by SJ Himes
Angel opened his mouth to comment, and Milly shook her head and pointed at him. “I know what you’re going to say, Angel, and don’t you dare. Benjamin is not your problem to solve. I identified him to the police, and in the morning I’ll apply for a restraining order. He has a warrant out for his arrest. I’ll keep my wards up and watch my back. He won’t surprise me again. This isn’t your fight.”
“He hurt you, almost killed us, and he knows where you live,” Angel sat up and put his plate down with a loud smack, his fork rattling. Daniel jumped at his side and Isaac stared at him wide-eyed as he continued to eat. “You’ll stay here until it’s safe, dammit.”
“He probably knows where you live, too,” Milly replied archly. “Everyone knows where Angelus Salvatore lives in this town. In fact, I’m probably in more danger being here than I am anywhere else in the entire state, including my own apartment.”
Fuck.
Milly smirked at him, and calmly sipped her tea. Daniel snickered and nibbled on some bacon, and Isaac laughed outright. He glared at his brother, and Isaac just laughed some more. “Yeah, laugh it up you two. You both live here, too.”
Daniel stopped laughing and went back to eating, the remaining eggs on his plate more interesting than picking on Angel. Isaac just shrugged and kept on eating. “Been in danger our whole lives. Nothing new.”
If that wasn’t the truth, he didn’t know what was.
Angel got up, dislodging Daniel. Isaac snagged the last bit of sausage from his plate before he grabbed it and went to the kitchen. Simeon was in there, sleeves rolled up, wrist deep in the suds as he washed dishes. Angel put his plate down next to the sink, and leaned a hip on the counter. Simeon was at times odd, even for Angel. The undead vampire lord was four-hundred-years old, a warrior and cunning predator. Yet the fact he was washing dishes from a meal he couldn’t eat, and that he even cooked the meal, gave Angel a warm, almost fluid sense of sweet pain and affection.
Awe. He felt awe.
Simeon was awe-inspiring. Angel had spent his life alone, and even expected to remain that way forever, never looking for a relationship or a partner in the romantic sense…and yet Simeon filled that role so perfectly, so smoothly, that Angel had a sneaking suspicion that Simeon had been working on getting him to accept him since the moment they met, over two years ago now.
Angel slid his plate into the sink, and Simeon gave him a small smile, eyes warm with affection. Angel leaned forward and pressed his lips to his lover’s shoulder, planting a firm kiss before pulling back.
“What was that for, a ghra?”
“Thank you for not giving up on me,” Angel said, grabbing a dish towel and drying the cleaned flatware.
“I would never give up on you,” Simeon vowed. Angel chuckled, and bumped his shoulder to Simeon’s.
“I know that now. Still leaves me in wonder that you never thought I was too difficult. I didn’t make it easy for you in the beginning,” Angel admitted, playing with the towel. Simeon pulled the plug on the sink and rinsed his hands and wrists. Angel gave him the towel, and Simeon’s gaze was inquiring.
“There is nothing easy about you, my love. You were a wary creature, dangerous and suspicious.”
Angel huffed out a dry laugh, thinking Simeon had it dead to rights. “Am I still that way?”
“Certainly. You only trust those who have proven themselves. Such a precaution is wise, and has kept you and yours alive. You’re dangerous, and that will never change. Bred for war, adapted to peace. My people call me the Celt, a throwback to ancient times when my ancestors fought with spears and bastard swords stolen from the Romans. They call me a warrior, but the term more aptly describes yourself.” Simeon turned from the sink, and gently pulled Angel into his arms. Angel leaned his chin on Simeon’s chest and stared up at his lover, Simeon smiling down at him. “Yet in your heart, there is an unending generosity. You believe in compassion, in second chances. You can forgive—and even better, you know when not to forgive.”
“You make me sound like a saint,” Angel whispered, their lips a couple inches apart as Simeon dipped his head.
“A warrior saint who swears with every breath he takes, and walks headlong into danger for those he loves, and never washes his own dishes,” Simeon retorted with a smile, and Angel laughed.
“We have a dishwasher, ya know,” Angel teased, and Simeon retaliated by picking him up, big hands cupping his ass. Angel wrapped himself around his lover, the bigger man carrying him as they strode from the kitchen. Angel tapped his shoulder, and Simeon paused in the living room.
