Hello and thank you for giving Alec's story a chance! I hope you'll enjoy it.
And speaking of chances: there's a chance for you to win one of the three prizes in the giveaway I'm hosting to celebrate this new story. More details on that in the A/N below.
"There's ice cream in the fridge."
I didn't need Simon to tell me that. There was always ice cream in their fridge. Just in case I decided to stop by for a quick fuck. That way I'd have a snack for afterwards. Something I'd enjoy consuming; something other than their blood and bodies.
Not that those weren't given to me willingly. I didn't even have to call first. I'd show up and both he and his girlfriend would be eager to please me.
After all, I pleased them in turn.
Naked, I headed for the kitchen of their small apartment. I liked the location. It was in the shady part of town, a place where people were used to screams and nobody lectured you about keeping it down when you were screwing.
Some of the neighbors probably got off by my playmates shouting.
Sarah was a screamer, loud and unapologetic; Simon was more restrained at first, but once you got him hot and bothered, you'd hear him beg for release from a mile away.
I hopped on their counter - there was only one in the room - and opened the plastic container before filling my spoon with vanilla ice cream with honey topping. I brought the treat to my nose and inhaled, grinning as my mouth watered at the sweet aroma.
I put the ice cream in my mouth, wondering how it would taste to a human. I doubted they could distinguish between all the notes in the flavor. The milk, the different sweeteners... I was sure they couldn't say how many sweeteners there were.
Seven.
There were seven in this ice cream.
I couldn't say whether I distinguished between them because I was half-Dayer or because I was half-shifter; maybe it was the combination of both. I wasn't particularly fond of either species although to my dismay, I was beginning to soften up towards shifters after my half-brother Ollie was born.
At least I'm not human, I thought, licking the spoon, the steel adding yet another flavor, one that reminded me of blood.
"You like?" Sarah asked me, sauntering into the kitchen, undressed. She'd stopped a few steps away from me so I could better appreciate her body, angling it sideways to show abundant chest and her ass; the boobs - courtesy of an ex paying a skillful surgeon- were nice, but her backside was too flat for my liking.
"It would go well with almonds," I answered, shoving another spoonful into my mouth.
Her alluring smile didn't falter even though I chose to comment on the cold treat instead of her hot body.
I couldn't say this was because of my charming personality; I knew I was an asshole to them, but I didn't care. I wanted them for sex, they wanted me for sex - no one said we had to be nice to each other.
The reason why Sarah was smiling at me the way she did was... Well, there were two reasons, actually: one - I was really good in bed, and two - I was gorgeous. The latter was courtesy of my vampire genes. My Dayer vampire genes; you wouldn't enjoy a Nighter vampire. Not unless you were into claws, scaly skin and violent, painful death.
Your death, which served as a temporary satisfaction of their thirst for blood.
Dayers and Nighters might both be called vampires, but they were as different a subspecies as they came.
Sarah eyed the counter, measuring in her head whether she'd fit beside me.
She wouldn't.
I'd purposefully spread myself on top so I wouldn't have to share the surface.
"Round two?" She purred suggestively.
"Not tonight." My spoon scraped against the bottom of the ice cream container.
Her salacious smile disappeared only for a second.
"Are you sure?" She playfully ran her fingers up my bare thigh.
I licked the last of my vanilla treat from my spoon and jumped to the floor.
"Yeah, I'm sure," I told her before throwing the ice cream container in the trash can and heading for the bedroom to pick my clothes.
Simon was still on the bed, exhausted, but hopeful. I watched his well-formed chest rise and fall as he breathed, his head down, but his eyes on me. That shy, needy look had a stronger effect on me than his girlfriend's lustful smiles.
But I still wasn't in a mood for them tonight.
Maybe I would never be in a mood for them again, I thought as I dressed silently, making a point of ignoring them; Sarah had entered the room right after me.
Sex was good, but I knew them too well and I knew what to expect in bed. This was getting boring. I needed someone new to hype me up. Maybe I'd swing by Deviant after I got out of here; the club was always packed so there were plenty of people to chose from there.
I didn't feel like enduring the loud music though. The volume was too high for humans and even worse for us supernaturals.
I stepped outside Simon and Sarah's apartment and lit a cig, deciding to skip the club and go back to my hotel. I'd check the lobby and bar for anyone interesting and if there wasn't, I'd head up to my penthouse.
Luca would be there, of course. I'd pour him a glass of milk and we could cuddle on the sofa and watch movies afterwards. Unless he was in the mood to scratch or bite me tonight. I never knew what was going through that cat's mind and that was one of the reasons I loved him so much.
Humans were mostly predictable, but my Russian Blue roommate wasn't.
A few blocks down, I'd already finished my smoke - vanilla-scented, of course - and threw the cigarette butt to the ground as I leisurely strolled through the neighborhood. If I was a human, I'd probably be in a hurry to get away from here. It was nearing 3 a.m. and most of the street lights weren't working. The only people out here were those who were up to no good.
But human I was not . Stronger and faster, with better reflexes and better vision, I could easily break a human's bones or choke them to death... Maybe snack on them a bit.
Disposing of the body might be troublesome, but it wasn't impossible. All I had to do was...
As I turned around the corner, my thoughts went from fighting to sex.
I was looking at his back, but I recognized him. The short dark hair, the strong shoulders under a light grey sweatshirt, the beautifully round ass under the blue jeans... Was he supposed to be undercover tonight?
I licked my lips.
My smile was wicked.
Why hello there, Adrian Monroe!
Seventeen minutes.
