With a Kiss

by Kim Dare

  Liam closed his eyes for a moment. Marcus really had heard every word…

  Aware that he was keeping the other man waiting, Liam forced himself to open his eyes and face reality head on. Selecting a DVD at random, he slipped it into the machine, just as Marcus had ordered. The other man was already sitting on the sofa waiting for him. Liam turned toward him just in time to see Marcus lift one hand and push his hair back off his face.

  It should have looked like a feminine gesture, cute and flirtatious. Somehow, on Marcus, it looked as strong and as dominant as a senior matador posturing in the middle of a bull ring.

  Marcus lowered his hand and tapped the seat next to him as he caught Liam’s eye.

  “I thought we were going too—” Liam began, perching on the very edge of the sofa cushion.

  “We are.”

  Marcus held out his other hand. A set of leather wrist cuffs hung from his fingertips.

  Liam swallowed rapidly as he watched them swing back and forth like a hypnotist’s watch, only far more mesmerizing.

  “I’m going to tell you exactly what I intend to do. You’re going to tell me if you like the sound of it. Understand?”

  Liam nodded.

  “I’m going to put these around your wrists, and we’re going to sit here and watch a movie together.”

  Liam managed another jerky nod.

  “After the movie has finished, if it’s what you still want, I’m going to feed from you.”

  One more nod.

  Marcus smiled encouragingly. It didn’t seem to be an expression that came entirely naturally to him, but he was certainly trying hard.

  Each movement as jerky as a puppet whose strings had been cut, Liam clung to that encouragement as he held out his wrists to be bound. The leather was wrapped around them in seconds, the shining silver buckles neatly fastened against his skin. Staring down at the thickly padded restraints, Liam took another deep breath and tried not to panic. There was no way anything around his wrists could restrict his ability to breathe.

  They were just strips of leather, just toys. Just things that would make it even harder for him to get away when everything hit the fan.

  Hands came to rest on Liam’s cheeks and tilted back his face until he had no choice but to meet Marcus’ eyes.

  “I’m—”

  “Don’t apologize.” Marcus stroked his thumb across Liam’s cheek. “You’re doing fine. It’s only natural that it should feel a little strange at first.”

  Liam tried to look away, but his eyes kept swinging back to Marcus’ lips and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

  “The important thing for you to remember is that these cuffs aren’t about me forcing you to stay anywhere you don’t wish to be. They’re about you knowing that you don’t need your hands free if you ever want to get away from me—all you have to do is tell me to stop.”

  Liam blinked. Unable to turn his head, it was the only thing he could do.

  “Every time you look at the cuffs, I want you to try to repeat to yourself that they’re a symbol of how safe you are with me. Can you do that?”

  Liam nodded, pressing his cheeks more firmly against the vampire’s hands in the process.

  Marcus finally released his face. “That’s good.”

  He picked up the remote and pressed the button to begin the film without any further ado. Leaning comfortably against the highly cushioned sofa back, Marcus turned his attention to the screen and immediately became completely absorbed in it.

  Liam took another deep breath, as if the third one just might be the charm that let him not make a complete pillock of himself. Looking down at the leather around his wrists, he did his best to remember what Marcus had told him.

  He was safe, and nothing was going to happen unless he wanted it to. Liam repeated the words one more time for good measure and, gathering up every piece of courage he had at his disposal, shuffled back until he sat properly on the sofa next to the other man.

  The movie played across the huge screen mounted on the wall above the fireplace. Liam stared intently at the image, making a point of never once looking to his right.

  “I only bite if you want me to.”

  The words made a mockery of Liam’s determination to keep his eyes facing forward. He turned his head so quickly, the muscles in his neck hurt.

  Marcus smiled slightly as their gazes met. “You can come closer.” He held up one arm, inviting Liam to curl into his side and snuggle against him as if they were just a normal couple who’d decided their date would be conducted at home rather than the cinema that night.

