"Sure did, boss."

"Make sure it's unpacked before everybody leaves for the night. And if Short is late on the next shipment, send the next one to Dunn." Running this club brought in a pretty penny, and I wanted to keep it that way. When he nodded to me, I turned, relaxing back against the counter. The place was packed tonight. The darkly, carnal atmosphere I'd purposely created, attracted vampires and mortals alike. Though very few of the mortals knew about the dark creatures who watched them hungrily. As long as my kind followed the rules, I gave them free reign on choices of feeding. They could only take as much as they needed though. The mortal couldn't be badly drained, and he or she would be left with the pleasant memory of being fucked, but nothing else. Any who disobeyed the rules found themselves severely punished or banned from the bar.

Glancing over at the dance floor, I immediately spotted my young, mortal lover dancing between two others on the dance floor. A faint smile flit over my lips as I watched the graceful, erotic sway of the lean, muscular body. The sensuous movement of his body intensified when Jason became aware of me watching him. My gaze swept slowly over the tight, black jeans that encased his lower body, feeling the familiar twinge of lust stirring though me. Moving upward, my gaze rested on the familiar chest partially hidden by the snug, black muscle shirt. The bright lights above his head shone down on the blonde haired boy, lightening its color, and held my rapt interest. I never tired of watching Jason, knowing the special show on the dance floor played out just for me. There were others around him, their bodies lost in the frenetic beat of the music, but I paid little attention to them. They really didn't interest me.

When the music ended, Jason left the dance floor. He approached me, and once he was close enough, he nudged up against my side. There was a distinct intensity to the blue eyes that looked up at me. It felt like drowning in a soft, warm pool. Slipping my arm around his shoulders, he hugged tighter against me. The movement made me acutely aware of the warmth of his body, even through the material of our clothing. Turning my head slightly towards him, a slow, unneeded breath filled my senses with the heat of his blood.

"I think just about everybody has gotten fed tonight, Marcus. Except me." The last two words were a less than subtle reminder because I had yet to feed him my blood. The rest, a reference to the special back rooms of the club being full. I never allowed the others to feed in the public area; a very strict rule of mine. The image I'd built this club on contained the promise of forbidden pleasures in the darkness of those back rooms. It lured people here, and had ever since I'd opened the place two years ago. People left here with the memory of the wildest sex they'd ever had, and my vampires had a safe feeding grounds.

"After we retire tonight, I will take care of you, my hungry little ghoul." Bending my head, I pressed a soft kiss to the lips upturned to me. His warmth tingled over my skin with the soft returning pressure of his.

I'd starting feeding Jason a few months after I'd taken him to my bed, and he'd been with me for almost a year. Not a great length of time to my own three hundred odd years, but Jason managed to hold my attention like none before him. Even I couldn't understand what bound us so closely together. I would catch a glimpse, during those moments his body entwined to mine, in the darkness of our bedroom, but the full comprehension still eluded me.

The prospect brought a smoldering quality to his eyes. He slipped from underneath my arm, then moved to stand in front of me, pressing his body to mine. "I won't let you forget, Marcus." A mischievous smile played at his lips as I chuckled. He tilted his head slightly, the movement arching the line of his neck into a taut line as he murmured softly, "Or you could take me to one of the back rooms."

My eyes dropped to the slender column of his throat, and I heard the soft throb of his pulse speeding up slightly as he watched me intently. I knew he could see the changing darkness in my eyes, and it fascinated him. From his mind, I knew he could see and feel the hunger that wanted to take him.

Sliding my arms around his waist, I drew him tighter to me. For a brief moment, I pressed a kiss to the soft, fluttering pulse and felt the shiver of his body against mine. We were both enthralled with each other, the knowledge shared between us within the mental connection tying our minds together.

Slowly straightening, I said softly, "You know very well if I did, I wouldn't be able to feed you." I could only feed from him every other night. Too much from him would leave him weak, and I didn't want that. Thankfully, at my age, my requirements for blood weren't as heavy as a young vampire. I also fed Jason once a week, but rarely on the same night that I drank from him. The times when we fed from each, while we were entangled in each other's arms, I made sure I took only as much as he did. I had to keep a balance between us, it would have been far too easy to weaken him. His blood was my life, just as my blood was his life now. If he were deprived of it, it would drive him insane within a month or two. Once he passed his natural lifespan in about 60 years, it would kill him.

"I can wait on that." He already knew what my answer would be, it just never hurt to try.

