They spent the evening talking, much as they had many times before, but unlike other nights, there was an ease in the air. There was no pressure, no need to hurry and learn as much as they needed to so that they could bond as soon as possible. Michigan had even pushed the threat of Razvan out of his mind. Okay, maybe not out of his mind, but to the back of it at least. He spent the night laughing and talking with Lucas. Learning all about Doctor Who, who the best companion was—apparently it was not Rose as so many people thought, it was Donna, then Martha, then Clara, then Amy Pond and her husband Rory, then Captain Jack—who Lucas sighed over—and then it was Rose, and all about Torchwood and Star Trek. Michigan wasn’t sure if he was paying attention because he actually found the shows interesting or if he just found Lucas’s excited chatter fascinating.
No. He knew the answer to that. It was definitely Lucas.
As a matter of fact, he was still laughing twenty minutes after they left the restaurant and headed back to Lucas’s apartment because of the heated debate Lucas and one of the other patrons in the restaurant had gotten into about an episode of Torchwood.
“It’s not that funny,” Lucas groused as he let Michigan into his apartment.
Michigan continued to chuckle swiping his hand across his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound. When he looked at Lucas and noticed his look of incredulousness, Michigan collapsed against the wall and guffawed harder, sinking to the floor.
“Michigan!” Lucas pulled off his jacket and tossed it at Michigan’s head. “I was right! That jackass knew I was right. The scenario I put out could totally happen. He’s just a purist.”
Michigan wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at Lucas shaking his head. “You realize you’re getting upset about something that never happened right? I mean…” he shrugged. “It’s just a TV show.”
Lucas gasped, his eyes widening. “What. Did. You. Say?”
Michigan pushed to his feet, staring at Lucas as he tried to understand why the man suddenly looked so angry. “I said that Torchwood was just a television show.”
The noise that came out of Lucas in that moment could have rivaled the growl of any vampire or werewolf that Michigan had ever come into contact with and he had the urge to take a sample of blood from Lucas and examine it beneath a microscope. He wasn’t so sure that the gorgeous human in front of him wasn’t at least part… paranormal.
“Torchwood is not just a television show, Michigan.” Lucas said as he slowly advanced on him and though Michigan was much larger than Lucas he had the urge to slowly back away. “Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, even Gwen’s husband Rhys Williams, are a movement. They are a revolution. Torchwood is family. You don’t talk bad about family, Michigan. Ever.”
Michigan gulped as he stared at Lucas, wondering if the man was truly serious and then he noticed the tiny gleam in Lucas’s eyes before he burst into laughter. Lucas clutched his stomach as pointed at Michigan and collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles.
“You. Should have. Seen. Your. Face,” he gasped out. “You thought I was crazy!”
Michigan chuckled and shook his head, his heart that had been pounding in his chest returned to its normal rhythm and he walked over to Lucas and leaned down over the man. “You, my little chef, are very mean.”
Lucas stopped laughing immediately and stared up at him.
“What?” Michigan asked, wondering what had happened to take away the levity of the moment.
“He called me that.”
“Who?”
“Razvan.” Lucas inhaled deeply. “He called me my little chef, just like you do. That’s why I thought it was you.”
Michigan felt as if he were going to be sick. He wanted to find that bastard and rip him to shreds. Even though the last time he hadn’t been all that successful in fighting back against the monster.
He knelt down on the floor next to Lucas as he sat up and ran his fingers along Lucas’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I wish I could take that away for you. I wish that I could wipe away that pain and those nightmares.”
Lucas bit his lower lip and glanced away for a second. “Me too.” He looked back at Michigan and gave him a wobbly smile. “Maybe you can help though.”
Michigan tilted his head to the side. “How?”
“Give me another pet name?”
