Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,60

the other braced, Niall could see the upper curve of his buttocks, the precise curve of his spine. He knew the vampire had a particular liking for this mountain location, because the ancient earth covering the back bedroom and surrounding this cellar allowed him to stay up longer and get up earlier than he normally could. Even so, he was pushing it. His pale skin tended to look thin, his angular features more prominent, if he didn’t go under when he should.

Over the years, he’d studied the vampire a good deal, and yet Niall still couldn’t quite explain what made Evan so mesmerizing. At times he seemed almost too lean, and his movements could be as graceful and refined as a woman’s. But that predatory glance, the solid jawline, the broad shoulders and sheer intensity of him—all of that was purely male. That and his thought process. Deliberate, decisive, unapologetic. There wasn’t an ounce of give to him. No submission in his demeanor at all. Not that all women had that, but there was a give to women, a complementary softness to men’s hardness.

Centuries ago, before he met Evan, he’d convinced himself that was the way it was always meant to be, that any thoughts men had toward one another were the devil’s work, condemned and unnatural. Like the desire to lie or cheat, it was a sinful, base weakness that should be resisted.

As Evan had just noted in their exchange about kosher meat, vampires were outside the realm of religious structure, not because they were damned, but because they, like gods, saw a much bigger picture, one of the gifts of immortality. During their first years together, Niall surmised that faith mattered more to those with shortened life spans. But after spending three hundred years with the vampire, he knew Evan was one of the most spiritual and least religious men he’d ever met. At other times, one of the most profane. He still had a strong grasp of the faith of his childhood. Though he’d reconciled himself to being outside its requirements, there were odd, unexpected things he did that honored it. Three centuries, and there was still too much to pin down about the male. But for all that, Niall knew Evan like no one else. Which was why he had a bone to pick right now.

“What the bloody hell are you doing?”

Evan didn’t look up. “I told her to serve you as she serves me.”

“I dinnae want a bloody trained poodle.”

“You think that’s the kind of Master I am?” Evan held the lens up to the light, frowned at it. Swore. He’d obviously found a scratch.

“Ye know what I mean. One minute you want her thinking for herself, the next you tell her to treat me like she treats you. As if the whole bloody world revolves around my farts. It’s a total cock-up.”

“It’s a multipronged strategy. Different approaches, same goal. We’re trying to get her to be who she truly is. Serving us both will help.” Evan glanced at him. “Be who you’ve always been, Niall. That’s all that’s needed from your end of things.”

“Oh, well, aye. Your vague and cryptic responses always solve the universe’s problems, for certain.”

Evan didn’t use sarcasm, such that when Niall did, he felt a bit mean-spirited. At least if Evan would respond in kind, Niall could put his head through a wall. Then Evan could break a limb or two to teach him a lesson. It would relieve the frustration that came with conversations like this.

Evan sighed. “My practical Scot. You remember when we met that federal agent, the one with the dog that could sniff out explosives?”

The vampire cycled around a point like a fucking carousel. But it was the only way to get to it. “Aye. He looked appetizing to ye. The lad, not the dog.”

It didn’t happen often, but at times during their life together Evan had taken a blood meal from another throat, male or female. The agent looked fair interested in Evan, but Niall didn’t know if he buggered the poor bastard or not. Evan had cut Niall loose to enjoy the other offerings at the hotel.

It was just an overnight stay for the two of them, the agent and his dog part of some kind of law symposium at the hotel. Fortunately, there’d also been a wedding reception. Niall had crashed it, hooking up with a pretty bridesmaid. They’d danced, and he’d taken her back to her room for a quick tumble. He