The Thrill of the Chase Read online

  While he stood on the top of the catwalk, looking down, Cedric appeared in front of him. “Appeared” wasn’t an exaggeration. That’s how it seemed, though no doubt it was just a trick of the light—or lack thereof thirty feet up on the catwalk.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Geordie said.

  “I could have caught you more quickly, but I didn’t want to startle you so close to the railing,” Cedric told him, his voice edged with anger. “You could have fallen over the side or down the stairs. I pay enough insurance already, thank you.”

  “This is all there is to this place?” Geordie asked, waving an arm over the rippling crowd below them. “You’re so protective of this? It looks like any other gay club in the city. I was expecting at least a few whips and chains. Tell me there’s at least a backroom somewhere.”

  “What my patrons do in their own private spaces is not my concern. This club, however, is. It is my duty to protect their anonymity and ensure their safety.”

  Geordie’s eyes drifted to the high ceiling, reaching several stories above the catwalk. He recalled the rows of bricked-up windows. The floors above were rented out as private playrooms, he guessed.

  “Well, that’s just what I’m talking about. The safety of this kid called Aaron. I don’t see him here. Is it possible he’s gone upstairs with a lover?”

  “I really couldn’t say.” Cedric pressed his lips shut and looked vaguely annoyed. Geordie accepted the statement as one with double meaning.

  “I’m going to keep at this until I find out, you know. It’s a job to me. Nothing personal.”

  “I assume you’re looking on behalf of a jealous lover Aaron has in the outside world. Have you ever considered what will he do to Aaron once you hand him the information he seeks?”

  “That isn’t my business. I can’t get involved beyond getting him the proof he wants.”

  “Will your client break up with him? Throw him out on the street?”

  “I assume so. I’d probably do that if a guy I was keep—er, involved with betrayed me like that. Not that anyone has. I mean, I don’t do relationships. Nature of the job.”

  “That would be your own reaction, but there could be others. Could you live with yourself if Aaron came to some harm after you reveal what you’ve discovered?”

  “We’re speaking hypothetically here. I want to make that clear.” Geordie licked his lips. He didn’t care for Cedric’s questions. Usually, he avoided asking himself the same ones at the completion of cases like this. It was Aaron’s choice to cheat. Not Geordie’s problem. At least, that’s how he’d always thought of it until now. “You mean if my alleged client…say…beat him?”

  “Or worse.”

  Geordie scowled. Pennington might well be the insanely jealous type. Would he have Aaron’s sweet face bloodied or order one of those long, smooth limbs painfully broken? The thought made his stomach twist.

  No, that wasn’t Geordie’s business. He had one job to do—to find out what Aaron was doing here, and with whom. He went back to scanning the crowd.

  This time, he noticed more detail as his eyes became used to the strange light. A lot of the guys were indulging in some strange activities—not exactly the ones he’d expected, though. Many young men were sitting on the older guys’ laps. Some of them were naked or nearly so, though that didn’t faze Geordie. He’d seen worse—heck, over the course of his thirty-five years, he’d participated in one or two orgies wilder than that. No, what made him stare was the way the seated clients seemed to be biting at the younger guys. Some were biting their partners’ necks, arms, and wrists. A few brave souls at the back of the room were stretched out across tables, nibbling at more intimate areas, some in small groups. No one was indulging in straightforward sex, though.

  It hit him all at once. This was role-playing of a very specific sort, one he’d heard of but had never observed first-hand. “This is some kind of vampire-themed party. Blood games. I get it now.”

  The way Cedric’s face twitched told him all he needed to know.

  Geordie was about to say more, to reassure Cedric that it wasn’t his place or inclination to judge as long as no one was getting seriously hurt, when he saw Aaron. He was slow-dancing with a dark-haired, bearded guy who was in the process of peeling away Aaron’s red tank top and licking his nipples with slow, deliberate tongue-strokes. Then, while Geordie watched, the guy bent down and bit on Aaron’s chest. Aaron threw his head back and arched his spine, offering himself. Geordie’s eyes widened when he saw a scarlet thread of blood streak down Aaron’s pale abs. It disappeared into the waistband of his jeans, which the bearded guy was hastily unbuttoning. Aaron stepped out of them and melded himself, naked and vulnerable, into the bearded guy’s body.

