked, scattering kisses

along Ally’s jaw and neck. Ally shivered.

“I’m going to tell my brothers today about us. We can make plans

tonight after rehearsal. Okay?”

Damian frowned. “Why do you have to tell them? We’re not in

any kind of romantic relationship. Besides, Kal will get upset.”

“Ravyns don’t have secrets from one another,” Allasandro

reminded him gently. “We’re brothers, and to maintain our mental
bond, we have to be completely honest with one another.” He nuzzled
Damian’s neck once more before extracting himself from his embrace
and rolling to his feet. His mind reached back to Damian, giving him
a mental caress. The vampire shuddered, and his fangs dropped.
“Besides, Dageus is my best friend. He’ll totally understand.” He
added the last because he was sure of Dageus’s reaction. He knew
him as well as he knew himself.

“I love when you do that,” Damian murmured, referring to the

mental touch Ally had given him. He rolled after Ally as he searched
in vain for his clothes. The underwear he’d worn was in pieces, and

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his shirt was still missing, but maybe his jeans… He felt Damian’s
hunger spike. He glanced up from his position by the dresser.

“Need some breakfast before I leave?” Ally teased, slipping into

Damian’s mind more fully to gauge his reaction. He was able to get
much deeper now. Deeper than he had ever been able to go. Vampire
energy was interesting. Different than what he was used to. But he
was fascinated with how their minds worked. Well, actually he was
just fascinated with how Damian’s mind worked. Slipping into his
mind was more complicated to work in, but it had an intimacy that
was unparalleled. He could do more than just experience another’s
mind. With Damian he was able to share the experience of mind
touch, and he found the experience intoxicating.

“I would love a snack before you run off,” Damian said, wrapping

his arms around Ally’s shoulders and drawing him toward him. Ally
tilted his head to the side, intensely aware of their height difference as
he gazed up at Damian through partially shuttered lashes. When
Damian’s mouth came toward him, he pulled back.

“Make me.” Ally intended for it to be a taunt, but it came out as a

husky murmur.

Damian growled. “Give me your vein, naughty boy.”

* * * *

Ally melted at the words. His head fell back, baring the long line

of his throat. Damian practically purred at the sight. “Good boy.”

Damian’s fangs sank in slowly. The tingle of sensation that ran up

from the pleasure of inserting his teeth in willing flesh went straight
to his cock.

“Yes! Damian, Yes!” Allasandro whimpered. He was so damn

responsive. Damian felt a dark possession filling him. He didn’t want
to share this beautiful man with anyone else. It didn’t matter that they
weren’t romantically involved. Damian wanted to be his only lover.
He’d have to keep the Ravyn busy in order to distract him from any

Ravyn’s Heart

further conquests that Allasandro might want to make. Some panicked
part of his conscience whispered that he needed to do something more
drastic than distraction to keep Allasandro by his side.

I don’t want to be alone again. I like him too much already. He’ll

leave. Everyone leaves. Even Kal left. He knew logically that his son
hadn’t intended to get kidnapped, but nonetheless he had snuck out of
the house and run away the night he was stolen away to Demontia.
Damian had had issues letting things he considered “his” out of his
sight ever since.

A little binding would make him yours forever, an insidious voice

in the back of his mind whispered. It was so deep in fact that
Allasandro couldn’t even hear the whispered words. Make him take a
little of your blood while you drink. Not enough to make him your
Bride, just a tiny bit so that you’ll always know where he is and how
you can find him.

Damian pulled back from the puncture he’d made and began to

lap at the incision. Delicious. Pure paradise. Demon blood had more
spice and passion than human blood.

I don’t know what will happen if I give him my blood. What if even

a little of my blood makes him mine? he argued with that voice.

It won’t. You’re being paranoid. Just do it.
Stop arguing with yourself, Damian. You sound like a crazy

person.

He pulled back from his feast and bit into his own wrist before he

could think better of it. He pressed that wrist to Allasandro’s gasping
mouth as he went back to his snack. “Take this, my naughty boy,” he
commanded. “It’ll make the pleasure better.” And that was true,
though it was a half-truth. Damian thought he could live with that.
Allasandro would probably never know.

* * * *

Jana Downs

Ally was whistling a merry tune by the time he got back to Alex’s

mansion where the Ravyns were staying. He glanced at the wall clock
as he nodded to the sentries on his way to the tea room. The Ravyns
would be taking breakfast there before morning workouts. He didn’t
even bother going upstairs to change. The boys would find it amusing
that he’d had to come home without his shirt.

“Hey, everybody!” he greeted, throwing open the French doors

and sauntering into the room like he owned it. The two Shifters Alex
had assigned as extra bodyguards tensed as the door swung open, only
to relax when they saw who’d come through the door. Ally was
always dragging in at odd times, usually right before the start of his
shift with Salvatore.

“Hey, Ally-cat.” Druas returned his greeting cheerfully. The rest

of his brothers were not morning people. He took a bite of his
breakfast steak and grinned. “Did you have a good night?”

Ally returned the grin and plopped down beside Dageus. “Hell

yeah. Best. Night. Ever.” He turned his head to Dageus and slapped
him on the back. “And how was your night with Alex, my man?”
Dageus’s nose twitched, and his whole body tensed. Ally frowned.
“What’s—”

“Son of a bitch!” Dageus barked, turning fully toward him and

taking a long drag of his scent. “Son of a bitch!” He launched himself
at the other Ravyn and knocked them both to the floor. He drew back
his fist and let it fly. Dageus’s fist connected with Ally’s jaw.

“Ow!” Ally snapped, his shock finally fading. “What the hell,

man?”

The other Ravyns were already on their feet and scrambling to

separate them. Salvatore was shouting for Dageus to back the hell off,
but Dageus was apparently hearing none of it. His fist collided again,
crunching Ally’s nose this time.

Ally rolled to get Dageus off of him and came to a crouch with a

growl. The better fighting position did nothing to better his mood. He
didn’t understand what the hell Dageus’s problem was.

Ravyn’s Heart

“You slept with him!” Dageus accused, elbowing Druas and

ducking under Germany as they tried to corral him. He lunged at Ally
again, but Tony grabbed his arm to restrain him. The leader of the
Ravyns hauled him back and put a death grip on both of his arms,
wrenching them behind his back. Dageus continued his rant, almost
oblivious to the pain Tony was inflicting.

He looked like he pulled his arms out of socket as he wrenched

away. Ally was ready for him this time. He dodged his fist and
scuttled backward away from the fury of his best mate.

“I can’t believe you slept with him! He’s not a Goddamn toy, you

son of a bitch!”

“Whoa…Ally-cat slept with a dude?” Germany wondered.
“Who the hell cares if he did?” Dru wondered. “He’s Ally-cat, for

god’s sake. He sleeps with anything human enough.” They shared a
snicker.

“Wait…was it Alex?” Ger asked with wide eyes. That may have

explained why Dageus was so pissed, but Allasandro knew exactly
why his brother was so angry with him.

“That’s not helping, you two,” Salvatore reprimanded. He stepped

in between the two warring Ravyns.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the pair of

them. “What is your problem?” He directed the question at Dageus.
Dageus pointed a finger at Allasandro.

“That stupid fuck slept with my dad!”
All of their mouths dropped open in shock. No one had seen that

one coming. Ally felt his face heat as they all turned to look at him.

“No friggin’ way,” Druas murmured. They all started sniffing the

air like hounds sniffing quarry.

“Yes. Yes, okay? I slept with Damian. I was actually going to tell

you all today,” Ally admitted. Dageus snarled and started rumbling
curses.

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“Damn, my man. That is a line you shouldn’t have crossed.”

Germany added his voice. He was the quiet one, so if he said it was
so, it most likely was.

“We’re just having a fling.” Ally tried to play it off. “Nothing

serious, just two guys getting off together. No big deal.”

“No big deal? No big deal!” Dageus started shouting again. “You

know I was looking for someone real for him, Allasandro. Fuck! He’s
my father, and he needs someone who he can spend the rest of his life
with, not some fucking twink looking to get off. You’re not even
gay!”

Ally felt his face heat in anger and shame. “I am real.” The words

were whispered. “Besides, you don’t know I’m not gay.” The burst of
bitter laughter interrupted the rest of his rehearsed speech.

“You fuck everything, Ally-cat. ‘Gay’ means you have a

preference. You don’t give a damn what your partner’s sex is so long
as you’re getting off.” The words cut deeper than they should have.
“And you wouldn’t know ‘real’ if it bit you in the ass.”

Ally’s bottom lip trembled. Damn that hurt. Dageus was his

friend. His best friend… “I thought you’d understand.” The words
sounded choked.

“I understand that you can’t keep your cock to yourself. I

understand that you betrayed my trust and went behind my back, not
for a relationship but for a quick fuck. I understand that you and I are
no longer on friendly terms because of your callous disregard of my
feelings. I do not understand how the hell you thought I would be
okay with this.” Dageus’s words were more effective than daggers to
his heart.

“Dageus.” Salvatore’s voice cut through his tirade. “That’s

enough. He knows you’re unhappy.”

Dageus turned away with a snort of disgust. “Fine. I’m done

talking anyway. Tony, I’m sorry, but I’m feeling a little under the
weather. Do you mind if I skip the workout?”

Ravyn’s Heart

Tony shook his head. “You can skip out if you want to. You’ll just

have to do it tonight after your rehearsal.”

“Fine.” He glanced at their Prince. “I’m going to my room. Later.”

He didn’t even look at Allasandro.

As the door slammed shut, Ally managed to get himself into a

chair. Breakfast was all over the floor and broken dishes were
scattered amongst the mess. He hung his head and cupped it between
his two palms. His eyes screwed shut in an effort to quell the tears
that sprang to his eyes. He held his breath in an effort to suppress the
sobs that were trying to escape. The others knelt beside him, touching
him with understanding hands, comforting him when he didn’t
deserve it.

“Stop,” he managed in a strangled voice. They hushed him,

kissing his cheeks in turn and holding him close. These were his
brothers, his family, his everything. That was what the Ravyns were.
He truly believed that with everything he was.

“I just wanted him to understand,” he murmured as Salvatore

reached out and started petting his hair in a soothing rhythmic
fashion. “I didn’t know he would be so angry. I didn’t think…” He
swallowed. “I offer penance to my brothers.”

“None needed,” Salvatore said easily. “You didn’t have the

intention of hiding things from your brothers. Nor did you betray
them with your pleasure. You may have made a mistake, but it wasn’t
something that you could predict the consequences of.”

“I’d feel better if I could offer Dageus penance,” Ally said

stubbornly. “I never wanted to hurt him.”

“That is between you and Dageus, Allasandro,” Salvatore

reminded. “You two are the best of friends. You’ll work it out.”

Ally sure hoped so. He couldn’t stand the thought of never talking

to his brother again. It would weaken the Ravyns’ bond and endanger
the Prince. He sighed. He didn’t want to give Damian up, but… He
didn’t want to lose his family. He glanced at each one of them in turn.

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He couldn’t be selfish and weaken the bond just for a fuck buddy. He
couldn’t. He and Damian were done.

Ravyn’s Heart

Chapter Ten

“You’ve reached Allasandro. Leave a message after the beep and

I’ll holla back. Later.” Beep.

“Hey, Allasandro, It’s Damian. You didn’t show up at rehearsal,

but Kal did. Alone. I was wondering if everything is okay… I mean,
you said you’d make plans, and yet, you’re not here… So, I suppose I
shall call you later or, er, well, you can call me back or whatever you
deem appropriate. Well. Good-bye.” Beep.

“Greetings, Allasandro, where the hell were you? It’s Santiago.

Damian sounded like a dying milk cow singing his concerto tonight.
You are supposed to be his muse. You are failing in your duties as
that muse. Bye.” Beep.

“Allasandro, it’s Damian, again. Kal said you’d died when I asked

where you were. I am assuming by the fact that there is no funeral
scheduled that that was sarcasm. He must not have taken
our…arrangement very well. Please, call me back. Please. I know this
is bad, but I still…I need to see you. I need you. Please don’t let this
go.” Beep.

“It’s been three days. Are you ever going to pick up the phone?

Where are you? I was over at Alex’s yesterday, and everyone said you
were gone, but you weren’t. I know you weren’t. Why won’t you talk
to me? It’s just a phone call. You don’t even have to see me.
Just…talk to me. Call me.” Beep.

A great miserable sigh sounded. “Two weeks. I get it. I won’t call

anymore. I’m sorry. Have a good life, Allasandro…. See you around.”

Allasandro clutched his cell phone hard enough for the plastic to

creak. The pain in the vampire’s voice cut at him. He didn’t know

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how much longer he could do this. He had stopped going out entirely.
He’d stopped answering his cell phone. He’d stopped enjoying things.
He felt like a part of his soul was missing.

“Hey, Ally-cat,” Dageus greeted as he walked through the door.

He was taking over from the night shift that Ally had worked. Dageus
had warmed considerably over the past few days.

“Hey.” His voice was hoarse. He hadn’t been sleeping well.

Dageus searched his face for a moment.

“You okay? You look…rough.” His best friend touched his cheek,

worry creased his forehead. Ally shook it off. He reached up and
rubbed his neck over the spot where Damian’s bite marks had healed.
He felt empty. So damn empty.

“I’m fine. Salvatore wants to uh…talk to you.” He rubbed his

temples. He felt like his blood pressure was up or something.

“Something important?”
“Don’t know. He didn’t tell me what it was about. You still mad

at me?” Ally wondered. He felt the bond between them thicken, and
he experimentally reached out and gave it a push. It flared bright gold
in his mind, and he felt his brother’s love echo back along the cord.

“You know I forgive you, and I’m sorry I yelled at you.” Dageus

gave him half a hug as Tony barked at him to get inside to start his
shift. “We’ll talk later.” Ally nodded and shuffled off.

* * * *

“My lord?” Dageus called. Salvatore was nowhere in sight.
“He’s in the bathroom,” Tony offered from this place on the other

side of the fireplace. He pushed off the wall and walked up to the
other Ravyn. “Heard you chitchatting with Allasandro. You two
talking finally?”

Dageus nodded. “Yeah. I know he didn’t mean to hurt me, and I

overreacted to it. He was just being Ally-cat. Besides, he fixed it.
Now Damian can find someone who he can love.”

Ravyn’s Heart

“That’s excellent news.” Salvatore added his voice to the

conversation as he came out of the bathroom. “I’m glad you have
made up with him because that is what I needed to talk to you about.”
He motioned to the seat on the other side of his tea table. Dageus sat
and nodded when Salvatore offered him tea. He was getting used to
drinking the stuff with Alex around. Tony stood behind Salvatore’s
chair, ever vigilant.

“You were going to talk to me about Ally?” Dageus asked. It was

unusual that Salvatore interfered in their individual tiffs. The Ravyns
were grown men, and he allowed them to work out things amongst
themselves.

“Yes. I need the two of you to go on an errand for me, and I

wanted to make sure you two were in accord so you could connect
through the bond. The errand I’m talking about is rather dangerous, so
I want you both prepared.” Salvatore took a sip from his cup.

Now he had Dageus’s attention. The Ravyns didn’t often go on

missions, and they certainly didn’t go now that Desmond, the King of
Demontia and Salvatore’s sworn enemy, knew where they were.
Salvatore was too vulnerable to be without the Ravyns for any length
of time. The last mission they’d been on was when they’d first arrived
on Earth and had to find lodgings for their Prince.

“I’ve talked everything over with Anthony”—he nodded to

Tony—“and we agreed that you and Allasandro are the best Ravyns
suited for this mission.” Dageus wished Salvatore would just spit it
out. He was making him nervous. “We need you two to go to the
sacred caves in southern Demontia. Somewhere in the caves there is a
package I need you to retrieve.” He extricated a piece of cloth out of
his left jacket pocket and tossed it to Dageus. “Scent that.”

Dageus snatched the cloth out of the air and immediately brought

it to his nose. His nose was the best out of the bunch, and he was
instantly assaulted by the smell of a demon. Deep plush orchids and
fresh honey. An underlying hint of some sort of herb. Thyme? Maybe.

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It seemed old. Sage? That wasn’t quite right either. Probably an herb
native to Demontia.

“Who is this?” Dageus wondered. He knew he’d never smelled

someone with this unique scent before.

“His name is Theron. He’s the illegitimate son of my father’s

brother.” Salvatore dropped the bomb without a hitch in his voice.
Dageus’s mouth dropped open.

“He’s your cousin? Like Desmond’s brother?” he asked

incredulously.

Salvatore nodded. “He is. He isn’t in line for the throne because

he was never an acknowledged part of the royal family, but he’s
recently reached out to me because Desmond is taking no chances
with his throne. He’s sent Doves after him.”

“How has he survived? Your father gave you specialized warriors

to watch out for you after Desmond killed your uncle and stormed the
palace. How has this kid lived that long?” Dageus wondered. The
whole thing sounded suspicious to the Ravyn, and he knew Tony
must be thinking the same thing because he felt the affirmation of his
thoughts through his bond.

“My uncle assigned him specialized warriors right before his

death when Desmond was first showing signs of violent ambition. He
called them Cranes. They took him to the East and hid him in a
village there. It has worked only because Desmond’s most pressing
focus for the past few centuries has been me. When I left Demontia,
Desmond got even more paranoid, if that is possible. Long story short
The Cranes are dead. All thirteen. He needs protection, and the leader
of his Cranes sent me a message when the remaining Cranes dwindled
down to him and one other. They managed to hide him in the caves
with a knapsack with enough food to last two weeks. That’s how long
you will have to find him and bring him here. You have the best nose
out of the bunch, so you’ll be tracking him.”

“By myself?” That didn’t seem like a normal mission to Dageus.

Alex was not going to like this at all…

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“Of course not. That’s why I wanted to make sure you and

Allasandro were all right. His mind is the strongest, and he’ll need
that to reassure Theron that you are who you say you are. You’re
strong together, and I trust the two of you to bring him here safe and
sound. We’ll figure out what to do from then.”

Dageus swallowed. This mission would be dangerous. They

would be outnumbered, outgunned, and out of luck if the Doves found
them before they found Theron. He glanced at Tony. The Leader of
the Ravyns nodded to him. He must have agreed with Salvatore’s plan
because he wasn’t raising his voice in argument, but he also knew that
the leader of the Ravyns wasn’t too keen on the idea. He felt the
discomfort down the bond.

“When do we leave, my Prince?” Dageus asked, inclining his

head in acknowledgement of his Prince’s command.

“Tomorrow. Germany is coming to take over your shift now. Go

spend the day with your vampire and try to relax. You’ll need your
strength.” Salvatore paused. “Also, you could try and talk to
Allasandro. He hasn’t been himself lately, and I’m sure your
conversation would go a long way to relieving his mind about the
state of your friendship.”

Dageus nodded. “I’ll call him when Alex and I wake.” He stood

and bowed to his Prince. “Thank you for your faith in me.” Salvatore
reached out and petted Dageus’s bent head. Germany knocked on the
door and was admitted to the room by Tony.

“Go, my Ravyn. Enjoy your day off.”

* * * *

Allasandro wiped his mouth as he finished vomiting into the

porcelain bowl in his set of rooms. He shuddered as his stomach
rolled again. His grip on his cell phone tightened as he replayed the
messages from Damian. The sound of the vampire’s voice soothed
him for some reason. He was weakening. He didn’t know how much

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longer he could stay away from Damian at this point. The phone
messages weren’t holding him over anymore.

His forehead rested on the seat of the toilet, and he forced himself

to breathe in and out. This didn’t feel like he’d lost a one-time fuck
buddy. This felt like he’d lost his best friend. He wondered if
Salvatore would let him borrow one of his discs of La Petite Morte’s
performances that featured Damian.

The knock on the bathroom door startled him from his misery. He

staggered to his feet. “Hold on a minute!” he called. He twisted the
knob of the sink and made like he was washing his hands. In actuality
he was trying to drown himself in an effort to quiet his rioting
stomach. He was lucky that most of the nausea had passed already.

He swung open the door and was surprised to see Dageus standing

there. “Hey,” he greeted, leaning against the doorframe. He knew he
looked pale as a zombie and probably just as corpse-like in
appearance. Dageus worried his bottom lip.

“Hey, brother.” The other Ravyn looked him up and down. “You

feeling okay? You look rough, and your wavelength feels a little
sporadic.”

“I’m sick to my stomach. I must’ve eaten something off,” Ally

offered, tucking his phone into his pocket. He didn’t need to mention
anything about Damian. Dageus would just get mad.

“You’re having Bite Withdrawals,” Dageus stated, letting his gaze

slide to Ally’s pocket where he’d hidden his cell phone.

“What the hell is that?” Ally asked with a frown. He’d never

heard of anything like that.

“Bite Withdrawals are when a vampire drinks your blood during a

particularly intimate moment. They tend to produce a special
pheromone in their saliva that has an addictive quality. Most vampires
as old as Damian have mastered the ability to control that release of
chemicals, but he must’ve really lost control with you for it to have
happened.” His green-and-gold eyes were filled with sympathy. “Alex
has got carried away with me before and done that. It sucks. You must

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be really sensitive to be still feeling the effects. It usually lasts about a
week.”

Ally chose to ignore the whole conversation about Damian. “What

are you doing here, brother? I thought you had guard duty this
morning.”

Dageus shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. “Right. Well,

Salvatore has a mission for us tomorrow that I wanted to tell you
about. We’re heading to Demontia in the morning, so try and get
some sleep, okay? I’ll explain everything tomorrow morning.”

“You have the night off? Spending it with Alex?” Ally wondered.

He walked past his friend and into his bedroom. The familiar brown
and teal décor always made him feel like he was staying at a fancy
French hotel. Nothing in it was him. But, it was comfortable enough,
so he didn’t complain.