  Without even thinking once about it, Liam reached out to brace his hand against the back of the sofa as he moved closer to the other man. The leather around his wrists stopped him short.

  An unexpected wave of pleasure rolled through Liam’s body in response. The fact his cock was already screaming for release didn’t help. His movements became clumsier than ever as he finally closed the gap between them.

  Eventually, he was close enough to rest his head on the other man’s chest. The vampire’s heartbeat was slow and steady, just like the beep of the monitor that had stood next to his bed in the hospital. The rhythm seeped into Liam’s body telling him that he was as safe there as he had been when the other man was asleep.

  Marcus’ arm settled comfortably around his shoulders. His skin was warmer than a human man’s, his touch gentler, too.

  The film continued to play in front of Liam, but for once the fairy tale romance that filled the character’s lives couldn’t hold his attention. He closed his eyes, all the better to savor the closeness of the other man.

  It was only a sudden burst of music that alerted him the credits were rolling. Liam blinked open his eyes, trying desperately to make his pupils adjust to the light more quickly so Marcus wouldn’t realize he hadn’t been watching the actors.

  Liam looked up. He was wide awake, but he wouldn’t have blamed Marcus for believing otherwise. Hell, he might as well have fallen asleep against the other man for all he had seen of the show.

  Marcus softly stroked his fingers over the leather covering Liam’s wrists. “How do they feel?”

  “Good.” Liam had no idea the word was going to leave his lips until it was out there, hanging in the air between them.

  Marcus ran his fingers down Liam’s cheek just as tenderly as he’d caressed the bondage. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for months.”

  Liam swallowed. His tongue slipped out to moisten his lips in what had to look like a calculated flirtation. He dipped his head, blushing at the idea he’d ever be confident enough to try something like that on any man, let alone one like Marcus.

  The other man smiled. His knuckle slipped under Liam’s chin, and he gently tilted back his head.

  The first touch of his lips was so light Liam barely felt it. His eyes drifted closed. He leaned forward, blindly searching for more. Marcus’ mouth was impossibly soft as it molded against his. As soon as the vampire’s tongue caressed his bottom lip, Liam opened his mouth in acceptance.

  The vampire kissed as if that was all he ever wanted to do, as if there really was no rush to move on to the more exciting parts of the evening. In some stupid way, Liam actually felt that the simple little kiss would be enough to completely satisfy the other man.

  He could pull away without pissing off Marcus. That knowledge just made him lean all the more enthusiastically into the other man’s embrace.

  Marcus’ other hand stroked across Liam’s neck. His thumb rubbed back and forth on the skin just above his jugular. Liam whimpered into the kiss. His body remembered how good the other man’s bite made him feel before. Pure instinct made him tilt his head back and offer his veins up to the other man as overtly as he knew how.

  Marcus groaned into the kiss as he deepened it. His other hand moved to the back of Liam’s head to support him at just the right angle for kissing and prevented any further offering of his blood.

  Barely able to catch his breath,
Liam brought his bound hands to rest on Marcus’ chest. He pushed at him slightly, his head spinning from lack of oxygen as much as from desire. Marcus immediately pulled back. Liam’s hands tightened into fists, grabbing at the vampire’s shirt before he could retreat out of reach. The chain between the cuffs rattled.

  “Don’t go!” The words were breathless, but Liam had to get them out.

  Marcus smiled slightly, his eyes already heavy lidded with desire. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Liam managed to smile back. He couldn’t look away from the other man’s lips. He desperately needed to taste them again, but at the same time, he had to feel the other man’s teeth break through his skin. Caught between the two desires, he had no idea what to actually ask for.

  “Please?” That was all Liam could say. All he could do was beg and hope that his lover would make the right decision for them both.

  “Here.” Marcus ran his fingers over Liam’s jugular once more.

  The single word was half question and half statement. That was where Marcus wanted to bite him.

  Liam nodded, willing to agree to anything.

