And then it was over—far sooner than Quin expected. Kit pulled away from his wrist, lips stained red. Quin wouldn’t have thought he’d want to taste his own blood, but he supposed that nobody was ever too old to learn something new about themselves.
The sight of Kit licking his lips just about did Quin in. And that’s when he noticed a certain body part of his own had taken interest.
Quin groaned before he could stop himself.
“Did I take too much?” Kit asked, eyes going wide as his gaze dipped down to where Quin’s jeans were slightly tented. “Oh!”
Quin covered his crotch with both hands. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
“It happens.”
“Wait, you give everyone you bite a boner?”
Kit blinked. “No. I just said that to make you feel better.”
Quin was touched and embarrassed in equal measure. Thankfully, the feeling was enough to kill his arousal. “My bad.”
Kit waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. You were doing me a solid.”
“I think if one of us was doing the other a solid here…” Quin said, a tentative grin spreading across his face.
The corners of Kit’s lips twitched. “That was terrible, and you know it.”
“It was. But you’re smiling.”
“I’ve never done such a thing in my life,” Kit said, though he finished his statement by covering his mouth with one hand.
“What you got going on under there?” Quin asked.
“Nothing,” came Kit’s muffled response.
“Take your hand off your mouth.”
“No.”
Contentment washed over Quin. He knew his blood would help Kit heal from whatever had happened to his wrists. The only issue Quin had now was getting Kit to tell him the truth. He knew Kit well enough to know that he wouldn’t give that information up without a fight. Despite his usual patience, Quin couldn’t ignore Kit’s suffering.
Kit took his hand from his mouth and inspected Quin’s wrist. “It won’t leave a mark,” he said.
“Wouldn’t mind if it did.” Quin held Kit’s gaze for a moment too long for it to only be friendly. Kit looked away, his cheeks flushing.
“Full moon is coming up again soon,” Kit said, settling himself back into the armchair.
“It is indeed.”
“What happens when you change?” Kit asked. “Could I be a willing companion on this occasion?”
“You’d want to meet with me?”
“Sure. Pretty sure your wolf already likes me.”
Likewould be an understatement, but Quin tamped down his elation at the offer. He had to play it cool. “He does! We do. I mean, we’re the same, kinda.” He managed a smile that he hoped was more certain than his words.
“You’re separate from your wolf?”
“It’s complicated. Some werewolves see us and our wolves as one being. But it isn’t like that for me. I’m a bit disconnected from my beast.” Quin hoped that opening up to Kit like this would encourage him to do the same.
“Interesting,” Kit said. “I suppose it’s sometimes how I feel about being a vampire. Like it’s not quite me. Just one side of me.” Kit looked into the fire, the light throwing shadows across his face.
