Adrian's Bodyguard [Vampires of Vadin 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  He moaned when Xavier grabbed the lube, covered his fingers, and began to open him up. He had just been about to yell at Xavier to hurry the fuck up, when the man removed his fingers, lined up his cock, and pushed in.

  Adrian mirrored Xavier’s groan as the man slid fully inside. There was pain as he was stretched wide—it had been a while—but the pleasure of being filled overrode the pain. To Adrian’s frustration, Xavier held still above him, allowing him to adjust. Fuck adjusting—he wanted more now.

  “Move,” Adrian demanded. He wrapped his arms around Xavier and pulled him down for a kiss. Xavier growled into the kiss and finally began to move.

  He broke the kiss and moaned Xavier’s name when the man rotated his hips. Xavier rubbed against the bundle of nerves inside him and began to thrust in and out. With each thrust his speed increased.

  It was too much—he wouldn’t last. He buried his face into Xavier’s shoulder as the man began to pound into him. “I can’t! Xavier!”

  “Come for me, baby,” Xavier rasped.

  With the next slide against his prostate, he shouted out his release. His world flashed white, and he gave in to his desire to bite into the pulsing vein in Xavier’s neck. As he swallowed the sweet substance, he heard Xavier shout out his own release, and he felt a splash of heat inside him. As he pulled his fangs free, the world turned dark around him.

  * * * *

  Some time later

  Adrian rubbed his eyes and blinked in confusion at the warmth surrounding him. He was snuggled up against a man’s chest—a very lickable chest. However, as nice as it was, his sleep-boggled mind was struggling to remember whom it belonged to. Well, until the previous night flashed through his mind—Xavier…

  Shock filled him. Oh God, he had fainted. He couldn’t remember the last time he had fainted during sex. Actually, he couldn’t remember ever fainting during sex.

  Oh God…he couldn’t decide if he was more embarrassed that he had smacked the man in the face with a bottle of lube or that he had fainted on him. As his mind cleared a bit more, he realized Xavier was also awake. The man was playing with Adrian’s long hair.

  He forced down the flush trying to creep onto his face and hesitantly peered up. “Morning,” he said weakly.

  Xavier was grinning down at him, looking unusually conceited. “Morning.”

  Adrian glared. “You don’t have to look so smug about it!”

  “Mmm, I don’t know…” He laughed. “I think you fainting gives me the right to feel a bit smug.”

  Adrian growled and slapped the man’s chest. Xavier just laughed harder. “Shut up!” Giving him a fierce glare, Adrian rested his head back on Xavier’s chest.

  For a while, they lay there snuggled together in silence. It had been many years since Adrian had actually relaxed with a lover in this manner. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until now.

  Xavier murmured, breaking the silence, “I have a question for you.”

  “Mmhmm?”

  “How old are you?”

  He blinked at the question and looked up at him. Adrian thought it was a rather odd question to ask someone while cuddling. “And you want to know, why?”

  “I figured it would be nice to know the age of the person I’m sleeping with,” Xavier admitted.

  Adrian scoffed at the reasoning and replied, “If you must know, I’m 9,985.”

  He narrowed his eyes when Xavier just smirked at his answer. He had a feeling that Xavier’s next comment would piss him off.

  “Hmm, I’ve never slept with a feeble little old man before.”

  He had been right—he was pissed. Pushing up on his forearms, feeling a bit insulted by the words, Adrian huffed, “Feeble? Well, this little old man can take his ass elsewhere!”

  “Now, now, don’t be mad. I was just teasing.” He pulled Adrian back down and kissed his forehead.

  “Well, how old are you?”

  “I’m 5,678.”

  He snorted. “Not that young yourself.”

  “No, I suppose not,” Xavier agreed.

  Adrian sighed and settled back against him. At the moment, he really wanted to cancel court and spend the rest of the day snuggling.

  He let out an indignant squawk when Xavier slapped his ass. “Come on, get up. It’s already one p.m. We need to shower. Lunch will be served soon, and we already missed breakfast.” Xavier slid out from under him and walked toward the bathroom.

