by Marcy Jacks
Jesse’s ears were perked, his eyes half-lidded as he pulled away from the kiss, the both of them looking at each other as if neither of them had ever experienced something quite so wonderful in their entire lives.
Andrei groaned. “I want you.”
His hands landed on Jesse’s slender hips. He tried to pull the man forward between his legs, but his usual strength was sapped. Jesse didn’t seem to have to use much effort to keep himself where he was.
“I don’t think we should. You haven’t been healing so fast after the ritual you did.”
Jesse looked down at his hand, as though guilty Andrei’s blue scale was still beneath the skin, part of him.
Andrei took Jesse by that hand and brought the knuckles to his lips, and then he brought Jesse’s hand to his cock.
“Trust me, I’ve got more than enough strength and energy for you.”
Jesse’s eyes widened slightly, his nostrils flaring. Even if Andrei couldn’t hear the rushing beat of Jess’s heart, he could see the quickening of his pulse against his slender throat. A throat Andrei wanted to put his mouth on, his teeth, to suckle and bite.
“God, I want you,” he said. “Please, don’t make me beg. I just woke up, and I’m not going to be able to get back to sleep unless you help me out a little.”
Jesse actually laughed at that, but then his expression changed, turned into something a little more serious. But only a little. The smile was still there, and Andrei could see the glimmer of lust turning into a bright and shining star in those eyes.
“Are you sure?” Jesse asked, though Andrei already knew he’d won the war. “I don’t want to open your wounds.”
“You won’t,” Andrei promised, his erection throbbing, the memory of what it had been like to be inside Jesse’s tight body enough to make small bursts of pleasure hit him.
A breeze through an open window against his dick would be all it took to make him come.
Andrei pulled Jesse on top of him as he lay back on the bed. Jesse came freely. He had to because Andrei didn’t have the strength to yank him down.
Even then, Jesse was careful to keep his weight off of Andrei’s body as he got to his hands and knees.
“You can be on top,” Andrei promised. “It’s your rhythm. It’s whatever you want to do to me.”
That glimmer of interest and lust lit up like the sun behind Jesse’s eyes. His lips quirked in a soft smile. “You’re serious?”
Andrei nodded, grunting only a little as he pulled his legs back onto the bed, straightening himself out. “Yes. I need you. I needed you that first time I took you, but it was all wrong then. I was angry. It wasn’t done right. I need to make it up to you.”
Jesse’s eyes softened, but those wolf ears stayed perked up high. “You don’t have to make anything up.” His grin turned lewd. “In case you didn’t notice, I happened to like it.”
“Well, either way, it’s not a good first impression for a mate having his first time with another mate.”
Jesse blinked at him. “How did you know that was my first time? I thought I’d kept that part hidden pretty well.”
If Andrei didn’t already feel like he’d been punched in the gut from his wounds, he might have felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. “That was your first time?”
“Yeah. How did you know?” Jesse looked at him, his head tilting to the side just a little. “You didn’t know, did you?” he asked, his tone taking a downward spiral.
Andrei shook his head, even more horrified with himself than he’d already been. “No,” he gasped. “Are you serious? That was your first time? As in ever?”
“Yeah,” Jesse said, sounding more as if he was admitting to something embarrassing. “I didn’t want you to know in case it was bad.”
Andrei shook his head. “No,” he said, still struggling with his words. “It wasn’t bad. It was great, except for how damned rough I was with you. Jesus Christ, are you serious?”
“Yeah, but you weren’t rough. I mean, a little, but it was okay. I liked it, remember? You can do that to me whenever you want," he said with a bright grin. “After you’ve recovered and everything.”
Andrei wasn’t sure what to say to that. On the one hand, he was glad Jesse had enjoyed himself, but on the other, had he known for one second he’d been dealing with a virgin, he would have never in a million years treated him so harshly.
Virgins needed special care. They needed candlelight and rose petals and declarations of love.
Jesse had received none of those things, and the worst part about it was he was owed them as Andrei’s mate. Andrei had an obligation to give them to Jesse, and he hadn’t. He’d used Jesse’s body with the intent of throwing him away after the fact. God that made it so much worse…
“Don’t look at me like that,” Jesse said. “You make me think I’m some kind of charity case.”
“Never,” Andrei said.
Jesse grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head, exposing his stomach and chest. He let his shirt fall softly to the floor.
“If you want to make it up to me, then you can just let me kiss you and take care of you and occasionally make you dinner.”
Andrei couldn’t help but smile at that. “Anything else?”
Jesse bit his lips together briefly. “You could…let me move in here with you? Not right away. I get that you’re going to want your space, but…eventually, you know?”
Andrei’s heart wouldn’t stop beating so fast. His entire body felt warm, and there seemed to be literally nothing he could do to make it slow down.
He reached for his mate, pulling his face down.
Jesse was careful with him. He didn’t put any of his weight on Andrei’s chest as their mouths came together once more.
That feeling, that wonderfully warm tingling that seemed to spread out through his body, quickly, as if it had been injected right into his veins, was there once more.
How could he have not noticed this before? How could he have been such a fool?
