Page 1 of The Blood Guardian

CHAPTER ONE

"Luke, come back. Don't be such a drama queen. It meant nothing. It was a one-off, no need to upend our lives over it." Luke kept walking out of the apartment and out of the building, but he didn't stop walking until he realized that he had no idea where he was going. He'd been warned about Adam and his wandering eye, but he had a way about him that made you think otherwise. He could make Luke believe he was the center of his world while simultaneously sleeping with three other guys.

Luke and Adam had been dating for over a year and eight months ago Adam raised question of monogamy and asked for exclusivity. Luke agreed touched by his desire for commitment.

All seemed well until a couple of months ago and then things started not adding up and even Luke as love struck as he was could not ignore the obvious. The late nights at work when he couldn't answer Luke's calls or texts and the repeated out of town work trips that were just ridiculous and always last minute. Then, the night came when he was called by a friend and told where he could find Adam with his new guy.

It was one of Adam's coworkers, and they were together at his apartment. He'd told Luke he had to work late and would call him tomorrow. When Luke arrived unexpectedly, Adam tried to make it look like nothing was happening, but with all the partial nudity, that excuse fell flat immediately.

The scene spoke for itself, so Adam switched tactics and tried to pretend it was nothing serious and that it only happened once. Then he tried to treat Luke like he was not seeing what he was seeing and being too sensitive. Luke wasn't that thick and without a word simply turned around and left.

He walked and walked with no destination in mind just a blinding need to wear off the rage that was boiling in his blood. Thankfully he’d never moved in with Adam even though he’d asked repeatedly throughout their relationship. Something had held him back either it was his need for independence or that trust had not been established either way it was fortunate.

Adam lived downtown and Luke had taken a cab to his apartment. Luke lived a couple of miles away in an apartment in a less affluent area. It was safe but more cost effective. If he’d headed home, he’d probably be there by now but in his rage he’d not paid attention to . . . anything. His mind had just been racing, trying to figure out why he'd been so blind or accepting. He was feeling so damned stupid.

Luke stopped, took a deep breath and looked around realizing that this was a business district and not an area he usually frequented. The places here were gritty and debauched in their entertainment not something he enjoyed as a rule. It was getting late, but he wasn’t ready to go home he needed something and then The Blood Rose appeared in front of him. The Blood Rose was exactly what he needed. It actually wrote the book on gritty and debauched.

“Where is he now?” Drakon asked.

“I have him working security at the Blood Rose. I was hoping he might get laid and solve all our problems.” Fane laughed. “Rall has been on edge since his friends began finding their beloveds. His attitude needs an adjustment before he inadvertently says the wrong thing to the wrong person. He’s getting restless and starting fights simply for their entertainment value. We need to find him some new friends.”

"He's a handful and may not be the one you want to bring home for Sunday dinner, but he's definitely the one you want by your side in battle." Drakon laughed. "He's a good, solid soldier, smart, skilled, and always ready for a fight, so do what you can to wear off his sudden angst and find him some new friends."

"I will, and he'll be fine. No one spends a night at the Blood Rose without finding a hookup. It would be unnatural." Fane assured. "A nice, spirited fuck or two, and he'll be as good as new."

Rall entered the bar and took a tentative look around it was filling up and the options were many. He knew why Fane had placed him there for the evening and he greatly appreciated the man’s concern. Fane was a very considerate boss.

The number of bonds that were suddenly taking place was surprising. They went from a coven with primarily single members to nearly half of them being bonded. Well, maybe it wasn’t that many, but it felt like a lot since a good share of them were Rall’s friends. They were people who went from free and easy to bonded and busy in a matter of days.

Fate was known to do this to flood a coven with new connections and new blood when she saw they had heart and potential, which was a good thing for them. But still, he didn’t see a beloved coming his way in the near future, so he would continue to sulk. He always got his share of action, but the thought of having a beloved, bonded lover and partner for life was an exciting thought. But he could wait; there were plenty of handsome men in town, and he had plenty of time, and with that thought, he began eyeing the room.

Rall approached the bar and ordered a tequila shot to get the night started. He was assigned to security, but he doubted there would be much, if any trouble. With so many vampires present problems just seemed to handle themselves. Rall was confident that the night would be easy and he could enjoy some drinks and some entertainment of the physical kind.

It had been at least a week since he’d taken pleasure in the hard body of a solid male or the soft curves of a little twink; he was ready for a little solace in the arms of a few good men. He laughed and downed the tequila and then ordered another. This was going to be a very good evening.

Luke entered The Blood Rose and took a quick look around. His first instinct was to walk back out again because this was not his scene. The smell, the clientele, and the low hum of activity just struck him as being all wrong. This wasn't his sort of bar, and he was about to leave when something grabbed his attention.

He stopped and stared, unable to tear his eyes away. There, leaning against the bar, downing a shot of something, was one of the most strikingly handsome men he'd ever encountered.

He stood and just stared for the longest time, unable and unwilling to look away even as people continually blocked his view. The place was damn busy, and maintaining a view of the man at the bar was not easy. Oh, how he wished he had even half a chance with a man that looked like that.

He was tall looked to be well over six feet maybe even six foot five. His body was solid and tight looking as if he worked out regularly and took good care of himself. His hair was black, and his eyes were a vivid blue that lit up whenever he spoke to someone. The smile that graced his sensuous lips was to die for. Luke could stare at this man all night and be perfectly satisfied.

Unfortunately, he was soon jostled out of the way by the crowd and found himself up against a wall in the back. Luke craned his neck, trying to see the man at the bar, but someone was blocking his view.

He stepped to the side and attempted to move along the wall to get away from the pressure of the group of people in front of him. His instincts were telling him to just leave but the fire in his gut was telling him to watch the man at the bar and try to move closer.

The man in front of him started coming on strong, too strong. He was not someone Luke was interested in, but he seemed to have trouble taking no thank you as an answer. When he asked Luke to go to the back hall with him, Luke made himself very clear and told him, "I just want to have a beer and go home. I'm not looking for anything else." Luke tried to push away from the wall, but the man started boxing him in.

“I’ll get you a beer honey and then we can go out back and get to know one another better.” He wasn’t ugly but wasn’t Luke’s type. He was older and pushy and smelled of leather polish. Luke wasn’t into the daddy vibe and preferred men his own age.

“No.” He said and tried pushing him away. “I am not interested please let me go.” Luke made a concerted effort to move away from the wall and disentangle himself from this man. The scene was starting to upset him in that this man was not listening to him and was proceeding to try and manhandle him by grabbing his upper arm and dragging him closer.

"I'm afraid that is not the right answer, honey." He sneered with his lips near Luke's ear. "You're mine for tonight. Relax, and you might enjoy it." He was a lot larger than Luke and strong. That fact had Luke frantically searching for assistance, but no one was paying attention to anything but their own good time. He thought walking in on his boyfriend fucking another guy was the worst his night could get, but coming to the Blood Rose had certainly eclipsed that event.

“I’m here with someone.” He tried to warn him off with a blatant lie.

“Who?” He snapped back with a terrible smile. He knew he was lying.

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