“I could try anyway.”
Cyril found himself smiling.“I’m sure you could.Maybe once you’re done with your phone call?”
Vale stared at Cyril for a moment before nodding.Neither of them knew what the future held, but Cyril was scared.What if one of them got hurt?What if this was one of the last moments they had together?He wanted to forget that they’d fought and to make the most of their time together.
He kissed Vale’s cheek again.“I’ll be in bed when you’re done.”It was a promise that Cyril intended to keep.He understood why Vale’s phone call was important, but he wanted to forget all about Helena and her organization for a bit.He already knew they weren’t going anywhere and that Helena wasn’t done with them.She wanted Vale dead and for Cyril to work for her, and she sounded like the type of person who would do anything to obtain what she wanted.Cyril would fight, but there was no way to know how it would end.That was why he needed to make the most of what he had now.
While he could.
* * * *
VALE LEANED AGAINSTthe doorframe, arms crossed, watching Cyril.He felt like he was losing him, even though they’d made up.They were running out of time, and neither of them knew what would happen with Helena.
Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good, and there was a good chance that one or both of them would be hurt.
“Are you done with work?”Cyril asked without looking up from the book he was reading.
Unless Vale was wrong, it was one of the books on necromancy that Cyril usually kept in the living room.
“I am.”Vale pushed off the doorframe and crossed the room.“It’s late.You need to rest.”
Cyril sighed, putting down his book.“I hoped to find something in here about my ability and Oscar changing.”
He was wearing a soft t-shirt and his hair was messy.If he’d been studying the book for as long as Vale had been on the phone, he had to have run his fingers through his hair.Vale knew that was what he did when he was focused.
Vale reached out, his hand hovering before he brushed a strand of soft hair away from Cyril’s forehead.The touch was light, almost tentative, but it was enough to make Cyril react.For a second, Vale thought Cyril would push him away, but he didn’t.
“You’re no good to anyone if you collapse,” Vale murmured, his voice softening.“Let me take care of you.”
There was something fragile in Cyril’s expression that made Vale’s chest tighten.It hadn’t been like this before, and Vale hoped it would stop once things between them healed.It would take some time for both of them, but it would happen—as long as Helena didn’t kill one of them first.
“I don’t know what to do,” Cyril admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.“I need to do something, but I don’t know what.I hate feeling useless.”
Vale cupped Cyril’s cheek and brushed his thumb over the line of his jaw.“You’re not,” he said firmly.He wanted Cyril to believe him.
Cyril’s breath stuttered, and he leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering shut.Vale could feel the tension in him.He leaned closer, kneeling onto the mattress, his other hand coming to rest on the side of Cyril’s neck.Cyril reached up, wrapping his fingers around one of Vale’s wrists.
“You don’t have to do it all alone,” Vale murmured, brushing his lips against Cyril’s temple.“Let me help you.”
Cyril’s fingers tightened around Vale’s wrist.“I don’t know how,” he admitted.
“Then let me show you,” Vale said.He tilted Cyril’s chin up.There was a moment of hesitation, a flicker of uncertainty in Cyril’s gaze, but then he nodded, almost imperceptibly.
Vale closed the distance between them to capture Cyril’s lips in a kiss that was soft but insistent.It wasn’t demanding—it was a promise, a reassurance that everything would be okay.Cyril melted into it, his hands sliding up to wrap around Vale’s neck as he kissed him back with a desperation that made Vale’s heart ache.
He’d almost lost this.He still might lose it, but he didn’t want to think about it.The danger would still be there tomorrow.He could worry then.
The kiss deepened slowly, their bodies pressing closer together as the tension between them turned into something warmer.Vale’s hands roamed over Cyril’s back, tracing the lines of his spine through the thin fabric of his shirt.Cyril clung to Vale, tangling his fingers into Vale’s hair.
When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing heavily.Vale pressed their foreheads together.Cyril’s eyes were closed, his lashes casting delicate shadows on his cheeks.Vale brushed a strand of hair away from his face, his heart aching with how beautiful Cyril was.
Vale reached for the bottom of Cyril’s shirt, his movements slow and deliberate in case Cyril changed his mind.Cyril watched him with wide eyes, his chest rising and falling rapidly as Vale exposed more and more of his skin.
“You don’t have to—” Cyril started, but Vale cut him off with a look.
“I want to,” Vale said simply.He pushed the t-shirt off Cyril’s body, letting it fall to the floor.His hands skimmed over Cyril’s chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath his palm.“You’re so tense,” he murmured, his fingers tracing the lines of Cyril’s collarbone.“Let me help you relax.”
Cyril swallowed hard, his hands gripping the sheets as Vale leaned in to press a kiss to the hollow of his throat.His breath caught, a soft sound escaping him as Vale’s lips moved lower, trailing down his chest.
