Sixty-Nine Reasons Read online

  And he had his final victim of the night in his line of sight. At the corner of the crossroads, a young man, perhaps just barely in his twenties, who would have been handsome if he weren’t half-starved. Reziel studied him, marveling at Tacy’s keenness of wit. This one was all he’d asked for and more.

  Dark-haired, like Draylen. This one’s locks had grown over-long, but then, who could afford so much as a pair of scissors to trim themselves these days? Not someone who worked on the streets, peddling their wares for a copper apiece. Some might have considered the look unfashionable and shabby, but Reziel decided he liked long, waving strands coming down around one’s neck. Perhaps the boy would have enough soon to bind it up in a small tail. That would be attractive, oh, yes.

  Dark-eyed? Hard to tell in the middle of the night, but Reziel thought so. Probably dispirited, dejected eyes, not alight in the least with any thoughts of daring or deviltry, but things could change, things could change.

  His body? Thin, as noted, but tall, and with good bones that would provide a most handsome frame when properly filled out. He had large hands, even though they were red and chapped from the cold, and good-sized feet.

  And his face? Ahh, there was the prize he’d wanted the most. This young man had the look of an angel about him, despite the hard times he’d happened on. But a fallen angel, no doubt, of which there were too many these days. Willing to do anything to supplement his income.

  Reziel did hope that this man would do anything. He rather thought so. There was a slight coyness to the way he moved -- a swing of his hips -- and a trick of looking up through his eyelashes. Meek, but definitely on the slant, and damned lucky he’d not been beaten into an ugly wreck by this point in his life.

  Such a lucky life, too. Heating up a small coal fire and a brazier in which to roast nuts, which hopefully would be bought by those rushing to work, even in these early hours, and by those who traveled the streets all day, doing shopping and the like. Hot roasted nuts were a treat for those who could afford them. This man couldn’t not afford them, and he’d cherish his few coppers of profit dearly as if they were gold.

  Speaking of gold…

  Reziel put on his most agreeable expression -- he didn’t want to make an enemy, after all; that wasn’t in the least the point of this exercise -- and sauntered up to the young chestnut-seller, huddling close to the kindling fire as if he himself were chilled. The fellow gave him a startled look, and then, on second glance, a shy smile. One that, if you were in the know, promised more than just a bit of breakfast. That was, if you had the coin.

  “Good morning and good luck to you,” he saluted the young man. “Miserable weather, isn’t it?”

  “Isn’t it just?” The vendor shivered inside his thin coat and stamped inadequately shod feet on the cobblestones to warm them. “Some days I don’t know what I’ll do to keep body and soul together.” Again, the shy, sly look. An unspoken message: do you have the money to heat us both?

  Reziel pretended to ignore him. For the moment, at least. He peered into the bags of nuts the fellow had no doubt carried on his back, along with his roasting pan and the fuel for his fire. He peeked back at his prey. Thin, but strong. And handsome, oh, yes, so very handsome. He found it hard to wait, but he couldn’t look suspicious.

  Bending over, he picked up a nut and tossed it in one hand. “Chestnuts! My favorite. How long will it be before any are ready? I’d like to buy some to take home, seeing as I’m on my way there right now.”

  That earned him a hesitant grin, as if the nut-seller wasn’t sure what to make of an obvious young gentleman who talked to him as if he were a person worthy of notice. Disappointment touched his eyes, which were dark, as Reziel saw with pleasure. “It’ll be an hour or so, I’m afraid,” he replied. “The cooker takes a while to get hot, and the nuts don’t roast in an instant, sir.”

  “A shame.” Reziel dropped the nut he held back into its bag. “You’ll be standing here with nothing to do for a while, then, won’t you?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, sir.” The man was bolder now, his hand stealing along as if he would touch Reziel if he were only invited. “There’s all sorts of things and other things to be doing which pass the time.”

  Now was the time to take him up on his invitation. “Especially with a handsome young fellow,” Reziel said in a low voice. “One who could leave his station for, perhaps, fifteen minutes, and conduct a little business elsewhere?” He opened his hand to show a silver coin resting in his richly gloved palm. “Is the price right?” he whispered.

