Holy Cheesecake!

The hair on the back of Cory’s neck prickled. There was someone behind him, someone who was staring at him long enough to set off the vampire’s self-preservation mode. At first, Cory thought it was David. He was, after all, bent forward over a café table, wiping down the table’s surface. So David had a pretty good view of Cory’s ass, and the horny bastard never passed up a chance to press against it, especially at the most inopportune, inappropriate times.

But then his ears picked up the sound of David’s low tenor voice talking to someone about low fat options and knew whoever was behind him certainly wasn’t the werebear.

Slowly, Cory turned, expecting it to be maybe Draeth, the dracomage who wanted to study him. The bastard had a habit of sneaking up on Cory, after all.

It wasn’t Draeth. It wasn’t any of his usual stalkers. The man, boy really, stared at Cory with the gleam of one who had never seen a vampire before in his eyes. He was tall and skinny, no muscle mass whatsoever, with stringy black hair that looked like it desperately needed washed. He wasn’t someone Cory’d interact with. The kid wasn’t even remotely good-looking, face drawn and hollow, all sharp angles and no substance.

Forcing a smile, Cory asked, “Can I help you?”

“You’re the vampire, right?”

“No. I’m his evil twin, the anti-vampire.” Cory replied sarcastically.

The kid eyed him oddly, as if he actually believed Cory. Then he jerked. “There’s no such thing as an ‘anti-vampire’.” He snapped.

“Obviously you’ve never met a dhampir.”

Again, the blank-eyed stare.

Cory rolled his eyes. “What?”

“I want you to change me.”

Cory would’ve burst out laughing if the statement, and the kid’s face, weren’t so serious. “Are you insane?” Cory asked, grinning because he couldn’t help himself.

“Aren’t you a vampire? Aren’t you supposed to turn people who ask?” The kid’s voice cracked. Cory sensed desperation.

“Look, kid, I don’t know what you heard, but only Coven Masters can make fledglings. I’m not a Coven Master.” Cory eyed the kid from head to toe. “Besides, no one’d want you for a vampire. You look like death warmed over already.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed. “I know the rules. You HAVE to turn me. I asked, so you have to.”

Cory frowned in irritation. “I don’t HAVE to do anything, you little shit.”

The kid’s eyes suddenly turned nasty. “Yes you do. All I have to do is scream that you’re attacking me, and they’ll put you up for auction. I’ll press my rights. They’ll give you to me. Then, you’ll have to change me.”

Cory’s eyes narrowed, becoming their glowing blue. He felt his fangs with his tongue, felt his body slip into flight or fight mode, ready to tear this little son of a whore apart. “Without wounds,” the vampire spat, reminding himself he was at work and couldn’t lunge at the kid, “no one will believe you.”

“Then change me.” The brat insisted. “We can go to the back alley.”

“I’m not changing you. I’m not going anywhere with you.” People were watching. The whole shop had gone quiet. Cory flicked a glance to David. The werebear was tense, but he wasn’t moving.

“Fine.” The brat dug his hand into his pocket. “You won’t obey, I’ll make you!”

Cory scented it before the bastard had a chance to fling it in his face. He heard screaming, but it wasn’t him. He’d moved before he’d registered the thought, the human’s face so close to his own. But someone was between them, someone whose scent warned Cory not to move because he’d be seriously injured and injury would be detrimental to survival. Cory had the kid’s wrist in a death grip; the intruder’s hand was clamped over his, preventing Cory from letting go and preventing the bastard human from flinging the blessed water in Cory’s face. It was so very quiet in the café, no one daring to breathe lest the vampire somehow break free of the hand holding him back.

“Cory.” David growled. “Cory, step back.”

Cory shot David a dirty look. Step back? When his life was threatened?

“Lacorian. Stand. Down.” David snarled.

The use of Cory’s full name startled the vampire. Slowly, Cory stepped back from the killing edge, and his tunnel vision became peripheral. He could see his human co-workers staring at him with wide rabbit eyes, saw the exact moment they realized just how dangerous Cory was.

And he saw the exact moment those prissy bastards realized David was the only one who stood between them and a creature who was born to kill and live off them.

Cory let go of the brat’s wrist. David hauled up on the kid by the throat and wrist and dragged him to the café’s front door. A bystander, a human woman, hurriedly opened the glass door before David calmly threw the wannabe vampire out of the shop. He followed a second later. Cory didn’t stay to see what David would do to the human. Shaking and needing a moment to calm down, Cory vanished from his spot and reappeared in the break room where it was cool and quiet and, most of all, dark.

