Miami Moon: Vampires Lair

A.J. Ryan

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ The scene outside the mansion was a tame image of sexual openness and polite, pleasure-seeking indulgence compared to the opulence, the extravagance, the profligacy, the dizzy hedonism of the world Jason Cain encountered when he walked into the mansion: Candles bleeding molten wax from silver candlesticks and elaborate candelabras… A quartet of violinists playing Beethoven while the pianist sat back, enjoying the pleasure of a slim cigar, all five of them wearing nothing but bowties… Two men in tuxedoes draped over a naked young man on an eighteenth-century rococo chaise lounge, one man gnawing on the naked subject’s ear, the other gnawing on his anus, rimming him with his tongue and felching the glistening hole… Eight white doves, perched on the arms of a giant crystal chandelier, cooing and casually watching the decadence unfolding below… A gorgeous naked man with a studded collar around his neck and another around his erect cock, walking a seven-foot-long alligator on a lead as though it were his pet poodle. The reptile also wore a studded collar and snapped non-threateningly at the other guests as it crawled across the red Persian carpet, leaving a slimy, claw-marked trail behind it. Nobody seemed to mind nor care. “What is this place? Who are you people? Why am I here?” “This is Xavier’s Liar.” 1

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ © 2009 by A.J. Ryan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

An Eternal Press Production Eternal Press 206 - 6059 Pandora St. Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5B 1M4 To order additional copies of this book, contact: www.eternalpress.ca

Cover Art © 2009 by Dawné Dominique Edited by Stephanie Parent Copyedited by Erin Cramer Layout and Book Production by Ally Robertson

eBook ISBN: 978-1-926704-06-7 Print ISBN: 978-1-926704-14-2 First eBook Edition * June 2009 First Print Edition * June 2009

Production by Eternal Press Printed in The United States of America.

2

A.J. Ryan

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ A.J. Ryan

3

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Chapter One He propped himself up a little, dug his elbows into the sand, adjusted his sunglasses to sit a little more comfortably on his handsome nose, and stared, mesmerized and content, at the rays of light that glittered on the turquoise sea. In all his life, Jason had never seen the sun shine so bright; he had never seen sand so white or a sky so blue or an ocean so clear and beautiful. It was the perfect day. The only thing spoiling it was the fact that he had no money, no clothes except for the T-shirt, jeans and sneakers stuffed in his backpack, and nowhere in Miami to stay. He’d spent the last couple of bucks he had on a mango that barely touched the sides—on account of the fact that he hadn’t eaten for over twenty-four hours—and a cheap pair of swimming trunks that barely covered his ass, only so that he could enjoy the beach without lying there in his jeans or getting arrested for swimming in the nude. Nevertheless—money or no money—Jason was free. He was happy. He was smiling, and he hadn’t stopped smiling all the way down here. He was a handsome guy and had no trouble picking up rides along the highway, but it made it even easier with that boyish, toothy grin stuck to his face. It made him look trusting, innocent, and absolutely irresistible, giving him an express ride south. From Chicago to Cincinnati, from Cincinnati to Atlanta, from Atlanta to Jacksonville then on to Miami, there was barely a moment when he wasn’t in the backseat of a wagon or the cabin of a truck or the passenger seat of someone’s sedan, listening to their chatter in between seventies classics on the radio, being offered cups of thermos coffee, or helping to fold and unfold 4

A.J. Ryan maps. One lady in her forties bought him a burger at a roadside diner, then offered to pay him for sex at a motel. Right about now, listening to his flat, rigid stomach grumble, he almost wished he’d taken her up on the offer. But heck, he wasn’t complaining! Here he was on Miami Beach. His muscular body and smooth, hairless skin was already turning a nice shade of brown. He grinned and said hello to complete strangers. He didn’t care. He was anonymous, one of life’s great escapees. Not a soul in Miami knew him. He was more than a thousand miles from his domineering father, his nagging, shallow, fashion-queen girlfriend, and his stuck-up college classmates, not to mention the memory of that night in the alley—the night that robbed him of his confidence, his hope for the world, his faith in himself. It was all far behind him now. He had finally let it all go. He was finally free. This afternoon, lying on Miami’s South Beach, Jason Cain was a liberated man about to begin a brand new life. He would rediscover the man he once was, full of promise and potential, only this time he’d do it alone. Without the guilt and the badgering and the tragedy. It was time to wash himself clean and start over. It was also time for a swim. The hot sun had turned his body slick with sweat. When he sat up, rivulets raced down his large chest, his muscular arms, his six-pack stomach. When he stood, his trunks clung to the contours of his rather ample cock and his round, firm balls, leaving nothing to the imagination. But again, what did he care? He was a stranger in paradise. He could already feel his confidence returning. In his sunglasses and trunks, and with a body that looked as though it had always belonged to Miami, Jason walked assuredly down the beach and waded into the crystalline waters. The cool, salty sea embraced him, caressed him, cleansed him. He soaked up the aqua waters for what seemed like an eternity, floating on the calm surface, dipping under and emerging refreshed. As the sun sank toward the west, he waded out of the sea, running his fingers through his short honey-blond hair that had now turned a moist caramel brown. 5

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ He did not have a towel, so he let the melting sun and the warm air dry his body. As twilight set in, his flesh took on a bronze shimmer. In one afternoon he had shed his pale Chicago skin to reveal a new look, a new mask, a new man. From the beach he watched the day slip away, unaware then that he was looking at his last sunset. As that fiery orange ball melted into the sea, a full moon appeared in the east, shining down upon the Miami skyline. Little did he know, just as he was determined to become a new man, that Miami moon would soon become his new sun.

6

A.J. Ryan

Chapter Two In his last year of high school and the first few semesters of college, Jason had worked as a waiter in a busy diner in downtown Chicago. The work was hard, but the tips were good. Jason thought Miami looked like a town of big tippers, which was exactly what his hungry stomach needed. The electric blues and pinks and bright, buzzing lights of Ocean Drive lured him like a moth to a neon tube. Dressed in his T-shirt and jeans, with his backpack slung over one shoulder, Jason went from one bar to the next, asking if there were any jobs going. He was willing to work tables, tend bar, wash dishes, whatever it took. As the night crowds filled the Drive and the bars became crammed with dozens, then hundreds, of laughing, chatting, attractive patrons, Jason found it harder and harder to talk to the staff, who were having enough trouble trying to serve, let alone give any attention to a desperate jobseeker. It was at a club called Moonrise where things changed. Jason walked onto the open deck and into the dimly lit interior of the club, its throbbing music pulsing through his body. He turned more than a dozen heads, male and female, as he cut a line toward the packed bar. “What can I get you?” the bartender asked. He was strong and lean and handsome, with short black hair and a killer smile. He flipped a bottle of vodka in the air as he finished serving a pair of impressed young girls in small white skirts, pouring them two Bloody Marys that looked particularly bloody. But all the while he didn’t take his eyes off Jason. In fact, he seemed to zero in on him immediately. “I’m looking for a job,” Jason called over the pounding of the music. “Anything you got. I’ll start at the bottom if I have to.” “I’d like that.” The bartender smiled at him as though Jason had just made a pass. “What are you, a rent boy lookin’ to make good?” 7

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ “No,” Jason said, quickly embarrassed, although a few more rejections might drive him toward such a career. “I just need a break, that’s all.” The bartender winked and said, “Leave—” Jason was expecting it. He turned and began to make his way back through the crowd, past the pretty girls sipping cocktails and the hot guys drinking their beers, thinking to himself that the beach was going to be his room for the night. The night was warm, and the sand would be comfortable enough; then tomorrow he would start again. He’d swim in the ocean and start early, and by tomorrow night he’d have a job. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. It was the handsome bartender. “Hold up, dude, I didn’t finish.” He pointed with his finger to an alternate exit. “Leave—through those doors, follow the alley down the side, knock on the second door on your right. The red door.” His hand lingered on Jason’s shoulder a moment or two, and with a firm squeeze, he added, “My name is Zack. Tell them I sent you.” “I will.” Jason nodded, finding it hard to break away from Zack’s gaze. He offered him his hand. “Jason.” Zack shook Jason’s hand, then released his gaze and let go of his shoulder with a friendly slap. “Good luck with the job.” Walking down the dark alley that ran alongside Moonrise sent a chill down Jason’s spine despite the warm tropical night air. It had everything to do with the life he had left behind and nothing to do with Miami or his future, so with all the fortitude he could muster, he put his fear out of his head and kept walking. There were two grimy, flickering lights in the alley, each of them casting a shaft of light over a doorway on the right-hand wall. The first door was painted white, and as Jason walked slowly past it, it suddenly burst open with bang and clatter, enough to make him jump. A large, round kitchen-hand with blood, oil and gravy stains smeared down the front of his apron barreled out into the alley with two huge bags of trash in his fists. As the door flew open, the sounds and smells of a frantic kitchen flooded the alley. The man with the garbage gave Jason an indifferent glance, then threw the garbage bags into a dumpster and returned to the bustling kitchen. Jason took a deep breath and composed himself, then continued on, remembering that Zack had told him to knock on the second door on the right. 8

