Crimson, Volume 1

by Sax Alexander

  William deepened the kiss, drawing Alec closer with an arm around his waist, his knee slipping easily between spread legs as Alec braced himself against the violently rattling door. His thigh flexed, a firm gentle pressure against Alec’s groin, and Alec groaned softly into his mouth, his grip on William’s hair tightening involuntarily and bringing a sharp sting to his scalp and eyes.

  They barely noticed when the train stopped at Chambers. William explored Alec’s body, his hands sliding up underneath his shirt while his lips found a path along his jawline and down his throat before returning to his mouth again.

  A soft sound of protest fell from Alec’s swollen lips when William finally pulled away as the train made its final stop at Rector Street. He smiled, brushing Alec’s cheekbone with a single finger. “Our stop.”

  The doors slid open in time with Alec’s eyes, and he gave William one unreadable look before grabbing his bag and making a beeline for the door.

  “Hey.” William went after him. “Alec.” Alec didn’t look back, but he stopped when William caught up to him, fingers circling around his upper arm. “I’m sorry if I—”

  “No,” Alec cut him off, giving a short shake of his head. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting...that.”

  William watched him carefully. “If you’d rather go home...”

  “No!” William found himself with an armful of an almost desperate Alec again. “I liked it. I like you. And I want this to be now. It’s got to be now.”

  Before William could properly analyze that last statement, Alec brought their mouths together again. This time the kiss wasn’t tentative at all. Alec kissed him hungrily, as if it had been weeks or months or years since he’d touched someone like this.

  “Shit.” Alec finally breathed, using both hands to push William back a little, then brush away the hair that fell across his eyes.

  “I’m going to assume that’s a good response.”

  Alec laughed breathlessly. “Of course you are.”

  William gave a lopsided smile, knowing the resulting dimple had charmed tougher crowds than Alec.

  “If you still want to take pictures, that’s fine, but...I live near here. My place is on the top floor and I have rooftop access. The skyline makes a nice backdrop.”

  Alec’s eyes went wide, but he shot William an arch look. “For pictures or for something else?”

  “Whatever you prefer.”

  “Come on, Casanova.” He tossed his bag at William, grinning when he caught it with a startled grunt. “You can carry this now.”

  He took the stairs two steps at a time and looked back down at William with raised eyebrows. “Coming?”

  He followed the laughing young man out onto the street and caught up to him, his hand slipping around Alec’s to guide him through the almost deserted streets. Alec flashed a bright smile, his fingers curling firmly around William’s. “I should have known you lived around here. You were way too smug earlier.”

  “I was just hoping for the opportunity to invite you up for a drink. A happy coincidence. You’re always like Cinderella, disappearing at the stroke of midnight.”

  Alec looked away for a moment, then back at William with his usual grin, but William didn’t miss the hint of vulnerability in his expression. “It’s past midnight now,” he pointed out dryly.

  “True. So does that mean you’re not going to run away again? Leave me with one slightly scruffy sneaker?”

  The vulnerability filled up Alec’s large eyes now, his grin faded into seriousness. “I know I’ve been...”

  “Elusive?” William smiled, a gentle tease, and Alec smiled back faintly.

  “Yeah, but this has been really, really good, and I haven’t...” He frowned, looking away and giving a frustrated, embarrassed shrug. “I haven’t felt like this for a long time, you know, happy and...I don’t want to fuck it up.”

  “I don’t want to either.” William’s fingers squeezed Alec’s. “If you’d rather we go somewhere else, or you want to call it a night—”

  “No!” Alec shook his head, his shoulders straightening, and gave William a slow, sweet smile. “I want to go home with you. Really.”

  They started walking again, and the slight awkwardness faded, soothed by the night breeze.

  “So...” Alec eventually asked. “Why Battery Park City?”

  “Hm.” William thought about it. “I like that it’s quiet at night. I like the views. I like being where I can smell the water.”