  Adrian was staring daggers at the man when Xavier paused at the door and said with a devilish grin, “If you hurry, we may be able to have a bit of fun before we have to go down.” Xavier walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind himself.

  Adrian stared at the closed door. He had a decision to make; should he pout or have more sex with Xavier?

  Sex, definitely sex, Adrian thought with a laugh as he jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom.

  Chapter Eight

  Glancing at Xavier out of the corner of his eye, he slowly slid his foot up the man’s leg. Xavier jerked at the contact. Pushing his foot down, Xavier turned to stare at him with narrowed eyes.

  “This is not the time for that,” the man whispered, not that it mattered. Everyone would hear him anyway. Unless using a spell—one that would limit the travel of sound—whispering was pretty useless. One of the many frustrating things about being surrounded by immortals.

  Adrian laughed softly and took a bite of his steak, humming at the taste—just how he liked it, rare and bloody. He had just been about to take a sip of blood when Baylin—who was seated to his right—cleared his throat loudly.

  “Yes, Baylin?”

  Baylin smiled and declared, “Kellin and I have an announcement.”

  Kellin jumped up—chair slamming to the floor—and blurted out, “We’re having a baby!”

  Adrian let out a laugh of pure joy. “What wonderful news!” It sure explained the excitement he had seen in Kellin’s eyes when he had entered the dining hall—well, that and how much the man had been fidgeting.

  He stood and pulled Kellin into a hug, causing him to laugh. “I’m happy for you two.”

  He looked over to see Xavier slapping Baylin’s back in congratulations.

  The two had been having trouble conceiving, not to mention carrying to term. The issue most likely stemmed from Kellin being half-human. It was rare for immortals to form relations with humans—a human’s short lifespan guaranteed heartbreak for the immortal involved. However, it did happen. And if there were any offspring, many unfortunately were born with defects. While a variety of problems could occur, some even deadly, reproduction issues were common.

  The couple had been devastated when their first successful attempt at conceiving ended in a miscarriage. Kellin had taken it particularly hard as he blamed himself. However, if they were telling him now, it meant they were past the danger period.

  “While I think this calls for a celebration, why don’t we finish our meal before we start planning one? Kellin, as you are eating for two, feel free to ask for seconds.” He laughed and leisurely sipped his blood.

  As they continued to eat, Kellin chattered on about the baby, his excitement clear. Kellin and Baylin were really nothing alike—in looks or personality. Baylin was about six foot two, with short black hair and gray eyes. He also tended to be pretty reserved. Well, unless he was lecturing someone, Adrian thought snidely.

  Baylin’s husband, Kellin, however, was a five-foot-two ball of excitement, with short messy hair that looked like flames, and large crystal-blue eyes. Unlike Baylin, who was a vampire, Kellin was part phoenix shifter and part human. The small man also had numerous facial and ear piercings—and most likely a few hidden ones Adrian had no interest in knowing about. Kellin often chattered away about anything and everything. However, as different as the two were, somehow they worked.

  Adrian grinned. It was truly a wonderful day—Xavier was finally his, and his dear friends were finally going to have the child they had so desperately wanted.

>   * * * *

  By the end of the meal, Xavier seriously wondered if the small man was having twins. He couldn’t understand how someone so tiny could outeat him, pregnant or not.

  And despite all the man had eaten, Kellin was currently eyeing Adrian’s piece of chocolate cake. It was the last one, as the rest had been eaten. They each had been served a slice by the staff. It was fortunate that they had—Kellin would have tried to eat it all otherwise. As it was, Kellin had laid waste to the extra slices already. He hoped Adrian hadn’t intended to have more.

  In Kellin’s defense, it wasn’t that he ate fast. Adrian just tended to savor each bite of food. He always seemed to be the last one to finish and today was no exception.