A.J. Ryan “The red door,” Jason said to himself aloud, arriving at just that, a red door. Mosquitoes and moths flittered and slapped against the bare lowwattage bulb above the door. Jason raised his hand, ready to knock, but at the last second, he hesitated. Something suddenly told him this moment was going to change things forever. Something inside asked him if he really wanted to do this. Something warned him to be careful. It was the same feeling he’d had that night in Chicago, seconds before he’d decided to get out of the cab and take a shortcut home. He didn’t listen to it then. But he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. As his heels began to turn, the red door abruptly opened. Jason stood there, hand still raised in the air, poised to knock, now staring wide-eyed at a short, portly man in his mid-fifties. He was wearing a suit and tie and looked suspiciously like some sort of butler. “Yes?” he asked, slowly, almost melodically. “Sorry, wrong door.” Jason winced with apology. He put his hand away and turned to leave when suddenly the man dressed like a butler said, “Did Zack send you?” Jason stopped. He didn’t want to get Zack into any sort of trouble, but the guy in the suit was beginning to weird him out. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so the butler answered for him. “You look like Zack’s type. I can pick Zack’s men.” Jason was puzzled. “I was just looking for a job,” he said politely, trying to set the record straight. “But I think there’s been some kind of mix-up.” The butler smiled. “No mix-up, sir. Please, come this way.” “Actually, I think I’d better get going.” “Where?” the butler asked, a knowing smile on his face. Jason sighed and sidestepped the defeat. “You have a good night.” He smiled back, then began walking back down the alley, back toward the bright lights of Ocean Drive and the beach beyond. He made it six, maybe seven steps before the butler called after him: “Do you believe in destiny, Jason Cain?” Jason froze mid-step, then suddenly turned. At first he thought that perhaps Zack had told this guy his name. Perhaps they had an intercom, or maybe he’d called through and said Jason was coming. But that was all Zack knew. That his name was Jason. 9

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Jason had never mentioned his surname. He was a stranger in paradise. Nobody was supposed to know who he was. “What did you just say?” The butler’s thin lips curled once more in that overly aware grin. “I said, do you believe in destiny? Do you believe it is your destiny to be here?” “How the fuck do you know my name?” The butler ignored him. “You’ve already taken destiny into your own hands in your decision to change your life. To alter the course that others had set out for you. The question now is, are you willing to allow us to pave you a new fate? One that will be more to your liking? One that will fulfill your…” He paused a moment and looked up at the insects flickering around the bulb. “What is the word in your head—” And then he found it and smiled directly at Jason. “—potential, that’s it.” “Us? Fate? Words in my head? Are you crazy?” Jason dropped his bag, angry and confused and distinctly threatened. He desperately wanted to pick a fight with this asshole. He also wanted to turn his back and walk away. But more than anything, he wanted— “Answers,” the butler whispered. “You can hit me if you like. Or you can leave. Or—you can come inside and let me offer you a drink. That’s where the answers will begin. That’s where the healing starts.” “Healing?” Jason asked, now more bewildered than ever. “Yes. Why else did you run away?” “I didn’t run away,” Jason asserted defensively. “I just…” But there was no honest end to his sentence, and his anger trailed away. The butler simply nodded. “I understand. By the way, my name is Mayfair. Please, leave your inhibitions at the red door.” With that, the short, portly man turned and disappeared, leaving the red door wide open for Jason to enter. Which, eventually, he did.

10

A.J. Ryan

Chapter Three One word got Jason Cain through the red door: healing. Fighting his better judgment, fighting the memories of the past, fighting every rational fiber of his being, he stepped through the red door with one thing in his heart. Hope. Hope that perhaps a new fate could be paved for him, just as Mayfair had said. The second he set foot inside the small corridor, the red door slammed shut behind him. Jason instantly turned and tried the handle. It had locked itself. “Mayfair! This door just locked! Where the fuck are you? I wanna get out!” But Mayfair was nowhere in sight. Ahead of him, the narrow corridor led to a descending set of stairs. Warily Jason approached it and peered down. The stairs led to a lower level that looked something like a basement, a bar, some kind of alcove. Slowly Jason took one step, then another, down the stairs. “Mayfair! Mayfair, can you hear me? Let me out!” As Jason called out, he continued lower and lower down the stairs, until eventually the entire room came into view. It was a beautiful, plush room that looked like its own private nightclub. Red lounges, retro coffee tables and sixties swivel pod chairs filled the space, while hundreds of candles illuminated the room, forming stalagmites of dripping wax on the tables and floor without any care or regard whatsoever. At the far end of the room, Mayfair stood behind a bar with a cocktail shaker rattling in his hands. He saw Jason, then went about setting a napkin and cocktail glass down on the bar. “Mayfair! Did you hear me? I said I wanna go!” 11

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ “Of course, Mr Cain. Would you like a cocktail first? It’s a house special.” Mayfair began to pour the drink from the shaker. A crimson crushedice concoction clinked into the glass. “No, thank you,” Jason replied, determinedly walking across the seemingly nonthreatening room toward Mayfair. “I told you, I wanna leave. Now!” “Yes, of course. That’s your choice, and we have to respect that.” “We?” “Let me get the key.” Mayfair searched behind the bar. “I know I set it down here somewhere.” “Who’s we?” Jason looked around suspiciously. “Is there somebody else here? Is this some kind of brothel? Are you trying to turn me into—” “Absolutely not,” Mayfair interjected calmly. “We’re not trying to turn you into anything you don’t want to be. Choice. Freedom. Responsibility for one’s actions. Kindness above all spoken words. Justice above all written laws. Love without discrimination. These are the things we believe in. If you want to go, I’ll happily show you out.” “Love and kindness? What are you, some kind of cult?” Mayfair chuckled. “Is that what you have to be these days to practice love and kindness?” Jason felt caught out. “No, of course not. I believe in everything you said. It’s just that, well, you say it in a creepy kinda voice, and you make it sound like you wanna put me in a robe and strap me to an altar.” Mayfair stopped pouring for a moment and looked at him slyly. “Oh, don’t be silly. We don’t bother with robes.” Jason eyed him suspiciously. Mayfair stabbed the cocktail on the bar with an ornate swizzle stick and slid the glass in front of Jason. “One for the road, sir?” “What is it?” The suspicion had not left his stare. Mayfair smiled. “An elixir. One we hold dear.” Jason laughed incredulously. “You’re gonna drug me? And you openly admit it? How stupid do you think I am?” “It’s not a matter of stupidity. It’s a matter of willingness. Again, this is all up to you. You will never be denied choices when you’re with us.” “Us? You keep talking about us! Who the hell is us?” Mayfair avoided the question. “Your cocktail, Mr. Cain. Would you like to drink it, or shall I see you out?” 12

