Page 49 of Lore and Lust
“What time is it?”
“Twelve forty-five.”
Confused, Haruka scratches the back of his head. His hair is standing straight out instead of lying flat. He can’t imagine how ridiculous he looks. “Why did you not wake me?”
“Itried.” Nino’s eyes widen as he walks into the room and toward his corner desk. “You scared the hell out of me this morning. Your body was ice cold and you wouldn’t budge no matter what I did.”
Haruka laughs as he drops his hands from his meager attempt to quell his hair. “If I expend much energy, sometimes I need to sleep deeply to compensate for the loss of it.”
“I know that now,” Nino says, bending and unplugging his laptop from the wall. “I called Asao because I was worried and he told me. I thought I was going to wake up and have a nice, cozy morning with you—but instead I woke up next to a corpse.”
After feeding deeply from Nino the night before, Haruka thought he might not have needed the recuperation time. Perhaps withholding his aura during the feeding had expended an additional amount of his energy?
“I apologize, Nino. Is it too late for us to establish a more appropriate morning greeting?”
Nino pauses with his laptop and plug wrapped in his arms. He grins, then walks toward him. When he’s at the side of the bed, Haruka lifts his face. Nino bends down and places two swift kisses on his mouth. “Hi.”
“Good afternoon,” Haruka says, feeling the warmth of his affection for Nino glowing all throughout his body. Somehow, and even though they established the intimacy only a few hours earlier, kissing Nino feels completely natural. Like doing something one way when a different way may have been better all along.
Nino stands straight, contented. “I’m grateful you’re not dead.”
“It would take a considerable amount of starvation and trauma for me to truly die. You need not worry.”
“Right.” Nino smirks, walking backward toward the door. “We need to get these intent surveys stuffed and mailed out today. G will be back tomorrow, and he’ll definitely want to drag you all around Milan to introduce you to everyone. Let’s work in his office in the main house, since the formal seal and supplies are down there. Can you meet me after you’re dressed?”
“Of course,” Haruka says, obedient.
“Let Luciano know if you need coffee or anything. I’ll see you downstairs?”
“I will be there shortly.”
Nino closes the door. Haruka stretches his arms up in a yawn. He cannot remember the last time he’s felt so healthy, rested and generally alive.
* * *
When Harukaeventually walks into Giovanni’s elegant office in the main house, Nino has organized and laid everything out to accomplish their work for the day: surveys printed on parchment paper, a stack of corresponding envelopes, a wax seal and calligraphy tools to stamp the documents with the Bianchi Clan’s crest.
Nino has been busy this morning—drafting professional letters to introduce themselves and their research objectives. He’s also composed a second page with the agreed-upon survey questions. Fifty letters are already personally addressed to vampire couples across Florence, Milan and Venice. At present, Giovanni has acquired a list of three hundred contacts, and according to Nino, his brother will soon communicate with the purebred leaders of Rome and Sicily.
Throughout the afternoon, they type and address more letters, then stuff and seal envelopes while discussing potential next steps should the surveys yield the desired information. Nino also suggests that they rearrange the older articles ofLore and Lustso that the sections are further classified by each vampire couple’s rank. Haruka isn’t sure if he is willing to commit to this. It sounds like a lot of work. As such, he will inevitably procrastinate.
“I think it’d be much easier to find specific entries if we reorganized it,” Nino proposes. He is sitting at his brother’s desk and typing on his laptop. “Then, maybe you could consider having it reprinted? Maybe even distributed? What if Gael told other vampires and they come after you, too?”
Leaning back against the soft leather sofa, Haruka folds his arms. The low coffee table in front of him is cluttered with papers, stacks of envelopes and the wax seal. “My hope is that Gael’s reaction to the research is the exception and not the rule. Mass distribution is tricky since the information in the manuscript is sensitive. It is a matter of privacy.”
Nino shrugs. “We can change the names to numbers? Or only use first names? I just think valuable research should be shared. Why keep all this insight a secret? And you don’t even oversee a realm right now to help other vampires if they have questions.”
Haruka raises his eyebrow. In the silence, Nino glances up from his laptop. He smiles, sheepish. “Obviously this is not a criticism. I’ve never overseen anything other than my bar and right now I’m not even doing that.” He laughs, scratching his head before he goes on.
“What I’m saying is, maybe other realm leaders—goodones, vampires that are reputable and trustworthy—would benefit from receiving a copy of this? G told me he’d love to see it, and my father’s eyes practically bulged out of his head when I told him about it. I think the book has the potential to benefit the population. Like a roadmap to bonding. Maybe it’ll help put everyone’s fears at ease?”
Everyone’s fears.The decline in purebreds. A lack of successfully mated couples, and therefore, a deficit in thriving purebred families. Much hysteria, all rooted in bonding. It amazes Haruka. From his perspective, bonding was the biggest mistake of his life. “I understand your argument.” He sighs. “Let me have some time to consider it.”
“Sure, no pressure.” Nino looks down at his laptop and continues typing. “Just offering an alternative perspective. Speaking of my father, I think he wants to talk to you again sometime before you leave. He really enjoyed meeting you the other night.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Domenico Bianchi is gray and weak in his vampiric aura. Still, an undeniable air of dignity radiates strongly from the sophisticated male. To survive the loss of a mate is extremely rare considering your primary, practically bespoke source of nourishment is cut off when they perish. To be so dependent upon someone then have them disappear can create great trauma for a bonded vampire’s complex biology.
