Nikolas extracted his teeth from Jon’s throat and lifted his head to look down at his bond mate, his rajaaka. Jon’s face looked serene, and a soft smile played across the man’s lips. His eyelids fluttered as if he wasn’t quite conscious.
“My rajaaka,” Nikolas whispered softly, using the telepathic connection that had formed between them as he gently stroked the side of Jon’s face with his fingers. His heart pounded with joy, amazement, and just a hint of wonder at what he held in his arms.
Jon’s eyelids fluttered until they opened and he looked up at Nikolas with eyes that were no longer chocolate brown, but rather gold. Nikolas had never claimed someone before so he didn’t know if the change in color was a result of the bonding, but he suspected it was.
“How are you?” he whispered.
Jon’s face flushed, and he glanced away.
Nikolas grabbed the man’s chin and brought his face back to his. “How are you, rajaaka? Do you hurt anywhere?”
Jon shook his head, his eyes still avoiding Nikolas’s. “I feel a little dizzy and my head kind of aches, but I’m fine.”
“It will pass, rajaaka,” Nikolas said. “It is part of the claiming.”
Chapter Six
Jon cocked his head to one side, confused. “The what?”
“The claiming, rajaaka, making you mine for all eternity.”
Jon’s heart pounded. He suddenly felt so distressed it was like a physical pain in his chest. A madman had just totally rocked his world. Sad, really. Nikolas Vaile was a beautiful man who made love like a god.
Too bad he was also crazier than a loon.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Jon said—anything to give himself a few minutes where he could gather his thoughts…and then run. He groaned softly when Nikolas pulled free of his body and rolled off to the side, letting Jon up.
“The bathroom is right through there,” Nikolas said, pointing to a door on the far wall.
Jon nodded and rolled off the bed. He leaned down and grabbed his clothes as he went. He quickly shut the door behind him and leaned back against it, rubbing his hand down his face as the events of the night filled his mind.
He’d come for a job interview and ended up fucking the man he wanted a job with. How messed up was that? Even if Nikolas hadn’t said he could no longer have the job, Jon knew he wouldn’t have taken it. You didn’t get a job by sleeping with the boss.
Now Jon just had to decide what he was going to do. He still needed a job and a new place to live. He couldn’t stay at his sister’s house much longer. But first, he had to figure out how to get out of Nikolas’s penthouse without making a scene.
He went to the sink and quickly washed up. He grabbed his clothes and pulled them on then rested his hands on the counter and looked at himself in the mirror. He squinted, taking in the golden color of his eyes. They had always been dark chocolate brown. Now they weren’t.
What the hell?
And what the fuck were those two strange, pink puncture marks on his neck, right over his jugular vein? He frowned, remembering Nikolas biting his neck. He didn’t realize until now the bite broke the skin.
Jon grimaced and leaned closer. They were actually holes—or rather, the healed-over wounds of two perfectly round holes. But how could that be possible? Jon’s hand started to tremble as he rubbed it over the two marks.
There could be no way the strange thoughts suddenly floating in his head could be true because it would mean Jon was the crazy one, not Nikolas. Jon tried to put all the pieces together, but when he did, a cold shiver of fear shot down his back.
The job interview late in the afternoon, the red, glowing eyes, the teeth marks…all of it added up to one conclusion in Jon’s brain and made him more scared than he could ever remember being in his life.
Nikolas Vaile was a vampire.
Air rushed in and out of Jon’s chest so fast he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He pressed his hand to his roiling stomach and sank down against the wall. He just had mind-blowing sex with a vampire.
“Oh, my god!” Jon whispered as he realized he’d been bitten. Would he turn into a vampire now? Would he need to suck blood for the rest of his life, give up sunshine?
“Rajaaka?”
Jon’s gaze snapped toward the voice. He pushed his foot against the door to keep Nikolas out then laughed at the ridiculousness of that gesture. He was trying to keep a vampire out by pushing his foot against a door. How stupid could he get? Nikolas could probably destroy the damned thing with his pinkie.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Jon hoped his voice sounded somewhat normal instead of hysterical, like he felt. He took several deep breaths then got to his feet. He walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face.
