King of hollywood, p.22
King of Hollywood, page 22
They looked as familiar as they had the first few times I’d seen them, only now…I looked at them with a different lens.
Felix nodded along to his guest’s words, but his eyes weren’t connected to the conversation. I knew this because I was rather intimately acquainted with any and all Felix expressions, and I could proudly say—despite my usual lack of expertise in human emotion—that I could easily deduce his current emotion. And he looked…huh.
He looked like he was in a hurry.
He did not look excited, or happy, or invested in the conversation at all. Which was good. Because the only person he should be invested in talking to was me, and I stood by that.
He probably felt rushed because he was expecting me to come over soon for our matching-tuxedo-fake-groom social debut.
There was a lump in my throat and a pit in my stomach as I stared at the two of them interacting, even though I could clearly see that Felix was not invested.
“Quiet please,” he said softly, voice as melodic and sweet as ever. There was an air of finality to it. Strong despite being buttery smooth. My racing thoughts halted at the same time the asshole-visitor’s words did. Simultaneously, something electric flowed through the room. Something heavy. For a moment it was hard to breathe. The stranger shifted, body still as if he’d been frozen.
As if…by simply commanding it, Felix had turned him off entirely. As easily as pressing a button.
You’d think I’d pay more attention to the man who had so obviously been “altered.” But I did not. Because I had, and always would have eyes for one man and one man only. And Felix had finally, finally noticed me.
He made a surprised little sound, his lips parting—his…very red, very stained lips. A little smile spread across them as soon as our eyes connected, the flicker of his peculiar, slightly crooked teeth sending butterflies erupting in my stomach where the pit had sat only moments prior.
This was not the look of a man who didn’t care for me.
His eyes said, you’re here.
They said, I missed you.
They said, I’m lonely, lonely, lonely.
And then guilt scoured his expression, dashing away the light as quickly as it had come. Something wavered then, trembling in the air between us. The weight that had filled the room only growing heavier as we stared at each other, at an impasse.
Felix was about to give me his secrets. I could see it on his face.
They trembled, brittle and ready to topple.
All it would take was a single push.
Chapter twenty
“You’re here early,” he said, surprised. Normally, I’d be at the office for another hour at least. I hadn’t realized that I had forgotten to tell him that I would be arriving to take him to the party as soon as the sun went down. I supposed it didn’t matter now.
“Felix,” I said, voice dangerously low. One step, two steps, three steps closer. The man didn’t move. Felix didn’t either. He looked…caught, like he didn’t know what to do.
His eyes swam with emotion.
“I realize—because I have been informed by Winnifred, the sister that you met, with the freckles—” I added, because I wasn’t certain he’d remember her. “That I have never formally asked you for exclusivity.”
Felix balked, eyes widening significantly. “Exclusivity?” he blinked, obviously confused. “Marshall, what—”
“I want the guests to stop.” My hands were shaking. God, I hated telling people my boundaries. “I don’t want to share you anymore.”
Felix’s expression softened, the odd bloody-looking mess on his lips distracting me. “You’re not sharing me.”
“I want to be your boyfriend,” I said, my heart racing.
Still, the stranger didn’t move. It was like he wasn’t there at all. Merely a mannequin. Distantly, I recognized that this was odd. That all of this was odd. That it hadn’t looked like Felix was engaged with him in anything intimate at all, and therefore I had no idea why he was over in the first place.
Still, I felt that sense of helplessness I had when I’d seen the car in the driveway and thought I hadn’t satisfied him.
“I understand that you have certain needs.”
“Do you?” Felix’s voice wavered. His lips were red, red, red. “Marshall, I don’t think you do.”
“I will fuck you eighty times a day if it means I will satisfy you.”
“You already satisfy me.”
“Then why is there a man in your house?” I didn’t mean to yell. I didn’t. But it just kind of…happened anyway? “Why, Felix? Why is there an endless parade of suitors banging down your door even though I am right here.” My eyes were burning, and I couldn’t seem to make them stop. Tears spilled down my cheeks and I hurt. I hurt so much.
“If I need to tell you to be my boyfriend, I will. If I need to tie you up and hide you away, I will. But I’m tired of sharing. You are the only person I’ve ever wanted and it’s not fair that you don’t want me the same way.”
“But I do,” Felix’s voice wobbled. I could see his hands shaking. Could see the way he shrank in on himself. “I want you more than anything. I want you more than I…” he sucked in a breath, and a trembly, broken gasp rang out.
Felix put his thoughts together, and I let him. Because I was too busy being a crybaby to do anything but stare and shake and try to piece together the truth.
“I want you…” Felix tried again, steadier this time, “more than I want my old life back. I want you more than I want to be who and what I was before I became this. I want you more than I want gray hair, or wrinkles, or to be a real person.”
“Nothing you’re saying makes any sense.” My hands felt sweaty and hot, my pulse racing. “And you are a real person. I don’t…I don’t understand.” Maybe I was blind. In hindsight, I totally was. I’d missed all the signs. But in my defense, why would a man who was rooted in reality the way I was, ever guess that such a fantastical conclusion was the truth?