No doubt Rachel was already being phoned from half-a-dozen people about what he’d done. He held his own cell phone in his hands, waiting for the thing to light up and dance in his palm. He could imagine Rachel’s voice, griping at him about public conduct and how ‘we treat the humans’ blah, blah, blah. She wouldn’t call the shop’s owner, Demetrius, though, because Demetrius would just laugh and say the little human fucker deserved it.

He heard David’s voice outside in the actual café area, no doubt trying to soothe ruffled human feathers. No one dared to come back to find him.

It was a cacophony of voices he heard a moment later, patrons and employees near yelling as they got closer to the break room’s door. Cory looked toward the locked door and waited for the police to break it down.

Demetrius, followed by David and an office Cory didn’t know, entered the break room.

“Surprised to see me?” Demetrius asked Cory. Cory nodded slowly. “Your boyfriend called me soon as he heard the cops’d been called.”

Cory glowered at his boss. “That asshole ISN’T my boyfriend.”

“There’s the Cory we know and love.” David said with a smirk. Cory made a rude gesture at him.

Demetrius glowered at both of them, a punch of astral power warning them now wasn’t the time to play. Demetrius was a Gatekeeper, a mortal chosen at birth to become the temporal master who defended the mythic Gates to the Planes.

The café Le Coeur was just his side-job.

“Now,” Demetrius began, “I believe Cory was attacked?”

“The witnesses state the vampire attacked first.” The young officer corrected. “They say he lunged at the victim, and if it hadn’t been for Mister Deavreux, the vampire would’ve killed the victim.”

Demetrius smiled tightly. “I think we can call the vampire ‘Cory’ don’t you? After all, nothing’s been decided.”

The officer looked at Demetrius strangely. “He’s a vampire, sir. With all due respect–”

“A vampire who works for me, Officer Delsea. A vampire who was attacked in my shop.” Demetrius interrupted. “A good worker, and honestly I’m surprised he snapped now than before, when humans would come in just to harass him. He takes more shit than any vampire I’ve known, and he does it with a smile. Mister Deavreux has attacked more people than Cory. Why don’t you arrest him?”

“Hey,” David protested.

Officer Delsea sputtered. “He’s a VAMPIRE, Mister Allany.”

“So, because he’s a vampire, he gets half the rights of a lycanthrope?”

The officer remained silent. Demetrius nodded. “I see. Well, Cory, you’ll be happy to know I, at least, know what happened and I will give the police the surveillance tape to review. And I won’t be terminating you. However, for two weeks starting now, you’re on suspension without pay.”

Cory nodded but didn’t protest. It wouldn’t do any good after all. At least he wasn’t getting arrested.

“I’ll get my shit.” Cory muttered.

“Go out through the alley,” Demetrius said, “and go straight home.”

Cory didn’t respond.

Cory didn’t look at David – Mister Deavreux – either as he left.

David rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I should’ve let him kill the bastard.”

Officer Delsea looked scandalized when Demetrius laughed. “Maybe. But it was better you didn’t. Cory is Cory for a reason, my young polar bear. If he ever became Lacorian in self-defense, we’d all be fucked sideways.”


David had never actually been to Cory’s apartment before. He’d walked Cory home, but that had mostly been to irritate the crap out of the vampire. He knew the building, and he knew the area, but he couldn’t exactly walk in and say ‘Hi. I’m looking for the vampire Cory. What room is his?’ Cory had told him a lot of fugitives lived in his building, rejects of broken packs and people whom society discarded. They lived on the sufferance of their landlady and what jobs they could find. A few had families to protect.

So David was standing in the lobby holding a cardboard box and looking horribly lost.

People passed him by giving him odd looks. Why wouldn’t they? He didn’t live in here (his apartment was twice the size of Cory’s) and no one knew him to be anyone’s mate. Cory had never told anyone he and David had been fucking for a few months, so no one had a reason to tell him where Cory was.

“Do you need help?” A grizzled old woman waddled up to him, her milky eyes focused on his face.

“Uh,” David began stupidly, “yeah. I’m trying to find Cory.”

“Cory? Oh! That sweet boy. You’re a friend of his?”

