Taylor didn’t want to meet the prince in his study. He wanted to hightail it out of there with Justin hanging over his shoulder and Chase waiting with the truck running. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling that way, but the deep need to grab and go was hitting him hard.
Taylor started when Chase reached down and grabbed his hand. It was an unexpected move, but welcomed right about now. Standing in a strange a place as this, he needed the anchor of familiarity, even if he had just became intimately familiar with Chase last night.
They were escorted into a large office and shown to two plush, brown leather chairs that sat opposite from what looked to be a very old and antique desk. Taylor felt like he had stepped back in time. There were paintings on the walls that Taylor bet cost a pretty penny each and even more breakable items in the office. What was with the prince and glass?
“Why do you think the prince wants to meet with us?” Taylor asked Chase nervously as he took a seat in one of the leather chairs, clasping his hands between his knees.
“Beats me. But if the prince wants to talk, the least we can do is listen.”
Taylor turned in his seat when the study doors opened. A tall black-haired man dressed to the nines in a pristine white shirt and black slacks walked toward them, giving Taylor, and then Chase, a polite smile. Before he could take a seat behind his fancy desk, Taylor blurted out his question.
“Where’s Justin?”
The prince grinned at Taylor. The sparkle in his blue eyes was filled with merriment as he sat behind his desk. “I am Prince Dominic Xavier Lucian Ruelle.”
Taylor swallowed hard, his fingernails biting into the soft leather on each armrest. The man held a regal air about him that made Taylor want to bow in front of the man. He opted to stay seated. “I’m Taylor Foyt, and this is Chase Morgan. Now, where is Justin?”
Taylor almost growled and leapt across the space between them when the prince folded his hands together and rested them on his desk like he didn’t have a care in the world and arched a very manicured eyebrow.
“Justin is safe,” the prince said. “But I have a few questions before I take you to him.”
Taylor was going to lose his fucking mind. He didn’t even know the guy. What could they possibly have to talk about? The only thing Taylor wanted to hear was that the prince was having Justin brought to them. “I’ll answer any questions you have after we see Justin.” He couldn’t believe he was trying to negotiate with a prince. And prince of what? Since when did royalty live in deep countryside?
“I’m afraid I must insist.”
Taylor’s nostrils flared as he tried to suppress his anger. He opened his mouth to give the prince a piece of his mind, the pissed-off piece, when a hand covered his. Taylor’s eyes snapped to Chase.
“The quicker we answer the prince’s questions,” Chase said, “the quicker we can see Justin.”
“But—”
Chase shook his head. Taylor pressed his lips together and glanced down to where the man’s hand covered his. He turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with Chase’s, not sure how the man would take it. When Chase didn’t pull away, Taylor blew out a relieved breath and looked up at the prince.
“All right, what do you want to know?” The prince better make this quick. Taylor was dying to see his lover.
“Justin seems to believe that he has an illness,” the prince said. “Why is that?”
“Because he does,” Taylor replied. “Justin has had diabetes for as long as I can remember.”
“And he takes medication for this?”
“A well-balanced diet helps a lot, but yes, he does.” Taylor still didn’t like talking about the things he had done to insure that Justin received his medication while they had been in the hands of the Teacher. They still gave him nightmares.
“What do you know of Justin’s parents?”
“Nothing. Justin never talks about them. He was pretty young when the Teacher got a hold of him. I’m not even sure he remembers them.” Taylor was confused about where all of these questions were coming from, and doubly so as to why the prince wanted to know. It was odd that a stranger wanted to know about Justin’s illness and his lineage. “Has something happened to Justin?”
The prince held his hand up at the same time he shook his head. “Justin is safe, but I am confused about why he is taking medication.”
“He’s sick.” What part of this wasn’t the guy getting?
“No, he is not sick.” The prince sat back in his chair, dropping his hands down to his lap. “He is a vampire.”
Taylor stared at the prince for a moment, his mind playing those words over and over again and comparing them to what he knew of his sweet little Justin. And then he started to laugh. This man had to be a nut job. There was no other explanation for his statement. “Justin is no more a vampire than I am.”
The side of the prince’s mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile. “No, I do not smell vampire on you, nor shifter. I’m betting that you are human.”
“Of course I’m human,” Taylor scoffed between bursts of laughter. “And so is Justin.”
Taylor’s laughter slowly drained away when the prince just continued to stare at him, a knowing glint in his vivid blue eyes. Chase wasn’t laughing either. Taylor looked between the two men, wondering what he was missing, because he knew he was. They both looked too grim for this to be a joke.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Taylor asked as he looked at the prince. “You really think that Justin is a vampire?”
“I know he is,” the prince said. “I can smell it on him.”
“Are you sure you’re not just smelling”—Taylor shrugged—”I don’t know, Justin? Or maybe
