by Kim Dare
“Have you actually seen anyone following you?” Marcus asked, doing his best to keep his tone level.
Liam shook his head, rubbing his cheek against Marcus’ shoulder in the process.
Marcus barely held back a curse. If the person following him was a vampire, that meant nothing.
“Marcus?” Liam whispered.
Pressing a kiss onto his temple, Marcus patted the boy vaguely on the shoulder. Liam didn’t need anything else to worry about right then. No, far better that he didn’t know there might be a psychotic vampire hot on his heels. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
His hand stroked down Liam’s back and came to rest on the boy’s arse. Liam pushed back against his palm a little, as if in invitation. At the same time, the submissive glanced up at him through his lashes.
In spite of everything else, Marcus felt his lips quirk into a smile. Apparently, his lover was feeling a great deal more at ease with his master now he’d had his little bit of reassurance. Stroking his finger along Liam’s jaw line, Marcus guided the younger man to tilt his face back and make his lips available to kiss.
The moment their mouths met, Liam parted his lips and invited Marcus in.
More than willing to accept, Marcus let their first kiss lead into another, then another before trailing his lips to the other man’s neck. Pressing a kiss against his jugular, Marcus resisted temptation to rush into a feeding. Trailing kisses lower down Liam’s body, he gradually rearranged them both on the floor at the base of the spanking bench.
A hand came to rest on the back of Marcus’ head. Fingers threaded through his hair and tugged gently at the long strands in an apparent effort to bring Marcus’ fangs back to his neck. Marcus ignored that. He dipped his head farther instead.
Liam whimpered. Marcus suddenly found a wrist being shoved in front of his face. The vein danced before his eyes, offering him another location to feed from, but Marcus ignored that too, pushing Liam’s hand aside without a second thought.
The line of kisses he was tracing down Liam’s body reached his right nipple. Marcus paused for a moment, sucking the tight little bud of nerve endings into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. Liam’s fingers tightened against the back of his head, pulling helplessly at the strands of hair as the boy arched his back in pleasure.
There was no attempt to guide his master’s movements now. Liam was just reacting, too lost in the moment to want to control anything.
Keeping his teeth to himself, Marcus smiled as he gently teased the boy, drawing murmurs and sighs of pleasure from him. Several minutes passed before Marcus reluctantly let go of Liam’s nipple in order to make his way farther down his body.
By the time he reached his lover’s cock, it was hard and freely leaking pre-cum. The pressure on Marcus’ hair changed as he lapped a bead of pre-cum from the tip.
Liam was trying to tug him away from his shaft.
Marcus looked up.
Liam mutely shook his head.
Keeping careful control of his facial muscles, Marcus made sure he didn’t frown. There could be nothing that might make Liam think he wasn’t prepared to accept his refusal with good grace. “Liam?”
“Let me,” Liam gasped. “For you?”
“You don’t want this?” Marcus asked cautiously. He ran his thumbs back and forth over the smooth skin covering Liam’s hipbones as he studied his pet. Everything but Liam’s actual words screamed that the other man wanted exactly what he was offering.
“I…For you,” Liam whispered again.
Marcus smiled as he finally realized what Liam was trying to tell him. He trailed his knuckles up the underside of Liam’s cock in a teasing caress. “Because I’m the master and you’re the pet?” he asked.
Liam bit down hard on his bottom lip.
Jealousy flew through Marcus’ veins. He was the only one who was allowed to bite Liam!
“I…” Liam murmured.
“You think I’m going to start feeling all submissive toward you, just because I’ve gone down on you?” Marcus suggested.
Liam shook his head, denying any such possibility could exist.
“So, you’re afraid that I can’t keep my teeth to myself?” Marcus teased, lighthearted with relief at the knowledge that a submissive’s natural desire to please his master was the only reason Liam wanted anything between them to stop. He kept his knuckles trailing up and down the vein on the base of Liam’s cock while he waited for an answer.
