Free Bound in Blood by J. P. Bowie Page A

remotely like him, had never experienced such a tidal wave of sensuous emotion—and last night, all of it, every kiss, every caress, had been even more fantastic, if that were possible.
    The memory of their time together had Chris getting hard. He was just about to stroke himself when the shrilling of his cell phone brought him from his sensual reverie with a jolt.
    Oops, his mother.
    “Hi, Mom.”
    “Hello, Chris. How are you?”
    “Fine.”
    “How did the exams go?”
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    J. P. Bowie
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    “Pretty good, I think. I should have the results next week. Oh and I’m getting my car back today.”
    “Good, that means you can drive up to see us this weekend.”
    “Uh, I might have plans.”
    “You do have plans, Christopher.”
    Oh, oh. Christopher. Now he knew she was upset. Funny how the way she said it was so different from when Carlos did. He said it like a caress; his mother more like an accusation.
    “I do?”
    “You’re coming home to visit your mother and father,” his mother said tartly. “We haven’t seen you in over two months, and your father wants to talk to you about setting up an office for you here for when you do our accounts.”
    “Oh, about that—” Wait, he couldn’t just tell her about his job offer from Carlos over the phone. “Okay, Mom.” He hoped she hadn’t heard the long sigh he’d just heaved. “I’ll see you and Dad Saturday morning.”
    “That’s better. We do miss you, you know?”
    “Miss you too, Mom. See you on Saturday.”
    Chris put the phone down with a feeling of irritation. True, Carlos hadn’t said anything about getting together over the weekend. Chris had just assumed they would. Now instead, he’d have to drive to Santa Barbara and face his parents’ disappointment when he told them about his job offer. He could just imagine the opposition and the questions.
    Who is this person? How did you meet him? How do you know he’s legit?
    I don’t know, Mom and Dad. I just feel that he’s an honest man. But what’s more important, he’s terrific in bed, and I can’t wait to spend every night right there with him.
    Yeah, that would go down a treat.
    Heaving another sigh, he punched in his friend Joey’s number. “Hey, Joey—wanna take a trip with me this weekend?”
     

     
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    J. P. Bowie
    56
     
    Carlos awoke from the deep sleep of the vampire, instantly aware that Chris needed to talk with him. Covering his nakedness with a robe of dark-red silk, he picked up the phone by his bed and dialled Chris’ number.
    “Hello, Christopher. It’s Carlos.”
    “Hi!” The genuine pleasure in Chris’ voice made Carlos smile. “I was just thinking of you,” Chris said in a rush. “I don’t know if you had plans for the weekend, but I’ve been summoned to my folks’ place in Santa Barbara, so I’m afraid I’ll be out of town for a couple of days. I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Of course not.” Carlos quickly hid his feeling of deep disappointment so that it was not reflected in his voice. “Although I have to admit I will miss you, very much.”
    “And I’ll miss you, Carlos. My mom insisted I come up. They want to talk to me about putting an office somewhere in the house for me—you know, for when I do their accounts.
    I’m still trying to think of a way to tell them I’ll be working for you, so they won’t be upset.”
    “Ah, there is no need to upset them. The work I will have for you can be done in a few hours a day. There will still be time for you to take care of their business.”
    “But they’ll want me to move back home.”
    Carlos smiled as he heard a distinct whine creep into Chris’ tone. “That is something you must work out with them,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you can persuade them that with today’s technology, most everything can be conducted via the internet.”
    Chris managed a light laugh. “That’s a good point, but you don’t know my mom. She hates the fact I live in LA. I’m taking