  “I would have figured you for the Upper East Side.”

  “Do I seem that stuffy?”

  “No.” Alec shook his head and laughed softly. “You’re definitely not stuffy, but it’s obvious that you come from that kind of environment.”

  William frowned a little, saying nothing as they walked leisurely down the blocks, the stronger wind down at the southern tip of the city whipping their shirts against their bodies. Even despite the heat, it raised the flesh of his skin into tiny bumps.

  After a minute, Alec spoke again, worry in his voice. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “You didn’t,” William reassured him. “I was just thinking.”

  “About what?” Alec cocked his head curiously.

  “Origins.” William smiled thinly.

  “That’s deep.” A little laugh escaped Alec, and he tugged playfully at William’s hand. “So how bad is your family then?” William looked at Alec in surprise. “Sorry, I’m prying.”

  “No, it’s fine. You’re perceptive.”

  “Not really. It was a logical conclusion.”

  William smiled wryly. “I don’t have a lot to complain about. My family is wealthy. I went to the right schools, met the right people, took over a branch of the family business.”

  “Insurance?”

  He met Alec’s steady gaze, letting his hand slip from his grasp. “No. That was a lie.”

  Alec nodded as if he knew it all along.

  “I’m sorry,” William said inadequately.

  “No, I get it. You wanted to be someone else for a while. Someone who didn’t have to live up to expectations, or maybe just to be seen in a different way, to show a different part of yourself.”

  “The rest of it—the main part—was true.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes.”

  Alec said nothing, looked up into the sky where the moon hung, a thin crescent, barely there. After a moment, he sighed. “That’s a really lame secret. You sure you’re not married or anything, are you?”

  William chuckled, warm relief filling his chest. “No. I’ve never even been close.”

  “All right then.” Alec’s warm hand slid back into his. “Where’s this awesome place of yours?”

  “Right here.” William raised their linked hands to point to the building in front of them. “And just in time. Did you line this bag with rocks?”

  Alec laughed and wrestled it away from William before they entered the lobby. The elevator went right up to the top. William’s condo took up the entire floor, and Alec whistled as he entered. “You weren’t kidding about being rich.”

  The furnishings were spare with an obvious Asian influence that spanned various cultures and time periods. It was shot through with unusual pieces that shouldn’t have fit in, but somehow managed to add just the right notes of warmth to coax the large, open space into appealing areas of cozy seclusion.

  “Do you like it?”

  Alec dropped his bag and studied the room, spinning slowly in a full circle before he answered. “It’s pretty spectacular.” A tiny grin curved his mouth up as he met William’s gaze. “You have good taste.”

  “I definitely do.” He came forward and rested his hands on Alec’s hips.

  “What about this rooftop view I’ve heard so much about?”

  The teasing light in Alec’s eyes made his own narrow, but he swept a hand toward the terrace. “After you.”

  They climbed the stairwell to the rooftop, and Alec gasped softly as he took in the sof
tly lit garden. “Oh my God, this is so...”

  William came up behind him, and his hands circled Alec’s waist to draw him back against his chest. He tucked his chin in the crook of Alec’s shoulder. “You like?”

  “Do I like it?” Alec just shook his head. “It’s beautiful. And the scent...these are all night-blooming flowers.” The delighted wonder in his voice made William’s arms tighten around him.

  He whirled around to look at William. “Did you do all this?”

  “I did. A love I got from my mother. Japan has some incredibly beautiful gardens. Maybe I can show you one day.”

  A look of fleeting pain flickered on Alec’s face so quickly, William wasn’t certain he’d seen it at all because Alec’s eyes were shining at him now. “I’m more than happy to enjoy this one.” He pulled away from William to peer at the moonflowers, petals open despite only the sliver of the moon showing that night. “I’d love to hear about your time in Japan, though. You really did live overseas?”

  “For many years.” William hesitated a moment before continuing, “I managed the East Asian division of my family’s company.”

  “But now you’re in New York?”

