First, though, Vane had every intension of taking Matthew up on his offer. “Hell, yeah. On your knees, human,” he ordered gruffly, even as he swung his leg over the bench.
When Matthew just gaped up at him, Vane faltered. Had the man not been serious?
Matthew must have gotten over whatever surprise he’d felt, for he started scrambling. Quickly, he rolled off the bench onto his knees. He hissed, grimacing, and grabbed the fabric he’d been using as his pillow and shoved it under his knees and lower legs.
Matthew gripped the bench, spread his legs as wide as his make-shift cushion would allow, and lowered his chest to the towel. With his ass tilted out so invitingly, Vane’s breath caught in his throat. He reached out one hand and lightly scraped his black claws down the knobs of the human’s spine to the top of his ass crack.
The human shivered under his touch. Vane jerked his hand away, suddenly feeling something he’d never felt before—fear that he’d hurt this human. His claws were sharp, what if—
“Oh, damn. I knew your claws on me would feel amazing. Do it again,” Matthew all but begged. When Vane didn’t move right away, Matthew peered over his shoulder at him and urged, “Please. I want your touch.”
Vane scowled. “But, my claws—”
“Feel good. They tingled. Pull my cheeks apart and skim your claws there,” Matthew demanded. The human actually shuddered—at his own words? “P-Please?”
Once again, Vane saw something in Matthew’s eyes. This time, Vane spotted desperation. His cock—which had never softened, even with his nerves—jerked between his legs.
By the Gods, Matthew wants this just as much as I do. He wants me!
That revelation spurred Vane into action. Growling with excitement, he gripped one of Matthew’s cheeks in his left palm, the firm muscle filling his hand just right. He pulled it sideways a bit. His breath caught in his throat upon getting his first view of Matthew’s hole. Gulping, Vane shivered. The plug filling his human’s ass appeared so much smaller than his own dick. Still, Vane wanted in there, and Matthew seemed to think it’d be okay.
His mate had asked—begged, really—so with the faintest of pressure, Vane scraped the claw of his finger gently down his lover’s cleft. He started at the top of his ass and stroked down to where the base of the plug filled his opening, nudging the object.
Matthew just about went wild beneath him, groaning and gasping. His body shivered a bit, and Vane had to tighten his grip on his human’s cheek to keep him still. Liking the man’s reaction, he repeated the move.
Crying out, Matthew threw his head back as his body bowed. “Oh, fuck! Can’t hold it,” he whined. “Gotta come.”
Vane’s brow ridges shot up. Matthew would come just from this? Sucking his cock and having Vane fondle his ass? Fuck that was hot. Hell, yeah, he wanted to see that. As he scraped his claw down the man’s cleft once more, he ordered gruffly, “Do it. Come, now, Matt. Let me see it.”
Moaning, his grip white-knuckle tight, Matt obeyed. Shouting hoarsely, his human’s body convulsed. His chest heaved as he groaned and panted, his body rocking as if fucking the air. Matt’s lean form, flushed with blood from arousal and bliss, couldn’t be more beautiful—unless, maybe, Vane saw his face when he came.
“S-Shit,” Matt slurred.
“What?”
“Why the fuck am I still so hard,” Matt mumbled. “Thinking of you is making me crazy. Need your cock in my ass. Need to feel you buried deep in me. Don’t know why you’re driving me nuts.”
Vane figured Matt didn’t even realize he rambled. Still, it sure gave him a hell of a lot of information in just those few words. This human felt the pull to mate, to bond. While it scared the shit out of Vane, the ache in his cock overrode everything else.
Running his fingers down Matt’s sides, Vane relished feeling his mate’s smooth skin. With the way his human’s skin rippled and how he trembled, Vane felt powerful, in control. He reached for the plug filling his human’s ass. Gripping the base, he pulled it free and set it on the towel nearby.
After spitting in his hand and spreading it over his dick, Vane guided his shaft to Matt’s waiting hole. He pressed his cock’s head against the hole and immediately shivered at the way it felt to slide his sensitive glans across the striated muscles. As Vane pushed forward, he watched Matt’s opening stretch and open, swallowing his wide flared head.
