He waited until Ji-Su went into the guest room and closed the door before he continued on to the master suite. Sitting down on the bench at the foot of his bed, Raul ran his hands through his hair as a multitude of emotions swept through him. Fury that Cedric had hurt Ji-Su. Relief that he’d been able to help him before anything worse had happened. And beneath the anger and relief there was an almost giddy happiness. Ji-Su was here in his home.
He’d tried to put the sweet-faced young man out of his mind over the past few days. But since he hadn’t been able to do so, he’d resolved to track him down. There were only a few blood pet agencies in Michigan and assuming Ji-Su went through one in Dear Lake, that narrowed the list even further. It probably wouldn’t have taken long to find him. But now he didn’t have to search him out because he’d found Ji-Su by chance.
The circumstances for their second meeting were unpleasant but he couldn’t deny that he was happy that those circumstances had brought them together. And now that he had Ji-Su, he would make sure that the lovely human never experienced anything like what Cedric had done to him ever again.
ONCE THE DOOR CLOSEDon Raul, Ji-Su stood there for a moment listening to his footsteps fading away as he went down the hall. He was in a house with a virtual stranger, but he didn’t feel afraid. And he’d let a couple of friends know where he was and who he was with for the extra peace of mind. He’d also texted Cedric to let him know that he wasn’t returning to the town house today even though he didn’t particularly care if Cedric knew where he was. After hitting send on that text, he’d immediately muted Cedric’s notifications, not wanting to read anything he had to say.
Now that his head was clear, he was surprised that he’d ended up in this situation. Had he overreacted to Cedric’s taunts? Maybe. That wasn’t the first time the vampire had said something hateful to him. But it was the first time he’d freaked out as a result of his thoughtlessly cruel words. Maybe his annoyance at Cedric ignoring the boundary he’d set for his practice and streaming times yet again, combined with the blood loss had caused it. He didn’t know. He’d just known that he had to get out of that town house. At least he had somewhere nice to spend the day.
Ji-Su looked around the bedroom he was in. The style and furnishings fit what little he’d seen of the rest of the house—which appeared to be a big, luxurious ranch. A dark wood, four poster bed was the main focus of the room. Gauzy white fabric draped over the top as a canopy and fell gracefully down each post. The wall behind the bed was gray stone, the rest were painted a pale cream. Several throw rugs covered the wood floor, and curtains with a muted Southwest motif hung from the large windows.
Ji-Su looked at the clock on the nightstand. Almost six. After two months living on a vampire’s schedule, the early morning hour was now his bedtime. Tired and ready to sleep, he stripped down to his underwear, leaving the socks on as well, thenclimbed into bed. As he lay there, he pushed his angry thoughts of Cedric aside to think of Raul.
The big man suddenly appearing out of the darkness on the busy highway should have terrified him. Hehadbeen scared for a moment. But the second he’d recognized Raul, the fear had immediately drained away. There’d been nothing except concern and worry all over the vampire’s handsome face. And the dramatic way he’d swept him off his feet to carry him to his car had made Ji-Su feel protected and safe. He was grateful for Raul’s assistance. Wandering the highway in the dark while he was so out of it could have led to something much worse than a cut on his heel.
And he couldn’t believe the way Raul had cared for him once they’d arrived at his home—feeding him, washing and bandaging his feet. The vampire’s hands were large and rough, but every touch had been gentle as he’d quietly addressed his needs of water, food, and first aid. He’d verbally expressed his thanks to Raul for his kind treatment, but he wanted to do something more to show his gratitude after he left the ranch. Right now, however, he was too exhausted to think of an appropriate way to say thank you.
Ji-Su pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes. The memory of Raul sweeping him off his feet played again in his head. He had to go back to Cedric in the evening but as he fell asleep, Raul striding to his rescue was all he could think about.
Chapter 4
The next night, Raul went out to the stables to go for a ride before breakfast. He needed the time on horseback to think. What was he going to do about Ji-Su? Obviously, he wasn’t going to let him go back to Cedric. Even though Ji-Su had said Cedric wasn’t abusive, the events that had led to him staggering down the highway, dazed, upset, and barefoot were unacceptable. But he couldn’t simply steal Ji-Su away from the other vampire. Well, he could. But it would cause trouble and Ji-Su would be in the middle of it. He didn’t want to do anything that would cause Ji-Su more stress or put him in danger.
Besides, the human might not want to stay there at the ranch. And since Ji-Su’s contract wasn’t through Sanguis Syndicate, he couldn’t call up Everett and ask him to null the contract and blacklist Cedric from using their blood pet service ever again. He would need to call the agency Ji-Su was contracted through and find out what his options were. Most had a clause that would let a blood pet walk away from their patron if they were being harmed in any way. Surely this qualified.
He walked into the large building that housed his horses. The long, red stone corridor between the rows of stalls was kept meticulously clean by the stable hands. Most of the stalls were occupied with horses whose lineage traced back to wild mustangs. He rubbed the forelocks of two horses he passed before he reached his favorite mount—a big, black stallion he’d named Ace.
“Good evening, boy. Want to go for a ride?” he asked as he rubbed Ace’s glossy coat.
Ace nudged his shirt pocket, so Raul took out the pieces of carrot he’d tucked away there.
“Alright, there’s your snack.” He grabbed a dandy brush and began brushing Ace down, then moved on to inspect each hoof. Ace was groomed by his own personal stable hand but Raul still liked to prep him before riding. Once he finished, Raul slipped on the horse’s bit and bridle. Then he grabbed the black saddle pad and settled it on Ace’s back. Next was the Western saddle. He quickly checked it over then hefted it off its stand. But before he could get the saddle on, Burke, his personal assistant and head of his security, appeared outside Ace’s stall. Raul could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t there to deliver good news.
“Three guesses who is at our gates right now,” Burke said.
Raul didn’t need three guesses. “Cedric.”
“Yep. Banging on it and hollering that he wants Ji-Su.”
“That’s not happening.” Not wanting to take the time to finish saddling Ace, Raul set the saddle back on its stand, took the pad off, and swung up onto the stallion bareback. “I’m going down to the gate.”
“To kill him?”
“Probably not tonight. Grab a golf cart and meet me down there.”
“You got it.”
Tangling his fingers in Ace’s mane, he kneed the horse’s sides and rode out, exiting the stable and cantering down the long drive until he reached the gate. A guard stoically stared straight ahead while Cedric screamed curses at him. He stepped aside when Raul rode up.
“I didn’t think this was a guest you wanted to allow on the property, sir.”
“You were correct.”
“Raul!” Cedric furiously yelled. “You have something that belongs to me.”
Raul glared at Cedric from atop his mount. The young vampire had arrived in a big white Cadillac Escalade. A group of five people, a mix of humans and vampires, stood behind him. Cedric was dressed in a white turtleneck sweater, tan leather pants with an all-over Louis Vuitton print, and his face was pinched tight with rage.
“Ji-Su walked away from you. Looks to me like he doesn’t want to be with you anymore.”