Thicker than Blood

6. Geordi

CHAPTER 6

Geordi

I have no idea what’s happening as Elias leads me to a door tucked behind the massive staircase. I should probably be scared, but my instincts tell me that Elias will protect me. As we pass the other man, I offer a smile, but he only gives me a curt nod.

He’s an interesting looking man. He’s on the shorter side but a little chubby, with tan skin and gleaming green eyes that stare straight through me. The shock of thick black curls on his head softens him somewhat, but he seems suspicious of me. Totally makes sense, actually.

Elias opens the door, and his eyes flash brightly, like a lamp going on and off. A scuffle of feet and murmured voices reaches me, and instinctively, I reach out to grab his arm.

“You’re safe with me,” he says. “Come now.”

I’m led down a darkened stairway, and the closer we get to the bottom, the louder the cacophony of sounds. Music, voices, moaning. What the heck is this place?

As soon as we turn the corner on the small landing, I’m faced with a group of… people? Let’s go with people. There must be twenty or so of them, staring at me with curious eyes, like I’m something they’ve never seen before.

As my eyes focus in the dark, right away I realize that yeah, they aren’t vampires, at least not exclusively.

Some of them have pink skin, or green or jet black. Some of them have unusually large or oddly shaped eyes. Some of them are completely naked, displaying bodies that are definitely not human, with unusual genitals and appendages. Oh, the research I’d love to do.

Elias stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders. “You’ve seen him.”

What a strange thing to be so objectively desired by these beings, and I’m positive it’s desire radiating from them. I’ve never experienced this from a human, much less a vampire, et al. I’m not sure if I like it or if it terrifies me, or both.

One guy—a crazy tall man who looks like he’s made of stone with his bulging muscles and the gray pallor to his skin—leans forward, sniffing the air. “Divine.”

Another androgynous being slinks forward. Their body is sinewy and a soft, glowing red, as if lit from within. Long white hair flows around them, and as they get closer to me, I have a feeling I know exactly what this is. The solid black eyes are a giveaway. Demon.

“How delicious,” they say. Their voice sounds like a chorus of several people, pleasant but otherworldly. They lean closer, sniffing me. “Where have you been?”

“I… I don’t know what you mean?”

“He’s been in a lab,” Elias says. “Safe from you horny bastards. He’s my guest and not available for any of your pursuits.”

“Obviously,” a female voice says from somewhere inside the group. “Very greedy of you, Elias.”

“It’s my home. Shouldn’t I have the privilege?”

Someone else chuckles. “Lucky,” they murmur.

“Would you like me to show you around?” Elias asks before leaning close to my ear. “Don’t forget that you’re entirely safe with me.”

“I want to see it, yes.”

The group of onlookers part down the middle, giving Elias plenty of room to lead me deeper into the darkened space. Red and gold strobe lights shine patterns around the room, illuminating various vignettes of scenes of people doing things I can’t quite focus on in the dark.

“I call it Paradiso,” Elias says. “It’s paradise for the supernaturals in my favor. Here they can be themselves away from the prying eyes and restrictive rules of the mortal world.”

My stomach flutters and the scent of sex tickles my nose. “It’s a sex palace?”

“Not just sex, lovely mortal. It’s anything we want it to be.”

Taking my hand, he leads me down a short passage to a room that is a writhing throng of moving body parts engulfed in blood. I know this because of the metallic scent, but it’s also tinged with a variety of scents unfamiliar to me.

“What’s happening?”

“A blood orgy,” Elias says, inhaling and then humming softly. “Delightful, isn’t it?”

I turn to gaze up at the vampire, to find his eyes glowing and fangs on full display. Well, shit. He’s even better looking in his truest form.

“It intrigues you, no?” With his long fingers and sharp nails, he brushes a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Your scent is sweeter now that you’ve seen it.” He steps forward until our bodies almost touch, and I move back to prevent that from happening. “How many vampires have had the privilege of tasting you?”

A shiver moves down my back. “N-no one. Other than you u-upstairs.”

A sexy smirk spreads across his lips, giving him a slightly terrifying appearance as his fangs glimmer in the light. “That must be it then. The reason they sense something unique about you.”

“Who?”

“My friends.” He gestures over my head. “They could smell you and they liked it. Are you sexually pure as well?”

I pull my head back. “Are you asking if I’m a virgin?”

“I couldn’t care less if a mortal has touched you. I meant have you ever indulged your curious nature in a vampire’s bed?”

“Of course not. It’s against the rules.”

Elias tilts his head, the glow of his eyes pulsing. “Do you ever break the rules, Geordi?”

“No. They exist to keep us safe.”

“Perhaps.” He circles me and I follow the movement with my eyes. “But you must have been curious? Tempted, even. Your work exposes you to the world that so intrigues you.”

“I’m not tempted. Not by that.”

“No?” He leans in again, his lips brushing against my earlobe. “Your scent says otherwise. I can hear the blood rushing through your body to stir your cock awake. You can’t lie to me. It’s impossible to deceive me.”

Closing my eyes, I blow out a breath, trying to ground myself, but I sway anyway. “Well I won’t cross the line.”

