Love Bites

A Special Offer

   After more than thirty minutes of answering questions; everything from how I defeated William to having the audacity to ask Beau what I'm like in the bedroom, Jovis finally sent the reporters away. All it took was the promise of a formal press conference within the next twenty four hours. As the reporters began to disperse, I noticed two men beside the door. One is Cain, an imposing Black Knight who stood guard beside the door. The other was an unfamiliar man. He's tall, muscular, tanned and he leaned in to whisper in Jovis's ear. His blonde hair and piercing blue eyes make him look like a surfer. Suddenly I realized, he's a familiar.

   Now, the five of us are sitting at the bar while Beau nervously fixes drinks. He slides a glass of raki toward a pleasantly surprised Jovis and I grin. He raises his brows at Cain and the familiar, but they both shake their heads, standing behind Jovis. Beau pours two whiskey's and rounds the bar to sit beside me, my hand sliding into his.

"So, just what is it you want to chat about sir. Pardon my rudeness, but my man is anxious." I say, squeezing Beau's hand.

"I see that. Am I really that scary?" Jovis asks, grinning before taking a sip of his drink and sighing happily. "It's not common to find this outside of Crete, I'm impressed."

"Thank you, but to answer your question... yes." Beau shakes his head, chuckling softly. "Greek mythology paints you, Zeus, as quite an imposing and unforgiving character."

"Pah!" Jovis says, waiving the statement aside. "I assure you, I'm not that terrifying or that promiscuous. I choose to use the Latin form of my name to avoid those unpleasant assumptions." He rolls his eyes and laughs. "Anyway, I'd actually like to discuss extending you a special... promotion of sorts?" He frowns into his empty glass and Beau reaches over the bar to grab him another. "Ah, thank you young man."

"A promotion?" I ask, this conversation seems like it's going in an odd direction here.

"Yes." Jovis sips his fresh drink and clears his throat. "As you know, North America is now without an Elder to oversee and protect it. That crazy bastard." He mumbles, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. "Anyway, there's a minimum age requirement for becoming an Elder, two hundred years." He holds up his hand to stop me. "I know, you're a mere two years away." He turns to smile at me warmly. "I'd like to offer you a special circumstance. The people here already know you, humans seem a bit warm towards you. I'd like to offer you a two year training program, before you officially become the North American Elder. You'd be our youngest." He turns to motion the familiar forward. "This is Ian, he's my oldest familiar and my son. He'd be acting as temporary Elder, while you undergo training." I blink, looking at the man again. Suddenly, I am aware of a slight resemblance.

"It's truly a pleasure to meet you." Ian says, extending his hand to shake mine. I grin, feeling Beau tense beside me and reach out to shake his hand. "I look forward to working with you during the next two years." He smiles and kisses the back of my hand. I jerk away and hear Beau growl low, clearly warning Ian. "Ah, my apologies, I meant nothing untoward. It's simply a customary greeting for meeting a beautiful person where I'm from." He looks at Beau, still grinning. "You must admit, your lover is quite attractive." I hear Beau's breathing and hear rate increase and I lean into him.

"Haven't you noticed? So is mine." I smile, turning to kiss Beau's lips softly. I hear Jovis laugh and I turn to study him. "How serious is this offer? And can you put a leash on your son?"

"Ouch!" Ian says, smiling and leaning on Jovis's shoulder. "I won't tease you two anymore, probably."

"Hmm, a leash might not be a bad idea." Jovis grumbles, glaring at Ian. "Anyway, I'm quite serious. Ian would train you and you'd gain hands on experience helping him during the next two years. Unfortunately, although he's flirt and a tease, he's also best suited to help train you in governing over such a large country." He sighs and shrugs Ian off his shoulder. He looks at his son and shakes his head. "You're nearly as old as time. Can't you be more mature?" He looks at me and smiles. "John is practically a babe still, you could learn from him during the next couple of years." I hear a noise on the stairs and Cain moves to shield Jovis. Larry fidgets nervously.