by Z. Allora
“You should have taken the essence the doctor gave you,” Jackson registered his complaint.
He shrugged. “Probably. Hey, I’m going to talk to Beau.”
“What about food?”
“I’ll eat something with Beau. You eat something too and take care of that.”
“Of?” Jackson arched an eyebrow. Fucker was going to make him say it.
Corey pointed to Keith’s dick. “That.”
“Admit it. You can’t let him suffer, can you?” Jackson grinned.
Corey glared at Jackson. Just ’cause he was right didn’t mean it didn’t piss him off. “Jackson, Master of the Obvious… I can’t deal yet.”
It was all too fucking much.
Jackson pulled him into a kiss. “Come back soon.”
“Of course.” Corey grabbed his phone from the charger, and headed for the door.
“Well, you wanted proof.” Jackson’s tone did hold the I-told-you-so Corey felt he should have, but he let it go.
On Keith’s “Yes, and I certainly got it,” Corey closed the door.
Well, at least one problem solved.
“Welcome. We’ll take twilight tea in the parlor.” Beau kissed both of Corey’s cheeks and then led him past a modern living room done in grays and whites, with a big-screen TV. He swept Corey through French doors and into another world of antiqued elegance.
The upper half of the room was wallpapered with detailed birds and butterflies of every color on a gold background, which matched small statues around the room. The figurines sat on antique wooden shelves with books, fancy inlaid tables, and on what had to be Beau’s desk. Gold drapes ran from floor to ceiling, highlighting the dainty cushioned chairs and settees.
“I’m guessing you designed this room?”
“What gave it away?”
“It’s very Scarlett O’Hara in here.” Corey’s feet sank into the thick rug. The room was entirely Beau. He had never seen Beau so perfectly suited to an environment… except for maybe when he was on the St. Andrew’s cross and Lafayette was behind him with a crop.
Beau grinned. “It’s similar to the only room in the original house I enjoyed. Though that’s probably because I could watch Lafayette from those windows.”
Everything always came down to his mate… though the same could be said of any zombie, including Corey.
“Allow me to serve you.” Beau paused at the tea cart piled with goodies. He poured and then served the tea like he did it every day.
Worry whispered through Corey, so he sent a quick text to Jackson.
“Here you are.”
Corey accepted the delicate china teacup from days gone by. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Of course. I always enjoy time with you. Now help me sort through the gossip.” Beau fixed his own tea. Then he glided over with his tea and a plate of cookies and chocolates.
“Beau, you understand me.” Corey swallowed a chocolate and then grabbed a cookie chaser.
Beau snorted and tilted his head with a pleased smile.
Corey traced the pretty blue rose on his fancy teacup and then on the saucer.
“Quiet, hmmm. Let me help. Storm’s Keith—”
“He’s not Storm’s anything….” Fuck!
The arched brow and smirk could easily be ignored if Corey didn’t look in Beau’s general direction. He sipped his tea and then shoved two more cookies into his mouth and chewed.
“You’ve wanted your mate since the day you knew you had one. You came to me, and I held you as you cried for two hours over Jackson not being your only mate.”
Corey tried to push away the guilt and shame that rose to the forefront of his mind. “I couldn’t believe I wasn’t complete with someone as incredible as Jackson. We’re so perfect together—”
“But you were blessed with a third.”
“Or cursed….”
Beau set his teacup down. “I know there’s issues between you, but I’ve seen him. He’s easy on the eyes.”
Corey snorted. As if Beau panted over anyone but his mate. But reality hit him. “I don’t know if I can forgive him for the past.”
“The question is do you want to?”
Pressing his lips together, Corey wished he knew the answer to that question.
8
It’s in His Kiss
Keith chewed the cold meatball sandwich Jax had made them for dinner. How did Corey go from barely being able to move to full of energy with only a shot of come? Bizarre, but he’d seen the dramatic recovery with his own eyes. There’s no faking pupil dilation. “Corey really is okay?”
Jax covered a yawn and gave him a shrug that said “I told you so.” “Believe me now?”
Did he? Crazy as the whole situation was, he capitulated by saying, “Simplest explanation… and I don’t have much choice.”
“There’s always a choice. What’s yours going to be?” Jackson polished off his Sprite as if their happiness didn’t hang in the balance.
Keith had always questioned free will, because most of the time the world and your personal filters eliminated many of the choices that only appeared to be available, sometimes leaving you with no choice at all. In this case, there wasn’t a choice to do something or not, as much as to live or not.
Jax replaced Keith’s empty soda with a bottle of beer. “When in doubt, have a beer.”
Keith waved him off. “Hey, raincheck on the beer. I’ve got to go feed my bird.”
“Let me text Corey. I’ll go with.” Jax wasn’t asking.