Glancing at himself in the mirror one more time, he shook his head. He looked normal enough, although maybe a little pale. As he turned away from the sink and walked to the door, he wondered if he was pale because he was silently freaking out or because Nikolas had drank his blood.
Jon opened the door, jumping a little when he found Nikolas standing directly on the other side. The man looked worried, the corners of his lips turned down into a deep frown. “Oh, hey, I was just washing up a bit,” Jon said quickly.
He forced himself not to jerk back when Nikolas reached out to stroke the side of his face. He didn’t want to do anything to piss the man off. He was pretty sure Nikolas could rip him limb from limb. If not, he could definitely drink him dry. He could see the bottoms of Nikolas’s fangs sticking over his lower lip.
But instead of the terror he’d expect to feel at such a sight, Jon had a sudden desire to lean into the hand caressing the side of his face. He wanted nothing more than to wrap himself in Nikolas’s arms, feel the man’s body pressing him down into the mattress again.
“Are you well, rajaaka?”
Hell, no!
Jon plastered a smile on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. He pulled away and walked farther into the bedroom, glancing around for the door. He needed to get out of there and fast, before he gave into the allure of Nikolas’s handsome body.
The damn man was walking around naked…and aroused.
And damned if Jon could stop himself from taking in the beauty that was Nikolas Vaile. The man was drop-dead, wet-dream-fantasy gorgeous. He had wide shoulders, thick muscled arms, a rock hard abdomen, and a cock sexy enough to make Jon’s mouth water.
Damn! Just… Damn!
“Hey, this has been a lot of fun, but I need to be heading home,” Jon said as he edged closer to what he hoped was the exit.
“You would leave me, rajaaka?”
Jon frowned at the anguish he could hear in Nikolas’s voice. Seriously. What the fuck? It wasn’t like they had declared undying love to each or anything. Had they? Jon racked his brain. He remembered Nikolas speaking some words to him but he didn’t quite remember what they were…not exactly. He just remembered the deep timbre of Nikolas’s voice as he spoke, not the actual words.
“My sister is going to get worried about me if I don’t get back. I was just supposed to be going on a job interview and—”
“You need me as I need you, rajaaka.”
Jon’s heart fell. He closed his eyes against a wave of confusion. Nikolas had turned him into a vampire. He just knew it. He’d never feel sunshine on his face again, never feel the first morning light. He’d have to drink blood to survive.
Jon absently wondered if he would now kill for what he needed. Would he hurt the ones he loved? Be a mindless monster? Could he ever eat anchovies and garlic on his pizza ever again?
“I really need to go,” he whispered. He clenched his fists as he turned and headed for the door.
“I’ll be here when you need me, rajaaka.”
Forcing himself to ignore the saddened tone in Nikolas’s voice, and the desire he felt to throw himself into the man’s arms and never leave again, Jon kept moving. But once he reached the door, he paused and glanced back, taking in all the man was, before steeling his resolve, turning, and walking out.
Jon choked back an inexplicable sob. Leaving Nikolas had to be the most difficult thing he’d ever done. He felt like his heart was breaking into tiny little pieces with every step he took away from the man. By the time he reached the ground floor, he could barely breathe. Tears streamed down his face.
Jon hailed a cab and climbed in, giving directions to his sister’s apartment before leaning back against the seat. He didn’t care what the cost would be. He needed to get home and hide. He wiped the tears away but more fell. There was a deep, aching hole in his heart, and Jon was afraid the only way to fill it was to go back to Nikolas.
When the cab pulled up in front of his sister’s apartment, Jon grimaced. He could see light from inside the small house and knew someone was up. He’d hoped to have a few moments alone to compose himself before he faced his sister and her husband. Hell, before he faced anyone. His thoughts were scrambled, making his head ache when he tried to organize them. He just wanted to curl under his blankets and sleep, maybe dream about Nikolas.
“Jon?”
He heard his sister call out the second he opened the door. A moment later, Gina’s face appeared around the kitchen doorway.
“Well? How did it go? Did you get the job?”