Riding the Storm by Candace Blevins Read Free Book Online Page B

please.”
    Kendra spoke to Abbott through their mind link, so Eric
wouldn’t overhear.
    I wasn’t going to hit him with all of this at once, Abbott.
    I know, which is why I’m telling him. I know you can take
care of him, but he needs to understand the political angles if he’s to spend
time in the house, and I can tell from the way the two of you act around each
other, he’s likely to be around a lot. If he’ll be okay with everyone thinking
he’s a human companion a few weeks, I think it’ll be easier to transition from
them considering him human companion, to boyfriend, to Dom.
    Kendra walked to the sofa and sat, facing him. I suppose
you’re right, but I’d still rather not burden him with our politics. It’s my
worry, it shouldn’t be his.
    If he’s clueless, he may say something to make things
harder than they have to be. He’s smart enough to grasp the political issues and
act accordingly. It’s clear he has your safety in mind. He’ll be fine.
     
    * * * *
     
    Eric splashed water on his face and looked at himself in the
mirror a few minutes.
    Vampires were real.
    One wanted to date him. She’d drank from him.
    He looked at his neck, but couldn’t see the bite marks at
all, now. He knew he wasn’t going crazy, though. She’d really bitten him, and
made him come in his pants like a fucking schoolboy, without laying a finger on
his cock. And then they’d had him make an enforceable vow. It was embedded in
his brain, somehow, so he couldn’t break it if he wanted to.
    Common sense told him to wait until she left and then drive
his yacht, far, far away… but his sense of adventure told him to stick around
and see what happened. She hadn’t hurt him, and both Kendra and Abbott seemed
to be trying to explain things as kindly as possible, without talking down to
him.
    Could he date a vampire? And how often could she drink from
him, because her bite had been fan- freakin -tastic.
    However, he wasn’t going to submit, even though he wasn’t
sure how making her submit was going to work.
    He returned to the sofa, sat beside Kendra, and reached for
her hand. “I’ll listen to the rest of Abbott’s explanation in a moment, but
first I want you to tell me how you envision our relationship working.”
    “While Abbott is correct about not often telling me what to
do, he frequently offers sage advice. He’s an expert at maneuvering through the
political machinations of vampire society, and it’s usually wise to listen to
his counsel. He’s advised I tell my housemates I’m grooming you to be a human
companion. They’ll smell confusion in my statement, but it can easily be
explained away by my saying you’re unlike any human I’ve ever met, and how I
think carefully guiding you into the relationship is going to be a fun
challenge.”
    She paused and he asked, “But you said you didn’t want me to
be just a companion. I thought you wanted a regular relationship?”
    “Yes, Eric, I do. Abbott’s advice is to go slow with my housemates,
so they get to know you before they realize you’ll be more than mere companion.
My telling them you’re going to take some finesse to groom will free us to act
as one would expect during the beginning of most any human relationship. At
some point, the other vampires will realize we’re acting like a human couple
for longer than expected, at which point I’ll admit to having decided against a
formal human companion arrangement with you, once again hinting you’re
different than most humans, and I’m having some wonderful adventures with you.
This way, when it’s discovered I’m submitting to you, I’ll have paved the way,
a little. I’ll let Abbott explain the political ramifications of my submitting
to a human.”
    Abbott’s face looked pleasant enough, but Eric had a feeling
it was a façade, and asked, “I won’t be putting her in danger, will I?”
    “I appreciate your concern for Kendra, but she’s capable of
taking care of herself. As a human,