  Xavier watched Adrian cut into the cake with his fork and take a bite. When the man let loose an exaggerated moan of delight, he realized that Adrian was quite aware of Kellin’s gaze. At the second bite, Kellin let loose a soft whimper.

  Adrian grinned mischievously. “Is there something the matter, Kellin dear?”

  “No…” Kellin whimpered and looked pitifully down at his empty plate. Baylin appeared to be trying not to laugh—he would have thought it funny, as well, if the man didn’t look so pitiful.

  Raising one eyebrow, he stared at Adrian. “Adrian, it’s not nice to tease.”

  Adrian let out a barking laugh and smiled. “Get over here, Kellin. I’m just messing with you. I’d be happy to share the last piece.”

  Kellin jumped up, letting loose a happy squeal. Xavier started to laugh as he watched Kellin try to shove a chuckling Baylin out of his chair—he wanted to sit closer to the cake.

  “All right, all right, I’m moving.” Baylin got off the chair before Kellin could finish shoving him out. “I wouldn’t dare stand between you and food.”

  * * * *

  Adrian chuckled as Kellin started to dig into the cake with gusto—unbeknownst to Kellin, he had no intention of having another bite. He had learned a long time ago to never get between a pregnant person and their food—doing so would very likely get you stabbed.

  His laughter ended when a sharp pain radiated from his stomach. As the pain became excruciating, he grabbed Kellin’s wrist and jerked him away from the table. Terror raced through him as he roared. “Stop!”

  “Adrian!” both Xavier and Baylin yelled. Xavier grabbed him as he began to fall.

  It felt as if he were being eaten alive from the inside out. “Poison!” Was all he managed to shout out before he was swallowed by darkness.

  * * * *

  Xavier cried out in horror as the man he had come to love collapsed in his arms. Time slowed, his world becoming out of focus. He could hear both Kellin and Baylin yelling, but their words were muffled and the sound of thunder rang in his ears.

  When Adrian began convulsing, screaming in pain, and Kellin collapsed beside him, everything snapped back into place. Looking around, he realized it hadn’t been thunder but guards and healers running into the room. “Don’t touch it!” he shouted when he saw one of the guards about to pick up the piece of cake.

  After laying Adrian down, he pushed through the guards to get to the table. Removing a dagger from one of his thigh holsters, he snapped, “Everyone, step away now!”

  Taking a deep breath, he held his right arm over the table and promptly sliced into his wrist. A few of the guards gasped at his actions. Ignoring all around him, he focused on sending energy through the blood rushing from his open wound. From the blood puddles forming on the table, small white spiderlike creatures began to emerge. He waited impatiently, counting each second wasted, as the creatures engulfed what remained of the cake.

  The creatures were called arcanid—the Arcadian people considered the small creatures to be extensions of themselves. Created by the energized blood of their host, they mindlessly performed their host’s bidding. If their host had the skill and power to do so, they could cure any poison.

  Xavier swore vehemently when each arcanid turned blood red only to quickly shrivel up, then disintegrate into black ash. He forced his way through the guards and shoved the medical staff out of his way. Ignoring shouts of surprise and outrage, he fell to his knees in front of Kellin and Adrian, pulled out another knife, and sliced into his other wrist. Leaning over Kellin and Adrian with the two knives, he was just about to slice into their arms when he was grabbed from behind by one of the guards. His knives slipped from his hands.

  He shouted angrily as he struggled—they were losing precious time. “Let me go!”

  Baylin roared. “Get your hands off him, you fool!” Several of the medical staff pulled the man away. The guard was young enough to not understand what he was doing.

  “Hold them down!” he snapped, just remembering that the convulsing would increase. As the medical staff rushed around him to do as he asked, he dropped back to the floor. He grabbed hold of his knives and reopened the almost closed wounds on his wrists. After his blood flowed freely, he quickly created deep cuts on one of Adrian’s arms and one of Kellin’s. Holding his wrists out, he allowed his blood to drip into the men’s open wounds. This time, Xavier called forward the magical energy present in the air, soaking it in. He mixed it with the power already vibrating in his veins and forced it into the blood flowing from his wrists.

