There was total silence for several agonising beats. Finally Nita said, “It’s always been your right. I can’t imagine you’ll get very far, but we would obviously support any decision you made.” The ‘obviously’ sounded as if it had been choked out through ground glass. I felt a sudden tenderness towards Nita. That had to have been quite a shock, especially hearing it from afar.
“Thanks,” Charley said quietly. Then, as if it could compensate for the bomb he’d just dropped, he explained he’d started taking better care of his health. “I’m making a real effort to eat properly. All my veggies. Lots of different proteins.” Nita managed a strangled reply, and after that they wound the conversation up quickly.
Charley slid off the window sill and jackknifed into a heap on the carpet. “Argh, that was awkward.”
“You did mention searching for their replacements,” I reminded him tersely. “In their shoes I might not have been at my best either. Give me five minutes to shower, and we’ll get some breakfast.”
I was pissed at Charley, and struggling to hide it. He tackled me after breakfast, when I made an excuse about not heading back upstairs for another round of hide the sausage, saying I needed some time to think. He rounded on me instantly. “Is that code for breaking up?”
I glared at him irritably. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
His shoulders deflated. “You’re cross with me.”
“I am. Doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I haven’t stopped loving you,” I said, scrubbing a hand over my stubble. “It’s just…You just dropped an absolute bolt from the blue on your mum earlier, over thephone. You’ve got parents who actively give a damn about you. I know they’re not perfect, but my old man tried to put me down like a rabid dog, simply for not being straight. I had to go before my alpha and defend my right to fuckingexistas a pansexual. I have a pack I’m bound to, a hierarchy I’m forced to obey, but at the same time I’m no longer allowed to participate in pack meets, or runs, or to have any say in pack business. I’m an embarrassment to wolves everywhere because of who I might fuck or love. My sexuality has put my grandpa at risk too, simply for standing up for me. He might as well have a target painted on his back. Lucky for him, he’s as rich as God, and an alpha himself. But his pack too have had all manner of grief, because of me. Just for two fucking seconds, can you think about that when you’re whining about how mummy and daddy don’t understand you, okay?” Before he could say anything more, I stalked off at speed, almost running Eleanor down as I swept around a corner.
“Shit, I’m so sorry.”
She put a hand on my arm. “It’s fine, no harm done. Is everything all right?”
I shrugged. “Some home truths Charley needed to hear. I’m fine, really. Should probably head up and try to get some sleep.” I frowned. She was dressed in day clothes. “Is everything okay with you? I thought everyone was supposed to be on vampire time.”
“Ahh, well. Sometimes Dalziel forgets I’m human.” Her smile was indulgent, maybe even fond. “I had a couple of errands to run. I’ll be off to bed shortly. Don’t worry about me, Lucien.”
In the bedroom, I refastened the window coverings, then peeled off everything but my boxers, and crawled under the covers. I was pleasantly full of another magnificent breakfast, thanks to Pavel, and wanted nothing more than to drift into unconsciousness until twilight. But a sliver of guilt about the way I’d laid into Charley wedged itself into my thoughts and refused to let me rest. I tossed and turned for over an hour, and was on the verge of giving up and going for a run when the door opened a couple of inches and Charley stuck his head in. I contemplated feigning sleep with a few snores, but in the end I rolled around a bit so I could watch him. He began removing his clothes as quickly and quietly as possible. I kept my eyes to mere slits as he crept about the room, using the bathroom without turning on the light, then returning to the bedroom smelling of mint toothpaste. He slid in beside me, careful not to put any part of himself in contact with me.
He evidently wasn’t having any better luck than I was at falling asleep. In the end, I rolled to face him. “I’m awake,” I said gruffly.
“I know,” he whispered. He sounded rough, as if perhaps he’d been crying. Shit, I was a horrible boyfriend. And yet I still didn’t truthfully regret what I’d said. The manner of delivery, perhaps. But he needed to know how I felt. Before I could make up my mind whether to speak or not, he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, about your family. You told me, but I didn’t take it in, not really. And I should have. Can we make up? I hate not being friends.”
Fuck my life, he sounded twelve, not nineteen. But I couldn’t resist him. “I’m sorry too, for being so snappy with you.”
He started to move, but hesitated.
“C’mere,” I grunted, then let out anoofas he immediately shuffled over and landed on top of me. We kissed, because he stuck his tongue down my throat, and as usual when I was anywhere near the man, my libido flared to life. I stuck my hand inside his boxers and squeezed his arse, almost brutally. He whimpered, and drove his groin into my hip. “You should totally punish me for being a thoughtless prick,” he said against my neck.
“Punish you how?” I wheezed, the thought of rough sex instantly ramping my desire up to furnace levels.
He rubbed harder against me. “Spank me?” he suggested tentatively. “Like, spank me hard for being such an insensitive cunt, then fuck me on my back, so my arse stings with every thrust.”
I swallowed hard. “Your mouth is the dirtiest I’ve ever known,” I said when I could form a coherent sentence.
“Is that a yes?”
If I was going to hell, it might as well be a fun journey. “It’s a yes. Strip, and get on your hands and knees.” I crossed to the bathroom and put on the under counter light. I didn’t want or need it bright, but if I was tanning Charley’s bum, I wanted to see my handiwork clearly.
Gods, he looked amazing. His cock was rock hard and already leaking. His pale skin was practically pearlescent in the dim lighting, and his arse was a thing of beauty. His taint and balls were virtually hairless, his hole pink, and tightly furled as I drew my palms over his cheeks. I needed to change that, because if he wanted punishment, I couldn’t take time to prep him after a spanking. Yikes, was I seriously about to spank a guy?
“Safe word,” I demanded.
“Red. I’m green right now. Totally green.”
Pulling his cheeks apart, I bent and licked a long, slow stripe from his balls to his pucker. Charley moaned. I did it again, and again, until his thighs began to tremble. Only then did I turn my attention to his hole, teasing him with flickers of my tongue, adding a finger as he relaxed and opened for me. He was so tight, and I wasn’t using lube. Not yet.
I got two fingers inside him and figured I’d better stop before he came. He’d been a total slut for anything I’d dished out so far, so I wasn’t convinced this would be much of a punishment, but I didn’t really want to hurt him. Or not more than would get him off.
Without warning him, I used my free hand to place a ringing slap across his left arse cheek. He gasped, and his knees wobbled, but he remained in position. “How many?” I asked roughly. “How many do you deserve?”
“Was that a warm up?” he murmured. I agreed that it was. “Nineteen? One for every year? If you think that’s enough,” he added quickly.
