Liam and Danny sat after dancing to an additional few songs, and at points, Danny caught himself lounging beside the vampire as if he could pretend to be owned. Acting the part as well, Liam wrapped an arm around him, petting his hair as Danny rested his head on Liam’s shoulder. “Are you tired?” Liam asked before placing a soft kiss in Danny’s hair.

Danny didn’t have a chance to answer. As if arriving on cue, Mari bounded toward them, the sight of the energetic woman capturing both of their attention. “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, extending her hands toward the two men. “On your feet. We aren’t leaving here until you dance with me.”

“I guess I’m not,” Danny said, directing the comment toward Mari and Liam. As Mari pulled him to his feet, they shared a conspiratorial look. She tugged him close to whisper, “Congratulations,” and pushed him away as quickly, her body instantly swaying to the rhythm of the music. Danny laughed, as did Liam. Not believing for a moment that Liam hadn’t heard that, Danny still acted like he hadn’t and winked several times at Mari while being led around the dance floor. What few embers of energy he had left became expended throughout the duration of the next hour.

By the time they made it home, Danny had nodded off at least twice in the car.

Mari hefted him into her arms, ignoring his objections, and as she carried Danny into the condo, Liam watched them both with bemused affection. “We need to take him into the bedroom with us,” she said. “We’ve worn him out. If we have any hope of wearing him out even more, we need to make sure he gets his rest.”

“Do I get a vote on the matter?” Danny asked, moving his head when they rounded a corner to avoid colliding with it. Mari swung wider the next time they turned, but when neither she, nor Liam, responded, he received his answer. Instead, Mari lowered him onto the mattress in their room and motioned to pull off his shoes. Liam chuckled and removed his as well, but both vampires remained fully clothed when they settled into bed with him.

“You know,” Danny whispered when Liam looped an arm around him from one side, and Mari from the other, “I don’t think I needed that vote anyway.” It didn’t take long for sleep to pull him under and hold him there for the remainder of the day. He didn’t wake until roused by Liam and Mari, and while they showered, Danny sat at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of coffee. His mind wandered around different avenues, and when he looked at the front door, he felt its siren song again.

Somehow, returning to that world felt emptier than living a lie in the vampire one.

Liam emerged from the bedroom first, walking directly toward where Danny sat with an almost remorseful expression on his face. Danny lowered from the stool, recognizing what was being silently asked of him, and even though his heart ached at Liam’s resolve, two things about the bite which followed offered Danny hope. For one, he drank from him far less than he had any previous time, but secondly, the bite had returned to its usual, erotic tenor. Liam allowed waves of pleasure to roll through Danny and as a shiver ran the length of Danny’s spine, Liam licked the wounds closed and whispered in Danny’s ear.

“I’ll see to that later,” he said, his fingertips grazing the bulge in Danny’s pants. “For now, I need to go to work.” As he stepped away, Danny clenched his eyes shut and simply nodded, wanting to linger in the moment for a few, additional seconds before allowing it to relent. He opened his eyes in time to watch the door shut, and as he glanced at the hallway, he saw Mari standing there with a wistful smile on her face.

“He’s still being stubborn,” Mari said.

“Yes, but it’s different this time,” Danny said. He took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure he’s still thinking about last night.”

“Ooh, chiquito. You’ll have to tell me about it over dinner.” She winked, hustling back to the room to collect Danny’s shoes and nearly shoving them at his waiting arms while beckoning him to put them on. Within a half hour, they had been seated in a booth at the local diner, with breakfast placed in front of Danny which he worked on eagerly consuming. Mari listened to him relay what had happened in the club and sighed with delight once he’d finished.

“That man is at war with his own heart,” she said. “It’s both beautiful and frustrating. Don’t be too discouraged with the one step backward. I knew that might happen, which is why I gave you my blood.”

“Buying us time, yeah,” Danny said. He drizzled more syrup over his pancakes, pausing before cutting into them again. “What is your vested interest in this anyway?” he asked. “I mean, I get that you like me, and I know we’ve got similar backgrounds, but that can’t be the only reason why I’m doing it.”

“Not the only reason, just an important one.” Some of Mari’s mirth faded, but a smirk lingered on her lips. “Maybe I want you both to be happy. It could be that simple.”

“It could. I think we’re getting warmer, but we’re not totally there yet.”

“No, we’re not.”

Danny raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed and nodded, and this time, spoke with a grave amount of seriousness. “I can’t stay with Liam,” she said. “It’s one of those stupid rules written in the laws of being a vampire and sadly, it’s not even one we can argue with somebody. I have one more decade with him before I need to leave him.”

“Why do you need to leave him?”

“It’s an instinct thing. Leave the nest and fly away, that sort of thing. Apparently, vampires slowly go crazy if they try to ignore it when it’s time for us to go our separate ways.” Her lips curled again, though in a bittersweet smile. “I’ll be okay. He gave me something I will never, ever thank him enough for and we’ll still be able to see each other through the years. I’m not the one I’m worried about.”

“You’re worried about Liam.”

“I’m worried about him being alone, yes.” Her smile broadened. “And maybe I have a selfish interest in keeping you around, too, so I can enjoy you whenever I visit.”

Danny chuckled and Mari winked, coaxing him to finish his food. When they returned, Mari tugged Danny into the bedroom with her and snapped her fingers, commanding him to get undressed. “We’re going to greet him when he gets home,” she said. “I’ll give you one of his robes to keep warm until then.”

“I swear, I can barely keep up with the two of you,” Danny said, removing his shirt. “You’re both going to fuck me raw.”