“Yeah. I already called him. We’re spending the day together in

our room and then doing dinner out tonight. Figured we’d go
shopping at the mall or something after.” His words were filled with
warmth, and a bolt of jealousy nearly brought Ally to his knees. What
happened to the days when Allasandro just needed a night out with a
couple women to make his day complete? “It’s just the Withdrawals,
Ally-cat,” Dageus said softly. “You’ll get back to normal soon.”

Ally nodded but he really wasn’t so sure.

* * * *

Damian stared at the desk blankly, drumming his fingers on the

wooden surface. He was getting no work done. The spreadsheets
scattered across the polished expanse were days old. He never let the
paperwork get this far behind. Santiago had put in yet another request
for a repair for the third floor balcony of the theater. He needed to call
his usual repair guys and get them working on that. But first he
needed to do the spreadsheets so he’d know what his damn budget
was, or else the accounts could get off and God knew what sort of

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disaster would follow after that. The vampire sighed loudly and gave
up his attempt at getting actual work done.

Instead, he swiveled his chair around and addressed the ugly gray

metal file organizer behind his desk. He hadn’t looked in that thing in
ages. It probably needed cleaning out. It could be just the thing to get
his mind off of… Nope. Not thinking about the tightest ass he’d ever
had. Not thinking about the delicious taste of his demon lover. His
onetime demon lover. He would not be thinking about his name
anytime soon. He’d made it painfully obvious that he didn’t want to
see him anymore.

He opened up the middle drawer on a whim and pulled it out.

Stacks of manila folders greeted his eyes. Hmmm…these were pretty
old. Ten years at least.

“Huh.” These were files from Kal’s adoption. All these were

personal files that he must’ve stuck in here for safekeeping. On
impulse, he took one from the middle of the stack and flipped it open.

He blinked as he read what was written there. He must’ve

overlooked these during their move into the bigger apartment. He’d
had a studio apartment back then with barely enough room for him
and his own things. Forget the piles and piles of stuff that had come
with a child. He smiled as he remembered the bright big green eyes of
his son as he was brought into the house by the social workers. His
best friend Emmet had passed away with his wife Diane at the hands
of a rogue vampire only a few days before. They’d had no family, so
the state had taken custody of the child until the will had been found.
The funeral had just been that day, and Damian had organized it all.
He had been in agony over the event, but the minute he’d seen that
beautiful dark-haired child he’d felt a sense of purpose return to him.

He bet Allasandro would be a great dad.
Whoa. Where the hell had that thought come from? He’d never

even thought of another man in that context. He’d been an idiot to
give him his blood. Now he felt him. In his very cells, he felt him.
This connection between them was more intense than it should’ve

Ravyn’s Heart

been. Everything was more intense between them than it should’ve
been, and now, after a one-night stand, he was craving him like a man
in the desert craving water.

It was then he felt something in himself break. Like a rubber band

stretched too far beyond its capacity, the connection between
Allasandro and himself snapped. He clutched his chest in absolute
agony. What the hell had just happened?

Jana Downs

Chapter Eleven

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Damian demanded incredulously

as the Prince of Demontia made his announcement. He’d come in
after Damian had stormed into the house, demanding to see
Allasandro immediately or else he was going to take the house down
stone by stone. Some vampires had fled to fetch Alex, and the Ravyns
had bristled around Salvatore like over protective bears over a cub.

“As I’ve told you before, he’s gone on a mission for me to

Demontia, and I’m not sure when he’ll be back. Time passes
differently realm to realm, so I’m not sure of an exact time line.”
Salvatore spoke in the same exasperated tone he usually reserved for
Allasandro, who could be particularly obstinate at times. “Besides, I
hardly think that is any of your business. From what I understand, you
two do not have any sort of relationship that I am aware of.”

Damian let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.

“I don’t give a damn what you’re aware of.” His heart was pounding,
demanding he find Allasandro now. “I need to talk to him.” See him.
Touch him. Take him. Make him mine.

“As I’ve told you. He isn’t here.” Salvatore seemed to finally be

getting annoyed with the impatient vampire. Good. Maybe then the
idiotic Demon Prince would take Damian seriously.

It was then Alex decided to walk in the front door. Relief was

evident on Salvatore’s face. “Alexander, thank God! Please, tell your
lunatic of a brother that Allasandro and Dageus have gone to
Demontia and that we’re not harboring them under this roof just to
annoy his insanity,” Salvatore pleaded, glaring at Damian. Damian’s
eyes bored into his brother.

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The Master of Haven looked at his brother like he’d lost his mind.

“He wasn’t lying to you, Damian. Dageus left just this morning. I’m
sorry, brother. He isn’t here.”

Damian’s whole body started trembling. Kalel and Allasandro.

Gone. “I need to see them. Need to… Alex, please…” Unwanted tears
filled his eyes, and he blinked rapidly to clear them. Alex was
instantly before him, sensing his stress.

“Let’s go to my room, Damian,” he murmured in a soothing voice

meant to comfort. “We can talk there.” Damian gave a staccato nod.
In the next second they were gone.

* * * *

“Sit down, brother,” Alex demanded softly, pushing Damian into

the plush couch that was opposite his bed. The room still smelled like
his and Dageus’s lovemaking from this morning, but it couldn’t be
helped. “Talk to me, Damian. The pain is written all over your face.
Kal will be back. I promise. You know I wouldn’t let him out of my
sight unless I was sure he would be safe.”

“What about Allasandro? He…I never got to tell him… Gods,

why are they both gone?” Damian was trembling hard against the soft
expanse of cushion. Anxiety was a living, breathing creature inside of
him.

“If you were human, I’d say that you need to take a Prozac,” Alex

joked, petting Damian’s head. It was unusual that his older brother
was so emotional, but then, whenever the emotion involved his son, it
was to be expected that he would break apart. They’d nearly lost him
when they’d lost Kal.

“I don’t need a Prozac. I need Allasandro back now. I need Kal to

be home where he’s safe,” Damian snapped. Alex’s eyes narrowed.

“Why do you care so much about the other Ravyn? I know you

slept with him, but that used to mean very little to you. Do you like
him, Damian? I mean as more than a one-night stand.”

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“Yes, I like him!” Damian glared. “What have I been saying all

this time? Christ. The two people I care most about in the world were
sent off to God knows where on some dangerous mission in a hostile
land, and no one even informs me!”

Alex’s eyebrow rose. “The two people you care most about in the

world? Jesus, Damian, you have it bad, mate. Is he your Bride?”

Damian sighed and put his head in his hands, closing his eyes.

“He might be.” The words were whispered. “I think that’s why I’m
going crazy. He won’t talk to me because Kal is mad at him for
sleeping with me, and now he’s gone, and if he doesn’t come back—”

“He’ll be back,” Alex interrupted. “They always come back. This

is the stress of being with one of the Ravyns, brother. A warrior’s life
is a lot more dangerous than an artist’s.” He patted Damian on the
back. “I’ll talk to Kal when he returns and see if I can talk some sense
into him. Why don’t you stay here until then? I mean, Ally-cat has
been staying in your old room, so I don’t see why you shouldn’t have
it back in the meantime.”

Damian’s head snapped up. Allasandro had been sleeping in his

room. In his bed. Surrounded by his old things. The notion gave him
some comfort. “I would like that,” he said softly. Alex smiled
knowingly.

“Of course. Let me introduce you to the Ravyns beforehand, and

I’ll have Marcel go fetch your things from your apartment.”

After some very intense introductions were complete and the last

of the complaints lodged against Damian with the Master of Haven,
the Ravyns went about their business escorting Salvatore into town,
and the vampires went to their rooms to get some much-needed rest. It
was positively unnatural for vampires to be awake in the middle of
the day.

Damian slipped into his old room with a bare amount of

hesitation. He knew he was crossing a line somewhere but was unable
to help himself. The hole in his chest was burning, and the urge to feel
close to Allasandro was undeniable. Is this what Alex felt like the

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whole time Kal was gone? He turned on the bedside lamp. As with
most rooms in the mansion, Allasandro’s room had the same heavy
black-out curtains vampire dwellings were famous for.

Damian was surprised to find that very little had changed in the

way of décor since he’d moved out years ago. The room was still the
same shades of brown and teal that Maddy had picked out when
Damian had been too busy to do it himself.

He opened the drawers of his old sturdy oak dresser and was

surprised to find all of Allasandro’s clothing folded in extremely neat
rows over the course of three drawers, underwear and socks in the top
drawer. Who really organized their socks by color and length? The
shirt drawer was in the middle, again organized by color and shirt
type and finally the pants drawer on the bottom. Damian was
surprised to note that Ally didn’t hang his jeans up like most people.
Instead, he tucked them away in this chest. So what did he keep in the
closet? Hmmmm…

Damian crossed to the closet, feeling a little guilty for being a

creep and going through Allasandro’s stuff. He swung open the door
and blinked. Weapons and combat attire filled the small walk-in to
capacity. This was the side of Allasandro that Damian had never seen.
Everything was neat and organized, maintained with the same love
and care that most dancers paid their performance gear. This was
Allasandro. This was his passion.

Damian reached out and ran his hand over the curve of a

particularly nasty-looking scythe. It was one used for practice if the
various knives and dings were any indication. He examined the other
weapons and didn’t find any whose handle was so smooth from
touching or whose blade was chipped from constant use. He touched
Allasandro’s weapon of choice and felt a shudder pass through his
entire body. He felt like he was touching an extension of his lover by
touching his weaponry. The space that was empty beside the scythe
called to him. It held the same shape. It was probably for another
scythe, perhaps the one Allasandro had taken with him. He reasoned

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his way through the closet, enjoying the discovery of Allasandro’s
passions.

He turned his attention away from the weaponry and glanced at

the clear plastic hanging container that was filled with an interesting
array of stones in each individual compartment. Damian had used the
bit of plastic as a shoe holder when he’d lived here. He had to admit
he liked Ally’s use better. Each section was labeled with the name of
the stone, the magical properties it contained, and its use.

He ran his fingers over the cases, stopping when he touched a

rather plain looking stone called “moonstone.” They were pale,
polished stones with a lovely sheen on their surfaces. He unzipped the
section which contained them and withdrew a single stone and the
labeling card.

“Moonstone,” he read aloud. “A stone of healing and divination

used primarily in works of love spells and healing spells. When used
in connection with Blood diamonds, it can foretell the love life of a
person.” Ally had written in a tight curled script in the corner, a more
personal note to himself it seemed, “Good for party tricks but not very
useful for much else. It does have a calming effect when worn around
the neck or wrists.” Damian slipped the stone he’d extracted into his
pocket, reasoning that Allasandro wouldn’t miss just one.

He crossed to the bed and pulled back the sheets, reveling in the

scent of Allasandro that wafted up from his actions. God the man
smelled good… He stripped out of his clothes faster than necessary
and luxuriated into sliding into bed. The scent of all around him made
him hard. He inhaled deeply, savoring the soft scent. The lotion on the
night stand looked tempting, though he preferred lube.

His gaze flickered to the nightstand once again. On a whim he

opened up the nightstand drawer and started rifling through its
contents. He moved a small gray box out of the way, shoving it to the
back of the drawer as he flipped through pictures of the other Ravyns,
baseball tickets which were all-season passes to Sox games and other
receipts that obviously hadn’t made their way to the trash bin yet. At

Ravyn’s Heart

least he had good taste in baseball teams. A faint buzzing sound
emitted from the box and caused Damian to pause in his search for
lube. Without preamble, he extricated the box from its place and
flipped open the magnetized lid.

What he found there made him grin. Inside was a phallus no more

than the length of his hand from the tip of his middle finger to his
wrist and no thicker than two of his thick digits. Judging by the
buzzing sound it was making, it was a vibrating toy as well.

“Tsk tsk, naughty boy,” Damian purred to the empty room. “Now

that you’ve had me, I doubt this meager thing would satisfy you.” He
held it in the palm of his hand and used his other to twist the bottom
to silence the buzzing.

He brought the soft plastic to his nose and sniffed, wondering if it

had been used recently. The slightly acrid scent of cleaner was the
most prominent, indicating that it had been washed recently. He
inhaled deeper and was rewarded by the tangy earthy smell of
Allasandro. He groaned. Now he wished that he would’ve taken his
time to suck and lick and taste all of Ally’s hidden recesses on their
night together. He’d been so desperate to be inside him that he’d
forgone the more teasing pleasure in favor of a more desperate need.
Now he wished he’d explored all of his subtle desires.

Still holding the vibrator in his hand, he rummaged through the

rest of the box. Condoms, another receipt, he was beginning to
wonder if he ever threw the things away, and, hallelujah, lube.

“Hmmm…” Damian hummed. The possibilities swirled through

his mind like naughty imps sporting tempting propositions. He hadn’t
been bad in so long. Being a father had cured him of his most devious
behavior, but now Kal was a grown man and Allasandro…well, he
was the source of his newfound interest in the more wicked side of his
life. He wanted to be bad. The urge to leave his own scent so that their
smells mingled together to haunt Allasandro when he returned, as his
scent was haunting Damian right now, was strong.

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“Damian,” he chastised himself. “You are now entering the realm

of being creepy and slightly stalker-like in appearance.” He knew
logically that what he was doing was over the top, but he couldn’t
seem to help himself.

He uncapped the lube and squeezed a generous portion into his

palm. He rested the vibrator on his chest and wrestled the
uncooperative pair of boxers he’d donned down his knees and kicked
them off into the bottom of the bed. His cock throbbed at the idea of
what he was about to do.

He closed his eyes, shutting out everything but the scent and feel

of Allasandro. His slick hand palmed the head of his already aching
length, sliding back the foreskin and working it in a jerky circular
twist that would bring him to climax in no time flat. He groaned
aloud, trailing his other hand down slowly, picturing Allasandro doing
the same thing just the week before.

* * * *

Allasandro touched him almost hesitantly, as if touching

Damian’s body, if done incorrectly, was a punishable offense. He ran
his palms over Damian’s taut stomach, making the muscles jump at
the stimulation.

“That’s it, naughty boy,” Damian encouraged. “Touch me in all

the ways you like to be touched. Show me what makes you feel good.”

Allasandro’s hand wrapped around his shaft at last, giving an

experimental tug that had Damian’s hips shooting off the mattress.

“Yeah, baby. Just like that.” His naughty boy’s other hand cupped

his already tight sack, rolling the delicate flesh between his fingers.
Those gorgeous golden eyes had never left the area he was
tormenting with his hands. After a moment, he surprised Damian by
burying his face in the place where Damian’s cock and balls were
separated by only a tiny span of skin and inhaled deeply. Damian’s
breath hitched.

Ravyn’s Heart

“Christ!” he cried out as Ally began laving the area with his

tongue. He sucked first one and then the other ball into his mouth
before letting them slide free. His hand never stopped the steady
motion on his cock.

* * * *

Damian’s shaking hand reached up to twist the vibrator’s end,

turning it on to full capacity. His hand on his cock got faster, and his
other hand dragged the vibrator down his body. He pressed it against
his tight sack before continuing his downward path. He spread his
legs to expose the line of his ass. He pressed the toy to his perineum,
just hard enough to tease instead of penetrate. He wasn’t a bottom, but
he enjoyed his backside stimulated when the occasion called for it.
His hand jerked harder on his weeping dick. It was so the occasion
right now.

* * * *

Allasandro was coming apart in front of Damian’s eyes as he was

commanded to his knees in front of the vampire. He panted as
Damian told him to play with his dick but forbid him to come without
permission.

“Yes, sir.” The whisper of submission went right to Damian’s

head. Their games of dominance and submission were growing ever
more in depth. It was intoxicating.

He tapped his dick on Allasandro’s virgin lips. Well, virgin

enough. He’d confessed that he’d never given head before, and
Damian had found the idea of breaking in that mouth to the pleasures
of cocksucking to be a temptation a better man than he could not
resist.

“Suck it, naughty boy.” Ally’s eyes climbed up his body to meet

his eyes, licking his lips to show his nervousness. Damian’s body

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thrummed with impatient energy at that lovely look. He knew Ally
found his uncut cock fascinating, but he was also nervous about doing
something wrong. “Use your hand to work what you can’t get in your
mouth.” Damian threw his naughty puppy a bone.

Hesitantly, Allasandro leaned forward and opened his mouth.

Damian stayed still, letting Allasandro get used to the look and smell
of the cock in front of him. His tongue darted out and lapped at the
slit, which had produced a pearlescent drop of liquid during his
perusal. As the taste hit the Ravyn’s tongue, he moaned, and Damian
echoed his cry.

“Allasandro…” He groaned his name in warning. The Ravyn

leaned forward and sucked the first inch of cock into his previously
untried mouth. Damian gasped, and it was then that Allasandro
realized his true power. The man could bring Damian to his knees
without even trying.

“Suck me. Suck me, Allasandro. Harder, baby. Please.” Damian

was about ready to blow. He was near begging at this point.
Allasandro obliged him.

The soft wet cavern of his lover’s mouth was too much for him in

a matter of moments. All he could do was hold on as Allasandro
sucked and worshipped his dick, slurping down his release like it was
the sweetest of ambrosias.

* * * *

“Allasandro!” Damian shouted as he jerked one last time and

erupted all over his stomach and chest. A particularly enthusiastic
splash hit his cheek. He collapsed back on the bed, panting heavily.
He reveled in his pleasure for the first time in days. When Allasandro
returned, heaven and hell combined would not keep him from
claiming what was his.

Ravyn’s Heart

Chapter Twelve

“It’s weird being back in Demontia without Salvatore,” Dageus

murmured, belly-crawling into the cave that they’d shared for
centuries while looking after their Prince.

“Agreed,” Allasandro grunted, wincing as his stomach scraped

across a rock. They dropped down into the pitch black for several
moments before landing on the soft cave mud underneath the opening.

“Can I get a light in here, Ally-cat?” Dageus asked as they

regained their feet. Allasandro reached into his well of power and
drew out his element of choice. Flames erupted from his finger tips,
illuminating the slick cave walls and jewellike stalagmites. There was
a room in the deepest depths of this cave which was filled almost to
the ceiling with royal gems and treasures. It used to act as the throne
room while they’d lived here. “I wish my specialization was fire. It’s
so much cooler than mine,” Dageus complained, snapping him out of
his contemplation of their former life.

“Oh please. It’s fine so long as you’re not in close contact with

your enemy. Fighting in a close combat area like a warehouse or a
sewer is very uncool. Burning shit does not smell pleasant no matter
how cool it looks burning.” Allasandro, as per usual, was making a
joke, lightening the mood for them both.

“I don’t care if you occasionally burn shit, literal or figurative. At

least you don’t have powers that dwell in spirit and heart. How lame
is that?” Dageus continued to bitch.

“I don’t know, D. The ability to rip someone’s soul out of their

body is a pretty intense power.” Allasandro commanded the torches,

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which hadn’t seen light in the many months they’d been away, to
spring to life and illuminate their path.

“You know I’d never use that. It’s…too horrible.” Dageus scuffed

his boot-clad foot against a loose bit of rock. “You feeling any
better?” he asked, changing the subject.

Ally shrugged. “My stomach is no longer rolling if that’s what

you mean.” He didn’t say that he still felt empty as hell and that he
was about two more depressing thoughts away from cutting himself,
but his best friend didn’t need to know everything.

“That’s good.” Dageus sounded like he wanted to say more but let

it drop. He probably didn’t want to know what Allasandro was
thinking about his daddy any more than Ally wanted to share said
information with him. He cleared his throat and continued on through
the main passageway of the cave. “Do you think this kid is going to
be excessively hard to find?”

Allasandro shrugged. “He’s been lost down here for a couple days

now. Probably wandered into one of the side paths. For me it would
probably be impossible to pick up the scent and track the kid, but
you’re the nose, brother. You tell me how hard it will be.”

Instead of answering, Dageus started scenting the air, taking short,

sharp inhalations to get a whiff of any delicate scents that could be
wafting about. Ally leaned a palm against the wall and let his brother
work. It wasn’t long before Dageus was being a good bloodhound and
circling a scent.

“He walked a lot in this area,” Dageus murmured as he worked.

“Between these two columns particularly. Back and forth. Back and
forth. Must’ve been pacing.”

“He was blind, D. He was probably scared shitless,” Ally offered.
Dageus shook his head. “Nope. Not scared. Impatient. Worried.

Not scared. Not yet.” He crossed the floor to one of the side passages.
“He started heading this way. Looking for the throne room most
likely. Probably wanted the spirit of Judgment to keep him company.”

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Dageus referenced the statue which held the old soul of a special
ancestor of the Salvatore line which aided the Ravyns.

“Didn’t we haul that massive ass statue with us when we left? I

mean, I nearly broke my back hauling something massive, and if you
tell me it wasn’t him, then I’ll have to get pissed at Anthony for
making us do another meaningless workout routine,” Ally griped. He
followed after Dageus as he took a sharp left.

“Judgment has three statues that he can travel between,” Dageus

recalled, pressing his nose against the limestone wall. His nose came
away smudged with something slimy. Gross. “One that we carry, one
that stays in the cave behind the waterfall, and another that is mounted
above the throne room at the demon palace. Needless to say,
Judgment is never at the one at the palace unless he’s spying for
Salvatore. Then again, that’s why Desmond doesn’t use the main
throne room anymore.” Another deep sniff. “Found it. Hell yeah!” His
triumphant shout echoed throughout the cave.

Allasandro winced. “Damn. You are loud.”
“We might be back by supper time. Hell yeah I’m loud.” He

turned from Allasandro and all but raced down the corridor, lost in the
scent he was chasing.

“Hey!” Ally called, running to catch up. He grabbed Dageus’s

arm. “Slow down, brother. We’re going to have to be careful. Just
because people may be lost doesn’t mean that they won’t be down
here at all. You know that.” Having to be the voice of reason didn’t sit
well with Ally’s personality, so he cracked a joke. “Besides, it’ll be
good for you to be removed from your vampirey-appendage for a
little bit. I was beginning to think you two were becoming conjoined.”