“I’m not a real person,” Felix countered, and his eyes were wet. “Unless I’m…with you.”
When I’m with you, I’m not lonely. I don’t feel like a ghost.
“Oh.” The aching parts of me settled as easily as they’d been riled. I knew I still was missing something. The secret he’d kept. And as Felix’s tongue flickered out to swipe away the remaining blood on his lip, my brain began to whir.
One step, two steps, three steps.
I moved closer to him, because I needed him more than I needed my next breath.
Winnie’s words from earlier in the summer came back to haunt me.
“You can’t expect him to follow rules when you haven’t even told him what they are.”
“I want to be your forever,” I said for the second time since we’d begun dating. “I want to be your only forever. I want all of your attention, all the time. And one day—I plan to marry you.”
The cats were nowhere to be found, mysteriously not attempting to trip me as I crossed the distance between me and my target. The man that Felix had somehow paralyzed, still had not moved. He hadn’t turned to speak, hadn’t interrupted. Still as a statue, but more uncanny, because he was flesh and blood and he should not have been so…frozen.
If he’d had any self-preservation at all he would’ve run.
But he apparently did not, because he continued to stand facing Felix. Continued to stare at him, despite the fact that I was currently hunting him. Two steps more, and suddenly…the side of his neck became visible.
I nearly stumbled with a sickening lurch, my hands clenched into fists.
Was that…?
No.
No.
It couldn’t be—
But it…it was.
Without pausing my stride, I took in this new reality with a clarity I hadn’t felt before. The world spun, but the stranger’s neck remained painfully in focus as I stared at it. As I stared at the bite mark on it.
It only took me a second to recognize what it was, and who it came from—as Felix had left similar bruises all over my own body. I’d recognize the shape of his peculiar teeth anywhere. Only Felix had always been careful with me—only ever accidentally nicking me. And this man’s bite weeped. Blood slipped coppery red down his throat, drip, drip dripping.
I’d interrupted them.
Felix.
Feeding.
One quick glance to Felix proved my suspicions correct. The red that was smeared across his lovely lips was very obviously blood. I just hadn’t…realized. How hadn’t I realized? For a man who was rather intimate with the substance, I was apparently quite obtuse. And Felix looked… God, did he look perfect, especially now that I knew what was decorating his delicious mouth.
Gorgeous and feral.
A wild, wicked thing.
All lean powerful muscles—compact and useful. A predator’s build.
His eyes glowed luminous and red.
His fangs glinted.
Fangs.
Because that was what they were.
Because Felix was a vampire.
Because Felix’s paramours were apparently not paramours at all but sustenance. And the kills he’d managed were truly accidents. Probably as accidental as overheating packaged food in the microwave, or leaving a pot on the stove long enough it burned.
He’d simply drank too much.
And they…well… They’d paid the price.
My thoughts were ping-pong balls, ricocheting around inside my head as I came to terms with my new reality. A reality that made no sense. None. And yet…made a surprisingly large amount of sense at the same time.
This explained so much.
I wanted to think longer, to mull it over, especially as it seemed Felix had our guest controlled. But…my skin still itched to eliminate the competition, especially now that I knew his blood sat warm inside Felix’s belly.
Fuck this.
I decided then that Felix would never feed from anyone other than me.
It felt right.
As did the next words that came out of my mouth, reverent, and soft—like I was speaking to a spooked animal—because that’s exactly what Felix looked like right then. His red eyes were wide. His lips were parted. And he was shaking.
Shaking like he thought he’d just lost everything.
“You look so beautiful covered in blood,” I said softly, my hands clenched into fists. One step, two steps, three steps. I was barely a foot away from the unwanted visitor—Felix’s supper. “Were you hungry, darling?” I asked, because I suddenly knew what was sitting pretty in the package in my garage. I had a feeling if I opened the box I’d find bags of blood, neatly packaged up and labeled. So much was beginning to make sense. Like the fact that Felix only ever had guests when it had been a while between his packages—or I’d…stolen them? Accidentally.
Why he’d been so reluctant to go on a date with me when I’d first asked. Because he’d been hungry. And he’d needed time to feed before he could be alone with me.
Because he…oh.
Because he wanted me.
That’s what he’d meant that night at the drive-in.
And before—when he’d mentioned needing to prepare before spending time with me.
My cheeks flushed, my heart fluttering like crazy as my cock perked up immediately.
Felix wants to eat me.
I wanted to let him.
I hadn’t given him nearly enough credit. Look how innovative he’d been! Look how desperate he’d been to spend time with me, desperate enough he’d do anything. Including inviting his “supper” over only a few hours after his box hadn’t “arrived” on schedule, so he wouldn’t have to cancel our date.
Felix had often said he had a hard time controlling himself around me, and now I knew why.
I’d taken his food away—and my clever, wonderful love had been forced to improvise.
Felix looked frightened.
Maybe because he didn’t know what to say.
He didn’t know how to explain this.
