“Good.”
They were quiet as the staff served them breakfast. Raul picked up the conversation again after they were left alone to eat.
“I want to apologize for this morning,” quietly Raul said.
Ji-Su looked at him in confusion. He didn’t remember Raul doing anything he needed to apologize for. “For what?”
“For pushing myself on you.”
Ji-Su was still confused. Raul had asked him if kissing and touching him was okay and he’d said yes. And he’d enjoyed it. So, he wasn’t sure why Raul felt the need to apologize. “You didn’t push yourself on me. I said yes and that I liked it, remember?”
Raul nodded. “You did. Regardless, it won’t happen again.”
Now Ji-Su wasn’t just confused, he was hurt as well. Raul didn’t want to be his lover. His nervous excitement from earlier faded. He was left feeling silly for thinking a few kisses and a hand job meant anything to someone as experienced as Raul. He’d probably only gotten him off so he would calm down and Raul could get back to sleep. Ji-Su was disappointed but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“I understand,” he said softly.
“Good.”
Thinking the conversation was over, Ji-Su picked up his fork and took a bite of pancakes. But Raul wasn’t finished.
“I am happy to have you here as my blood pet. But I think it would be best if I didn’t drink from you for a while.”
Ji-Su was back to being confused again. He set his fork down. “What? Why not?”
Raul met his gaze with clear concern in his dark eyes.
“I want to give you time to recover from everything Cedric did to you.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I feel fine.”
“And I want to make sure you stay that way. You’ve had a lot of upheaval—Cedric’s assault, being moved here to a vampire you don’t know and a place you didn’t expect to be, all of your belongings destroyed. That’s a lot to deal with in a short amount of time.”
“It’s true that was a lot. But I don’t need to hide under the covers because of it. I’m not weak.”
Raul reached across the table and put a hand a top Ji-Su’s. It was a warm, gentle touch but in contrast, Raul’s tone was almost brusque as he spoke.
“I don’t think you’re weak. I’m just watching out for you. Rest, recover and don’t worry about feeding me for a few weeks. I’m an old vampire. I’ll be all right.”
Ji-Su didn’t know what to say to that. Complaining about Raul essentially being kind and caring about him would be silly and ungrateful. Still, he didn’t think waiting before he began his duties as Raul’s blood pet was necessary. However, since he couldn’t make Raul drink from him and Raul seemed set in his decision, he didn’t have any choice but to agree.
“If you think that’s best.”
“I do,” Raul said with a firm nod.
“Fine.”
They ate in silence after that.
Ji-Su looked down at his plate. He appreciated that Raul wanted to look out for him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling thatRaul simply didn’t want to drink his blood. Raul’s demeanor was cool and distant, completely different from the light flirting and teasing humor he’d already come to expect from the vampire. The postponement of his blood pet duty along with the shift in mood felt like a rejection. That made him feel worse than any hypothetical breakdown he might have from feeding Raul soon after the events with Cedric.
Wanting to get away from the table so that he could be alone while he worked all this out in his head, Ji-Su ate as quickly as he could without looking like a starving caveman. His plate empty and ready to escape, Ji-Su raised his glass to take a last drink of his apple juice. But Raul spoke again.
“I cleared my schedule tonight so that I can take you to replace all of your gaming and streaming equipment. Let me know where you want to go and I’ll cover the cost of everything.”
At that announcement, Ji-Su nearly choked on his apple juice. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. You said you need to get back to practicing and streaming your games right away, didn’t you?”