  To his credit, the young man didn’t try to act offended or insulted. He merely took a glance about them at the nearly-deserted streets, and put out his hand to shake Reziel’s, the coin neatly transferring possession as he did so. “The name’s Tinder, sir. And you’re very kind; I thank you.”

  “Tinder’s no name for a beautiful young man.” Reziel looked at Tinder, and the more he looked, the more he liked.

  “It’s the only one I have, sir.” Again, Reziel credited him: he didn’t flinch or look ashamed as he admitted to being a bastard child. “You can call me whatever you want, though, you know.”

  “Mmm. Perhaps I will. Is there a place where we can go, Tinder?” Reziel asked in a low voice, as if he were afraid someone who cared might hear.

  Tinder nodded, tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat. “The alley just behind us. You’ve paid, sir. If you’ll follow me?”

  Reziel rolled his eyes. Alleys, alleys, alleys; a man could get heartily sick of alleys. But when there was a toothsome morsel like Tinder waiting for him in the heart of one…

  He followed.

  A mound of broken boxes blocked part of the alley, and behind it, Reziel found Tinder already on his knees, thighs spread wide. He shrugged at Reziel’s questioning look. “It’s cold, sir. I’m willing to give you my ass, if you like, but my mouth is just as good, and I know how to use it.”

  “It is cold,” Reziel said, as if just then considering it. “I’ll take your ass, though, if you don’t mind. Down with your pants, if you will.”

  Tinder nodded and unlaced himself, letting his trousers drop to puddle around his ankles. He spread his legs wide and braced his hands against the wall.

  “Now, what sort of an invitation is that?” Reziel chided. “Where’s the teasing and the foreplay that should come with a proper tupping?” He tugged at Tinder’s shoulder, turning him awkwardly around. “We should start with a kiss, I think. What do you say, Tinder?”

  Tinder looked baffled. Surely, none of his tricks had ever treated him this way before. “Just as you like, sir.”

  “And as I hope you will like,” Reziel said, lowering his mouth to Tinder’s. Careful of his fangs, he kissed the young man deep and long, letting his tongue play in the warm cavern of the vendor’s mouth. Tinder tasted of chestnuts himself, as if last night’s leavings were the only thing he’d eaten so far that day.

  Tinder stood stock-still for a moment, but then let out a desperate moan and wound his arms around Reziel’s neck. Reziel rejoiced in the contact as Tinder clung to him; clearly, the man craved affection, and Reziel was more than glad to give him all that he wanted.

  “There,” Reziel whispered. “That’s better, isn’t it?” He thumbed Tinder’s lip. “Kiss me again and again, until I say stop.” Lowering his mouth to Tinder’s, he continued on as he’d begun, but reached for the young man’s exposed cock while their mouths were engaged.

  When Reziel touched him, Tinder gasped and arched in his grasp. As Reziel had suspected, Tinder wasn’t used to anyone looking out for his own pleasure. He’d just have been a warm mouth or a hot hole for his customers to plunder. Reveling in the knowledge that he was the first to treat Tinder as he deserved, Reziel began to stroke the man’s half-hard erection into full stiffness, swallowing his groans of pleasure as if they were sweet pear drops.

  He broke the kiss to whisper in Tinder’s ear. “Should I suck you off, instead?” he asked. “Would you like it if
I turned around and gave you my own ass to play with?”

  “Sir,” Tinder whispered, his eyes shut. “The things you suggest…”

  “They aren’t what’s usually done, I know. But I’m not your usual sort of customer, now am I?” He squeezed the base of Tinder’s cock. “I’m looking for a companion. Someone who’ll see to my needs. Fuck me, then come with me, and you’ll never need to stand out here with the chestnuts again.”

  Tinder shook his head. “The law,” he managed to say.

  “To hells with the law. What does it know, or what does it care about what goes on inside the house of two consenting adults?” Reziel resumed his rough caressing of Tinder’s cock. “You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for, and I’ve been searching for a very, very long time. Come with me, Tinder. Leave this life behind and look ahead to a new one.”

  “Sir,” Tinder said, struggling for breath. “I can’t think when you’re doing that, sir.”