"And I will never let you go hungry, Jason. Not even for one night."

A moue of disappointment pursed his lips at my answer. "Oh, all right, Marcus. I suppose I can wait another night for that." He understood the reasoning behind the refusal. He just didn't like it all the time.

"Glad you see it my way." My tone was deliberately teasing to lighten the mood between us.

"I have to go help Buddy anyway. So I'll back in a few hours." What he was saying wasn't exactly true, since he had no plans of actually leaving the club. He knew Shaun would be here soon. Even being somewhat nervous about the plan they had concocted between them, Jason really wanted to know if his lover would cheat on him. He'd been listening to everybody for the last few months, to the point he'd gotten mad enough to agree to go ahead with the outrageous scheme.

"Make sure you are back before the club closes, Jason. I'm not planning on being up all night if Buddy gets himself into trouble again. The last time he did, I bailed his ass out of jail. And if Cain can’t get a better handle on his ghoul, I'll have to step in again. Buddy has already been in enough trouble with the police, any more and he could become a serious liability."

"Nah, he won't get in trouble this time. We're just moving his roommate's things from the apartment. That's all." Slipping his arms around me, he gave a quick hug. After returning the hug, I let him go so he could leave. I watched the seduction motion of his body moving away from me as he headed for the front door. Most times it seemed like I could never get enough of him.

Turning back towards the bar, I reached for the whiskey Alan had left for me. Downing it quickly, I gestured for another. Not that alcohol would have much effect on me, but I still enjoyed the smooth taste. Alan grabbed one of the bottles, setting it on the counter in front of me.

"A few bottles of the good stuff arrived as well, Marcus. At least this time Short remembered. The delivery guy brought in seven of them."

"Thanks for letting me know, Alan. I'll take one of the bottles upstairs with me later." Absinth was one of the few alcohols that did provide a kick for vampires. I'd been slightly peeved when Short screwed up the last order and forgot to include them. Feeling the press of a hand to my shoulder, I turned slowly around, seeing Shaun standing there.. He let go of my shoulder, giving me a warm smile.

"Hey, Marcus. In the mood for some company?" His dark green gaze ran slowly over me before lifting back to my face, a tinge of lust sparked in their depths.

Somehow I wasn't surprised to see Shaun staring at me so hungrily. I'd known the young, auburn haired, boy had his own interest in me, but up until now, he'd never so obviously shown it. I had a few clues as to why he was, very little happened in my club that I didn't know about. People tended to forget that sometimes.

"If you feel like joining me." I shrugged slightly. Arching a brow, I smiled faintly back at him. "Enjoying yourself tonight?"

"Not as much as I would like to." Deliberately he moved closer, letting the faint press of his body brush to mine.

I looked him over, not about to ignore the blatant display. His youthful face and lean body had an appeal all its own. He wore a white silk shirt tucked into tight black leather pants. The clothing both hinted at and defined the form under them. For a minute Alan watched silently before he wandered away to attend to his duties.

"Playing with fire, Shaun? That's a very bad habit to acquire." I asked the question in a silkily soft voice. My hand caught at Shaun's arm as he lifted it, curling my fingers around it.

"How about a dance, Marcus?" His fingers moved to the waistband of my pants, hooking to the material, keeping me against him. I felt the intimate touch of his hand as it lowered, fingers slowly outlining my cock through the fabric of my pants. Several of the more knowing patrons around us tried to covertly watch us, finding the sight highly entertaining.

"Is a dance all you want?" Lifting my hand, I twined the length of one of his curls around my finger, watching the red glints that caught the light. Other than that small touch to his hair, I remained completely motionless. I knew the game he played with me, and it was one that would get him burned. Willingly, I played it out, just to see how far it would go.

"No, but it's a chance to show everything I do want." When he reached for my hand, drawing it towards his lips; I felt the silky slide of his hair over my finger, then the warm press on my skin.

Remaining silent, I drew him with me towards the dance floor. Stopping near the fringes of the crowd already there, he turned to me, sliding his arms around my neck. Staring down at him, I felt the slow, swaying of his body against mine, moving with the beat of the music. Our bodies parted only briefly before I felt the slow grind of his hips to my groin. Growling softly in reaction, I rested my hands on his hips, the edges of my nails dug slightly into him. No doubt, this tempting morsel could affect me, and I enjoyed the pleasurable friction. Nothing was said between us as I watched the slow darkening of his green eyes into velvet arousal.