A.J. Ryan It was as though Mayfair was daring him to take a chance, daring him to be brave—daring him to change his life. Jason grabbed the cocktail and drained the glass. He spilled a bit, and a slippery red trail made its way down his lips, his chin, his throat. Mayfair watched it, enchanted. Jason slammed the empty glass down on the bar. “Okay, so I’m willing,” he admitted, the drink going straight to his head. “Willing to do what?” Mayfair asked, his gaze steadied on Jason’s lips, his tone serious, yet intrigued. “Willing to change it all. Change the past.” “We can’t do that. We can only change who you are today.” “That’s what I came here for. To start ag-g-gain.” Jason was suddenly aware of his slurring words. His head was starting to swim. He blinked frantically to keep his eyes open. “Don’t fight it,” Mayfair said, walking around the bar and guiding Jason onto one of the high stools. Jason plonked down on it like a drunk teenager. “What the hell was in that el-l-lixir of yours? My dad’s a doctor, you know. I was supposed to be a d-d-doctor too.” “I know,” Mayfair said. “How?” “Take off your shirt.” Jason looked at Mayfair with giddy eyes, trying to stare him down. It was easier just to do as he was told. He swayed precariously on the stool as he tried to peel the T-shirt up and over his head, but Mayfair grabbed his trim, muscular waist and managed to steady the young man. “Here,” the butler said, touching his fingers lightly to Jason’s temple, “is the man you know you can be.” Mayfair moved his hand down to Jason’s chest then and placed his open palm over the young man’s large left pectoral. “And here is the man you once were. The man you need to become once more.” Jason’s head was swirling around the room now. He tried his best to focus on Mayfair. “How? Show me how.” “Is that the choice you want to make?” Mayfair asked in a slow, steady tone. Jason nodded. “Yes.” Then he slipped from the stool into a deep, endless ocean of darkness. 13

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Chapter Four Even before Jason’s eyes fluttered open, he knew he was in a car. He felt the motion of the vehicle, the hum of the engine, the smooth traction of the wheels on road… …then on dirt. Jason forced himself awake, somewhat groggily. His T-shirt was back on, and he was now sitting in the backseat of a long limousine. There was a man driving; it was Mayfair. Outside it was dark. There were no lights, no people, no sign of Miami whatsoever. Jason made out the moss-draped branches of bayou trees all around. He climbed out of his seat and banged on the glass screen separating him from the driver’s compartment. Without taking his eyes off the road, Mayfair lowered the screen. Jason looked ahead through the windscreen and watched the headlights shine down a narrow dirt road completely surrounded by the dense forest of the bayou. Occasionally the beams bounced off twisting black channels of water on either side, indicating they were the middle of a swamp. “Mayfair, where the fuck are we!” Jason demanded aggressively. “Did you just fucking kidnap me?” “Oh, not at all.” Mayfair laughed, finding the accusation ludicrous. “If I recall correctly, it was you who chose to enter the red door. It was you who chose to drink the elixir.” “I didn’t choose to be put in a car, unconscious, and driven out to—” Jason suddenly caught sight of a light flickering through the trees. It was quickly joined by another light, then another. As the trees thinned out, the lights became the windows of a house. Not just a house, a mansion. 14

A.J. Ryan Flaming torches appeared at the sides of the dirt road, and the dirt road turned into a driveway that veered in a circle around the front of the two-story mansion. Its façade was decorated in strings of tiny sparkling fairy lights, thousands of them. The windows were huge and flung open to let the night air in and the music of a party out. Jason heard the beautiful strains of violins and the tinkle of a piano. He saw the silhouettes of guests strolling on the grounds in front of the house, passing by the windows, mingling on the wide porch, making their way in and out through the large open doors at the front of the mansion. They were talking and drinking, laughing and chatting, kissing and caressing. “You’re taking me to a party?” Jason asked, confused and still angry. “Every night is party night at the Xavier mansion.” At first, the party guests were simply black shadows. Then, as the limo drew closer, Jason saw that they were all young men. All handsome and impeccably groomed. All of them wearing either a tuxedo— —or absolutely nothing at all. As the car pulled to a halt in front of the house, Jason couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful and bizarre scene before him, feeling all at once adventurous and apprehensive, courageous and curious, wary and reckless. Mayfair turned to him and smiled from the front seat. “I hope you did as I said.” “What’s that?” Jason muttered, unable to take his eyes off the house, the lights, the men. “I hope you left your inhibitions at the red door.”

15

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Chapter Five Mayfair opened the car door for him, and in something of a heady trance, Jason stepped out of the car. The air was hot and sticky and thick with the sweet, pungent scents of the bayou. There were other smells too: the strong, meaty aroma of a barbecue cooking, the sugary scent of champagne bubbles, uncorked and now popping and fizzing in crystal flutes. And cum. The air was heavy with the scent of masculinity, of sex, of sweet stillwet cum. “Here,” a naked young man said, walking confidently up to Jason with a champagne flute in each hand. He was tall, lean, with dark brown hair, a broad chest and shoulders, round biceps and a long, thick cock swinging between his muscular thighs. “My name is Marcus. Please, come with me. Xavier’s expecting you.” He handed Jason one of the glasses of champagne. Jason took it distractedly, then quickly turned to see where Mayfair had disappeared to, concerned he was about to be abandoned at this strange, surreal setting. Indeed he was; Mayfair was about to get back into the car. “Mayfair? You’re leaving me here?” Mayfair smiled and nodded. “I’m a gatherer. My work here is done, sir.” “A gatherer? What the hell does that mean? Mayfair?” But Mayfair was already in the car, and a moment later, Jason watched the red taillights blink and vanish through the trees. He turned back to the house, to the sound of the music floating from the windows, to the smell of cum mingling with spicy roasting meat, to 16

A.J. Ryan the men chatting and drinking on the porch, kissing on the grass, some of them dressed, some of them naked, some of them flaccid, some of them hard, all of them beautiful and young, all of them seemingly watching him, a look of hungry anticipation in their eyes. Marcus suddenly slid his arm through Jason’s. The young man flinched at the unexpected touch, more startled than uncomfortable at the contact. Marcus’s bicep brushed against Jason’s arm. His skin was hot—Jason could feel it through his T-shirt, pressing against his torso. “Come,” Marcus said. “I’m not sure.” Jason hesitated. “You will be.” Marcus winked. “One way or the other, you’ll soon know what you want.” He gestured toward the house with his champagne glass. “Shall we?” The scene outside the mansion was a tame image of sexual openness and polite, pleasure-seeking indulgence compared to the opulence, the extravagance, the profligacy, the dizzy hedonism of the world Jason Cain encountered when he walked into the mansion: Dead flowers curling in glass Venetian vases… Candles bleeding molten wax from silver candlesticks and elaborate candelabras… Naked men draped on the marble steps of a grand staircase, kissing each other ravenously while stroking one another’s cocks… A quartet of violinists playing Beethoven while the pianist sat back, enjoying the pleasure of a slim cigar, all five of them wearing nothing but bow ties… Two men in tuxedoes draped over a naked young man on an eighteenth-century rococo chaise lounge, one man gnawing on the naked subject’s ear, the other gnawing on his anus, rimming him with his tongue and felching the glistening hole… A man in a dinner suit thirstily drinking from a fountain in the middle of the mansion vestibule, his shirt and dinner jacket completely drenched with water… Eight white doves, perched on the arms of a giant crystal chandelier, cooing and casually watching the decadence unfolding below… A gorgeous naked man with a studded collar around his neck and another around his erect cock, walking a seven-foot-long alligator on a lead as though it were his pet poodle. The reptile also wore a studded collar and snapped nonthreateningly at the other guests as it crawled 17

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ across the red Persian carpet, leaving a slimy, claw-marked trail behind it. Nobody seemed to mind nor care. “That’s Herodotus, Xavier’s pet,” Marcus informed a wide-eyed Jason. “The collar is just for show. He stays here of his own free will too. We all do.” “What is this place? Who are you people? Why am I here?” “This is Xavier’s Lair. And I think you already know why you’re here. You just haven’t let your heart accept it yet.” Marcus took the alligator lead off the gorgeous man in the collar then, and with Herodotus in one hand and Jason in the other, he led man and reptile through the vestibule and under an archway lined with oozing candles. Wax dripped like rain. Several drops fell on Jason’s arms and hair, and he winced at the searing pain. Marcus, on the other hand, didn’t even flinch as the burning wax splattered on his bare shoulders, his chest, his back. It was as though he felt nothing. Once through the archway, they stepped into a dimly lit den. The walls on either side were lined with shelves filled with books—books packed with maps and drawings, old works of literature, handwritten diaries, hand-stitched manuscripts, and collections of ancient scrolls preserved inside leather-bound albums. At the far end of the den was a man sitting in the large chair, a lambskin draped across it. The man was completely naked. His goldenbrown flesh flickered and gleamed in the glow of the candles melting on a nearby table. His massive chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. His eyes danced blue, then green, then orange in the glow of the flames. A tight silver cock ring, constricting his huge, thumping, erect penis and bulging balls, sparkled and shone in the reflection of the shimmering candlelight. When the man saw Jason enter, his left hand slid across his chest and began twisting and tugging the piercing on his left nipple. At the same time, his throbbing cock slapped against his taut stomach as though begging to be fed. “Who are you?” Jason asked nervously. “A friend,” the man said with a powerful, deep voice and a spellbinding smile. “My name is Xavier. Welcome to my Lair. I hope you’re hungry, Mr. Cain. Dinner for two is served in the dining room.”

