“Very well, very well.”Peter spoke in the most soothing tone he could.“We’ll stay here together.I won’t leave you, and we’ll just wait for his control to loosen or for him to get bored.”
“What about you?You’re hurt.”Theo’s snot-slick face came up from where he’d rubbed all that moisture into Peter’s shirt.Yuck.“You… Will you heal faster with my blood?Will that help?”
If not for the despair evident on Theo’s face, his torrential waterworks, and his raspy, hopeful voice, Peter would’ve lied.
“Yes,” he said instead, telling Theo the truth.
Theo nodded and tilted his head to the side.“Take as much as you need.”
At the very least, it would make Theo drowsy, and then maybe Peter would be able to find Bernard for some karmic retribution and some applied blood eagling.Peter ran a hand over the side of Theo’s neck.
“Relax.Remember, it’ll hurt otherwise.”
“How am I supposed to relax right now?Just go ahead.It’s not like Bernard ever gave a shit if it hurt.I can take it.”
Bernard be damned; Peter would not stoop that low.Plus, the eyeball had already stopped leaking.
With his vampiric strength, Peter lifted Theo off his feet and walked him to the bed.Peter’s depth perception was a little off, so there was a sort of tumbling into the sheets instead of a gentle putting down.
“You’re safe here, Theodore.The house is warded.My rooms in particular have extra strong wards.You can relax, and I will make you.”
Theo’s wide-eyed stare could have been brought on by the state of Peter’s face and shirt, which was bloody and snot-drenched now.Or maybe it was those words, or the fact that Theo was on his back, lying under Peter.
Peter wasn’t sure what drove him when he dipped his head and fused his lips to Theo’s.They had never kissed before, and it shouldn’t have happened this way.
There was a terribly long second in which Theo froze.But it passed, and then he eased his lips open, allowing Peter to deepen the kiss.
Peter had never tasted caramel, but Theo’s lips reminded him of that warm, sugary smell.Theo was a decent kisser, his soft mouth reciprocating and giving.When Peter had imagined this, he’d imagined Theo being more forceful, teeth seeking a sharper kind of pleasure, but no.
The interplay of tongue and breath lasted.The bird noises from the hallway ebbed, but they didn’t stop.Peter didn’t care.Underneath him—and when had he started pressing his body against Theo’s?—Theo was grinding up, seeking more than just a tender kiss.
Peter pulled back and examined Theo’s puffy lips with some satisfaction.
“Peter…” Theo said, his voice a plea.
“Tell me to stop, Theodore, and I will.Always.”
Theo licked his swollen lips.“Don’t.Don’t stop.I…I want this.”
“To give me your blood, or this?”For clarification, Peter ground his hips against Theo’s crotch, feeling the erection there.
“Both.”Theo’s right hand came up and gently wiped at the mauled side of Peter’s face.“I want both.”
“Good,” Peter said.“So do I.”
14
Theo
Thelightwasfaintin the bedroom, coming in through the windows from a streetlight outside.The headlights of passing cars added a kaleidoscope effect to the fracturing shadows, and Theo gasped.
If Theo had been asked to describe how exactly he’d ended up in Peter’s bed with Peter kissing him raw, he wasn’t sure he could’ve given a clear account of events.One moment we were watching an old horror movie, then we had horror happen to us, now this.What do they say about falling in love when crisis hits?Falling in lust.Yeah, we’re in lust.
The movie had been…like a date, almost.It had been scary in that hopeful way dates were.Theo had dated some as a teen, before he’d gotten serious about streaming, about being financially independent and able to stand on his own two feet.
He’d taken a girl to the movies once, and he’d put his arm around her exactly like Peter had with him.It had been fun.They’d kissed.She’d tasted of popcorn.Things had never really moved on from there.
And now I have no experience—wait…I don’t need experience.That isn’t what this is.Peter made a desperate noise deep in his throat, and Theo was helpless against the way his fingers closed around the fabric of the vampire’s shirt, torn where the birds had attacked.It’s not what this is.We’re not dating.We have a contract.This is about the blood, and nothing more.
