Page 6 of By The Moon

Louis entered the club and scanned the area. It was crowded, which was no surprise. It was the weekend, and people came out to celebrate the end of the working week. Relax and have some fun. Whatever that may be. Louis searched until he found the person he was looking for. His mate sat at the bar.

Hardening his jaw, his lean, toned body tensing, Louis saw a man approach his mate and try to engage him in conversation. Nope, that wasn’t happening. Jerome was his and Louis was finally going to do something about it. The man needed to get the hell away from Louis’ mate.

Why was Jerome here, though? In a fucking gay bar. His mate in a fucking gay bar. The ID must be good considering Jerome wasn’t old enough to be in one. Or maybe someone thought he was fresh meat and let him inside. Didn’t matter either way.

Louis walked over to the bar, making sure he could see his mate and the man trying to chat him up. His mate’s dark skin glowed under the lights and Louis’ mouth watered with the need to taste it. As he reached his mate, he heard Jerome tell the man he didn’t want to go anywhere with him.

The man shrugged a shoulder and leaned on the bar all casual, and that made Louis pull his lips back in a snarl. His fangs elongated, and he struggled to pull his vampire instincts back. Now wasn’t the time to let his mate side out, not when his mate didn’t even know what Louis was.

Louis wasn’t even sure if Jerome remembered him.

Jerome shook his head. “I said no, so please leave me alone. If I was interested, we would already be doing something, but I’m not, so go.”

“Come on. I can tell you’re playing hard to get. Let’s find a nice dark corner and I can show you what this mouth can do.”

Jerome chuckled and Louis stepped closer. “Thanks, but no.”

Louis took another step closer at the same time as the man did but Jerome held his hand up. “Come on. You come to a gay club and say no? Why the fuck you here if you’re not gonna put out?”

“Put out? Such a nice way of saying fucking.”

The guy shrugged and smirked. “Or I could just drop to my knees and blow you. Bet you got a nice long thick cock.”

And now it was time for Louis to make himself known. “Jerome.”

His mate slowly turned to face him, his eyes growing wide when he saw Louis. He said nothing for a few seconds, then whispered, “You.”

“Can’t you see we’re busy here?”

Louis looked at the human before dismissing him. “He’s here with me. Leave us.”

“I’m here with him,” Jerome echoed.

The man glared, then disappeared into the growing crowd, and Louis was finally standing next to his mate. “Hi.”

“I remember you.”

Louis closed his eyes briefly. “I’d hoped you would, but it was a long time ago.”

“You kept me safe.”

Nodding, Louis asked, “How are you?”

Jerome stood and looked into Louis' eyes. Louis wanted to get closer, but resisted the urge. “You came to me, didn’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Louis furrowed his brow. He’d only gone near Jerome when he was sleeping. Jerome should have no memory.

“When Mom…passed. You came at night. Helped me sleep. I remember you. I dreamed about you.” Tilting his head, Jerome continued to look into Louis’ eyes. “Who are you?”

Louis shook his head, glancing around the club. “It’s not something to discuss here.”

Nodding, Jerome glanced around the club. “Then we should leave.”

Jerome pushed past Louis and he breathed deep, inhaling his mate’s tantalizing aroma. His fangs threatened to drop again as Louis spun on his heel, following Jerome outside. Once there, he paused and searched the area, finding his mate standing over near the main road.

Louis followed. “Cab?” Jerome asked when Louis reached him.

“Your place or mine?”

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