by Joey W. Hill
"Promise not to run. Let yourself have this, wolf. You want me, I want you. It can be that simple."
Rand closed his eyes. He wasn't promising anything, but he wasn't moving, either. As he stood there for several dozen heartbeats, everything seemed to move in the forest except the air around them, a silent cocoon.
The vampire's palm rested on his chest, molded over his pectoral, stroked his biceps, the taut nipple. Rand drew in a breath. It had been so damn long...
Cai lifted his touch to the collar. Rand felt a tingle, a release of energy that he recognized as the light coating of heat he'd felt over his shoulders and upper chest when he roused to eat. He'd thought it was a lingering symptom of his injuries.
As the magic dissipated, Cai's hands closed over the collar. He unbuckled it, the attached chain clinking, his fingertips whispering over Rand's throat. The leather smell, the stroke of the strap leaving his flesh and replaced by the vampire's fingers, made Rand's body tighten. The collar and chain dropped to the ground with a louder clank. Cai's palm covered the healing scar on his side, one of the knife wounds.
"If you'd stayed human more than a minute at a time," the vampire said, "I could have kept a bandage on your wounds with some topical that would have helped them heal faster."
"Didn't need a nurse." Rand opened his eyes and flashed an angry look at him. "Unless you're going to put on one of those cute outfits."
It was a stupid thing to say, but Cai was too close, the silken tangle of hair over his forehead only enhancing the intensity of his gaze, so near to Rand's.
Cai chuckled, a dark sound. "Yeah, convince me you like pussy. The last one you touched was your mother's when you were coming out of the womb."
"Females are okay." The vampire was wrong, technically, because Rand had managed to mate with Sheba.
He pushed that thought away fast. Fortunately, Cai proved a good distraction. The vampire slid a rough palm down the center of his back, slow, exploring. Rand closed his eyes again. Fine. Cai wasn't Dylef, but Rand wasn't that maudlin. He wasn't betraying Dylef. It was sex. Just sex, and he could enjoy it without giving it more significance than that. The vampire sure as hell wouldn't.
"Sex done right doesn't need a lot of sentiment attached to it, wolf," Cai said. "The value of a thing for what it is, not what we think it should be."
Or wish it could be. Rand let out a sigh that was half wolf, half man. He couldn't do anything about the vampire being in his mind, either. Might as well enjoy pure sensation. The vampire was good at this. Creatures of the night, seductive and mesmerizing. He caressed, stroked, learned the lines of Rand's body, brought every inch of flesh to life. Doing no more than stroking Rand's shoulders, back, hips. When he reached Rand's ass, Cai turned his hand over so his knuckles glided over his buttocks, the seam between them.
"You could bounce rocks off this work of art. All that running, I expect. Do you like to run, Rand? It's an animal thing, stretching out over the ground, going faster and faster, connecting to the elements as you do it. Feeling the wind, the earth beneath you, the sky above."
He wanted to do it right now, merely from the images Cai was planting, but Cai's hand closed over his buttock, a hard grip that snagged Rand's attention fully again.
"Stay with me. I'll give you a different way to feel like you're flying."
He didn't say it like a boast. A simple assertion of fact. Cai nudged his knee. "Spread these apart."
It was a command, which raised Rand's hackles, but as Cai's hand slid down between his legs from behind, he complied, and swallowed a growl as the vampire captured his testicles in a strong, kneading grip. His fingertips whispered over the base of Rand's hardening cock.
"There you are. Fuck, you are a treasure." Cai clasped Rand's hip with the other hand. The vampire's possessive hold on his balls resulted in a surge of further desire.
"Do you like pain and restraint, wolf? Are shifters more conservative and vanilla, or do you like taking that animal dominance and submission into darker waters, same as vampires do?"
Whereas vampires stayed in the shadows, wolf shifters were the shadows. But they kept tabs on their non-human brethren, like vampires. Wolves learned about their competitors in the predator world as much as they could. In addition to the information about their speed and strength had come other rumors. How deep and brutal their sexual tastes ran.
And that they were insatiable.
