It stumped Adan. These people didn’t know him, hadn’t known what he now was until five minutes before, yet they accepted him without problems. Maybe he really could carve a life for himself with the Whitedell pride.
* * * *
Yanis watched as Adan extended his new power. Jared stood next to him, and Yanis took the opportunity to ask him, “How is he doing?”
“Well. Very well. In fact, I think he’s more than ready to move to your room.”
“Yeah?”
“He doesn’t seem to have problems controlling his emotion-sucking power. I think he hurt those guards because it was still new and he was scared. He looks like he doesn’t have problems now.”
“I can see that.”
Keenan batted his hands. “That’s cool. It feels weird. Hey, did you suck anything out of me?”
“No,” Adan answered. “I don’t need to feed right now.” He looked at Yanis as he said that and of course, Keenan noticed it.
“Oooh, I see. You fed already, huh? That’s so cute.”
Adan snorted. “You think sucking emotions out of people is cute?”
“No, sucking them out of your mate is, though. And sucking something else out of him is hot, not cute.”
“Why are we talking about blowjobs now?” Nysys asked.
“Well, we were talking about sucking.”
“Ahhh, I see. So does that mean he’s blown Yanis yet?”
“I don’t know.” Keenan looked at Adan. “Have you?”
Adan opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “I’m glad you two never really tried to make me wake up.”
“Mmm, I think we should have. Why didn’t we think of that, Nys? We could have annoyed him until he stopped being stupid and started talking.”
“Or I could have sucked you dry of emotions,” Adan answered.
Keenan wrinkled his nose. “There’s that. But you could suck us dry now if you really wanted to.”
“I don’t. Not unless you get even more annoying.”
“We’re not that bad, I promise,” Nysys declared as he linked his and Adan’s arms together. “You’ll see, soon you’ll love us.”
Yanis cleared his throat. “Not too much, I hope.”
Keenan grinned. “Never more than you, of course. We can deal with that. Now, what are we all doing here?”
Emery clapped. “I’m not doing anything anymore, so I think I’ll go back to my mate and son.” He patted Adan’s shoulder as he passed next to him. “Call me if you need anything, and if you don’t, I’ll see you in a few days when you start to get hungry again. I’ll help you keep yourself in check and learn the tricks. Oh, and I’ll give you Sylvie’s number, just in case. She’s my empathic vamp friend, so give her a call. She’ll be happy to hear from you, even though you’re mated. There are very few of you guys around.”
Yanis growled, slapping his hand on his mouth when he realized what he was doing. Everyone looked at him and he pressed his lips together. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.”
Emery laughed. “Oh yeah, you totally meant it. Don’t worry, Sylvie won’t try anything. She already knows Adan’s taken.”
“That’s fine. He needs someone who knows what’s happening to him.”
Emery nodded and left. Keenan bounced on the balls of his feet. “So, now that Emery’s gone, what do we do? Adan, you haven’t seen the house yet, right? Do you want to? Me and Nysys can give you a tour!”
“Or you could let Adan have some private time with his mate, since they haven’t been able to yet,” Jared suggested.
Yanis felt sorry to burst Keenan’s bubble when Keenan pouted, but Jared was right. He and Adan hadn’t really had the opportunity to be together yet, and he couldn’t wait to get Adan alone. They’d only talked about mating, and Yanis was a bit anxious at what they’d do now that Adan could finally leave the infirmary.
Nysys let Adan go and got closer to Keenan. “They’re going to have sex,” he stage-whispered.
Keenan’s eyes widened. “You think?”
“Jared said private time. You know what that means.”
“Oooh, I get it.”
They both looked at Yanis and Nysys winked. “Right, so we’re going to go. We expect to see the two of you at dinner, huh? We can’t wait for the others to see Adan.”
They left arm in arm and Yanis watched them go. “Do they always speak like they’re only one person? It’s a bit weird.”
