Sabien failed to avoid Aubrey. He misted into the loft and watched Aubrey sleep like some fucking creep. He even sat on the bed, looming over him like the vampire stereotype ready to feed while Aubrey slept completely oblivious.

Sabien did that for a week before telling himself to stop the nonsense. The last time he crept into Aubrey’s room, he nearly lost control. 

Aubrey, while touching himself, moaned out a name. 

Sabien.

His name. 

Sabien’s fangs dropped, his burning gaze trailing to Aubrey’s hand stuffed in his silk pajama bottoms. The motion underneath, of fingers gripping his hardened length, stroking and spreading the precum as he panted, unaware of another presence lurking in the darkness. His mauve shirt was shoved up, revealing the lean lines of muscles along his abdomen, quivering and flexing. A line of precum glistened on his taut stomach. 

It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, and he wanted to lick that trail right up. 

Sabien tore himself out of the loft, bursting into silent, scattered particles. His chest heaved once he reformed on the rooftop, letting the late-night air settle on his skin. His dead lungs expanded, fangs fully unsheathed. He bit hard on his knuckles, and blood ran from the wounds in crimson rivulets. 

He couldn’t erase the image out of his mind. 

The image played nonstop in his head of Aubrey bucking and moaning into his hand. 

Sabien wished it had been his fist Aubrey was fucking. 

“Merde!” He hissed and misted again. He hurled himself into the night sky until he couldn’t think anymore. He wasn’t a man. He wasn’t a vampire. He was the element, drifting through space and time. 

No body. 

No mind. 

No soul. 

He craved Aubrey. Desperately. He wanted to taste Aubrey from his dick to the tantalizing fount of his slim throat. 

He tried again to keep a distance but ended up stalking Aubrey. As soon as the sun set and before the sun rose, he watched Aubrey and memorized his habits. Where he dined. Where he worked out. Where he walked to take some pictures. When he hung out with Wesley, Sabien tried not to seethe with jealousy. They hung out a lot. 

Sabien’s vacation relieved him of nothing. No matter how far he traveled, Aubrey was the constant on his mind. It’d been a decade-long game of denial and seeing the look of sympathy on his sister’s face. She already accepted her fate, while he fought his viciously at the cost of torturing himself nightly. 

An annoying phone call from Zachary led him to The Vermillion. Red tinged his vision when he saw Zachary approach Aubrey and take his hand for the kiss. Sabien crushed the phone in his fist, hard enough for the screen to fizz out and splinter like a spiderweb. It was a thousand dollars, but replaceable. The last words from Zachary burned into his brain.

“Wanna bet that I can turn your pet’s resting bitch face to a fuck me face?” 

Sabien wanted to kill him. He had to suck in a sharp, unneeded breath. People were here. Aubrey was here, and The Vermillion belonged to Wonted’s vampire lord. After being welcomed and granted sanctuary, he should not do anything to threaten their supernatural existence. He should not start a fight in the vampire lord’s domain. 

One must not shit where one eats. 

Forcing calm was harder than expected, but the massive pool created enough distance for him to walk and clear the red haze. His demon wanted to tear into Zachary and toss him out of the rooftop. How dare Zachary encroach on Aubrey’s personal space? Share the same air? He stuffed the remains of the phone in his pocket, stuffing the primal rage as far down as it could go in his brain. 

Sabien wore a cashmere forest green sweater and black chinos. Dark brown moccasins adorn his feet, no socks. The broken phone was faintly visible beneath his front pocket. He didn’t care, intent on closing the distance between Aubrey and himself. 

He saw Aubrey’s outfit and was torn, loving the sight of Aubrey’s visible stomach and abhorring how others looked at him, attracted to his casually sensual demeanor. 

Satisfaction hummed in his veins when Aubrey smiled tersely and jerked his hands away from Zachary. Sabien had a decade to learn the subtle shifts and nuances of Aubrey’s personality and behaviors. The terse smile paired with the unamused look in Aubrey’s plum gaze said everything: do not touch me without my consent. Anyone else would have fallen for Zachary’s charms and melted over that kiss. He was gorgeous, yet Aubrey looked at Zachary like dog shit stuck to the bottom of his sandals. 

Sabien hid his satisfaction as he sauntered toward them after rounding the pool. Wesley noticed Sabien first, his eyes widening before flicking helplessly between Aubrey and Zachary. Aubrey’s back was to him, but Sabien could see the tension straightening his spine, keeping his posture stiff. He heard Aubrey’s response to the “lovely photographer” comment and huffed in amusement. 

“Lovely photographer is a stretch. It’s our first time meeting, and I can tell you that lovely is not the word usually associated with me.”

“Then what is?” 

“Professional,” Aubrey answered in a clipped tone. 

Aubrey’s dry reaction faltered Zachary’s smarmy grin and he curled his fist into his pocket. 

“Mm,” Zachary replied, rolling his shoulders and leaning his head back. “Neither of us is working, including Wesley.”

“Regardless, you’re still a model I’ll eventually shoot at the House. Wesley is my friend, and... I don’t know you.” Aubrey said.

Eventually. Hearing that made Sabien want to request all of Aubrey’s time if that meant removing any possibility of him shooting Zachary. 

“Well, what have we here,” Sabien said, standing behind Aubrey with a crooked smile. “I almost declined Zachary’s invitation to come out tonight. I’m glad I did.” He nodded to Wesley and smirked as Aubrey whipped around to face him. He relished their height difference and resisted the urge to cup Aubrey’s face and kiss him in front of Zachary. Mine, he wanted to declare. 