"No," Rand said, to cover all angles of the question. But he needn't have said anything, since he suspected his mind revealed some of it. He hadn't thought of such things, and it hadn't been part of his life before. Well, not beyond how they manifested in a wolf's normal makeup, as Cai had pointed out. But the things that woke to life when the vampire threatened to mark his ass, or drove him to his knees, were confusing but undeniable. Darker, deeper parts of what was already in Rand's mind. A desire for pain, punishment and pleasure, so strong everything else would be swept away. Every agony of the heart too great too bear.
He pushed that away, too, put it back on a physical footing. It was likely the vampire allure, opening their prey's minds to possibilities they wouldn't normally entertain.
"No, you don't do pain and restraints, and no, wolves aren't more conservative." Cai chuckled, a sound that cinched around Rand's cock like a leash, jerking it to attention. "Or simply no, to tell me we're not having that conversation."
"Wolves don't talk this much during fucking."
"No, I don't expect they do." Cai gripped Rand's buttocks, spreading them, and rubbed his cock in the channel. Rand's muscles tightened, a ripple going through his arms and shoulders. He was standing there, rigid, but like a tree, he was starting to sway.
"You're tiring, and I don't want to wear you out," the vampire said mildly. "So how about we make this one straightforward. But I like all the directions your mind goes when I touch you, wolf. We'll have to explore that."
"I'm not hanging around long enough for a guided tour."
Cai made a noncommittal noise, and then his grip tightened, his body pressed flush against Rand's, shoulders to cock to knees. "Go down for me, wolf. All fours. Your favorite position."
Rand would have locked his knees, but Cai didn't force it. He nudged, with one knee and the temptation of his cock teasing against Rand's ass, and another quiet whisper. The words were almost unintelligible, but the meaning clear enough, especially since he let Rand hear it in his head.
I'll make it feel good. Simple and easy.
Rand let his knees give, and when he was on them, dropping to his palms, the vampire delivered. He used his saliva to lube Rand's opening and his cock, too, he expected, since he felt the vampire working his shaft in his hand as he rubbed against Rand's ass.
I'll bet you have something else to ease my way, coming out of that hard cock of yours. Let me have it.
Rand gripped himself, slipping his curled fist over his cockhead and finding the pre-come there that Cai had anticipated. His erection was substantial, so he didn't know why his own response surprised him. Mixed emotions held him as he reached back, palm open and up, and Cai's strong grip closed over his wrist.
He held Rand's palm steady as he rubbed his cock over Rand's damp palm and fingers. It really didn't add a lot, but it shoved the arousal factor up another two or three notches. Then Cai released him to guide his cock, slippery enough from the combined lubrication, into Rand's opening. He nudged, playing, teasing, until Rand was pushing back against Cai, frustrated.
"Be still, wolf," Cai said mildly. "Or I'll put you on your elbows and show you who's boss."
Rand snorted, and Cai answered with one of those sensual chuckles. But the moment of humor disappeared, swallowed by darker, needier things. Do it. Just do it. Cai's hands were all over him, kneading and squeezing his ass, running along his back, his sides, learning him, appreciating him. Enjoying more than just his cock.
Too close to intimacy. Things were growing too hard to manage inside of Rand, making it hard to breathe. He was abou
t to throw the vampire off, start that battle once again...
Cai thrust through both sets of ass muscles, seating himself with a hum of satisfaction. Rand bit back a groan at his traitorous cock's leap of satisfaction. Maybe because of that eighty percent, maybe because the vampire put pressure on him he didn't recognize until it happened, Rand found himself on his elbows. But as they dug into the ground, the anchor and angle took the other male deeper, filling him up. Cai set both hands to his hips.
"Nice," he purred. He bent close over Rand's back, his breath caressing Rand's spine, and fangs scraped over his flesh. The wound in Rand's side was starting to burn, as was the healing bullet hole in his thigh, and Cai noticed.
"Does it hurt, wolf? Hurt too much?"
From the rumors Rand had heard, that would only turn the vampire on more. Cai chuckled.
"Sometimes," the vampire acknowledged. "But that's not the right kind. That's the type that causes me more work and makes you a one-time fuck, and I want far more out of this fine ass than that."