18

A.J. Ryan

Chapter Six The dining room was almost completely consumed by a long, ancient wooden table that could have sat sixty people and looked like it belonged in an Eastern European castle. The truth was, that was exactly where it had come from. Candelabras burned along the entire length of it, the table enduring rivers of boiling wax pouring onto its surface just as it had done for hundreds of years. There would forever be somebody lighting candles for dinner, and forever there would be somebody to clean the wax off. Forever. Xavier sat at the head of the table in an ornate, tall-backed chair, with Jason sitting to his right and Herodotus lying on the floor to his left, the alligator’s head tilted upward, its snout ready to clamp down on whatever food was thrown to it. Xavier was perhaps in his early thirties, implausibly handsome with thick, black, slightly curled locks, a perfect face, a godlike body, and those eyes. Those eyes that seemed to keep changing color. Jason’s eyes, on the other hand, were impossible to spot. They kept moving: from the candles, to the table, to the ceiling, to the cutlery being laid out before them by Xavier’s servants. To the red wine being generously poured. To the napkin being laid across his own bulging crotch. Then back to the one thing he was trying not to look at: Xavier’s thick, throbbing cock. “It makes you uncomfortable,” Xavier said in a deep, soothing tone. “The nakedness around you.” Jason tried to shrug it off with an awkward, honest laugh. “I’m not against it, believe me. In fact, it gets me kinda hard too. I’m just not used to it, that’s all.” 19

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Dishes were laid before them. Quail. Duck. Roasted vegetables. Barbecued lamb. Skewers of sweet honey-glazed pork. More food than two strong men could possibly consume. Xavier broke off a fatty duck’s leg and tossed it to Herodotus, who snapped it up in his jaws and swallowed it whole. “You wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable if you were naked too,” Xavier suggested. “But it’s entirely your choice.” “Thanks, but I’m okay,” Jason muttered, thinking about his own erection now pressing against his jeans, thinking it wasn’t really his gig to turn up to a stranger’s house and pull his rock-hard cock out of his pants. Although the recently discovered stranger in paradise deep inside him wanted to do it so badly it hurt. His balls were aching. His cock was pounding. The uncertainty and unpredictability of his circumstances made him feel daring and brave and—new! “Do it,” Xavier suddenly said, as though reading Jason’s mind. “Despite what you say, I know you want to. There are things we all want. There comes a time in all our lives when you have to start claiming those things. Opportunities. Freedom. Life.” It was just what Jason needed to hear. Suddenly he stood up, then effortlessly pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it on the floor. He took a deep, courageous breath, unwittingly puffing his large, strong chest and showing off his sculpted young torso. His hands traced their way down his chest, his stomach, and settled on the buttons of his jeans. He unsnapped the top one and started working on the second when Xavier slowly rose from his chair “Allow me,” he said, reaching toward Jason’s jeans. Obediently, Jason let his hands drop defenselessly to his sides and allowed Xavier to take over, his large, strong hands unclasping one button after another after another, watching eagerly as Jason’s jeans parted at the crotch to first reveal a trim blond patch of pubic hair, then a glimpse of the promisingly stout stem of his shaft, and then…Jason sighed with relief as his jeans opened out fully and his captive cock was freed. It was long and hard and fat, and it bounced up in the air with a youthful, virile spring. He kicked off his sneakers and let Xavier finish the job of undressing him by sliding his jeans all the way down his strapping, muscular thighs and down to his ankles, where Jason stepped out of them and stood 20

A.J. Ryan before his host, eager and aroused, handsome and hard, confidently defying every facet of his past, embracing every daring moment of his future. Xavier’s eyes drank in Jason’s beautiful, manly body. “You are magnificent,” he marveled, his own relentlessly rigid cock pointing its way to his young guest. Standing close, the bulbous head of his penis bobbed and throbbed less than an inch from Jason’s young, rock-hard shaft. With this handsome, dominant stranger before him, Jason desperately wanted their cocks to touch. He wanted to feel the fleshy meat of Xavier’s vein-rippled cock pressed against his. Instead, Xavier pressed his palm flat against Jason’s left breast, feeling beyond the thick muscle of his chest, feeling the thunderous hammering of his heart—feeling his pain. “You’re perfect,” Xavier whispered. “And yet so flawed. Like a diamond with a crack in it.” He spread his fingers wide, pawing Jason’s warm mound of chest flesh, brushing hard against the tight bud of his nipple, as though he was trying to draw out Jason’s very soul. “I can fix that. But first I need to ask: how open is your mind?” A nervous shudder shot through Jason, who was uncertain what Xavier meant. “I’m standing naked in the mansion of a man I don’t know, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by naked guys. Yes, my mind is—” Jason’s hand finished his sentence for him. Feeling dangerously curious, unable to help himself, he slowly reached down and began lightly stroking Xavier’s cock, balling the head of it with his thumb, cupping his huge, firm testicles tightly in his grip. “You wanna fuck me?” Jason breathed. He had no money, no job, but he liked the touch of Xavier’s dick in his fist. His own cock was hard, and so was his body, and ever since the woman on the highway had offered him cash for sex, the thought of fucking someone for a few quick bucks seemed less and less sinful and more and more like an easy, practical, adventurous solution to his financial woes. “You want me to perform for you?” he asked Xavier now. “I’m up for that. What are you anyway, some kind of movie producer?” Xavier smiled at the comment and shook his hand. “No,” he simply replied. “I’m a vampire.”

21

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ With a creased, concerned brow, Jason stared at Xavier for a long moment. Then suddenly he started laughing, like the last person in the room to get a joke. “Yeah, right.” Xavier raised his eyebrows, slightly amused but not revoking his comment. Jason laughed again, squeezing the shaft of Xavier’s cock even harder now. “Okay, then, so you like it kinky. I’m a new man. I’m willing to learn.” “Learn what?” “Just about anything.” Jason grinned. “What can you teach me?” “I can teach you how to take a life, and I can teach you how to save one,” Xavier said matter-of-factly. “I can teach you how to tear a man’s throat out and rip his body into a dozen pieces. I can teach you how to drain someone of their blood and not spill a single drop. I can teach you how to vanish. I can teach you how to heal.” Slowly the grin disappeared from Jason’s face. “You’re fucking crazy.” “Am I?” Xavier sighed. The smart ones always took so much more convincing. “Your name is Jason Stuart Cain. Doctor Stuart Cain is your father, a revered surgeon who is determined to make you every bit the success story he is. The pressure of this was beginning to get to you, not to mention the arrogant one-upmanship of your fellow classmates and the endless nagging of a superficial girlfriend you don’t love who simply wants to live the wealthy life of a doctor’s wife. In fact, you’re not even sure you like girls at all.” Xavier glanced down and smiled at Jason’s firm grip on his cock, a grip that seemed to unwittingly tighten as if to confirm Xavier’s suspicions. “Then one night your confidence, your hope, your entire world seemed to crumble around you. It was the night in the alley.” “You don’t know jackshit about me.” Jason squeezed. In his fist, Xavier’s cock was almost at the bursting point, the coiled veins bulging like ropes, his head the size of a plum so ripe it was about to split. “On the contrary.” Xavier grimaced with a smile. “I know everything.” “That’s right, you’re a vampire. If that’s the case, why don’t you go for my throat right now?” “Because I want you to choose your own fate. Die tonight, or live forever.” 22