“Milly, take the couch please. I want to go with you when you go back to your place, but we all need some sleep,” Angel said, and Milly opened her mouth to complain he was sure, but he shook his head. “Sleep here for now, and let me help you. I won’t hover over you like a momma hen, but please let me help keep you safe.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, but she gave in.
“I’ll get some blankets and spare pillow,” Isaac said, hopping up. Daniel took the leftover plates and trays into the kitchen and Angel heard the water turn on as Daniel began to wash up. Simeon cocked a brow at Angel and he glared back.
“No one leaves the apartment until I get back up!” Angel said loudly, and assorted muffled replies came from the depths of the apartment which he took as agreement.
Simeon carried him into their room, and the gray hue outside the windows heralded dawn’s approach. They still had a while, maybe an hour. Simeon had been at the Tower, and planning on spending the night, helping with new fledglings.
“Did this whole mess fuck up your Elder duties?” Angel asked as Simeon pushed the door shut with a foot and then carried him to the bed.
“You need not worry, my love,” Simeon assured him, laying Angel down on his back on the bed. Simeon stood and went about undressing Angel.
Socks, pants, underwear, shirt, everything went. Angel stroked his hardening cock while Simeon stood back and undressed himself, picking up their combined clothing and putting it all in the hamper by the bathroom door. “I’m going to worry. You spend all your time here, and not with your bloodclan. I get in trouble, and you leave. Didn’t you guys have fledglings rising tonight?”
“We did, and it went very well. The younglings bonded with their masters, and only one needed to be bound to Batiste when she would not respond to her maker. Out of ten fledglings, that is a very high success rate. Daniel called me after I was no longer needed, so I was able to leave.”
Simeon crawled into bed, and Angel shivered. They tugged the blankets back and settled underneath. Angel opened his arms to Simeon, spreading his legs and wrapping them around Simeon’s hips, and he groaned when Simeon rested his full weight atop him.
“Don’t worry about me, my love,” Simeon whispered as he nibbled on Angel’s jaw, licking down the side of his neck. A hard, cool but warming quickly, long cock nestled alongside his own, and Angel lifted his hips, trying to slide them together even as his head fell back and Simeon bit down on a tendon in his neck. Not enough to break the skin, but he would have a lovely collection of hickeys in the morning.
“I will always worry,” Angel gasped, whimpering when Simeon bit him again, harder. So close to danger yet not close enough. Angel cried out, hands clawing at Simeon’s shoulders. Simeon biting on him, sucking up marks, leaving love bites behind got Angel revved up faster than anything, and he was begging and pleading for more before Simeon moved on to the third love bite. “Batiste has to run out of patience at some point.”
“No more talking,” Simeon whispered over his skin, licking at the tender flesh.
Simeon bit again, harder, and Angel yelped, his muscles melting in a rush of liquid heat and arousal. He moaned, his cock straining and aching, flesh tight and hot. Simeon eased off on his biting, and kissed Angel, firm and deep, tongue slipping into his mouth, owning every surface. Simeon always tasted of co
ol mint and sweet chocolate, and Angel was addicted to his taste. He dug his fingers into Simeon’s scalp and yanked on the thick strands of auburn, keeping their lips together.
Simeon broke the kiss before Angel passed out from oxygen deprivation, and Angel panted fast and hard when Simeon yanked his wrists above his head with one hand, the other digging around the headboard. Angel writhed and bucked his hips when Simeon found the leather shackles, and pulled them free. “Yes, fuck yes. Please!”
Angel begged and pleaded, whispering his need as Simeon restrained each of his wrists, separately and then together above his head, tightening the leather cord until Angel’s arms were immobile. Simeon ran his cool hands down Angel’s arms, making him jump and wiggle. One of Simeon’s hands slid to his throat, thumb under his chin, tipping his head back, while the other slid down his chest, his stomach, and took Angel’s aching cock in hand.
Simeon stroked him, and Angel whined deep in his throat when Simeon added a twist to his motions, working the head, thumb spreading precum over the crown and down.
“What do you say if you want me to stop?” Simeon rumbled, and Angel had to wet his lips before he could reply. Simeon’s hands both tightened, throat and cock, and he gasped.