Pressure, hot and tight, clamped down on him. Vane moaned, exquisite bliss shooting up his stalk. He felt his balls pull dangerously tight to his body, and he quickly gripped the base of his cock to keep from shooting.
“Ah, hell yeah, put it in,” Matt babbled. “Wanna be speared by your big dick, Vane. Wanna feel you.”
Vane sprawled over Matt’s back, covering him from shoulder to knee. He lowered his head until his mouth hovered just behind Matt’s ear and snarled, “You wanna feel me, Matt? You want my dick plowing your ass?”
Matt managed to lift his head and nuzzled his temple against Vane’s mouth, shocking the crap out of him. “Yeah, sink into me, gargoyle. Let me feel all of you.”
All of me?
The words shot thought him like a branding iron. Instincts roared to life. Vane snapped his hips forward, driving his erection deep inside the human beneath him. At the same time, Vane took advantage of the angle of his mate’s neck and sank his sharp teeth into the fleshy part of his shoulder.
If my mate wants all of me, that’s what he gets!
The intense heat and pressure around his dick caused a moan of pleasure to escape him around his mouthful of flesh. Blood flowed over his tongue, tangy, metallic, and oh-so-sweet. As he swallowed Matt’s life essence, Vane drew his hips back, pulling his dick out of his lover’s chute, then drove back into the man’s body.
Matt canted his hips, howling hoarsely, crying out his obvious enjoyment as Vane reamed his ass. Once he got started, Vane couldn’t stop. The pleasure of having his dick surrounded in Matt’s silky heat, the rippling massage as Matt came again from his bite, sent Vane careening out of control.
He deepened the bite and Matt shook beneath him, his howl suddenly cutting off in a silent scream. His lover’s chute clamped down even harder, telling Vane that his human had come again. Pleasure of an altogether different sort flooded Vane and—as his orgasm bowled through him—he slid his teeth free and roared his own bliss.
Vane felt his seed pulse up his dick, sending blissful waves crashing along his nerve endings with each pulse. Humming, his body shuddering every few seconds, Vane licked his bite mark, sealing it with his saliva and starting the healing process.
At some point, he’d wrapped his arms around Matt’s torso and curved his much larger body around the human. He sighed and nuzzled his lover’s neck, relishing just holding another body, the novel experience creating an odd buzz in his system.
Vane finally felt his sated cock begin to soften. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this satisfied. Of course, he couldn’t remember the last time—hell, ever—that he’d come twice in so short a time…and so hard? Relaxed beyond anything he could remember feeling before, Vane nuzzled his human’s neck and eased his hips back a bit, letting his cock slide from the human’s warm chute.
Gods, I can’t wait to do that again.
When Matt didn’t respond to his nuzzle, Vane lifted his head and peered down at the human. Matt’s eyes were closed and his breathing came in long, even breaths. He appeared to be sleeping, but when Vane slid his hand up Matt’s side, using his hold to jostle him gently, he received no response.
Frowning, Vane moved the hand he’d wrapped around Matt’s torso, sliding his big hand a bit so he could palm his lover’s chest. He encouraged his human to shift his weight back, struggling for a second when Matt remained dead weight. If his mate hadn’t been breathing, Vane would have worried he’d killed the male.
Vane’s heart skipped a beat at that thought. When Matt finally flopped back against Vane’s chest, limp,
mumbling incoherently, Vane worried he’d done just what he hadn’t wanted to do—hurt the sweet-smelling human.
Panic setting in, Vane swung Matt into his arms. He grabbed the bathrobe and wrapped it awkwardly around his lover’s midsection and rolled to his feet. Dipping down, he grabbed his own loincloth, but skipped putting it on in favor of rushing through the gardens toward the house.
The shiver that worked through Matt didn’t reassure Vane, even as the way he cuddled into Vane’s chest did.
Reaching the house, Vane glanced at the bank of windows overhead. He spotted a balcony to the left he recognized as Einan’s suite—their clutch’s enforcer. Vane spread his wings, bent his knees, and leaped into the air. It took only a second to land on the balcony and he rapped loudly on the sliding glass door.
