#scarlet hook

The vampire raised both elegantblack eyebrows. “Watching me?” He hada considerably more posh accent than Will’s own broad Derbyshire drawl,Received Pronunciation all the way, but different enough that Will could tellat once he wasn’t dealing with a desperate small-timer; this one was old. “Ithought the only thing you were watching was how quickly you could get down thelevel in your glass. Take a breath, I doubt it would run away between sips.”

“None of your business, is it?” Willtook another long slug in illustration. “Look like you got lost on your way tothe blood bar. Hear there’s a good one in Kensington. Seems more your part oftown.”

The vampire smiled at him with extrateeth, as all vampire smiles tended to be. “And this is yours?”

“No.” Will swirled around the dregsof beer in his glass, trying to judge how buzzed he was. As a werewolf, he hada much higher alcohol tolerance than a human; they could be on the floor and he’dstill only be moderately tipsy, but drinking at a non-supernatural place likethis would invariably run into problems with continuing service if you keptordering enough to flatten a Viking berserker. At any rate, the answer was “notnearly enough,” and as such, he wasn’t in the mood to pack up, tramp back outinto the night, and find a new watering hole, even to get away from an annoyingvampire. “But they don’t serve anything you could drink here, except for theclients, and that would be a problem. So I’d suggest you’re the one needsheadin’ out, mate.”

“I’m not here for a drink.” Thevampire sounded utterly scornful that his motives could be reduced to somethingso mundane; well, good for him. The rest of the heartbroken multitudes salutedhim. He leaned on the counter, nobody giving him a second glance, such thatWill suspected a low-level mesmer at work to make sure they didn’t. Which wasstrange, because otherwise everyone would be fixed on him. He had that kind ofdepressingly perfect good looks that made everyone else on the planet wonderwhy they even tried. Tousled dark hair, blue eyes, perfect stubble, shirtundone enough to show a glimpse of manly chest hair. The change always gave avampire improved looks and raw sexual magnetism, but this one clearly hadn’tneeded it; he had been a jaw-dropper even when he was alive. Indeed, Will foundhis own mouth a little dry, even though he was aware that mingling with Teethin any capacity never ended well for a wolf, or usually anyone else. Lookedlike an angel, bit like the devil. Bloody literally.

Yet nonetheless, much as he wantedto be left alone to get on with the business of becoming industrially smashed,his damn curiosity was getting the better of him. “So you’re not here for adrink, you’re not here for people to admire ya… . the bloody hell are you here for, then? Nip off someonestaggering to the loo for a quick snack? I’ll report you if you do, you know.”

“I’m terrified,” the vampire said,sounding insultingly not terrified at all. “Because I’m sure you’re the sort ofperson who walks into the witan every day and has a close personal relationshipwith them. Big fan of law enforcement, that’s you.”

Will squirmed, unable to stophimself from wondering how the bastard seemed to know everything about him witha single glance. “Right then,” he said. “I’ll hit ya.”

“Now that sounds more like you.” Thevampire gave him an approving glance, a long once-over from head to toe andback again, that inexplicably made Will a bit hot under the collar and suddenlywondering what the bloke’s, well, preferences were. Scientifically speaking. Thenhe held out a hand with an elegant flourish. “Killian Jones, at your service.”

“Will. Will Scarlet.” He gingerlyshook it, cool and hard as marble against his own. “So what are you doing inthis damn place, if not to let me get pissed in peace?”

“I used to own this place.” Killianglanced away as he spoke, a strange note in his voice. “A long time ago. It wasa vampire tavern and safe house, I turned it into one after I bought it. Thenit burned down, changed hands over the years, and now they’ve… “ He waved ascathing hand. “Made it into this monstrosity.”

Will glanced around at the busytables, the hum of conversation and laughter, the clink of glasses and moneychanging hands, the glow of the fire in the hearth. “Yeah,” he said. “Looksterrible. No place at all for a fellow like you to have a decent mope and sulk.”

“I wouldn’t point fingers aboutthat, if I were you.” Again, that hint of fang in Killian’s smile. “Unless youwant to tell me you’re actually here for a celebration, but the rest of yourparty just somehow failed to show up?”

“Fuck off.” Will took another sip. “Soyou’re here just because this used to be your tavern a long-arse time ago?Critique the new management? Nothing else to do but hide in a corner? That’s pathetic even by my standards, mate.”