“Coisc,” Angel said in a whisper, harsh and ragged with lust. It didn’t quite mean ‘stop’, but it was the easiest for Angel to say when high on pleasure. “I haven’t needed to yet. Now fuck me, please.”
“You frightened me, a ghra,” Simeon declared softly. “Your fledgling calls me in a panic and tells me you and your brother were attacked. You were in the hospital, and I was afraid.”
Simeon rolled his wrist, and Angel bucked up at the tight grip, nearly too painful to be enjoyable. Angel groaned happily despite the pain, and Simeon stilled his wrist. “No! Please…”
“I was scared, Leannán. I feared for you,” Simeon rubbed a fingertip through the silky drops of precum, collecting a thick drop. Simeon put his fingertip to Angel’s mouth, bathing his lips in his own fluids. Angel licked at the taste, and Simeon’s finger, sucking it into his mouth. He moaned again, and Simeon squeezed his throat once before letting him go, pulling both hands away. Angel blinked up at him, dazed, aroused to the point of madness.
“Fuck me.” He wasn’t above begging.
“Not yet,” Simeon growled, and Angel’s heart tripped when Simeon’s fangs dropped, eyes glowing a rich emerald flame. It happened so fast he never saw Simeon move; Angel was flipped, his wrists straining against the shackles. Simeon put him up on his knees, legs spread, cock and balls swaying heavy between his legs, his shoulders down.
“I was scared for you, my love,” Simeon’s voice was one long rumbling hiss, fangs making it hard for words to come out smooth. Simeon was dangerous, and Angel’s whole body wanted to feel just how dangerous he was. “You need to be reminded how valued you are, how loved. How essential you are to me.”
Angel bit a mouthful of bedding and sobbed with shocked pleasure when the flat of Simeon’s hand slapped his ass. Fast and shocking, Angel’s ass clenched, his muscles quivering. A bloom of heat came from the impact spot, and Angel sobbed into the bed when the other cheek was given a sharp slap. Vampiric reflexes meant his ass had no time to recover or his mind to separate one blow from the next. His cock jerked, precum dripping to the bed, and Angel twisted and pulled against the restraints, needing to be free, to get his hands on Simeon, to pull him close and deep, so fucking deep there would be nothing between them, not even air.
He came, shooting thick streams of cum to the bed. Angel screamed, arms shaking, fists clenched, back bowing. The blows to his ass stopped, and he was freed, even as his body convulsed and he came again, painting Simeon as his lover picked him up, turning him, and sat him in his lap.
Angel whimpered, overcome, the touch of Simeon’s chiseled abs on his sensitive cock almost too much. Simeon lifted him, and a thick finger coated in lube caressed his hole before piercing the tight muscle. Angel dropped his head to Simeon’s shoulder, limp and exhausted, and leaned his full weight onto Simeon, trusting him to keep him upright. His ass cheeks burned, but the stinging heat was pleasant, even as it stung from sweat running down his back and hips. More lube found its way into him, and Angel moaned loudly in approval when Simeon pulled his hand away and then gripped his hips.
Simeon impaled him slowly, carefully. Slow inch by slow inch, Angel’s body opened and accepted the thick, long, rapidly warming flesh stretching him wide. The broad head nudged his prostate, and Angel jerked, moaning, before the head slid deeper into his body. Simeon touched places no one had ever reached before, and Angel delighted in the difference when Simeon bottomed out. Simeon’s cock warmed, absorbing the heat of Angel’s core, and reflected it back, until Angel felt like he was pierced by a wet, thick spear of molten lava. Hands cupped his stinging ass, and lifted him, encouraging him to let his knees fall wide when Simeon started to fuck Angel on his cock.
Angel’s cock, softened by his own orgasm, jerked and pulsed with every stroke over his prostate, and the rhythm Simeon set let him feel every ridge and dip of the muscles across his lover’s rock-hard torso. Angel managed to lift his head after trying twice, and his head lolled back on his shoulders, looking up at Simeon as his lover fucked him slow and deep. Eyes heavy and nearly closed, Angel managed to smirk up at Simeon, whispering, “Is that all you have?”
Simeon hissed, eyes flashing a vibrant emerald, and Angel found himself on his back, legs spread wide, Simeon fucking him fast and hard. Angel grabbed his knees and pulled them up and out, and Simeon slammed his hips into Angel’s, rutting like a crazed beast…or a savagely aroused vampire.