Jared laughed. “Those two are the epitome of weird, Yanis. But they’re good guys, and great friends. Adan could have done worse.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Adan muttered. He looked at Yanis. “Now, are you ready to take me home?”
Yanis smirked. “You do realize we’re staying in the mansion, right?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never been outside the infirmary, except for the day I arrived, and I wasn’t in the best shape then. I didn’t even look around.”
“I thought you wanted to explore the house with Nysys and Keenan.”
Adan shot Yanis a look that made Yanis’ knees go weak in a very good way. “Who said I wanted to explore the house right now?”
Yanis gave Jared a glance. The doctor was snickering and doing his best to fake interest in Adan’s file, but Yanis knew there was nothing new Jared needed to add to it.
Yanis walked closer to Adan and circled Adan’s waist with his arm. He pulled Adan against him and leaned forward to whisper, “And what else would you like to explore?”
Jared laughed in his corner. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, pressing a hand on his mouth. “I just didn’t take you for the cheesy type.”
“I like cheesy,” Adan said with a grin.
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” He snapped Adan’s file shut. “Well, you can go, and I don’t have any restrictions to give you, so... have fun.”
“No restrictions whatsoever?” Yanis asked, just in case. He wanted to be sure, even though he didn’t know what they’d be doing yet. He wanted to think they were about to have sex and mate, but he also felt guilty for wanting Adan when he hadn’t even left the infirmary yet.
“None. He’s as good as new. He wasn’t really sick or hurt. He really just needs to feed properly and to get back to a normal life.”
“And he is right here, so you could talk to him instead of to Yanis,” Adan grumbled. He looked up at Yanis, and Yanis wondered how he hadn’t noticed how tall Adan was yet. He was only a few inches shorter than Yanis, and it wouldn’t take much for Yanis to kiss him. He just needed to lean down, and...
Adan laughed. “I think Jared just gave us the permission to go have wild monkey sex.”
Jared tsked. “Is there at least one person in this house who takes life seriously?”
Yanis could tell he was joking by his tone, and he smiled. “I’ve been taking life seriously for too long, Jared. I want to go wild now, at least a little.”
“And mating with your fated mate is going wild for you?” Jared asked in disbelief.
“No, that part’s not wild. What goes with it might be, though.”
Jared snorted. “Go on, shoo. You don’t have that much time, unless you want to be interrupted by Keenan and Nysys. They won’t give you hours to do whatever you want to do. Too impatient.”
Yanis tugged on Adan’s waist and dragged him away, the idea of Nysys and Keenan walking in on him and Adan together more horrible than it should have been. What was it about those two that was terrifying and at the same time adorable?
Adan laughed and they walked out of the infirmary. It was late morning, but there were more people around than Yanis would have thought. Most of them didn’t even look at them. They probably didn’t know who Adan was since, he’d spent the entire time in the infirmary, but a few stopped and gaped.
A small guy with dark hair tripped and nearly landed on the floor. Yanis just had the time to reach out and grab him. “You okay?” Yanis didn’t know who the guy was. He’d only live
d in the mansion for a few days, and there were so many people there, he’d probably need them to wear tags if he wanted to remember all their names. Maybe he could propose it to Dominic.
The guy looked at his feet. “I’m fine. I wasn’t expecting to see Adan, I mean, the last time I saw him he was in the infirmary, and now...”
“Hi, Trevor,” Adan said, smiling.
“You’re better!” Trevor exclaimed before blushing and looking down again.
“Yes, I am.”
Yanis knew the moment when Adan tentatively reached out with his power toward Trevor. Trevor frowned and looked around, and Adan took a step backward. Yanis intervened before things could get too awkward. “Well, we’re going to go to our room. Adan might be better, but he still has to rest.”
Trevor nodded and stepped aside, and Yanis pulled Adan with him.
“Thank you,” Adan whispered
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You saved the day. Trevor didn’t find out what I am before I was ready to tell him.” Adan paused, and when he opened his mouth again, Yanis knew he wasn’t talking about that episode anymore. “You saved me.”