“How wonderful that the world runsby your standards, then.” Killian’s eyes were almost slitted, that dangeroustell-tale black creeping in over their usual blue, making Will clandestinelyshift his position in case a supernatural bar brawl was about to accidentallyhappen. “And you don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“And you don’t know a damn thingabout me, so why don’t we just leave each other in peace to get on with ourheartbreak, then?” Will finished off the third glass of beer and put it back onthe bar. Oh God, he needed to be so very much more drunk than he was, and itwas going to take time and effort to get that way, and he was so bloody tired,and he just wanted to go home and sleep for two days, but he couldn’t wake upto still see Ana’s things everywhere. Too eager to get to her new princess lifeto even be arsed to come back and pick up her old toothbrush, all her clothes,especially not the dumb novelty mug he had gotten her. Probably her new sugardaddy had promised to buy her an entirely new designer wardrobe. What was heagainst a closet full of Versace and Prada and Armani? Was that what all womenactually wanted, and left him just shit out of luck altogether?

“She left you,” Killian said,startling him. “I’m sorry.”

“That is just… “ Willspluttered, swiveling on the bar stool. “I don’t care if you can somehow readme entire life with a glance, you can’t just go…  how the bloody hell did you…”

“Let’s be honest.” Killian flashed agrim smile. “It’s only a woman that can make us reach that particular andrefined level of heartbreak. For what it’s worth, mine didn’t leave mewillingly. Not sure if your situation is better or worse.”

“Doesn’t matter, does it?” Will motionedto the bartender for another. “Blows giant monkey ballocks all the way around,so you and I can just drink until we can’t stand up and – ”

“You can,” Killian said, with adistinct bitterness in his voice. “I’d give anything to still have that gift,but, well. My dietary limitations being as they are, the only way I could getdrunk anymore was to feed on someone who was. And since it’s entirelydistasteful to take advantage of some random patron in a bar, no matter whatlow opinions you may hold of my moral character, that leaves me mercilesslysober. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Will was surprised, as if he hadbeen honest, he would have expected Killian to have no problem at all withborrowing some drunkard for a few sips by the loos. He knew vampires had beenbig on the “If It’s Not Agreed, Don’t Feed” consent-awareness drive recently,but…  well, everyone knew vampiresdidn’t follow the law in the same way wolves did. They were just different,dangerous, thought things belonged to them and worked their way. Alwaysthinking their wealth and good looks and influence could get them off. Don’t trust the Teeth. It had beendrilled into him from the moment he was turned, which had been at the age ofnineteen after a drunken dare went horribly wrong. Would have died if the verywolf he and his stupid chav mates had been trying to find hadn’t offered tosave him. Warned him that it came with a horrible price, that his life wouldn’tbe the same, that there were rules. But Will didn’t want to die, and he hadnever cared about rules before and didn’t think he’d start now, and he wasscared. So he let Cyrus bite him, turn him, make him immortal. Still more orless himself, with a strong affinity for raw steaks and howling at the moon, orat least he had first thought. But that had been over fifteen years ago, thoughhe still looked and felt no older than perhaps twenty-five, and he was slowlyrealizing, as one does looking back on one’s idiotic teenage misadventures,that he was wrong. He had changed.Ana had known that he was a wolf, but she hated any of what she termed his more“uncivilized” habits, and he had diligently restrained them for her sake. He’dnever let himself go around her, just in case. Perhaps now he was starting towonder what all was there.

He glanced sidelong at Killian Jonesagain. Of course the bastard had the world’s most perfect profile, which wasnot assisting in Will’s current state of confusion and/or desire to make anill-advised decision, but if you couldn’t do this sort of thing when you weredrunk and heartbroken over an awful breakup and fervently desired to get backat your ex, even if they wouldn’t know or care, then when could you? “Hey,” hesaid, clearing his throat. “Had an idea. If you bought some good stuff, stuff abloke could get properly pissed on, I’d pay it back by letting you feed on me.That way both of us could properly enjoy it.”

Killian, to say the least, hadclearly not expected this. It was a bit of a brazen proposition, sure, but youdidn’t hang around here because you were worried you’d be late for Sundayschool in the morning. “Feed? On you? Have you ever done that with a vampirebefore?”

“No,” Will said. “I’m a wolf, as youcan bloody well see. Why, you want my frequent buyer’s card?”

“I just…” Killian hesitated,something strange in his expression. “You’re asking me to feed on you? You don’t… know who I am?”

“Why, am I supposed to? Too good forus little people?”

“No, it’s just…” The vampire wasabout to say something else, but caught himself. “Never mind. I must admit, itis a tempting prospect. And it bloody well isthe case that if I was going to get drunk again after the devil knows howlong, I’m not doing it on the swill they serve here. Or, for that matter, here.You’re actually all right coming back to a vampire’s lair?”

