Fangs with a Heart

by Tempeste O'Riley

  “You think I’m crazy?”

  “No, I believe you were hurt and are still suffering from the aftermath of what that vile filth did.”

  “That was—”

  “Not something you just ‘get over,’ so don’t even try it. Now I need you to see the doctor before you head back to the vampire den.”

  Yeah, sure, like I don’t have enough crap thrown at me already. “Why?”

  “He said he needed to see you before you returned. He wouldn’t tell me why. The vamp doctor is a grumpy, weird male, and I have no interest in tangling with him. Nice vampire or no.”

  “It’s probably about what I asked him to do before I left earlier. Thanks.”

  “And about what we talked about?”

  “I said I’d have dinner and a moonlight walk with Sasha. I told Vlad Sasha is my mate. I’m trying.”

  “Good boy.”

  Trace stomped off, grumbling that he wasn’t five. He didn’t care that he probably looked like an oversized child right then. He was tired of everyone thinking they had the right to an opinion on his love life and future. That was between him and Sasha. Only!

  Chapter Twenty-One

  TRACE WAS standing outside the main doors to the covenstead mansion when Sasha tracked him down. He’d been notified his fated heart had returned, but Trace had yet to enter the building, much less return to their suite. Sasha didn’t have a clue why and didn’t like not knowing. Summer stood off to the side, unobtrusive as always, but only gave a slight shrug when Sasha looked at him.

  “Not helpful,” Sasha whispered, knowing Summer would hear him. His personal guards weren’t just strong and fast; they were two of the most skilled and gifted physically of all his people. Summer’s hearing was so acute, technology couldn’t match it, much to the annoyance of some of the techies in the coven.

  “He’s not said anything other than ‘don’t know why’ since he left the doc’s.”

  That got Sasha to move faster. He hurried down the steps to Trace, not bothering to wait to be invited into his space or warn him first. Not this time. “Mal’chik?” Sasha slid one arm around his waist. “What has you out here?”

  Trace stiffened for a moment, but then he melted into the touch, leaning into Sasha a little. “Um… can we talk? Privately?” he added as he looked over at Summer.

  What in Gaia’s name is up? “In our rooms or in the garden?”

  He reached up and touched his right shoulder with a trembling hand. “Rooms. Please.”

  Sasha slid his hand down to the small of Trace’s back and gently led him inside the mansion and through the halls until he came to their suite. Once inside he closed and locked the main door. Returning to Trace, he smiled and held his hand out.

  “No, I need to do this and say this with a clear head. Um, can… can you sit in your chair? This might be easier if we’re how we are when you comfort.”

  “Comfort?”

  Trace nodded and leaned into Sasha’s hand slightly. “Comfort me,” he said so softly Sasha almost missed it.

  That made little sense, but Sasha agreed, willing to do most anything to help Trace be more comfortable. He just hoped he wasn’t going to be disappointed or angry with the outcome of the, well, whatever this was. He sat in the overstuffed leather chair and waited as Trace knelt beside him. Instead of facing away so Sasha could play with his hair as usual, though, Trace faced him as he knelt at Sasha’s feet.

  That was new and arousing.

  Later!

  Sasha cleared his throat, pushing aside the thoughts of what he could do with Trace in such a position, and asked, “Okay, you have me here. What did you wish to discuss?”

  “You sent Dr. Niko to check my scars.”

  “I did. Will you tell me what he found?”

  “I—They—” Trace closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before opening his eyes and meeting his gaze. “The main scars are still there, though not as deep, I guess you could say. But, um, the mating bite from… from F-Ford? It’s g-gone.”

  “What?” Sasha croaked even as his heart raced and his head spun. “How? What does that mean?”

  Trace shook his head. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “But Alpha Keith has declared my previous mating annulled, basically. We don’t have a term for it, as it’s not possible to do. To take a new mate, yes, but not to remove a past mating. Except you did. Somehow.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing? To remove the mark of your abuser should be a positive thing, I would think. Wish I could take away the rest of them.” He hated that Trace had suffered, but also that his back was a constant reminder of that monster.