Chapter Four
Of course, they barely got to Yanis’ room before they were interrupted again. Adan didn’t think they’d mate soon, not now that the news he was out and around had come out.
Soren was waiting for them, leaning against the wall next to Yanis’ door, his arms crossed on his chest. He arched a brow at them when they got close and pushed away from the wall. “Adan.” He held his hand out. “I’m Soren.”
Adan nodded. “I know.”
Soren grinned. “So what I heard was true. You weren’t really sick, or whatever.”
Adan felt out for Soren with his emotion-feeling power. He’d realized it was easier to give the thing a taste than to try to keep it in. It had apparently decided Yanis was tastier than anyone Adan had touched for now, so apart from the girl the night before, it hadn’t tried to feed on anyone.
“No, I wasn’t. I had to... deal with some things.”
Soren leaned forward and poked Adan’s forehead with his finger. “And you couldn’t do it while talking and stuff? You made me feel like a dick, talking to you and telling you about me while you didn’t answer. Kind of like I was taking advantage of you for free therapy.”
Soren had been one of the people who’d spent quite a bit of time with Adan. Adan liked the big guy, and he’d been happy when Soren had met his mate. Soren had continued to come by Adan’s room almost every day, even though he now lived in Whitedell rather than in the mansion itself.
Adan smiled. “You don’t need therapy. Too far gone for that.”
Soren flicked his finger at Adan’s forehead. “Very funny. Who’d have known, huh?” He looked at Yanis. “And is this the mate I’ve heard so much about?”
Yanis cocked his head. “Who’s been gossiping? Wait, let me guess—Keenan and Nysys.”
Soren nodded. “You know it. Well, it was mostly Nysys. I think Keenan punched him when he found out Nysys hadn’t told him right away that Jared had managed to find Adan’s mate.”
“They seemed friendly to me earlier.”
“Oh, man. You’ll learn nothing can separate those two. They fight and make up at least twice a day. I separated them once or twice when I found them rolling on the carpet, but they just go at it again, and it’s not like they really hurt each other.”
“Yeah, okay. Anyway, this is Yanis, and yes, he’s my mate.”
Soren looked at Yanis, then back at Adan, and grinned. “Let me guess—I ruined your plans.”
Yanis laughed. “Kind of, but it’s nice to meet one of Adan’s friends.”
Soren rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if we’re friends, I mean, I just spent a bunch of months talking to him while he stared at the wall.” He looked at Adan, and Adan knew him well enough to know he was joking around, yet seriously asking if they were friends or not. “What do you think, A? Are we friends?”
“Only if you never call me A again. I have a name, and I want you to use it.”
“Oooh, you’re fierce. I like you better this way.”
“Yeah, well.” Adan touched Soren’s chest with his power, trying to do it gently enough that Soren didn’t notice. He wasn’t good enough at it yet, though, because Soren frowned and touched his chest. Adan sighed. “Sorry.”
“For what?”
Adan gestured at Soren’s chest. “I’m the one doing that.”
Soren looked down, but of course there was nothing to see. “Doing what?”
“I’m, well, I’m part empathic vampire, and I was trying to understand how you felt. You know, training my new super powers.”
“That makes you sound like you fly or something.”
“I don’t.”
“So you’re the one poking at me?”
“Yeah.”
“And what do you feel?”
Adan narrowed his eyes in concentration. “Mmm, you’re happy, mostly. A bit worried, too.”
Soren looked down like he expected the see the words written on his chest. “Neat trick.”
Adan shrugged and retreated. “Not much I can do about it.”
“Just try not to suck me dry.” Soren grinned at Yanis. “I meant my emotions, nothing else.”
Adan smacked Soren’s arm, and damn, it felt good to be normal again, to be able to horse around and just be human. “Shoo. I want to spend some time with my mate.”
“Ah, right. I’ll leave you two alone, then. Just make it quick if you don’t want Nysys and Keenan to walk in on you.”
“Why is everyone warning us of that?” Yanis asked. “We’ll be in our room, and we’ll lock the door.”