  The arcanid this time were tiny, one-fourth the size of an ant, and greenish blue. Thousands of them were emerging from his blood, skittering down and burrowing themselves into the men in front of him. As more and more entered, they would spread throughout Adrian’s and Kellin’s bodies—it would be painful, but it was the only way to get rid of the poison currently being absorbed by their every cell.

  As the process continued, the two men began to convulse harder, their screams echoing in the dining room, into the halls, and throughout the castle.

  * * * *

  Baylin caught Xavier as the man passed out from blood loss, then put pressure on his still-bleeding wounds. “We’ll move the three of them to the king’s quarters. First, though, help me close his wounds. He has lost too much blood for his body to heal right now.” Baylin felt utterly useless as he helped move the three men—two men he loved more than life could die.

  * * * *

  Seven hours later

  Xavier opened his eyes and groaned in pain—his head was throbbing. He was confused, and his mind was a bit fuzzy. He was in bed. However, he couldn’t recall how he had gotten there. There was also an IV in his right arm, which was not something he usually woke up with.

  The memories assaulted him, and terror filled Xavier. “Adrian! Kellin!” he shouted, shooting up in bed only to slump back down due to weakness.

  “They are alive…thanks to you,” Baylin informed him. The man was sitting in a chair beside his bed. He looked as exhausted as Xavier felt. His eyes were bloodshot and full of heartbreak. The exhaustion he understood, but not the heartbreak—until he realized what the poison had probably taken from Baylin.

  Xavier whispered softly, “I’m sorry…”

  “It hasn’t happened yet, but…” The man paused and let out a sob. “The healers said the chances are not in our favor. I don’t know how…Kellin is going to be devastated.”

  He struggled to get up to comfort the man, but his body refused to obey him. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”

  “Stay down,” Baylin ordered, his eyes redder than before. “You’re low on blood, and unfortunately we have no Arcadian or Ice Demon blood to replace it. However, some is on its way and should be here any minute now.”

  Anger and self-loathing filled him. He had failed the man. “I’m sorry…”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about! You saved them! It’s more than any of the rest of us could do!”

  “I should have been testing his food myself! I should have done more! I failed you all! And now you and Kellin are paying the horrible price fo—”

  “Enough!” Baylin shouted over him. “It’s not your fault. Even before the attacks, we tested Adrian’s food. You had no reason to
believe that additional precautions…that any additional precautions were needed.” Baylin seemed to deflate, but still he continued. “I repeat, it is not your fault. Nor is it the time to blame ourselves. All blame falls on the bastards responsible. And when we find them, they will pay dearly for what they have done.”

  A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Xavier stared blankly at the wall as Baylin answered the door.

  His mind was racing. He ached for the man he’d started to consider a friend. He grieved for the young man who would soon suffer the loss of another child. And he hurt for Adrian, who, like him, would blame himself for what happened.

  His body was weak, but his blood—even though he didn’t have much right now—vibrated with rage. Xavier vowed revenge on those who had caused their suffering.

  When he noticed the silence around him, his mind settled with clarity. “When did Adrian and Kellin stop screaming?” he snapped, his words unintentionally harsh.

  Baylin, who had been attaching a bag of blood to the IV connected to his arm, froze at the question. “About thirty minutes before you woke up, why?”

  Xavier exhaled in relief. “Good, then we have a little time. I need you to use magic to speed up the IV.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because the poison is not completely out of their systems yet, and I’ll need to bleed again.”

  Baylin paled. “What poison would be deadly enough to need a second transfusion?”

  “Vadrinim Ciden,” Xavier replied.

  “What?”

  “It’s a deadly poison that can only be found in the Third Realm. Most don’t even know of its existence. The only reason I do is because I studied poison under a man who lived there. Now please, we have some time but not much. We cannot allow the poison to spread again.”

  Chapter Nine

  Five hours later