Reggie’s Reasons by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Nineteen
Reggie was having a lovely dream involving a hot demon with a wicked tongue, when a shrill noise jerked him from his sleep. Glancing around, he was in bed, but Dirkin wasn’t with him. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he brushed the hair out of his eyes, and rubbed over his face. Where the hell is that noise coming from?
“That’s your phone ringing, babe.” Dirkin sauntered in carrying two large mugs of coffee. “Might pay to answer it.”
“My phone?” Reggie couldn’t remember the last time he’d used it, let alone where it was.
“I put it on charge this morning,” Dirkin explained, handing him a coffee and then swiping the phone off the dresser at the foot of the bed and passing that over too. “You’re going to need it if we’re back on the earth realm again.”
“It’s Kyle.” Reggie was still trying to wake up. “He’s not usually up this early.” He accepted the call. “Kyle? What is it? Is everything all right?”
“Hey, Reggie, my man.” There was something wrong – Reggie could tell by the tone although Kyle was trying to hide it. “Rumer has it you might be making for places over the ocean sometime soon.”
“Yep.” Reggie took a sip of coffee. Gods, his mouth was dry. “My parents – I’m going to see where they came from. Could be there a while.”
“Hmm. Good. Good.” There was silence for a moment and then Kyle said, “So, have you got any room for a close friend on this journey of yours? Like, I know that hunky demon fella will be with you, but er… I… er… look.” A long sigh came over the call. “I was real pissed off at the way Fox treated you and I might’ve been stupid enough to say something about it to his face. Erm… he’s like, he’s gone completely potty, man, and you know I don’t get into all that political shit and fighting and stuff. But I think he’s going to arrest me for real this time. He’s got a Napoleon complex going on.”
“Where are you?” Reggie looked at Dirkin who had his own phone screen open. “I can’t come myself. Fox threatened to arrest me if I came back to town too, but I can send someone – a demon – to pick you up and get you out of there.”
“I’m at your old apartment, actually. Hiding in the laundry. I thought, if I could pack up some of your stuff, and bring it… maybe raid your fridge for some of the bagged stuff, but geez, you’re going to have to hurry. I’ve already had one hell of a beating, so Fox has got the scent of my blood. It won’t take him long to find me.”
“Balthazar’s on it,” Dirkin murmured. “He’s so glad I met you. He’s not had this much excitement in years.”
“Kyle? Balthazar’s coming. I don’t know if you…”
“Yeah, man, he’s here. Damn, that’s one handsome hunk of a demon. Thank fuck. Chat to you soon.”
The call cut out. Reggie stared at the screen for a moment, then chucked the phone on the bedside cabinet. Wrapping both of his hands around his mug, he leaned against Dirkin’s shoulder, peering up at his beloved. “Fox beat Kyle up for sticking up for me.”
“Fox is an unhinged bastard who can’t stand the fact his plans for vampire domination didn’t work. Kyle’s welcome to travel with us. I don’t have a problem with that.”
“I think Kyle fancies Balthazar.”
“Let’s hope they fancy each other.” Dirkin winked. “Knowing Balthazar the way I do, that would mean we can finish this coffee in peace and get down to the serious business of saying good morning to each other before we face the day.”
“Does this saying good morning to each other involve your tongue and my ass,” Reggie asked, aiming for an innocent look, “only I was having this dream…”
“Drink that coffee quick,” Dirkin growled, as his tongue flicked over his lips.
/~/~/~/~/
It was over an hour later Reggie and Dirkin made their way downstairs to find Balthazar and Kyle swapping spit in the living room. If Kyle had been injured, he’d healed up after ingesting blood, and Dirkin had a suspicion Balthazar had offered some of his own to help things along.
“You’d better not have been fucking on my couch.” Dirkin had enough growl in his voice to force the two men apart. “You’ve got your own place, Baz, complete with a bed last time I checked. You don’t need to be doing the dirty here.”
“Been there, done that. Now, I’m just dispensing some good old fashioned demon healing vibes.” Balthazar sat back, but he kept his arm around Kyle’s shoulder. “Fox did quite a number on our young Kyle here. I’ve been thinking, I’ll give it a week, and then you and I should go and pay him a visit, my friend.”
“That’s if we’re not too busy in Italy,” Dirkin demurred. He thought his friend had a great idea, but he wasn’t sure how Reggie would take it, knowing Fox could end up looking like meat the junkyard dogs fought over.
“We’re actually going to Italy?” Kyle sounded like an excited kid. “Shit, Reggie, why didn’t you tell me you were a vampire prince. When Baz told me I just about flipped. I mean, shit, I remember that time I was holding your hair back while you…”
“There are some things my beloved doesn’t need to know,” Reggie said quickly. “And I didn’t know I was a prince and neither did Fox until after he’d banished me.”
“So, that’s what got his panties in a twist.” Kyle rolled back on the couch laughing hard enough to break a rib. “Oh, my gods, all this time he was trying to keep you down and on his good side so you wouldn’t challenge him, and it turns out you outranked him anyway. My gods, that’s priceless.”
“Is your friend always like this? I thought he only got weird when he’d been drinking,” Dirkin murmured to his mate.
“He loves life,” Reggie said quietly. “He laughs harder, loves faster, and enjoys everything about living there is. You’d never meet a more honest or happy vampire. He’s like me. A misfit.”
“He’s like you in more ways than one.” Dirkin nodded to the scar Balthazar was wearing. “Hey, Baz, were you going to tell me and my mate that you’d met your mate too?”