A few seconds later, the drapes were yanked aside revealing a very pregnant Cornelius, Einan’s rhino shifter mate. The normally slender male’s green eyes widened and he yanked open the door.
“What the hell happened?”
Vane couldn’t help but bristle at the enforcer’s mate’s tone. Curling a lip, he snarled, “We fucked. That’s it and now he’s unconscious. I need someone who can tell me about humans.” Twenty four hours ago, never in a million years would he have thought he’d ask for information about humans. His motto had been—keep the fuck away.
Cornelius frowned, looking totally confused. “You fucked?” He took a second look at the human in Vane’s arms. “You fucked and Matthew passed out?” His brows shot up. “Damn, Vane. You must be good.”
“Huh?” Confusion slammed through Vane.
Snickering, Cornelius smirked. “Look, if your lover passes out from pleasure, that’s a good thing.” He grinned. “Take him to your suite and tuck him into bed. Get some food and when he wakes, feed him.”
Vane glanced between Cornelius to Matt and back again. His panic slowly ebbed. “Really?”
Nodding, Cornelius grinned. “Oh, yeah. Breakfast in bed is total bonus points, especially if it’s followed up by lots of kissing.” He pointed his finger and waved it around. “All over kissing.”
“You’re sure?”
Finally, an understanding expression crossed Cornelius’ face. “Look, if Matthew hasn’t woken in the next hour or so, holler at me, and I’ll get the doc.” He patted Vane on his upper arm, probably attempting to reassure with touch—Vane knew shifters were often a touchy-feely lot—as much as with his words as Cornelius continued, “However, with everything Matthew has been through the last couple of days, I’m not surprised he passed out.”
Cocking his head, Vane mumbled, “Everything he’s been through?”
“Sure,” Cornelius replied, shrugging. He held up his hands and ticked off points on his fingers as if making a list. “His brother getting shot. His brother getting kidnapped from the hospital. Finding out about us.” He grinned and added, “He’s been awful nice and accepting, but it still can’t be easy to wrap his brain around. Accepting gargoyles and shifters is tough, but Matthew seemed to be really open. He’s already welcomed Raymond into the family and he and Marty haven’t even completed their bond yet.” Then, Cornelius snickered. “Not by choice, but Doc Perseus advised them to wait a few days before Marty gets too…energetic.”
Vane’s brow ridges shot up at Cornelius’ suggestive eyebrow waggle.
Shaking his head, he stepped back, then climbed onto the balcony. He glanced over his shoulder at the pregnant male. “You really think it’s just…” He wasn’t certain how to finish his own thought.
Cornelius smiled and nodded. “Yeah. It’s just fatigue. I bet Matthew will wake up feeling like a million bucks.”
Nodding, Vane turned away and leaped into the air. He caught an air current and swooped around to the other side of the house, up one story, and settled onto his own balcony’s ledge. Maneuvering the handle on the French doors, he pushed his way inside.
After settling a still mostly unresponsive Matt on the bed—at least his human mumbled under his breath and snuggled into the blankets—Vane touched his mate’s cheek gently. He slid his fingertips down Matt’s neck, fingering the mark he’d left. His breathing hitched and once again fear slithered through him.
What if Matt was pissed that Vane had caused him to pass out? Wrapping his arms around his torso, almost protectively, Vane turned away and headed from the suite. He’d follow Cornelius’ advice and pray it’d be enough.
Chapter Five
Matthew inhaled deeply…and smiled. Damn, what a nice smell. Turning his head, he nuzzled into the soft fabric under his head. At first, he thought it was a pillow, but when he pried his eyelids opened, he realized it was a blanket.
Pausing, not recognizing the green and blue plaid blanket he clutched, Matthew turned his head and took in the room around him. He frowned, not familiar with the very nicely carved dark wood furniture. While the room had a large king-sized bed, Matthew lay on a massive pile of blankets and pillows near a roaring wood-burning fireplace.
With a nightstand, dresser, along with a small table and two chairs making up the rest of the furniture, the room had plenty of space. Looking right, beyond the bed, he spotted several doors. One was closed, and he guessed it’d be to a closet, since the open doors revealed the bedroom’s exit through one and an ensuite through the other. That was one of the things Matthew really loved about his three-bedroom two and a half bath house. He had a private bath attached to his master bedroom.
