I would enjoy a glass of red wine."
It was then I noticed he had not touched his champagne.
Jeez, what a useless host I am, I thought. "Jean-Claude," I muttered. "I'm sorry. I should have offered you that before."
He put his hand on mine, and I came close to falling on my knees in front of him. "Thank you, Ron," he murmured, handing me his untouched champagne glass. I hurried into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of cabernet and poured him a sizeable amount into one of my best glasses.
28
My Vampire Lover
by J. P. Bowie
"He's nice," Jonas hissed in my ear as he passed me on his way to help Ted. "See you don't piss him off too quickly."
Jean-Claude gave me a conspiratorial smile as I handed him his wine. He patted the couch cushion next to him then took my hand as I sat down. "Not what we planned, exactly?" he murmured, close to my ear.
"They usually go to bed right after dinner," I told him, bringing his hand to my lips. "Please don't leave too early."
"I am a night person," he said. "But don't you have to work tomorrow?"
"Not until late afternoon. The owner likes to manage the lunch hour crowd."
"Ta-da!" Ted sang out, placing his plates of cordon bleu chicken on the dining table with a flourish. "Come eat, children ... and Jean-Claude, I prepared just a soupcon for you. I hope you don't mind, but, as you're French, I would love to have your opinion."
I rolled my eyes at Jonas, who just shrugged.
"Ted, Jean-Claude has already had dinner," I said.
"Oh, it's just a tiny piece," Ted pouted.
"Thank you, Ted," Jean-Claude said, sitting at the table. "It looks delicious."
I have to admit, Ted is a good cook, and his dinner was great, but I couldn't help noticing my new friend took only the smallest bite, before patting his flat stomach, and declaring it was very nice, but he was just too full to truly relish it. Ted had lots of French culinary questions for Jean-Claude, which kept the conversation rolling over dinner, but I longed for the 29
My Vampire Lover
by J. P. Bowie moment when Jonas would yawn and say, "Wow, but this has been a long day. What say we hit the sack, Ted..."
Only he didn't say that. As we cleared the table, Jonas seemed to have gotten himself a second wind, chattering away to Jean-Claude about the last time they had visited me, and how lonely I seemed, and how happy he was to finally meet one of my many elusive boyfriends. After about an hour of this, I was ready to commit fratricide with any kitchen knife I could lay my hands on. And then it happened—Jonas yawned and so did Ted, at exactly the same time. Was it my imagination, or had I seen Jean-Claude make some small movement with his hand just before they both showed us all their cosmetic dental work? Whatever. They were both on their feet, mumbling about how tired they had just become ...
praise the Lord. Hugs all around then they made for the guest room, but not before Jonas had cast me a lewd wink. Oh, boy. "They are charming," Jean-Claude murmured, sitting back down on the couch. "Your brother looks like you."
"They're giant pains in the ass," I said, plopping down next to him. "But they're family, and I love them. Can I get you something?" "Just a kiss—a proper kiss this time."
I was up for that. I leaned in, brushing his lips with mine, lingering for a moment before pushing the point of my tongue against his teeth, running the tip along the edge of his gums.
He made a sound like, Mmf , and parted his lips, letting me slide right in. His arms encircled my neck, pulling me down on top of him as he lay back on the couch. I was instantly hard, 30
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by J. P. Bowie
and so it seemed was he, for I could feel his erection pushing against my crotch through both layers of denim.
"There's more room on the bed," I whispered into his open mouth.
"That sounds nice."
I jumped up and took his hand, leading him into my bedroom, where, for a moment, we stood quite still just gazing at one another as if we were seeing each other for the very