Rand snarled and pushed back against him, a message itself. Cai chuckled. "Long as I don't take too long about things, you don't care, right? You won't get to shorten things between us in the future, wolf. But today, I'll be merciful."
Mercy had a different definition to vampires, apparently. Cai started thrusting again, but he paced himself, making Rand ride that edge of pain from his injuries while building him up to a mind-boggling arousal. Cai was taking Rand toward orgasm, but at his own pace, until Rand was held away from it by little more than a breath. If this was shortening things, an actual full health fuck with a vampire might be life-threatening.
Cai teased him, spoke to him in that low, sensual voice, saying things that Rand should have ignored, shouldn't have affected him at all. But his body responded to the words as much as he did to the fucking. The male had a way with words, and a substantial cock, and he knew what to do with both. He could wield the latter like a damn blunt instrument or a precision tool. A power tool, for damn sure.
Cai's additional chuckle made Rand's ears burn. Fuck, he needed to remember the vampire was in his head.
"Think any thought you wish, wolf," Cai said, covering his body, dropping his hand on the ground behind Rand's braced elbow. "It makes me want you more. I want to feel you come, take me over by squeezing me with that incredible ass of yours."
Sure, he could just do it on command. Right. Cai's long fingers wrapped around Rand's cock, his breath hot on Rand's nape. "When I give you an order, wolf, you better listen."
Before Rand could retaliate for that, he was shoved off the edge. In three deft strokes, Rand's body convulsed, no matter that he tried to suppress the reaction. Cai was relentless, driving him, fucking him, uttering a grunt of male satisfaction as Rand spurted, his seed bathing his belly and chest.
It had been so long for a reason...it was incredible, so incredible, that feeling of pure physical pleasure. He could ride it; he wouldn't fall off as long as he focused on that, and not on what rode parallel to it, things of the broken heart and shattered soul. If it intersected, if they touched, he might be lost forever in that abyss.
You stay right here with me, wolf. Just a good fuck. Simple and straight forward. Cai's mind voice was strained, telling Rand how close he was, too. No different than taking down a good meal, feeding on blood or flesh well-earned...
He could do that. He could. Yet he shuddered when Cai released inside him, his quiet groans and the clutch of his hands on Rand's hips reminding him of how deep a pleasure it was, taking a lover over that cliff, sharing that ride together.
Yet when they finished, Rand remembered that wasn't what they were. "Just sex" could be a great ride, but it was also a poisoned double-edged sword in the aftermath.
As he got his breath back, Rand felt that deep-seated physical need and anxiety to be wolf return. He needed to get away from the surge of feelings trying to break loose inside him. He wasn't a coward. He could face the flood, but he didn't want to face it in front of a stranger.
"Try to stay on two legs for a bit," Cai advised, sliding free and running a hand down his back, nonplusing Rand when he considerately eased him to his side, steadying him. "It really will help you get to a hundred percent faster. Think of it this way. Your hope to be rid of me can happen that much more quickly."
He'd overlooked Rand's more personal, desperate thoughts. Rand wasn't naive. The vampire wasn't being kind. He just didn't want to be bogged down in Rand's baggage. Rand told himself he preferred Cai to be apathetic, but it didn't help him feel better about it. Or himself, for letting the sex overwhelm him, sweep him away.
"I could be rid of you now," Rand said, more tartly than intended. He rolled away and stood up. "There's no reason for you to nurse me. I'm in no danger of dying from my wounds now."
Damn it, he'd been close enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and he was totally fine with it being a train, obliterating him. Why had the vampire interfered with that?
"You've had your fuck. Why do you care if I live or die?"
Cai shrugged, seemingly unoffended. "Because I've only begun to tap your fine ass, and it's a long trip to the nearest town for that. There's wooing and courtship, buying drinks and pretending to be human to get close to my prey. I'm lazy. You're here and available."
Rand wanted to snap at him, but he realized he was swaying on his feet. Cai was up and at his side. Before Rand could shove him away, the vampire had maneuvered him over to a tree and eased him to a seated position against it.
