There was something in his tone that warned Seth to becautious. Some self-recrimination that Seth didn’t quite understand.
Wasn’t biting people what vampiresdid? And Riley had stopped when Seth had wordlessly asked him to. The experience hadn’t been scary. It had been…exhilarating.
But something about how Riley asked the question made Seth think he wouldn’t see it that way. And Seth was too cum-drunk to mince words.
He sighed, his breath puffing along the coarse dark hair on Riley’s thigh. “I made you cookies.”
“Seth…”
Seth raised his head, meeting his friend’s concerned gaze. Riley was going to get wrinkles, with the way he kept furrowing that poor brow. Except vampires probably didn’t get wrinkles. “Eat some cookies, Riley. Then we’ll talk.”
14
SETH
Seth somehow found himself curled up in Riley’s lap, feeding him cookies by hand.
He hadn’t meant to end up sprawled over Riley’s thighs. He really hadn’t. He’dmeantto reestablish a bit of distance, but after they’d redressed and straightened themselves up, Riley had tugged on Seth’s arm until he’d toppled over on top of him, and that had kind of been that.
And here Seth had been hoping to remind them both that—despite Seth jumping Riley’s bones the second he’d walked through the door—they werefriends.
Friends with an almost absurd degree of sexual attraction, yes, but friends nonetheless.
Because—and Seth was going to remind himself of this every other second if need be—Riley had a mate out there somewhere. And Seth might have had his faults, but he wasn’t stupid enough to give his heart away to someone who straight up cosmically did not have a place for it.
That was what he was telling himself, at least, but the strength of his argument might have been sabotaged a little by the way he was cuddled so cozily into Riley’s chest on this massive armchair, slipping orange meltaways into Riley’s waiting mouth.
Practically all the cookies Seth had made were already devoured, and he’d made a double batch. This vampire couldeat. It was very satisfying to watch. In a professional baker sense, of course.
After offering Riley the last meltaway—like, really, where did heputthem?—Seth cleared his throat, dusting his fingers off on his pants.
For all that he’d pulled Seth onto his lap like someone with a claim on him, Riley had been shooting narrow-eyed, sideways glances Seth’s way, even as he chewed. He was basically acting likeSethwas the shady one in this friendship.
Maybe refusing to let him speak right away had set his hackles up.
Whatever. Seth would begin, to make sure everything started off on the right foot.
He straightened just enough to get a clear look at Riley’s face. Seth might even have tried sitting to the side of Riley’s lap, but Riley’s iron hold on him wouldn’t let Seth go any further than the scant inches he’d already claimed.
No matter. Seth started with the obvious. “So you can eat human food.”
Riley didn’t answer, only finished chewing and swallowing his last cookie in a way that seemed decidedly pointed.
Seth pressed on. “Does it fill you up? Like, you aren’t hungry anymore after eating it?”
Riley licked a bit of powdered sugar off his lips. “It can take the edge off, but no. I need blood.” His gaze darted to Seth’s thigh, then back up again.
Seth took a dry swallow. “Because you’re a vampire.”
It seemed necessary to say it out loud, at least once. Maybe Riley would laugh and ask Seth what drugs he’d been taking and Seth would realize he’d been wrong about everything.
But Riley didn’t laugh.
“My moms told you,” Riley said instead, his tone almost petulant.
“They hinted. I figured it out.” Seth straightened his spine a little more. “You’re not the first supernatural of my acquaintance, you know.” Seth didn’t mention he hadn’tknownhis other acquaintances were supernatural until today. There was no reason to reveal all his cards at once. “And how old are you really?”
Riley frowned at him. “Nineteen.”