  “Damn,” Geordie said, astonished. “That guy is really drinking his blood!”

  Cedric’s hand closed around his wrist. Geordie noticed how icy-cold his flesh felt. “You wanted to know,” he said in a hollow voice. “And now you do.”

  Geordie swallowed. Would Cedric kill to protect his clients’ privacy? He realized he knew nothing at all about the man beyond the fact that he was slick and attractive. But the most evil people often were.

  “Hey, listen,” Geordie said, throwing his hands up and backing away. “I’m not here to throw stones—or maybe I should say stakes. You guys want to play vampires and werewolves versus naked zombies, go to town. I told you—I only wanted proof that Aaron was seeing someone else. Whether the guy’s good for him or not isn’t for me to decide. I’ve got the information I need now.”

  He fingered the smartphone in his pocket. If he took a photo, Cedric would smash his expensive camera. Pennington would have to be satisfied with eyewitness testimony. Maybe if he hung around outside, he could catch a shot of the bearded guy kissing Aaron goodbye and hailing him a cab.

  Cedric tilted his head. “What makes you think my friend Thaddeus isn’t good for him?”

  “Well, he’s tearing open Aaron’s chest with his teeth.” Geordie forced himself not to shudder as he looked back down to confirm that’s what he had seen. Yup, it was still going on.

  “It won’t hurt him. Aaron enjoys it. It gives Thaddeus life. When he is done taking a small amount of blood that won’t harm Aaron in the least, Thaddeus will lick the wound shut and seal it. Aaron will suffer no ill effects—not even a scar.”

  That explained why Pennington hadn’t noticed any marks when he made Aaron pose for those nude shots by the pool. Geordie didn’t quite see how such fast healing was possible, but again, that wasn’t his problem.

  He shrugged, trying to look more casual than he felt. “If you say so.”

  “I do. I trust Thaddeus. With my life. Certainly with Aaron’s. Thaddeus loves him, you see. And he loves Thaddeus.”

  “I figured that’s what it all came down to. An affair behind the sugar daddy’s back. Seen it over and over. You could have told me all this at the beginning. It would have saved us both a lot of time,” Geordie said.

  “I suppose.”

  “You and I could have skipped right over all this and had a drink together.”

  Cedric’s eyes gleamed in the reflected light of the video screen below them. “A drink would be wonderful. You see, in spite of everything, it seems I’ve taken a fancy to you, Geordie Chase.”

  “I…uh…I have to admit I feel the same way. How about it, then?”

  “Yes.” Cedric pulled him close. His hands roved over Geordie’s body, one dipping in between his thighs. Slowly he massaged the growing bulge there. The other slid down Geordie’s back, briefly squeezed his rear, and then moved back up. Geordie wondered if Cedric was checking him for weapons or a wire, though presumably someone could have stripped him down while he’d been unconscious in the spare room. No, this was more like the real thing, serving no other purpose than mutual pleasure.

  And it was pleasurable. Oh, yeah. No doubt about that at all.

  “You’re pretty hot, you know that?” Geordie whispered in Cedric’
s ear. For good measure, he flicked his tongue against the curve of his delicate and unusually pale earlobe. He couldn’t stop himself. Cedric was a bundle of male sexuality, exuding such power over Geordie he couldn’t have resisted if he’d wanted to. He didn’t think he’d ever felt so hungry to let another man possess him. Was this similar to what Aaron felt with Thaddeus? If so, Geordie could understand why he was willing to risk Pennington’s wrath.

  “Do you think so? How interesting.” Cedric laughed gruffly. The low rumble made Geordie so hard he could barely stand it. His pants tightened until they hurt. He was close to shucking them off right there on the catwalk. “Most people say I’m as cold as a corpse.”

  “You sure know how to turn a guy on,” Geordie joked. Yet it wasn’t inaccurate. The same chilly aura he’d sensed before still hovered around Cedric. This time Geordie knew he hadn’t been basking in front of an air conditioner. They’d been standing right here, together, and Geordie felt plenty hot and sweaty. Maybe it was a circulation issue. Briefly he wondered if it could be the aftereffect of some kind of drug Cedric took to enhance his vampire role-playing. Normally, Geordie wouldn’t have wanted to fool around with stuff like that, never mind that it was borderline illegal and could cost him his P.I. license. But just then, wrapped in Cedric’s intoxicating spell and wanting him so bad his chest felt about to burst, he didn’t care about ethics, or licenses, or even anything in the future beyond getting Cedric into bed—any bed. Or the floor, if none were available, though in a sex club he figured they’d be able to find some congenial spot.