Sweet boy? “Yeah. I don’t think he knows I’m here.”

“That poor child doesn’t get visitors. He doesn’t have many friends, I’m afraid. It’s good you’ve come. I think he needs a friend now.” The old woman gestured for David to follow her and she moved behind the front desk. “Third floor. C-6. Don’t worry. I’ll let you be a surprise.”

David smiled. -Did she just… wink at me?- He wondered. He thanked her and made his way to the elevator. Floor three, the doors ‘ding’ed open, and David stepped out in search of Cory’s personal space.

When he found it, he knocked once to be polite, then slammed his fist twice against the thick steel. He tried to look innocent as Cory opened the door as far as the chain would allow.

“What do you want?” Cory growled. “And how the hell did you find my room?”

“The nice old lady downstairs.” David replied. Cory glowered at him.

“Go away.” He started to slam the door when he noticed the box David held. “What is that?”

David smiled as sweetly as he could. “If I said it was cheesecake, what would you do?”

Cory slammed the door in David’s face. The minutes slowly ticked by, then the sound of a deadbolt being drawn sounded. A moment later, Cory opened the door.

“Only because you have cheesecake.” He said slowly. “But you aren’t staying.”

“Of course.” David replied, and he stepped into Cory’s apartment.

As the vampire rescued the box from the werebear, David looked around Cory’s territory. It was small, only a two room and bath sort of deal, with a small kitchenette. The den was the most furnished from what he could tell. A long couch piled with blankets, a coffee table made of dark mahogany, a carpet covering the hardwood floor, bookshelves full of books, and a huge flat screen television mounted on the wall all filled the room.

“Does the tv work?” David asked.

“’Course it does.” Cory replied around a mouthful of sweet cheesecake. He moved into the den. David followed.

“You really like that, huh?” David said, amused as Cory licked cake off his fingers.

The vampire made a face. “It’s an addiction.”

“So I see. Humans, never fear! This vampire only feeds on cheesecake!”

“Go to hell.”

“Hey, I walked all this way just to see you.” David pointed at the confection. “And I brought you that.”

Cory’s blue eyes slowly narrowed. “Fine. Go to hell after I finish this.”

“That’s better.”

Cory grunted.

David sat on the couch beside the smaller man and slowly reached to put his arm around Cory. The vampire was reluctant to lean into David, but he did, especially when David chose to hand-feed Cory the cheesecake.

“How can you taste this?” David asked.

“Same way I taste everything else. Scent. It’s faint, but it’s there.” Cory replied quietly. “You’re different. We have a bond, because I’m too much of an idiot for not telling you ‘no’.”

“Ah. That’s why you said I tasted ‘sweet’ the last time you took my blood.”

“Plus you’d had some beer, so.”

David smiled and gave Cory the last bit of cake. “How’re you holding up?”

Cory somehow ended up lying down with his head in David’s lap, the werebear stroking his forehead. “I’m in exile. How do you think I’m doing?” He heaved a sigh. “I want to go back to work. I’m going crazy.”

“I can take your mind off that.”

“If you try to fuck me, I’ll fucking kill you.”

David assumed a hurt expression. “Cory! I’m shocked that you think sex is all I think about.”

Cory snorted. “It IS all you think about.”

David couldn’t refute that. “Actually, I was thinking we could watch a move. I brought some.”

Cory almost sat up. “You were planning on staying the whole time, weren’t you?”

David grinned. “Cheesecake.”

“Motherfucker.” Cory sighed. “Fine. But you’d better get me another one.”

“Maybe I ought to report you to Cheesecake Addicts Anonymous.”

“Are you going to treat me like the prince I am or are you going home?”

David grinned and leaned down, pressing a chaste (for David) kiss to Cory’s lips. A moment later, Cory was lying on David’s chest, as the werebear was stretched out beneath him, asleep as the television screen quietly flickered moving images. But David wasn’t watching the movie. He was watching Cory, an extraordinary vampire trying to live a quiet life in a city that hated his kind.

David stroked Cory’s hair, and couldn’t help himself. He whispered, “I love you, Cory. And I’ll protect you.”

Cory shifted, rubbed his nose against David’s shirt, mumbled something, but didn’t wake.

David lay grinning, but he knew enough to keep Cory’s reply secret, even from Cory. And tomorrow, he’d have to thank Demetrius for the cheesecake.

Too bad he didn’t get laid because of it.