This, however, was not his home.
Swallowing hard, Matthew shoved to a sitting position, settling his back against the wall. He struggled to pull up his last few memories. Images of Vane flashed through his mind, the feel of his hands on his flesh, the warmth of his skin against Matthew’s, all reminded him of what he’d been doing before he’d passed out from pleasure.
Damn, what a way to go.
Matthew reached up and carefully felt along his neck. He shivered when he encountered the tender bumpy flesh. Holy hell had it been amazing when Vane had sunk his teeth into his neck…it’d been even better when the gargoyle had worked the bite, digging in deeper.
Grunting, Matthew dipped his hand under the blanket covering his lower half. He pressed the heel of his hand against the base of his erection. “Holy shit,” he hissed, amazed that just a memory could cause such a visceral response.
Pain had never been his thing, and Matthew would have thought being bitten like that would be a complete and total turn-off. Instead, he wanted to sign up as Vane’s personal chew toy.
He sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Too bad the huge pile of blankets and pillows were completely permeated with Vane’s unique, musky scent. Moaning, he couldn’t resist spreading his legs wider and wrapping his hand more firmly around his erection.
Matthew sighed, the pressure on his dick unbelievably amazing.
The sharp hiss yanked Matthew from his pleasure. His hand froze on his dick. Suddenly, he felt thankful that he hadn’t tossed the blanket aside. Still, when he peered at Vane where the huge gargoyle filled the doorway, Matthew saw that the massive red male’s gaze had fixated on his blanket-covered groin.
Although someone watched, it still took a hell of a lot of self-control to release his grip on his dick. Matthew brought both his hands to the edge of the blanket where it rested at his waist. He tried for a smile. “Hey,” he mumbled. “Sorry, I…uh. Sorry, I conked out on ya there.” Matthew licked his lips and forced a smile. “Guess you’re just that amazing.” He tried to tease.
Vane didn’t take the bait.
Instead, the massive gargoyle, his red hide accentuated by the flames in the fireplace, stalked forward and placed the tray of food he held on the dresser opposite the bed. Once the food and dishes were safely stowed, he turned and faced him.
Peering at him, Vane demanded throatily, “Show me.”
Matthew froze. Uncertain what his lover meant—good God this dude’s my lover, I loved every second of it, and
want to feel him again—he stuttered, “Sh-Show you what?”
Vane’s eyes narrowed, causing his oddly shaped brow ridges—which looked so much like the top of a skull’s misshapen eye sockets—to draw down. “I can smell your arousal, Matt. Are you trying to hide it? Did I do something wrong before? Something to make you hide your attraction to me?”
While speaking, Vane stalked closer, ever so slowly. By the time he finished speaking, he crouched low and rested the knuckles of one hand on a pillow near Matthew’s calf.
Matthew quickly shook his head. “No,” he responded. Gathering his courage, he flipped aside the blanket, revealing his hard and leaking dick. “Just never been caught jacking off before,” he admitted.
Vane’s odd brow ridges lifted up, his expression appearing almost confused. “You would hide your arousal from your lover? Why?”
Never had he been faced with someone so blunt, so open. However, faced with the gargoyle’s blatant confusion, Matthew could hardly do more than tell the truth. “Never jacked off with someone else before.”
Vane’s eyes definitely narrowed. His countenance took on a feral expression. “Good,” he snarled. A clawed hand landed on his thigh, shoving his leg up, which caused the blanket to slide further down his other, still mostly straight leg. Seconds later, his groin fully revealed, his hard shaft bobbing before him, Matthew’s breath hitched in his chest as he watched in wonder as Vane slowly stroked one black claw up the thick vein running up the underside of his shaft.
Tingles raced through his groin and up his stalk. When Vane used his claw to move the wrinkled bundle of nerves just under his cap, Matthew moaned as pre-cum oozed from his slit.
Leaning closer, Vane pushed Matthew’s dick to one side, then the other. Seemingly intent on studying Matthew’s cock, he slid his fingers up and down Matthew’s shaft as he moved it.
Calming a Demon Heart Page 4
