Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

nightwalkers, shifters and witches."
    Those dark eyebrows shot up and Luke tried to hide his amusement. "Told me how they kept the balance in nature. Humans with love, nightwalkers with power, the shifters with justice and the wisdom of the witch. Like an organic checks and balances system, the world can't function without all four. She used to have strange folk visit her once and awhile, probably some of those beings. Ended up killing her, too."
    "I'm sorry," Charlie whispered, none of the cynical tone remaining.
    "So was I, but I hadn't spoken to her for years. My mum and dad refused to allow her to have any contact with me after she took me to get this." Luke slid his shirt off in explanation, turning so Charlie could see the Celtic symbol of protection against supernatural beings tattooed onto his right shoulder. Standing before the smaller man, shirtless, he felt vulnerable and it aroused him more than he expected.
    Charlie let out a laugh, the smile softening the sharp lines of his face. "Explains why the mind wipe didn't stick. I suppose you know what I am?"
    "Nightwalker," Luke answered softly.
    Charlie gave him a puzzled look. "If you knew, why did you try to help me outside? You should've known I didn't need it."
    "I didn't know what you were until you played your mind trick on Tim." Luke tossed his shirt on the bed. He could tell by the messed blankets and the blood stain, Charlie had slept there while he'd worked. Knowing the man had felt comfortable enough in his home to sleep, warmed him inside.
    "Well, if it didn't work on you, why did you go along with it? I could've been a vampire."
    Luke shrugged. "I knew you weren't."
    He made a sarcastic face. "How?"
    "I just did. I've seen your other kind, and I knew you weren't one of them. You would've killed us if that was all you were after. I figured if you needed to hide from the authorities, you must have good reason."
    Charlie began to pace and Luke took the opportunity to admire his beauty. Small, but by no means skinny, his pale skin hugged shapely muscles and those jeans wrapped around a pert little arse. His dark hair was floppy and in need of a haircut, giving him a younger almost cute appearance. From what Luke felt earlier, what he lacked in height he did not lack in the trouser department. Everything had happened so fast with the blood drinking and… shite ! Had he really blown a load in his britches? Memories of Charlie washing him up then trying to wipe his mind afterward returned to Luke. He smiled, arousal growing in his middle.
    Luke had never met a nightwalker and had only seen a vampire the once. No stranger to the supernatural world, he'd had a werewolf lover in America during a summer he'd worked on a guest ranch while living out childhood cowboy fantasies. Of course, Joel Amitola didn't have a clue Luke had known what he and his brother were. Luke had met more than his share of witches, too, but he'd had the least dealings with nightwalkers. Somehow, the one before him didn't seem as scary as the stories indicated he would be. Luke didn't feel threatened at all. He felt perfectly safe with Charlie.
    Leaning one hip against the ladder in front of his bookshelves, he crossed his arms as Charlie paced. He would need a moment, because there was a whole helluva lot more to clue the bloke into before the night ended. Luke could hardly believe it all himself.
    After a long enough delay, Luke spoke. "Look, I appreciate what you did, Charlie, healing me. If you need refuge for a while, you wouldn't be the first one I gave it to. I have kids who hang out here."
    "I'm no kid," Charlie snapped. "I'm ninety-seven years old."
    So his nightwalker had issues with being short and mistaken for young…good to know. Luke wanted to tell him he loved little guys, the adorable twinks who came into his bar, but he figured the comparison might not be appreciated. "But you need asylum just the same, don't you?"
    After a moment, Charlie relented with a curt nod.
    Luke bobbed his head once in acknowledgment. "I have to ask, since the kids living here have been dealt enough shit. If I help you, are they in danger from those wolves?"
    Charlie sighed and made his way across the room, putting his back to Luke and looking out the window at the grimy London buildings making up the less than stellar view. "No, those guys are just idiots. The woman on the other hand, she could be a problem. She could tell the people after me where I am."
    "Who's after you?"
    He turned