Liam shook his head again. A whimper left his lips as he no doubt imagined how much pleasure a vampire’s bite could force into a human’s cock if he were to feed from there and drink more than his lover’s cum.
“I w-want to…” the submissive stuttered out.
“You want to suck your master’s cock?” Marcus asked, helpfully.
Liam nodded vehemently. “Please?”
“Because you want to please me?”
Another nod and Liam squirmed against the cold playroom floor.
“That’s the only reason?” Marcus pushed, moving his hand slightly so he could trace circles against the very tip of the other man’s’ cock.
Liam moaned, his head dropped back, baring his neck to Marcus. He finally managed to shake his head. “I like it,” he said, his voice raw with need. “You taste good.”
Marcus smiled. There was no way any man could be expected to resist such a beautiful admission. His hand went to his fly. In moments, he’d freed himself from behind the material.
Liam immediately tried to squirm into a different position. Marcus didn’t say a word; he just placed his hands on those parts of Liam’s body that he didn’t want the boy to move. There was no way Liam would ever be strong enough to get his own way in that situation.
As it was, Liam didn’t even seem to realize that it was Marcus who chose how they arranged themselves. Liam was soon lying on his side on the cold playroom floor, his head down by Marcus’ open fly, and that was all that seemed to matter to him. Marcus turned his own form slightly, making sure his own mouth remained just where he wanted it to be, too.
Soft, pliant lips quickly wrapped themselves around the tip of Marcus’ cock, an eager tongue lapped at the sensitive head. Vibrations surrounded Marcus’ shaft as Liam took him deeper and moaned his pleasure at his master filling his mouth that way.
Dipping his head, Marcus willingly returned the favor, taking Liam’s shaft into his mouth in return.
Liam bucked. His whole body jolted, as if a bolt of electricity had shot straight through him. His lips left Marcus’ cock as Liam jerked himself into a half sitting position.
Cheerfully pretending that he hadn’t noticed any of that, Marcus bobbed his head, letting Liam’s cock slide farther between his lips. The boy whimpered. His hips rocked forward again.
Rearranging his hands slightly, Marcus quickly put a stop to that. There was no need to let Liam think he had that much control over what his master did for him. A cherished pet, was still a pet—no matter how besotted with him his master might be.
Moments passed. Marcus became aware of Liam lying down once more. His breaths caressed Marcus’ cock. They were already unsteady. Liam was obviously struggling to maintain any kind of control over his own body.
Good.
Marcus took his lover’s shaft deeper inside him, until the tip touched the back of his throat. With no gag reflex to worry about, he kept on pushing forward until it slid into his throat. Swallowing around the head several times in quick succession, he massaged the glans, pulling whimpers and moans from Liam.
As much as he loved the velvety soft skin moving against his lips, Marcus wasn’t so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t notice Liam regaining enough control to dip his head back toward his lover’s cock. The other man’s mouth was clumsy against him. There was no technique there this time. The boy simply suckled around his shaft as if it were a delicious treat.
Marcus worked his tongue harder against Liam’s cock, moving his head more quickly. Whate
ver tiny bit of control Liam had possessed deserted him. His hips fought against Marcus’ grip on him, desperate to thrust as he spilled into his lover’s mouth for the first time.
Easily keeping him still, Marcus swallowed down everything his pet could offer him. In spite of all temptation, somehow he resisted the urge to let his teeth scrape against the shaft so he could feed from him right there and then.
Marcus kept his fangs to himself as Liam lost himself in pleasure, squirming and writhing against Marcus until he finally fell still. Liam’s lips still remained wrapped around Marcus’ cock as he gasped for breath. Deep lungfuls of air caressed the length of Marcus’ shaft. The ache in his balls was almost as unbearable as the ache in his teeth. Almost.
Shuffling around on the hard floor, Marcus pulled himself forward a few inches. His cock slipped from between Liam’s lips, but Marcus ignored the way Liam protested against losing his treat. The vein high on the inside of the boy’s thigh called to Marcus so strongly, nothing else mattered.
