Page 29 of Little Wing
“Well,” Mateo began, wrapping his arm around Quinn’s waist to pull her back against him. “Before everyone else gets here for a little pre-grand opening drinks and mingling… I wanted to give a little toast.” His eyes met mine and I raised my glass in response.
“Go on, brother.”
“Everyone will know Little Wing as the resource for young vampires to use when they need guidance, so they do not have to succumb to the lust that drives us. These younglings can be on the right path without a nest. We were lucky, my brother and I,” Mateo gestured towards me. “We had a nest that shaped us into the fucking sexy vampires we are today.”
“Alright, alright, don’t inflate that ego,” Quinn huffed.
“We lost so many when these treaties were signed,” I added as I idly traced a small circle with my thumb on Lotus’s lower back. “They didn’t have to die the way they did. Had they been given the opportunity to learn and adapt… things could have been different. This is for them.”
A pause settled between us—only the music around us kept the pulse of the evening going. Life… there was life beyond our loss, and this was proof.
“To Little Wing,” Lotus declared, raising her glass into the middle.
“To Little Wing,” we joined, clinking our glasses before each of us took a sip.
After the toast, the crowd around us gradually grew as the evening carried on. Friends, investors, and those interested in our business came to join in on our celebration before our actual grand opening at the end of the week. More toasts would certainly be declared, but I was glad to have kept our first to just the four of us. Having Lotus beside me was a surprise, but one that I welcomed. As the crowd began to close in to listen to Mateo go on about our dream and mission, I felt Lotus slip from my grasp.
“Are you alright?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
“Just need to step away for a second.”
Her smile was present even as she walked away, though I could sense a shift in her energy. While I wanted her beside me every second of that evening, I allowed her the space she clearly needed. I admit I didn’t consider her level of comfort being around so many vampires. Given how she entered this life, I wondered how much resentment and sadness still shrouded her mind, even after all this time.
Rather than follow her like my body screamed to do, I sat on the couch beside Quinn, who was already mindlessly scrolling on her phone. “Don’t feel like hanging around Mattie?” I nudged her.
Without looking up from her screen, she motioned to the crowd where Mateo was clearly schmoozing. “He’ll be alright without my scent for a bit, wouldn’t you say?” She then glanced at me and arched her brow. “And you? Where is your saucy little thing?”
“She needed to step away. This isn’t exactly her usual crowd.”
“Parties?”
“Vampires,” I corrected. Before Quinn could add anything else, I leaned back and ran a hand through my hair. “What do you think of her? I honestly didn’t even think she would show up tonight. I wouldn’t have blamed her. Yesterday was a bit crazy.”
Quinn’s lips curled and she set her phone back in her purse. “Crazy? Now you have my attention.”
Lotus still hadn’t returned, so I confided in Quinn, leaving out some bits and pieces that I wanted to keep to myself, like the way I could feel Lotus press against my stiff cock or how I fought the urge to bury my face between her legs. Just the thought triggered a physical reminder. Settle down, Silas…
“So, you’re fucking?” she asked, reaching to pour herself a drink.
“No… it’s… this is new, whatever this is.”
“But the makeup, are we going to talk about it?” She licked the drop of blood that slid down the outside of her glass. “She looks like she just went to the store, grabbed the first thing she could find and called it a day. Mind you, it’s blended nicely, but it looks like she’s wearing a mask.”
While Lotus arrived without her contacts in, she still did have her face painted in a color that did not match the rest of her body. I noticed it was a lighter shade than before, but her freckles were still covered in a solid layer of makeup. There was a level of trust there—I could feel it, but there were still somereservations.
“I think this is more than just her fashion choice,” I muttered softly. “I don’t know—there’s still so much to her. She’s beautiful, but so calculated. I can’t go a day without thinking about her.”
The slender woman beside me nodded. While she wore the persona of an uninterested woman, Quinn loved Mateo. When it came to vampires and the subject of love—monogamy wasn’t as common anymore. Immortal beings had all the time in the world to fuck and enjoy as many partners as they wanted. Humans and vampires alike. But to love one person and not seek out another? That had become a rare thing.
“Go get your woman then. Tell her we look forward to seeing more of her.” Quinn tipped her chin toward Lotus who was back standing in the crowd, her expression looking more lost than when she first arrived.
I got back up to my feet swiftly and thanked Quinn for listening. Only after a few strides I was back beside Lotus, my hand reaching to touch her, anywhere. “Hey, want a drink?”
She shook her head, hugging herself after she glanced behind her. When I finally met her eyes, the deep ruby of her iris was replaced, dulled by those stupid blue contacts.
“I actually need to go home. I am truly sorry, but I can’t be out here for much longer.”
“Oh…” I looked back at Quinn and Mateo, giving them a quick wave, before returning my attention to Lotus. With my hand placed gently on her lower back, I ushered her through the crowd and toward the exit. “Work tomorrow?”