Dageus’s lips thinned. “Not. Funny.” He didn’t sound too angry

though. He was Ally’s best friend after all. More seriously he added,
“Ally I’ve been meaning to talk with you for a while now.”

Allasandro’s heart stuttered. He really, really didn’t want to talk

about Damian right now. He’d almost forgotten his misery over the
course of the last twenty minutes. He prepared himself for the blow

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that was to come. The questions. The accusations. He just wanted to
focus on the mission. Why did Dageus always have to pick the most
inopportune moments, aka a moment where Ally couldn’t escape, to
have these deep conversations about feelings of all things?

Dageus took a deep breath. “I really want you to be the best man

at my wedding.” The words came out in a rush, so fast that Ally
almost didn’t catch them. He blinked. He hadn’t been expecting that.
“I know it’s tradition for the generational leader of the Ravyns to act
as the second in any important ceremony, but this is this first marriage
among the Ravyns since we became Ravyns, and I love Tony, but I’d
much rather have you by my side. The others are going to be my
groomsmen or whatever they’re called, but I really need you to be my
best man.”

Ally was touched. “I would be honored to stand by you.” He

murmured the formal words and touched the place above his heart,
twisting his ring and middle fingers together as they did when saluting
Salvatore or taking an oath. Dageus beamed.

Of course Allasandro squirmed as they shared one of those

Hallmark moments that made him so incredibly uncomfortable so he
continued. “So you’re really going to do the whole wedding thing as
Alex’s Bride, eh?” Dageus frowned and nodded slowly. “I have to tell
you, as much as I love you, my brother, I am not wearing a dress, but
I will fully support you in your decision to wear a big pretty princess
gown for your day with prince charming.” The other warrior growled
and punched him in the arm. Ally giggled. “Ouch. Now, now,
Princess, you mustn’t show your temper too much. They’ll mistake
you for a shrew.”

Dageus made a noise of frustration and shoved Ally into the

nearby wall. “Can’t you be serious about anything?” he asked in
exasperation, though there was a smile behind the sigh.

Ally grinned. “I could, but you wouldn’t love me nearly as much.”
“W–Who’s there?” a voice stammered from the darkness,

somewhere beyond the torch light. Both warriors’ heads snapped up,

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and they immediately fell into the tense positions they used to prepare
for a possible assault. They glanced at one another, the look
conveying more in one expression what most people needed an entire
lengthy conversation for.

Allasandro spoke. “My name is Allasandro. This is my brother,

Dageus. We’re Ravyns sent from Prince Salvatore Demante, true heir
to the Demon throne.”

There was a brief pause. “How do I know you are who you say

you are?” The voice held a large amount of fear and no small amount
of bravado.

Do you know where he’s at? Allasandro asked through their bond

to Dageus. He felt a mental nod.

Yeah. He’s by that broken arch in the left corner where the

shadows are the thickest. He’s trying to weave enchantments to block
his smell and his form from prying eyes. Do your thing quickly, or
else we may lose him.

“We couldn’t light the torches if we weren’t Ravyns,” Allasandro

reasoned, keeping the other man talking. His mind raced through the
narrow chambers, seeking the signature of the demon which hid
therein. Got it. With a mental tug, he unwove the magic which had
been brewing and dispersed it through the room. With another he
pulled the other man into the light, causing him to stumble and fall to
his knees.

Prince Theron looked young. All demons retained the blush of

youth for centuries, but Theron almost looked delicate in comparison.
He was Salvatore’s height, but he was slender, light, with large wine-
colored eyes that were the signature of the royal family. His hair was
cropped short, something that was unusual for a demon of royal
blood, and it was spiked in an artful array of deep crimson.

The Prince swallowed hard and dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Are you here to kill me?” The words were choked whispers. Ally
knelt in front of him, and Dageus took a step back to give him space.

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“I was telling the truth when I said that we were sent by Salvatore.

We were just making sure you weren’t going to accidently hurt us by
trying to defend yourself.” Ally bowed his head in respect. “We’re
here to defend you and escort you back to Salvatore.”

The youthful man’s eyes raised and assessed the Ravyn kneeling

before him. He pushed himself to his feet and held up his hand. “Let
me see your hand.” The command of his royal blood finally entered
his voice. The fear was all but gone. Ally offered it easily but
stiffened when he felt the butterfly-like sensation of another mind
touching his own. However, it was over quickly, and Allasandro
relaxed. It was just a glance to see the truth of his words. Nothing
more.

Dageus stepped forward and knelt on Ally’s other side. “We don’t

mean to rush you, Prince Theron, but it is of the utmost importance
that we get back to Salvatore. We don’t have the rest of our brothers
with us and, as such, are not at full strength. Please allow us to escort
you back with all due haste.”

The Prince hesitated a brief second before nodding in

acquiescence. “That sounds fine. Let’s go.”

* * * *

Dageus lifted the smaller man out of the hole in the side entrance

of the cave on his shoulders after Allasandro shimmied to the top.
Ally grabbed the Prince’s arms and pulled him the rest of the way out.
He made sure Theron stayed between him and the cave entrance until
Dageus got to the top, dagger in hand.

“Any sign of trouble?” Dageus whispered. They both glanced at

the other man as he chewed nervously at his fingernails.

Ally shrugged and did a mental scan of the area. “It seems quiet,

but it’s almost too quiet. Let’s move quickly.”

They circled the thickly forested landscape, running from cover to

cover. The constant state of hyperawareness was wearing on their

Ravyn’s Heart

nerves. Separated from the other Ravyns, they were both on edge and
nervous as hell. Ally gestured to the small pool in the center of a
group of trees. Despite the lushness of the foliage, the southern desert
lay just beyond the tree line a mere five leagues down the trail, so it
was hotter than the four gates of the Netherworld. Their clothing was
sticky, and, as much as they were perspiring, they were losing a lot of
water very quickly.

“Drink. We’ll rest for a second. We’re almost there. There is a

small clearing ahead that will be safest to open a portal from. It’s the
way we came in, so it should be a stable link to the other side,” Ally
explained. The young Prince looked worn out. He obviously wasn’t
used to do any sort of physical exercise. Salvatore had stepped his
exercise routine up when they’d moved in with Alex. He’d been
attacked by a group of hyena-shifters a few weeks ago and had
decided that he needed to be as much of a warrior as his Ravyns were.
Tony had flipped out at the mere suggestion that the Prince would be
fighting beside them. So Salvatore had agreed to just participate in a
little sword play and cardio training with them. Perhaps it would be
best to suggest that Prince Theron participate as well.

They cupped the water in their hands to get much needed

hydration under the glare of the sun. Theron splashed some water on
his face, enjoying the coolness.

“I thought I’d never get out of the cave. When Kith told me that

the lights wouldn’t work and shoved me down there, I thought I was
done for.” Tears pooled in the young Prince’s eyes. “Kith was the
leader of my Cranes. He…” He sighed and shook his head, steeling
his expression.

“Ready to go?” Ally asked before Dageus could initiate a hug fest.

They didn’t have time for that. The Prince nodded, and they continued
their sprint.

On the edge of Ally’s mind, he felt the first trickle of unease that

signaled something unpleasant. Shit.

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We have company, he thought to Dageus, not wanting to upset

Theron.

I smell them, Dageus replied, his eyes flicking toward a

particularly thick set of brambles. They’re on the other side, probably
going to ambush us at the clearing.

What do you want to do? Ally trusted D’s judgment in this. He’d

saved their asses plenty of times in the past, his ass in particular
numerous times.

Split from us. I’ll head to our other entry point and open the

portal there. There are two of them, so you should be able to take
them. Distract them long enough for me to get Theron through and
then get the hell out of here. Ally nodded. That seemed like the best
tactical solution.

“Where’s he—” Theron began.
“Shh,” Dageus hissed, grabbing the Prince’s arm and taking a

sharp left down a different path.

Allasandro increased his speed, whipping around the corner at a

dead run just as two Doves, Desmond’s elite guard, came charging
after him.

“Looky looky what we have here. A pretty black bird,” the one

with an ugly orange goatee and horns over his eyebrows said.
Allasandro summoned his energy and tossed a bolt of fire in his
direction. The yelp that came right after clued him in that he’d hit his
mark. He was hightailing it as far away from Dageus as he could
manage, buying time for his brother to summon the energy to get out
of Demontia in one piece. It was always harder for them to travel
through the bolt-holes by themselves. All five Ravyns together found
the task easy. It was one of the benefits of their brotherhood.

“Where you going in such a rush, Ravyn?” The other caught up to

him easily, moving like liquid darkness. Dammit. He hated shadow
demons. Without warning, he was knocked sideways, hitting the trunk
of a nearby tree with a sickening crunch.

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Ally rolled, coming to his feet but swaying once he got there.

Damn. He probably had a concussion. His vision blurred in and out.
He forced his power through his limbs to hold him steady. His arms
and legs erupted in flames for the effort.

“What’s a pretty black bird doing in Demontia? I thought the

bastard heir had run away to the Earth realm.” The shadow
materialized in front of him. He was a dark-haired, dark-eyed man
with a tattoo of some kind of lizard marring his right cheek. It was
shadow tradition to splash the symbol of the father’s line on the face
like a flag. Other than the elaborate facial décor, he was a pretty plain-
looking guy. Average height, average build, deceptively
nonthreatening. Ally knew better. Between the shadow and Mr.
Goatee, the shadow was the dangerous one.

“Just came to fetch some of Salvatore’s old clothes,” Allasandro

offered. “You know how royals are, need their pretty things.”

The pair frowned. “Was that a joke?” Mr. Goatee asked.

Allasandro barked out a laugh.

“Don’t mock us,” the shadow reprimanded. Ally’s vision

disappeared for an instant as he was ensconced in a bubble of
darkness. A cold infused his body like a creeping sickness. Death was
found there. He threw his power against the shadow’s enchantment,
dispelling the black.

“Pretty strong for a loner,” the shadow complimented, unruffled

by Ally’s display. “Usually lone Ravyns are of little consequence and
even less fun. You are offering quite a lovely distraction.”

“What are you guys doing here anyway?” Allasandro hedged. He

sent his mind curling outward, looking for Dageus among the trees.
There. He almost had enough power built up. He could feel the portal
sucking on his energy as it grew large enough to fit two people
through.

“Just a little exploring,” Mr. Goatee lied, licking his lips to reveal

a forked tongue. Ew.

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“A little walk around the edge of our Master’s kingdom,” the

other added. Their matching grins said different. They were probably
looking for Theron. He sent up a prayer to his gods that the cave had
hidden him so well.

The release of energy as the portal collapsed behind Dageus and

Theron was a welcome feeling. He glanced at the two Doves, and
they hissed, obviously feeling it as well.

“Sneaky sneaky, little black bird,” Mr. Goatee teased, baring his

teeth.

“Pretty little poker face, little black bird,” the shadow added,

stepping closer.

Allasandro didn’t reply. Instead, he withdrew the scythe that was

strapped to his back with a tug on the Velcro straps. Velcro was the
best damn invention ever. He grabbed the handle about halfway down
the curved handle. The metal felt cool in his hands, and the grips were
strategically located thirty-three and a half inches down the surface.
He’d made the handle himself, and it was perfectly balanced. It
whipped around his head in a wide arching circle, slicing the air in
front of him. The curved blade glinted in the sunlight. It was polished
to a near-perfect shine. It was his baby and his weapon of choice.

“Come on,” Ally taunted, grinning at the stunned look on their

collective faces. His adrenaline-laced blood pounded through his
veins, and he swung the scythe in another beautiful arch. Working
with a scythe was a lot like dancing. It was elegant, ethereal, and
smooth. The movements contained an almost liquid grace.

Mr. Goatee came at him first, a sword of flame erupting in his fist.

Ally didn’t bother blocking it as it hit his chest. Fire was his element,
and it crackled as it embraced him. The Dove’s eyes widened
comically.

“Idiot,” the shadow murmured, watching his companion. Ally

cracked the bottom handle of the scythe into the side of Mr. Goatee’s
head. He fell to his knees with his hands clutching his right temple.
The back swing engaged the business end of the weapon, and it sliced

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both his hand and his head clean off. The body fell, and Ally turned
his attention to the shadow.

“Not today, Ravyn.” The shadow inclined his head and faded into

nothingness. Ally let out a string of curses. He hated shadow demons.
Just when things were getting good, they disappeared. When they
blended into the physical shadows, they couldn’t harm or be harmed,
but they were still present.

“Later, shadow-boy.” Ally reached into himself and drew out the

energy he’d been building. The air shimmered, and then he felt the
world shift. The air swirled around him, and he felt like a magnet
being pulled toward its polar opposite. Just like that, he was gone.

Jana Downs

Chapter Thirteen

Damian’s eyes popped open as he felt his bond with Allasandro

flare to delicious life. He sat up in Allasandro’s bed. He was still
naked and smeared with yet another night’s evidence of his obsession
with the Ravyn. The routine he’d developed since night one had
grown ever more hedonistic as the days turned into a week. He’d
rarely left Ally’s room anymore.

He listened as the shouts and chorus of greetings were called out.

Dageus and Prince Theron had arrived late last night right before the
vampires were set to retire for the day. He’d been put in the room
adjacent to Salvatore’s or so he’d heard. Dageus had given him a call,
unaware that he’d been staying at the mansion the entire time, and had
quickly disappeared with Alex to their room. Damian waited patiently
as the Ravyns stomped into Salvatore’s study for the debriefing. It
took less time than he’d expected, and within half an hour he heard
the telltale murmurs of “good night” being exchanged between the
warriors.

The door swung open, and a very tired-looking Allasandro

shuffled in the door. “Well, hello, my naughty boy. Miss me?”
Damian all but purred out in greeting. The Ravyn’s head snapped up.

“Christ. Damian? What are you…Why are you in my room?”

Ally’s tone was incredulous. That voice had haunted him for days.

“Well, it was my room first, so I’ve reclaimed it for the duration,”

Damian reasoned. He threw back the covers and put his legs over the
side of the bed. His nakedness must’ve surprised Ally because he
hissed at the sight.

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“Reclaimed my room? For the duration?” Ally repeated stupidly.

Damian sauntered up to him. Their differences in height had never
been more apparent. Even naked, the vampire was intimidating as
hell.

“The duration of your little mission. Which you didn’t inform me

about before you left.” Damian was too close for comfort, and he was
enjoying the hell out of that unease.

“I shouldn’t have to.” Ally took a step back, his hand coming up

to massage his temple. “I haven’t talked to you in a long time,
Damian. We’re…I…we don’t have anything to talk about.”

“I missed you,” Damian admitted, his voice softening

exponentially.

“I can’t do this.” Allasandro turned around and stalked toward the

bathroom. “I can’t believe you’re here. Dammit. You can’t be here.
Did Dageus see you? If he sees you, he’s going to yell at me again.”

Damian reached out and grabbed his hand. “What right does he

have to dictate who you talk with? He’s my son, and he will not
dictate to me who I can be with.”

Allasandro winced. “Which is exactly why this is so weird. He’s

your son. He’s my best friend. I’m your…fuck buddy?” He tugged his
arm out of Damian’s grip and turned back toward the bathroom. It
was then the light of the lamp caught the deep bruises that were
forming on Ally’s face.

“You have a dangerous job, love.” Damian had to repress the urge

to squeeze Allasandro to him and demand he never leave again. He
was a warrior. Damian had seen his passion written in the care of his
weaponry.

“Don’t ignore the problem, Damian,” Allasandro chastised.

Damian used his body to crowd the Ravyn against the door frame.

“The only problem I see is that you are ignoring the obvious

chemistry between us.” The scythe’s cool surface pressed against
Damian’s naked flesh, making him shiver. “I missed you so damn
much, Allasandro. I can’t sleep. I can’t sing. I can’t think being away

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from you.” He kissed the curve of Allasandro’s neck. “And could this
damn scythe be any sexier? Jesus. I could get used to seeing a
warrior.”

Ally started to tremble. “Stop touching me,” he demanded,

pushing back in an effort to dislodge Damian’s hold. “You’re in my
room. Gods. Why are you in my room?” He sounded choked. “And
what is with this, ‘seeing a warrior’ shit? If by ‘seeing’ you mean
‘fucking,’ sure. We’ve already established that guys like us are not
really dating material.” He let out an exasperated sigh but arched his
neck to give Damian better access to the portion he was nipping. “I’m
covered in sweat and blood and dirt. Please just let me get a shower.”

“I am in need of a shower myself,” Damian murmured. His hand

came up to trace the blade of the scythe. “This is beautiful.”

“You’ve been in my things. Touching my things. Invading my

space.” Allasandro turned in his arms so that they faced one another.
“You keep…showing up. Expecting me to go along with it.”

“I apologize if I appear to be pushy. I don’t know how else to be. I

am a bossy man by nature. If you wish me to cease, to leave, to get
out of here and your life, just say those words exactly. Say to me
‘Damian, get out. Leave me alone and never come back,’ and I will
follow your directions. But you’ve already proven to be a man who
wishes his choices taken from him in his relationships.”

“Great, now we’re in a relationship,” Allasandro interrupted. “I’m

tired, Damian.” The vampire reached up and cupped his jaw. The
movement stilled him. Damian didn’t usually touch so gently.

“Let me finish,” Damian said softly. “I want you, Allasandro. I

want you more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. I think we
could have a very satisfying relationship if you give us a chance. I
will talk with Kalel about interfering, and I will talk to your Prince
about it, but only if you want me to. Perhaps the reason I’ve held on
this long is because I long for some sort of closure to this…thing
between us. Either way, Allasandro, I need an answer. I need you to

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101

tell me what you really want. No more running and avoiding like
you’ve been doing. Just speak. I can take it.”

Allasandro seemed to waffle with his answer. He bit his lip, his

eyes darting around the room as if he could find the answer written on
a wall.

“There is a part of me that wants to just give into this thing

between us and let you sweep me away,” the Ravyn admitted softly.
“The sane part of me realizes that to be with you compromises the
most sacred responsibility I’ve ever taken on.” Damian let the other
man talk through his thoughts without interruption. He needed to
work it out for himself what he wanted. Allasandro fell silent.

“So many fears swirling in those golden eyes of yours,” Damian

murmured softly, tracing his jaw line.

Allasandro swallowed. Damian knew the Ravyn had been out of

character lately. He’d discerned as much from the whispered concerns
that volleyed between Alex and Salvatore over the past few days. For
an instant he thought that Allasandro would say no. Then the Ravyn
spoke.

“This is crazy,” Ally clarified as he tentatively reached out and

put his hands on Damian’s chest. He didn’t seem to know whether he
was telling himself or Damian at this point. “I shouldn’t like you at
all.”

“That which we cannot have often poses the greatest temptation.

As Adam was tempted by the one fruit in the garden which he was
forbidden to sample, so you and I are tempted by the one being in the
worlds we are also forbidden to touch.” Damian’s big hands rested on
his hips, drawing him closer. “Your answer, love?”

“Make me,” Ally whispered.

* * * *

Damian stripped him slowly. His weapons came off first. First the

scythe, then the knives, and then the throwing stars he’d saved for a

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special occasion. His body of stripped of the T-shirt next and kisses
were pressed against the side which was purpling from its collision
with the tree on the other side.

“How long…was I gone?” Ally wondered, panting. His hands

were clenching and unclenching at his side. The temptation to touch
Damian was a strong compulsion, but he hadn’t been given the order
to touch or permission to do so.

“A week and three days,” Damian answered, unbuttoning Ally’s

pants and slowly sliding the zipper down. He was commando
underneath, and the vampire all but growled in satisfaction over the
fact. Allasandro groaned as he reached in his pants and drew out his
cock and balls, toying with the latter in an amused lazy fashion. The
pants finally slid to the floor, and Ally kicked them away. “Tsk tsk,
naughty boy. Are we being impatient?”

“Yes, sir. I missed you. Bad,” Ally admitted. His mind was a haze

of lust. He felt like he’d been a starving man suddenly given a feast.
He wanted to gorge himself on Damian’s massive body. The fear of
having and the fear of losing were thrumming in equal measure
through his mind, but he ignored both. All he wanted to do was to
feel.

He hissed as Damian reached between his legs once more and

pumped his weeping erection. His hands hovered over Damian’s skin
before he got enough control to force his hands away. “Who do
belong to, Allasandro?” The vampire growled possessively.

“You, sir. I’ve always belonged to you,” Ally cried out. Damian

was his every fantasy come to life.

“Do you want my bite, Allasandro?” Damian asked, still

continuing his lazy strokes. The Ravyn whimpered and nodded.

“Please. Please. Please. Please. I keep dreaming about it and

wanting it and needing it for so long, and I haven’t seen you in
forever and, Gods, Damian, sir, please.” He was babbling again.

The Ravyn’s mind reached for Damian’s, and the vampire

embraced it. He filled Ally’s mind with hundreds of fantasies,

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103

memories, and desires in a cascade of longing to show him exactly
what he’d been thinking about in their time apart. Ally returned the
favor, sharing all his misery, his desire, his unwanted and absolute
attraction. Then came his fantasies. All those he’d kept from Damian
during their previous encounter. If Damian’s grin was any indication,
he was loving Ally’s thoughts.

The Ravyn blinked in surprise as Damian dropped to his knees. It

was never the position he thought the vampire would ever assume.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Damian rumbled, slapping Ally’s inner

thigh, causing him to yelp in surprise. He grabbed Ally’s cock a little
harder than was needed, making him rise up on his tiptoes. “Still want
my bite, naughty boy?” His gaze flickered to Ally’s reddened length.
Fear and desire mingled and expanded in Allasandro’s mind. He
nodded.

“Yes, sir.” He loved the rush of Damian’s touch. The uncertainty

of where they were going and the knowledge that Damian would be
there to catch him when he went over the edge was an aphrodisiac.

Damian pressed a kiss to the pearl-kissed tip. Ally whimpered.