  Marcus’ hands moved to Liam’s shoulders then and turned him around, so Liam’s back was to his chest. Liam looked over his shoulder at Marcus, tentatively tilting his head to the side to give his lover better access.

  His cock was so hard, Liam had a terrible suspicion that he was going to come in his jeans the moment Marcus bit, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that right then. Nothing was too embarrassing if it meant getting what he wanted from the vampire—if it meant giving Marcus what he wanted, too.

  Marcus dipped his head. The kiss he placed against Liam’s neck was impossibly delicate. He paused for a moment, as if to test Liam’s reaction.

  Tilting his head even farther to the side, Liam squirmed against the other man’s body in an attempt to encourage him. Marcus’ erection pressed against the back of Liam’s jeans, but the vampire seemed entirely oblivious to it as he brushed his lips against Liam’s neck once more. His tongue caressed and, just when Liam was starting to feel sure it was never going to happen, Marcus bit.

  Every muscle in Liam’s body tensed, he bucked against the other man’s larger frame as pure pleasure shot through him. He whimpered. Without any warning, Marcus leaned back, extracting his teeth from the vein as quickly as they had entered it.

  “Don’t! You can’t stop.” Liam tried to reach behind him, to catch hold of the other man’s head and pull it back, but the cuffs were in his way. “I’m not scared, I swear.”

  “I know,” Marcus whispered into his ear as he reached around Liam’s body and caught hold of the links between the cuffs, stilling Liam’s hands. “I know exactly how you feel.” He lowered his head and lapped against the wounds he’d left on Liam’s neck. The sensation went straight to Liam’s cock making him swell further behind his fly.

  “You’re not in pain this time,” Marcus murmured, his approval obvious.

  Liam didn’t even try to respond.

  “That makes it very different, doesn’t it?” Marcus whispered his words against the bite. The vibrations flooded through Liam’s body, making him whimper his agreement with anything and everything the other man ever wanted to say to him.

  “Much more intense…” Marcus suggested.

  Yes. Intense. That was a very good word for it. Intense, and wonderful, and oh so very, very frustrating…

  Liam shrugged his shoulder, trying to convince the other man to bite deeper, suck harder.

  “I know what I’m doing, Liam.”

  Liam swallowed very rapidly, as if he were the one who needed to feed, not Marcus.

  “I’ve been looking forward to this since the first time you stepped into that hospital room. You’re not going to rush me now.”

  Helpless to get what he really wanted, Liam had little choice but to accept whatever the other man was willing to offer him. Leaning back against Marcus’ body, he stopped trying to change what would happen. Any control he might have had, he released.

  “That’s right,” Marcus said. His tongue toyed against the wounds in Liam’s neck, making him squirm.

  As he pressed himself back against the other man, Liam was once more reminded that Marcus was just as hard as him. The wave of fear he expected, failed to roll through him. There was too much pleasure in his blood. There wasn’t room for anything else.

  Then, finally, just as Liam was sure he was right on the verge of insanity, Marcus’ teeth slid back into his neck. Pleasure spiked inside him, and Marcus began to feed in earnest.

  Every time the other man sucked against the bite, another wave of bliss tore through Liam. Caught in a sudden storm, he was tossed and buffeted on the rolling swells of ecstasy like a tiny boat unable to drop anchor in uncharted waters. It was too much. Out of sight of all land, it was too dangerous to simply let the sea swallow him.

  Something tugged at Liam’s arms. He glanced down. Marcus’ fist was wrapped tightly around the metal links between the cuffs. Safe. The cuffs meant he was safe. They were his life raft in the storm. Liam clung to the sight of them as he struggled to keep his head above the water and remember how to breathe.

  He was safe. There was nothing to fear. The storm was loud and dramatic, but it couldn’t really hurt him. Safe.

  Liam rocked back against the vampire’s body, glorying in the way the other man wrapped around him and the way Marcus’ hard shaft pressed against his arse through their clothes.