  “Why, then, let me finish and then we’ll talk.” Reziel turned Tinder around again, bracing him against the wall and parting his thighs wide. He regretted that he had nothing but saliva to smooth the path, but he suspected Tinder was used to much rougher treatment, even going at the business dry.

  Rubbing the young man’s shoulders, tracing kisses across one of them, he whispered, “I’ll make this good for you, Tinder. You watch -- or feel -- and see.” Pressing the head of his cock to Tinder’s hole, he pushed and was in. To his surprise and delight Tinder was still tight, though definitely not a virgin. No matter, he’d return to eternal tightness soon enough.

  Tinder moaned and arched back, meeting Reziel thrust for thrust. When Reziel reached around to begin jacking his cock again, he all but screamed, but bit down on his arm instead to avoid being heard. Reziel, for his part, was in heaven. He thrust again and again into the tight, gripping heat and pumped the hard column of flesh in his hand. This, oh, now, this was living life right for one of the undead!

  Tinder came first with a loud, startled gasp, spraying his seed across the brick wall. Reziel fought the urge to sink fangs into Tinder’s shoulder as he came himself for the second time that night, his load no less copious than before. He recovered quicker, though, and held Tinder as he shook his way down from the heights.

  The man seemed limp as a rag doll when he finished, and sagged almost to the ground. “I’ll go with you,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

  “What was that?”

  Tinder looked up. “I said that I’ll go with you, sir. Treat me like that again and I’ll be your very slave.”

  “I need no slaves. Only a companion, as I said. And are we now agreed?”

  “We are, sir.” Tinder’s eyes were full of appreciative wonder. “Thank you, sir.”

  “No, Tinder. Thank you.” Reziel reached down and helped Tinder to his feet. “What do you say I find something hot and we take this someplace warm, then?”

  And before Tinder could recognize his breed and cry out, Reziel was sinking fangs into the artery on his neck, drinking too deeply, too quickly for the man to make a single sound of protest.

  Not that Reziel suspected he would have. He knew all too well: kicked dogs always enjoyed having a chance to show their sharp teeth.

  Chapter Four

  Tacy was waiting for Reziel, as she’d promised, when he carried Tinder into his new house, the man’s arm slung over his shoulder as if he were drunk and not dead. But ah, he’d be waking soon, and though it was a pity he’d spend the first day of his un-life unable to go out and enjoy himself, Reziel had plenty of plans for them.

  He hauled Tinder to the bed where he planned for most of those activities to take place. Once in the room, which Tacy had made comfortable and clean by some magic or witchery he didn’t pretend to understand, he thanked his housekeeper for her services -- it always paid to be polite to devils -- and ushered her out to see to the rest of the dwelling.

  She’d done well to get this room ready first. This… his gaze wandered, seeking out the fine, foreign furnishings and decorations… this room would belong to himself, and to Tinder as well. Who really, truly ought to have a new name. He’d leave that up to Tinder, though.

  Alone with the young man, Reziel sat back in a chair by the bed and waited. After a few moments, impatient, he got back up and stuck his head out the door, calling for Tacy to bring him hot, soapy water and several clean cloths. She appeared with them so quickly she must have anticipated he’d want them, or she truly did have magic of her own.

  Reziel was definitely pleased by his night’s work.

  Humming to himself, he took the pair of scissors Tacy had also thoughtfully provided and began to cut away the grimy tatters that Tinder wore, from thin shirt to mended breeches, tossing them all in a dirty pile beside the bed. His shoes followed, with more hole than sole, and finally Tinder lay naked. Reziel took a moment to appreciate the young man’s beauty, from his well-shaped face to the long, thick cock resting on a bed of curls between his legs, and then began to wash him carefully, mopping away the dirt of the streets.

  Tinder was to be a better man than that now.

  Reziel wasn’t sure at what point Tinder woke up to his new life, but as he washed he began to feel the body stirring beneath his touch. A muscle twitched, an arm jerked, and that magnificent prick began to swell. Reziel washed him there, too, lingering over-long to savor the texture of silky skin over a stony inside, watching in amusement as Tinder tried to pretend he was asleep.

