Riding Tall Read Free Page A

the accusation wasn’t valid. Joe looked after himself and every orphan and stray that wandered into his environment; he wouldn’t have much respect for a grown man who couldn’t even make a living. And Mackenzie wanted Joe’s respect. He wanted to be Joe’s partner, not just another dependent.
    So he smiled at the makeup artist and glowered at the photographer, trying to look dark and dangerous in his leather wear. He wondered if any of the material came from Joe’s cattle. “Does black leather come from black cows?” he asked one of the assistants while the photographer was monkeying with his camera. She looked at him like he was insane and stepped a little further away.
    It was past eight by the time the shoot ended. Mackenzie wanted to have a hot shower and then crawl into bed. Into Joe’s bed, ideally, but that was a three-hour drive away and Mackenzie was supposed to be back on the set at ten the next morning. No Joe for him. So he’d settle for the hotel, even if he was slated to share a room with another model, who seemed to be channeling the vampire vibe just a little too deeply. He’d been flown in from New York and seemed to think that meant he was the star of the shoot. Hell, maybe he was. Maybe in the years that Mackenzie had been goofing off, this clown had cornered the market on “smoldering vampires who wear a lot of leather” modeling.
    “You heading over?” Mackenzie asked with a friendly smile that was only a little fake. “Want to share a cab?”
    The guy looked at him as if he was insane. “To the hotel ? It’s eight o’clock!” His smile was pitying. “It’s a little early for bed, don’t you think?”
    Well, that was a good point. Mackenzie needed to get himself back on his city clock. “All right, then,” he said with what dignity he could muster. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”
    “Wait,” the vampire said as Mackenzie started to turn away. His sullen expression morphed into something Mackenzie couldn’t quite identify. “I thought maybe you’d show me around. I don’t know Toronto very well, but it’s a good-size city, right? I mean, I don’t expect New-York-caliber nightlife, but there’s clubs, right? Things to do, people to fuck?”
    And now Mackenzie recognized the man’s expression. The vampire was trying to leer at him. Mackenzie forced himself to keep a straight face. “There’s both,” he agreed. “I could suggest a few places to you.”
    “You don’t want to show me?” The vampire pouted about as well as he leered. “That’s not very hospitable. I thought Canadians were friendly.”
    “Polite,” Mackenzie corrected. “The stereotype is that Canadians are polite.” And the fact that he wasn’t laughing at this clown was proof he was living up to his nationality.
    “Hmm… you say polite , but I hear boring .” The tone was teasing, but there was a bite behind it all. “Is this because of your boyfriend? I heard you talking about him.” The vampire shook his head. “Myself? I will not tolerate a possessive, controlling man.” He looked Mackenzie over. “I guess once you get a bit older it’s easier to accept, but I’m still young! I need to have fun! You remember what that’s like, don’t you?”
    Mackenzie had no idea how he was letting himself get dragged into this. “Joe isn’t controlling. And, yes, I remember how to have fun!”
    “Yeah?” Now the vampire smiled, and it was actually a fairly attractive expression. Mackenzie had no idea why the kid didn’t use it more often. “So prove it!” He wasn’t flirting anymore, just playing, like a puppy darting in to nip and then dance away. Actually, the kid kind of reminded Mackenzie of Griffin when he’d been young. Skinny, with floppy hair and pointy white teeth.
    “Are you going out like that?” he asked. “All the leather? The eyeliner? It’s a bit….” He saw his chance for revenge. “Are people still dressing like that in New York? That look is really over up