  “Yes.”

  Alec straightened up and turned, his gaze dark and serious. “For how long?”

  William smiled slowly, his gaze never leaving Alec’s. “However it long it takes.”

  “Cryptic.”

  “Not really.” He crooked his finger and beckoned playfully, and Alec began to walk toward him slowly, almost as if he were hypnotized. “I have business that needs to be taken care of. I won’t leave until I accomplish it.”

  “And then?”

  “Then I’m a free man.” He reached for Alec’s wrist to draw him closer, and then bent slightly to murmur against his ear. “And I can do just as I like.”

  Alec shivered, though his skin stayed smooth and warm. William couldn’t resist touching it, rubbing his palms up bare arms, taking those lips again that opened so sweetly for him. With a curious mix of shy boldness, Alec pulled his shirt over his head, his lithe body seductive in the ambient light on the high terrace.

  William began to explore the planes of his flat stomach and chest, sliding up to tease at Alec’s nipples, delightfully hardened by either the brisk wind or his own touch. Alec gasped, curling over him as he pushed Alec against the high wall. William bent to take a nipple between his lips, sucking another low sound out of him.

  Down to one knee William went. His fingers made quick work of Alec’s jeans, scooping into the waistband of his brief sat the same time, and pulling them both down to his ankles. Alec braced a hand on his shoulder as he stepped out of them and let William toss them away. His cock was half-hard already, gleaming at the tip with a hint of moisture that William bent to lick away.

  Alec’s hips jerked, and William’s hands came up to hold him steady while his tongue licked a slow, broad stroke from his balls and up his thickening shaft. With light, teasing strokes he brought Alec to full hardness until he whispered William’s name with a longing that made William’s own cock throb.

  Only then did Alec’s cock disappear into his mouth inch by inch. Giving a hard suck, William let the sound of Alec’s moans wash over him. His gaze rose, taking in the body shuddering above him. Alec’s fresh innocence transformed into eager, needy desire.

  Alec’s wild eyes caught his and they seemed to flare with even brighter lust, his bitten lower lip released as his mouth fell open and his hips struggled to thrust forward without restraint into William’s mouth.

  A slight graze of teeth to admonish, rhythm slowing painfully until his eyes crinkled at Alec’s desperate groans, then his mouth all but devoured him. He held his hips cruelly still, the heat and friction of his inner cheeks increasing around the rigid flesh as he sucked hard and fast. His fingers stroked Alec’s balls, finding and pressing into the flesh behind them until Alec threw back his head and spilled into William’s mouth with a low cry. His hips pumped involuntarily, the lovely column of his arched throat glowing with pale luminescence.

  The urge to mark it rose up, so he stood and kissed that seductive mouth first, the parted, wet lips shiny from the brief swipe of Alec’s tongue. His limbs twined about William with a hint of surprising strength.

  “More,” Alec whispered as William’s lips found Alec’s neck. He bit, not hard enough to break skin but a firm sinking into flesh, a blatant intent to mark and claim.

  His back landed flat against the smooth, hard tiles of the rooftop terrace, and, winded, he sucked in the heavy, florid scent of the lush garden. Alec’s eyes were huge in this dim corner as he crouched over him. His pupils were black and enormous, but the thin circle of iris that still showed seemed to shine with internal light.

  Fast enough to take William’s breath away again, his palms landed to either side of William’s head. Alec looked feral, a wealth of changing emotions rippling like waves across his features, and then his face smoothed.

  His head dipped down, low, husky voice, a seductive murmur against William’s ear. “William, look at me.” Slowly, Alec lifted his face again and their gazes met. William couldn’t have looked away if he wanted, but he had no desire to tear his gaze away from Alec’s mesmerizing eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” Alec whispered. There it was again, that expression of sadness, fleeting this time because it shaded almost at once into lust and hunger. Faster than the eye could follow, he was at William’s throat, and his teeth plunged into the throbbing vein that pulsed visibly at the curve of neck and shoulder.