A.J. Ryan “Seems like an easy decision to me,” Jason said, still refusing to treat the conversation as anything but a joke. “Do I get to live in a mansion too?” “Anywhere you like. Paris, Rome, Rio—there are lairs such as this one all over the world. I once lived in Transylvania, but hundreds of years ago we were forced to flee our home, driven out and dispersed by the original vampire hunter, Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Have you read Dracula?” “I think I’ve seen one of the old black-and-white movies.” “The character of Dracula himself is fiction, but the mythology is more or less real. Unfortunately all those stories, they paint us in a very bad light. Like all species, there is both goodness and evil within our breed. What sets us apart, however, are our extraordinary powers.” “To suck the life out of men?” Jason asked boldly. “That is one of them, yes. So is the power to communicate with other species. The power to see beneath the flesh. The power to heal. The power to live forever.” “This is bullshit.” Impatiently, Xavier suddenly reared up, his naked body seeming to increase in size and mass. The muscles in his chest and stomach flexed and bulged. His biceps knotted. He raised his hands and twisted them into claws, bearing down on Jason. His erect cock became even more engorged, hungry to devour its prey. But the one thing that scared Jason the most was the fangs. Like those of a snake, they folded down quickly from the roof of Xavier’s mouth. He opened his jaws wide and let out a terrifying hiss, the two-inch-long, needle-sharp fangs slippery with saliva and glinting in the light. In a panicked scramble, Jason tried to push himself away from Xavier but only succeeded in tipping his chair over and crashing to the floor. Instantly he tried to pick himself up, but Xavier’s fist suddenly had him by the ankle. With ease he slid Jason back across the floor, then lifted him up by the throat. Jason’s feet left the floor, kicking, trying to touch the ground. With a grand sweep of his powerful arm, Xavier sent the dishes and wine flying off the table and into the air. Herodotus roared and thundered across the floor in a frenzy, catching and devouring the roasted meats with a smack of his jaws. 23

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ At the same time, Xavier slammed his naked young dinner guest flat on his back on the table, pinning him down with one hand still clutched around Jason’s neck. The young man was strong, but not strong enough to pry Xavier’s hand off his throat, no matter how hard his fingers tried; nor was he strong enough to kick his way free, no matter how much his legs thrashed. “I thought you said it was my choice! Die tonight, or live forever!” Jason spluttered, almost at choking point, before screaming, “I don’t wanna die! I don’t want to die!” Xavier backed away a little, easing his grip only slightly. The vampire host took a breath and seemed to compose himself. His large chest stopped heaving, and his breathing returned to normal; his bulging muscles jittered and settled back down; his fangs slowly retreated into the roof of his mouth. Only the erection remained, his shaft still bursting and straining under the pressure of the silver cock ring. Then, slowly, the mighty Xavier released Jason from his grip. He stood staring at the naked young man lying on the table, panting, then smiled. “Very well. Your choice is made.” “What are you going to do?” Jason asked, eyes wide and alert, full of fear and anticipation, somehow hungry for more dominance, more danger, yet afraid of what was to come. Never in his life had he felt such contradicting emotions, so many embattled feelings. Xavier took another deep breath. “I’m going to let you experience more pleasure and pain than you’ve ever known before. And through it, you will discover your purpose.” Jason moved to sit up, unsure of what Xavier wanted him to do. But Xavier quickly made his intentions clear. He pressed his wide hand flat against Jason’s rigid abdomen. There was so much strength in that hand, so much energy, that Jason felt the nerves in his solar plexus yield and melt beneath Xavier’s touch. He lay flat on his back on the table, a burning candelabra dripping wax just behind his head. He caught sight of the flickering flames at the top of his vision. With tender strokes, he felt Xavier’s other hand brush up his legs, sweeping through the light hair on his shins, lingering over his thighs, massaging the muscles there before sliding both hands between Jason’s legs, moving teasingly toward his balls, which crawled and throbbed impatiently, longing to be touched and rubbed and squeezed. They did not have to wait long. 24

A.J. Ryan With a firm, almost painful grip, Xavier snatched Jason’s ballsack and began kneading and tugging it. “Oh, fuck.” Jason groaned, staring up at the vaulted ceiling and the flickering candles, eyes watering at the sudden pummeling of his balls. “Does it hurt?” Xavier asked in a low, almost menacing voice. Jason responded with another groan. “Yes.” “Good,” Xavier whispered. “Pain is a journey. One step, then another.” He reached beyond Jason then and grabbed the candelabra off the table with his right hand. Red molten wax spilled from the three burning candles and splashed on the tabletop. At the same time, Xavier’s left hand gave Jason’s balls one last squeeze, then felt its way up to the long shaft of his cock, now lying flat and stiff and straight on the young men’s abdomen. As Xavier began to stroke Jason’s dick, he held the flaming candles over Jason’s chest. “What are you gonna do with that?” Xavier gave him a dominant grin. “I have to hurt you—to heal you.” Before Jason could move, Xavier tipped the candelabra on a slight angle. It was enough to send a cascade of molten wax pouring onto his chest and left nipple. Jason clamped his eyes shut and let out a roar of pain. He tried to move, but Xavier had him by the cock, his fist tightening around Jason’s shaft, controlling the blood flow, forcing his head to expand into a giant purple ball ready to explode. “It’s alright,” Xavier urged him. “Let the veil of your fear, your disillusionment, slip away.” With teeth clenched, Jason looked down over his aroused, agonized body. He saw his cock bulging in Xavier’s grip. He saw the wax harden on his burning chest, a huge blob drying solid on his searing nipple. He watched Xavier move farther down his torso, the candelabra now hovering over his heaving stomach. The vampire tipped the candles as though drizzling a measure of wine sauce onto a perfectly realized gourmet meal, sealing in the flavors. The rivers of red splattered on Jason’s skin and made his six-pack stomach spasm violently. Another cry escaped him, and his arms shot out on either side, his fingers digging into the edge of the table, holding on as tight as he could. 25

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Still locked in Xavier’s grip, his cock became more and more engorged, longing for release in every possible way. “I wanna come,” Jason grunted through gritted teeth. “Make me come. Please, just make me come.” Xavier’s grin hadn’t left his face. “Not yet.” Indeed, what he did next would ensure it. As a sweat broke out on Jason’s frantic, furrowed brow, Xavier positioned the dripping candelabra over the young man’s stiff, swollen cock. He lingered there a moment, torturing Jason with inaction, waiting for him to say something. To beg for mercy. Instead, Jason’s nostrils flared with determination, and he looked Xavier in the eye. “Do it. I want you to do it.” But Xavier waited a moment longer. He waited for the pools of boiling wax gathered around the flickering wicks to reach their maximum capacity. When they were full to the brim, he poured the molten liquid. This time Jason refused to scream, instead spraying spit and pain through his clenched teeth. The wax splashed down the length of his yearning, burning cock, covering the pulsing veins and completely enveloping the distended head. Steam plumed, but within seconds the running wax began to dry, entombing Jason’s cock in a hard red coat. Excruciatingly, the slit of his cock was sealed shut. A tear of sheer agony slid down the side of Jason’s face, leaving a single streak from his eye to his temple, but apart from his short, sharp, staggered breath, he did not make a sound. With his own hand covered in spattered wax, Xavier finally released Jason’s shaft. He walked around to the end of the table and stood between Jason’s two splayed legs. He slapped his own giant, stiff cock on the table like a piece of meat, then bent his head forward, his tongue sliding its way up Jason’s leg, nibbling at the sparse hairs on his inner thigh, tasting the sweat that had been gathering between his legs, before finally taunting his swollen balls with his wet, tantalizing touch. Xavier’s tongue licked and lapped at the sweet sack for what felt like an eternity before his large lips wrapped themselves completely around Jason’s testicles and sucked them both into his warm, juicy mouth at once.

