The next day a letter arrived from the school about Edgar's failure to attend his exams. Michael called his teacher and invited her to the house for a discussion one evening, and somehow the pair of us and Edgar managed to convince her to let him sit the exams alone. They would be arranged for the following week on school premises, but in a small classroom instead of the main study hall, supervised by one of the teachers.

All of us worried about Edgar being in an enclosed space with a human, and I hunted every day to give myself the ability to fill up the bottle twice a day for him to feed. He complained about it every time but drank anyway to lessen his discomfort and ensure he could do the exams without suffering too much. He only drank beer once, so far as I knew, and quickly realised he no longer enjoyed it, and didn't feel any effects from it. He said he did it out of habit, but didn't feel the need to drown his thoughts, so that was a big improvement.

Meanwhile, the other vampires in the area began causing more problems. We knew there were three, but the number of disappearances rose at a disturbing rate, and we suspected they had made a few more of themselves. Marko, Paul, and Dwayne began hunting for their lair and found evidence of it in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. The building had an underground storage section and had been closed due to an explosion that had killed dozens of workers. Michael and Star decided to go there during the day when they were sleeping, to find out exactly how many there were. They discovered six in total, meaning we would have our work cut out.

I kept my distance from Edgar for a while; not enough to make him feel like I'd changed my mind or was avoiding him, or at least I thought not. But he needed to be up during the day for his exams, and having him in my bed was too hard, so I slept alone during the day and he stayed in his room at night. When the exams were over and he didn't need to spend his time studying, or go out during the day, he let me have it with both barrels. I woke on Saturday evening to find him sitting on the side of my bed glaring at me.

"Edgar?"

"Finally. You know how long I've been waiting for you to wake up? It's been dark for over an hour."

I grinned and sat up. "Someone's in a bad mood."

"You think it's funny that you spent the whole week ignoring me? I know what's going on, and you're all leaving me out of it."

"What are you talking about?" I frowned and rubbed a hand over my face.

"The vampires in the warehouse. I've heard you and the others talking when you think I'm asleep. I'm a fucking vampire killer, David. If there are six of them, then you need me."

"Whoa, where's this coming from? We're not leaving you out. We're biding our time, and we were waiting for your exams to be over."

"Well, they're over." Edgar glowered. "I smashed them."

"Good."

"We'll talk about the bloodsuckers more later. After you tell me why you're avoiding me like the plague."

"I'm not." I reached for him, but he moved away. "You needed to be up during the day, and you didn't need the distraction this week, that's all. You know I want you."

"Do I?" He glared, eyes turning yellow.

"You're still really young. And after what happened—"

"I'm eighteen in a couple of months. And what happened was two years ago. Since I drank your fucking blood, I hardly think about it." Edgar's fangs emerged. His heart was pounding, the sound like a rapid drumbeat in my ears. He was angry, but also nervous, as if he were stealing himself to do something. I stayed quiet and waited, my gaze locked on his. He moved so fast he blurred, straddling my lap and gripping my shoulders. "Maybe I'm not ready to fuck, but I want something. I'm not scared." His shaking voice betrayed him.

"I know that," I said softly. I slid my arms around him and pulled him against me. My dick was hard under the sheet, and he had to have felt it. I tilted my head back and kissed his chin. He hesitated, then brought our lips together. His fangs punctured my lip and he swept his tongue over the small wounds, releasing a groan of pleasure. When my lip healed, his groan turned to one of frustration.

"Come here." I gripped the back of his neck and guided his mouth to my neck. I doubted he would bite, so I made a quick move with my free hand and pressed my thumbnail through my skin into a vein. Edgar's nostrils flared, and his mouth covered the cut on my neck. "That's it. Take what you want."

He sucked on the wound and his fangs pressed into my flesh. I shuddered as he began to feed from me, humming with pleasure, his body writhing on my lap. The scent of his blood and my own made my nostrils flare, and the smell of his arousal ignited me further. My dick throbbed under the sheet, against the pressure of his body, and I dug my nails into his back in an effort to not touch myself. But then he surprised me again, when he shuffled backwards a few inches and reached between us. I rolled my head back, gasping, as he wrapped his hand around me. He stroked me, hesitantly, a little awkwardly, as if he'd never had a dick in his hand before. It was clumsy, jerky, and he didn't grip tight enough, but my orgasm rocked through me and I spilled into his hand.

Panting, I held onto him, expecting him to back away, but that didn't happen. He pulled his mouth from my neck, licking his lips, and unfastened his pants. I lowered my gaze and took in the swollen head of his dick, flushed red, wet with precome, as it slid through his fist. Two strokes, and he came, crying out and shaking in my arms.

"Fuck," he gasped. "Fucking hell." He shoved himself back into his pants and slumped forward, resting his head on my shoulder.

I stroked his back, his shirt damp and warm. "You okay?"

"Y-yes."

"Edgar?"

"Okay, maybe I am scared."

"You can trust me."

He pulled back and met my eyes, his face flushed. "I know. I'm sure you're used to, um, something better than that."

"It was amazing because it's you. I'm yours, to do whatever you want with, at your pace. Okay?"

Edgar nodded. "I'm gonna, um, take a shower." He shuffled off my lap and got to his feet. "Then we'll talk about those fucking vampires."

We met up with the others later that night and as reluctant as I was to let Edgar get involved, I decided it would be better for him to go and check out the situation with Michael and Star, rather than try to stop him and have him go off on his own the minute the rest of us were asleep. So on Sunday morning, as I passed out in my bed, Edgar set off with the other two adult half vamps to check out the warehouse where our enemies slept. I knew nothing of the outcome until Sunday night.