Michigan grinned and acquiesced. He wracked his brain as he looked Lucas over and then a memory of his parents whispering to each other late one night came drifting through his mind. Sweet, tender words spoken in the dark between two lovers as they expressed their feelings for each other while the rest of the house slept. Or so they thought. And while the bond had been severed between them, Lucas was still Michigan’s soulmate. Still his love. Still his heart.
“Okay, inima mea,” he said softly.
Lucas smiled. “What’s that?” he asked.
“My heart,” Michigan replied.
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he breathed and leaned forward to press his lips against Michigan’s own. It wasn’t a long, overly passionate kiss, but it was one Michigan felt down to the deepest recesses of his soul. And for the first time in days the ache in chest, which had never fully dissipated since the day the bond had been severed, started to ease.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“So how are things going between you and Michigan?” Tracy asked as he sipped from his cup of venti vanilla latte from Starbucks.
Lucas shrugged and sighed, then grinned. “I don’t know.”
Tracy laughed. “Obviously.”
“How are things going with you and Washington?” Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows.
Tracy laughed and crossed his legs. He was wearing a pair of skintight blue jeans and a pink peasant blouse. His blond streaked black hair hanging in loose waves, framed his honey brown face and came to rest on his slim shoulders. More than one man had stopped by their table where they sat in the food court at the mall to ask for his phone number and even hearing Tracy’s husky voice didn’t put them off, though he looked like a woman and was addressed as such. “Things are going great. You should see him with Kerry and Olivia. They adore him. He is so great with them.”
Lucas took a sip of his strawberries and cream Frappuccino and watched the two little girls cavorting on the playground and smiled.
“It doesn’t freak you out?” he asked his friend.
Tracy turned to look at him. “What? The whole vampire thing?” He shook his head. “No. I figure if he can put up with having a…what do they call it?”
“Sufletul pereche,” Lucas said.
Tracy nodded. “One of those, who is gender-fluid, then I can put up with the whole freaky vampire, bite me-suck my blood thing. Besides, it’s so hot when he does it.” Tracy waggled his eyebrows and Lucas laughed. Tracy got serious and reached across to touch Lucas’s wrist. “But honey, your situation is completely different. No one expected you to go through with it after what happened. I mean, you were attacked, and raped. I mean, dick is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it is not a cure-all for being brutalized, you know?”
Lucas bobbed his head and swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. “Yeah, I know. It’s just that—” He sighed.
“It’s just that what?” Tracy asked when Lucas was silent for a long moment.
Lucas looked up at Tracy and admitted something to his friend that he’d only admitted to himself that morning. The very reason he’d called and asked Tracy to meet him at the mall for a day of shopping and coffee, two things Tracy couldn’t resist. If Lucas had suggested that they watch The Carrie Diaries and dancing, Tracy would have been putty in his hands. “I kind of regret it now. I miss knowing that I belonged to him. That he belonged to me. That I was his sufletul pereche, his mate. I want that back.”
Tracy blinked and then he smiled. “Babycakes, there’s nothing that says that you have to be a fucking vampire to have a forever kind of love and belo
ng to each other. If you want to belong to him, if you want him to belong to you, then tell him. And make it happen. I’m sure he wants the same thing.”
“But I’m still scared. There are still moments when I see Razvan’s face.” Lucas admitted.
Tracy acknowledged his statement. “It’s going to take a while before you get over that.” He glanced away. “Trust me.” He cleared his throat and blinked. Lucas wondered what he was remembering, what had happened to his friend that made him so sympathetic to what Lucas had experienced but knew that now was not the time to ask him. “But ask Michigan to go slow. I’m sure he will anyway. Let things go at your pace. Don’t go too fast, but don’t let fear hold you back either. Razvan already stole something from you once, don’t let him continue to do it.”
Lucas assented and leaned over to hug Tracy. “Thanks Trace.”
Tracy waved his slim hand. “Of course, honey. It’s what I do. Now, back to my hunky man. Did I tell you that I caught him standing outside watching Happy Endings on his iPad?”
Lucas gasped. “No!”