  Adrenaline hastened through him, faster and faster as Marcus took more of his blood and replaced it with pure rapture. Pleasure built up inside Liam. His cock throbbed with it. He was riding the highest wave of all, on the verge of coming harder than he ever had in his life and—

  Nothing.

  Liam gasped for breath. He turned his head toward Marcus, unable to hide his horror.

  “No more,” Marcus said. His voice was rougher now, his gaze brighter. “It wouldn’t be safe.”

  “But—”

  A finger came to rest on Liam’s lips. “I said no.” There was no arguing with that tone of voice.

  Liam looked down.

  “I wouldn’t be looking after you if I let you talk me into taking more,” Marcus whispered to him, his tone quickly gentling.

  Facing forward, Liam nodded again. None of that changed the fact that he really wanted to come. He squirmed a little uncomfortably, not sure what to do with himself now that his lover was finished with him.

  And he wasn’t the only one who still needed to get off. Marcus was just as hard as he was. Liam froze as uncertainty crept into his mind, like a thief determined to steal away his pleasure.

  Last time, there’d been a reason for him to say no. He’d been so badly beaten and Ralph was so fresh in his mind. Marcus had understood then. But this time…

  “When a vampire feeds from a man, he has certain rights afterward,” Marcus informed him in that same incontrovertible tone.

  “I understand—”

  “The first is to politely excuse himself to another room and take matters in hand by himself,” the vampire continued.

  Frowning with confusion, Liam pulled away to turn and look up at him.

  Marcus appeared to be completely serious. “I’m not some teenage boy who thinks a little bit of frustration gives him the right to jump on anyone he wants, Liam.”

  Still struggling to make his brain work or get enough air into his lungs, Liam could only stare at the other man for several long seconds. It took him a ridiculous length of time to work out what that strange bubbling of emotion was inside him.

  Disappointment. He was disappointed that they weren’t going to have sex.

  “We can,” he blurted out.

  Marcus stroked across the skin he’d just fed from. “Someday, yes. But not today. You’re not ready.”

  Liam didn’t open his mouth to argue, he knew that would only result in a fingertip being placed across his lips.

  Marcus glanced toward the doo
r.

  “Don’t go.”

  The vampire frowned slightly, obviously irritated by the request, but he still turned all his attention away from the door. Marcus’ smile only appeared slightly forced. “Okay.”

  Liam dropped his gaze. It wasn’t entirely a coincidence that his gaze fell on the other man’s crotch. “The bit where you move into another room before you jack off, is that part essential?” he rushed out.

  Marcus studied Liam very carefully. He could see how nervous asking the question had made him, how much determination it had taken for him to be so bold.

  Marcus had been very clear with himself during several mental lectures. He was going to be careful with Liam. He was going to take things slowly. But he was also quite willing to be damned before he threw such a request back in the boy’s face.

  “I could just as easily stay here,” Marcus said, trying to sound confident rather than cautious.

  Liam swallowed rapidly.

  “We can both stay right where we are, if you like.”

  Liam gave a jerky nod.

  Reaching out to him, concentrating very hard on not spooking Liam with any sudden movements, Marcus guided the younger man forward to be kissed.

  Liam liked being kissed. That was one thing Marcus was already very sure about. Liam seemed to feed on the kisses just as a vampire would feed on a bite, gaining strength and confidence from each moment their lips lingered together.

  Just as Marcus hoped, the boy leaned into him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The taste of Liam’s pleasure and his frustration still danced in Marcus’ veins. It was quickly joined by a supreme sense of satisfaction that he was the one who made Liam feel that way.

  Breaking the kiss, Marcus slowly pulled back. Wary that every movement he made could be the one that meant they were moving too far too fast, he cautiously reached for his fly.

  Liam watched him as if mesmerized. Zipper down, Marcus pushed the fabric aside and deftly freed his cock. Hands still bound by leather, Liam half reached out toward Marcus, then hesitated.

  “You don’t have to,” Marcus reminded him.