In Chicago, Gideon rarely hunted. There were too many memories, too many faces that knew him, too many opportunities for things to go wrong. The pull was still there—f**k, sometimes, the pull was almost too much to resist—but Gideon found other means to sate his hunger. Bagged. Animal. Jesse. He did his best not to lump Jesse into a food category, but if he was being honest with himself, there were days when their play and s*x afforded enough blood to merit a full meal. Today was a prime example of that. But his presence had been unsettling Jesse, so he’d left with little argument. He was too wired to sit still, which almost always happened after such a vigorous session, and Jesse needed something gentler than he offered. Hopefully, Emma would be home soon enough to tend to those needs.

