Above him, Eddie’s body convulsed, and a second later, hot seed shot into Thomas’s mouth.

Eddie’s orgasm triggered his own, making him explode in Eddie’s mouth without having had time to warn him. He realized with joy that Eddie didn’t pull back, and instead kept him in his mouth as wave after wave shot through his cock. His entire body felt weightless, and for a few moments his vision went black.

When Thomas finally released Eddie’s cock, having licked him clean, with Eddie having done the same to him, he couldn’t talk. It was hard enough to pump oxygen through his body.

His lover was breathing as heavily as he, his cheek now resting on one of Thomas’s thighs, his groin still braced over him.

“I’ve gotta go,” Eddie murmured, pulling himself up.

When he turned, their eyes locked for a long moment, and Thomas recognized the promise in Eddie’s gaze. Everything would work out all right between them.

33

“We have to split up or we’re going to lose one of them,” Cain said to Oliver, his patrolling partner for the night.

“We can’t do that!” his colleague whispered back under his breath. “Gabriel’s instructions were to stay together in teams.”

“Things change,” Cain said, shrugging. “There are times when you have to improvise. So go!

You’re taking the fat guy. I’ll follow that other goon. And don’t get too close. Those guys are dangerous.”

Without waiting for a confirmation from Oliver, he turned into the next street, careful not to lose sight of the vampire he’d been trailing through half of San Francisco. He and his associate had left the house where Xander was holed up, and had made various stops throughout town. At every point, Cain and Oliver had watched carefully to make sure they weren’t committing any atrocities, but it seemed that the two were simply on a reconnaissance mission. However, once they’d reached the Civic Center area, they’d parted ways.

Not knowing which of the two might possibly lead them to another hideout or more of their kind, Cain had made a quick decision. If Gabriel wanted to come down hard on him for it later, so be it. But he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

Foot traffic thinned somewhat as he continued to follow the other vampire west on Market Street. There were fewer bars and restaurants. Cain had to stay farther back in order not to attract any attention.

For several blocks nothing unusual happened. At the turnaround of the tram that ran along Market Street, the vampire turned into the Castro, and Cain followed at a safe distance. The vapor trail the guy left behind reminded him of a cheap brothel. It practically overpowered the vampire’s own scent.

There was more activity in the area he’d turned into, and Cain shortened the distance between him and the other vampire.

The man was of average height, dressed in casual clothes, without any distinguishing features. He looked average, yet at the same time something in his aura—which identified him as a vampire—seemed different from other vampires Cain had met. It was nothing he could actually see, but the closer he walked behind him, the more he could sense something radiating from him that he couldn’t put a name to. He only knew that he didn’t like it. Was this the superior mind control skill Samson had talked about? Strangely enough, he’d never noticed anything similar around Thomas, even though he had that same skill.

Following the vampire farther up the hill, Cain suddenly heard a voice he recognized. His head whirled to the side, and his eyes searched for the person. He saw her a second later: Roxanne was surrounded by three men who were clearly intoxicated.

“Step aside, or I’ll have your balls!” Roxanne claimed, but the human idiots didn’t take her seriously.

And why should they? They had no idea that the curvy woman who wore her black dress like a second skin could rip their balls out in less than fifteen seconds, should she wish to do so. For a moment, he contemplated helping her, but he wasn’t entirely sure whether she would even appreciate his help. She was more than capable of dealing with those three drunkards herself and would probably even get annoyed at him for having interfered.

But just in case, he figured he needed to at least offer his help. “Roxanne, you need me to take care of them for you?” he called out to her from across the street.

Her gaze shifted to him and she shook her head. “Don’t spoil my fun,” she answered.

Turning back in the direction in which his suspect had been heading, he froze. There was no trace of him, even though the encounter and exchange with Roxanne had lasted less than fifteen seconds.