Tracy nodded and laughed. “Yes! And the crazy thing is, he’s got me watching it now too. That show is fucking hilarious. But of course, it’s off the air now…”
Lucas sat back and listened to his friend talk about Washington, and his sisters, Kerry and Olivia, whom he was raising, as well as his job as a Professor of Gender Studies at the same university where Nimo worked, even as his mind processed Tracy’s advice. Razvan had stolen a lot from him already. It was time that Lucas took his life back. And he would start with Michigan. Their bond may have been severed but they could still commit themselves to each other, and tonight was the perfect time to do so.
§ § §
Michigan paused the episode of Doctor Who: Last of the Time Lords and growled. Who would dare come and interrupt him while he was watching David Tennant? Lucas may have a major crush on that John Barrowman, Captain Jack fellow—and Michigan so didn’t understand that—but Michigan was all about David Tennant. The Doctor. Oh yeah, he could totally see himself doing all manner of dirty, nasty, adult things with—
He opened his front door and almost swallowed his tongue. Lucas was standing there dressed in a pair of tight of leather pants, his leather jacket, with no shirt on underneath, his brown hair loose and hanging around his shoulders.
“Fuck. Me.”
Lucas chuckled breathlessly. “I was kind of hoping it would be the other way around.”
Michigan blinked, trying to process Lucas’s words. It took a moment. All of the blood in his body, as well as every single ounce of brain matter and function had pooled into his hard, aching shaft; but once he did, he let out a deep groan and pulled Lucas towards him. He lowered his head and took the man’s pillow soft lips in a deep kiss.
Gods above, he had missed this. He smoothed his hand up and down Lucas’s back to his ass, squeezing the pert globes. He swallowed Lucas’s moan and stepped back into his house, reaching up to close the door as soon as Lucas was inside. The feeling of Lucas’s body pressed against him was heavenly, unlike anything Michigan had ever experience before and his throat was very dry as if he hadn’t had any blood in weeks. His fangs punched through his gums and his ears filled with the sound of Lucas’s blood rushing through his veins.
Lucas pulled back and looked at him, lifting a hand to lightly trace one of Michigan’s fangs. Michigan trembled, the sensation of Lucas’s touch on his fang had a direct line to his cock. He groaned and closed his eyes, letting Lucas touch him as much as he wanted. When Lucas moved his fingers to Michigan’s chin, down his throat over Michigan’s naked torso to his pebbled nipples, Michigan thrust his hips forward with a grunt.
“I’m still a little scared,” Lucas admitted. “But I want this. I want you.”
Michigan opened his eyes and nodded. “We’ll go slow,” he said, his words sounding slurred to his own ears. He lifted Lucas’s hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back before turning and leading the man upstairs to his bedroom. He was acutely aware of Lucas’s rapid breathing behind him and knew that he would do everything he could to make this as memorable and as painless as possible for the man. He didn’t care what his brothers had done, he didn’t care that Lucas had allowed them to stop his heart so the bond would be severed. Lucas was his sufletul pereche. His mate. His forever, and he always would be.
Stopping next to his four poster bed, Michigan turned to face Lucas and lifted his hands to push Lucas’s jacket from his shoulders. He folded the material and placed it over the arm of the chest that sat at the end of the bed. He placed his lips on Lucas’s chin and kissed and licked his way down the skin to Lucas’s nipples. He sucked one nub into his mouth, teasing it with his lips and tongue, nicking it gently with the tip of his fang. When a drop of Lucas’s blood hit his tongue, Michigan moaned and lapped at the decadent liquid. The taste of the human burst on his tongue and he felt his cells come to life. His heart expanded and his mind cleared.
Lucas gasped above him.“M-Mich? W-what’s happening?” he asked.
