if he could. Not that he was afraid of a vampire bite—he’d had worse injuries in the line of duty—but right now he was more concerned that Jensen was about to be his usual self-sacrificing idiot self and purposefully take in toxic blood that would have who knew what effect on him.
Gage faded once again, only distantly aware of Jensen taking him in firm, strong arms, tipping his head back to access the big arteries in his neck, and taking a moment to breathe in Gage’s skin before he struck.
The piercing pain of Jensen’s fangs ripped through the dull languor the poison had created, and the weird mix of sensations was so erotic, Gage was more than willing to die as long as it felt like this. His partner made low, hungry noises as he drank, and Gage could feel Jen’s hard-on rubbing against his hip. All he could feel were those two wounds emptying his poisoned life’s essence into the mouth of the monster he loved.
It seemed to go on forever. Gage passed out a few times for brief moments, and when he came to some sense of full consciousness again, he and Jen were lying side by side in the muck of the alley. Barely able to move, Gage still managed to grab Jen’s shoulder and give him a weak shake.
“Jensen. Holm! Fucking…dumbass… vampire… wake up!”
Jen’s raven-wing lashes fluttered, and the greenest eyes Gage had ever seen in his life opened to focus on him. He wasn’t sure if the fact that the eyes weren’t fighting vampire gold was a good sign or bad.
“Stop swearing at me,” he said.
Gage grabbed the edge of a discarded crate and hauled himself up to seated position. “Are you all right? Can you move?”
“You’re bleeding,” Jensen observed, and passed out again.
Fuck. Where was the goddamn backup?
No sooner had he thought it than three guys with flame-throwers and full battle gear came charging into the alley, skidding to a halt when they took in the scene. One specialist immediately ran back out to signal the EMT crew. The EMTs sprinted over to Gage as the Blazer Unit put their Throwers to use, setting the Mereg remains on fire, ensuring the poison and acid were evaporated. Wouldn't be much of a police operation if they left toxic waste behind for stray cats or little kids to get melted in.
“What's the situation?” asked Dallas Miner, one of the few EMTs that would do Undertown duty. The other was a newbie Gage didn't know, and while the guy went through all the motions in a professional and thorough manner, he still looked more than a little green around his pretty young gills.
“I got gored by a Mereg, and Holm sucked out the poison,” Gage reported.
The old vet didn't even blink at the idea that Jensen had been drinking his partner's blood a few minutes ago. “Feeling any chest pressure? Numbness? How's your breathing?”
“I'm fine. Take care of Holm. He… drew out most of the poison, I think. Regained consciousness for a minute, but went right back under.”
“I'll check him out. Chris here isn't certified for vamp triage yet.”
Gage nodded, not giving a fuck about anybody's credentials. While the newbie poked and prodded and shone lights in Gage's face, he kept his eyes glued to Miner's examination of Jen. The vampire was preternaturally still, no breath, no nothing… but that was their natural state. No way to tell if he was more dead than usual. It wasn't like the movies or TV when a vampire turned to convenient dust or mush when they bought it. They just never got up again. How Vamp-certified EMT's could tell whether their patients were dead-dead or undead and injured was beyond him. He suspected some kind of magick or voodoo that they just kept to themselves for job security.
“He's still with us. Not in good shape, but I think a blood exchange and some rest should do the trick.” He sounded so cool and sure, Gage wanted to punch the older man in the face. But then, it was Miner's job to stay calm in an emergency.
“You should get checked out at the
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson