Page 6 of Threads of Crimson 2

What no one realized, except me perhaps, was that he could also read the minds of our kind. Except me. Which was perhaps why he feared me but respected me so much. His keeping part of his gift a secret was why he’d earned my respect, as well.

I had no use for those who flaunted what our goddess had given them to look cool or for their own gain. That lack of self-control came from their humanity, which proved that they weren’t to be trusted.

“So is that why everyone’s so scared of you? Because you’re so old, they know you must have an unknown gift?”

“Mmm. Partly, perhaps. I’ve never revealed my gifts to anyone. At least, not to anyone who understood the full implications.”

A smile spread slowly across his face. “But you’re going to tell me?”

“Of course. It wouldn’t be—”

He stood on his tiptoes and pressed a warm, sweet kiss to my cheek. It felt like he’d branded me with the shape of his lips, and the urge to pick him up and take him upstairs to my bed raced through me. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Chapter three

Benji

It took everything in me to hold in a laugh. Lysandro looked shell-shocked at an innocent little kiss on the cheek. He’d be really alarmed if he knew that it was either that or jumping in his arms, straddling his waist, and fusing our mouths together.

“So tell me. What’s your gift?”

He cleared his throat, which I absolutely knew he didn’t need to do, and my belly fluttered. Had a simple peck flustered him so much? He was older than God from the sounds of it, so he’d definitely had intimate relations with someone before, right? And it was a cheek kiss, for fuck’s sake.

“I actually have several.”

“No way,” burst from my mouth without thought. I shook my head. “No, of course you do. You’re ancient, right, so that makes perfect sense.”

He scrunched his nose, and again, my brain screeched to a halt. This was so new. Did fabulous clothes also mean new and quirky character traits? I really, really hoped so. “I’m not sure my age has anything to do with my multiple gifts, but that’s beside the point.

“Benji, I can’t reiterate enough how important it is that you keep this to yourself.”

“Okay,” I said, wishing he’d get to the point. Curiosity was gonna kill this cat if he didn’t get with it.

“I’m a daywalker,” he said, low and ominous.

I waited for him to follow that up with something, anything. When he didn’t, I asked, “And…”

His lips twitched into a slight frown, and I felt bad for making light of it. Obviously, this was a big deal to him. “Sorry, sorry. I just…well, you already came in, and it’s daytime, so I kinda figured you were a daywalker. I thought there was something else.”

If I wasn’t so positive that it wasn’t possible for someone as regal as him to act so normal, I’d say that Lysandro’s mouth fell open. “And you don’t find that I can go into the sun…extraordinary?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “I guess not. I mean, on a lot of TV shows and in the movies—”

He finally wrenched himself out of my grasp and grabbed at his hair. “Hollywood has normalized things that just aren’t right.” He paced the length of the kitchen, mumbling to himself.

“Lysandro?” I asked hesitantly. Maybe I’d really offended him.

He blew out a frustrated breath. “Sorry. It’s just…I worked myself into a tizzy all week trying to figure out how to handle this information with you, and you don’t even care.”

A tizzy? Holy shit. This version of Lysandro was as adorable and enticing as the Velvet Vein Lysandro was hot and sexy.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it was that big a deal.”

He stared at me from across the room in his purple raincoat and paisley shirt and gave me a look that reminded me exactly who I was dealing with. His fathomless eyes penetrated right into my soul in a way that sent a scared shiver up my spine even as my dick jerked in my boxers. Which was the last thing I needed him to see.

“In all my years, I’ve only ever known one other daywalker, and that was my mother.”

“Holy shit.” His reaction to my lack of a reaction began to make sense. “So Hollywood really got it wrong, huh?”