“What a shame.” Elias moves in front of me, so close I have to tilt my head up to hold his gaze. “Lucky for you there’s one rule I abide by.”

“Wh-what?”

“Compulsion. I could make you do anything I want. I could peel off your clothes and spend the evening counting your freckles if I chose to.”

I clear my throat, desperate to push that visual out of my head. “But you won’t?”

“No. Simply because I enjoy consent. The blood is sweeter when both parties want the exchange.”

“Good.” I set my shoulders back. “Speaking of, I have a vaccine I want to test.”

He raises an eyebrow. “What sort of vaccine?”

“To protect against compulsion. I figured if it works, people could choose to get vaccinated or not. If not, then they’re vulnerable, and vampires could be free to remove that particular restraint.”

He wrinkles his brow. “Why would you develop such a vaccine?”

I worry my bottom lip for a moment, trying to block out the moans behind me. “I feel bad. I know it’s difficult for vampires to hold it back. They shouldn’t have to, but people also have the right to avoid it.”

“Do you think there are mortals who would choose not to accept the vaccine?”

“Of course. A lot of us aren’t afraid of you. Maybe more than you know.”

“Interesting. How do you propose to test it?”

“I would be the test subject. I just need a vampire who can attempt to compel me over a period of time to see if it works. I don’t know what the side effects might be yet, so I haven’t had any approval for clinical testing yet. I think if I could show them some hard evidence, the board would approve it.”

“You’re not afraid of it?”

I shake my head. “Worst-case scenario, it doesn’t work and I end up doing something I didn’t plan to do.”

Elias’s expression morphs quickly into something that looks a lot like concern. “I’d ask that you allow me to choose the vampire then. Your safety is a consideration.”

Swallowing hard, I nod. “I was hoping you would be willing to help me. I mean, you could actually try it first.”

His eyes pulse again, and in response, my stomach flutters. Oh good. New kink unlocked.

“It would be my pleasure. Not now though. I have more to show you.”

He offers me his hand again, and while I’m used to the cooler temperature of a vampire’s skin, there’s something about Elias’s that strikes me as different. He’s warmer than most volunteers I’ve met, and I’m dying to know why. I wish I had a thermometer with me.

We enter a room covered in pillows, with people lounging around like one big cuddle pile. Three absolutely stunning men are in the center with a man sitting on a chair between them. One is blond, one darker skinned, and the other has a shaved head. The man in the chair has his arms tied to a pole above his head, his legs splayed apart and secured to the legs of the wooden chair. He’s completely naked and covered in streaks of blood that drip from his neck, but the look on his face is absolutely blissful. When one of the vampires sucks the man’s cock, the crowd watching releases a variety of noises, from soft cheers to decadent moans, and I’m hit with a wave of heat.

“Ooh.”

Elias chuckles. “That’s lust you feel. Palpable, delicious lust. Can you taste it like I can?”

“No.”

“Shame.” He’s behind me again, and as I sway into him, his erect cock brushes against my ass.

“Is human lust the same as vampiric lust?”

He clicks his teeth. “No, curious mortal. It’s so much stronger for me. I feel it as clearly as I feel rain or sunshine or a breeze. If I were a weaker man, I’d be mad with desire right now, desperate to fuck anything in my path.”

His breath tickles the back of my neck and my cock throbs again.

“But I’ve had centuries to practice my restraint.”

“That’s good.”

“Mmm, yes. Now you see some of your peers aren’t so worried about the no-sex-with-vampires rule either.”

“What?” I look at the man on the chair again. “He’s mortal?”

“Oh yes, and here of his own volition. He’s come three times now. The triplets adore him.”

I watch with mixed emotions as one of the vampires—the triplets, apparently, who look nothing alike—bites into the man’s thigh while another sinks his fangs in just above the man’s nipple. He writhes and moans, bucking his hips to fuck the other vampire’s mouth, and a thousand questions fill my mind in response. How does a vampire suck dick with fangs? Does he retract them or is that part of the experience? How did a mortal find out about this place? Is it really safe to fuck a vampire, much less three? Would I, if given the opportunity?

Oh, this is bad. Very, very bad. The rules are meaningless here.

“You’re panicking,” Elias says. “Why?”

“The rules. How many mortals come here?”

“Perhaps it’s better if you don’t know.” He swings me around so I’m facing him. “Rules are important to you?”

I nod. “It’s how this works.”

“But is it? All of this has been happening for years, since long before the treaty, and everything is fine, is it not?”

He has a point.

“Would you like to go back upstairs?”

Would I? Glancing around, I’m torn. The researcher in me is in heaven, but the man who knows the rules is conflicted.

“Or…” Elias says with a smile, “we could sit and have a drink. You’re under no obligation to do anything but experience the atmosphere. Perhaps you’ll find you like it.”

I’m smart enough to know I should get the fuck out of here while my integrity is intact, but what if I never get the opportunity to see this again? If I pay attention, I’m positive I could come away with information that will help further my research.

With all the courage I can summon, I meet Elias’s gaze. “I think I’ll have a drink.”

His smile grows. “Delightful.”