The vampire smiled. “I love how close I can get to you. I want to taste
you in all ways, Allasandro.” He leaned forward and took Ally to the
back of his throat but didn’t tighten his mouth, just his throat,
squeezing just the tip of Ally’s cock. Allasandro’s hands jerked and
wove themselves into Damian’s hair on their own volition.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!” the Ravyn all but screamed. “I’m goin’

to come. Damian. Please! Can’t wait!” Fangs sank into Ally’s overly
sensitized dick. Then he did scream, loud and long.

He flashed hot and cold in rapid succession. Distantly he felt his

body go off like a shot, pouring hot desire down Damian’s convulsing
throat. He felt the fangs contract, and then he floated to heaven as
Damian drank his blood and his cum in deep draws of his mouth. His
knees buckled, and Damian gently laid him down on the carpeted
floor just outside the bathroom, the vampire’s mouth still drawing on

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his length. Allasandro’s hands fell to his sides, and a sigh of
contentment left him.

He closed his eyes, and his mind spun in a drunken euphoria.

They opened again as Damian surged up his body, grabbing his hips
in a brutal grip. “Wrap your legs round my waist,” Damian
commanded. His accent was so thick that Ally could barely
understand him. Ally noticed that his voice did that when he was
especially turned-on. “Now, Allasandro,” Damian snapped. Ally did
as he was bid, and he smiled drunkenly as he felt the steel-and-velvet
press of Damian’s cock against his entrance.

“I’ve been practicing,” he slurred proudly, pushing down as

Damian drove inside. He let out a gasp as he was so suddenly filled.
“Still not used to it all at once.” He hissed through clenched teeth. He
felt like pouting. He didn’t want discomfort to invade his nirvana.

Damian grabbed one of Ally’s daggers off the floor and used it to

slice a deep grove in his chest. “Take from me,” he demanded. Ally’s
mouth sealed over the wound in the same instant that Damian’s hips
started to move.

As Damian pounded his way into Ally’s body, Ally was drowned

in the sweet taste of Damian’s blood. The vampire infused him with
an ethereal energy that took him even higher if that was possible. He
spun out toward the stars, his nails scoring Damian’s back as he did
so. He heard Damian’s shout of release a second before hot splashes
of it painted his insides. His own body orgasmed again, but he had no
more fluid left to give, so he just writhed in wondrous pain-bliss. His
mind whirled faster. A whisper of Damian’s voice crossed through the
vortex, though whether it was his thought or Damian’s or a fantasy
he’d conjured up in the moment, he couldn’t be sure.

I love you. His vision faded, and he knew no more.

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Chapter Fourteen

They’d showered and shaved before taking their time dressing one

another. Since they were so deep in one another’s mind, it felt like
they’d been doing this forever. It was comfortable between them.
Nice. Neither of them wanted the closeness to stop. Damian wanted to
keep Allasandro by his side. The Ravyn was equal parts amusing and
beautiful. He made him laugh, and that in itself was a feat for
someone as old as Damian.

They went down to supper prepared to do battle. Damian held

Allasandro’s hand as they descended the massive staircase to the
foyer. The Ravyns waited in a line, the two Princes and Alex standing
behind them. Dageus looked ready to kill something.

“I thought I smelled you when I came into the house, but I wasn’t

sure,” Dageus said in a way of greeting. He fingered the dagger at his
belt as if contemplating chucking it at his father or Allasandro or both.

“Good evening to you as well, Kalel,” Damian said, ignoring the

fury in his son’s eyes. He glanced at Ally, who was staring at his feet.
He didn’t pull his hand away though, so he must’ve been serious
about seeing this through. “I wanted to come down and do this
formally with your Prince before I came to talk to you in private, but
if you insist on the confrontation here, I suppose I must oblige you.”
He nodded to Salvatore, who was looking at him with an expression
of both curiosity and unease. Damian took a deep breath before taking
the plunge. “Allasandro and I have decided that we are going to date.”

“Yeah.” Kal sneered. “We all felt what you two’s version of

‘dating’ is last night through the bond.” Damian felt his cheeks heat.
Damn, was he blushing? Allasandro winced.

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“I will not tolerate your disrespect against me or my lover,”

Damian warned, giving Ally’s hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
Dageus opened his mouth, but Salvatore’s raised hand silenced him.

“Will he be able to perform his duties while you’re courting?” the

Demon Prince asked. The formal nature of the question gave an extra
level of seriousness to the situation. “Of course. Just because he is
seeing someone doesn’t mean he will be incapable of performing his
warrior’s duties,” Damian said.

“Oh like hell!” Dageus interrupted. “Everyone knows how easily

Ally is distracted. It’s bad enough when he is just fucking random
chicks at clubs. Can you imagine him with a full-time boyfriend?
He’d never be on time!”

Damian was starting to get annoyed by Dageus’s attitude. “You

have my word he will be more on time now than ever before.”

“He’s not even gay!”
“Why are you fighting so hard against this? I thought you wanted

me to be happy!” Damian snapped.

“I do want you to be happy!” Dageus shouted. “I just don’t think

he’s right for you.”

“Why? Why is he not right for me?” Damian demanded, letting go

of Ally’s hand and stalking down the last few stairs to stand in front
of his son. “And how is it you get to dictate who I choose to date?”

Tears filled Dageus’s big green-and-gold eyes. Shit. “He’s my

best friend, Dad. How would you feel if your dad started dating your
best friend?”

“I imagine the same way I felt when I found out my son was

dating my brother!” The tension in the room soared with those words.

“It’s not the same!”
“The hell it’s not!”
“Enough!” Salvatore and Alex shouted in unison. Alex circled

round the other Ravyns and took Dageus’s arm.

“Kal, my love, please be reasonable. It is not as if they are getting

married. They’re casually dating,” Alex murmured soothingly.

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Dageus leaned into his touch, and Damian looked on enviously. Why
did everyone accept Dageus and Alex’s union so well and so
thoroughly rejected Damian’s choice? Alex met his brother’s eyes
over Dageus’s head. A slight shake of his head warned Damian not to
say anything.

“Ally?” Salvatore’s asked. His face was a definite mask of

concern. “May I talk to you for a moment? Privately?” he added as an
afterthought. Ally glanced up at Damian. He looked like a whipped
dog. It was the same look Kal had given Damian when he’d forbidden
him to ever see Alex again. But Allasandro was not a fresh youth. He
was a man. How dare Kal make him feel ashamed!

“Sure thing, my Prince,” Allasandro murmured. Damian leaned

forward and pressed a kiss to Allasandro’s temple.

“I’ll be right here if you need me, love,” Damian reassured. Tony

and Druas went to follow after Salvatore, but the Prince held up a
hand to stop them.

“We’ll just be in this office. Please, give us a moment.” The two

Ravyns nodded and took up posts on either side of the door. Germany
hovered in between the two arguing groups, ready to interfere if the
occasion called for it.

* * * *

The door shut behind the two men with a soft snick. Salvatore was

silent for a moment. Allasandro he shifted from foot to foot in
discomfort. The Demon Prince pressed two fingers to the bridge of
his nose as if staving off a headache.

“You’ve been out of sorts lately,” he said at last.
Ally’s eyes hit the floor. “I’ve been okay.”
Salvatore sighed. “You have not been okay,” he corrected.

“You’ve been downright morose this past week. You haven’t been
acting like yourself. You stopped clubbing, stopped joking, hell,

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you’ve stopped eating from what I’ve seen. Is this because of
Damian?”

Allasandro’s face heated as he nodded. “I like him, my Prince.”

He paused. “I like him a lot.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Salvatore wondered, running a

hand through his bloodred hair. “You never hesitate to speak your
mind. It’s the one thing I count on about you. If you felt so strongly
for the vampire, why didn’t you just tell Dageus that you wanted to
pursue the relationship with Damian anyway?”

“I didn’t want to compromise the bond. I mean, we just fixed it. It

took us a while to get back in sync after we realized Dageus was Kal
and he hooked back up with Alex. Dageus has been through a lot, and
I thought that he didn’t need the stress. Pick a reason, Salvatore.
There are a million why I shouldn’t be doing this. And only one
reason why I have to do this.”

“And what reason is that?” Salvatore asked. Ally felt more serious

in that moment than he had in his entire life. Everything seemed to
hinge on the question.

“Because I can’t help it. Because I need him like I’ve never

needed anything.” Allasandro cursed himself internally for everything
he’d just said. It was cliché and touchy-feely and so…Hallmark.
Yuck. He was beginning to sound like Dageus with all the lovey-
dovey crap. It was probably the most emotion he’d ever put in a
single sentence ever.

“I’m proud of you.” Salvatore’s words shocked him. He looked up

into the lovely wine-colored eyes of his Prince and found a profound
acceptance there. “I never thought you would settle on anyone.”

“For gods’ sakes, we’re just dating,” Ally muttered.
“You know, in all your incarnations, in every lifetime, you’ve

never spent more than one night with any lover. You’ve never
introduced me to them. Never even let us see them except in passing.
The Ravyns didn’t even know any of them,” Salvatore mused. He
petted Ally’s head and stepped around him to open the door. It was

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109

rare he talked about any of the Ravyns’ past incarnations. It was often
too painful for him. “I’m glad you’ve found someone who you can
enjoy enough to claim in front of your brothers.” He twisted the door
knob.

“That’s it?” Ally asked skeptically. “No big long lecture about

how he’s going to break my heart and I’m being too hasty and blah
blah blah?”

Salvatore smiled. “Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“You know Dageus got a lecture.”
“Dageus needed a lecture. He had no caution. You have too

much.” He left Allasandro standing there with his mouth open.

* * * *

“I can’t believe this!” Dageus snapped, throwing his pillow at the

wall. It thunked uninterestingly against the drywall before falling to
the floor. Salvatore had forbidden him to interfere with Damian and
Allasandro. Alex had even backed him on the “forbidden to interfere”
rule that Salvatore had handed down.

“Please calm down, mon tendre amour,” Alex sighed for the

fiftieth time from his position on the center of the bed. If he started
going for his sword again, he was going to put a lock on the closet
door.

“No. You took Salvatore’s side. You are officially the enemy.”

Dageus stomped to the bathroom and started manically brushing his
teeth. He had started doing that when he was upset.

“You’re going to wear the enamel off your teeth, Kal,” Alex

chastised.

“Shub ub,” Kal snapped through a mouthful of toothpaste. Alex

listened to him swish and spit in the sink.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little unreasonable?” Alex

wondered as Dageus pulled off his shirt and threw it in his general
direction.

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“How am I being unreasonable? I mean, it’s just weird that my

best friend and my father are boinking. Not to mention that Ally is
just going to hurt Dad. I mean, come on, no one really believes that
Ally is serious about this whole dating thing.” Dageus crossed the
hardwood floor and the rug in order to flop down on the bed beside
him.

“You mean you don’t believe he’s serious,” Alex said.
“He’s not!” Kal protested. He buried his face in his pillow and

yelled his frustration into it. “I hate this!” The muffled shout made
Alex smile. Sometimes his lover was so immature. He forgot how
young he was until moments like these. He reached up and tickled
Dageus’s side.

“Baby, you and Damian are so alike at times it frightens me.”

That shut him up. Dageus turned his face and glared at his lover.

“What. The. Hell. Does. That. Mean?” He growled out the

syllables in a short choppy sentence.

“I mean that neither one of you like being told who to see and

neither one of you have tastes that run in line with societal norms.
And you’re both ungodly stubborn… You’re also terrified of being
left behind and losing anything,” Alex explained. He tugged on
Dageus’s shoulders so that he slid into his arms easily. “For not
actually being blood-related, you two are just alike.”

Dageus sighed deeply. “I’m being the same kind of control freak

that he was when I started seeing you, aren’t I?”

Alex chuckled and tilted his chin up to steal a kiss. “My love,

control freak runs in the Entertainer line. I mean, Santiago wrote the
book on how to be a control freak, and he has spawned and trained us
all.”

They both giggled at that. Alex pressed another kiss to the now-

smiling mouth of his lover, and it deepened exponentially with each
passing second.

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Dageus murmured between kisses.

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111

“Sure, darling,” Alex said in an appeasing tone. Then he started

touch him in all the inappropriate ways that were bound to shut him
up, at least until morning.

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Chapter Fifteen

“I don’t care about missions or organizations or Ravyns or

anything unrelated to the theatre,” Santiago said as he crossed his
arms across his chest. He tapped his foot in impatience. “I have one
week left to get the dances perfected, the voices in harmony, and the
instruments in tune. To do so, I need Kal and Alex in their dance
sections and Damian at his position as opera master. Now, what do I
have to do to get those things accomplished?” The voice was
deceptively agreeable. Even Allasandro knew they had to tread
carefully in this situation. Satan had nothing on Santiago when it
came to the perfection of the Entertainer line.

“You’ve nothing to worry over, Grandsire,” Alex reassured. His

voice was smooth and silky in an effort to be convincing. “We will be
at rehearsal tonight and for the rest of rehearsals leading up to the
performance.”

Santiago waved a hand in dismissal. “You’re all very far behind.

You’re going to need extra practices, as well as some additional
technical assistance.” The look on the dancers’ faces did not lend
itself toward looking forward to the “additional assistance” that
Santiago was demanding. Damian almost snickered until those sharp
dark eyes turned on him.

“And, Damian, the last time I heard you perform you were

sounding like a cow with laryngitis. You are going to need the most
work of all.” Dageus and Alex did snicker then. “Allasandro,” the
head of the line addressed the other Ravyn with a look of absolute
seriousness. “I trust you and Damian have worked out your
differences?” The Ravyn nodded. “Excellent. Then I’m counting on

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you to be at the theater every day with Damian, helping him get his
voice in optimum condition.” The older vampire sighed dramatically.
“Even though it still won’t be the voice I know it could be by
performance time.” Everyone rolled their eyes. Santiago was such a
perfectionist that no one had ever actually stood up to his overly lofty
goals. The vampire’s face spread out into a calculated grin. “Well, I
see no reason why we shouldn’t begin immediately. Gents, grab your
Ravyns and let’s go.” They all groaned. It was going to be a long
night.

* * * *

“No. No. No. No. For the love of God, Damian, you are warbling.

I’ve never heard you warble in your entire career! Are you nervous?”
Santiago demanded. Damian’s blushing answered him. “Why? It’s
just me. I saw you when you were a performing vagrant in London.
I’ve seen your worst.”

“But I haven’t.” Allasandro’s words interrupted. Santiago slowly

turned toward the Ravyn who was perched on a stool near the back of
the room. Damian glared in his direction.

“Bloody hell, I’ve been singing for almost five hours straight. My

voice is gone. I’m not nervous,” the vampire protested hoarsely.

“Well, you weren’t singing it correctly to begin with. So a rested

voice had nothing to do with it.” Santiago tapped his chin
thoughtfully.

“Maybe I don’t like sounding like a frog in front of my lover,”

Damian snapped, grabbing his bottle of water up and draining it in
two long gulps.

“You sound fine to me, Damian,” Allasandro offered. Both

vampires looked at him like he’d lost his mind.

“I sound awful!” Damian shouted before wincing and grabbing his

throat.

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“You need a bit of blood to heal that.” Santiago waved at hand at

Ally. “Please take care of that immediately. I’ll be back in ten
minutes. Be prepared to go through the first half of the composition
again. It still doesn’t sound right. Your intonation, diction, and tone
are fine, but something is missing.”

“Emotions?” Damian asked dryly. It was Santiago’s usual

complaint.

“Not at all. You’ve got plenty of that. Every time you say you

love him in Italian, your voice thickens to a rich velvet purr. It’s
lovely. Emotions aren’t lacking. I think it may be in the piece itself.
Hmmmm… I’ll think about it.” Santiago turned on his heel and
stepped outside the door, letting it shut behind him.

“Alex! Quit throwing Kalel around like a lumberjack! Really?

What are you thinking?” They both winced as they heard Santiago
tear into the other couple from the hallway.

“He’s on a bloody warpath,” Damian commented, taking out

another bottle of water from the small refrigerator near Ally’s perch.

“I’m so glad that isn’t directed at me,” Ally said, hopping down

off his stool. “Santiago is a maniac.”

“Only about the theater. He’s a perfectionist to the point of being

slightly insane. It’s his way, and it’s the only thing he gets really fired
up about. Most vampires his age are recluses, but he insists on being
thoroughly involved. One of the reasons our line has lasted so long.”
Damian reached for Ally and kissed him lightly on the lips. “May I
have some blood, love?”

Ally grinned cheekily. “If I can bite you at the same time, sure. I

love the way we connect when we do that.” Damian hesitated. He
really shouldn’t. It was getting to the point where taking and giving
blood to Allasandro was bordering on dangerous. He doubted the
Ravyn would take too kindly to the knowledge that he was forming a
Bride bond with him. If he fully wedded him on accident, there would
be hell to pay. Ally’s face turned from teasing to concerned. “Is it the
close thing? I shouldn’t have said anything about closeness… I mean,

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115

just because we’re dating now doesn’t mean that you’d want, er, extra
intimacy or whatever. It’s cool. I get it. Which vein you want?” he
babbled. His babbling was insanely adorable. But his hurt was
undeniable and unacceptable.

“I’ll take your wrist. Anything more intimate and I will not be

able to help myself,” Damian teased with a wink. He slipped a
pocketknife from his pants and nicked his own wrist. “And you’re
right about the intimacy. Take from me.” He was such a stupid ass.

* * * *

“I’m thinking about bringing on a second singer to harmonize

with you during the second half of the first song,” Santiago said in
way of greeting as he waltzed through the door from torturing the
other members of the troupe. Damian lifted his head from Ally’s
wrist, licking the wound closed as he went. Ally drew back from the
wound he’d been nursing on Damian’s wrist and pressed a kiss to the
still-cut flesh. Santiago stared, his gaze shooting to Damian’s face.

What the hell are you doing? Santiago put directly into his mind.

As the head of the line, he had the ability to converse telepathically
with all of his progeny.

Sharing a little blood, Grandsire. He got dizzy when I drank,

Damian lied. Santiago raised an eyebrow.

Uh-huh. You haven’t had enough time to drain enough blood to

make him dizzy. You’re not even tapping a major vein, he stated
skeptically.

He hasn’t eaten enough. His blood sugar dropped.
He’s not pale, shaking, or any of the other symptoms of sugar

drop. Santiago’s voice was accusing.

Not now. He did a minute ago.
“Hmmmm…” Ally stretched his arms to the heavens and floated

over to his chair and sat down on the wooden surface. “What’s this
about saddling Damian with a singing partner?”

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Please don’t say anything, Damian begged.
“Yes,” Santiago said, not missing a beat. He shot Damian a look

that said they’d be revisiting the discussion later. “I think I’ve pinned
down the reason the first movement sounds off. He needs another
voice to balance him.”

“I don’t partner,” Damian protested. He’d never sung a duet in his

life. It just wasn’t done. His voice was meant for poignant, longing
pieces that touched people.

“It’s a love song, Damian. You need another voice with yours,”

Santiago corrected. “The rest is a declaration, but this is seduction.”

“What moron chose a love song for Damian? He’s never been in

love,” Allasandro asked with a yawn. Damian’s eyes bulged, and
Santiago’s lips thinned.

“That would be me,” Santiago said dryly.
“Oh shit. Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult. I just thought

someone else might’ve…” Ally stuttered.

“It’s fine, Ravyn. Please do not take up any more time with your

stammering. Damian, you need a partner.” Santiago slid easily into a
calm indifference. It wasn’t that he was hiding anything, It was just
that he didn’t find much worth getting worked up over.

“Will it help if I disagree?” Damian asked hopefully. Santiago

shook his head no. Damian sighed.

“Just try it. If it doesn’t work, you may have the rest of the

evening off to spend doing God knows what with Allasandro.”
Santiago dangled the carrot effectively. Damian nodded.

“All right. Try me.”
Santiago went over to Allasandro and took his arm. He pulled him

off the stool and dragged him over to where Damian stood.

“What are you doing?” Allasandro asked.
“Demonstrating,” Santiago explained. He took Damian’s black

notebook from its place on the music stand. “All right, you’ve heard
Damian sing this a thousand times. Your turn. Just try to mimic the
notes.”

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“I can’t sing!” Ally protested, backing away in horror. “I’ve never

sang before. I’ve never even sang in the shower.”

“No time like the present,” Santiago said cheerily.
“He can’t sing, Grandsire,” Damian interjected, coming to his

lover’s rescue.

“Nonsense. Everyone can sing.” Santiago sniffed. “You wouldn’t

be attracted to him unless he matched you artistically.”

Damian snorted. “Not everyone gives their lovers tryouts before

dating them.”

“You are an Entertainer,” Santiago said haughtily. “Now, enough

protesting. Allasandro. Sing.”

“I…I…” Allasandro stammered.
“Grandsire!” Damian growled.
“Sing!” Santiago snapped. Then something extraordinary

happened. Allasandro began to sing.

The notes rose like the aroma of a great meal to fill the room with

a pleasant and hunger-inducing desire. Damian and Santiago were
enraptured by the purities of the untrained voice. It was rare and
unpolished and absolutely perfect. The first verse sounded like a
dream.

Ally stopped singing. “You’re staring. Why are you staring? Crap.

I told you that I can’t sing.” They both continued staring. “Jeez. I
didn’t think it was that bad.”

“It was beautiful,” Damian murmured a little breathlessly.
“I have found your partner, Damian,” Santiago added, looking far

too pleased with himself. “I hate to say ‘I told you so’…”

“You do not,” Damian said.
Santiago grinned. “You’re right. I do not hate to say it. I told you

so.”

“What did you tell him? I’m confused. I’m sorry I screwed up

your song, er, movement or whatever.” Allasandro started his
babbling.

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“You did not screw it up, Allasandro. It was breathtaking and

beautiful. I think you may in fact be the newest member of our little
charity performance.” Santiago looked at Damian. “You’ll have to
call the program printers and add his name under yours. ‘Vocalist’
seems an appropriate title.”