  The gulp was loud as Trace gave a shaky nod. “Yes, but it’s not possible.”

  “Obviously it is.”

  “True. Um, the thing is, Dr. Niko said your bite should have left a mark, and that if I bite you with the mating bite, it will actually mar your skin as well. Something that doesn’t usually happen.”

  That was one mark Sasha would be proud to bear. “We don’t scar often, but shifter fangs and claws will do it. I know the bite will stay. It did on my sister.” Hers had been bigger than what Trace would cause, but Trace wasn’t a Chosen of Baast like Orin. Did that mean…. “Do you want us to mark each other?”

  Trace looked away, his gaze not landing anywhere, it seemed, for a time as he twisted his long fingers together and fidgeted. “Um, I can’t promise not to panic or worry. I don’t know that I can be who and what you really need, much less want, but, er, yes?”

  “For the bonds to seal properly and for us to both get the full—” Sasha considered his words carefully before he continued. “—benefits, you know us merely biting one another as we are sitting and kneeling now won’t work. I could bond you without more of a link, but it’s not as strong or complete as it ought to be, and you know how mating works on your end of things.”

  “I know. That was why I was outside for so long. I….”

  HE WANTED this—he was terrified of what it meant—but he wanted what Sasha would do, what giving everything over to him could and would mean. He hoped. It had been so long since Trace allowed another male, lynx, or human—and never a vampire—to master him. The knowledge of what was to come, the fact he didn’t really know what Sasha intended to do to him, had his cock hard already, even as his nerves amped up. He hadn’t even managed to say he wanted sex yet, and already he was losing his mind!

  But the moment he fully gave in to his desire and what he knew was the truth between them, his inner lynx had rejoiced and demanded they come back inside and give themselves to their mate. The thing was, Trace had never been anything but submissive with any partner, and with Sasha, all he truly wanted was to give, to please, even if his past did make him wonder if this was really the best idea.

  Apprehension clogged his throat as he worked to get the words out, but he wouldn’t refuse to answer any more than he would refuse Sasha’s passion or need of him. “Yes, Sir.”

  Sasha stood and moved so he towered over Trace, but wasn’t pushed against him as he would be with the chair behind him. He looked down at Trace and cocked his head, the edges of his plump lips curving as his gaze heated.

  “Then strip and lie in the center of the bed, legs spread.”

  Was this how Sasha normally did things with his lovers? Trace had no clue, of course, but even as he debated refusing or asking why—and why they weren’t discussing things before Sasha went straight to the sex part—he raised his trembling fingers up to the top button of his shirt and slowly began the process of slipping each free of the shirt until it fell open. Sasha didn’t take his eyes off Trace, the hunger in his eyes growing as each came free and more skin was exposed. That hunger gave Trace the strength to continue, to slip the shirt off his shoulders and fold it neatly. He stood, then walked slowly into Sasha’s bedroom before setting it carefully on the lounger beside him.

  “You would look delicious with pierced nipples,” Sasha murmured before licking his lips. Th
e motion exposed his fangs, the sight of which made Trace whimper and his cock swell more. Gods, he was so hard it hurt!

  “I-it wouldn’t stay, Sir. Not with my shifting.”

  “I know, but it would still look good, and you could handle having me redo it each time, couldn’t you, mal’chik?”

  Ford had called him “kit,” like the adults often called the kittens. His human Doms sometimes used “boy” or “pup,” though he hated “pup,” as it made him think of the wolf shifters, which he didn’t have a problem with, but that wasn’t what he was. But there was something different about how Sasha said “mal’chik” now than when he said it typically that made Trace’s pulse race. It was so much better than “boy”! Trace wanted to kneel at Sasha’s feet and worship them, but that wasn’t what Sasha wanted.

  He wasn’t entirely sure he could manage this. The nightmare he’d lived through still wanted to invade, was trying to push into what Sasha and he were doing now.

  “Trace? You with me or back in time with someone else? I don’t share with ghosts,” he growled, his tone no longer playful or sensual. The power and edge in it snapped Trace back to the present fully and made him tremble.