26

A.J. Ryan Jason caught his breath as his balls were once again rolled and pummeled, this time by Xavier’s pitiless tongue as it tumbled and tossed the young man’s balls around inside his mouth. At the same time, Jason felt an eruption building up inside. He dug his fingers deeper into the sides of the table, his nails scratching at the wood. His hips began to rise, aching to set free the fire that raged in his loins. The wax mask concealing his cock began to crack and splinter up the shaft while the covering around his cock’s bulging head began to break up like the peak of a volcano about to blow. “Oh, fuck!” Jason cried. “I’m gonna come! I’m gonna—” He was so close he couldn’t even finish his sentence. He shut his eyes tight and felt the charge in his testicles. He felt the blast tearing up his shaft. Then he felt something else… …something needle-sharp puncturing his sack, sinking deep, deep into his balls. Jason screamed. The hardened wax around the head of his cock suddenly exploded as a jet of cum shot into the air, followed by another and another, looping and splashing up his tensed gut, his clenched chest, his grimacing face. But all Jason could feel was the inferno in his impaled balls as Xavier’s fangs filled them with his fire. “Fuck!” Jason cried, opening his eyes in time to see Xavier raise his head between Jason’s legs, his smile framed by two bleeding fangs. With lightning speed, Jason launched himself off the table, grabbing the candelabra in one fist and clutching his balls in the other, backing up fast and putting the table between him and Xavier. “Jesus Christ, you bit me! You bit me on the fucking balls!” “I gave you a gift,” Xavier said, taking a step toward him. “Don’t come near me! Don’t you fucking come near me, or I’ll burn this whole damn place to the ground.” Jason took a step to the left, away from Xavier, but was stopped by a low, guttural growl near his feet. Herodotus’s thick tail swept the floor, threatening to propel the alligator toward Jason at any second, jaws open wide. “Herodotus, no,” Xavier commanded. Jason’s eyes shot from the alligator to Xavier, but he didn’t wait around to ask why the vampire had ordered his loyal pet to back down. 27

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Instead, Jason caught sight of the door and made a break for it, leaping onto a chair, over the table and out of the room. Candelabra in hand, he bolted down a corridor. He expected Xavier to follow him, but with one or two glances behind him, Jason saw no sign of the vampire. Frantically he charged out into the vestibule, where naked men continued to fuck and the quartet played on. Nobody looked twice at him. Nobody seemed at all concerned. As though they all knew he’d be back. Only the curious doves in the chandelier watched Jason Cain’s hurried escape.

28

A.J. Ryan

Chapter Seven His feet sank into the mud, and the black bayou water splashed up around his shins, his thighs. The light from the candle flames trying desperately to stay alive as he dashed through the night air illuminated his glistening naked body, wet with sweat, painted with cracked red wax and spattered with cum now slipping down his tanned torso. The lights of the house were long gone. The full moon cast a strange blue glow through the bayou, shadowed by long branches and dripping vines. The sounds of men fucking and champagne corks popping and violins playing had quickly faded away, leaving nothing but the sound of his panicked breathing, frogs chirping and water slushing madly around him as he waded through it, trying to find a way out. He had no idea where he was going. No idea how far the bayou stretched. If he was lucky, he might stumble across a road in the next few feet, or he could be staggering through the swamp for the next three days. That is, if he survived that long. Suddenly, he heard a swoosh of water in the darkness behind him. Jason stopped dead, thigh-deep in the swamp, moss-covered bayou branches sinking into the marsh all around him. He turned quickly—too quickly—and dropped the candelabra, the flames hissing as they hit the water. In the light of the moon, he caught a glimpse of a large reptilian tail with two ridges of craggy scales running down its length. It slid through the water before disappearing beneath the surface, leaving small eddies of swirls and currents. Another splash in the water off to his left was enough to make him realize things were about to get a whole lot worse. 29

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ Panic-stricken, Jason began to run as fast as he could, churning through the swampy waters with all his strength and speed. Suddenly the waters turned into a storm all around him, a frenzy of whipping tails and thrashing bodies and the heads of a dozen or more alligators snapping and chomping through the bayou, all headed straight from him, coming from all directions. Jason’s legs pumped. His bursting, fear-filled eyes caught sight of a small muddy island ahead, covered by the twisted roots of a tree that stretched high into the night. He knew alligators can’t climb—he’d be safe if only he could make it to that tree. The hungry alligators powered through the water on all sides, jaws chomping, eyes rolling back in their heads, ready for the kill. Jason crashed through the swamp, the island and the tree only a few feet away now. The waters becoming more and more shallow with every step. Then suddenly he slipped in the mud. His naked body fell facedown in the murky black waters. As he heard the monster alligators splash through the swamp, he tried desperately to claw his way onto the small island. But his feet slipped helplessly, and his hands slid uselessly through the sludgy bottom of the marsh. Then he felt it. A pair of jaws clamped down on his calf and ripped through his flesh. Jason cried out in agony, a hot flood of blood filling the churning waters as the alligator locked on and began to drag him back into deeper waters. In that frenzied, terrified moment, all Jason could think to do was fight back. He managed to twist his naked torso and throw the hardest punch of his life. His fist connected with the reptile’s snout. It roared and let go. But suddenly another pair of lashing jaws launched at him from the left. Jason tried to escape them, but the giant fangs closed on his left arm in a horrified heartbeat. The sound of his bicep tearing open, of his skin being shredded, of his bones cracking, almost made him lose consciousness. He tried to struggle; he tried to fight to the last second, pulling away from the beast. But it had him, and the others were coming too, frantic not to miss out on the feeding. 30

A.J. Ryan Slowly Jason’s eyes slid shut, and then— “Away!” The voice was so low, so powerful, so commanding, it seemed to stop the entire world. With all his will, Jason opened his eyes. Through his dizzy, splintered vision, he saw the alligators release his bleeding, butchered body and back away. For a delirious moment, he thought he was dreaming. He thought his life was over. He thought the last sparks of his imagination were trying to soften the violent throes of death. Then he saw something he could never have imagined, something so incredible it could only be real. As the alligators retreated, Xavier came walking through the swamp toward him, naked and radiating an aura of might and supremacy. Only his legs weren’t in the water— —they were on the water. His arms were outstretched, as though he was willing the alligators away with his mind, with a mere wave of his hands. Within seconds the beasts slid back beneath the black waters and vanished altogether. All Jason could do was watch Xavier approach as he clung to the final moments of life. Then he felt the vampire’s strong arms around him. He felt Xavier lift him out of the shallow waters and onto the muddy banks of the small island, his body limp on the twisted roots of the tree. And he felt Xavier’s hands rest firmly on his hacked left arm, enveloping the mutilated muscle and torn flesh. A surge of heat ran through Jason’s limb. At first he thought it was his own hot, sticky blood still gushing down his arm and across his shoulder and chest. But the gentle wave flowed farther, sweeping right throughout his entire body. It was like a wave of energy. A wave of love. Jason felt his eyes begin to focus. He felt a little strength, weak at first, return to his mauled arm. Then he felt the giddiness, the nausea, the darkness of death begin to trickle away as the blood stopped flowing from his arm. He looked down as Xavier lifted his hands away from his bicep and saw that the gashes were gone. The shredded muscle and flesh had somehow been repaired. The wound had completely vanished, leaving nothing but blood drying on the surface of his rejuvenated skin. Stunned, panting in disbelief, Jason stared at Xavier. “You—” Xavier nodded. “The healing has begun.” 31

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ “But how did you do that?” “As I said, it is one of our powers. It could be one of yours, too.” With great care, Xavier lifted Jason’s wounded leg, carefully bending it at the knee. It was still torn and bleeding profusely. Jason winced, then allowed Xavier to help him sit up. “Can you fix it?” the young man asked, pleading. “You can,” was Xavier’s assured reply. Jason looked at him, bewildered and in pain. “What do you mean?” “Back in the dining room, when I tasted you, I gave you a taste of what we can do. I left you with a small glimpse of our gift. Enough to demonstrate what life is like for us.” “I don’t understand.” Xavier gestured to Jason’s leg wound. “Put your hands on it. Let your power do the rest.” Gulping down his fear, Jason figured he had nothing to lose by trying. He did as Xavier instructed, lightly pressing his hands down in the gory wound, feeling the blood pulse out between his muddy fingers. At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, the young man felt a heat generating from his palms. It swept through his body and seemed to pump energy and strength and life itself to his very core. Then, before his very eyes, he saw his flesh begin to mend itself, sealing up the bleeding wound, restoring the flesh and muscle and skin until his leg was completely healed in a matter of seconds. Jason lifted his hands away quickly, mouth agape. “I don’t believe it,” he whispered. “I can give you the power to heal—forever. What someone took away from you, I can give you back.” “The man with the tattoo—” Jason murmured, eyes staring at the black waters of the swamp, lost in his bitter memories. “The man in the alley that night. He took everything from me, all my hope. You know about the man with the tattoo, don’t you?” Xavier nodded. “On the left side of his neck. A bloody, thorny rose. You were taking a shortcut home—” “I wanted some air,” Jason explained further. “I walked past the alley.” “And there was the man with the tattoo, assaulting an older woman. Beating her.” 32

A.J. Ryan “He was trying to steal her bag. She put up a fight. He had a crowbar and started hitting her with it. He broke her skull open. I ran toward him. I tried to stop him. He struck me once, twice. I hit the ground, and he ran away. I crawled over to the woman. I tried to stop the bleeding. I tried to fix her. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t do a thing. All I could do was watch her blood fill the alley as she died in my arms.” Xavier gently took Jason’s chin in his hand and turned his face to his, staring deep into those distant, sad eyes. “Become one of us. The good you can do, the wrongs you can right, the destiny you can fulfill, will echo an eternity.” Jason took a deep breath. He glanced down at his healed arm, his mended leg, and swallowed hard before asking, “What do I have to do?” “Give me your body for one night, and your power will last forever.” Xavier gave him a tender, loving smile. “I see so much good in you, Jason Cain. There is so much you can do.” Jason didn’t say another word. All he did was take Xavier’s hand.

