Bound in Blood by J. P. Bowie Page A

mortal visitor.”
    BOUND IN BLOOD
    J. P. Bowie
    61
     
    “Who?” Ron fell quiet as Jean-Claude opened the door and admitted Carlos and a young stranger. Oh boy , he thought gloomily. It’s gonna be a ‘pretend night’. Ron had, over the course of his relationship with Jean-Claude, been able to tell vampire from mortal at a glance.
    Some vampires, such as Jean-Claude himself, Marcus and Roger, could pass for mortal without difficulty, while others had an ethereal quality that set them apart and made them easy for him to recognise. Ron had not met Carlos before this evening, but he knew immediately who he was. Roger had called ahead to let him know to expect their friend from Spain. Ron also knew that the young man accompanying Carlos was most definitely not vampire.
    He sighed as he thought of the side-steps everyone would have to take to keep him ignorant of the fact that the man he was dating was an immortal—that was exactly why he never invited Jonas, his brother, to these get-togethers when he was in town. Jonas would freak if he ever found out Jean-Claude was vampire. Ron’s lips twisted in a wry smile.
    Actually, freak wasn’t a strong enough word .
    He pushed those thoughts aside as he went to meet Carlos and his friend.
    “Ron…” Jean-Claude smiled at him as he introduced Carlos. “This is our friend from Spain, Carlos Galeano. Carlos, my lover, Ron Hendricks.”
    Carlos took Ron’s hand in both of his and bowed slightly. “My pleasure, Ron. Roger has told me what a good friend you are to him. I believe you have had some adventures together.”
    Ron grinned, charmed by Carlos’ gracious manners. “Life’s never dull when Roger’s around.”
    “And this is Christopher Jeffries,” Carlos said, taking Chris’ arm.
    “Hi.” Chris took Ron’s proffered hand with a shy smile. “Thanks for inviting me.”
    “Oh, you’re welcome. I’ve just opened a Pinot Noir,” Ron told Chris. “The guys are all red wine drinkers, but I have beer if you’d rather?”
    “Red wine’s great,” Chris said quickly.
    Carlos took Chris’ hand as Jean-Claude led them to the corner table. “Christopher’s parents own a vineyard in Santa Barbara.”
    BOUND IN BLOOD
    J. P. Bowie
    62
     
    “Wow.” Ron sounded impressed. “Hope this Pinot Noir passes muster.” He put a glass in front of Chris and poured a small amount of the dark-red liquid. “I’ll let the expert be the judge.”
    “I wouldn’t say I’m an expert,” Chris mumbled, raising the glass to his lips. He took a small sip, savouring the wine on his tongue before swallowing. “Very nice.”
    Jean-Claude patted Chris’ shoulder. “You have good taste. That is my favourite.”
    A loud rapping at the door had Ron chuckling. “That’ll be Roger.” He ran to the door and flung it open.
    Chris stared, startled, as a blond-haired young man threw himself into Ron’s arms and started to chew on his neck—or at least, that’s what it looked like from where Chris was sitting. He felt a rush of relief when Ron laughed and disentangled himself from the young man’s arms and legs.
    “Roger, you really are too much.”
    “Better than not being enough,” the one called Roger replied then cast a long look towards the table where Chris sat. “You must be Chris…topher,” he said, advancing on the table, all smiles.
    “R-right.” Although not tall, Roger had a larger than life appearance that made Chris slightly nervous. As his hand was taken in Roger’s cool grip, Chris couldn’t help but notice the man who loomed over Roger’s shoulder was, without doubt, the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his entire life. He found himself almost mesmerised by the emerald-green eyes that twinkled at him from a face that could only be described as perfect.
    Roger caught Chris’ expression and grinned at him, showing very white teeth. “This ugly guy is Marcus, and I’m Roger. Pleased to meet you.”
    Chris shook hands with them both, wondering if any