"Okay, you're maybe eighty or ninety percent, except for right after sex. But in all fairness, sex with me can take a lot out of someone. And that was nowhere near my best work."
Cai squatted next to him and stroked a lock of Rand's hair back from his face. Rand twitched back, but the vampire merely followed, continuing the caress. The guy really didn't take a hint. Baring his teeth, Rand knocked away his hand with his forearm.
"If you want a fuck toy for a couple days, I can live with that. We can scratch the mutual itch. But you won't touch me as a lover would. You'll have to tie me up to do that kind of shit."
Cai's gaze gleamed. "Terms accepted."
Rand looked away. Cai's hand rested on his arm, and this time he didn't have the strength to push him away, especially when he could close his eyes and imagine Dylef's hand. The stroke of it over his face, his hair, his chest. Dylef, his beta wolf, curled under his arm, his limbs sprawled over Rand as they slept. "You take up so much of the bed, you're like a one-man litter of puppies."
In the morning, Dylef had often woken first, bringing Rand coffee, and stroking him awake. Sometimes with mouth and hands, enjoying Rand's morning erection and leading to pleasure for both of them.
But sometimes he did it just like this, touching Rand's face, his hair. Dylef had loved his hair. He brushed it for Rand some days, braided it when Rand was going to work in the fields of their small farm. Or was headed out to supplement their income by mowing highway right-of-way.
A thickness was in Rand's throat. He pressed into the touch, curled his hand around Dylef's wrist to hold his palm there against his face, absorbing it, wishing, wishing so damn hard...
He jerked back, letting Cai go. Cai opened his hand in a simple "peace" type gesture, though his expression was unreadable. Sure, the bastard could jump in his head and read his thoughts, but he wasn't as closed to Rand as he might think he was. To the wolf side, the vampire smelled...curious. The mix of emotions there were odd, a hard-to-decipher reaction to Rand's thoughts.
"You need to eat some more. And sleep." The vampire rose and moved back toward the camp supplies, returning with another cup of broth and more of the rabbit, which he'd ripped into chunks and put on a plate. He set both by Rand.
Rand lifted his head. Cai had relocated their camp during Rand's phasing in and out of consciousness. They were closer to some of the trails used by deep woods hikers, though still far enough from them that any such travelers posed no concerns.
But the wind now brought Rand the scent of a human on those trails, alone. A lone hiker, probably.
It was of passing interest to him, but catching it from his mind, Cai's eyes lit. "Seems my dinner is also ready. You're good luck. Haven't had one of those in a few weeks. I'll be back. Don't run off. It will just piss me off."
Rand grunted, swallowing a mouthful of rabbit. "If I prove to be too much trouble, you'll just give up and go into town to get what you need."
"Don't underestimate my stubbornness. Vampires don't like to be defied and we'll pretty much go to the ends of the earth to prove that point."
"Did someone knock out one of your fangs for being such a bastard? Is that why one's fake?"
"They felt threatened by my overabundance of charm and good looks. Jealousy is an ugly thing."
Rand rolled his eyes. But he was arguing to be contrary. He didn't intend to leave the camp while Cai was gone. The sex and the struggle had taken a lot out of him. The vampire was right. He needed to give the wounds time to heal.
"That a boy. Live to self-destruct another day."
"You call me boy, ever, and that will happen sooner than later. I'll stake you, and get it right this time."
"It's an expression, wolf." Cai chuckled. "You really need to get back out in the human world."
"Yeah. I'll put that on my list right after having my testicles gnawed off by a badger."
Cai's lips curved, showing appreciation. "Humans aren't my favorite company, either. But fortunately, my food doesn't talk long." He picked up his shirt and pulled it on. Buckled the belt he'd left loose, though he'd fastened and zipped the jeans. It was an appealing view that Rand didn't deny himself, but a thought tickled his mind, an uneasy one.
"You compel them to silence when you feed off them?"
"That's one way of looking at it." Cai was moving away. Rand shoved himself to a straighter position.
"You're going to kill the hiker?"
"Yeah. He won't feel anything bad." Cai stopped and lifted a brow. "No different than me killing that rabbit for you. Don't be a hypocrite."