He pressed as gentle a kiss as he was capable of against the skin there. Liam eagerly spread his legs farther apart, as if he knew what his master needed and was more than happy to provide it. Nothing short of a full blown panic attack on Liam’s part could have stopped Marcus then.
His teeth sliced cleanly through the pale skin, straight into the vein. Liam’s body shuddered. There was no way the boy would be able to get hard, no way he’d be able to enjoy the feeding the way he had been able to in the past. All he could do was give himself to his master and enjoy knowing that he was owned and protected and—
Marcus’ eyes snapped open. Never breaking the bite, he managed to peer down his body to catch a glimpse of Liam. The boy’s mouth was nothing more than a thin pink line wrapped around his master’s cock.
Pleasure rushed through Marcus. His eyes dropped closed. Fireworks exploded behind his eyes as Liam suckled around his cock, following the same rhythm at which Marcus fed from his femoral artery.
Any hint of fear that might have once existed in Liam’s blood was long gone. Marcus tasted nothing but Liam’s bliss at pleasing his master and he cherished every drop as he swallowed down the certain knowledge of how safe and content Liam felt in that moment.
Biting down harder, Marcus let his fangs slide deeper as he coaxed more and more blood out of his pet’s veins. His head spun with Liam’s endorphins. His pet’s adrenaline made his heart race. Long before he was ready for it, Marcus came hard and fast, unwilling to break the bite in order to warn Liam, unable to remember that Liam couldn’t taste his emotions the way he could taste his pet’s.
Marcus felt Liam swallowing rapidly around his shaft, desperately trying to take everything. Time ceased to have any sort of meaning. Moments might have felt like lifetimes, hours could have rushed past in seconds. Marcus had no idea how long it took before they both finally fell still.
Slowly withdrawing from the bite, Marcus licked at the wounds, encouraging them to heal, but Liam made no move to retreat, his lips remained wrapped around Marcus’ softening cock.
The room seemed very still, very quiet then. Fumbling around, Marcus managed to catch hold of Liam’s wrist and rearrange the boy so he lay in his master’s arms.
“Good boy,” he whispered to him as he pressed a kiss to his temple. Liam made a pleased little noise in the back of his throat almost like the purrs the fur balls made.
Marcus tightened his hold around the smaller man a little. Liam was his and he would be kept safe.
If there was someone stalking Liam, then Marcus’ course of action was clear. Theo may have taken three years of Marcus life, but he wasn’t going to take a single second of Liam’s.
Chapter Thirteen
Marcus tapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. Still bursting with energy from the previous night’s feeding, it took all the self-control he had ever practiced, and more, to sit quietly in his car and simply watch the street before him, waiting for the first sign of the man he had no doubt would make an appearance soon.
That was the reason he couldn’t quite stop himself fidgeting, Marcus told himself. There was no other reason why he should be on edge. He wasn’t nervous. He had no need to be. The world was no longer overly large. He was used to being in open spaces now.
Marcus took a deep breath, never letting his gaze stray above the height of the buildings that lined the street. No one was going to appear out of the large expanse of blue sky that stretched out toward infinity above him. There was no reason for Marcus to look at it.
And Theo wasn’t going to catch him off guard, again.
Marcus turned his hand over and glanced down at the barely visible scar on his fingertip. The sight of it still made his stomach knot. The only reason he didn’t close his eyes against the image was because he knew full well the kind of pictures that would flash up behind his lids.
He didn’t have time for memories. Marcus folded his arms across his chest and turned his attention back to his view down the street. It was busy. That was why the animal shelter chose to walk those of their canine residents who needed to get used to bustling towns, down it at that particular time of day.
And this was the only spot upon the route where any kind of attack was possible. Marcus glared into the alleyways that lined the opposite side of the street. If Theo was stalking Liam, that was where he’d make his move.
