“I said maybe. I thought you’d be at the airport by now?” He told me he was planning to fly back tomorrow. He’s currently in Prague.
“I got a last-minute request,” he says. “So I had to delay my flight a couple days. When’s the last time you had a good night of sleep, Jae? You’re up every night.”
Rubbing my palms against my face, I inhale and exhale a breath. My gut has been on a rampage now for weeks, and I have no clue what to make of it. “I can’t remember, but I sleep sometimes. I’m alright—don’t worry.”
“If you need help with the proposal, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Are you worried about budget planning? Remember, you don’t need to have everything perfectly figured out. Just estimates, and I can help with that as well.”
“It’s not that. I’ve got it, I promise.” Dropping my hands, I look into the screen and smile. I know it’s a weak attempt, but I give it my best effort. It’s nice that he’s concerned, but I’m really okay. I always manage.
There’s a soft moment of silence where we’re just looking at each other and he’s not saying anything. His face is serious. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, Jae.”
The words hang in the air between us, but the impact is like a punch to my gut. Which is the last thing my gut needs—further agitation. I take a breath and swallow, but it goes down like cotton is stuck in my throat. It’s too much and I’m too tired. I shake my head. “I’m fine, Jun. But thanks.”
He stands, moving the camera as he goes. “It’s just a feeling I get from you—like you think you’re an island. But I’m here if you need me.”
“Okay…” Definitely not going there.
He fumbles with the camera as he moves. “Look at this.” The screen flips to the other side, and now I’m looking at an aerial view of Prague. It’s like something out of a Shakespearean play: rolling hills backed against a blue sky and white, fluffy clouds hanging listless over red-brown rooftops. There are towers with pointed corners, a wide, glassy river and a series of stone bridges as far as I can see. I’ve never been to Prague, but this scene is stunning and makes me wish I was there with him.
“Wow. It’s beautiful!”
“You’re beautiful,” he says, flipping the camera back to his face and the sly grin on his lips. I rub my hand against my forehead. Every time he says this to me, it throws me. Like I was riding along okay on my bike, but then he sticks a metal bar in the spokes and I go flying over the handlebars. I never know how to respond, except to tell him he’s insane. But that’s obviously not very nice.
“You dislike it when I tell you this?” he asks.
“It’s not that I dislike it… I—I’m just not accustomed to it. So it catches me off guard. Actually… my mother would say that to me a lot, right before she died. So I… I don’t know.” Add to this, a model-esque first-generation vampire is saying it to me. Should he have his eyes checked? I thought they had amazingly sharp vision.
“Your mother was right. I don’t know much about her, but from that, I at least know she was a smart woman.”
This makes me smile. “Thanks.”
“I have a meeting soon, but I wanted to let you know my plans were delayed. Try to sleep?”
“I will. Good luck with your meeting.” We end the video call, and I’m staring at the screen, my mind fuzzy, gut twisty, but my heart warm. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing with this posh vampire, but… it’s nice. However long I’m on this ride for, I’d like to enjoy it. I’m going to.
I should go to bed. I should try, and I told Jun I would. But I really want to finish this section of line-item estimates. I’m so close to completing the proposal. Once I get it submitted and approved, the real work begins, and I want that. If I have to lose a few nights of sleep to bring it along faster, so be it.
Why does the time between a plane landing and a person escaping the airport and reentering society feel like a black hole? Or some sort of gap in the time-space continuum where you can’t reach them and you have no clue what’s happened to them.
Junichi’s plane from Hong Kong (a connection from London via Prague) should have landed two hours ago. I’m sitting in my office and leaning back in my desk chair, staring at my mobile like I’m waiting for it to sprout tiny legs and tap dance across my desk to announce that Jun is back. We’ve been texting and talking every day for almost three weeks now.