"Take me upstairs, Marcus." Shaun whispered softly, the touch of his lips pressed to the cool skin, beneath my ear. A quick flick of his tongue left a wet warmth behind. Turning my head slightly, I pressed a soft kiss to the warm flesh, feeling the sudden quickening flutter of his pulse. The tips of my fangs pressed gently into him, though didn't break the skin, and his body shuddered against mine in reaction. His behavior and reactions amused me to no end. Without a word spoken, I drew away from him. My hand reached for his, pulling him with me through the bar, and towards the back hall that lead to the upstairs apartment above the bar.

Behind the two way mirror in front of the dance floor, Jason saw it all, unable to look away from any of it. Tears burned behind his eyes as he watched in disbelief. Even though he had set all of this up, pain still constricted at his heart as he watched his vampire lover pulling Shaun with him towards the back of the bar.

At first he'd thought it wouldn't be a good idea. But Shaun had convinced him, by telling him it was the only way he'd ever be totally sure of Marcus. Over the last month, all of his other friends had been warning him, and predicting it wouldn't be long before Marcus replaced him. He'd believed in his heart Marcus wouldn't do that to him, and that Marcus would flatly turn down Shaun's offer. God, it had been a stupid idea, and all he could feel was the pain of that betrayal.

Angrily he opened the door leading to the bar, before slamming it behind him. The noise caught the attention of a few of the customers. None of them had missed the sight of the club's owner and Shaun dancing. Knowing smiles creased their lips as they watched Jason stalk towards the bar. Quite a few of the vampires present were delighted to be witnesses at what they perceived to be the downfall of Marcus' favorite. The length of time the boy had held Marcus’ interest was no small matter of envy to those who hadn't kept it so long.

Jason wasn't even really aware of the eyes pinned on him as he sat heavily on one of the bar stools. Shaking his head, Alan moved towards him to set a glass of vodka in front of Jason.

The sounds of the bar faded away from him as Jason stared up at Alan, watching him move away. He really wasn't seeing the bartender, he only saw the vivid images flashing within his mind. The picture of his friend's fingers, in his lover's black hair, the sight of his Marcus' head bending towards Shaun, and the tightness of their bodies as they danced, played over and over again to him. Tears stung at his eyes as he quickly picked up the drink, downing it.

Feeling a hand at his shoulder, he didn't even bother looking at whoever it was who was touching him. "Well, well, well. Jason has fallen from favored status. It's happen to all of us, kid. It was bound to happen to you sooner or later too."

He glanced up at the words, looking into Kevin's smirking features. The black urge to hit Kevin descended over him. He knew the other vampire had only enjoyed a week of Marcus's attention before it stopped. Two weeks after that, Jason took his place in Marcus' bed, and Kevin wanted to rub things in. Gritting his teeth, Jason pushed down the sudden compulsion. Starting a fight in the club would be a bad idea, and he seemed to be having a lot of those lately.

"Don't worry, love. I'll be more than happy to take over your feeding."

Turning back towards the bar, Jason ignored him as Alan poured him another vodka. When he downed that just as quickly as the first, Alan set the bottle in front of him.

"We did try to tell you. It'd happen soon or later." Kevin seemed to be taking great pleasure in rubbing salt into the wound.

For a while now everybody tried to tell him, Marcus would lose interest. They were laying fucking bets on it. He’d wanted to prove them wrong.

"So fucking what, Kevin. It's not the end of the world." It took every ounce of will Jason had to remain seated, acting so casual. His thoughts screamed at him to run away. He couldn't though, the blood tie bound him more effectively than any prison could. A headlong flight into the night would only compound his stupidity.

His imagination came into stark play with images of Shaun and Marcus together, and Jason fought to keep the pain from showing in his expression. He'd been so fucking stupid to set that up and only now did he realize that. The grip on his glass tightened, threatening to shatter it before he felt Kevin's hand touch to his.

No more than an hour had passed when I descended the back stairs, returning to the bar. Slowly looking over the crowd, I saw Jason and Kevin at the bar. It never did take the vultures long to circle, wanting the pickings from a bad situation. Heading over to them, I silently stood behind Kevin. When my hand landed on his shoulder in a painful grip, Kevin looked back over his shoulder at me. My eyes narrowed on him, and it was enough to make him slide sideways, out from under my hand. He melted very swiftly back into the crowd. Moving up behind Jason, I grabbed his arm before he could see me and stalk off.

