Enough foreplay.
Simon bites deep and swift. Cody’s skin parts with precision. There’s always an instant before blood fills the mouth, an instant filled instead with anticipation. Then—as Cody jerks with a delayed pain response—the blood spills.
Nobody has ever tasted this sweet before. Like moonlight. Like fire. Like adoration.
Simon whimpers with bliss. Eyes closed, he withdraws his fangs and latches onto the wounds. Not a drop escapes his sealed lips. He clutches Cody’s shoulders, as if Cody might push him away. Unlikely, when Cody holds him just as tightly. Illogical fear slips away as Simon’s mind blanks with pleasure.
Strength pours into him. Freshly taken, willingly given. Cody’s blood washes away Simon’s weakness and feeds the dormant embers of magic. Sparks dance behind Simon’s eyelids as he becomes whole again.
A low moan reverberates between them. Simon isn’t sure whose. Cody’s blood tastes like nothing he’s ever tasted before. The same sweet metallic flavor, yes, but with a deeper richness. Something wild and intoxicating. More than mere satiation. Simon is getting drunk on the taste of his werewolf.
The thought is sweeter than the blood, brighter than the magic. One word echoes Cody’s all-consuming pulse:
Mine. Mine. Mine.
Chapter 26
Cody
Pain fades into euphoria, spiraling higher with each pulse of blood. Each swallow sharpens the clarity of pleasure. Cody had expected the drug-like haze vampires are known for. This is so much more.
Cody had been nervous, of course. Treaty or not, blood drinking is still dangerous. But Simon is experienced enough to feed without harming, and Cody is strong enough to break free if something goes wrong.
That’s the logical risk assessment. Really, all logic paled before Simon’s incredulous face. Cody had shocked Simon with the offer. He likes that.
He also likes this: Simon, curled in his lap, clutching him so tightly. Despite the inherent violence of the bite, Cody’s raging emotions settle. Fear and guilt seep away, already broken on the rocks of Simon’s conviction. His muscles loosen. His wolf feelstranquil, protective urges soothed. Even when Simon moves against his aching cock.
Cody’s mate is still in danger, and he hasn’t found the source of the threat, but he isn’t helpless. He can heal his mate with his blood. That’s worth any amount of pain.
Wait.
Cody’s breath hitches. Not his mate. He hasn’t claimed Simon as his mate. He can’t think like that, not after what happened to Simon’s brother. Not mates, just… whatever they are to each other.
Even though this bite mirrors the claiming bite, and Cody already feels bound to Simon. This won’t leave a scar, but it doesn’t need to. The mark will linger in his memory.
Labels don’t matter when having Simon in his arms feels so right.
Making a small sound, Simon grinds against Cody. His back tenses under Cody’s hands, and whisper-soft hair brushes Cody’s jaw. Cody’s world narrows to quiet noises and the smell of his own blood.
Simon’s faint, slow pulse beats harder. He was right. This is better than sex.
Cody doesn’t know how long they remain locked together. It feels like hours, but it’s probably only moments. With a tugging pain, Simon’s lips leave his neck.
“I’ll close it,” Simon says quietly. “It won’t scar, unlike…”
So, he’s thinking about the mating bond, too.
Simon licks the wound, and the wet push of tongue breaks Cody from hazy bliss. His fingernails dig into Simon’s back at the strange tingle. But the bleeding stops and thepain eases as Simon closes the bite.
When Simon pulls away, his mouth is red with blood. One droplet slides from the corner of his lips. Cheeks flushed pinker than Cody’s ever seen them, Simon looks well-fed, well-fucked, and utterly content. Either that was as good for him as it was for Cody, or even better.
Cody’s breathless at the sight. “Wow.”
Simon’s eyes are wide and unfocused, still brilliant red. He blinks rapidly, as if shaking himself awake. “Are you all right?”
“Hell of an understatement,” Cody says, and holds Simon still by the back of his neck.
Simon melts into the bloody kiss. The taste of Cody’s own blood is unexpectedly arousing. Not as delicious as Simon seems to find it—Cody likes it because of Simon’s hunger. Because blood is proof Cody’s taking care of his mate.