He would make it up to Jesse in time. For now, he just had to touch him, to kiss him, and to love him.
This second chance at happiness…he wouldn’t waste it.
Of course, he would never admit to Seth that he’d been right all along.
Chapter Eight
Lucian descended the basement stairs, food tray in hand. Time to visit the vampire again, though Lucian almost wished he didn’t have to bother with this.
No one had died…with the exception of a few of the vampires in the last attack, but many had been wounded.
Jesse, the innocent little wolf omega, had nearly been killed, Marxus knocked unconscious, and Andrei…
That one bugged Lucian even more.
Andrei had been mated to Jesse. Lucian hadn’t known that. He should have known, however. He’d seen the way the omega had looked at Andrei when Andrei wasn’t looking.
And sometimes, Andrei would look back at him. The air between the two got so thick sometimes that he almost felt he could take one of his claws and cut it in half.
Lucian stopped outside the door, where the vampire was staying.
Jesse had been so hurt that Andrei had given the man one of his scales to save him. Lucian couldn’t believe it worked. He’d heard of such a power but had never seen it in practice.
And they always said only a mate could do such a thing for another mate.
So when Jesse ran to find Seth and tell him what happened, they were barely in time to save Andrei before he bled to death among the filthy vampires that had been killed.
Some by Jesse’s own hand.
Lucian smiled. He understood what it was Andrei saw in the omega for that alone. He just hoped the two would find some happiness together.
Andrei especially deserved it, after all he’d been through, and Jesse seemed like a good enough omega that he would take care of Andrei…
Lucian sighed. He unlocked the door, decided to quick dallying, and entered.
The c
ages were no longer inside this room. They’d been removed and something much more powerful used to hold the vampire in place.
Sorin looked up quickly from the book he’d been reading then jumped to his feet, hiding it behind his back, as if Lucian hadn’t already seen it.
“What was that?” he asked, though he already knew.
A guilty expression took over Sorin’s face. Apparently knowing there was no point in playing dumb, he pulled the book back out from around his back, revealing what he’d been reading.
Lucian dropped the tray carelessly onto the tiny TV tray beside the bed. He stomped toward the omega, snatching the hardcover out of his hands.
Sorin said nothing. He held still, gripping his arm and avoiding eye contact.
Lucian flipped through the pages, making sure none of them had been carved out, revealing a hidden weapon of some kind.
No. It was just a book. It looked new. Some sci-fi thing that Lucian hadn’t seen in the library before. He was shocked it wasn’t Dracula. That would have been funny.
Would vampires keep that book in their libraries? He’d have to check.
Speaking of which, the library was filled with old hardbacks on law, philosophy, and medicine. The only fiction books were first edition classics.
Lucian narrowed his eyes at the vampire. “Where did you get this?”
Sorin said nothing. He continued to look guilty, however, trying to appear small as he clutched his arm.
Lucian looked back at the book. He didn’t like how heavy it was. The hardcover could be used as some sort of weapon, but the fact that he had it…
Then he understood. “Miles gave it to you, didn’t he?”
Sorin again said nothing, but he pressed his lips together.
It was answer enough.
“He’s not supposed to give you anything.”
Seth had forbidden it. They’d already extended Sorin’s prison by getting rid of the cages.
An act Lucian had approved of at the time, considering what Sorin had done for him.
Lucian pushed the thought out of his mind. The burning was already healing from Sorin’s face, leaving not so much as a set of scars on him. It was as if it had never happened.
Lucian growled at the man. “Don’t think that just because you helped me that day, that you stayed behind and fought, it means we trust you.”
That Lucian trusted him. He didn’t.
Sorin still said nothing.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
No answer.
Lucian growled. “Whatever.”
He kept the book, returning to where he’d dropped the tray of food.
The carton of milk had fallen from the tray, but it was still sealed, so he picked up, put it back on the tray, and slid it around to the front of the bed.
“Sit and eat. I have stuff to do.”
He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to spend time in this room with a vampire.
He’d started to feel sorry for him not too long ago. He’d been grateful for Sorin’s help, but after this latest attack, it was a reminder that Sorin’s father still wanted his son back, and his slave. It was a reminder that Sorin was practically royalty among the vampires who used to live here, and that he’d approved of, and used, the omega slaves who had been kept prisoner here.
Miles was a nice enough young man, and Seth clearly loved his mate, but Miles was wrong. He had to be.
Sorin was still the enemy. It didn’t matter how nice to Miles Sorin had been or how well he treated the other slaves.
They had still been slaves.
And Lucian almost let his guard down. Andrei was in bed, recovering because they were keeping Sorin here. More would get injured. More would die. An omega had been kidnapped, worse, a fox omega. That could mean only one thing.
Lucian glanced at Sorin as the vampire ate.
He probably wanted to go back to his father, to go back to his way of life.
But his way of life was wrong. His way of life came directly at the expense of others.
Still, he wasn’t going anywhere. Not on his own, at least. The way he hunched over his meal, a clear sign of weakness and fear. This was no warrior. This was a pampered prince.