“Yeah,” Will said. “Why? You bite?”

“Only if you tell me to.” Killiangave him another of those looks that made him feel as if his stomach haddropped out of his body, in a way that made Will piquantly remember that forvampires, those who offered themselves up for a feed usually had otheractivities in mind as well. It did make sense, considering that if you wereliterally offering someone a chance to bite into your jugular vein and drainyour life fluid for their succor and support, it seemed rathercounterproductive to then be fussed about showing them your naughty bits. Thetwo didn’t always go together, but oftenenough to be a fair expectation, and it occurred to Will that if Killian didn’twant that from him, they should probably clear the water on it first. Didn’twant to get into an awkward situation where he thought a feed and a fuck was forthcoming, and thenonly one of those was. Though if Killian asked… he wasn’t overwhelminglyexperienced batting for the other team, but there had been a few times, mostlywhen he needed money and was willing to trade his nonexistent dignity for it,where he’d tried things with blokes, and hadn’t hated it. And this one, well, evenan actual saint would have struggled not to be violently attracted to him, andWill Scarlet was certainly not one of those.

“So when you say bite,” he said, ascasually as possible. “You mean just bite, or bite bite?”

“In all senses of the word.” Killianshrugged. “Whatever you had in mind.”

“Oh?” That answered that, and Willfound himself leaning closer. “Comes to someone like you, I’d have quite a fewthings in mind.”

“Do you?” Christ, could the bastardease off on the smolder for ten damn seconds? It was making it hard to think.“Well, I find that intriguing. Come on, let’s get out of this place before Iaccidentally burn it down again. I still think they go out of business withinthe year.”

“Doubt it.” Will swigged down thelast of his other glass, pushed back from the bar, and proceeded to settle his tab, feeling Killian’s eyes boring into him from theback. When that was done, they stepped out into the chilly London night; it waslate enough by now that the casual tourists and working folk had gone to bed,and the partiers were the ones left out. Since he obviously didn’t know wherethe vampire lived, Will let Killian lead the way, supposing that if this was a horrible mistake and theydiscovered his exsanguinated corpse tomorrow morning, at least he had probablydied happy. Which was more than could be said for any other part or aspect ofhis life at the moment, and hence seemed worth the risk. Not have to worryabout Ana’s stuff, not about the fact that he was probably going to get chuckedout of London by bloody Quinn anyway and hence shouldn’t even turn a hair atthis, any of it. There were worse ways to go. He didn’t even care anymore.

They stopped at a Tesco and boughtseveral bottles of the higher brand of booze: rum and Kahlua and schnapps, ginand fine-aged Scottish whisky. Then with their haul safely bagged, they lookedas non-drunken miscreant as possible and continued en route to Killian’s place– which, Will realized as they crossed the park, was in Russell Square, an upmarketneighborhood in Bloomsbury adjacent to the British Museum and the University ofLondon, quite a far cry from his shared flat in the businesslike brick terracesand chain shops of Ealing. Which he might not even be able to afford withoutAna to split the rent, so he was likely doomed to become one of the unluckybastards paying £650 for a cupboard under the stairs. Bloody London. No wondereveryone hated this place.

They reached the far side of thepark, turned left on the street, and headed up the steps of a stately oldVictorian rowhouse about halfway down, Killian unlocking the doorself-consciously enough to make Will think that no matter what confident, DonJuan fronts the vampire might like to put up, he really had not brought anyoneback here in a very long time. Inside, it was clean, sparse, and barelymodernized, as if he’d moved in about the 1920s and forgotten to add anythingsince. Will, who considered a telly and mobile as essential to life as food andshelter, decided they would have to talk about that later.

“Well,” Killian said, switching onthe hall light and making a self-deprecating gesture. “Not much, but it’s mine.Used to have a roommate a while ago, hope you don’t mind I still keep him inthe cellar in formaldehyde.”

Will started to laugh, realized hedidn’t actually know if the vampire was joking, and stopped. “Well, Barnabas. Fortunately,I’m not bloody picky.”

“Barnabas?”

“You never seen that American show, Dark Shadows? Watched the whole thingnot long after I got turned into a wolf. Laughed so much I nearly burstmyself.”

“I don’t watch television.”

“Noted.” Will glanced around. “What do you do?”

“Not much,” Killian said tersely.“And we didn’t come here for small talk. Do you prefer to drink in the kitchen,or the bedroom?”

“If it’s all the same to you,” Willsaid, as lightly as possible, “bedroom.”

