them, his mossy green gaze assessing Marc.
Marc’s mouth went dry. Hello , gorgeous. His cock reacted accordingly to the man’s frank assessment. He saw approval linger in those green eyes, and was that desire, too?
Marc allowed his own gaze to go dark, to assess the guy with the same openness. He had silvery blond hair tied back in a leather thong. His skin was pale, almost luminescent. He was lean and dressed in the same casual way as the woman -- jeans, sweater, boots, and jacket. His light cologne teased Marc's senses. He had no underlying scent. In fact, he had no heartbeat, no breath.
Vampire.
Marc had never met one. Most paranormal beings stuck to their own kind, especially werewolves. Going off alone was unheard of, unless a young one went on a vision quest or if an adult was banned from the pack.
He hadn’t been banned. Not officially.
“Oh, yeah. He’s the one.” The man extended his hand and Marc took it, held it in a tight grip and pumped. “My name is Theo Lowder.”
“Marc Wilmont.”
As Theo slipped his hand out from Marc's, he allowed the tips of his fingers to coast down Marc's palm. Marc's heart stuttered at the electric touch.
“You said I’m the one?” asked Marc. “The one what?”
Theo smiled, letting his hot gaze sweep over Marc.
Marc knew an invitation when he saw one. A one-night stand , whispered a naughty voice, Victoria and Theo and you all naked, sweaty and bumping hips .
“I should probably go,” he managed, his voice hoarse. “I’m only passing through town.”
“We have a nice big house with a toasty bed,” offered Victoria. “Better than any ol’ hotel.”
Marc suppressed the shudder of delight that accompanied Theo’s hand squeezing his shoulder. Then Theo’s fingers sifted through Marc's hair. Marc swallowed his sigh of happiness.
“C’mon,” urged Theo. “You know you wanna.”
Yes ! agreed his cock, you really do wanna . Marc hadn’t been in a long-term relationship for a while. Occasional lovers had been only sips of water in the desert of his love life. Still, he hesitated. There was an undercurrent of emotion here that he didn’t understand. It rippled between the three of them -- a powerful, connective energy.
“Please.” Victoria’s blue eyes were filled with naughty promises. “We won’t bite.”
Marc leaned forward and bared his canines, letting a growl rumble out. “I can’t make the same promise, sweetling.”
----
M ARC FOLLOWED THEM to an older section of town where the houses were big and decrepit. They turned into a driveway with rusted iron gates hanging off their hinges and overgrown foliage creeping across the concrete. Billowing gray clouds covered the moon, hiding the mansion in shadows. None of the windows offered illumination. Not even the porch light was on. Marc wondered if it was because the vampire liked the dark or because they wanted people to believe the house was unoccupied.
He stepped out of the rental car. His superior eyesight took in the stately columns fallen into disrepair, the crumbling brick, the porch with its rotting wood planks. The winter wind chased dead leaves across the pitted driveway then rattled the bare limbs of the trees lurking near the house.
“Creepy, ain’t it?” asked Victoria in a delighted voice as she took Marc's hand and led him toward the steps. “I fell in love with it the first time Theo brought me here. It was his family’s, you know, before they lost all their money. They’ve been gone a long time. He doesn’t have a soul left in the world.”
“Except for you,” said Theo fondly. “You’re my family, darling.”
She beamed at him then turned her devastating smile on Marc. “Isn’t he wonderful?”
Marc caught Theo’s smoldering glance. His heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t sure what he’d gotten himself into… a human female and her vampire lover? Anticipation thrummed through him as a simple, primal need overrode common sense and logic.
He wanted
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