Michigan lifted his head and shook his head. “I don’t know. I-I… It couldn’t be…” Grabbing Lucas’s face he kissed him furiously, plunging his tongue deep within his mouth. Their tongues dueled with each other. Michigan released Lucas’s mouth after a moment and let out a growl at the appearance of Lucas’s kiss-swollen lips. “Stay here. I want to try something,” he told Lucas.
Lucas acquiesced and Michigan walked towards his closet reaching up into the top to pull down the box that held the bonding candle and the leather commitment wristbands he’d made. He hadn’t thought he’d be able to use these items, but perhaps he still could.
Setting the candle on the bedside table, he grabbed a lighter and lit the wick, then set out the wristbands in front of it. Turning back to Lucas he smiled sheepishly. He gestured to the candle and swallowed, the taste of Lucas’s blood still on his tongue, in his mouth, making him moan with desire.
“This is the eternity mating candle,” he explained. “When a vampire and his sufletul pereche are completing the bond, the candle must be lit in order for it to take.” The smell of jasmine and sage filled the room mixing into an intoxicating fragrance with the scent of Lucas’s blood. Michigan’s already hard cock throbbed behind the fabric of his cotton pajamas, a drop of pre-cum wetting the front. He stepped close to Lucas and unbuttoned Lucas’s leather pants, slowly sliding down the zipper. “I didn’t think that I would ever be able to use it because even though our bond had been severed, I didn’t, I don’t want another sufletul pereche. I only want you. But when I tasted your blood just now? It felt as if I were waking up from a deep sleep. Like I was breathing for the first time.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened, inima mea, but I don’t think our bond was completely severed, I think it was just… fractured.”
Lucas let out a choked sob and wrapped his arms around Michigan’s neck before placing a hard kiss on his lips. “That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Michigan kissed Lucas back as he shoved the leather fabric of Lucas’s pants down his legs. He pulled back from the kiss and knelt down before his mate and gently pushed on Lucas’s chest until Lucas sat down on the bed. Michigan then pulled off Lucas’s boots and tugged the leather material off his legs. His eyes traced up Lucas’s lightly furred legs to his pelvis and he swallowed at the sight of the long, thin, pale cock resting on his stomach, a translucent drop of fluid forming at the slit. Michigan licked his lips at the sight of the pre-cum, anxious for a taste.
He smoothed his hands up Lucas’s flank and opened his mouth when he got to his lover’s erection. He sucked the head in between his lips, being careful of his elongated fangs. He shivered at the long moan that rose up from Lucas’s chest and lifted a hand to grip the base of his dick.
“Oh, Mich. Oh, God.”
Michigan popped his lips off the top of Lucas’s prick and grinned. “I have wanted to do that for so long,” he said, licking through the curls on Lucas�
��s pelvis up over his stomach back to his nipples.
“W-want you n-naked too,” Lucas stammered.
Michigan nodded and rose. “I’ll give you anything and everything I can,” he promised as he shoved his pants down his legs. His cock smacked up against his belly before sticking straight out towards Lucas.
“I think he likes me,” Lucas said with a smile.
Michigan chuckled. “I know he does.” He reached over to his nightstand and pulled open the top drawer to reach inside and pull out the bottle of lube that lay inside. Pulling out the battered bottle he tossed it on the bed and placed his lips back on Lucas’s. He kissed Lucas deeply, rubbing his aching erection against Lucas’s the feel of their dicks pressing and stroking against the other sending delicious shivers up and down his spine.
Michigan licked and kissed his way back down Lucas’s body, pushing his legs back. He knelt on the floor between Lucas’s spread legs and leaned forward to press his nose to the skin beneath Lucas’s testicles. He inhaled, breathing in the musky scent of his lover’s skin before licking and gently biting the skin. He nicked the skin and licked the small trail of blood, his groan echoing Lucas’s. He trailed the tip of his tongue down Lucas’s perineum and the crease of his ass to the wrinkled pucker, hidden within. He pushed his mate’s legs back further, holding onto the bottom of his thighs and burying his face in between the globes of Lucas’s bubble butt.
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