the auction

chapter 12

The following day, Vlad was surprised by how well behaved Danny was being. He did not make a single complaint over breakfast and willingly went to study. When tested to see if he paid attention, he did better than usual. There had been a few mistakes, but they were so small they could easily be overlooked. After that, they went into the training room. Danny was attentive and focused; he almost beat Vlad this time. Vlad had never been so proud of his pet. There was also something the older man noticed that surprised him. Danny would sneak shy glances at him and looked quite happy when complimented. It was strange, but not unwelcome. When they left the training room, they quickly showered and dressed. As they walked out of the bathroom and into the hall way, Vlad ruffled Danny's hair.

"You're doing very well today, pet." Danny's smile was breathtaking. Taking a moment to compose himself, Vlad cleared his throat and then said, "You may take a two hour break to do whatever you please."

"Okay," Danny replied, leaning into the touch for a moment before walking to the game room. Secretly, he was pleased that Vlad was noticing his hard work. He got a flutter like feeling in his stomach whenever the older man looked pleased and happy with him. His heart would beat faster when Vlad leaned in to place a kiss on his forehead. So, when they parted, Danny spent only an hour playing video games. After that, he walked to the upper floor to the library.

The library was huge. Danny had never seen one so big and packed. He walked down the aisles, noticing each book was categorized by genre. Walking over the science fiction section, he found a book that looked interesting and grabbed it. He wasn't really one for reading, he much preferred comic books, but maybe Vlad would be slightly impressed if he saw him with a book instead? It was a little embarrassing that he was trying to impress the older hybrid. There was no need for it. Sighing and deciding to leave before he changed his mind, Danny made his way to the man's study.

Vlad was surprised to hear a knock on his door. Pushing the papers aside, he walked over and opened it. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a shy smile on the young halfa's lips as he gazed up at him with those most beautiful and insecure blue eyes.

"Hey…Vlad…uh, are you busy?" Damn it why did he have to sound nervous?

Smiling warmly, Vlad placed his hand on Danny's cheek and ran his thumb across it. "Never for you, my pet."

Flushing at those words, Danny swallowed dryly and tried to remember what he was doing here in the first place. "Oh, um, well…I was wondering if you'd come outside and hang out with me?"

Shock caused Vlad to freeze in place. His jaw almost went slack from the surprise, but he caught himself in time and kept his mouth closed. Danny was asking to spend time with him? Willingly? Was this some sort of trick? He would have thought so if it were not for the eagerness shining in those blue eyes. The shock faded and a warm, happy glow reached his heart as he smiled. How could he say no to that?

"Of course." Seeing the book in the teen's hand surprised Vlad. "Were you planning to read outside?" Danny nodded in reply. "Give me a moment." Walking into his study, the older hybrid picked up a book he had been reading earlier for research. As they walked side by side out of the mansion, Vlad couldn't help but still be surprised. Just what was going on in the young halfa's mind? Why did he want to be with him all of a sudden? He had seen the confusion on his face when Vlad would treat him well, was that the cause of it?

Danny could see Vlad was in deep thought. He was probably wondering why he wanted to spend time with him. Grinning at the thought, he picked a nice spot in the forest like area and sat in front of the trunk of a very impressively big tree. Vlad took a seat beside him. After a very fierce inner debate, Danny took a deep breath and did what he wanted to do. He positioned himself so his head would be pillowed on the billionaire's lap. Seeing the look of surprise and shock on Vlad's face made him grin but he tried to hide it by flipping his book open to the first page. There was no need to be obvious that he was enjoying Vlad's reaction. Anxiousness sneaked into his heart though. How would Vlad react?