Chapter 23
Valen
Iwas struggling with the doorknob to the bedroom.
“Do… Do you want me to help?” Archer offered, still held in my arms. “I can just?—”
“Don’t you dare,” I shot back, trying to finagle it with my elbow. “I’m trying to be sexy.”
He grinned and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. “You’re doing a very good job, too.”
I glared at him. “Don’t patronize me.” Then, after fucking with the door for another ten seconds, unsuccessfully, I let out a long sigh. “Fuck this.”
With one fluid movement, I tossed Archer up and over my shoulder, holding him there with one arm. He let out a sort of squeal, which served him right for picking on me. However, as soon as my fingers dug into the back of his thigh, I could feel his cock twitch through his jeans. With one hand free at last, I turned the knob and pushed the bedroom door open.
“Okay,” Archer admitted from his perch on my shoulder. “Thisiskind of sexy.”
“Good.” With another easy movement, I tossed him onto the bed, grinning as he squealed again. “Now take off your goddamn clothes before I rip them off your body.”
“Yes, sir,” he breathed, and the way he said it sent heat straight to my cock. I watched hungrily as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing that lean torso I’d memorized with my hands and mouth. The afternoon sunlight slipping through the thick green velvet curtains caught the planes of his chest, highlighting every dip and curve in ways that made my cock ache.
But he was taking too long with his jeans, fumbling with the button like his hands were shaking. The scent of his arousal was already thick in the air, mixing with the lingering traces of our previous encounter that seemed to have soaked into the very walls of this room. I could feel my control fraying at the edges, that careful restraint I’d maintained for centuries dissolving in the face of his eager compliance.
“Faster,” I growled, stripping off my own shirt with vampire speed. “I want you naked. Now.”
“I’m trying,” he panted, finally getting his jeans open and shoving them down his hips along with his underwear. “But you’re looking at me like you want to devour me and it’s making it hard to concentrate.”
“That’s because I do want to devour you,” I said, crawling onto the bed as he kicked his clothes aside. “Every inch of you. I want to taste you everywhere, mark you as mine until there’s no question who you belong to for the rest of your life.”
The possessive words slipped out before I could stop them, but instead of pulling back, Archer’s pupils dilated and his cock twitched against his stomach. “Yes,” he whispered. “Please. Make me yours, Valen. Completely.”
Something primal and ancient roared to life in my chest at his words. Mine. He wanted to be mine. Not just for tonight, not just for this semester, but completely. The feeding bond we’d established was nothing compared to this. This was soul-deepclaiming that transcended any magical connection. This wasreal.
I settled between his spread thighs, my hands mapping the familiar territory of his body. It was just how I remembered, soft and smooth and deliciously warm. But everything felt different now, charged with the weight of the words we’d finally spoken. Love. The concept still felt foreign in my mind, but watching Archer moan beneath my touch, seeing the trust and adoration in his blue eyes, made it feel real in a way I’d never experienced before.
“I love you,” I murmured against his throat, pressing kisses along his pulse point. “I love the way you challenge me, the way you refuse to back down even when you should. I love your stubborn streak and your smart mouth and the way you look at me like I’m not a monster.”
“You’re not a monster,” he gasped as I found that sensitive spot just below his ear. “You’re my vampire, my professor, my…everything.”
The words sent electricity through me, and I bit down gently on his throat, not hard enough to break skin but enough to make him cry out and buck against me. I could feel the energy starting to flow between us again, that intoxicating connection that made every sensation more intense.
“Tell me what you want,” I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. “Tonight isn’t about feeding or proving anything. Tonight is about love. So tell me how you want me to love you.”
His cheeks flushed pink, but his gaze didn’t waver. “I want you to fuck me slow,” he whispered. “I want to feel every inch of you, want this to last forever. And I want you to feed on our energy while you do it. I want to give you everything I have.”
The request made my cock throb painfully against my jeans. A slow and thorough fuck with the feeding connectionamplifying every sensation. It would be exquisite torture for both of us.
“Are you sure?” I asked, even as my hands were already reaching for the lube in the nightstand drawer. “It could be overwhelming. The combination of physical sensation and energy transfer at that intensity...”
“I trust you,” he said simply, and those three words nearly undid me completely. “I know you won’t hurt me.”
I kissed him deeply, pouring all my love and gratitude into the contact. When I finally pulled away, both of us were breathing hard, the air between us crackling with anticipation and barely restrained hunger.
“Then let me take care of you,” I murmured, warming the lube between my palms. “Let me show you exactly how much I love you, darling.”
I slicked my fingers carefully, watching as Archer’s breathing grew heavier in anticipation. The afternoon light filtering through the curtains painted golden stripes across his skin, making him look almost ethereal spread out beneath me. Three centuries of existence, and I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“Relax for me,” I murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his inner thigh as I traced one finger around his entrance. “We have all the time in the world.”
