Jon braced himself and shook his head. “No, I think they hired someone else.”
“Oh, Jon.” Gina’s shoulders slumped, and the eager smile of greeting on her face fell away. She glanced over her shoulder and down the hallway to her bedroom door. Jon knew Ben was in there. When Gina looked back, Jon knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
“Jon, you know I love you and I would do anything for you but—”
Jon held up his hand to stop her. He didn’t want Gina to actually say the words he knew were about to come out of her mouth. “I know. You and Ben have been nothing but helpful to me, and I can never thank you enough.”
“Jon—”
“Just give me until the end of the week, okay?” he said. “If I can’t find something by then, I’ll go stay at a friend’s house.”
“You know I don’t want it to be this way, Jon, but—”
Again, he cut her off. “Gina, seriously, it’s okay.” He walked over to give her a hug. “You’ve done more for me than anyone. You have your own family to worry about. Besides, I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.”
“It’s just, well, with the baby coming and all, I—”
“Baby?” Jon’s mouth dropped open. “What baby?”
Gina flushed. They both glanced down at her flat stomach, Gina lovingly rubbing her hand over it. “We found out today. I’m just three months along.”
“I’m going to be an uncle!” Jon shouted. He grabbed Gina around the waist and swung her around.
“Put me down.” Gina laughed as she smacked him on the shoulder. “I’ll throw up on you.”
He gently set her back on her feet. Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead. “I’m happy for you, sis. You and Ben deserve this.” He grinned. “I’ll be the best uncle in the world.” He tweaked Gina on the nose. “And I don’t want you to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“I still wish—”
Jon pressed a finger to Gina’s lips. “Shh. It’s fine. You and Ben have been wonderful. I couldn’t ask for a better sister or brother-in-law. I’ll find something. Don’t worry.”
Gina smiled, but Jon could see the worry in her eyes. As his big sister, she’d been worrying about him since he was in diapers. Jon seriously doubted Gina would ever stop fretting about him. She’d make a great mother.
“I met someone tonight,” he said as he turned away and walked into the kitchen, Gina fast on his heels. He needed to give her something else to worry about. His love life always seemed to be at the top of her list.
“Really?” Gina asked. Her voice sounded excited, just as Jon knew it would. “Well, tell me about him. What’s his name? What’s he like? Is he cute? What does he do?”
Jon laughed. “Believe it or not, his name is Nikolas.”
“Nikolas?” Gina frowned. “Where have I heard his name before?”
Jon leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nikolas Vaile, the man I was interviewing with,” he said then waited for the fallout. It wasn’t long in coming.
“Oh my god, Jon,” Gina whispered. “Is that why you didn’t get the job? Were you flirting at your job interview? And with Nikolas Vaile?”
Jon chuckled. “No, I wasn’t flirting at my interview. I never actually got to the interview. I went to the bathroom and by the time I got back, everyone was gone, even the secretary. I assumed someone else got the position.”
“So, how did you meet Mr. Vaile then?”
Jon shrugged. “I heard a noise in the office and went to investigate. I must have slipped and hit my head or something because when I woke up, I was lying on a bed and Nikolas Vaile was sitting beside me.”
Gina giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. “Is he cute?”
Jon shuddered. “Gorgeous.”
“Did you kiss him?”
Jon felt his face heat up.
Before he could even answer Gina, she started jumping up and down, squealing. “You did! You did!”
“Yes, we kissed.” And a whole hell of a lot more.
“Are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know.” Jon was pretty sure he would. Just thinking of the man made him ache. The thought of never seeing Nikolas again made him want to puke.
“Why not?”
“I barely know the man, Gina.”
“So?”
Jon rolled his eyes. His sister thought he was the best gay catch in the city. She thought anyone would be thrilled to receive Jon’s attention. Jon wasn’t so sure. He tended to be picky about the men he dated, which meant he didn’t date much.
“He invited me back to visit.” Jon could at least give that information to Gina, even if he wasn’t sure he’d ever go back, no matter how much he wanted to.
“That’s something, isn’t it?” Gina asked. “He wants to see you again.”
Or drink my blood, Jon thought to himself even as he nodded and agreed with his sister’s assessment. “Yeah.”
“Well, are you going to see him again?”
Jon shrugged and pushed himself away from the counter. “I don’t know. He seems like a nice guy and all but we just met today. Besides, we’re talking about Nikolas Vaile here. He’s like mega rich. I’m not sure we’re on the same planet, let alone in the same class.”
“Bullshit!” Gina snapped. “If he says he’s interested, then he’s interested. Stop finding excuses to not see him again.”
Jon held up his hands in surrender. He chuckled at his sister’s outrage. “Okay, okay, I’ll think about going to see him, promise. Right now, though, I could really use some sleep.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jon,” Gina said. “I didn’t realize how late it was. I just wanted to hear about how your interview went and then, well—”
“And you had to hear about my love life instead.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Gina laughed as she preceded him out of the kitchen. She paused in the hallway, turned, and planted a light kiss on his cheek. “I love you, baby bro, you know that, right?”
Jon smiled. “I do. And I love you, too.” Jon gave a playful tug on one of her long, silky curls. “Now, go join your husband and tell him I said congratulations on the baby. You two will make wonderful parents.”
* * * *
Jon shivered and pulled the covers up to his neck, turning on his back in an attempt to get comfortable on the tiny living room couch. This was the third night in a row he had trouble sleeping.
And when he did sleep? Good god, the dreams! Every one of them revolved around Nikolas. Nikolas making love to him. Nikolas drinking from him. Jon hadn’t experienced any unusual cravings—didn’t imagine himself latching on to someone’s neck, despite his initial fears. He only ached to have Nikolas drink from him. He craved it more than he craved his next breath.
Nikolas dominated Jon’s thoughts whether he was awake or asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about the man, couldn’t stop remembering what Nikolas could do with his hands and his lips and… Jon groaned. He’d been in a near-constant state of arousal since meeting Nikolas, and his hard cock throbbed. He felt like a randy teenager who’d just discovered gay porn.
Masturbating didn’t seem to help either. Jon had wacked off so many times in the last few days he thought his dick might fall off. One little thought of Nikolas and his damn cock jumped to attention, ready to go. He could have pounded nails with the thing… into cement!
He’d get a few moments of relief when he came then be hard again within moments. He barely had time to wipe the cum off his abdomen before thoughts of Nikolas sent him right back to where he was before he came.
Jon sat up and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. His skin itched, ached. The pit of his stomach felt like it was one big knot. He’d been this way for days. He didn’t know what it was, but it scared the crap out of him.
He leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. His mind immediately filled with Nikolas’s presence. Jon could almost feel the strong arms encircling him as if they were really there.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Jon wondered in his head. “Why can’t I stop thinking about you?”
“You are my rajaaka.” Nikolas’s voice filled Jon’s head. Jon wasn’t surprised. He’d been hearing Nikolas’s voice in his head since the night they’d slept together. Jon was pretty sure he was going crazy.
“Come to me, rajaaka. I will care for you.”
Jon sighed. What choice did he have? The time he asked for from Gina was almost at an end. He had to go, whether he liked it or not. Nikolas’s penthouse would do just as good as any place else.
Jon stood and walked into the kitchen. He wrote out a quick note to Gina, letting her know he was going to stay with a friend and he’d call her in a few days. He kept the letter purposely vague, unwilling to let his sister know exactly where he was headed. After propping the note up against a coffee mug on the kitchen counter, he grabbed his bag, quietly let himself out of the apartment, and started down the stairs to head to the nearest bus stop as his truck was still out of commission. He couldn’t afford a new tire until he found a job.