That was how long ago Sasha and I had parted, with me promising to stay away so I wouldn't scare off her informant with my bulky body. At first she'd wanted to come on her own, but I'd pulled the 'I am your partner' card and when that hadn't worked I'd gone for 'I am your friend and I worry about you'. The latter had affected her in two ways: one - she'd felt annoyance as she was a Dayer and even though my Gift made me stronger than the average human, it didn't make me stronger than her, and two - she'd smiled because she loved that I cared for her. In the end she'd conceded - with the provision I stayed out of sight - and here we were now, in the disreputable part of town, a little after 3 a.m.
I hoped the info she got was worth the sleep we lost over it.
Nineteen minutes.
I looked about the empty, barely-lit street and sidewalks; no sign of Sasha or anyone else.
The two of us were a bit of an unusual pairing. The Sentinels who policed the supernaturals - vampires, shifters and humans with Gifts - usually consisted of a crew of two with one having enhanced physical abilities, and one with psychic ones. All shifters and vampires were considered to possess the former so they were teamed up with human psychics.
Not us.
I had enhanced physical abilities and no psychic Gift whatsoever. I still wasn't sure how Sasha had arranged to become my partner after...
I squeezed my eyes shut, tilting my head back, and breathing in deeply, my fists clenched by my sides.
I would not think about Peter. I can't go there now.
"Well, you look absolutely miserable."
I jumped and turned, my eyes now wide open.
Aleksei Maksimoff was sauntering my way, his light blond hair beautifully disheveled, his elegant hands partially hidden in the front pockets of a pair of dark jeans. My initial surprise and slight dose of fear turned into anger as I gazed into his cold, pale eyes and embarrassment colored my cheeks pink when an unbidden memory surfaced to the front of my mind; a memory in which the long fingers of those elegant hands were grazing my skin.
That night had been a huge mistake.
My superiors had been astonished when I'd informed them the next day that I'd slept with a suspect. Not a main suspect - we'd been pretty sure he had nothing to do with the series of murders that had started last year - but a suspect nevertheless. Sasha and I had been removed from the case to be replaced by another team - the empath Clifford Clarence and his partner Johnathan Mitchell, who, like me, had enhanced strength. That case was now closed, and the perpetrator was behind bars.
I moved away from the streetlight, hoping the darkness would hide the red on my face.
"Scared to be near me?" A smile slowly appeared on Alec's face as he spoke. "If I recall well - and I know I do - you enjoyed yourself quite a lot the last time you were near me. It was a pretty sight, having you writhing in sweet agony beneath me."
My teeth hurt, I was clenching my jaw that hard.
Don't say anything to show him how much he's getting to you.
"And then you had to freak out and run. Did they sack you off the case or did you ask to be removed so you didn't have to face me again?"
"What are you doing here, Alec?" I asked instead of answering his question, my voice rough and nothing like the calm tone I'd gone for when I'd opened my mouth.
"Looking for something fun to do. Want to volunteer?"
It wasn't only my voice that was betraying me; it was also my body.
My heart was pounding erratically, part with fury, part with the shame that came with the knowledge that despite all logic and sensible thought, I wanted him.
I lusted for him.
I'd hated the night when I'd given into his charm and yet, it had been the best sex in my life. No matter how embarrassed I was about it, I couldn't deny the chemistry between us, even though it had been purely physical.
His grey eyes held me captive as I wondered what to say, how to reply without showing emotion other than indifference or perhaps annoyance. And then they left me, his attention drawn to something on his left. I took a much needed breath and looked that way as well, just as a figure moved under one of the few working streetlights.
My partner was tying her long, vivid red hair in a high ponytail as she walked towards us, her countenance much more relaxed than mine. Then again, she wasn't the one who'd majorly screwed up because she'd opened her legs for the wrong person. She sympathized with me as she knew how disappointed I was with myself because of my attempt of interrogation turned hook-up with Alec, but apparently she still managed to keep her cool around the guy.
It was surreal to have her be the rational one while I was so tangled in emotions, I couldn't tell them apart.
"Hello, Aleksei." She greeted the walking sin when she reached him, then turned to me: "All done. We can go now."
And there it was: my excuse to leave.
I didn't have to say anything to Alec; I just had to walk away.
I nodded, but to my utter horror, I realized I didn't want to go.
I didn't want to be there, but I also didn't want to silently move away.
It would be like I'd lost at some silly game of pride. I wanted to say something clever. Something that would hurt him.
Disgusted at the animosity, I made my feet take the three steps towards Alec, then move past him and away from him, Sasha catching up to walk beside me. My body was tense as I expected a snide remark from the guy, maybe for him to even follow us to pester me, but I got no goodbye of any kind.
Against reason, I felt rejected and then my chest filled with the self-loathing I'd come to associate with thoughts about Alec and my weakness towards him.
What do you think of the first chapter?
To those of you who have read the previous books in the Dogs, Bats & Monkey series: are you glad Alec has his own story and that Adrian is also in it?
How many of you guessed that Alec was the reason Adrian was removed from the murder investigation in You Are the Answer and We Are the Answer?
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please support it with a VOTE if you did.
And now...
••• GIVEAWAY •••
For a chance to win a chapter dedication in Sweeter than Sweets, You Are the Answer, We Are the Answer or Sentiments & Reason comment on this chapter and tell me what you think of it. That's all!
I'll pick THREE WINNERS on random and each will get a chapter from a story of their choice dedicated to them.
The giveaway ends on Sunday, April 29.
Good luck! ❤