Granted, Keith would appreciate his company… and his arched eyebrow still appeared totally ineffective on Jax.
Jax ushered him out the door. “I’ll drive.”
“What do you think—I’m going to make a run for it?” His half joke died at the fear that crept along the edges of Jax’s expression.
Jax drove, which made the ride to Keith’s apartment quick.
Once they were inside, Keith called out, “Ruffles, I’m home.”
“Key-Key!” Ruffles flew over to him and landed on his shoulder.
“This is Ruffles. Ruffles, this is—”
“Sexy man. Sexy man.” Ruffles had decided as he peered at Jackson.
Keith snorted because of course Ruffles would tell tales on him. “However true that is….”
Jax stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Keith. “Sexy man?”
Shrugging, he tried to play it off. “Ruffles won’t say Keith, but he picks up other words instantly. Right, Ruffles?”
“And ‘sexy man’ is what your bird picked up?”
Keith shrugged. He wasn’t going to lie, nor did he have to retell how pathetic he’d become last night.
Ruffles walked under Keith’s hair to his other shoulder to get closer to Jax. He stared and then tilted his head to the right.
Keith translated bird language. “He’s asking to have you scratch around his ear hole.”
Smirking, Jax said, “Let sexy man give you a scratch.”
Jackson had always picked up on things even if they were better left alone. “Not letting that go, huh?”
Jax gave Ruffles all the attention he wanted. “Definitely not.”
“Kisses to Mamma.” Ruffles informed them both of his agenda.
Keith walked him to the wall, and Jax followed.
“Hey, there’s us.” Jax pointed to the picture.
Not able to say anything at the surreal change since last he stood here, he only nodded.
“Do you want to bring Ruffles back to the apartment with us?” Jax asked the question as if it weren’t the first step of moving Keith in.
“Oh… I haven’t thought… yeah, I guess.” Otherwise he’d keep bugging his neighbor… and he wanted Ruffles with him.
He gathered the bird stuff, including the picture of Mrs. Stein and the perch, and they headed back to the apartment.
Ruffles didn’t mind his large carrier, which doubled as a travel cage, but he paced the entire way. He flew around the room, landing here and there, ex
ploring his new surroundings.
Jax helped Keith set the perch in the corner and showed him where he could put the supplies.
Ruffles got into the carrier himself and shouted, “Night. Night, Key-Key.” Keith put the cloth over the travel carrier.
What now?
When in doubt…. “I guess I’ll take that beer now.”
Smiling, Jax handed him a lager and clinked the bottle together with his own.
Keith tipped the bottle back and drank. The cool liquid soothed his nerves.
He kicked back on the sofa with Jax in companionable silence, which was something he hadn’t realized he missed. Countless times when they hung out in high school there had been a quiet calm between them that he never experienced with anyone else. The quiet sanded down all the jagged edges that usually poked him until he bled.
His smile dropped off, and unease crept in. “Are you doing okay? You look a bit pale.”
Jax was moving slower. “I’m fine for right now. I’m pushing the limits of how long I should go between—”
He needed what Corey did. “Oh, should you—”
“I’m good right now.” Jax took a long pull on his beer. His throat working as he swallowed made parts of Keith very interested in finding out how good Jax was.
Well into his second bottle, Keith felt loose and relaxed, even with the whole believing about the zombie thing…. There was a serenity he relished. “I’ve missed this.”
“Yeah, not many people understand sometimes just being in each other’s space is enough.”
Very true, though somehow there were times when that hadn’t been enough. Times he wished for more… with Jax. “Hey, do you remember that one time we were hanging out under the bleachers?”
“I’m guessing even though we hung out under the bleachers more than we sat on them, you mean that time you asked to meet me after practice? Senior year? We were both sweaty, but God, you smelled incredible.” Jax’s voice dropped an octave.
Keith’s cock started to lengthen. “Mmmm, yup. I had planned to kiss you and tell you I—I don’t know—that I liked you.”
Jax frowned. “But you didn’t.”
“I chickened out, even though I had gotten two Sprites before practice—”
“Romantic.” Jax’s tone didn’t convey teasing, nor did the sweet smile.
“They warmed in my bag.” He had been such a dork, thinking warm soda was pulling out all the stops.
“I would have drank one without complaint.” Jax sat down close to Keith. “What would you have done?”
“Done?” Images raced through his brain. Him making love to Jax with his mouth and body. Their bodies tangled, seeking satisfaction…. But the image that made his heart to do a backflip was kissing Jax.
“Yeah, after the sodas.” Jax leaned toward him.
“I would have knocked the helmet out of your hands and grabbed the back of your neck.” Keith followed his words and tugged Jax’s face closer to his.