  “Sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean—”

  “Don’t apologize for your past, mal’chik. Now answer my question.”

  Question? Oh! “Yes, if that’s what you want. I like the look, just never bothered because of healing every time I shift.”

  “Good boy. Now do as you were told. Don’t make me tell you again.”

  Trace nodded as he trailed his hands down his abdomen, making sure he caught Sasha’s gaze again before he slipped the button of his jeans. He took a deep breath and then slowly lowered the zipper, exposing his black boxer briefs. They hugged his body but did little to hide his straining erection.

  “Jeans first, then briefs.”

  Doing as commanded, Trace stripped, folding each piece of clothing until he stood before Sasha in nothing but his bracelets, bangles, and rings—all of which he now knew had come from Sasha. As a shifter, he had no qualms about nudity like the humans he’d known, but somehow in front of Sasha, with him watching, it took on a whole new aspect. Plus Trace hated showing anyone his back. Even the short time it would take to turn and climb onto the bed was longer than he liked exposing it—the fact the scars weren’t as bad as they had been didn’t lessen that in the least.

  There was nothing for it, though, so Trace turned and climbed onto the huge bed and lay down as Sasha had bid him do.

  “This won’t be like what you endured before, but I won’t go easy on you either, Trace. I will take my pleasure, and you will serve me before I allow you completion tonight. You say you want more. That you want to serve me. That you want my full bite and to give me yours. Then you will start by sharing your body with me how I see fit, and doing so at my leisure and for my pleasure tonight.”

  Trace nodded, not meeting Sasha’s gaze. It wasn’t like he hadn’t wanted Sasha’s touch since the first time they met. Trace had wanted the infuriating vampire like he had never wanted anyone or anything before. He was simply afraid of what would happen if he let the male close. Now it was too late. Sasha had bound him to him while Trace’s lynx was in control. The craving for Sasha was worse than ever, as was the want—no, the need to please Sasha. So here he was in Sasha’s bed, a place he’d sworn he would never be, and he’d gone there by choice! Best or worst, when he left the bed, they would be mated. He just hoped his lynx was right, because he was certain this was forever.

  Sasha moved to the head of the bed and pulled up two padded cuffs attached to chains. “These chains are strong enough to hold a vampire, so they will hold you, but the padding will protect you from chafing or injury.” He slipped the cuffs around each wrist carefully, making sure it was tight enough to hold but not so tight as to hurt. “I know you could simply shift and get free, and I don’t have a way, yet, to stop you from that, but it will displease me greatly if you do so. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Sir. No shifting. I’m to stay as you put me because I’m here for your pleasure.”

  “Such a good, beautiful boy. Thank you, love.”

  Love? Fated, yes, but the vampire can’t mean he’s falling for me? Can he?

  When Sasha moved away, Trace tugged his hands enough to test the restraints, and sure enough, he wasn’t getting out of them unless he shifted. Still, if things went horribly wrong, he knew he could—cold comfort, but it was better than nothing.

  Trace then watched as Sasha repeated the same with cuffs to his ankles. It was when Sasha pulled out a third set of cuffs, these larger, that Trace squirmed, unsure what was going on.

  “Be still, mal’chik. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Stilling immediately, Trace watched as Sasha buckled the larger cuff around his upper thigh. It had a chain binding it to the bed as well, but it also had a small clip like he’d seen on many cuffs meant to hook to other cuffs. Was this intended to hook to the other thigh cuff? Why would you bind a male’s thighs like that? It made no sense, but he chose not to ask, worried he would anger Sasha. The little he’d seen of Sasha’s temper showed him he never wanted to be on the wrong side of the vampire. Sasha took the time to adjust the chains so Trace’s hands were high and close together, but his legs were stretched out and spread wide apart.

  “I love looking at you, you know. Such a sexy male.” Sasha prowled around the bed, still fully dressed other than his feet, as he’d removed his boots and socks at some point Trace had missed.