Soren snorted. “And you think that a locked door is enough to stop Nysys when he wants to meddle and gossip?”
“I know he can shimmer, but he wouldn’t do it inside a locked bedroom. Right?”
Soren laughed and patted Yanis’ shoulder. “Keep telling yourself that, man.”
He left and Adan hurried to enter Yanis’ room before anyone else could stop them. He slumped on the bed, sighing in relief. Yanis sat next to him, more composed. “You okay?” he asked.
Adan nodded. “Yeah, just overwhelmed.”
Yanis’ smile was gentle. “We don’t have to do anything right now. We can wait until you’re feeling more grounded.”
“I know. That’s kind of why I want to do it now. You’re so nice, and I can feel that what we have can become so much better.”
Yanis kissed Adan’s cheek. “We don’t need sex to make it better.”
“Yeah, but I want to. I’ve been stuck in that bed for so long, and apart from holding my hand and poking at me with needles and stuff, no one has touched me since I was captured. It’s a long time to be alone, Yanis, even if part of it was self-imposed.”
Yanis didn’t say anything. He leaned forward and kissed Adan, just a simple press of their lips. Adan wanted more, so he hooked a hand on Yanis’ shoulder and pulled him closer. Stretching down onto his back and pulling Yanis with him felt like the most natural thing.
Adan opened his legs, making space for Yanis—for the man who would be his for the rest of their lives. He should have been scared of the immense commitment that it was, but he wasn’t. Yanis had saved him from himself, and Adan wanted him.
The kiss deepened, their tongues tangling together. Adan was breathing heavily, and Yanis’ weight on top of him wasn’t helping, but he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He buried his fingers into Yanis’ dark hair and slid his other hand down Yanis’ chest, pressing his palm against Yanis’ heart.
It was beating fast but steadily, and it made Adan’s heart flutter in answer. Yanis shifted, moving his knee upward. He pressed it against Adan’s balls, and Adan didn’t care if it was on purpose or not. He widened his legs and moaned.
That was when his control over his vampire part slipped. T
hey were so close he didn’t need to search for Yanis’ emotions. They were there for Adan to take, but he didn’t feed on them. He really was too full for that, but he loved the way Yanis’ lust made his own rocket until he wanted nothing more than for their clothes to disappear and for Yanis to fuck him.
Adan pushed his hips up, searching for more friction, and Yanis gasped against his mouth. He broke the kiss and buried his face against Adan’s neck, moaning against Adan’s skin as he pressed down.
Adan squirmed, trying to find the best way to slot himself and Yanis together. He moved his legs up, wrapping them around Yanis’ hips and using the hold to push up. They clung to each other, fingers searching for skin and sliding under clothes, mouths kissing skin, lips, while they rutted against one another. The pleasure was so intense Adan knew they’d never be able to have the time to get out of their clothes before they came. It had been too long for him, and Yanis looked like he was in the same boat.
Adan didn’t want to think anymore. He’d done that so much over the past year that he wanted the thoughts to stop, at least for now. He pushed deeper into Yanis’ feelings, wanting to lose himself in them. He shifted position trying his best to follow Yanis’ emotions, to satisfy his needs.
He licked a long stripe on Yanis’ throat, sucking a hickey right next to Yanis’ jugular. He didn’t give two fucks that everyone would see it, and if he had anything to do with it, it soon would become a bite mark rather than a bruise.
Yanis groaned and made a garbled sound. Adan didn’t know what his mate was trying to tell him, but he tightened his legs around Yanis and pulled harder. Yanis let go and settled his whole weight on top of Adan, pressing their groins together, their erections sliding against each other.
Adan was wearing pajamas and Yanis sweats, so it was easy for Adan to push his hand between them and inside Yanis’ briefs. Yanis bit on Adan’s lower lip and wriggled. He pushed his sweats down his legs, Adan helping as well as he could, but they made it only around his knees before Yanis went to work on Adan’s pajamas.
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