  Cedric’s hand closed around the mound behind his fly and squeezed until Geordie moaned. Smoothly he unzipped Geordie’s black jeans and dipped his long, graceful fingers inside. He stroked Geordie’s erection though his undershorts until it jutted right out in mid-air. “I can tell. You are ready for most anything, Geordie Chase, aren’t you?”

  Geordie remained vaguely aware people below could see them just as easily as he could see them. Even Aaron and Thaddeus. He didn’t care at all. Everything was Cedric. Cedric was all he could see, hear, and taste. Cedric was enough to fill his world. He felt euphoric as he basked in that electric blue gaze. “Sure am. Just you and me. In your private office, or wherever it is you get jiggy around here.”

  “I’d be delighted to show you. You’re still up for that drink, I hope.”

  “Hell, yes,” Geordie said. “A little wine, or maybe something stronger?”

  “Stronger. Yes, I’m in the mood for the same.” Cedric leaned in. He half-closed his eyes. Geordie’s limbs went limp as he offered himself for the scorching kiss he knew was coming.

  It never did.

  Cedric opened his mouth, attached those velvet-soft lips to the rough stubble on Geordie’s chin, and sucked his way downward. Then, when he reached the juncture of Geordie’s shoulder and neck, he bit down.

  Right there. Right on the neck, Dracula style. Aaron and Thaddeus weren’t the only ones into kinky Transylvanian games, it seemed. Geordie knew most people—including himself, at any other time—would squirm, shout, pull away. In the end, he did none of those things. Curiosity and a deep desire to submit to Cedric overcame him. The sharp points of Cedric’s teeth brushed his hot skin. Cedric’s cool breath made a sweet contrast to the sweat that covered his body, drying it instantly every place his mouth made contact. Cedric’s tongue, equally cool, swiped at a certain spot as if to mark it. Soon Geordie felt a piercing sensation flash through him, not like stabbing but more like being penetrated sexually, everywhere at once. And it was wonderful.

  Afterward, Geordie touched his neck and looked at his fingers. Only the merest hint of pink. He wasn’t bleeding after all. It was all an illusion. But if Cedric hadn’t taken his blood, why did he feel so dizzy? He grew even more disoriented as Cedric stared deep into his eyes.

  “You see? No harm done.” Cedric smiled. He reached down and zipped up Geordie’s jeans. Geordie’s pants felt tighter than ever, though he suspected he’d be out of them soon enough. Then Cedric swept Geordie into his arms.

  Groaning as his will to stand upright seemed to desert him, Geordie slumped forward into Cedric’s embrace. The pounding of the music slowly faded as Cedric hoisted him into his arms and effortlessly carried him off down the catwalk.

  Softness curved around his body next—a mattress, and a big, wide, thick one at that. Geordie lay in the dark until Cedric lit a few candles that spread a mellow golden glow around a surprisingly old-fashioned, though undeniably masculine bedroom with a tall wooden wardrobe in one corner and a vast shelf of books in the other. This was one of the studio apartments at the top of the converted old factory building, Geordie guessed. Cedric’s private space—no doubt of that.

  Cedric shed his clothes right there in front of him and knelt on the edge of the bed. Nude, he was indescribably beautiful. Geordie drank every inch of him in with his eyes, though he was angry at being too groggy to appreciate the sight of that magnificent form bathed in candlelight.

  Cedric’s fingers brushed his throat. This time they felt surprisingly warm. Not a hint of the coldness. It was something about the downstairs space. Maybe an AC after all.

  “Does this spot hurt?” Cedric asked.

  “No. It feels wonderful. Especially when you touch it.” Like the way his body usually felt after great sex, Geordie thought. Speaking of sex, he wanted some now. He struggled against his own clothes, though he was so disoriented he didn’t do too good a job.

  “Let me,” said Cedric. His long fingers, surprisingly gentle, lifted Geordie’s hands away and reached for the buttons of his shirt.