Killian paused, then nodded shortly,leading them up the stairs to the second floor, passing several more dim,disused rooms, all with the air of being shut up long ago and never reopened.Will didn’t know exactly what he had been expecting, but this certainlyconfirmed his feeling that Killian didn’t do this often. Must be the bloodyloneliest bloke in the world, perhaps, if he was reduced to trolling forliteral Tail in a pub that stood on the site of one he’d owned a few hundredyears ago. Either that or he did in fact do this often, killed and drained theunlucky bastards when he was done, and put them with the possibly notfictitious roommate in the cellar, but Will didn’t think so. He had a sense likeevery animal did, when something wasn’t right and he should scarper, and it hadserved him well in the past; if it was going off now, he’d be listening to it.But it wasn’t, and he had already decided to take his chances.

They stepped into the master suite,which had tall black curtains covering the high window, an unlit chandelier onthe ceiling, and a large four-poster bed with a brocade counterpane. It was allvery stiff and stately, almost sterile, as if he came in here, lay down withhands folded on his chest, and impersonated a corpse until the next dawn asreliably as clockwork. It almost felt like breaking into a very stuffy hotelrather than entering someone’s private bedroom, and Will stood awkwardly untilKillian slung their bags of booze down with a rattle, shucked his boots andjacket, and said, “I’m the only thing that bites here, I promise. Make yourselfcomfortable.”

Will paused, then did the same,pulling off his grimy trainers and well-worn leather jacket, then boostinghimself onto the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, with piles of pillows tolean against, as he surveyed the libation options on offer, then selected therum, twisting the cap off and taking a deep slug straight from the bottle.Bloody hell, it tasted good. As Killian climbed up next to him, their shouldersbrushing but not quite touching, Will said, “So, seems a bit awkward just youwaiting for me to finish getting sloshed so you can have a tipple. Speciallysince I don’t even know a damn thing about you. Sure we can’t at least playTwenty Questions?”

“Do you always talk this much?”Killian raised an eyebrow again. “Talking distracts from drinking. Besides, Idoubt either of us wants to be the first to volunteer all our dirty littlesecrets.”

Will had to admit he had a pointthere, as he certainly didn’t want to spill his guts about Ana to somestranger, some vampire, who he hadjust met, even if he was sitting on said vampire’s bed with the expectation of furtherly intimate things happening before the night was through.He did talk a lot, he knew that. Just the way he thought. But sincethere was nothing he really wanted to think about now, perhaps he could strainhimself and shut it for bloody once. Everyone who had ever known him must beswooning from the shock.

He sipped in silence for a while,exquisitely conscious of Killian’s presence at his side, the way the vampirestared bleakly at the wall, clearly just waiting for Will’s blood to reach theproper percentage of alcohol to vicariously affect him. It was the kind ofmacabre situation that would probably be funny to someone else not directlyinvolved in it, and no more than he deserved. But the rum was good, and by thetime he had reached the bottom of the bottle, even his supernatural sensibilitieswere well and thoroughly addled. “Righ’ then,” he said, slightly unsteadily.“Lemme take a piss, and we can get on with it.”

Killian tipped his head in thepresumable direction of the WC, which Will made an expedition to. He halffeared it would be a chamber pot and a bowl and pitcher, but it was the usualsetup, not that a vampire must make much use of it unless he enjoyed hot baths.He did his business, checked he didn’t look toohideous (you didn’t want to look like something the cat dragged in whenbeing intimate, in whatever fashion, with a drop-dead gorgeous partner, afterall) and returned to the bed, which took a few tries to climb back onto.“D-do your worst.”

“Not at all my style, love.” Killiansmiled, which Will felt to the back of his stomach and made him realize eitherthat he was very drunk, or that he had it much worse than he thought – possiblyboth. “I prefer both of us enjoy it. I ama gentleman, you know. I don’t merely dine and dash. So, then. Let’s dothis properly.”

Being, as stated, a novice to theproceedings, Will had no idea what this might entail, but it sounded justbloody fine to him. Killian reached out a hand, laying it lightly against hisneck and brushing his fingers down to the collarbone, stroking and caressing,until Will’s breath hitched and he shifted his weight forward, as Killian movedto swing a knee over his hip and straddle him. He settled firmly atop Will’sthighs, their faces very close together and his eyes almost impossibly blue inthe low light. Will’s lips parted as Killian brought his hand around to theback of his head and pulled their mouths slowly together.