I opened my eyes, instantly relieved when I found Edgar snuggled against me, under the sheet this time, although he was wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I brushed my lips over his and he opened his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You mean, why am I under the sheet?" He grinned. "You're mine to do what I want with, right?"

"Don't tease me."

"I'm not. I want to touch you again."

"Fuck." My dick jerked and I suppressed the urge to pull him against me. "After you tell me what happened at the warehouse."

"Oh, that. Way to spoil the mood, David. Michael and Star just wanted to look and report back. What's the point in that? The best way to get them is while they're sleeping."

Alarm filled me. "What did you do?"

"Don't look so worried. There isn't a scratch on me, as you can see. I took two of them out with holy water when they were sleeping. While they were screaming and burning, the others woke up, so the three of us rushed out into the sun. One of the newer ones followed us and burned to a crisp. Fucking hilarious. So, three down, three to go."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Edgar," I groaned. "You could have got yourself killed."

He grinned wider. "But I didn't. It's about time I got back to doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm guessing the remaining three will come after us tonight, but at least there are more of us than them now."

"What did the two that you killed look like?" I asked.

"One had long dark hair and a nose ring. Upside down, he looked a bit like Dwayne. The other was kind of ginger."

"Okay, good. They were two of the original three. I think the dark one was the leader, so the others won't be as strong. It shouldn't be too difficult to take them out." Relieved, I pulled Edgar against me. "So, where were we? I didn't really spoil the mood, did I?"

"Yeah, you pretty much ruined it." He pushed against my chest. I loosened my grip, disappointed. Then he laughed. "You're too easy to tease."

I growled, showing him my fangs. "Tease me too much, and I'll bite you."

"Like that's a threat." He rolled his eyes.

I stopped joking around and met his gaze. "Tell me what you want."

"I, um—" Lowering his eyes, he flushed and smiled. "I want you to touch me."

I touched his face, the heat of his skin warming my fingertips. "Do you want to get undressed?"

"Um, yeah, sure." He moved with the speed of sound, throwing back the bed covers, tossing garments to the side of the room, sliding back into the bed with me. He breathed fast and nervously, his pulse racing, and he was about as far from being aroused as he could get—I couldn't smell anything other than his fear. Shit.

I grasped his hand and placed it on my chest, holding it there, covered by my own. "You're safe with me. You know that, right? You can change your mind. We don't have to do anything."

"I want to. I just don't want it to be like… before."

"It won't be. This is different. You get to decide what happens."

He nodded slowly. "Can you close your eyes?"

I closed them instantly. If my heart had still been able to beat, it would have raced. I released his hand and lay still, waiting to see what he would do. My dick throbbed, aching for his touch, and my fangs lengthened.

The mattress moved as Edgar changed position. His hand left my chest and he touched my neck, pushing my hair away. Warm breath brushed my skin, then his fangs pressed in gently, beneath my ear. I arched my neck, gasping with delight as his lips sealed around the wounds. He hummed with pleasure as he fed from me, and as he moved closer, his growing erection bumped against my thigh. I groaned and clenched my fists at my sides to stop myself touching him. He moved closer, shuffling around until he lay against me, his dick rubbing mine. I sucked in a needless breath, and my body trembled with need. The seconds ticked by, slow-motion as I waited for whatever would happen next.

Edgar reached for my hand and guided it between us, showing me with his touch what he wanted. His heart thundered in his chest, and his fangs slid free of my flesh as he pulled his head back and rested it on the pillow. I risked a peek through lowered lashes and found his eyes closed, lips parted and stained with my blood. Slowly, carefully, I wrapped my fingers around him and me together, precome easing the way as I stroked one against the other. He squirmed and groaned, clutched at my shoulder with one hand, rolling his hips as his orgasm approached. I leaned in closer, touched my lips lightly to his and tasted my blood. He deepened the kiss and slid his tongue into my mouth, seeking out my fangs. I bit gently, barely enough to break the skin, until I tasted his blood, sweet and warm, combined with the taste of my own.

We came together, hard and fast, warm and wet, filling my hand and splashing against my stomach. I took my hand away and slid my arm around Edgar as I retracted my fangs and broke the kiss. He opened his eyes and met mine.

"Fuck. That was, um—" He laughed. "Wow."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I teased.

"But you want more." He met my eyes. "You want to fuck, don't you?"

"Some day, if it's what you want. If you don't, we don't have to."

"Won't you get bored?"

"No." I tugged him closer. "Listen, Edgar. I'm yours, in whatever capacity you want me. Sex doesn't make me happy. You do."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because of what happened to me before?"

"No. I'd say it anyway."

"Okay." He thought for a minute. "He didn't fuck me. I don't know if you guessed that. I didn't specify what he did and didn't do when I talked about it."

"I figured. One time you said something about him trying to."

"Yeah, I managed to fight him off the few times he tried to do that. That's why I ended up getting punched. Mostly he sucked my dick and jerked himself off. I fucking hated it because I came and I didn't want to." He spoke without any emotion as if he were reciting a script. "I couldn't have said that before I changed, but it doesn't seem to matter now. I'm not the same person anymore. I just don't want you to ever do that one thing."

"I can't anyway. Nor can you."

"Oh! Fangs. Right." He snorted. "I guess I ruined the mood now."

"No, you didn't. You can always talk to me about anything. But we should get up. Dwayne and Paul are downstairs."

Edgar listened for a moment, catching the two vampires' voices. "Yeah. We'll pick this up another time then. Soon." He gave me a kiss, so fast I barely felt the brush of his lips, and in a flash he was out of the bed, pulling on his underwear.

I stayed where I was while he went to shower and dress properly. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Edgar was really mine now, and we had nothing to stand in our way.