It’s 10:35 a.m. and my next appointment is at eleven. An older gentleman who’s had mild health issues his entire life—fatigue and rapid weight loss from malnutrition—is visiting me for the first time. The GPs have never been able to pinpoint the problem. His wife has convinced him to come here to be tested and see whether he carries vampiric DNA. I’m excited about meeting him.
Can you imagine? Going your whole life feeling mildly shitty, thinking that’s your “normal,” only to find out you just needed a little vampire blood to set you straight. I hope I can help him.
I sigh and turn toward my computer. I’m about to respond to an email when there’s a knock at the door. “Yes, come in,” I say in polite Japanese. The door cracks open, and Junichi pokes his dark, curly head inside. I stand and suck in a breath, eyes wide. Not cool at all. I should probably act less excited, but I cannot.
He steps inside. Of course he looks delectable. His fitted trousers are moss green, and he’s wearing a crisp white jumper with an autumny, deep goldenrod trench coat over the top and brown leather trainers. His beard is back as well, neatly trimmed and framing his beautiful lips.
“Hello, Doctor Davies. My phone died in Hong Kong. My apologies for the silence.”
“Hi…” I don’t know what’s come over me, but I feel entranced by him as I step around my desk and walk forward. Drawn toward him, and he smells incredible… Why can I smell him from across the damn room? And who gets off a plane looking like this? Did he go home and shower first? It doesn’t matter. Vampires. “S’alright… How was your flight?”
“Long.” He’s smiling and leaning with his back pressed against the closed door, his fingers wrapped around the handle. “Believe it or not, I have an emergency meeting in…” He flips his wrist up to shift his coat sleeve back, looking at his elegant watch. “Eight minutes. I wanted to stop in and let you know I’m back first. I also read through the proposal on the plane. It’s excellent. Once the rest of my board approves, you’ll be green lighted and fully funded.”
“Fantastic.” I smile. I’m standing about two feet in front of him now, staring at him like an idiot, so I say, “Are we still meeting up before having dinner at Haruka and Nino’s house tomorrow to celebrate the submission?”
He grins, his onyx eyes shining. “Yes. It seems our first dinner date has been crashed.”
I shake my head and take another step forward as I stare up at him. “No. This doesn’t count.”
“No?” He lowers his head slightly to look down into my face. “You’re asking me to dinner twice now? You may want to wait until after the first. See if I put out.”
“Two dinners… three, four.” I step into him, and the first thing I do is slide my fingers against the bulge at his crotch. When I feel the full curve of him against my palm, I give him a nice squeeze. He breathes, and a deep but subtle groan registers from his throat. My face is lifted, inches from his mouth. His breath is warm and spearminty when it brushes my lips. “I want as many as I can get.”
I raise my chin in a quick motion to press our mouths together, still gripping and caressing his cock with my fingertips. But I pull back to make sure he wants it too. He does, because he slides one hand through my hair and against the back of my head as he leans down. I lick and part my lips so that when he dips into me, his tongue instantly connects with mine. The sensation is magnificent.
His mouth is warm, wet and clean-tasting with a hint of lavender. I moan because it feels like we’re fighting—but in the best possible way. He presses his tongue into mine and I push back, like he’s challenging me and I meet him every time. Now both of his hands are in my hair, cradling my head and holding me captive.
My chest is so tight and my stomach and groin are burning. The fire actually feels as if it’s going up my spine. I’ve never felt like this kissing anyone. I’m still gripping him with my fingers, but I want him naked. I really liked these clothes a few seconds ago, but now I find them wholly offensive. Discourteous.
He lifts up from my mouth, slow, and I suck in a breath from the loss of him and his warmth. I swallow hard. My entire body is trembling. He bends to brush our noses together. I close my eyes because it’s the sweetest and sexiest thing anyone has ever done to me.
“The doctor isn’t shy,” he whispers. My eyes are still closed, but I can hear him smiling.
“I’m not,” I say, my throat dry. I swallow again. He’s massaging my scalp with his long fingers. His scent is so strong that it feels like it’s all around me.