Whirling around with a snarl, he growled. "Let go of me, Marcus." Anger twisted his features as my hand slid down his arm, tightly curling to his wrist.

"You're the one that set me up, Jason. Or are you forgetting that? Shaun told me before he left." I felt no more than mildly amused by this outburst, though I carefully kept that hidden. It didn't please me to be tested in this way, and my ghoul would find out just how displeased I felt.

"And you're the one that took him upstairs." Jealousy threaded through his words. He knew it had been a very bad idea to see if I would be tempted by a luscious, young piece of meat, or if I would stay faithful to him. But he went ahead with it anyway, and he couldn't take back the last hour, no matter how badly he wished he could.

"That I did." Smirking faintly, I watched his display of jealousy rise even more with the simple words. Drawing him with me, giving him no chance for escape, I headed for the office. The rest of what we had to say to each other didn't need any more ears listening. We'd already attracted enough attention in the bar. It was obvious several others were intently interested in the fight between the club owner's and his boyfriend. I had no doubt all of this would keep the rumor mill happily supplied for the next several nights to come.

Pulling him with me down the hall and into my office, I firmly shut, then locked the door. It was an easy task to activate the ward guarding the door, insuring there would be nobody close by to eavesdrop, and Jason couldn't simply walk out the door. I released him once I had made sure he could go no where until we had this out.

"You bastard! How could you do that?" Jason yelled at me as tears began to form in his eyes. Angrily, his hand brushed away the wetness from his eyes. The moment he saw me leaving with Shaun, that monster inside of him had reared its ugly head, and now it consumed him. In the jealous confusion, he wanted to hurt his lover, to hurt Shaun, to make them feel the pain that he did. I saw all of that in his tear filled eyes.

A preternatural stillness encompassed my body as I stared at him, unblinkingly. When he came at me, drawing back his fist, my hand rose in a blur to take hold of his. Yanking him towards me, I let go of his hand, sliding my arm quickly around his waist, pinning him against me.

"You forget, Jason. I do as I please. And--." My voice lowered to a silky purr as I continued, "I do whatever I want to you as well. You belong to me."

"I thought you loved me." His words struggled to come out around the tight knot forming in Jason's throat. The pain behind them very real.

"But I do love you, Jason. You seem to have forgotten that, along with everything else." I'd known even before I left the bar with Shaun, that it was a test on Jason's part. No, I hadn't been happy at all about it. Lifting my hand to his face, my fingers drifted in a slow caress of his features, feeling the heated skin beneath my fingertips. His body shivered, trying to resist that influence on him. My arm tightened around him when he tried to pull away from me.

He immediately stopped struggling against me so I loosened my hold a fraction. But only to drop my hand, letting it skim over his chest, then lower to press lightly to the front of his pants. He was already hard. I felt the thick outline beneath my fingers. I drank in the rich sound and smell of him scenting the air around us as a soft moaned escaped him, feeling that delicate pressure. His hips instinctively nudged into it, having no real control over his own desire. Even as he wanted to fight it, he knew he couldn't. Not against the aching fire that centered in his groin with the smallest of my touches.

As I unfastened his pants, he made no effort to resist me. My fingers kneaded into his bare skin as I slid the pants down over his hips, getting rid of that barrier. He knew as well as I did just how much he did belong to me. Everything about him was mine, and he had accepted it a long time ago. There was no escape from that. Each of my caresses became a reminder of the control I held over his body. He urgently pressed into the fleeting touches that ghosted to his skin. He'd always responded so beautifully to me, totally giving of everything he had. Perhaps that's why I loved him so deeply.

Leaning forward, his lips desperately caught at mine, wanting the images he had witnessed and imagined, drowned from his mind. His tongue slid into my mouth, the tip running over my fangs, letting them nick into his flesh. The hot spill of his blood coated my tongue as his hungrily licked in feverish flicks. Tightening my mouth, I took the small draught of his sweet flavor. He wanted to remind me that I need him, but the reminder was unnecessary. I already knew how deeply I did.

I felt the hard line of his cock strain against the tight material. A slow pass of my hand resulted in a harder jerk of his hips. Breaking away from his lips, I said roughly, "Never test me again, Jason. If I desire another, you will be the first to one to know. I would never go behind your back. Don't ever test my fidelity again." Tightening the curl of my fingers to a faintly painful level, I waited patiently for his answer.

"I won't. I promise, Marcus." He wanted to say more but had to bite his lip to still the sound rising in his throat. The sudden flood of sensation made it hard for him to talk. Staring up at me, he once again found himself enthralled.