I didn’t know what to say either—because there was no logical explanation for what I was seeing. And yet…even more things started to make sense. Like dominos falling into place one by one. Memories assaulted me. Memories of things I hadn’t understood, and ignored—only now…there was no ignoring the truth.
Felix’s fear of the sunlight for one.
His aversion to food.
The fact that he didn’t want to be recognized—probably for the same reason the-man-who-was-now-his-supper had complimented his movies. I realized now why the dark haired actor I’d seen on the screen at the drive-in theater had looked so familiar. Why I’d recognized Felix before I’d even known him. Why the movie star’s name was Lucky—the very definition of Felix’s name.
Why Felix dyed his hair. (He was harder to recognize that way.)
Why Felix hid. (He had been the King of Hollywood.)
Why Felix never ate. (I kept accidentally taking his boxes of blood away.)
Why Felix spoke like he was from another time. (Because he was.)
Why Felix covered his living room in posters. (They were his movies.)
Why his front hallway was full of framed letters. (Fan letters, more than likely.)
Why Felix had never been frightened of me. (He was a predator, himself.)
Why there was a coffin in the storage room, and Felix’s bed was dusty. (He slept there, not upstairs.)
Why Felix’s family was dead. (Of course they were, it’d been ninety years.)
Why he collected things. Things that reminded him of his life before.
His home was a time capsule and a prison.
Living in the limelight, there was no room for the abnormal. Felix had to have aged out, didn’t he? There was only so long a man could remain the same age without people noticing. I imagined, if I Googled Lucky, the movie star from the 30s, I’d find that he had died rather young.
Only he hadn’t.
Because he was standing right in front of me, with a stranger’s blood smeared across his lips.
He was standing right in front of me, with his heart on his sleeve, vulnerability quaking in his gaze—like he expected to lose me before we’d ever really begun in the first place.
There was no denying the truth.
The dominos had fallen. The results were in.
The love of my life was a vampire.
I should’ve been horrified, terrified—some combination of adjectives that were negative and awful. But…I wasn’t. I wasn’t. Because Felix may be a vampire, but he was also the man that I was desperately, terrifyingly in love with.
“Marshall,” Felix said my name, and everything that had been wrong inside me since the moment I’d seen that car in his driveway fell away.
His voice was brittle and quaking.
His hands shook.
“I’m a monster.” Felix’s eyes burned a hole into mine, tears spilling down his lovely, pale cheeks.
I wanted to reach for him.
I wanted to hold him.
I wanted to comfort him, and not once—ever—did giving him a cheeseburger cross my mind.
But first…
I needed to even the playing field.
I needed to tell him my secret too.
So I raised my hands, hovering them on either side of the stranger’s head. He didn’t move, still frozen. His skin was warm, and his pulse fluttered beneath my fingers as I closed my hands around his head. I should’ve felt bad for what I was about to do—but I didn’t.
He’d touched Felix.
The fact that it hadn’t been sexual didn’t matter.
He’d touched Felix.
And for that he deserved to die.
So I squeezed—and as easily as if I’d done it a thousand times before—I twisted his neck.
The last of our secrets fell away—quite literally—as a sickening, delicious snapping sound filled the room. Moments later, his body crumpled, falling to the floor in a broken heap. Uncaring, as my point had been made—and my eyes were reserved for one man, and one man only—I stepped over the corpse. My gaze never left Felix’s face. I didn’t miss the way his eyes widened, or the way he’d flinched, staring at me the same way I stared at him.
Two predators, recognizing each other for what they were for the first time.
My heart was pounding—I reached for Felix with the same hands I’d used to kill his guest. It was a gamble. I wasn’t sure he’d accept me now that he’d seen what I could do. There was no mistaking how practiced the motion had been.
And I was certain…he was having a few revelations of his own.
Probably about why I knew how to dispose of bodies.
Why it had been second nature for me to latch onto his kills and drag them through the woods.
Why I’d crossed the street and offered him help that first night.
“Good evening,” I’d said, standing in his jungle of a yard while I watched him struggle with the corpse. “Would you like a hand with that?”
My bones creaked as my hand hovered, waiting in empty space—lonely.
Felix had asked me over dinner once if I ever got lonely. Until he’d asked, I hadn’t noticed. But since then…every day I was without him was the new loneliest day of my life. He completed me in a way that even killing never had. He smoothed my ragged edges. I didn’t feel empty or odd when he was around. I felt…like myself in a way I never had before.
Which was why it was only natural to meet him in the middle, once again.
So I told him the truth, answering his honesty with my own, one last time.
“I’m a monster too.” My hand trembled. I waited.
Outside, the sound of footsteps should’ve registered. People crossing the street and heading toward Barry’s, probably. I sucked in a breath, my lips wobbling. Felix stared into my eyes, searching them.
His eyes said, Marshall, Marshall, Marshall.
And then, his hand slipped into mine. I squeezed. Tighter than was probably necessary—but in that moment, all I wanted was to feel him squeeze back. And squeeze back he did, tight—tighter than a human should’ve been able.
We fell together like we always had, gasoline to flame.