“Ask him first, Santiago,” Damian demanded softly.
“So I’m good?” Allasandro asked, his eyes shining. Santiago

petted his head like he did to all of his “children.”

“You will be. You’ve got talent,” Santiago offered.
“He said I had talent,” Allasandro told Damian. Damian smiled at

his childlike enthusiasm.

“He did indeed.”
“No one ever said I had talent with anything other than women

and weapons.” Ally returned his grin. “Guess that means you’re
dating a hot commodity, eh?”

“Hot commodity or not, you need practice,” Santiago interrupted.

“I need both of you back here at precisely seven p.m. I need to rework
the rest of the music and reorganize the movements to accommodate
an extra voice. It’ll still be mostly solo work, but I think there is room
for a few duets.” He was already lost in his art. When Santiago
worked, he got this dazed expression on his face like he was staring at
something invisible and fascinating just beyond the scope of regular
people’s sight.

“So we’re free to go?” Ally directed at Damian as Santiago started

humming to himself. Damian took his lover’s hand and kissed his
knuckles.

“Yes, my love. We’re free to go.” He glanced at Santiago. “I’ll

call the printers tomorrow before bed. Good night, Grandsire.”

* * * *

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119

The night air was crisp despite the kiss of summer heat that Haven

was experiencing. They stepped out the back entrance of the theater
and into the employee parking lot.

“So…” Ally began, twining his hand with Damian’s. “I’m in the

mood for a little celebration, and we have a whole”—he glanced at his
watch—“two hours before dawn. What do you want to do?”

“Hmmm, this feels like a first date,” Damian said. He felt sixteen

as he swung their entwined arms back and forth as they walked down
the second row of cars.

“Yeah, but instead of a slow buildup for the hope of a delicate

first kiss at the end of the night, you, sir, are getting lucky,” Ally
declared. Damian’s laugh echoed through the space.

After a moment, Ally spoke again. “I was thinking there should be

food involved in this first date thing.”

“I concur,” Damian said agreeably. “Since I haven’t eaten in the

past six years or so, why don’t you pick the place?”

“Six years? Are you serious?” Ally’s eyes bulged. “I love food

way too much to give up any of it. I have an appetite for life. Why’d
you stop eating?”

“When Kal was young, he didn’t understand why his daddy didn’t

want to eat. So, I started eating with him. After he was taken, I didn’t
see the point of keeping up the charade,” Damian shared. He stopped
walking and turned Allasandro so that they faced one another. “So
where do you want to go to eat? Keep in mind that it is four in the
morning.”

“McDonald’s?” Ally asked.
“That is not food.” Dageus’s voice cut through their planning.

They turned and saw a very heavily bundled Dageus and Alex coming
toward them. “That is thinly veiled rat poison.”

“You used to love it when you were little,” Damian reminded

gently as he wrapped his arm around Allasandro’s waist. “Besides, we
weren’t asking you. We’re planning on going out on our first date
since Santiago has released us from purgatory for the night.”

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Alex nodded. “We were about to do the same.” Alex kissed

Dageus’s forehead. “Good night, brother, Allasandro.” He steered a
protesting Dageus away from the two of them.

“You’re going to have to talk to him at some point,” Ally said

with a sigh as the two of them disappeared in a blink of Alex’s power.

“Yes. But not tonight.” Damian pulled Ally closer and pressed a

kiss against his lips. The Ravyn surrendered to the pressure of
Damian’s kiss with enthusiasm that Damian found absolutely
intoxicating. It thrilled him to know that this man, this beautiful man,
was his to take.

Their tongues danced and courted, rejoicing in the touch of flesh.

Allasandro’s hands crept up under his shirt to brush against the bit of
skin that was located just above his waistband. He was pressed
against the vampire from head to toe. His hands crept around
Damian’s waist to rest for a moment on his lower back before
creeping higher. Damian deepened his kiss, commanding Ally’s
response. His lover didn’t disappoint.

The Ravyn’s hand slipped down his body to cup the impressive

erection that Damian was sporting. He nipped at the vampire’s bottom
lip.

“Is this for me?” he asked in mock surprise. Damian couldn’t help

but groan. His hips pressed into Ally’s cupped palm. “Why, sir, I do
believe that you are trying to take advantage of me too early on our
date.” He gave a gentle caress to Damian’s swollen cock, eliciting a
growl in response.

“Keep it up, naughty boy, and I will have to punish you,” Damian

said. His voice was a rumble of desire. Allasandro’s eyes dilated, and
he pressed his own erection against Damian’s hard thigh.

“I’m counting on it, sir,” he whispered.

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Chapter Sixteen

“You know, I’m never going to look at French fries the same way

again.” Allasandro gasped as Damian continued to stroke his bare
cock while feeding him French fries.

Instead of teleporting them to McDonald’s, Damian had taken one

of the theater’s vehicles to a local drive-thru and got a bag of stuff
before Ally could even tell him what he wanted to order. They had
broken several speed limits getting back to Damian’s penthouse suite,
and the vampire had practically thrown the keys at the valet. The
second they’d entered the apartment, Damian ordered Ally to strip
and get onto his bed. Though Ally had protested that he was hungry,
Damian just gave him that “I’m-the-boss-you’re-my-naughty-boy-go-
do-as-I-say” look, and Ally had obeyed.

Now he was spread-eagled on the bed with his wrists and legs tied

in place while Damian tortured his cock and fed him French fries in
equal measure. It was damn erotic. He felt like a pet eating out of his
master’s hand.

Damian’s hand kneaded his sac. “Do you know that this was what

gypsy travelers used to do to the people who they spirited away from
their homes?” Ally groaned as Damian gave a light tug to his most
sensitive area.

“What? Did the gypsies feed them French fries and sexually

torture them while they did it? Speaking from personal experience, it
may be cruel, but it’s sort of sexy,” Ally tried to joke. The pressure on
his body ratcheted up a notch, almost to the point of pain. He
whimpered, and his hips rolled, asking for more.

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Damian chuckled at his response. “No, naughty boy. They didn’t

feed them French fries. Gypsies would come into the home of the
person whom they loved and desired and spirit them away into their
caravans. Like training a hawk, they would blindfold and tie them
until they came to rely on their gypsy for their care. After they’d
grown to love their captor, the ties would be released and the captive
would become the lover of the gypsy who’d captured them.” He
offered Allasandro another French fry, which Ally took and chewed
gratefully. Those golden Ravyn’s eyes regarded him with curiosity.
He swallowed his fry and spoke.

“Is that how you picked up your boyfriends when you were

mortal?” Ally asked. He found the idea of Damian being some sexy
gypsy captor incredibly appealing. Damian chuckled and opened up
the chicken nugget box and dipped it in ketchup before giving Ally a
bite.

“No. That is how I was picked up as a boyfriend when I was

mortal.” He pressed a kiss to Allasandro’s chest. His lover’s eyes
widened in surprise. “My first male lover was Ean, and he was a
Traveler. I was the son of a local member of the gentry. Nothing
incredibly wealthy or anything, just the caretaker of a section of the
forest of our local King, but we were still considered lower members
of the aristocracy. Even though my father was Norman, he managed
to get the position and the prestige for my family.

I, of course being an idle youth, spent all my time hanging about

the small town near our property, and, consequently, I ran with a
group of gypsy boys that passed through every year about the same
time. I was fascinated by their lives because they answered to no one.
No King could command them. No duty could trap them. They were
the freest people I had ever met.” Allasandro sighed wistfully and lost
himself in the tale that Damian was telling.

“So the night of my eighteenth birthday in September, the gypsies

came into my father’s house and woke me from bed. They told me
that there was an emergency at their camp and that I needed to come

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quickly. I considered them my friends, so I dressed and went with
them.

When we got there, the man I considered my best friend and idol

was waiting on us. Ean tackled me to the ground and tied me up. The
other boys helped him carry me back to his caravan and deposited me
there.” Ally was getting extremely turned on by the course this story
was taking. As if he had anticipated the response, Damian’s hand
found his hard length and stroked it in a firm steady rhythm that was
guaranteed to elicit nothing but pleasure. “They call it Grabbing.” He
continued after a moment of teasing. “He kept me tied a good amount
of the time and only allowed me out of his caravan when I needed to
see to my personal needs. At first I was angry, and then I was
desperate. I fought him tooth and nail for my freedom.” He smiled
and lifted the straw to Ally’s mouth so that he could drink. “Little did
I know that my freedom could be found in surrendering to what and
whom I fought against.”

“Did you…did he?” Ally asked. He was fascinated.
“He was the first man I was ever with. He kept me captive until I

could be trusted, and when I was freed, the bond remained. He
explained to me that the old fortune teller had said that I was going to
be his and that I had a gypsy’s soul. I just had to be taught the way.
Ean taught me pleasure like I’d never known before. His people, who
then became my people, had pride in their ability to please their
partners, and I learned from them. I was his lover until the day he
died. He was never the healthiest of the men, and he caught a fever
one spring and passed about two weeks later.”

“So you stayed with the gypsies?” Ally panted. He was having

trouble concentrating now. Damian had set the food aside and was
doing his best to drive Ally mad with the leisurely strokes of his
hands. Between Damian’s sure touch and the romantic story, Ally was
about to explode.

“Yes. I stayed with them until Maddy and Santiago found me.”

Damian leaned up and grabbed Allasandro’s exposed nipple in

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between his teeth and lapped at the now-pebbled tip. “Do you know,
that in all my time with the gypsies and all the time since, I have
never Grabbed anyone.” This really caught Allasandro’s attention.
“Do you know why, my naughty boy?”

“N–No,” Ally stammered. For once he was tongue tied.
“Because I never found someone to be my Ren-Ri. My reason for

living.” Damian turned his attention to the other nipple, licking and
sucking it in turn. Ally arched into the caress. Gods, that felt
incredible. “Do you know why I tied you up and grabbed you,
naughty boy?” Allasandro shuddered and shook his head. “Because
you make me feel more alive than I ever have.”

It was the closest he’d come to an out-and-out declaration of love.

They were trying to keep it casual on the surface, but the
undercurrents of seriousness were pulling them ever deeper into a
world where “casual” meant “forever.” Ally knew he should be
making a joke and pulling them back from this tone of conversation
but…it felt so good to be loved and wanted and, Gods help him,
needed.

“Please, Sir,” Allasandro breathed. “Make love to me.” Damian

obliged him.

He untied his legs but left his arms where they were. It was the

first step in gaining his freedom, Damian had told him huskily. Ally
writhed under the attentions of the vampire. Damian took the bottle of
lubrication by his bedside and dribbled it down the crease of
Allasandro’s backside, lifting his hips and spreading his cheeks so
that he could watch the slow progression of the oily substance as it
dripped down to Ally’s fluttering hole.

“Gods, that is beautiful,” Damian purred. He took his other hand

and pressed a finger into Ally’s tight body. The Ravyn gasped as the
first finger breached his hole. He’d been empty for too many hours
now, and he felt starved for anything to fill that yawning feeling of
emptiness inside him. Damian’s finger found and rubbed unerringly

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on the spot inside him, causing Allasandro to buck his chest off the
mattress as his whole body shot skyward.

He’d never imagined that it could be this good with another male.

Everything about Damian’s touch was absolutely intoxicating.
Another finger added to the first, increasing to the pleasure Damian
was inflicting on him. Allasandro rocked his hips in a counterthrust.
He was so ready to be fucked to unconsciousness.

“Damian…” Allasandro moaned. The vampire grumbled low in

his throat, the feral sound making parts of Allasandro give a salute of
approval. Damian grabbed hold of the back of Allasandro’s legs and
put them over his shoulders so that Ally’s tight ass was completely
exposed to him, his hips thrust up at exactly the right angle. “Please,”
Ally panted. His entire world was focused down to the riot of
sensation being administered to him. He wanted every feeling he
could get and even a few he couldn’t.

“Are you ready for me?” Damian asked. His whole body was

trembling and the slight tremor of the muscles would have been
fascinating to watch had Ally not been half insane for wanting him.
Damian pressed the head of his cock to Ally’s entrance, just teasing
him with the briefest of invasions.

“Gods yes! Hurry…” Ally whimpered. He didn’t need to ask

twice.

Damian sunk inside his tight body one slow inch at a time. The

vampire cried out, obviously enjoying the sensation of Allasandro’s
delectable ass wrapped around his cock. Ally knew that they’d been
together only the night before, but every time they were together it
felt like Damian hadn’t been inside him in a hundred years. His whole
body rocked as his cock slid over Ally’s prostate. His lover shuddered
above him.

“Fuck me. Fuck me. Please fuck me. Oh!” Allasandro babbled.

“Yeah, just like that.” Damian loved how vocal his lover was. Loved
how much he voiced his pleasure louder than anyone Damian had
ever had before. He told him so every time they were intimate.

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“You’re so…damn…perfect.” Damian grunted. His hips

hammered harder, and Allasandro took every bit of his pounding with
enthusiasm.

“Ah!” Allasandro cried out. “My sexy gypsy man.” He dug his

feet into Damian’s hips. Damian chuckled at that. His story had
obviously enchanted Allasandro in exactly the manner he had
planned. Now the Ravyn wanted to be his captive, wanted to be his
love.

“Does that make you my sexy captive?” Damian rumbled. His

body was practically humming with desire, and Ally knew by the
frequency and depth of his thrusts that he was already close.

“Yes!” Allasandro cried. His body spasmed around Damian’s

hard cock and his wet hot desire splashed his chest and stomach.
“Yours, all yours,” he babbled over and over again as he came.
Damian’s body reacted to the pleasure-filled pledge, and then he came
in endless waves, buried deep inside his lover.

* * * *

“Some first date.” Allasandro chuckled softly as they cuddled in

the aftermath of their pleasure. He was tracing the faint bite mark he’d
given Damian on his chest just moments before. He hadn’t broken the
skin, but he had bruised the flesh. Damian had reveled in it.

“Agreed. Some first date,” Damian murmured, kissing Ally’s

temple. They were connected, euphoric, and completely at ease with
their bond. It was just as deep as the connection with the other Ravyns
to Ally except not as strong. The strength would come in time if they
got that far in their relationship. “The question is, will there be a
second?”

“Of course. And a third. And a fourth. And a fifth, if you’re really

nice to me and take me somewhere other than McDonald’s that is.”
Ally joked, kissing his chest with every number he said. More

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seriously he spoke. “Damian, do you think that you would consider,
you know, something a little more, er, a little less casual?”

“That’s the feed talking,” Damian said automatically. “You don’t

mean that.” Allasandro shook his head at Damian’s words.

“Damian. I like you. I really like you.” Allasandro’s voice was

soft, and his cheeks burned at the words he spoke. He wasn’t used to
making declarations of affection.

“I really like you, too, Allasandro,” Damian admitted. They

shared a kiss. “And we can be as serious as you want to be.”

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Chapter Seventeen

Damian cursed himself a thousand times for not doing this sooner.

Dust coated his skin, his hair, and his clothes. He was never going to
let the boxes of family paperwork and records pile up like this again.
He had buried himself in the basement of La Petite Morte’s theater in
an effort to distract his mind from the fact that he and Allasandro
would most likely not cross paths for the next two days.

They’d been together every night since they’d made their

declaration to start seeing one another again, and the separation hadn’t
set well with Damian. Since Saturday was technically the last working
day at the theater before opening, Santiago had had mercy on all of
them and allowed them the night off.

Unfortunately, that also meant that the Ravyns’ schedules could

be adjusted to fit a more heavily guarded entourage for Salvatore.
This usually meant that Salvatore would choose to go out those days
due to the fact that Tony wouldn’t go gray with worry over the
number of guards around the prince.

“I’m going to miss you, gypsy man,” Allasandro had whispered

hours before in Damian’s arms before he’d had to go get ready for
work. Damian had just loosed the ties that had bound his lover to the
framework of his bed. Their appetites for play had grown in leaps and
bounds as the nights had progressed. The edge of seduction and
submission were danced around, and since Ally had confessed all of
his interesting role-playing fantasies, Damian had made sure to play
whatever villain Allasandro was in the mood for. He’d never
imagined that playing pretend could be so damn hot.

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He sighed and dragged himself back from his memories as his

body began to stir. There was no point in allowing himself to get so
worked up. Allasandro would be gone for several days, though he
promised to call when he got a break so they could go eat together or
whatever the hour called for.

The manila folder in his lap was something he was going to have

to acknowledge at some point. His thoughts turned from his lover to
his son. This could answer a lot of questions for the Ravyns, Dageus
in particular. He just didn’t know how to bring it up with him. They
hadn’t spoken since their talk in the parking lot. It wasn’t that Damian
was deliberately avoiding the censure that his son would inevitably
throw at him. It was just that he was reluctant to break the fragile
truce between them, even if it was a silent one. Perhaps he needed to
approach Alex first.

The knock on the door was not unexpected. He’d ordered his

secretary to bring him his personal organizer from his office to use in
case he found anything that needed to be locked in the safe upstairs.

“Come in!” he called, opening yet another box of files. He

glanced up and stopped his motions. “Kal,” he greeted in surprise.
“What are you doing at the theater? I thought the Ravyns were all
assigned to Salvatore’s side for the next two days?”

Dageus stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable, dressed in a

pair of low-slung blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He pushed his hand
through his hair in a move that was unconsciously reflective of his
raising. It was something Damian did when he was nervous. “Father.”
His voice was soft. “Is it okay if I come in?”

Damian nodded. “Of course.” He was curious as to what Dageus

was doing here. The Ravyn came into the room, closing the door
quietly behind him.

“Salvatore has decided he’s going to the mall with Theron in a

little bit to pick up some clothes for him so that he’ll blend in. I mean,
ceremonial robes and all that pomp is okay for the other side, but here
it sort of stands out. Desmond knows he’s here, but Salvatore and

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Tony don’t want to make it obvious whenever he goes out.” He knelt
beside Damian on the carpet and opened up a box. “What’s all this
stuff anyways?”

“It’s old paperwork I’ve been meaning to go through for the past

five years but haven’t managed to do as of yet,” Damian offered
absently. “You still haven’t answered my question. What are you
doing here?”

Dageus looked away from Damian’s curious expression.

“Salvatore’s getting ready, and he’s not planning on leaving the house
until around nine. The mall won’t be very crowded then, and Tony
won’t have kittens over the security risks. So I had Alex bring me to
the theater to talk to you… away from Ally-cat. I know things haven’t
been great between us lately.” He trailed off.

“That’s as much my fault as it is yours, son,” Damian

acknowledged. He ached to reach out and put his arm on Dageus’s
shoulder, but he knew somehow that the Ravyn wouldn’t welcome the
show of affection. His son was a warrior now, and as a warrior, he
had to work this through his own way.

“I know. You should’ve told me, for sure. But”—he paused—“I

also know that Ally especially was banking on my acceptance of you
guys. I didn’t see the signs. I thought you’d both get hurt, and I just
couldn’t stand the thought of it. I was wrong though. I should’ve
realized it when Ally wanted to date you in the first place. Ally
doesn’t date, so he must be pretty serious about you. Do you…do you
love him?” Dageus’s voice had grown softer and softer as he spoke as
if it were excessively hard for him to squeeze out the words. They
ended on a whisper that wouldn’t have been able to be heard by
normal mortals.

“I don’t know if I love him yet, but… I think we’re getting there.”

Damian gripped the file in his lap until the edges curled up in his fist.
“I mean, neither of us has really said anything about that.” Except that
one time I did when we first united after our separation, but I was
mindless with pleasure at the time and can’t be held accountable.

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“But I do think there is a potential for a serious, forever kind of
relationship. We’ve talked about as much.”

Dageus nodded. “Good. That’s good. You two mean a lot to me,

and I want you to be happy. I want this not to be weird between us
anymore. He’s my best friend, and you’re my dad. I don’t want any
rifts between us. So after the charity performance Monday, do you
think we could all go out to dinner? I already got approval from
Salvatore. Alex’s two new shifters will help escort him back home
afterward. So we’re free.” There was the olive branch. It was
extended and offered to Damian’s eager hands.

“I’m glad you came to tell me,” Damian said. He reached out and

drew his son into a hug. “I don’t want anything else to come between
us ever again. I’m not saying that me having a relationship with your
buddy won’t be awkward at times, but I’m willing to keep the
communication stations open if you are.” Dageus nodded his
acceptance. “Besides, we’ve been separated too long as is. I want to
know the man you’ve become, Kal.”

The Ravyn gave a Cheshire cat grin. “I think I could teach you a

thing or two, old man.” Damian scoffed.

“Young blood, haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘with age comes

wisdom’?”

“Haven’t you ever heard that with old age comes hip replacements

and slow reflexes?” Dageus countered with a wink. Damian couldn’t
help but laugh.

“Unless you’re an immortal, which I happen to be. Hip

replacement indeed.” He pretended to cuff his son’s ear at that.

They separated, and he glanced down at that damn manila folder

in his lap. Now didn’t seem like the time. “Well,” Damian said,
smiling. “I suppose I shall see you at dress rehearsal Monday with the
plans to go out afterward?” Dageus nodded. “Dress requirements?”
Damian asked out of habit. Any time he’d been offered to go out to
dinner in the past few years, it was always coat and tie.

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“Just dress casual. We’re going to this diner me and the boys like

to hang out at.” Dageus glanced at his phone as it buzzed with a new
text message. “That’s Tony. I gotta go. Salvatore is chomping at the
bit to get going, and none of us want to hear the lecture for making
him wait. However much he makes Tony suffer, Tony makes us
suffer twice as much during workouts. Later, Dad.”

“See you, Kal.” Damian waved and went back to sorting his

boxes. Everything in his life was finally looking up. He heard Dageus
ascend the staircase into the upper realms of the theater’s offices,
knowing that he was probably meeting Alex there. He sent a mental
message to Alex as he flipped open the first new folder and set the
other aside.

Thank you for taking care of him, brother. It was the first time

he’d acknowledged the relationship between Alex and Kal to his
brother. Surprise flickered from the other side of their
communication.