Lucian snapped himself out of it. He was going to feel sorry for the little bloodsucker again.
A silver-plated chain around his ankle and Lucian took his book. Really, he was being treated well, considering everything that had happened.
Lucian took another look at the vampire, and he frowned, noting the way Sorin barely moved his left arm, letting his hand rest in his lap while he took the smallest of bites from his bread. He chewed carefully before swallowing slowly.
He did look a little pale, even for a vampire. It had been sometime since Lucian had offered his blood, now that he thought about it.
It had been his gift. When Sorin came out to help him against the vampires, his body burning in the sun as he sloppily helped to ward off an attack, Lucian had decided to be the one to give Sorin his blood.
A thank-you, of sorts, and a way of keeping him alive.
Vampires needed blood to fill their veins, but they also needed food and water.
Lacking any of these things could most definitely harm the vampire in question.
Lucian sighed. “Maybe I’ll see about giving you this book back, but I’ll have to ask Seth about it. Before then, you’ll need some blood.”
Sorin stopped eating, his hands freezing.
Lucian looked at the man, frowning.
“What’s wrong? Are you that thirsty? I know it’s been a while since I’ve come down here.”
Since just before the attack, actually. That had been three, almost four days ago. He would definitely need blood at this point in time.
Lucian pulled up his sleeve, exposing his wrist. “You can do it now if you want. Just don’t take too long. I might change my mind.”
Still, Sorin wouldn’t look at him. He stared down at his tray of food, as if the meat was about to come back to life and start attacking him.
The trembling in his body, the way his jaw tensed, and the soft noise that suddenly escaped his throat…
Lucian knew the sounds of terror. He’d inflicted them onto many people, and he suddenly understood.
Sorin was terrified of him.
Lucian frowned, a brief question of why flickering through his brain before he really looked at the arm that Sorin wasn’t moving.
Lucian came to stand on Sorin’s other side. He knelt down.
“Attack me and I’ll kill you,” he said.
Sorin still didn’t move. His body wouldn’t stop trembling, and he positively refused to look at Lucian as Lucian reached out and took him by his hand.
Sorin jumped a little, a soft noise leaving his throat.
He sounded like a wounded fawn. Lucian ignored the way his heart twisted in sympathy for him.
He lifted Sorin’s sleeve as much as he could. He wasn’t wearing any of the finery he’d been captured in when Seth had led them to a victory in taking the house back from the vampires, so Lucian was able to push up the black sleeve and expose Sorin’s skin easily enough.
He had to get halfway up Sorin’s bicep before he saw it.
A deep bruise, mean in its intensity and darkness. It seemed to bloom out with red and purple in one particular spot while the rest had a ghoulish blue color to it.
And Sorin still would not look at him.
“Who…who did this to you?”
Lucian could hardly force himself to look away from the wound he saw. He brushed his fingers against the swollen red spot as gently as could, but Sorin still flinched, his lips pressed tightly shut, and the trembling in his body intensified, as if he thought Lucian would suddenly grab at his wound and squeeze it just for the sake of putting him in pain.
Lucian growled. He felt some of his inner dragon coming to the forefront of his mind, the anger, the need to fight, as if the vampire assassins were back in the house and he needed to
kick some ass.
“I’ll find who did this and punish them. No one is supposed to do this to you,” he snarled, standing quickly.
It would be easy enough to find out who did it, even if Sorin didn’t want to tell him. It was likely someone who had been sent down here to give Sorin his meals since Lucian had been away. There were only three dragons to choose from. It could have been one or all of them, ganging up on the vampire prisoner, getting their cowardly revenge when Sorin couldn’t defend himself.
“I’ll get Seth. We’ll look at your arm, find out if it’s broken or just deeply bruised.”
Sorin still would not look at him, and Lucian honestly could take no more of it. The fact that those blue eyes were so terrified, that he looked as if he was going to fly apart at any second…
“Sorin, I won’t hurt you, but it’s easier if you tell me who hurt you.”
No answer.
“Did they threaten you?”
No answer.
“You’re making me think this is worse, that there’s more. Sorin, tell me now,” Lucian commanded, reaching out to grab Sorin by the shoulder.
The man cried out, suddenly losing what little control he’d had left, as if he’d been struggling to hold on to it this entire time and had failed.
The TV tray table, and the food on top of it, toppled to the floor as Sorin pushed himself back on his cot, pressing his back against the concrete wall, his eyes looking at Lucian as if he was some kind of monster.
Lucian caught sight of it, of what was wrong, of why Sorin wouldn’t speak.
It had been just a flash when Sorin’s mouth opened, but Lucian saw it.
He came forward, putting his knee onto the cot, reaching out for Sorin’s face. Sorin trembled and shook, as if he was trying to press himself into the concrete itself to escape, tears welling up in those blue eyes when Lucian gently took him by his cheeks.
“Try to be calm,” Lucian said, doing his best to keep an even, steady voice. “I won’t hurt you.”
He pushed his thumbs down to Sorin’s mouth, needing another look, and very gently, he pulled the man’s top lip up, ignoring Sorin’s pained flinch as he did.