Marcus sighed as he ran his gaze over the various humans making their way along the street. Mothers pushing screaming infants in buggies. Teenagers trying to look cool and grown up and generally failing. Men in business suits rushing around thinking they were far more important than they really were, and—
Marcus’ mind shut down. Nameless, faceless humans ceased to exist. Theo. The other vampire was making his way along the pavement as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Without anything like conscious thought taking place, Marcus was out of the car and striding across the street.
Theo.
Marcus’ steps sped up as he wove his way through the lunchtime crowd, but there was no need to rush. The bastard had obviously been keeping careful note of Liam’s routine. He knew just as well as Marcus did, that Liam wouldn’t be walking past for a few minutes yet.
Head bowed and shoulders hunched Theo stepped into a doorway just to the right of an alley mouth and fumbled with a lighter. The street created a funnel that seemed to intensify any breeze into something easily capable of blowing out any flame. The vampire tried to shield it with his hands and failed.
Approaching from downwind, Marcus smelled the other vampire’s presence. He heard him cursing too. Theo didn’t have the same advantages. He didn’t look up, didn’t even glance in Marcus’ direction.
Theo didn’t even know Marcus was there until Marcus had him by his shirt collar. Lighter and cigarette tumbled to the ground. Louder curses filled the air.
Not here. It was too crowded in the street. There was far too much chance of collateral damage to the human population.
The little runt squirmed and tried to scrabble away, but Marcus pushed him forward, sending him stumbling into a narrow alleyway leading between the backs of two shops.
Theo swung around, his fangs bared. The blood drained out of his face as he saw who was actually standing before him. Stepping into the alley, Marcus blocked any chance of Theo escaping. A smile came to his lips. He didn’t try to hide his own, rather more impressive set of incisors.
“Theo,” he said. The polite tone only seemed to make the other vampire more nervous. He took a step back and reversed into one of the huge rubbish bins that lined the alleyway.
“It’s been a long time,” Marcus went on, stepping forward and gradually closing the gap between them. “Three very, very long years, in fact.”
Theo looked over his shoulder. The alley was a dead end. It seemed a very appropriate term to Marcus.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“Really?” Theo muttered. “I had no idea, I…”
“App
arently, you were too busy stalking a human,” Marcus said. His eyes narrowed. “Anyone I know?”
“Marcus, I can…” Theo’s hands came up as if to fend him off; as if there was any chance he’d win that fight.
“You can what?” Marcus demanded. “You can explain? Do you really think there is anything that you can say that will stop me—?”
“Marcus?”
Twisting around to face the entrance to the alley, Marcus saw Liam standing there. The sunlight behind him put his face in shadows, but it didn’t disguise his expression.
The boy looked nigh on terrified. “Are you okay?” he asked, his gaze quickly flicking between Marcus and Theo.
A growl pulled Marcus’ attention down to a spot near Liam’s feet. A dog tugged at its lead.
“I saw…” Liam hesitated, obviously trying to work out what the hell he actually had seen and failing.
“I’m fine,” Marcus said. “Go back to work.”
A barely audible sound made Marcus turn back to Theo. The other vampire quickly took a step back, his hands coming up in surrender.
“If you need to feed…” Liam said, with obvious care.
Marcus couldn’t have kept the burst of laughter back if his life had depended on it. “Feed on that?” he asked, looking Theo up and down, making no attempt to hide his disgust.
“I…” Liam obviously didn’t know what to say, but that didn’t stop the boy taking a step forward, obviously determined to be part of whatever was going on in Marcus’ life, no matter how petrified he was.
A pipe ran down the far corner of the wall toward a gutter. Liam carefully tied his end of the dog’s lead to it. His hands were shaking, but he merely folded his arms across his chest in an effort to hide that as he dragged himself closer still.
“Vampires don’t feed from other vampires,” Marcus snapped, all his attention quickly reverting to Theo.
He saw the panic in the other vampire’s eyes, too, but that only encouraged him. He wanted Theo afraid of him, he wanted the pathetic little bastard to feel every little bit of pain that had flowed through his body for every day of the three years he’d been stuck in that hospital bed.