You’re welcome, Alex replied quietly. Damian felt the love for

him come down the line, warming him from the inside out. He’s good
for you, Damian, he added. It took Damian a minute to realize who
“he” was.

Yes. He’s mine, Damian said simply. He’d never said anything as

true as that.

* * * *

Ally felt like shit. His stomach was churning, and his mouth felt

like little fuzzy aliens had taken up residence there. He’d already
puked twice, and it didn’t feel like it would be the last time tonight.
Tony had been shoveling stomach medicine down his throat and fever
reducers, but nothing was helping. His forehead was still slicked with
sweat and his skin pasty white.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go out,” Theron suggested after taking one

look at Allasandro’s complexion.

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“I’m fine,” Ally murmured. “It’s just the DTs from Damian’s bite.

That’s all.” Tony glared in his direction.

“Is this going to happen every time you two spend five minutes

apart?” the leader of the Ravyn’s all but snarled in his direction.

Ally shrugged. “Got me. Ask Dageus.” He wanted Damian.

Needed him. Now. He needed to taste his blood and give him his in
turn. He ached to go to him. Damian needed him, too. He was sure of
it. He trembled as his mind raced from possibility to possibility.
Maybe he could ask Salvatore if he could just have an hour. No. They
were all ready to leave. Dammit. He should have gone with Dageus
when he’d gone to the theater with Alex.

“Get a grip, my brother,” Druas whispered, casting an anxious

look in Tony’s direction.

“I’m trying. Swear.” Allasandro counted the hours since he’d last

seen Damian. Six? Seven maybe? How much longer did these damn
withdrawals last? Oh yeah, a week. Fuck. He’d see Damian before
then.

It was then that Alex and Dageus appeared in the middle of the

Salvatore’s sitting room. They both looked happy.

“’Bout damn time, Dageus,” Tony rumbled in his normal gruff

manner. He was such a hard-ass.

“Sorry, got caught up talking with my father and lost track of the

time. We ready to move out?” Dageus asked, obviously ready to go as
well.

“Yes. The cars are being brought around now,” Tony said, turning

his back and ordering people into formation. The two new shifters
took the rear while Allasandro and Dageus took the center. Tony and
Druas flanked either side of Salvatore and Theron, and Germany took
the front.

Dageus took one look at his brother and blanched. “He did it

again? What the hell? How often does he feed on you?”

“Uh…” Allasandro blinked. He hadn’t expected the incredulity

behind those words. “Like, every time. What’s wrong with that?”

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Then Dageus paled. “Every time. Do you exchange? Like, do you

take his blood while you take his?”

“Sometimes?” Ally offered.
Dageus’s jaw tightened. “He shouldn’t be doing that. He needs to

be careful, especially with you.” Ally patted him on the back.

“It’s seriously all right, my brother. We’re tight. I just like how

close we get when we…yah know, share. Damian just gets carried
away when he’s feeding sometimes.”

“Damian shouldn’t be losing his control. He’s old enough where it

shouldn’t be a problem.” He glanced at Allasandro as they started
walking down the main staircase to the waiting Escalade. “And the
side effects from Bite Withdrawals shouldn’t be affecting you. You
only go through the really bad DTs once. After that, you should just
get a severe headache and a little stomach ache. You’re acting like the
first time all over again.”

“So it’s not normal?” Allasandro blinked. He had just thought it

was a consequence of having a vampire lover.

“No. Definitely not normal.” Dageus worried his bottom lip with

his teeth. “How serious is it between you two?”

Ally shrugged. “We’re pursuing serious, but we’re not ready to

get married yet, if that’s what you mean.”

The other Ravyn shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so certain about

that.”

* * * *

The Haven’s Ridge Mall was a large gray building that was

obviously one of the more recent additions to the cityscape. It was a
modern structure with great concrete columns and a blacktopped
parking lot with crisp white lines to indicate the spaces. The gray
Escalade pulled up to the fire lane in front of the building and the side
door closest to the entrance opened. Druas hopped out, then Germany.
They reached back inside and helped Theron and Salvatore out before

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Dageus and Allasandro joined them on the sidewalk. The two shifters
and Tony went to park the car and they decided to wait just inside the
entrance so that they were out of the open air.

The dark-blue carpet was well maintained and echoes of their

footsteps were muffled by it in the cavernous interior. Shops lined
either side of the entryway until the floor split into two sections, left
and right, with one continuing forward so that the layout was a large
T shape. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Tony and the two
shifters walked through the door.

“We went online and scoped out the place,” Tony said in his most

authoritative voice. He always spoke like he was instructing a combat
mission instead of a fun outing. “Salvatore wants to hit the major
clothing stores starting with Sears and working clockwise to the
tuxedo shop. As often as we’re at the theater he wants Theron to have
the appropriate attire for the event. Also, Theron has requested we go
to the cookie kiosk and coffee shop, both of which are located roughly
halfway through our excursion.”

“Oh for the love of the gods!” Salvatore grumbled, rolling his

eyes. “It’s the mall. It’s not a den of assassins. Let’s go.” He didn’t
even look for approval but stalked toward the large Sears sign up
ahead of them. Tony made a noise of frustration in the back of his
throat before stalking after the Prince.

“Move it!” he barked at the rest of them. Dageus and Allasandro

smothered a snicker of laugher. Their brother was far too serious.

They wandered the mall, each of them picking up a little

something for themselves along the way. Allasandro managed to get a
new yellow T-shirt to replace the one that had gone missing a couple
weeks before and a digital Sudoku game from one of the kiosks they
passed. Everyone was in good spirits, especially the Princes who were
chatting merrily about Earth, which was declared to be the best place
in the universe by both of them. Ally smiled warmly at their banter. It
was nice to see Salvatore so carefree. Coming to Earth really was the
best decision they’d made concerning their Prince.

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“I’ll be right back,” Dageus said, waving at Tony and pointing off

to the left of the group. The other Ravyn rolled his eyes but nodded
his ascent. Within seconds he’d returned with two large Icees and
handed one of them to Ally. Cherry, his favorite.

“The cold will settle your stomach, and the sugar will keep your

energy up,” he provided simply. Ally bumped him with his shoulder
lightly.

“Taking care of me now, little brother?” he teased.
“Somebody has to.” Dageus smirked. “Gods know that you aren’t

very good at taking care of yourself. Look at you, all strung out from
too much vampire L-O-V-E.” The entire clan of Ravyns catcalled at
that. Allasandro blushed crimson.

“Thanks,” he muttered.
Dageus grinned and slapped him on the back. “Anytime, brother.”
“All right, everyone,” Salvatore called over their chatter. “We’re

going to the tuxedo maker now. Please make sure you’re all fitted for
a new one before we leave. I want us all to have new outfits for the
charity performance.” His gaze flickered to Dageus and Allasandro
and winked. He was very proud of the two of them for being involved
so deeply in La Petite Morte. The Ravyns twisted their middle and
ring fingers together on their right hands and placed it over their
hearts before inclining their heads in acknowledgement. It was the
way a Ravyn bowed before their Prince.

“We don’t need new tuxedos,” Ally heard one of the shifters

protest. What was his name? Hmmm… Michel maybe? He was so bad
with names.

“Of course you do, Michel,” Salvatore countered, waving his hand

in dismissal. Aha, so it was Michel.

“Forgive me, Sire. But, Michel is correct. We are not a part of

your Ravyns. We are a part of Alexander Daranoz’s household-
shifters. We are just temporary guards. There is no reason for you to
spare any expense for us. The Entertainer house will provide us
clothing if they want us to wear it.” The other shifter added his voice

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to the disagreement. Tony looked thunderous. No one argued with
Salvatore in front of him. This was looking like it was going to turn
into a knock-down-drag-out between the shifters and the Ravyns’
leader if they didn’t start toeing the line.

“You will obey Prince Salvatore as you would obey myself or my

grandsire, Cord.” A familiar voice sounded. Dageus beamed and
broke formation so that he could throw himself into his soon-to-be
husband’s arms.

“Alex! You came. I thought you had paperwork to do tonight?”

Dageus gushed. Before, Ally would’ve made a wise-crack about fools
in love and rolled his eyes at the tender look they exchanged, but now
Ally felt a little jealous. He wished his gypsy man was here instead of
wherever he was.

“I thought I’d take a break and see what my favorite bunch of

demons was getting into at the mall.” He glanced around at the other
warriors and smiled, flashing pearly white teeth. “I see no one has
attacked you yet. That’s good.” The jab was intended for Tony, and if
his stony expression was any indication, the remark had found its
mark. Of course, Tony normally had an overly serious expression on
his face, so it was hard to tell, especially given his mood just seconds
before. Allasandro resisted the urge to laugh.

“Sire, we truly don’t need new tuxes.” Michel continued his

protest, bringing them back to the conversation they’d been having
before. “We don’t want to be a burden.”

“Nonsense. Salvatore has more money than you or I could ever

hope to have, given the amount of precious gems he’s been flooding
the market with. Consider it your bonus for taking on the extra
responsibilities outside the house. Speaking of which, Salvatore, I’ve
been meaning to speak with you. I have a friend who’s in the jewelry-
making business.” Alex put his arm around Salvatore and escorted
him into the tux shop, the Ravyns and company trailing along behind
them.

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“I love how he’s so savvy,” Dageus sighed dreamily. Ally winced.

He prayed he never sounded like that when he talked about Damian.

“And he’s got such a cuuuuuuuuuuuute butt, too,” Ally mocked,

giving a bigger and even more dramatic sigh. Dageus punched him in
the arm and glared. “Ouch!” Ally griped.

“Serves you right. I can’t help it if I’m marrying a man that makes

Adonis look like an ogre,” Dageus snipped.

“Are you talking about the Adonis from Longtown in Demontia?

The one with the wart on his cheek and the bad pockmarks on his
face? The one that smelled like three-day-old rotting pig’s entrails.
You know the one I’m talking about,” Ally wondered, his face a mask
of innocence. He couldn’t help but smirk as his brother flushed red in
the face, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. “Well, if you’re comparing
him to that Adonis, then sure. He’s a great-looking guy.” He paused
for effect. “Of course as far as vampires go, he’s okay.”

“Just okay?” Dageus growled.
Ally shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s okay. The blond hair, the blue

eyes, the six-foot frame, and the tight ass are okay. Sure. Mediocre,
but pretty good.” He imagined his own ideal vampire. “But if you
really wanna know, the total package comes in a six-foot-six frame
with dark-blue eyes and hair as black as pitch. That’s a real vamp for
you.”

Dageus made a face. “Ew. Yuck. You just described my dad like

he was a lollipop and you just have to have a lick. Gross. Please.
Don’t ever. Ever. Ever. Say that again,” he pleaded. Ally smiled
wickedly. “I mean it, Allasandro. You are forbidden to mention my
dad being in any way a sexual object. He is virginal in my eyes, and
your relationship is as a pure as the new-fallen snow, you feel me?”

Ally just laughed.

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Chapter Eighteen

One T-shirt, one digital sudoku, three ICEEs, and one cotton

candy later, they were ready to leave. Despite Alex’s assertion that he
was only on break, he’d kept them company through the rest of their
outing, even going as far as walking them to the car. He and Prince
Salvatore had a lot in common, so they were often in deep discussion
while Dageus flitted back and forth between his brothers and his
lover. Tony had finally relaxed a smidgen as the time to get back to
the house neared. Ally felt like whistling despite the weakness that
still had him counting the steps he took. At least his stomachache was
gone.

They found the aisle that they were parked down and walked

toward the back of the SUV which could only be partially seen due
the huge black truck parked beside it.

“I think I need a nap,” Ally whined, yawning widely. His brother

Germany smiled and gave him a playful shove.

“Wake up, lazy bones,” he taunted. Ally scowled.
“Better ease off the pushing, or else you’re going to be digesting

that fancy new leather journal you bought today, because I’m going to
shove it down your throat.” Ally delivered the threat without any real
anger in it. He was too tired to be angry.

Through the Bond he felt a ripple of unease. His head snapped up,

instantly alert to the change in the atmosphere. His mind expanded,
seeking what was making Tony and Dru so antsy. A group of shifters
reclined against the side of their SUV, obviously hanging around and
waiting for something. Tony spat a vicious curse in his mind which
reverberated through them all.

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Ally, tell the shifters to take Theron and Salvatore back inside and

to guard them with their lives, Tony commanded.

Should one of us go with them? Germany’s voice cut in.
They all felt Tony’s affirmative nod. Go for it, Ger. We’ll bring

the car around when it’s safe.

“Hey, guys, take Salvatore and Theron back inside,” Ally said to

the shifters. He had to admit they were trained efficiently. They didn’t
even ask why. They just grabbed the arm of each Prince and hauled
them back toward the mall entrance. Ger followed behind them, his
power swirling around him. Light and shadow chased themselves
around his body, obscuring him from normal view.

“Hey, fellas,” Dru greeted. He was the biggest out of the Ravyns

and as such acted as the muscle when it came to confrontations
between extremely physical beings like shifters. Their kind tended to
appreciate a nice display of strength, and strength was right up Dru’s
alley. “You mind getting off our car so we can get out of here? We’re
kinda tired.” The earth slang fell from his lips in a perfect cadence.
No one would suspect that he was a demon from a parallel dimension.

“We don’t really feel like it, do we, boys?” the middle shifter said.

He was a shorter, meaty version of the two thugs beside him, with a
close-cropped military cut and a mean look in his eyes.

Ally wanted to growl. Ever since he’d come to Earth, every damn

bunch of shifters that wasn’t affiliated with the Entertainer household
were a bunch of assholes. These jerks were not teaching him
exceptions either.

“Then we’re going to have a problem,” Dru drawled in dangerous

unconcern. The Ravyns fell into an easy battle formation behind him,
Tony by Dru’s side. Ally knew they presented a hell of an
intimidating picture. The Ravyns were all too well muscled, too
graceful, and too dangerous to do otherwise.

“You must be Anthony,” the shifter returned, pushing off the side

of the car. The Ravyns laughed in unison at that. The shifter scowled.
“What’s so funny?”

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141

“Get away from the car,” the real Tony warned. “Last chance,

gentlemen.”

“Or what?” the shifter snapped. The Ravyns shared a glance and a

mental shrug. Let them have it their way.

“You’d figure Desmond would hire better thugs,” Ally offered

with a slow easy grin. “I mean, this is just pathetic.”

“Desperate times for the sitting King, brother,” Dageus replied,

playing on Ally’s banter. “With odds like these, there really is no
reason to fight.”

“You’re right. It’s just cruel to pick on such puny shifters,” Ally

agreed. Tony gave a nearly imperceptible nod as three more shifters
piled out of the truck that was parked beside their car.

Ally’s limbs were trembling with adrenaline. He was so ready for

this. He reached inside himself as the bond between the Ravyns
widened and expanded before encircling them in the comforting
blanket of unity. Ally felt the power of his brothers thrumming with
vitality and confidence. He pushed his own power toward theirs.
Nothing happened. Ally frowned and tried again, only to have the
same result.

What’s wrong? Dageus’s voice spoke to his mind easily. He’d

already drawn his Ravyn’s sword and was stalking one of the bigger
shifters. Alex stood by his side, his own power like a physical shroud
that covered anyone within a few feet of the epicenter.

My power is off. I don’t know what’s wrong. I can’t access it. I

don’t have the energy to call it up, and the bond is sapping me of
what’s left. Allasandro stated in a panic. He fell back as one of the
shifters lunged at him. Dageus elicited a striking series of curses
before exchanging a rapid conversation with his vampire.

Alex is going to stay beside you. Try not to expend too much

energy.

What’s happening, Dageus? Ally demanded, anger rising up to

replace the fear. He whipped the Ravyn’s scimitar that was attached
to his back out and charged at the shifter. He usually preferred his

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scythes but they weren’t practical out and about. Weak or not, he was
a damn Ravyn.

Ally, no! Dageus snapped, knocking the shifter that was coming

after him with his fist and turning to intercept Ally. He wouldn’t make
it.

Alex got to him first, swinging Ally around and planting his ass

on the pavement. He snarled at the Ravyn for almost endangering his
Bride and tackled the shifter to the ground. Ally sat there for a few
seconds before rolling to his feet.

“Stay. Put,” Alex snapped, dissolving into French as the shifter

got a good swing in and clipped his jaw. Ignoring the vampire, Ally
grabbed the back of the shifter’s neck that was on top of the Master
and hauled him backward. Normally something like that wouldn’t
have thrown him off-balance, but in his weakened state, he stumbled,
which gave the shifter time enough to manage a partial shift and slice
into his sword arm with his claws.

The Ravyn cried out and clutched the gaping wound. Fuuuucckk

that hurt. He had to let go of the cut to parry the next blow from the
shifter as the half animal’s claws tried to take a chunk out of his
throat. Ally could hold him off but only for a few minutes more at
most. His strength was waning.

Tony drew a particularly heavy dose of power through their bond

as the pavement split wide and literally swallowed two of the shifters
before rushing back together to close. Ally gasped as his power fled.
The next blow landed, digging into the flesh of his chest muscle
above his racing heart. The pain was so sharp it was almost blinding.

Almost instantly the claws were yanked out and the shifter tossed

across the parking lot by the Master vampire. Ally collapsed to his
knees. His stomach heaved as the pain stole his mind. He emptied the
contents of his stomach onto the now-cracked pavement and clutched
at his chest. Damn that hurt. That hurt so damn bad. The bond
between the Ravyns was cut off from him, and for the first time since
joining the brotherhood he was completely alone in his own head.

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Dageus was suddenly by his side. “Breathe. Breathe, Ally. It’ll

pass. You’ve got to breathe though.” He gripped Ally’s torn arm in a
merciless grip to stem the bleeding. “It’s not gone. It’s just faint. It
happens.” He turned to Alex who was back to looking like a GQ
model. “Call Damian and tell him to meet us at the house. He’s going
to need his blood.”

“W–Won’t that start the Bride thing i–if it’s too m–much?” Ally

stuttered. He felt like he was choking, drowning in loneliness that was
just as acute as the wound in his chest. The vampire and the Ravyn
shared a glance.

“Don’t worry about that right now. We just need you to worry

about staying calm and collected while we get you back home,”
Dageus murmured soothingly. Sounds of battle raged around them,
but they seemed to be untouched.

“Is he okay?” Tony called as he pinned the leader of the shifters to

the blacktop. He grunted as the shifter’s claws grazed his chest.

“He’s fine. We need to get the Princes and get him home. He’s

losing a lot of blood,” Dageus said authoritatively. Alex bent and
scooped Ally up.

“I can walk,” Ally slurred, his vision tunneling.
“Don’t worry about anything right now. I’ve got you,” the

vampire reassured. He took two careful steps, but it didn’t help. Every
movement speared the Ravyn with untold agony. One more step and
Allasandro fell into blissful unconsciousness.

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Chapter Nineteen

Damian petted Allasandro’s head as he suckled on his neck like a

babe at his mother’s breast. He had lost a lot of blood. Damian had
been sick with worry waiting on Alex to tell him that they’d left. The
Master Vampire had teleported him there after he’d passed out,
leaving his own Bride unguarded so that he could bring Allasandro
home.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Alex said softly. His voice

was deadly in its quietness. The thread of accusation did not go
unnoticed by his brother.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” Damian murmured,

completely absorbed in the feeling of Allasandro reclined against him
on the couch.

“The hell you don’t,” Alex snapped, his temper flaring. “You’ve

bonded him to you. Worse, you’ve started the Bride-claiming without
even asking his bloody permission.”

“I was going to. Later,” Damian murmured. “Leave me alone,

Alex. It isn’t your business.”

“Anything that affects Dageus is my business, and his best friend

being wed to his father is going to affect him big-time.” Alex crossed
his arms across his chest and blew a stray strand of pale blond hair out
of his face.

“Don’t say anything yet. I need to talk to Allasandro first, and I

don’t want to upset Kal.” Damian shuddered as his lover lapped at the
wound which was rapidly closing. He whined, and Damian brought
the knife back up to widen the wound. His lover settled back
immediately.

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145

“The time for keeping secrets has passed, Damian,” Alex said

harshly. “You’re not a gypsy prince able to kidnap and claim a person
at will anymore. This is not the sixteen hundreds.”

“I’ve never stopped being a Roma, and I really don’t have to

answer to you.” Damian growled, careful not to dislodge the still-
passed out Allasandro.

“I am Master of this city, this is my home, and Allasandro is my

house guest. You sure as fuck have to answer to me.”

“I don’t have to do anything. If you have a problem with what I’m

doing, I can take Allasandro to New York and you and your city can
get fucked,” Damian threatened.

“He’ll never trust you again if you take him away from his duty,

Damian. He’s not a human. The Ravyns are a part of him.”

“I’ll fill the empty spaces inside him. I’ll jess him like a falcon

until he learns to love me like I—” Damian’s thoughts ground to a
halt.

“Like you love him?” Alex finished for him. “Damn it, Damian.

When are you going to learn that the harder you hold on to something,
the more it wants to be free? You’ve got to give him some choices.”

“Choices like I gave Kal? Choices that let him leave?” Damian all

but shouted at him. Ally groaned in his sleep, and Damian carefully
extricated himself from the sleeping man and stood.

“You gave Kal no choice, which was why he left!” Alex snapped

back.

“No, I gave him too much freedom, and so he found something

else.” Damian crashed his fist into a nearby bookshelf, causing the
wood to buckle under his punch.

“He was growing up, Damian. He was an adult when he came into

my bed, and damn it all, he’s your son, and you should’ve been happy
for him!”

“I was going to relent. I was planning on it. I just had to get used

to the idea of you and him. I just needed a little time, but noooo, you
insisted that he come to you anyway, and then he got taken away from

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both of us! I won’t have it. I won’t let anyone take Allasandro away
from me, because he’s mine, dammit!” Damian’s eyes were flush
with tears, and they trickled in little rivers out of the corners of his
eyes and fell to his cheeks. Alex’s eyes filled with sympathy, and he
reached out a hand, only to have it slapped away.