  Finally, Reziel took off his own clothes, shoving them into the pile with Tinder’s rags. There were wardrobes full of fine things in this house, and no doubt he’d find something to fit him. He wouldn’t wear anything of Draylen’s anymore, not if he had a choice.

  Naked, he climbed into the bed beside Tinder, resting his weight on one hip and elbow, finger-walking his other hand over the young man’s chest. “I know you’re in there,” he said softly. “You can’t fool me.”

  Tinder’s hand flew up to arrest Reziel’s in its movement. Dark eyes, no longer dejected, glowed at him with a new light. “I should have known what you were,” he said. His voice had a different timbre, something richer and deeper. “I wanted the money too much, though, you see.”

  “The money, and not me?” Reziel asked casually, although the weight of the world rested on Tinder’s answer. “Only the money?”

  The hint of a smile touched Tinder’s lips. “No,” he admitted with a sigh. “You, yourself. I’ve not seen a man so fair of face in months, and I would have done you a proper job for a copper, not a whole silver.”

  Reziel let himself smile back, and reached up to brush the over-long curls away from Tinder’s forehead. He did like the waves. “Never cut this,” he ordered. “Do you understand?”

  “I think I understand many things,” Tinder said, dark eyes unreadable. “You’ve made me into what you are, haven’t you?”

  Reziel nodded. “Yes. Do you hate me?”

  Tinder shook his head at once. “You put me to bed on the softest mattress I’ve ever felt, in a room that’s warm as summer, wash me clean and lie naked by my side, and you ask if I hate you? By the gods, no. You’ve given me a way out of the gutter, and as I see things, I owe you a debt.”

  “Do you now?” Reziel was surprised.

  “It’s not the ladder I would have chosen,” Tinder admitted, “but it got me out. And if I am like you, then it’s up to you to teach me everything.”

  “Everything,” Reziel promised.

  “Good.” Tinder’s eyes drooped a little. He stretched himself. “Well, now, seeing as we’re both naked and there’s a whole day to waste, what do you say I begin earning my silver?”

  Reziel stared, and then had to laugh. This was turning out far better than he had ever hoped.

  Eight in the morning saw Reziel lying on his back in the bed with Tinder kneeling between his legs, eager young mouth slurping at his cock as if it were made of pure chocolate ready to melt. He lapped up one side and
then the other, then the underside, biting with tiny fangs, pausing to suck each ball into his mouth and roll them on his tongue.

  Reziel flung a hand over his eyes, unable to believe the ecstasy between his legs, or the native talent Tacy had led him to. Such a smart girl, and such a good fuck, and so willing to share… but his thoughts trailed off when Tinder took the head of Reziel’s cock into his mouth and then slid down the shaft, applying suction.

  Ten in the morning saw Tinder lying on his stomach while Reziel nipped a crimson “A” into one ass cheek. The mark wouldn’t scar, but he did admire the scarlet letter while it was there, and if the noises Tinder was making were any indication, the young vampire was eagerly learning the joys of pain mixed with pleasure.

  To reward him for a job well done, Reziel parted the cheeks of a very handsome bottom and dipped inside, rimming around Tinder’s hole with all the skills he’d ever learned, human or vampire. A vampire’s tongue, he knew, was a very long and flexible thing, and could be used to more than one advantage…

  Twelve o’clock noon found the pair eagerly fucking, Tinder on his back with his knees almost under his armpits, Reziel between his legs, pushing his cock in and out of that delicious asshole ever faster and faster, both of their bodies able to withstand that which would tear apart a human. In the midst of their insane fucking, Reziel got hold of Tinder’s strong cock and began to pump it, uttering a whoop of joy when Tinder’s face contorted in the beautiful ugliness of orgasm and milky-white jets of semen splattered over his chest. He came not long after, but with no regrets, knowing he’d soon be ready again.

  Two in the afternoon found them both in sitz baths, not out of any soreness, but at Tacy’s request. She sponged down first one body and then the other, pausing to tickle between thighs and squeeze what she found there, washing their cocks and balls with extra care and stopping to play with his cock.