33

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Chapter Eight He had promised to give Xavier his body for one night, and Jason Cain was a man of his word. He did not question where Xavier was taking him when he led him, naked, down a set of stone stairs into the cavernous basement of the mansion, filled with candles and what looked like a stone altar in the middle of the chamber. He did not resist when the other men from the house, all naked, all vampires, began to fill the room and take up their places on the floor, against the wall, kissing and clutching and groaning and fucking, glancing enviously, seductively, at Jason in the middle of the room while they touched and twisted and writhed in orgiastic pleasure. Nor did he struggle as Xavier laid him down on his back on the altar and snapped the chains on his wrists and ankles, restraining him tightly as the centerpiece of tonight’s ritual. There he lay, exposed and vulnerable, at once terrified and turned on by the sexual debauchery surrounding him. His cock was already bursting with desire, standing straight up in the air, stiff and thick and engorged with pulsating veins. The sight pleased Xavier greatly. Amidst the moaning and panting that filled the chamber, he laid his hands on Jason’s chest, feeling the belting pump of his nervous heart. “Don’t be fearful. I’m the only one who will have you tonight.” Jason glanced at Xavier’s huge, muscular body, longing for more than before. The vampire’s cock seemed even bigger now, straining upwards as if reaching for Jason’s young body. The silver cock ring shone and sparkled with the sweat from his giant balls. Jason licked his lips nervously, achingly. “What about a condom?” Xavier smiled. “Caution is something all mortals must practice. You, my friend, will no longer be one of them. I am about to infect you with 34

A.J. Ryan eternity. My saliva, my semen, will flow through your veins, and your blood will flow through mine. We all become one in immortality.” Xavier climbed on top of the altar then on his hands and knees, like an animal crawling over its prey. He hovered there a moment, his massive cock hanging hard and heavy, his balls bulging between his legs. “Are you ready?” Jason nodded. “Take me!” he announced bravely, firmly, confidently offering himself up. “Make me immortal.” And with that, the time for restraint was over. Xavier’s lips locked onto Jason’s with such hunger that he bit savagely into Jason’s lower lip. Jason bit back ravenously. He desperately wanted to grab at Xavier’s massive shoulders, to pull his masculine, firm torso into him. He wanted their bodies to touch, to smash together with careless abandon and brute force. His strong young body longed for sexual release. But his fingers clawed helplessly at the air as his arms snapped against the taut chains. At the same time, Xavier’s strong fingers seized Jason’s jaw, his tongue forcing its way deep into his throat as though he intended to devour him whole. His hands ran down Jason’s neck, feeling the rapid pulse of his jugular. It turned Xavier on even more, and he lowered his heavy, powerful body completely on top of the heaving, panting Jason. Their writhing torsos collided. Flesh met flesh. Muscle rubbed hard against muscle. Xavier pulled his lips and tongue free of Jason’s mouth and licked thirstily at his throat. He could feel his fangs descending, desperate for blood, but not yet— With all his willpower, he snatched his lips away. He set his sights on Jason’s lower body instead and glanced down at the young man’s stiff, beautiful cock. It stood bolt upright between their two stomachs, mingling against Xavier’s own thick beast, both cocks bursting at the head. Pre-cum was already dribbling from Jason’s slit, sliding in glistening streaks down his shaft. Xavier decided he had to have it now. He reached down and seized Jason’s cock in his hand. He teased it with a couple of hard strokes, then grabbed Jason’s fiery full balls and rolled them in his fist. Jason let out a gasp and clenched his fists hard, rattling the chains. 35

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ He threw his head back and let out a long, rapturous groan. Xavier’s hand worked lower then, massaging the young man’s leg muscles, squeezing his thick quads, forcing his thighs apart and sliding himself slowly down the length of Jason’s body. His tongue left a glistening trail down Jason’s strong chest, his heaving abdomen, until Jason took a short, sharp breath, expecting— hoping—to feel Xavier’s warm mouth envelop the head of his cock. Instead, Xavier went straight to the young man’s round, swollen balls once more. This time it was Xavier who let out a groan of sheer satisfaction. Collectively, every man in the chamber let out a groan, as if sharing his ecstasy. They licked their lips and stroked each other’s cocks and watched the pleasure unfolding on the altar as they surrendered to their own desires. In the middle of the room, Xavier’s eyelids fluttered at the taste of Jason’s testicles, so young and tender, so ripe and sweet, so ready and willing to be plucked and devoured. His huge body shuddered at the touch of them on his tongue, soft and hot and lightly covered in delicate young hair. As he rolled and sucked the balls in his mouth, his hands took a firm hold of Jason’s hips and propped them up a little higher, giving him greater access to the young man’s ass. Then his hand inched expertly between the young man’s cheeks, slipping his index finger against the warm entrance to Jason’s anus. Jason gasped once more. Xavier’s finger pressed hard against the clenched anus, circling the rim, waiting for the invitation from Jason’s tight, unclaimed ass. The air escaped quickly from Jason’s lungs. His anus relaxed for a second. Xavier thrust his finger inside. Jason gasped. Contact had been made. As the young man’s entire body trembled, Xavier’s finger slid slowly up and down inside Jason’s nervous, moist, sweaty ass. At the same time, Xavier continued to roll Jason’s balls around his mouth, his tongue pushing and probing and toying with them, tasting every delicious morsel. Jason’s breathing was now high and tight. He could barely exhale at all but somehow managed to whisper, “Heal me! Heal me now!” 36

A.J. Ryan With a broad smile, Xavier pulled his mouth away from the young man’s balls, teasing them all the way by nibbling at the end of his ballsack before letting it go, his fully descended fangs scraping the tender flesh. While his finger continued to dance and slide inside the young man’s anus, Xavier ran his free hand over Jason’s body, now soaked with sweat, and with his drenched palm he began to massage his own huge, hard cock. He was ready. They both were. A thump of his pulse later, Jason moaned as Xavier slowly slid his finger out of the young man’s primed ass, then watched as Xavier’s torso leaned high above him, pelvis moving into position between Jason’s legs. With his massive, throbbing rod in his fist, Xavier planted his bulbous, wet head against the rim of Jason’s anus. Slowly he pushed. Jason clutched his breath. The head of Xavier’s cock felt bigger— much, much bigger—than Xavier’s probing finger did. For a lingering moment, his young ass resisted, refusing to grant Xavier’s thick, hungry cock entry. But the pressure was too much. Suddenly Jason felt his balls about to blow. “I think I’m gonna come,” he announced frantically. Completely unassisted and rocking full and hard against his stomach, Xavier saw that the young man’s brimming cock was sprinkling an astonishing amount of clear pre-cum across Jason’s clenched stomach. Xavier’s cock was barely an inch inside him, yet without even being stroked, Jason’s cock was ready to erupt. Suddenly Jason’s anus relaxed, sucking Xavier’s massive cock inside him. In the same burning second, Jason’s balls unleashed their sizzling load. The blast of cum shot up Jason’s straight, young cock and exploded from its gaping eye. Like an unmanned cannon, the young man’s shaft jerked and throbbed up and down uncontrollably, firing its enormous payload everywhere. Cum shot up and across, left and right, and straight into the air. Ribbons of white lashed across Jason’s chest, landing in hot, steaming loops from one bud-like nipple to the other. Cum decorated his throat 37