“Fuck, yes. Don’t stop…come in me, please.” He wasn’t making any sense, but then Simeon always wrecked his brain and thought process with his cock. One strong thrust slammed into his prostate, so hard it ached, and Angel yelped as his cock unloaded again, pulsing out thick jets of cum as Simeon aimed for that spot over and over. He wasn’t even fully hard, and Simeon fucked another orgasm out of him. Angel screamed, fingers digging into his legs, and his ass went on lockdown. Simeon shuddered on top of him, and Angel sobbed at the slightly cool, thick, wet jets of cum filling his ass. Simeon worked himself in as deep as he could go, grabbing Angel tight, hips jerking as he continued to come.
Angel sighed, every muscle buzzing with endorphins and pleasure. He let go of his knees, legs flopping to the bed, and he wrapped his arms around Simeon’s neck, hugging his lover to him.
“I love you,” Angel sighed out, kissing Simeon’s neck, rubbing his nose through the soft auburn strands behind his ear. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Leannán. More than I ever thought possible,” Simeon rasped out, fangs finally withdrawn. His eyes glowed, softer now, not as bright. Simeon tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck better to Angel’s view. Angel watched in fascinated surprise as Simeon managed to work a hand up to his own neck, a single claw sliding out an inch from a lone finger, and Simeon pierced his neck, right above the jugular.
“Shit! What are you doing?” Angel gasped out, trying to get a hand down to stem the flow.
“All is well, my Leannán. Drink, quickly, before the wound closes.”
“What? Why? I know I’ve been biting you a lot, but I’m a biter, and you never complained, I thought you liked it…” Angel stammered out, watching as a thick flow of dark red blood ran down Simeon’s neck to drip onto Angel’s shoulder.
“It tightens our bond,” Simeon whispered, and he thrust his hips, fucking his still hard cock into Angel, making him moan. “I thought you knew, my love. You have bitten me every time we made love the last several weeks.”
“I like biting…” Angel trailed off, thinking about it. He’d never bitten any of his previous hookups. Never, not even the few repeat hookups he’d fucked over the years. Simeon was the only one he bit, ever.
Simeon cupped the back of his head
, and Angel let him press his lips to Simeon’s neck. The blood was cool, and sweet, thick like syrup. Simeon always tasted of mint and chocolate, spices reminiscent of a hot toddy or cider. Angel sucked, Simeon hissing in approval, his hips now moving again between Angel’s legs. Angel drank mouthfuls, more than the brief tastes he’d taken before, eyes drifting shut.
Simeon fucked him in time to each swallow, and Angel gripped Simeon as tightly as he could, barely able to hear Simeon’s murmured words of encouragement over the beating of his heart.
Angel came again, a gentle, deep orgasm, and he felt Simeon fill him up again too. Angel stopped drinking, unable to take any more, and the last thought he had was of how his blood sang in his body, and the golden cord tying them together grew stronger, more tangible.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” Angel whispered, licking his lips. Simeon kissed him, lapping at the blood smeared across his lower lip and chin.
“Forgiven, my love,” Simeon replied, and carefully withdrew from Angel’s body. Angel went limp, his heart pounding in his ears. He felt like he was floating, the only connection to the world…Simeon’s flesh on his.
Power surged through him, resonating with his soul, and Angel fell asleep, the taste of Simeon on his tongue and his lover’s weight seeming to be the only things holding him down.
Chapter Six
Learning Pains
Angel flipped the paper, going to the section in the middle to read the rest of the front page article. They were in a café not far from the apartment, Simeon on his left and Daniel on his right. Both men were talking, and Angel peered over the top of the paper and enjoyed the sight of his lover and apprentice getting along. Daniel seemed to be getting over his hesitancy towards vampires, or maybe it was just Simeon.
It was an hour after sunset, and most humans were at home by now, so the café wasn’t as busy as it would have been if they came in earlier. Eroch was curled up around his neck like a fancy necklace, though the wee beastie was a bit heavier. Angel was glad the place was nearly empty. Eroch burped, full from his cranberry scone, and Angel smiled when he felt the rumble of his wee beastie’s snores.