Satisfied with his answer, I released the grip and lifted my hand, edging beneath his shirt to pull it over his hair. It only took me a moment to strip him of the underwear that stood in my way. Later I would tell him the truth, but for now, the urge to bury my cock in his ass over rode any chance of talking. There was no resistance in him as my body pushed his back towards the desk. Turning to face the desk, his arm scattered pieces of paper and the plastic memo box to the floor. As he leaned against the desk, my gaze traveled slowly over the bared ass waiting for my attention. The sight of it sent a familiar rush of lust through my body. When he looked over his shoulder at me, I saw the pleading flash in his eyes.

I liberally wet two fingers in my mouth, and then teased slowly to his hole before quickly pushing them inside of him. A soft hissing breath came from him as his hips moved back to drive the fingers deeper inside him. The squirm of his hips drew a sudden sharp slap of my hand. I knew my sweet fuck enjoyed that edge of pain with his pleasure. The tremor of his body betrayed his increasing excitement.

Toeing off my shoes, I quickly unzipped my pants, and then left them to drop to the floor, before I kicked them away. Resting my hands on his hips, I moved closer into him. His ass ground tightly back against my groin. Growling softly, I drew back slightly to spit in my hand. After rubbing the moisture to the head of my cock, I withdrew my hand before I pushed deep into that tight heat. The snug feel rapidly shattered any control I might have had.

His sharp cry and the sound of my name, only spurred me on, feeling hot fiction surrounding my cock as I impaled him. The sensation rocked through my body. He pushed back as his body shuddered. I repeatedly pounded into him, listening to the sound of our flesh meeting over and over again, and the keening rise to his moans. The hot flesh sheathing me sent me over the edge. I buried my cock deep inside him and felt the white hot explosion as I came. The muscles of his ass tightened, milking every last drop out of me.

Releasing his hip, I laid my hand on his shoulder, drawing him up. His head tilted slowly, arching his throat for me as he ground back against me, wanting his own release.

Chuckling softly, I reached around him, my hand brushing his away from his cock, before replacing it. A silken touch ran slowly over his length before I buried my fangs at the side of his throat. Greedily, I drank the crimson flow as my hand curled to stroke over his cock.

His body suddenly convulsed against mine when he came. I felt the heat of his come spilling over my hand, and the sound of his ragged, gasping breaths were the sweetest music to me. The honeyed flavor of his release tinged his blood as I feed deeply from him. When I brought my hand up to his lips, I felt the warmth of his tongue licking at my fingers. As I listened to the quickened beat of his heart slow, a calm tranquility engulfed me.

After I stopped drinking from him, I pressed a soft kiss to his skin. The soft lick of my tongue tenderly healed the two small wounds I had made in him. Lifting my head slightly, I whispered to him. "Nothing happened with Shaun. We did no more than talk."

I'd known that Jason had only being trying to test me. When I took Shaun upstairs, I had absolutely no intention of fucking that cute little piece of ass. And I didn't fuck him either. No, I wanted the ass that was still so tightly pressed back against me, no other.

"Shaun was also hoping to take your place, Jason. I made sure he'll never again make the mistake of interfering between me and you. Then I sent him home." I also knew, in his own way, Shaun had set Jason up. Shaun had thought that I would be angry over Jason pulling a trick like that on me, and he could easily step into the breach. He'd admitted to it before I sent him home.

Easily I read his mind, and I could feel the sharp relief that hit his thoughts with my words. As I pulled back from him; he quickly spun around, wrapping his arms around me. Sliding my arms around his waist, I held him tightly to me. Clinging to me, a relieved sob escaped him. The truth easing that knot of pain inside of him. A white heat of anger stirred against Shaun for betraying him, but mostly he felt the keen alleviation of the anguish he'd suffered. He'd learned his lesson, and would never again question the love given to him.

Sliding my arm behind him, I picked him up and carried him towards the back stairs that lead to our apartment. His arms snaked around my neck as he tucked his head in against my shoulder. From the fragments of his thoughts which flowed to me, I knew he didn't want me to let him go. The almost demanding tenor reached out for me, trying to wrap itself tightly into my thoughts. I felt his overwhelming need for me in those pieces of himself that he gave to me, he never held anything back from me. Cradling him tightly to me, I ascended the stairs. The door opened for me automatically. After I carried him inside, I kicked it shut with my foot. It would be a long while before either of us returned downstairs.

It would ever be thus between us.