“Good. Now run along. I’ve got business, and you’re expected at Blush.”
Gideon’s sad expression evaporated, and he threw himself at Rafe, giving him a quick hug before he was running toward the elevator again.
Rafe silently shook his head as he flopped back in the chair he’d been in only moments ago. A faint smile lingered on his lips. Philippe wordlessly closed the sliding door behind him and crossed the room, pausing only long enough to pick up the glass Rafe drank out of earlier. Slipping behind the bar, he pulled another bag of blood from the mini fridge and poured the contents into the glass.
Rafe had barely replenished the blood from being shot. He didn’t have the strength to give blood to a hungry fledgling. He needed to hunt. The bagged blood was only a stopgap measure. But at Rafe’s age, Philippe suspected he preferred to hunt alone.
Of course, he could offer his own neck to Rafe. There was something far too tempting in the idea. The thought of Rafe’s fangs sliding into his vein, drawing Philippe’s blood down his throat. Drawing new strength from Philippe, binding them together.
But it was a dangerous thing, letting a vampire of Rafe’s advanced years feed from his throat. It wasn’t done. And he had a feeling Rafe would refuse him even if he did offer. Rafe had no reason to trust him with such a gift. And Philippe didn’t want to hear that rejection cross his lips.
The bagged blood would hold Rafe over until he could hunt alone.
Returning to the living room, Philippe placed the full glass on the table at Rafe’s elbow and took a seat on the sofa next to him.
“Thank you,” Rafe said with a wry smile as he picked up the glass. He immediately drained the contents and set it down on the table with a relieved sigh.
They sat in silence for several seconds. Philippe was overflowing with questions, but he wasn’t sure he was permitted to ask. He’d been given a glimpse of something very private, something Philippe wasn’t even sure Rafe’s brothers knew about. Rafe could have easily asked him to leave, but he allowed Philippe to stay.
“Gideon is special to me,” Rafe admitted. His voice was low and rough. He kept his eyes lowered, locked on the coffee table in front of him as if he wasn’t ready to meet Philippe’s gaze.
“He’s not your fledgling.”
Rafe shook his head. “I’ve never…” He left the sentence drift off unfinished. “I found Gideon about ten, fifteen years ago. His maker…his maker was cruel. He’d been obsessed with Gideon, but Gideon was afraid of him. Wouldn’t worship him like he wanted. Gideon tried to run. So the fucker broke both of Gideon’s legs right before he turned him.”
“Bastard,” Philippe snarled, and he meant it. He’d encountered far too many vampires who were hideously cruel to both humans and other vampires.
“His legs never did heal quite right. When he puts off feeding too long, the pain becomes too much for him.” Rafe shoved a hand through his hair, fisting his fingers in the strands so that they stood up. “When I found him…he couldn’t even walk.” His voice was choked, and there was a part of Philippe that ached to pull Rafe into his arms, to ease the pain of the old memory, but Philippe remained where he was.
“But your blood gave him back that ability. You’ve erased his pain. Your gift is quite profound. You’ve given him back his joy.”
Rafe looked up and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “I worry I’ve become a crutch for him. He doesn’t like to hunt alone. He’s a gentle soul; he was never meant to be one of us. He doesn’t feel safe hunting alone.”
“You’ll help him find his way.”
“What will he do if something happens to me?” Rafe whispered as he released his hair and scrubbed a hand over his face. Philippe felt that Rafe was talking more to himself than to the other vampire in the room, but Philippe understood the feeling. He’d asked himself that same question far too many times over the years when he thought of his own clan.
Leaning over, Philippe placed his hand on Rafe’s knee and squeezed, drawing Rafe’s gaze to his face. “Nothing is going to happen to you. You’ll continue to be there for Gideon as well as your Lola and this Ryder. From what I’ve heard of Lola, she is only too happy to be there to watch your back.”
“Only because Lola takes too much joy in trying to tell me what to do,” Rafe said, but Philippe didn’t miss the gratitude in his eyes.
Philippe released Rafe’s knee and stood. “I should go. Tonight’s adventure has given me a lot to think about.” That was a massive understatement, though he felt he didn’t have nearly enough information on Piper and far more than he expected on Rafe.