“I was healing him, then fucking him so the feeding would be easier, and now I’m waiting for him to come down from his high, so we can chat about it. But it’s all good. He’s wearing my mark too.” Balthazar was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “He just hasn’t noticed it yet.”
“Marks? What marks?” Kyle felt around his neck, and then stared at Balthazar’s. “Holy shit. Are you mine? Really? Truly? Oh, my gods, I’ve hit the jackpot. Did you see that, Reggie man? Turns out you are a prince and I’ve scored the Prince of Hell as my beloved. Fuck, this is going to be so much fun. So, great Prince of the Underworld, have you organized an entourage so my man Reggie can go to Italy in style?”
“Entourage?” Dirkin sat down encouraging his mate to sit with him. “Do you think we need one?”
“Need, nope.” Kyle grinned wildly. “But hey, Reggie deserves it, don’t you think? Some fancy clothes, his own demon guard. I can see it now. It’ll be epic.”
“It would be one way of letting people know I’ve arrived,” Reggie said faintly. “Did we ever find out if they got all the people responsible for killing my parents? Vampires have very long memories.”
“We’ll take a demon entourage.” Dirkin nodded.
“My mate is full of good ideas.” Balthazar beamed. “This is going to be so much fun.”
“You wait until you hear Reggie on the karaoke, beloved,” Kyle’s grin was just as wide. “Do they even have karaoke in Italy?”
“Ooh.” Balthazar rubbed his hands together. “What is this karaoke you speak of?”
“I thought we were going to the Italian vampire court?” Reggie said, and Dirkin noted a touch of hysteria in his voice. “Maybe we should get the awkward ‘I’ve come to rule you’ shit out of the way before we start thinking about karaoke.”
“My mate’s right,” Dirkin said firmly. “Let’s get smartened up, grab some guards. Next stop Italy.”
/~/~/~/~/
Okay. It was official. Reggie was panicking and it had nothing to do with Kyle and Balthazar’s enthusiasm for karaoke. Making his excuses, he disappeared into the bathroom again, but he knew he couldn’t stay there for long.
Staring at his reflection wasn’t helping. Reggie didn’t look any different to the way he always did. His pale face was functional, his dark hair hung in waves over his shoulder. Not a face that would scare horses or young children, but not the face of an aristocrat either. Fuck, what am I doing?
It was fine for Kyle, Balthazar and even Dirkin to be all gung-ho about him heading off to Italy. They weren’t the ones the vampire court would be looking at. Turning his head, one way and then the other, Reggie tried putting on the sort of expression Bevan or Fox were famous for – aloof, arrogant, untouchable. I just look freaking constipated.
“Babe?” There was a knock at the door, before it opened and Dirkin popped his head around it. “You doing okay? The others are waiting downstairs.”
“I don’t know if I can pull this off.” Reggie turned away from the mirror to face his beloved. “You’ve seen the life I’ve lived. I’m more fit as a bouncer or an enforcer even… no, not an enforcer because I hate conflict, but I don’t have an arrogant cell in my body.”
Dirkin came in, closing the door behind him. Two steps and Reggie was in his demon’s arms. “Who said you had to be arrogant to win them over?” Dirkin asked, his breath skating across Reggie’s hair.
“This is my mom and dad’s legacy.” Reggie’s breath caught. “I know they’re dead, but I don’t want to disappoint them. What if the court see me and decide I’m just a waste of space? I don’t have the training on manners or etiquette. I’m terrified I’ll insult someone important. Do you think…?” Reggie looked into Dirkin’s eyes, “Do you think it’s too late to go back and get Bevan’s notes on all of this?”
“We’re not going back to Bevan’s to get those notes,” Dirkin said firmly. “Now, you listen to me, Reginald Forsyth-Willis, you are your parents’ son. But you are so much more than that. You are your own man, having forged your own life independent of the influences of the likes of Bevan and Fox and people like them. No matter what they said, or did, you stayed true to you, and you’ll see that’s far more important when dealing with other people than anything you can be taught.”
“But Bevan said…”
“If anyone’s a waste of space it was that damn Bevan. You need to hear what I’m saying, Reggie. You will find out who’s important to you in the Italian court. You’ll set the tone for the way vampires live in Italy – hell, you might even set a trend for more casual vamps everywhere. The Italian vampire court is your birthright, your heritage, and you can do what you damn well want with it.”
“And it’s really as simple as turning up?” Reggie knew at a gut level what Dirkin was saying was true. He just wished he felt more worthy of the position his parents had left him in.
“Show up like you own the place, because you do. Be yourself and show by example you expect your people to adapt to you, not the other way around. Remember, they’ll be nervous too. They have no way of knowing you’re not some arrogant prick who’s going to walk in and start throwing your weight around, especially in light of what happened to your parents. Show that you want to get to know these people because many of them would’ve known your parents. Be you and the people will love you.”
It was hard staying anxious in the face of his beloved’s overwhelming confidence. Reggie knew Dirkin was right. He could only be himself and pray that was enough. “What about you, my handsome beloved. Will you love me when I’m a prince?”
“I have loved you for a very long time. That won’t change.”
Dirkin’s words were refreshingly blunt and honest. Reggie felt them settle in his bones. “I love you too, my prince among demons.”
“Ready to go and face your destiny? Balthazar, Kyle and the others are waiting on us.”
They can wait five more minutes, Reggie thought as he reached up and matched his lips with his beloved’s.
