VET Vampire Romance 01 - Covet

many times, had typed the words in his emails to Callum only to delete them when sense had overcome the desires of his heart. Callum might understand his plight but if word reached Antoine or Snow, the aristocrat brothers who ran Vampirerotique with them, there would be hell to pay.
    The car door opened and Javier swiftly necked the glass of blood. He set the glass down and stepped out of the limousine, his polished black leather shoes reflecting the lights of the theatre. He straightened his deep silver-grey tie and fastened the button on his black suit jacket, preparing himself mentally at the same time. The driver nodded and closed the door, and then opened the boot of the vehicle and removed his luggage. Javier took the dark grey suit bags from him, hanging them off his fingers by his side, and looked up at the theatre. Six tall columns supported a triangular block of sandstone. Each carved figure on the frieze had been cleaned during his time away in preparation for the new season. Tonight was the first show, open only to elite vampires. The aristocrats were yet to return from the countryside or abroad.
    Javier managed a smile when the wooden shutters on the other side of the windows and glass doors drew back, revealing the sumptuous red and gold interior of the theatre and his friend. Callum’s steps were swift and sure, his handsome face a picture of darkness as he hurried down the wide marble staircase in the middle of the entrance hall, tying his long black hair back into a ponytail. He shoved the doors open, leaving one of the staff to hurriedly wipe his handprints off the glass, and briskly took the five stone steps that led down to the pavement and Javier.
    “It’s a nightmare.” Callum raked long fingers through his hair, messing it up again. It was a habit of the elite vampire’s when he was under stress. His green eyes flashed with irritation and Javier could sense that he was angry about something as well as see it.
    “Hello to you too.” Javier’s smile widened and he motioned for the driver to come to him.
    Callum snatched the black designer suitcase from the driver, stuffed a large tip in the man’s breast pocket, and waved him away. Like Javier, Callum wasn’t used to the attention of servants and being waited on. It had taken them both years to get used to having humans and weaker vampires fetch them things or do menial tasks such as carrying their baggage. Clearly Callum still had difficulty with the latter.
    Javier looked beyond him to the foyer of the theatre, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lilah. Was she working tonight?
    He frowned, his sandy eyebrows knitting tightly, and stared at Callum. What if his nightmare had something to do with the staff?
    “Has something bad happened?” He fought to keep the note of worry from his voice. Callum would see straight through him if it slipped out. They had spent years together at the finest vampire academy in England even though Callum was a century younger than he was and had remained in touch after graduating. They had always been close friends, even when they had been hundreds of miles apart and in two different countries.
    “Victor got into a fight and got his nose broken. He’s a bloody mess.” Callum practically growled the words, his British accent hardening the final two and emphasising his anger.
    Javier could understand his distress now. Victor was one of their best performers and often took the lead in the final act of the show, seducing a human thrall before feeding from them in front of the audience. He was a favourite among the female theatregoers because of his good looks and the fact that he was happy to engage with male as well as female partners on stage, and could handle more than one human at a time. He had been with the theatre for almost a decade and was a big draw. Even the aristocrat females liked him and he wasn’t averse to giving some of them private performances to keep them sweet and keep the money rolling in for the theatre. They needed Victor on form and on stage. On a normal night, Javier might have felt more concerned by the news, but the flight from Spain had felt as though it had taken days rather than a couple of hours and his frayed nerves were telling him to find somewhere quiet to rest, at least until he knew that Lilah was still here.
    Still temptingly close.
    Once he knew that, he would be able to function again and find his usual calm edge and the emotional balance he needed in order to face a