Will took a sharp breath through hisnose, eyelashes fluttering, as his own hand came up instinctively to twist inthe ruff of dark hair at the nape of Killian’s neck. It wasn’t the first timehe’d kissed a bloke, but it was certainly the first time he had done itproperly, like it meant something (though obviously it didn’t). Raw and hurtingas he was, feeling as dropped and discarded as an empty takeaway box, he wasmore than happy to pretend, and he yielded hungrily into the kiss, his otherhand coming up to circle the point of Killian’s nearly elfin ear. Not the firsttime with a bloke, but definitely the first with a vampire, and he kept waitingfor him to accidentally bite his lip or something (or not so accidentally). Yetthe fangs were not a substantial obstruction, even added an alluring spice ofdanger to the entire thing, and Killian shifted his position, sliding back ashe let himself come down full length atop Will. Will himself wrapped his armsaround Killian’s neck, lifting a knee, as the kiss deepened from chaste,exploratory peck into full-on, open-mouthed macking, wet and raw and savage,not at all the delicate, devoted, considerate exercise of kissing Ana. Theyrocked hard into each other, rolling over and over; there was plenty of spaceon the bed, rumpling the quilts and making the frame creak. They pushed and pulled, eachone fighting the other to be on top, as Killian’s mouth finally moved away fromWill’s lips, tracing a lush, burning trail of kissing and sucking down thecolumn of his throat and to the side, where he lightly nipped at the hammeringpulse. “Up for it?”

Will, completely breathless andflushed, arched his hips up sharply in answer, making the vampire groan. Killianlowered his head, still licking and nuzzling, kissing and browsing around thetender skin. “Might twinge at first,” he said, muffled. “But it’ll feel betterfast.”

“Sounds like the other thing thathappens when you stick a bit in somebody,” Will joked, hands still roaming on Killian’sback, on the strong plane of the spine beneath the loosened fabric of his(rather sheer) shirt. “Get on with it, then.”

Killian nudged him with his nose, thenopened his mouth, and Will felt the scrape of razor-sharp fangs against hisskin, having a brief and unfounded fear that Killian might not know how to usethem properly. But centuries of experience in any department had its advantage,and he felt a brief, bright sting, close enough to pain to make him grimace, asKillian held him steady. Then his throat muscles moved, sucking lightly, and itwas replaced by a sudden, giddy rush of pure euphoria, enough to make Will keen.It coursed through him to his toes as he felt Killian’s body, heavy atop him,shudder and shake with the delight of tasting what bloody well must be fiftypercent fine Jamaican rum. “Mmm,” the vampire moaned indistinctly. “S’ goo’.”

Will kissed his ear, stroking his hair and wrapping his legs around Killian’s to pull him closer, asthey lay at full length, tousled and tangled in the quilts. It flitted acrosshis head to wonder if there was a Boots that was open late, in case they wantedto prolong the evening’s pleasurable activities in other directions. But then,they probably weren’t going to do this again, or even see each other once theyboth came to their senses (ha, like that was ever bloody going to happen). Bestprobably to just enjoy it for what it was, and not look for more. He’d go backto being drunk and miserable by himself soon enough.

Killian fed until both of them wereagreeably, reelingly lightheaded, drunk and punchy, as he pulled away andlet his head fall onto Will’s shoulder. “Oh, bloody hell,” he saidindistinctly. “Like coming in from the desert.”

“Good – good stuff, eh?” Feeling asif his own alcohol capacity had been depleted, and he might need to shore up, Willgroped out with his free hand, found the bottle, and sucked the last fewdelicious drops out of the bottom. He was also interested in trying the peachschnapps, but that was too far out of reach to be easily accessed, and he washappier to remain here with Killian atop him. He wrapped an arm back around hisneck, pulling him for another slow kiss, both of them drunk enough by thispoint that it was a bit of a sloppy affair. The air felt thick between them,sparking, potent with possibility, as if they could tell themselves that thiswould be once all they wanted, but it would invariably end up as more. Not thathe saw much more for them then drinking in the dark, in doing their best todrown out the respective demons that chattered so relentlessly. Still, though.Could be worse. Just a holdover.  Justenough.

Will settled back in the pillows,pulling Killian atop him, as the vampire’s head rested solidly on his shoulder.What did it matter, then, if a few fuckups of supernaturals found comfort ineach other for a little while? Hardly as if they were hurting anyone, or as ifthey had much farther to go before hitting rock bottom. Sure, Killian was Teethand Will was Tail and there were plenty of examples as to why this sort ofthing was destined to end in flames, but as always, rules and regulations werenot his bit. Of course it wouldn’t work. Of course it never would.