“If you’re lucky, I’ll let you watch us after we’re done with you, and you can order us around.” She shot him an evil grin. As Danny watched her strip off her clothes, he worked himself out of his, that voice bent on telling him the truth reminding him that this was as free as he’d ever been allowed to be. When Mari walked from the closet, naked except for her silk robe and handing Danny one of Liam’s, Danny smirked and nodded toward the bed.

“First, let’s have a little fun,” he said. “Give him something to come home to.”

“You wicked boy,” Mari said, extending her hand and allowing Danny to guide her onto the bed, obediently lying on her back when Danny requested her to.

His lips pursed around her limp shaft, working it to full erection, and as he took her in his mouth, he listened to the sharp inhales and languid moans she produced, her fingers curling in his locks and tugging when he quickened his pace. Distantly, he heard the front door open again and Mari saying, “Don’t you dare stop,” and while he continued to suck on her cock, she arched her back and panted her way into release. It wasn’t until Danny had swallowed her cum and looked up that he spied Liam standing in the doorway, watching the sight in front of him.

Liam’s eyes darkened with hunger.

“I think she’s ready for us,” Danny said with a coy grin.

He didn’t know what to expect, but when Liam began to frantically disrobe, Danny laughed with delight. And as Mari shifted over on the bed, she made room for Liam, who hastily crawled to them and greeted each of them with long, desperate kisses. Danny kissed along his shoulders when Liam showed Mari his attention, and as she rolled onto her stomach, Liam and Danny made out over her naked body.

“Over here, Danny,” Mari said, looking at him over her shoulder before nodding at the pillows in front of her. What followed would become the most decadent night Danny had ever experienced.

Seated on the pillows and bracing himself against the headboard, Danny watched Mari suck on his cock while Liam fucked her from behind. Each snap forward made her mouth take in more of Danny and when he gave into an orgasm, Mari drank him in the same way he had, her. She and Liam followed, one after the other, and as they collapsed into a mess of sated bodies, Danny rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

“Is this all you guys do with immortal life?” Danny asked. “Fuck each other senseless?”

“You say that like it might be a bad way to spend eternity,” Mari said. Her movements betrayed her, with her shifting to curl on one side of Danny while reaching for Liam, urging him onto the other side of their human conquest much the same as they had lain the previous night. Liam complied, staring at Mari as she looked back at him. “You’ve been a bad boy,” she said. “Danny told me what you did last night.”

“Don’t pretend not to be pleased,” Liam said. “Wasn’t that your plan all along?”

“Maybe it was. You went back to work tonight, though.” She clucked her tongue at him. Her voice lowered, and when she shifted into Spanish, Danny furrowed his brow and struggled to follow along. Liam understood her, whatever she said to him, and even though he responded in Spanish, Danny saw through their attempt to have a covert conversation. Liam was being scolded. The quirk of Mari’s brow and frown on Liam’s face communicated more than the words themselves and when Liam sighed, Mari tsked again.

“We’re being rude,” Liam chided, switching back to English. Danny felt a kiss against his shoulder and took a deep breath when Liam shifted to look Danny in the eyes. Gently, the vampire’s fingertips grazed across Danny’s cheek. “You like those old movies,” he said, “and the evening is early. Maybe you’d let me join you both again for another one.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Danny said. He watched Liam stand and fumbled for the robe he’d been given to wear, putting it on as Liam disappeared inside his closet for another. When he’d left the main part of the room, Danny looked at Mari, brow furrowed in a silent question which Mari responded to with a small wink. Something about the look in her eyes conveyed the message that the erosion had continued, with Liam’s will being tested bits and pieces at a time. Danny saw it in the way the vampire emerged with another robe around his naked body, which he tied shut before looking directly at Danny.

“Shall we?” he asked, a soft smile on his lips.

Danny nodded. With a shove from Mari, he rose from the bed, securing his robe shut in a similar manner and padding along to settle beside Liam on the couch. Liam lifted an arm almost immediately and draped it around Danny when the human man rested against him the same way he had the previous night. It took Mari a few minutes to join them, but when she did, she sat on the floor at Liam’s feet. After the movie, the duo retreated into the bedroom. Danny excused himself to continue sitting in the living room, smoking a cigarette while staring at a late-night infomercial.

‘She knows what she’s doing,’ he thought. If he had to be honest with himself, however, something about the small retreat had finally managed to wriggle under his skin, filling him with doubt. He padded into the bathroom closer to dawn to relieve himself and admired his reflection right afterward, seeing the litany of puncture wounds and the evidence of blood loss in his pallid complexion. Danny wanted this escape. He craved what Liam could offer. What Mari could offer. He wanted to continue walking the path Liam had suggested; to fully immerse himself within the world Liam claimed he now occupied.

His heart ached, however, to consider neither sex, nor love, would be enough to capture Liam.

“You need to sleep,” Danny said, turning on the faucet to splash water on his face. After leaving the bathroom, he struggled to hear any signs of life coming from their bedroom and felt a pang of loneliness at the silence from the other side. Sleep came in fits and not even a midday shower could set his soul at ease. Not even reheating the food Mari had prepared for him or basking in any of the memories he’d created with both vampires over the past two days. He sat on the couch, flipping through the channels, and startled awake from snoozing when the bedroom door opened again.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine without us?” Liam asked, pausing halfway down the hallway and calling back behind him. Danny furrowed his brow, sitting upright enough to peer down the corridor and watched Mari emerge and place a kiss on Liam’s cheek.

“I’ll be fine, mi amor,” she said, swatting his shoulder. “I have a whole night planned. The sooner you get out of my hair, the sooner I can start it.”

“As you wish.” After exchanging another kiss with Mari, Liam walked further into the open-air living area and paused once he had Danny in his sights. His facial expression impassive, the way he weighed Danny both unnerved and excited him.

“Grab your shoes and coat,” he said. “And give Mari a kiss goodbye. We’re going for a drive.”