“Sabien,” Aubrey said with a hint of surprise. “Um, well, yeah. Good to see you.” 

He quirked a brow as Aubrey averted his gaze, looking rather... guilty. 

Wesley coughed and cleared his throat. “How about I buy a round for us? First one’s on me.” 

“I’ll join you,” Zachary said without taking his cool, gray gaze off Sabien. “I’m a picky bitch, and so is Sabien.” 

Sabien rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He could feel the tension bracketing off Zachary. He was moody at Aubrey’s swerving him. Not many people—humans—could turn Zachary down. 

As soon as Wesley and Zachary walked away, far enough to be out of earshot, Sabien broke the silence. 

“How’ve you been?” He barely hid the greed in his eyes as they drank Aubrey in. His sharp, slender face. His deep, purple eyes. His black hair as it framed his face. 

“I’ve been good. Had a lot of free time this month.” Aubrey said, fiddling with the shiny black buttons of his oversized cardigan. “You?” He still couldn’t meet Sabien’s gaze.

“Same about the free time this month.” Free time to watch you... stalk you... Do you remember crying out my name as you touched yourself? Sabien pushed his tongue against the back of his teeth. If Aubrey could read minds, he’d see the filthy visions of that night in 4K. 

Zachary and Wesley were taking longer than necessary at the bar, but Sabien relished the opportunity he had to be alone with Aubrey. 

“You... keep staring at me,” Aubrey murmured. “Doesn’t it bother your eyes when you don’t blink for that long?” 

Sabien blinked. “I’m quite adept at the staring game, you want to give it a try?”

A tiny smile tilted the corner of Aubrey’s lips. He shook his head. “No. I won’t win. I can pick and choose my battles, and this is one I’ll gladly admit to losing.”

Sabien hummed. They were tiptoeing around something, but what? Sabien had been a stalker, but he wasn’t planning to share that tidbit of information. Something made Aubrey fiddle and fidget. 

“Does it make you nervous when I stare?” Sabien asked. “I can’t help it if I do. You could have been a model.” 

Aubrey snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, don’t give me that. You sound like that greasy man at the party.” Sabien caught the blush darkening Aubrey’s cheeks and bit his tongue. Where else did Aubrey blush? He wondered. What other parts of him would turn red if Sabien kept complimenting him, or maybe even... 

Sabien clenched his jaw envisioning his hand coming down on the splendid curve of Aubrey’s ass. 

Fuck, he needed to chill. His white slacks couldn’t exactly hide his erection. He steered his focus back on the conversation. 

“Ah, right. Rex was his name? I don’t think he was an agent at all.” He said as if he wasn’t fantasizing about bending Aubrey over his knee and spanking his bare ass. 

“I don’t think so, either. He screamed scammer vibes.” Aubrey replied, blissfully unaware of Sabien’s sordid imagination as it took a darker turn, with fangs sinking into Aubrey’s ass cheek. 

Sabien chuckled after unclenching his jaw. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“I didn’t thank you... and...” Aubrey gulped, drawing Sabien’s gaze to the knot bobbing in his throat. “Sorry... Sorry about that night.” Aubrey said, “I wasn’t sure what came over me, but that doesn’t excuse the way I left our conversation.” Finally, Aubrey lifted his uncertain gaze, meeting Sabien’s eyes. 

Sabien didn’t care about the apology. He was drowning in Aubrey’s purple depths.  

“Sabien?”

“Hmm?” 

“I’m trying to apologize to you for being a dick and you’re just staring.” 

Sabien smirked after a slow blink. “Apology accepted, although it was an odd night. You were being accosted, and our conversation took a weird turn.” 

“It was eventful,” Aubrey added, his tiny smile transforming into a bigger tilt. 

And Sabien was helpless to it.  

That bigger smile caused his stomach to tighten into sensitive knots. What was the point of running away when he kept coming back? He was already stalking Aubrey. If he kept fighting the pull, he’d become an even bigger creep.

“I know they’re getting drinks for us, but... do you want to get out of here? Go somewhere quieter?” Sabien suggested.

Aubrey chewed on his bottom lip, and Sabien’s gaze dropped to his mouth. 

He couldn’t be jealous of Aubrey’s teeth. 

“I don’t know if I should leave Wesley with Zachary.” 

“Hmm,” Sabien mused, glancing at the bar. Wesley was chatting away, gesticulating like he was painting a scene with the story he was sharing. Zachary leaned on the bar, nodding and listening. Surprisingly, so. Zachary was not the type to give anyone his time. He only ever respected Vanille and Sabien – to an extent. He’d gotten more annoying after Sabien rejected his advances and did everything in his power to push Sabien’s buttons. Tonight was included in Zachary’s hair-brained scheme. 

Failed. Fail. Failure. These words seemed to be Sabien’s vocabulary for the month. Zachary had failed his mission in gaining Aubrey’s interest, although Sabien was concerned. Zachary tended to chase people who challenged him. He experienced more pleasure when they put up a fight versus falling over his feet at a second’s notice. 

“We won’t be far,” Sabien said, waving his hand to an empty cabana nearby. “There.”

Aubrey raised an eyebrow at the cabana, and smiled wryly at Sabien, “really?”

Sabien laughed, “Yes, really.” 

“If I didn’t know you, I would’ve thought you were trying to accost me like that Rex guy.”

Sabien actually snorted. “First of all, I’m not a greasy little hairball. Second of all, you know me well enough. I’m giving you a chance to know me better after that heartfelt apology.” 

This time, Aubrey laughed. Sabien decided he liked the sound.

And so did his dick.