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~ with gleaming pearls. It spattered across the stone altar. It fired up and over, draping Xavier’s chest, his jaw, his chin in shiny beads. Then suddenly Jason’s eyes bulged, and he gasped with a new sensation of pleasure. His orgasm had masked the entry of Xavier’s cock, but now he felt it fully as the mammoth shaft filled his anus, sliding up and down, sending waves of agony and ecstasy crashing through his body. As Xavier began to thrust inside him, Jason’s entire being tensed, his fists bunched tight, thighs clenched. He felt cum continue to spurt in small, unfinished blasts from his stiff dick, still splashing across his stomach, his cock unrelentingly rock-hard as Xavier’s hungry shaft determinedly pumped every last drop out of the young man. Jason panted, convinced his body was going to split apart and his lungs explode. Xavier groaned, and the pace of his heavy thrusts grew faster and faster. The vampire could feel Jason’s sticky cum sliding down his chin, and his tongue reached down and licked it up. He could taste it on his fangs, making him pump harder and harder. Jason cried out, the pleasure now so intense it overwhelmed the pain. Just when he thought there couldn’t possibly be any more cum left in him, his overactive young balls fired one last load. Burning white fluid slapped against his already slippery cum-covered stomach. Jason’s head rolled back on his neck, his eyes slipped behind his eyelids, and his long, muscular throat exposed itself in all its glory. That was when Xavier could resist no longer. The vampire’s mouth opened wide, his fangs shone bright in the candlelight, and Xavier lunged at Jason’s throat. With unstoppable force, the razor-sharp teeth slashed through the skin and sank deep into Jason’s flesh, severing the jugular and sucking the blood from Jason’s neck at a rate that made his heart thump so hard and fast he thought it would burst. With an enormous grunt and a teethgrinding groan that echoed throughout the entire chamber, Jason arched his back and pushed his ass all the way onto Xavier’s cock. At the same time, Xavier slammed his own hips hard against Jason’s firm young cheeks and launched his colossal sackful of cum into Jason’s body. The temperature inside Jason soared. Xavier bit down harder on Jason’s neck 38

A.J. Ryan He let his balls blast their load. Once. Twice. Again. And again. Jason held his breath, his body on fire on the inside, as Xavier’s cock pumped him full of vampire cum. An involuntary tremor ripped through the young man. With Xavier’s fangs mauling his throat and the vampire’s massive cock still discharging itself inside him, Jason’s young, virile body couldn’t help but fire one last blast of white pleasure from his still-hard cock. He winced as Xavier gently withdrew his swollen, spent cock. Then, with a breathtaking sense of release, Xavier’s fangs retreated from Jason’s bloody throat. The vampire pulled back, watching over him, dripping sweat from his brow and blood from his lips. “Can you feel it?” he whispered to Jason. “Can you feel the power?” Panting hard, his torso shining with sweat and cum, Jason nodded, his body aching with more pain and pleasure than he’d ever known was possible. “Yes.” He smiled. Xavier leaned in to kiss Jason’s parted, panting lips. His fangs were red and shining, and in that moment, Jason realized he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life as those scarlet daggers, wet with his blood. That’s when he felt it, the prick of something sharp in his own mouth. Two needles scraping against the roof of his mouth. Xavier simply smiled. “Welcome to eternity, my friend.”

39

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Chapter Nine Winter had left Chicago, spring was on its way, and the night was so pleasant that the young man decided to jump out of the cab and walk home. The moon was full and cast a blue light over the entire world, making it easy for him to see his way down the alley that cut through to his apartment block. That was when the man jumped out from a concealed doorway, a scowl on his face, a tattoo on his neck, and a knife in his hand. “Give me all your money!” “I don’t have much,” the startled young man tried to reason, throwing twenty dollars at the mugger. “That’s all I got.” “Bullshit!” the crazed knife-wielding man growled. “Empty your pockets!” “I swear, that’s all I’ve got!” But the mugger didn’t believe him. He charged at the young man, grabbing at his jacket, lunging with his knife. There was a grunt of pain as the blade plunged deep into the young man’s chest. He staggered backward and stumbled to the ground, a pool of blood quickly spreading across the alley. Angrily, the mugger scooped up the twenty-dollar bill and turned to run. That was when the handsome blond-haired man appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path. “Get outta my way!” the mugger shouted, waving his knife. The blond man simply shook his head. “Perhaps you should get out of mine.” With that he pounced, mouth wide open, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. 40

A.J. Ryan The mugger tried to run, but there was no hope. His eyes bulged, his eyelids flickering in terror, as the blond man’s mouth wrapped itself around the tattoo of the thorny rose on his neck and ripped out his throat. The mugger tried to scream, but all he could manage was a pathetic gurgling sound as his convulsing body collapsed beneath its own dead weight. The blond man had already turned away. He was kneeling now before the mugger’s wounded victim, whose face was full of fear. “Please don’t hurt me,” the young man breathed, his life quickly slipping away. The blond man didn’t respond. Instead, he seized the man’s jacket and shirt and ripped them both open, exposing his bleeding chest. Without a second’s hesitation, the blond man laid his hands on the man’s fatal injury. Within moments, the bleeding stopped. The stab wound sealed itself. The wounded man took a deep breath and looked down to see his injury had miraculously disappeared. Disappeared completely. “Tell the police he was trying to mug you when a stray dog attacked him,” the blond man instructed calmly. “Then go home, live a good life, live a long, happy life.” And with that he stood to his feet, turned and walked swiftly away. “I don’t understand! What just happened!” the healed man shouted after him. “Who are you?” Without turning around, the blond man’s words drifted back down the alley. “A friend,” was all he said. Then, without another word, he stepped into the shadows cast by the bright full moon and simply… …vanished.

41

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

About the Author A.J. Ryan is a lover of dusty old books, ancient temples, thunderstorms and volcanoes, heart-soaring romance, heart-stopping adventure, handsome heroes, diabolical villains and faraway places on long lost maps—and a good story well told over a glass of wine. A.J. currently lives in Sydney, Australia.

42

A.J. Ryan

Available now from Eternal Press

East Of The Sun by Tessa Buxton Briar has spent the past seven years searching the earth for his one true love. Frustrated, he abandons his quest and makes a political match. Only then does he discover his true love in the form of Rhiannon-his new wife’s brother. Just as life is looking up for Briar, his world is turned on end when he learns that his new love is none other than a Stregha, a nonhuman creature whose presence in Pavia threatens to tear apart the realm-and his heart.

Lady Dara wore fine silver wool in which fish were embroidered in sparkling thread that gathered around her feet like sea foam around a rock, it coursed over her, clinging to her breasts, ribs and down over the swell of her stomach. She wore her hair down, held back from her face with thin braids and here and there were twists of precious stones and silver mesh hanging from a diadem that was so pale silver it looked like drift wood. When she stepped into the main room, in which a female poet who wore lace over her face as a kind of veil, pulled tight, stood dressed like a man, her black hair pulled back into a tight braid, she had been reciting a rather witty bawd and when she saw the Lady Dara- she was the first to do so- she fell silent. The crowd fell silent in ones and twos, for this was not the kind of crowd who were used to queens, even those of the Stregha. 43

Miami Moon ~Vampire’s Lair~

Available now from Eternal Press

Witch’s Moon by Tabitha Shay Ru-Noc: A magical world teetering on the edge of destruction. Excited about her first Beltane, the feisty and strong-willed Princess of Ru-Noc makes plans to find her ideal mate. But Princess Kali’s world is turned upside down when finds herself whisked away and trapped in the mortal realm of vampires. Captain Koran T knows he’s in serious trouble when the King of RuNoc orders him to kidnap Princess Kali. He’s no different than any other male of his species at mating time, so the urge to breed Kali is strong. But Koran T has a dark secret of his own, one that could have him banished from the coven. Fall under the spell of a Witch’s Moon-when dark forces gather to threaten the very existence of Ru-Noc-and Princess Kali and Captain Koran cross swords in a fierce battle only a witch can win!

Kali caught her breath as Koran suddenly leaned close to her and snapped, “Stop looking at me like that.” She blinked, jarred back to her surroundings by his sharp tone. “How am I looking at you, Captain?” Kali caught herself on the verge of clutching her run-away heart. Gods, his scent assailed her senses. Heat curled in her stomach in a tangled knot. She clenched her thighs and tried desperately to ignore the dampness that pooled there.

44

A.J. Ryan “Like you want my mouth all over you.” He skimmed his gaze over her breasts, lingering on the stabbing buds of her nipples. His eyes flickered. He shifted his gaze to her mouth. “Is that your desire, Princess? You want my mouth on you? Everywhere?”

45