“Don’t look at me like that. Don’t look like you want to make it

better. You should’ve been thinking like my brother instead of with
your cock. You should’ve talked to me. Something. Anything.
Instead, you make this declaration like I just have to get over it. Well,
guess what, Ally isn’t yours, he’s never been yours, and he’ll never be
yours, so whatever claim you seem to think you have, back the fuck
off. He’s mine forever now, and I will be responsible for him.”

“You never told me you blamed me.” Alex whispered the words.

His eyes stared blankly at the floor.

“Are you listening to me? I’m not giving him up.”
“Of course you blamed me.” Alex seemed to be talking to himself.

“You’ve blamed me this whole time. That’s why you stayed gone on
business trips and never spoke more than a handful of sentences to
me. I thought you were just grieving. Of course you blamed me.”

“Alex,” Damian repeated in irritation. He wiped his cheeks with

the back of his hand. “That’s irrelevant. Kal’s home now. We’re
talking about Allasandro.”

“I can’t believe you blamed me,” Alex repeated dumbly. Damian

felt like shaking him. His gaze flickered to the slumbering Allasandro.
“I’ll give you time to talk to him because I took the chance from you
before, but I don’t know how long I’ll have. Kal is not going to keep
quiet long, and he knows.”

Damian felt acute relief. “Thank you, brother.”
“I’m doing this because I owe you. I’m doing this because I love

you. I don’t want something else to keep us apart for another six
years. You deal with it your way for now. But so help me, Damian,
don’t fuck this up. It’ll be my head on the chopping block with the

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Ravyns if you do.” Alex disappeared before Damian could formulate
a reply. No doubt he had returned to Dageus’s side wherever he was.

Damian knelt beside the couch and kissed Ally’s soft lips. “Don’t

worry, my naughty boy. I’ll make everything right. I promise.”

* * * *

Allasandro woke rested even if he was a little sore. He didn’t

remember what he’d been dreaming, but it was pleasant if his erection
was any indication. He moaned softly as strong hands gripped his
length, but he refused to open his eyes. He pushed his ass back against
the hard body behind him, his hips coming up to give those seeking
hands better access.

“Come on, naughty boy. I know you’re awake,” an oh-so-familiar

British accent all but purred.

“Hmmm…not yet. I’m so comfy.” Allasandro inhaled the crisp

clean scent that was all Damian from the sheets his cheek rested on.
He felt Damian’s need echoing through his mind but felt like teasing.
“You hungry, my gypsy man?” Damian’s growl answered him. He
tried to roll over but felt Damian’s hand on his back, staying his
motions.

“Stay there. Right there. Let me…” The sheets were peeled away

from his back and hips. He was nude underneath. Cool liquid dribbled
down his crease. Lube.

“Where are we?” Ally murmured as hot hands spread his ass

cheeks, exposing the hidden star found there.

“Somewhere safe,” Damian murmured an instant before he sank

his hard cock into Ally’s unprepared passage. The Ravyn cried out in
pleasure and pain.

“Damian…” He groaned the vampire’s name as his thick length

shuttled its way in and out of his body. He was going to be so sore
tomorrow, but it was so good. At least the lube was helping.

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“Mine,” Damian growled. His voice was a deep rumble of

masculine approval. The hair on the back of Allasandro’s head was
pulled tight, angling his throat up and bending his back in a deep
curve. His cock dragged against the soft cotton sheets, adding another
fission of pleasurable sensation to the moment. Allasandro’s mind
wrapped around them both like a blanket.

“Bite me,” Ally panted. “Please, bite me. Damian…” Damian’s

fangs slid into the flesh of his throat easily, and Ally somehow knew
that it was deeper than it had ever been before. His body convulsed in
orgasm without any more stimulation than that, contracting around his
lover hard.

Need you, Damian groaned mind to mind. Need you so bad,

Allasandro. Please, don’t leave me, my naughty boy.

Never, Ally promised. Never. Ever. Ever.
Damian’s hips snapped harder, stroking Ally’s prostate with every

lunge. He writhed helplessly on the end of the vampire’s dick as his
body tried to recover so quickly after the orgasm he had just
experienced.

The vampire pulled away from the bite on Allasandro’s neck so

that he could have more room to maneuver his body as it glided in
and out of his lover. Damian released his hair but put one arm around
his chest to hold it in place while the other gripped his hip to move it
in counter motion to his thrusting hips. Ally’s golden eyes stared at
his hands which were twisted in the sheets by his side. He’d never
experienced pleasure like this before.

“I’ve caught you now, naughty boy.” Damian’s guttural voice

growled in his ear, causing him to shiver. He was playing the
conqueror gypsy again. It was a game they’d both thoroughly enjoyed
since his storytelling the week before.

“Let me go.” Ally played along, even if he wasn’t very good at

acting the part. His voice was high and needy with a healthy dose of
breathless as to be completely unconvincing.

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“You’re going to stay in my caravan ’til you don’t want to leave.

You’re going to be my lover.” Damian slowed his thrusts down to a
teasing rhythm. The slow push and withdrawal had his toes curling.
Ally admired his control because he was going freaking nuts.

“You’ll be sorry,” Ally promised, even as his hips pushed back

into Damian, demanding a harder pace.

“Will I, naughty boy? Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to dare a

gypsy?” Damian gave one hard thrust that had Ally crying out in
pleasure. Yes! He wanted it harder. Just like that.

“I’m sorry!” Ally shouted as Damian slowed down again. His

thrusts were shallow and soft. “Please fuck me harder. Please,
Damian…” Their minds were now so deeply entwined that Ally really
wasn’t sure where he left off and Damian began.

“Promise to be mine forever. Promise to honor and cherish me.

Wed me in the Roma way.”

“Yes. Yes. Please. Just go faster,” Ally whined. Damian growled

and then began to move.

The sound of flesh smacking flesh filled the room, the force of

Damian’s lunges hard enough to take Ally’s breath away.

“Just like that. Just like that. Love it when you do that. Love being

fucked by you. Gods, I love you, Damian. Love when you do this.
Love you forever.” The words bubbled up out of Ally’s throat before
he could process them. They seemed to incite Damian more. The
rhythm became erratic. It was no longer measured and sure but needy
and desperate.

One last hard thrust sent them both over the edge of the cliff, and

they tumbled together, crying out in ecstasy as they fell.

* * * *

Long, long minutes later, after they’d regained their breath,

Damian worked up the energy to roll off his lover. Ally sighed in
contentment into the pillow he was resting on.

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“Wow,” he said, extending his arms over his head and rolling to

his back. “That was intense.” Damian nodded his agreement. Ally
spent the next few seconds stretching his now-liquid muscles but
winced when it tugged on the wound on his chest. Wait…wound? He
glanced down at the faint angry red mark that still maintained the
shape of claws. Memory flooded back to him and he sat up.

“Oh shit,” he cursed. He turned to Damian. “What the hell was

that all about? Gods. Are my brothers okay? Dammit, Damian.” He
rolled off the bed to his feet only to sway in dizziness once he got
there. Damian was instantly there, steadying him.

“Easy, darling. You’re still a bit weak.” Damian’s voice was

uncharacteristically soft. “The other Ravyns are fine. They’re at
Alex’s home and are awaiting your arrival as we speak.”

Ally relaxed a fraction of an inch. “So they’re okay?” Damian

nodded again indulgently. Ally sighed. “Gods, I can’t believe I did
that. What was wrong? Dageus knew something was up, but he
wouldn’t tell me. Am I sick or something? Allergic to vampire bites
maybe?” He pondered his own question. “Is it possible to be allergic
to a vampire bite?”

Damian couldn’t help but chuckle. “I suppose it is possible.” He

paused. “But that is not why you felt weak.” He seemed to be
searching for the right words. They must’ve eluded him because he
remained silent.

“So you know why, too?” Ally asked. He frowned. “It’s a vampire

thing, right? Dageus acted weak and couldn’t fight well when Alex
claimed him as a…” He trailed off. A possibility chased itself through
his mind that he didn’t want to utter. It would change everything.
“Damian, tell me you didn’t,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Damian replied. He reached out and took

Allasandro’s hands in his own, but the Ravyn pulled back.

“Tell me you didn’t do that without my permission. Tell me you

didn’t bind us in a really permanent way.” Ally trembled at the
implications.

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“It wasn’t intentional…not at first. I thought, well, you said you

loved me a minute ago. Doesn’t that mean something?”

“A sentiment of ‘I love you’ in the middle of an orgasm does not

constitute or excuse you doing what you did,” Ally snapped. He
wanted clothes. Naked, he felt too vulnerable to the giant vampire
who he’d been calling his boyfriend for the past few weeks now.

“Say it,” the vampire encouraged softly. An edge of bitterness was

creeping into his tone. The rejection the Ravyn could offer would
make them both miserable. “Say it. Say what I did.”

“You made me your friggin’ Bride!” Ally turned his back to

Damian, trying to gather his thoughts. “Dammit, Damian, I trusted
you.”

“So trust me now. I can make you happy, Allasandro. I promise. I

will do whatever I can within my power to do so. I can’t undo what
I’ve done. I’m sorry, but I want to make this work between us. It’s
special, and I know that if you give us a chance—”

“Where are my clothes?”
“Allasandro, be reasonable.”
“Where are my fucking clothes?”
Damian sighed in exasperation and motioned to the small

wardrobe on the opposite wall from the bed. The Ravyn stalked over
and yanked it open.

“I never expected to care as much as I do about you, Allasandro.”
“Ally,” the Ravyn growled. Damian blinked.
“What?”
“My name. I shorten it. Allasandro is a ridiculous name to say

because it’s antiqued as shit. It’s Ally or Ally-cat or any variation
thereof. Not Allasandro.”

“But I like Allasandro,” Damian murmured. “What is the big deal

about using your full name?”

“The only one who calls me Allasandro is my Prince upon

occasion, and I indulge him because he could be my daddy seventy
times over. To you and everyone else who I’m officially not sleeping

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with, it’s Ally,” Ally demanded, yanking his orange shirt over his
head and grabbing his blue jeans which hung beside the empty hanger
that had held his shirt.

“So that’s it? We’re breaking up?” Damian’s heart fell into his

stomach. The organ seemed to be doing somersaults in his gut. Ally
slammed the wardrobe door shut.

“We can’t exactly break up, can we? Because now I’m freaking

mated to you for the rest of your life. Fuck! We had a good thing
going, and you went and fucked it up!” He turned around finally, and
his golden eyes glowed with resentment.

“Why does it have to be fucked-up? It’s just moving a little faster

than we’d originally planned. I mean, we were getting serious,
weren’t we? Where the hell did you think it would eventually lead
to?” Damian was getting annoyed now. Allasandro loved him, and he
was being stubborn.

“Oh, I don’t know. I was winging it!” Ally snapped. “I at least

expected a little time. A year or two. Some more dates. A proposal.
Anything! Instead, I get fucked awake and a bomb dropped on my
head. What the hell, Damian? Is that your idea of breaking it to me
gently? And exactly when were you planning on telling me, anyways?
I’d been feeling the weakness for weeks. So don’t tell me that you
didn’t know beforehand.”

“I didn’t want to ruin us,” Damian said. He looked away.

Anywhere but Allasandro. He didn’t want him to see the tears that
were threatening to fall. He hated to cry. Hadn’t cried since Kalel had
been taken away from them. Well…with the exception of the other
night with Alex. Shit. He was turning into a real head case. “We were
happy. And you’d just started talking to me again. And I wanted to
get a little more stable in us before I told you what I’d done.”

“More stable? Are you kidding me? And when would that be? A

year? Ten years? A hundred years?”

“I didn’t want—”

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“You didn’t want what? What the hell didn’t you want? Huh? Tell

me!”

“I didn’t want you to leave me!” Damian shouted. Allasandro fell

silent.

Damian rolled to his feet, not bothering to cover his body, and

stalked toward the bathroom. He put his hand on the doorframe and
half turned toward the Ravyn. “Everything I’ve ever cared about has
been taken from me in one form or another. My family. My first love.
My best friend. My son. Everything. I just…I couldn’t stand the
thought of losing you, too. So I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry I
did it without asking. And I’m sorry that you had to find out the way
you did.” His voice cracked, but he cleared his throat and motioned
toward the nightstand. “The keys to my car are there. Car is in the
garage to the left of the house. We’re a little ways outside Haven. Use
the GPS to get you back to Alex’s. It should already be programmed.
I’ll come to you when you need my blood and give it to you. Don’t
worry about the charity performance tomorrow. I’m not going.” He
sucked in a breath, stood up straight, and walked through the
bathroom door. “Take care of yourself, Ravyn.” He didn’t give Ally a
chance to reply. He shut the door and turned the lock.

He managed to take two steps before he slid to the tiled floor,

clutching his stomach with one hand and smothering his sobs with the
other. He’d fucked up. And there was no going back.

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Chapter Twenty

A mood of melancholy and silence fell over the Ravyns and their

Prince like a death shroud at a funeral. Weeks dredged on with no end
in sight. The joy and good-natured laughter they’d all come to rely on
in Allasandro had faded as soon as he’d stepped back into the house
after his final night with Damian. It seemed like the entire house was
infected with his bad mood. Tempers were short. Fights broke out
regularly. The reunification of the bond they’d shared was a pale echo
of what it had been. And there was nothing Salvatore could do to fix
it.

“What a mess,” the Demon Prince murmured, staring down at his

ledger which held the proposal for the new jewelry and fine gem
emporium that Alex’s friend had proposed to him weeks ago.
Salvatore hadn’t managed to get past page one.

He glanced around his study and saw all the objects of his

contentment. Volumes of books lined the built-in cherry oak shelves
that covered subjects on everything from biology to dime-store
romance. It was his biggest indulgence since coming to Earth. In
Demontia, he’d never been able to get a hold of so many books
because they never had the room nor the ability to store them.

In Alex’s house, the Ravyns had made a home and each of them

was able to carve out a little space just for themselves. Tony found his
contentment by turning his room into a Zen paradise, complete with a
small water feature and candles of every scent imaginable. Druas had
made his room into a jungle of ferns, small palms, orchids, and all
sorts of other tropical plants. Germany had turned his space into a
techie’s paradise, converting his poetry and diaries into digital

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formats in his spare time. Even Dageus made Alex’s bedroom into a
personal haven of sorts by filling it with family pictures and soothing
white décor. They had their comforts. Salvatore had his books. He
looked for the answers to be written on their lovely spines.

The boys were out training. More like beating each other up in

frustration, but Salvatore allowed it. They needed a little release. His
eyes lit on the statue of Judgment, the sort of spirit guide of the
Ravyns which was housed in a statue of a raven perched on a large
uncut hunk of marble.

“I’m not sure what to do, old friend,” he addressed the raven.
They are very discontent again. Ruffled. Their humor has fled,

Judgment spoke to his mind. He was unsurprised at the Prince’s
address.

“It’s more than that. It’s their happiness as well.”
This is an in-between time for them. Allasandro is fighting his

destiny and, as such, is trapped in limbo. They are trapped with him
in this unhappy place, the statue said sagely.

Salvatore sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t

know what to do to change it.” He paused and pinched the bridge of
his nose. “I never thought we’d have this problem with Ally. I always
expected he’d settle with a woman eventually.”

Dageus has changed them all, Judgment cautioned. The habits of

centuries are changing with Dageus’s choice and preference.

“Are you saying my Ravyns are now attracted to men?” Salvatore

asked incredulously.

I’m saying their destinies are not so clear-cut and determinable

anymore. It was not their original preference to enjoy women to begin
with. That habit they picked up from you somewhere along the way.
Because they are your Ravyns, they changed to suit your tastes. They
will not be content with just being your Ravyns forever. The time for
their rest is coming.

Salvatore considered the words. If that were true, then the conflict

with his cousin was nearing its conclusion for good or ill. They would

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be seeking their own separate happinesses when that time came. They
would need a purpose after their current one was served.

Your words will guide and encourage them, Prince Salvatore. The

answer to your dilemma lies in the course which you decide to take
and support. Just as you encouraged the happiness of Dageus with his
chosen, so must you encourage your other Ravyns with their own.

“Thank you for your guidance,” Salvatore said politely, his mind

churning with possibilities. “I think I have an idea.”

Good. I knew you would. Judgment paused as if considering his

next words. Your father would be proud of you, Salvatore. Your
guidance of the Ravyns has kept them on the right path. Continue
your way, and all will be well.

Salvatore hoped so. He picked up his cell phone and dialed.

* * * *

“Come in,” Allasandro called. He was already reclined on top of

his bedspread, shirtless. His body thrummed in anticipation even as
his mind resented every sensation he was experiencing. He used to
revel in this.

Damian appeared at his right side in a pair of low-slung slacks and

nothing else. “I felt your hunger.”

“I’m hungry,” Ally agreed in a clipped tone. Damian pressed the

blade to his own throat and nicked the side of it.

“Take from me.”
Ally didn’t really wait for the invitation. Instead, he just latched

onto the cut like a starving…well, vampire. He couldn’t help the
moan that came from deep in his throat as the first brush of Damian’s
mind on his sent him into a frenzy. He pulled on Damian’s shoulders
until the vampire indulged him and pressed his body, head to toe, on
top of Ally.

They’d done this so often lately that the slide into one another’s

mind was no longer a true transition but instead was as easy as

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stepping through a doorway into the other’s soul. Ally’s powers had
multiplied exponentially and so their mind bond went deeper than
even Dageus and Alex’s. Ally knew this because one of his newfound
powers was the ability to sense the connections, see them like
physical cords, intertwining and connecting to the world.

“Hmmm…” Damian groaned as they mingled. He pressed the

ridge of his very prominent erection against Ally’s stomach and the
Ravyn felt the feral satisfaction of knowing that Damian had not
sought release, not even with himself, since he’d banished him from
his bed.

“You’re being cruel, love,” Damian said, catching the stray

thought as it crossed Ally’s mind. He pressed himself tighter against
Ally’s body, seeking the friction. Dry-humping him like the bad dog
he was. Ally didn’t resist the impulse to score his broad shoulders
with his blunted fingernails.

Cruelty has many forms, Ally sent through their bond. The

vampire shuddered at the intimate touch. Invisible hands came up to
caress the vampire through his clothes. Like that? Ally asked darkly.
It was a new trick he’d learned, one he enjoyed thoroughly. He
kneaded Damian’s tight ass with his mind.

“You know I do.” Damian hissed through gritted teeth. Ally gave

the cut on Damian’s neck one last lick before settling back against the
pillows.

“Take from me,” Ally offered. Damian leaned in to nibble his

neck, but Ally pushed him back. “My wrist.” Damian’s eyes clouded
with sorrow, and Ally knew he’d hurt him once again with his denial
of any intimacy between them. But like the dog he’d compared him to
moments before, Damian took the sliver of shared contentment with
gratitude. He bit into the bit of flesh Ally offered and closed his eyes,
nursing softly.

It was Ally’s turn to shudder. Being with Damian always felt

incredible. He looked at his dark head bent over his hand and felt his
heart constrict. He missed the easiness that was gone between them.

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He missed it fiercely. He sighed and petted Damian’s head as he
sucked, reasoning that it was for his enjoyment, not Damian’s, that he
did so.

I miss us, too, Damian murmured, his voice faint in his mind from

ill use.

“Stay out of my head, Damian. Finish feeding and get out.” Ally

tried to make his voice as harsh as he had in all the days since he’d
found out that they were bound, but, oddly enough, the more they did
this, the more he learned Damian from the inside out, the less anger
he had to use against him.

Damian lapped the wound closed. “As you wish.” He pushed

himself to his feet and readjusted his hard-on before turning toward
the door. Pain radiated off him in angry sick green waves. Damian’s
aura was always ten times more visible to Ally than anyone else’s.

“Wait,” Ally called as his hand touched the doorknob. Hope made

a bright yellow burst of energy detonate in the midst of all the green.

“Yes?” Damian asked, turning back toward Ally.
“Will you…” He cleared his throat. “Uh…” Damian waited

patiently. Their eyes met. “Just once.”

Damian was on him before the last syllable fell from his lips. Ally

put his hands up, blocking his kiss as it sought to undo his sanity. He
felt the desire to kiss, stroke, and make love in every cell of his body
as it came off of Damian in waves of potent heat. It made him shiver
in want. The vampire’s hands cupped either side of his face, and he
stared into the Ravyn’s pretty gold eyes.

“Don’t,” Ally pleaded. The sadness in his gaze was what stilled

Damian.

“You’re still angry with me.” It was a statement.
“Yes,” Ally said simply. “I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”
“Then why am I still here?” Damian wondered. Ally’s hands were

holding on to his waist now and it felt fantastic.

“Because you look sad.”

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“That’s it? I looked sad? I don’t need your pity, Allasandro.”

Damian’s voice had gone deeper with anger.

“A kiss,” Ally stated. “I want a kiss.”
Damian leaned forward, offering him his lips. “You need only

ask.”

Their lips met in a kiss. It was soft, full of the sorrow and

yearning. Damian nibbled on the Ravyn’s lips. These touches were
the ones he missed the most. Ally clutched him tight as the kiss
deepened and their tongues danced. They put everything that neither
of them had the strength to say into that kiss. For once, words didn’t
matter.

Endless moments later they pulled back from their kiss, both of

them panting hard. Damian rested his forehead against his lover’s and
tried to regain his breath.

“You should go.” The words were soft. The vampire nodded. He

knew. There was too much between them to just let it all go even with
a great kiss.

“All right,” Damian replied. He pressed another kiss to Ally’s

forehead. “Does this mean I have a chance?” A lot rode on that
question.

“It means that I’ll think about it,” Allasandro allowed. Damian

smiled for the first time in weeks. Without a word, he disappeared
back to his penthouse apartment.

