Andrew stopped on the kitchen threshold and leaned against the door, looking at Nicholas with grim eyes.

“I know it’s been a long time,” Andrew said blankly, “but you’ll need to get back in the habit of listening when I tell you to do something.”

Nicholas bit back a laugh but did nothing to hide his grin. “As you may recall, listening was never the problem. Obeying is.”

Andrew rolled his eyes at Nicholas. “Well, that needs to change. Because if you want to stay, there’s going to be rules. And get rid of that glare, it’s not going to help you in the slightest.”

Crossing his arms in front of him, Nicholas tried to school his features. Rules? What was he, five? It was becoming harder and harder to remember why he had wanted to come back.

“For one thing, you’ve got to stop being a slob. I have no time or desire to pick up after you.”

Andrew’s pointed looks at the dirty glass and blood container on the counter next to Nicholas were clear enough. With a heavy sigh, Nicholas returned the blood to the fridge and set the glass in the dishwasher. Turning back to Andrew, Nicholas raised an eyebrow, waiting for the next ‘rule.’

“Animal blood is your new diet,” Andrew continued, his gaze sharpening when Nicholas started to protest. “I know what you’re going to say, but no, you can’t get human blood. I can procure animal blood easily enough, but human raises too many questions, and I don’t want anyone to know we’re vampires.”

Nicholas’ annoyance quickly turned into confusion. “Don’t tell me your little crew doesn’t know—”

“They do,” Andrew cut in. “But I trust them. They just moved halfway across the country because I asked them to. They’re not going to betray me.”

Nicholas had known about Andrew’s recent move, but he hadn’t wondered what had prompted it until now. Andrew’s statement brought to mind more questions than it answered, but the gleam in his eyes warned that this was not the time for asking about that. Still, Nicholas had other, more basic questions.

“Why don’t you want anyone to know?” He sneered, baring his teeth. “Ashamed of what you are? You’re not just killing vamps, you’re pretending you’re not one now? Playing daddy to a human ki—”

The growl rising from Andrew’s chest stopped Nicholas’ words in his throat. Andrew pushed away from the door and came forward, eyes pure gold and holding Nicholas where he stood like pins in a butterfly.

“I’m not playing,” he snapped when he was standing toe to toe with Nicholas. “I am his father. And if you value your life, you will never question that again.”

Even when Andrew had discovered that Nicholas had killed, even when Andrew had kicked Nicholas out of his house and out of his life, Nicholas had never been afraid of him. Andrew was his Sire, and he might punish him if he felt he had to, but he wouldn’t kill him; or so Nicholas had thought until that instant. Seeing the flames in Andrew’s gaze, however, he had no doubt that this child—Andrew’s child, but how could that even be possible?—would be reason enough for Andrew to kill.

“All right,” Nicholas said, raising both hands in a peaceful gesture. “If you say he’s your kid, he’s yours.”

“He is,” Andrew muttered, his eyes still daring Nicholas to contradict him.

“All right,” Nicholas repeated, just as docile. “But you can’t fault me for wondering how a vampire fathered a child.”

Andrew held Nicholas’ gaze a little longer before stepping back again. “A bit of magic,” he said quietly, his eyes dimming a little. “A bit of science. And one really determined mother.”

That didn’t explain anything at all, Nicholas thought. Instead, it raised even more questions. “The kid’s mom is around, then?” he asked, wary. Of all the times he had dreamed of coming back to his Sire, he had sometimes thought Andrew might have another Childe. However, Nicholas had never imagined Andrew with a human family.

“She’s dead,” Andrew said blankly. “And I don’t want to talk about her, so don’t ask.”

This rule, Nicholas really had no problem with.

“Vampires can’t legally raise children,” Andrew continued, his voice still toneless. “That’s why I don’t want anyone to know what I am. I won’t let anyone take him away from me. If you stay, you’ll have to keep a low profile, too.”

Nicholas nodded his understanding. As the decades passed, he had tried to keep track of his Sire, and Andrew had made that easy by staying in the same place for a long time. Now Nicholas understood the reason for the recent move: too many people in that other town must have known he had fangs.

“Is that it for the rules?” Nicholas asked when Andrew had been silent for a few moments.

Andrew jerked as though he had just been startled out of his thoughts. “For now,” he said with a slight frown. “I might think of something else later.”

With a nod, Nicholas asked, “Should I get my stuff? And then you can show me the bedroom.” And if there was suddenly more heat in his words, it wasn’t an accident.

Andrew chuckled dryly. “Get it, yes. Where did you park your car?”

“Motorcycle, actually. And right in front.”

Andrew told Nicholas where to park and where the guest bedroom was. Nicholas mulled over that until he returned with his backpack and the few changes of clothes it held. He looked over the room—or rather the suite, since there was a sitting room area before the actual bedroom, and a door in the back opened to what looked like a large bathroom—and wondered what kind of guests Andrew had been planning to entertain here. It seemed larger than the room at the other end of the hallway, the one that could have been a nursery if not for the queen-sized bed next to the crib.

“It looks like a master suite more than a guest room,” Nicholas commented as he dropped his bag on the floor and watched Andrew arrange moving boxes against the wall and out of the way.

“It is,” Andrew said without looking up.

Nicholas toed off his boots by the door and took slow steps toward Andrew. “So why aren’t you sleeping in here?”

Andrew shrugged as he straightened up, and gave Nicholas a guarded look. “Jacob doesn’t sleep through the night. It’s just easier if I’m close to him.”

A flash of confusion was soon resolved; Jacob had to be the kid’s name. Nicholas continued to advance until he was standing toe to toe with Andrew, and Nicholas, tilting his head down, looked at him through his eyelashes.

“I’ve got trouble sleeping, too,” Nicholas murmured, and laid one tentative hand on Andrew’s hip. “Anything I can do to convince you to sleep in my room?”

… continued in Fangs & Lullabies