  Trailing his hand down Trace’s foot, over his toes, Sasha even outlined the planes between them. He then stepped back before he slipped off his shirt but left on his sinfully tight jeans, ones that cupped his groin in such a way as to make Trace’s mouth water. Sasha then climbed up onto the bed and began the torture he’d promised, though not in any way Trace would have expected.

  The contact of Sasha’s lips to the arch of one foot caused him to gasp and jerk slightly. Sasha’s lips curved against the top of Trace’s foot, allowing him to feel Sasha’s fangs, though they didn’t scrape or prick him—yet. Sasha proceeded to kiss and nibble his way up Trace’s leg, pausing at his ankle, taking his time to lick and nibble around Trace’s knee, up to Trace’s hip bone, completely ignoring his needy cock and heavy sac desperate for Sasha’s attention. He knew Sasha had said he was here for Sasha’s pleasure, but it was hard to remember when he was that close to his rock-hard and leaking dick.

  Trace trembled and squirmed as Sasha licked and nipped the tender flesh at the juncture of hip and groin. Sasha moved back down to his thigh, licking a long swath of skin, causing goose bumps in his wake. He moaned but gasped a moment later when the sudden strike of Sasha’s fangs sinking into his thigh replaced the tongue.

  It should have hurt, he was sure of it. Having something plunge into your flesh should cause pain. This didn’t, though. Instead it felt…. He didn’t have the words or concept for it. Trace arched up on the bed, pushing his thigh against Sasha’s mouth as he pulled the life-giving blood into himself. Trace knew there was a main artery there, but vampires could seal bite wounds, so he wasn’t scared. The feeling, though, oh Baast!

  Sasha didn’t feed more than a moment or two, but Trace was trembling and wanted Sasha to bite him again.

  “Mmm… delicious, mal’chik.”

  Trace whimpered, unable to form a coherent sentence to make his wishes known.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not done yet.” He started all the way back down at the other foot, giving it the same treatment, licking, kissing, and nibbling his way up, ignoring the part of Trace that really needed Sasha’s attention.

  Eventually Sasha moved so he was kneeling beside Trace as he continued his torture up Trace’s body. Nipping his fingers, biting down on Trace’s wrist hard, but not enough to break the skin, teasing the soft skin at the crook of his elbow and licking and tugging on the fine hairs of his underarm.

  Licking around each nipple but not giving either any real
attention or pressure had Trace writhing and shoving his chest up into Sasha’s face. “Please, Sir. Please….”

  “You’re here for my pleasure, mal’chik, not the other way around. You can make all the noise you want, but be still.”

  Trace fought his body’s need to thrust and shift, and whimpers and moans fell nonstop from his lips as Sasha pinched one nipple hard, keeping the pressure on it as he licked and nibbled the other. The pressure increased as Sasha tugged on one at the same time he pierced the other with his fang, then sucked on it hard.

  “Gonna come,” Trace groaned. His body was on fire and his need was blinding. He wanted to bite Sasha. He needed to bite him at the point of release to seal the mate bond, but in his current position, there was no way! His lynx teeth had dropped and his claws were out, but that was all the shift a regular lynx shifter could do outside of a full shift. Oh Gods! “Please…. Wanna bite!”

  Sasha licked his nipple once—the other still had the immense pressure pinching and pulling it—then raised his head. “You’re going to come the moment I release your nipple.”

  “Bite. Mate.”

  His smile was feral, fangs extended, one tinged with blood still. The sight—not something he thought would ever excite him—only pushed Trace closer. “Yes.”

  Sasha rose up so his neck was even with Trace’s mouth, pressed a light kiss to his lips, and then pushed his neck against his teeth at the same time he tugged one last time on the pinched nipple, then let go.

  The pain and pleasure that twisted and fought for dominance in Trace’s body set off a chain reaction that started in his nipple, raced down to his balls, up and down his spine, and out his cock. A second white heat spread throughout him, encompassing his entire being until his world was heat and strength and Sasha and love. He bit, the flavor of Sasha’s blood as it rolled across his tongue for the first time, the taste and power coming from Sasha, merging into something he couldn’t describe or name….

  When he came to sometime later, Sasha had a cool, damp cloth and was cleaning Trace’s chest.