He Joined Midnight Rockers, Then Their Vampire Lord Claimed Him novel · Chapter 2 of 24

Chapter 2: House Rules

Lucas's first day in a house that sleeps all day and never eats. That night a cold, shaking Thomas asks to lie beside him, and a kiss goes too far until Luke stops them in the doorway.

Lucas said it, and the three of them came up the steps and into the hall together.

"Come in."

Thomas shook rain out of his hair and grinned. "Thank you, boss."

Nobody explained, and Lucas was too tired to ask.

The brownstone had four floors, a kitchen with an empty fridge, and a staircase that creaked on every third step.

Luke carried Lucas's two bags up to the second floor without being asked.

"This one's yours," he said, and put them down in a room with a big bed and a window painted black.

"Why is the window painted?"

"Light sensitivity," Luke said. "All of us. You can scrape it if you want."

"I won't."

Luke looked at him for a moment, then nodded once and left.

Lucas slept until two in the afternoon, and when he came downstairs the house was silent.

The curtains were closed in every room.

The kitchen held a toaster, a kettle and a single carton of eggs, and nothing in the fridge had been opened.

He found a note on the table in Noah's slanted writing.

We sleep days. Back up at dusk. Help yourself to anything. N.

Lucas ate three eggs standing at the counter and wrote a list of everything the house needed.

It was a long list.

He bought groceries, a lamp and four pairs of thick curtains, and by dusk the fridge was full.

At seven the three of them came down, one at a time, with their hair flat from sleep.

Not one of them ate.

Noah drank a glass of water and watched Lucas cook.

Luke asked where the fuse box was.

Thomas stood in front of the vending machine on the corner, which Lucas had walked him to, and put in a dollar with enormous care.

A bag of pretzels dropped.

"It gave it to me," Thomas said, delighted. "I didn't even ask twice."

"That's what it does."

"I know," Thomas said. "I like it anyway."

They played that night at a small club across town, a warm-up for next week's show, and Lucas stood at the side of the stage with a clipboard and a cash box.

He did not look at the clipboard.

He watched Noah sing.

At two in the morning, Lucas lay on top of his covers in the dark and could not sleep.

The house was loud in the small ways old houses are.

A knock came at his door, soft, with one knuckle.

"Lucas?" It was Thomas, whispering. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

The door opened, and Thomas stood in the hall in a thin grey shirt and sleep pants.

His freckles looked dark against his skin, and his bare arms were goosebumped.

"I can't get warm," he said. "I'm sorry. Is it okay if I just sit?"

Lucas moved over on the bed without thinking.

Thomas sat on the edge, and then lay down beside him, and then drew a breath through his teeth.

"You're so warm."

"Everybody says that."

"Everybody's right."

Thomas turned on his side and pressed his face into Lucas's shoulder.

His skin was cold through the cotton of Lucas's shirt, and he was shaking a little.

Lucas put an arm around him.

Thomas went still, and a moment later the shaking stopped.

"Is that okay?" Lucas asked.

"It's the best thing that's happened to me in a month."

He said it into Lucas's collarbone.

His mouth was an inch from Lucas's neck, and Lucas felt every breath.

Neither of them moved for a while.

Then Thomas lifted his head, and his green eyes were very close.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked. "I want to do it because I picked it. Nobody told me to."

Lucas's heart was going hard.

"Yes," he said.

The kiss was careful at first, and cold, and then it was not.

Thomas's mouth warmed against his, and his hand slid up under Lucas's shirt to rest flat on his stomach.

Lucas gasped and arched into it.

Thomas made a low, surprised sound and pushed him back against the pillow.

He kissed him harder, one cold hand moving across his ribs, and Lucas pulled him down by the shirt until their hips were pressed together.

Thomas was hard against his thigh, and so was he.

"Oh," Thomas said, breathless. "Oh, I didn't know you'd feel like this."

"Thomas," Lucas said.

His hand was tight in Thomas's hair.

"Thomas."

The voice came from the doorway, quiet and steady.

Luke stood there in the dark with one hand on the frame.

Thomas froze with his mouth against Lucas's jaw.

"He doesn't know yet," Luke said.

"Know what?" Lucas asked, trying to get his breath back.

Luke looked at him for a long moment, then at Thomas, and his face was gentle.

"Tomorrow we tell him," he said. "Tonight, let him sleep."

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