Page 5 of Endlessly Raphael
Yves opens his mouth, revealing what can only be described as fangs. His eyes glow, radiant, and a wave of warmth encircles me.
I gasp softly. “You are… No. Those are folklore. Just stories.”
“Are they?” Eros asks, rubbing my back.
“Or does all lore start as truth?” Leander asks.
“What is your answer, Raphael?” Yves asks. “Will you join us?”
“Or will you leave and resume your old life?” Alessio asks.
“The answer is easy, if you ask me,” Eros says.
“Nothing easier,” Leander adds.
As my mind replays the last two decades of hunger, pain, and selling my body for a few coins and a place to sleep, Eros is right. The answer is easy.
“Yes. I will join you.”
Yves smiles, but my guess is he knew I would say yes all along. “Good. We are happy to have you.” He cups my cheek. “By morning, this old life will no longer exist for you. We’re off to the New World in a few days. Does that excite you?”
“Yes.”
Yves leans in and presses a kiss to my lips, in spite of the filth and dried blood covering my face. “If you are this beautiful now, I can only imagine what’s to come.”
“It’s very exciting,” Eros says. “Come. I’ll show you to your bath.”
I take Eros’s hand, glancing back at the others as he leads me to the stairs. I have no idea what I’ve just gotten myself into, but I have a feeling Yves and his brothers are something I thought only existed in stories from poor villagers.
He’s a vampire, and if what he says is true, I will be by morning.
ONE
Raphael
Current Day
“You look bored,” Thorn says as he guzzles a cocktail next to me.
“That’s because I am bored. Maybe we should go to Lair instead.”
“Nope. You need to get laid, and this place has way more options than Lair.”
“I’m not sure I agree with your assessment of what I need.” I roll my eyes even as amusement teases my lips. “Sex is not the cure for every problem.”
“But it’s a damn good treatment.” He bumps my arm with his. “What about that treat over by the bar? The one in the pink mesh.”
With a bored gaze, I check out the cute blond. “Not my type.”
“What is your type, exactly?”
“I’ll know it when I see it. I’m a little pickier than your criteria of breathing and ‘must have dick.’”
Thorn laughs. “I enjoy more than dick on occasion.”
“We know, Thorn.”
He chuckles but I continue to survey the room. Thorn is right about one thing. Sitting around at home watching my brothers and their mates isn’t doing anything good for my mood. It’s been a while since I enjoyed the heat of a mortal body next to mine. Maybe I should put a little more effort into finding someone.