  Chapter Three

  The orange-pink sky faded into dark purple as William leaned against the west wall of the terrace. He finished off his cigarette and lit another immediately. The sun would be gone in a matter of minutes, and he wished he could predict how things would go after that.

  He allowed himself to relish that last hit of nicotine, savoring it until he’d sucked it down to the butt. The lights of the city glowed with stark relief against the darkening sky. William sighed, pulled away from the stunning view, and passed through the wide-open glass door of the main room.

  He passed the camera bag Alec had left there the night before, giving it only a glance before heading to his bedroom and into the large walk-in closet that dominated one wall. A panel at the far end slid open at the touch of a hidden control.

  Alec was still asleep on the low bed, dressed again in his clothes, curled up with his knees to his chest, one arm flung out and the other curled under his cheek. He’d moved since William last checked on him, an indication that he’d be waking soon. He was pale and drawn, a shadow of the young man he’d been the night before. William stepped forward, his finger brushing the curve of his cheek. It was cool to the touch.

  Alec’s eyes opened, and he reacted with blinding speed, shoving William onto the bed and straddling his body in an instant, one hand wrapped around William’s throat. His eyes were wide and scared, and William stayed as still as he could, allowing Alec to process his surroundings.

  “William?” The lost, unsure catch in Alec’s voice made William’s heart clench. “Where am I? What—what happened?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  He searched William’s face, a small frown creasing his brow. “We went out, and I took pictures of you, and then we came back here, and...” Alec bit his lip and averted his gaze, but no blush rose to his pale cheeks.

  “So you do remember.” William’s gentle teasing coaxed his gaze back.

  “But I don’t understand. Is this your place? Why am I—” His hand slapped over his mouth as he stared in horrified dismay.

  “Alec,” William said softly, slowly reaching to grasp Alec’s shoulder. “It’s all right.”

  “I... I... I...” Alec stuttered. “I bit you. I drank from you.”

  “I know.” His head tilted, neck exposed to Alec’s gaze. “I still have the proof.”

  Alec’s eyes lit up as he took in the raw wounds crusted with dark blood and he moaned, the h
and around William’s throat convulsing involuntarily. William coughed and Alec let go, springing off William’s lap with another horrified sound.

  “You... you know what I am?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked absolutely stricken, shaking his head and backing away until he was poised in the open doorway, seemingly ready to bolt. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, William. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to.”

  “I know.” William sat up carefully, try not to spook him. “You drank before you met me that night, didn’t you?”

  Alec’s eyes grew large. “How did you know?”

  “You were warm, flush with fresh blood. Isn’t that why you do? To pass for human? You did it every time before we met.”

  Alec nodded slowly, unable to break away from William’s intent gaze. “I never kill them, I swear. I just drink enough, just what I need.”

  “I know,” William said again, soothingly.

  “How do you know?”

  The plaintive cry made his spine tingle, and the short hairs at the nape of William’s neck rose.

  “I’ve been tracking you for quite some time. It took a while to find you, to... arrange a meeting. You could say that I knew you when you were still human.”

  Uncomprehending, Alec shifted in the doorway, his body tensing subtly in preparation for something, perhaps attack, perhaps retreat. William spread his hands, palms up.

  “I don’t understand,” Alec whispered.

  “You never got around to asking me what company I really worked for.”

  A long moment passed as Alec stared at him balefully, and then he shook his head in utter denial. “No.”

  “My real name is William Maxwell. My family owns GenTech. After the death of my father and brother, I assumed full ownership.”

  Alec’s sharp canines extended, his fear reflexes operating on an instinctual level. He shot William one betrayed look before disappearing from the doorway. William took a deep breath and released it with a heavy sigh. He wasn’t looking forward to the rest of their conversation.

  He found Alec almost to the terrace door, on his knees, his palms braced against the expensive Italian marble tiles and his head hanging between his shoulders.