“It’s his turn,” Luis said.
Karim’s shoulders dropped in relief, and then he quickly turned to take the dishes away. “Be right back!” He called as he left.
In his wake, he and Julien shared a knowing look.Our impatient, brash Karim.
And then Luis caught himself and quickly scrubbed that thought from his mind.
There was no ‘our’.
Ten minutes later inthe living room, Julien offered to leave and give them privacy, but Luis turned it down. He and Karim didnotneed to be left alone in a room together.
“I’ll keep time,” Julien said. “Be good.” This last part was aimed at Karim.
Karim was on the couch with Luis, and shifted closer until his thigh was pressed into Luis’s. “I’m always good,” Karim said, “except when you want me not to be…”
Julien stared back at him, unmoved. “Maybe Luis would like to change his mind?” Julien offered.
“No, no!” Karim said as Luis laughed. “C’mon, just a joke to lighten the mood.” But his eyes flickered to Luis, checking in.
“Carry on,” Luis said magnanimously.
Karim nodded. “So, Jules said you were cool skipping the antiseptic?”
“Yeah,” Luis said.
“Great, it really ruins the taste,” Karim leaned in, eager. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
Karim’s hand wrapped over Luis’s shoulder. The touch was gentle, guiding. Automatically Luis tipped his head, baring his throat.
The vampire leaned in.
This close, Karim pulled all of Luis’s attention like a magnet. Luis forgot his nerves, forgot that Julien was sitting across from them observing. His attention narrowed to the touch, to the hot breath against his neck.
“You usually remove a lot of blood,” Karim said against his throat, “for your treatment.”
“Yeah.” Luis’s throat clicked.
Lips grazed Luis’s skin. Goosebumps rose everywhere. He was hot and cold at the same time.
“Do you want to give it all to me?” Karim asked. “Or will you let Jules have you too tonight?”
The words hit with blistering heat.
“I–” Luis blinked, dizzy. Nothing had even happened yet.
He heard Julien say the first consonant of Karim’s name, and Karim laughed, a low, rumbling. “Think about it,” he whispered, and then his lips parted against Luis’s neck.
A second later the sharp point of fang grazed skin, and Luis trembled. The hand on him tightened. The following puncture came easy, sliding into skin in a way that had no right to feel as good as it did. Luis made an embarrassing sound that was half gasp, half moan.
Heat filled him as his blood poured from the wound, and Karim started to suck.
The bite haze had its claws in Luis immediately, and dragged him down quickly. He sank into the waves of pleasure, pushing into it. Karim’s arm wrapped around his back and held him close as Luis went boneless, weak and wanting.
Karim’s bite was sharper than Julien’s, but even that was its own kind of good. He liked that Karim was sharper, prickly even here. A roughness to Julien’s softness.
Blood rushed in his ears, and Luis could hear the pounding of his own heart. He began to get hard.