  Chapter 4

  Geordie woke slowly. His whole body, from his neck to his nuts, throbbed with the aftermath of a more sublime pleasure than he could ever have imagined. What he’d considered good sex in the past was a furtive barnyard grope compared to what he’d experienced with Cedric. The words to describe what he’d experienced—and was still experiencing, hours later—didn’t exist as far as he knew.

  Thankfully, he hadn’t lost his memory this time. He remembered every delicious moment of his romp with Cedric. There had been biting, and licking, and maybe a little bloodletting here and there, but everything else he would have expected in a bedroom romp with a hot guy, too. It was like the best of two worlds—human and not human, even if it was all make-believe.

  He still wasn’t totally comfortable with Cedric’s vampire fetish, but it was really no weirder than some other stuff he’d seen in his years as a P.I. If a bunch of guys wanted to sharpen their teeth and do a little harmless biting while they got it on, so what? He could attest first hand that it hadn’t hurt at all. In fact, it had been exciting, and the danger factor had added to the intensity. Obviously Cedric and his friends were doing some kind of hypnosis trick to go along with it. Geordie had been skeptical about that at first, but obviously they’d figured out a way to make it work. The illusion of magic powers probably made the whole scene sexier.

  Cedric wasn’t in the room. The candle had burned down quite a bit, leaving him in near-darkness. Careful not to trip over anything this time, Geordie felt around until he found his jeans on the floor beside the bed. He pulled them back on just as the door opened and Cedric returned, wearing a silky gold robe that matched his hair. Geordie’s mouth watered at the sight of the candlelight playing over his trim body and rippling over the sleek metallic fabric.

  “What time is it?” he asked, not wanting to spoil the mood by pulling out his cell phone.

  “About an hour before dawn.” Cedric’s face was ruddy and glowing. The sex had been good for him, too, Geordie decided. Cedric noticed him staring and rubbed at his own cheek. “You’re amazed by my transformation, I can tell. It’s your blood. It restores my life, at least for a few hours. When the sun comes up I must take to my bed and rest, though as you can see this room is completely light-proof. Thankfully, sleeping in crypts and coffins went out with the nineteenth century. Too many health regulations and so on nowadays.”
He grinned.

  “You guys really take this stuff seriously.” Leaving his jeans unbuttoned, Geordie stretched back out on the bed in what he hoped would be an alluring position. He was gratified to see Cedric’s brows quirk up with interest. Geordie patted the mattress beside him and Cedric slid into the spot he indicated.

  “We have to be careful,” Cedric explained. “About the sun, I mean. Burning to a crisp doesn’t appeal to most of us.”

  “Oh. Well, sure. Whatever you say.”

  Cedric’s expression grew serious. “Before I take my rest for the day, I need to talk to you.”

  Geordie sighed. Abandoning the thought of a quickie, he laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back on the pillows. “About Aaron, I assume.”

  “Yes. I can’t let you betray his secret, no matter who hired you.”

  “And what are you going to do to stop me? I don’t suppose you’re thinking about killing me.”

  Cedric didn’t look especially horrified by the idea, which unnerved Geordie. “I hope it won’t come to that sort of choice.”

  “You mean you’d sleep with me one day and kill me the next? What the hell kind of game is this?”

  Cedric’s hand moved like a streak of lightning to his throat. He didn’t squeeze, just rested his fingers there. But Geordie had no doubt that a single motion would tighten his fingers and put him out of his misery once and for all.

  “You’re playing game of life and death, as you’ve already figured out. Not just for me and Thaddeus, but for Aaron, too. I told you. Thaddeus loves him. That makes me care what happens to him, too. Can you understand that, Geordie?”

  He let his hand drop away. Geordie stared at him warily. “It’s different for me. I can’t and don’t get personally involved.”

  Cedric motioned toward the bed beneath them. “Is that not what you were doing just a little while ago?”

  “With you. Not with Aaron. Look, how about a compromise? It wouldn’t be right for me to talk to him—that would be betraying my client’s confidentiality. But how about if you did? You know—convince him to come clean with the person in question. Be honest about his relationship with Thaddeus, or at least as honest as it’s safe for him to be. I’ll tell my client I’m still tying up some loose ends, and that’ll give you twenty-four hours. What do you say?”