Ally rolled over and put his face into the soft down comforter. He

wanted to believe in Damian. He wanted to believe in their
relationship. He wanted to believe in forever. If he only had
something to compare this to. He had never been in a romantic long-
term relationship, and since Damian’s unexpected betrayal had cut so
deep, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

He wanted to punish Damian as much as he wanted to hug him,

kiss him, and demand he make everything all better. He punched the
pillow above his head, rocking the bed with the force of it. He didn’t
know what to do. He didn’t know how to feel. Worst of all, he didn’t

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know how to fix it. He considered for a minute. Maybe he’d go talk to
Dageus. He knew about emotional crap. Maybe he’d talk to him
tonight. Maybe.

* * * *

“All right boys, I’ve called you all in here for a reason.”

Salvatore’s authoritative voice rang out in the meeting space he’d
secured in the basement level of the vampires’ house.

“Is there a reason we’re meeting in a basement?” Germany

wondered, glancing around the Spartan space. The windowless room
was not his favorite setting. Pale gray walls tried their best to look
cheery with pictures of bright yellow sunflowers in pretty silver
picture frames, but instead the effect kind of reminded him of a
doctor’s office. They were all seated around a round table, gray
marble-topped, in black swivel chairs. A meeting room in a doctor’s
office.

“I wanted some privacy from potential seeing minds. Alex

reassures me that this space blocks not only good ears but sharp
minds as well,” Salvatore said as a side note. He opened his mouth to
continue his prepared speech, only to be interrupted again by Druas.

“So why are the shifters here if we’re worried about privacy?” he

asked. His gaze flicked to the two shifters down at the other end of the
table. “No offense guys.”

They both shrugged, and Cord answered, “No problem.”
“I’m not concerned about Cord and Michel hearing about our little

family problem, because they, too, play a role in this plan of mine.
The one I do not want you saying anything to about this meeting is
Allasandro.” A flicker of unease filtered through the room. The
Ravyns had no secrets from one another. It was one of the most
important laws of brotherhood. “I know it’s going to make you all
uncomfortable, but bear with me please. It’s for his own good. We’re
all aware of the situation with Damian.”

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A chorus of growls and curses met the mention of the vampire.

Even Dageus scowled. Salvatore waited until they’d quieted to
continue. “It is my opinion that our Ally-cat is in love with the
vampire, even if he’s fighting very hard against his desire because of
Damian’s entrapment.”

“Damn straight he’s fighting it!” Druas grumbled. “I would be

fighting it too if some psycho bonded with me and didn’t tell me.”

“That psycho is my father,” Dageus snapped, his eyes flashing

green. “Watch your fucking mouth. He loves him and said it wasn’t
intentional.”

“That’s bullshit, my brother,” Druas countered. “A controlling

jackass is not loving.”

“Don’t talk about Damian that way! If he was a ‘controlling

jackass,’ then he wouldn’t be respecting Ally’s wishes to be left the
fuck alone as much as possible within their Bride bond. It’s making
them both miserable, but he’s respecting his wish.”

“Gods, you think every vampire around has the same good

intentions that Alex does.” Tony delivered the jab with a glare.
“Damian may not be the best guy for Ally. Besides, he never even
liked boys until we came here.”

“You guys are missing the point.” Germany spoke up again,

silencing the angry retort that Dageus was about to deliver. “If Ally is
in love with him and is staying away for the sake of pride and hurt
feelings, then it is our duty as his brothers to help him one way or
another. Besides, we all weren’t so keen on Alex whenever Dageus
and he started dating. We’re an overprotective bunch, and that’s okay
in most situations, but this is a delicate one that needs to be handled
with care. Now, shut up and listen to our Prince.” It was probably the
most Germany had ever said at one time in any of the Ravyns’
recollections.

Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Now, where was

I? Oh yes. I think it’s best for us to help Damian and Allasandro get
over this particular bump in their relationship so that they can figure

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out what to do with it in a more reasonable way.” The Ravyns nodded
reluctantly. “Here’s what I have in mind…”

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Chapter Twenty-One

“I don’t want to go to the theater. Please, don’t make me go,” Ally

begged Salvatore as they all got into formation to leave the house. It’d
been two days since he’d last seen Damian, and his body was crying
out over the loss. The last thing he needed was to go hear him sing
and know that he wasn’t his anymore.

“It’s a special performance, Allasandro. You know how much I

love La Petite Morte’s performances.” Salvatore adjusted Ally’s
skewed tie and lapels. “Besides, you’ll be in the VIP section with me.
You won’t even have to talk to him.”

“I don’t want to see him,” Ally argued. Because if I do I might run

into his arms and beg him to forget the whole thing, and it would
embarrass the shit out of me to do it in front of all my brothers. He’d
made up his mind to forgive Damian and try and make this
relationship they had work, but he still wasn’t ready to face him. If he
were being honest with himself, he’d admit that he may have been
hiding from Damian deliberately the past two days. Insecurities he
didn’t even know he had kept him away from his gypsy man. What if
he didn’t want him anymore? What if he were angry with him? What
if he never said he loved him? That one was probably the biggest. He
knew he loved Damian, but Damian had never said how he really felt
about him. He’d be mortified if he’d gone through all this anguish to
admit he loved Damian only to find the other man didn’t feel the
same. Man, he had it bad.

He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on what

Salvatore was saying because he was still talking.

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“—can’t believe you would deny me the opportunity to see it

performed for the first time in ten years,” Salvatore finished, looking
cross. Ally sighed. He knew that look. That was the “I’m getting my
way because I am Prince and you are my Ravyn, so you have to listen
to me” look.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Ally relented, getting into his place beside

Dageus.

“It’ll be okay,” Dageus whispered. He gave Ally a half-hug. “I

promise.”

“I don’t think anyone can promise that to me,” Ally murmured

miserably. He just wanted to go back to bed. He rubbed his chest over
his heart. It hurt being away from Damian. The damn Bride bond was
ridiculous. It took codependent to a whole other level. He could eat,
sleep, and breathe Damian and be perfectly happy doing it. To
circumvent the worst of the cravings, he’d taken to stealing and
watching Damian’s old performances on disc from Salvatore. He was
pathetic.

“It goes both ways,” Dageus said suddenly. He was apparently

finding the wall they were walking toward very fascinating because
he was staring at it doggedly, avoiding Ally’s gaze.

“What does?” Ally wondered.
“The love, the need. It goes both ways in a Bride bond.”
“I so don’t want to talk about it right now.” Ally held open the

door for the rest of their party as they piled into the waiting SUV.
Dageus looked like he was about to say something but seemed to
decide against it. He shrugged and settled back into his seat beside
Ally. Ally leaned his forehead against the glass of the door. Today
could not get over with fast enough.

* * * *

“This isn’t the theater,” Ally stated as they pulled into the parking

lot of a swanky-looking building toward downtown. The valet stood

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ready to take their keys and go park their car wherever it was the
vehicles were kept. A trickle of relief went through him. He was glad
they weren’t going to the theater. There were too many memories
there.

“Nope. It’s a smaller venue, and they’re serving a delicious dinner

with the performance. The place is called Bon Nuit,” Salvatore
offered. He looked positively glowing. Happy as a lark. Was it bad
that he resented his cheerfulness? “It’s a much more intimate setting,
and the food is supposed to be phenomenal.”

They made their way inside and were seated at a long table

covered in soft white linens and covered in pale orange rose petals
and tall white candles. The plate settings were good china with gold
filigree around the outside edge. A plate at this performance probably
cost a small bloody fortune.

Ally sent his mind out through the crowd out of curiosity. It

wasn’t that big of a crowd, twenty-five people not including the
Prince, the Ravyns, and the shifters, and most all of them were
vampires. Ally frowned. He’d never seen a performance done by the
troupe that wasn’t meticulously planned and advertised. This seemed
almost out of character for them.

“It’s an exclusive performance. Only family, friends, and a few

extremely wealthy patrons who donate money every year to the
theater are allowed to attend,” Salvatore supplied. It still didn’t
explain why Dageus wasn’t included in the lineup or why Santiago
hadn’t been raising hell at the house where most of the vampires
lived.

Then the food came. The servers, humans, and shifters, dressed to

the nines in uniforms of black and white, delivered food that made his
mouth water just to look at it. The smell was just as intoxicating. The
plate was set before him. Hmmm...yum. All his favorite foods were
piled onto the plate. Loaded mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and
cheese, filet mignon, and a pasta salad were arranged artfully on his
plate. He expected a wine or champagne, neither of which he was a

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fan of, to fill the glasses in front of him, but instead one waiter with
pretty brown eyes poured him a cola instead. He blinked. Soda pop?
Really?

“What is going on, Salvatore?” he asked suspiciously. Salvatore

just smiled.

“Shush and eat your food,” he encouraged.
The lights dimmed, interrupting his reply. A small stage that sat

no more than five feet from their table was illuminated, and Santiago
appeared near a nearly invisible microphone on the center front of it.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this very special occasion. As

most of you know, my sire child has not graced this stage in many
years. While he was set to come out of retirement a few weeks ago he
encountered an unexpected problem and was unable to honor us with
his voice.” Santiago spoke, and Ally got a sick feeling in the pit of his
stomach. “But that is going to be remedied tonight. Tonight is going
to be a night of merrymaking and celebration the likes of which have
not been experienced since we first celebrated our coming to this
country.” A cheer went up at that. Sometime when Ally hadn’t been
paying attention, the other members of the theater had snuck in and
were piled into the back of the room. “Furthermore, the lineup we
have will touch your heart, incite your passion, and perhaps move you
to take a chance on something unexpected.” The end of the sentence
seemed directed at Ally, or maybe he was just being paranoid?
“Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage
Damian McTavish!”

Allasandro choked on his soda, the irritating bubbles spewing out

of his nose. His eyes watered, and he coughed rather loudly.
Damian’s last name was McTavish? He smothered a laugh in his
napkin. It was so… He didn’t know what. Whatever it was, it was
hilarious.

His thoughts derailed as his former lover appeared on stage just as

the lights turned to a soft blue. He was dressed in a sharp suit of his
own, black, of course, with faint pinstripes, and a dark-blue undershirt

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and black silk tie. His strong, tall body was the epitome of desire.
Ally felt the shaking start in his feet and travel up his legs toward the
rest of him. He trembled with the urge to run to him.

When Damian opened his mouth and began to sing, Ally was lost.

The notes of purity, that breathtaking passion that had made Ally fall
just a little bit in love with him the first time he’d heard it, made his
heart ache. He looked around the room and even the other Ravyns
looked lost in his passion. They were relaxing into his aural
command, and Ally felt, for the first time, the true otherworldly
power in his vampire’s voice. My vampire? Was he really ready for
that? Yes. He was tired of fighting his and Damian’s wants. The
Ravyn let himself go. Let his mind stop churning with what-ifs and
trusted his vampire to hold him up. He relaxed into the power of
Damian’s voice.

* * * *

Damian’s heart stuttered as Allasandro’s pretty golden eyes met

his. Despite the distance that separated them, the soft smile on the
Ravyn’s face filled Damian to the brim with hopeful anticipation. He
finished the song and immediately went into another, watching
Allasandro the entire time. Salvatore’s plan seemed to be working at
least from his vantage point. The Ravyn looked enchanted as he
absently ate from his plate and listened to Damian’s music. Salvatore
gave him a nod of encouragement.

Two songs later and Damian was soaring. The music filled him

like never before, the power of it thrummed under his skin and in his
blood.

Now you understand the full potential of your Entertainer

heritage, Santiago’s voice echoed in his mind. Finish the song and go
claim your Bride.

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The last notes fell from his lips in a perfect cadence. He put the

longing into those last few syllables so that Ally could see that he was
still waiting for him, that he still needed him to feel complete.

He took the steps down to the main floor as the onlookers came to

their feet in applause. His coming-out-of-retirement debut had
apparently been a whopping success. Yet he had eyes for only one
person who had stood in his honor. He walked around the table, and
the other Ravyns moved obligingly to the side so that he could stand
in front of his Ravyn. He reached out and took both of Ally’s hands in
his own.

“Allasandro,” he began. He’d thought about saying this since

Salvatore had told him of his master plan. “I messed up. Badly. I
know I shouldn’t have bound you to me without your permission. I
also know that I am not the easiest person to be in a relationship with,
nor am I a man accustomed to saying all the right things at all the
right times. However, I am the man that will try to make you happy,
keep you happy, and will love you like you’ve never been loved
before, no matter how many reincarnations you have.” He knelt on the
ground at Ally’s feet and reached in his coat pocket for the tiny box
he had there. “Allasandro Ravyn, demon warrior and love of my life,
will you marry me?” He opened the box to show a simple platinum
band with the words ‘forever mine’ etched into the surface framed by
two perfect white diamonds.

Damian saw every thought that crossed Ally’s face as he knelt

there waiting his decision. His Ravyn’s heart had skipped a beat when
he’d pulled out the ring. Allasandro’s thoughts were pretty visible as
they crossed his face. He swallowed hard. This was a huge
commitment. As they stared into one another’s eyes, it didn’t seem
like it though. It just seemed like the next step in a wonderful
adventure. Ally nodded, apparently not trusting himself to speak.
Damian slipped the ring on his finger and stood. A cheer that seemed
too big for the number of people in the room erupted like a geyser.
The vampire was grinning from ear to ear, flashing fangs. They were

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going to be all right. “How about a special performance for everyone
in honor of our new lease on life?” Damian asked. He really wanted
the world to see how amazingly talented his lover really was.

“I don’t know, Damian…” Ally swallowed, looking suddenly

nervous. “I haven’t really sung since I quit singing with you, and
Santiago will have a cow if I don’t sound my best.” He worried his
bottom lip in the same adorable fashion that he used whenever he was
unsure of what Damian wanted.

“Come on, love,” Damian encouraged. “There is no reason to be

shy. Show everyone that you’re far more than a warrior. You’re a
singer, too.”

“You can sing, Ally-cat?” Druas wondered from the seat beside

him. Damian raised his eyebrows in challenge. Was he man enough to
do this? Was he Entertainer enough to be Damian’s Bride?
Allasandro’s oh-so-familiar grin spread across his face in a welcome
display of his carefree attitude.

“Oh hell. Why not? They think I’m crazy anyway.” He glanced at

his fellow warrior. “Damn right I can sing. Watch this.” He reached
up and took Damian’s hand. “Lead the way, gypsy man.”

* * * *

“I have no idea what the hell he’s saying but he sure is singing it

nicely,” Druas murmured, leaning his chin against the palm of his
hand. He sighed as Allasandro paused, taking a breath before diving
into another seemingly effortless stanza. The purity in each note sunk
into their souls in a way that would leave them humming the music
for days.

“I had no idea Allasandro was so talented,” Salvatore agreed, a

small smile playing over his lips.

“I knew,” Dageus admitted. He too had a soft smile on his face.

“He’s more than what he seems. Always has been.”

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Damian’s voice rose to meet Allasandro’s. The music blended to a

perfect harmonic mesh of sound. Their voices completely
complimented and enhanced one another’s until the pitch created
made the fine hairs on the Ravyns’ arms stand on end.

Salvatore agreed completely. Allasandro was more than what he

seemed. He was a Ravyn, but it seemed he was also an Entertainer.
The demon Prince’s mind blanked as Damian and Allasandro’s voices
rose in a crescendo. The magic in each and every note was made to be
the stuff of legends, perfection. The love they felt for one another was
apparent in each note. It was by far Damian’s best performance. His
Ravyn complemented him. At last Allasandro had found his perfect
match.

Ravyn’s Heart

171

Epilogue

“You stole from me, naughty boy.” Damian growled, the butt of

his gun tapping impatiently on the sole of his leather shoes as he sat in
the plush leather wingback chair. The fact that the gun had “replica”
written down the side didn’t detract from the fantasy. Allasandro
shuddered.

“I’ll pay you back. I swear, boss. Please, sir, give me another

chance,” Ally whined, backing toward the door.

“You don’t have the money, Allasandro. You don’t own anything.

Even those clothes on your back belong to me.” The “mob boss”
paused. “As matter of fact, I want those back. Take them off.”

Ally whimpered in mock fear. “Please, sir. Don’t make me.”
“How are you going to pay me back then, Allasandro?” Damian

interrogated.

“I don’t know… Please…” His back hit the door, and it rattled

with the force of it. He actually felt a little bit of fear mixed into his
anticipation. He was really getting into this role-play. After he’d
confessed to the mob boss fantasy he’d had when he’d first met him at
the airport, Damian had arranged for this little scenario to play out the
night before Alex and Dageus’s wedding. It was a little present to him
since their “wedding” wouldn’t be for another four months.

“Take your clothes off, Allasandro. I think I just figured out how

you’re going to pay me back.” Damian delivered the sexiest evil
laugh Ally had ever heard. He pulled top of the gun back to load a
“bullet” into the chamber.

“H–How am I going to pay you back?” Ally stuttered, toeing off

his shoes slowly. His hands trembled as they made their way to his

172

Jana Downs

button-down shirt, the first one he’d worn without being ordered to
wear it, Damian’s suggestion of course.

“You’ll see,” Damian rumbled as he stood up from his wingback

chair and crossed the floor at a human speed. “Slower, naughty boy.”
Ally immediately slowed the pace of his undressing. One button.
Then another.

“That’s it.” Damian’s hand went down to cup his erection through

his slacks, palming it enough that Ally licked his lips imagining what
he was touching inside of him. Damian’s dark-blue eyes darkened to
almost black. “Christ, that is gorgeous.”

He stripped him down much faster after that. The clothes

disappeared in a flurry of motion until Allasandro stood before him,
naked. Damian waved toward the medium-sized desk in the corner of
the room which was scattered with files from paperwork.

“Drape yourself over the desk,” the vampire commanded. Ally

shook as he made his way over to it, his hard cock leading the way.
He leaned over the desk, his face resting on his hands inches above
the inked pages. The smell of Damian’s cologne clung to the velum
stationary. His lover was so old-fashioned. He didn’t even own a
computer.

“Please, boss, don’t do this. Please, sir, I’ll be good. I’ll pay you

back the money.” He whimpered as he felt the lubrication that
Damian must’ve been hiding in one of his pockets dribble down the
crease of his ass. He felt the barrel of the replica weapon rest against
the back of his skull. He hadn’t heard Damian move. Damn vampire
speed.

“I don’t want your money, Allasandro.” Damian growled. “I want

that tight body of yours.” He didn’t let Ally reply. Instead, he sank
two thick fingers inside of Allasandro’s tight ass. Ally hissed and
moved his hips back, taking more of the digits inside his body.

“That’s it, naughty boy. Fuck yourself on my fingers.” Ally

obeyed instantly, moving his hips back and forth so that he slid up

Ravyn’s Heart

173

and down Damian’s fingers. He groaned as those long fingers slid
over his pleasure spot.

“Yes, sir,” he panted. “Feels…good…mmmm.” Another finger

was added to his stimulated body, and his pucker swallowed it
gratefully. “Please…I want…more.”

“You’re paying me back, naughty boy. What I want is what

matters,” Damian corrected, twisting his fingers a mite cruelly. Ally
whimpered appropriately and rocked his hips harder. The smell of the
paper filled his nose as he pressed his face against the smooth expanse
of desk and twisted his hips to the tempo that Damian set.

Finally he heard the twist of a zipper as Damian pressed his hips

forward and removed his fingers from his passage. He groaned at the
loss. He felt so empty without Damian inside him. He needed Damian
within him. He didn’t have to wait long.

Damian’s hot cock pressed against the tight ring of Ally’s body

and slipped inside with relative ease because of his preparation. His
tight ass squeezed him as Ally experienced little trembles that
signaled the onset of a hellishly good orgasm. They rocked together,
one of Damian’s hands on his hip and the other still pressing the toy
gun against his skull. One particularly hard thrust caused him to
tighten and then release the weapon so that it clattered to the desk.

Both hands rested on his sides as it became Damian’s turn to

moan. He pistoned in and out of his lover in jerky, shuddered
movements.

“I love you,” Damian gasped, falling out of character as he neared

the peak of his pleasure. “I love you so much, Allasandro.” His name
ended in another groan.

“Love you, too, gypsy man,” Ally purred. He cried out as his cock

began to jet onto the hard floor under the desk. His body contracted
hard, squeezing against the pulsing length lodged inside him. Damian
followed him over the edge, spilling his seed deep within Ally’s
yielding body.

174

Jana Downs

A few minutes later, when they’d regained the ability to speak,

they’d stumbled over to the bed and collapsed on top of it. Ally’s
cheek rested on Damian’s hard chest and listened to the soft music
that his lover was humming. It was a habit he’d taken up that was not
only amusing but pretty damn sexy considering how wonderfully
Damian sang. Ally absently stroked his hand down Damian’s sweat-
slicked six-pack. He’d never had something that was his and his
alone. Damian was more than he’d ever hoped for. His gypsy man
didn’t always get it right, but he handled the Ravyn’s heart with
greater care than Ally felt he deserved. He kissed his lover’s pectoral
muscle, and Damian’s arm tightened around him in a hug.

“Good night, Damian,” Ally murmured.

“Good night, naughty boy. ’Til nightfall,” Damian echoed. He

shut off the light, and they both drifted off to sleep, content in the
knowledge that when night fell they’d greet whatever challenges that
faced them in the way they worked best. Together.

THE END

HTTP://JANADOWNS.WEBS.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jana Downs lives in the beautiful mountains of Western North

Carolina with three cats, one dog, several dozen fish, and a very
understanding partner-in-crime who hates to read but makes
exceptions for her stories.

You can usually find her either watching bad reality TV, buying

way too many books on Amazon, or dreaming up another man or two
to occupy her time because life is good but several drop-dead
gorgeous nonexistent men is just better.

Also by Jana Downs

Siren Allure ManLove: Ravyn Warriors 1: Ravyn’s Blood

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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RAVYN’S HEART
THE END

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