“And?” Jax didn’t even blink. The dare was there in his tone.
Their gazes locked. The time that stood between now and the potential of them melted. All the confused chaos and hormones surged, forcing him into action.
“And then this.” Keith closed the distance between their lips.
He wanted to devour him, but instead of the ravaging kiss Jax was probably expecting, Keith traced his tongue over Jax’s lips, wetting them, imagining the taste of Sprite and wishes from a long time ago.
Oh God. Talk about torture, to be this close and to toy with both of them. He kept just out Jax’s reach.
“Fuck, come on,” Jax groaned and shifted closer.
With extreme care, Keith cupped Jax’s face, holding him still, and he glided his lips over Jax’s.
Jax’s trembled, and his eyes slid shut.
Keith shivered as he teased them both with anticipation until he couldn’t take the edge of paradise a second longer. He pressed his mouth hard against Jax’s, claiming a kiss.
Finally, for the first time, he kissed Jackson Davis… right on the mouth. Exactly like he’d always wanted—mmm, with tongue. Two decades late, but the touch of Jax’s lips against his was as sweet as he had imagined.
They fell into a rhythm that made his toes curl. He didn’t know who deepened the kiss and he didn’t care.
All the lust and feelings he’d been denied from all those years ago surged, charging their kiss with an intensity he’d never known. His heart and body wanted to have satisfaction now, but how?
Jax dug his fingers through Keith’s hair. His thoughts were as tangled as his hair, but when Jax massaged his scalp, Keith decided thinking wasn’t really all that important. Feeling the here and now, that was something.
Although overwhelmed, Keith felt Jax’s strong body give him the only stability he needed. His heart longed for this connection and tried to synchronize its beating with Jax’s.
Keith rolled over on top of the seated Jax to straddle his lap, and Jax angled his hips, giving Keith something to grind down on. He pulled Keith’s hair and brought his head to the side, then bit his neck.
“Fuck,” Keith gasped. If there was an erotic pulse point for him, his neck was it. The place only a lover could kiss, lick, tease, and oh yes, hickey. Thrill tripped through him at being marked, and excitement hardened him.
Pulling his mouth off Keith’s neck, Jax licked at the sure-to-bruise skin.
How he wanted to do everything at once, but craving satisfaction made him choose. He started to slide down to his knees.
With a quick move Keith was pushed back onto the couch, and Jax slid into the space between his legs.
Keith complained at having been denied. “No, I want to.”
Jax didn’t listen to him, he only popped the button on Keith’s jeans and started working the zipper down.
Seeing one of his teenaged dreams come true mesmerized Keith. Jax between his legs, his big hands opening his pants. Keith broke the enchantment by saying, “You don’t have to do that.”
Jax’s cell phone danced with a buzz. He opened the text and handed the cell to Keith with a smirk.
Keith read it. “Unless you have licked my spluge like they do on puppy nights in the club, you need to suck Keith off. You’ve been too long without essence. Corey ended the message with lots of hearts and several eggplant emojis followed by the spurting droplets.”
Jax’s lips quirked, and he smiled with a warmth that set the fires of envy burning. He shrugged. “He says I need pictures at times so he reinforces his words with emoji speak. So as you can see, I do actually need to suck you off.”
Was it just a biological imperative? No, one look at the longing in Jax’s eyes said this was more… it was almost everything. “But….”
Jax sat back down on the sofa. “Or hey, no pressure. I can go find Corey and get what I need. No worries.”
“Um….” Keith wanted that and didn’t want that. He felt driven to be a part of whatever was going to happen, and he had a familiar but mostly forgotten longing of wanting to provide what Jax needed. To finally have the conclusion of what was built and abandoned two decades ago.
Jax’s expression was blank, as if he was trying not to pressure Keith into doing exactly what he desired.
Stupid jealousy came roaring to the surface. “Only Corey… does this mean you won’t be going to other men?”
“Never again. I can only have my mates… and I only want my mates.”
Keith felt pleased beyond reason, then confused about why he was thrilled to share the significant space with Corey. When in doubt, ask a “how do you feel about that” question. It worked with the kids. “How do you feel about that?”
“Liberated. I mean, I didn’t mind looking for our mates because I was with Corey. But I certainly won’t miss blowing strangers… and especially not the devastation Corey felt when we didn’t find our mate.”
“Bad?”
“Somehow he blamed himself that we hadn’t found our mate—you
—yet.”
Talk about a gut punch. To literally be the missing piece was both incredible and terrible. Jax pressed his mouth to Keith’s, giving him a searing kiss. When he pulled back, the look they shared reinforced this wasn’t only about physical need.
Aroused and filled with affection, Keith slid to his knees with his pants still undone in front of Jax. “Please.”
“Okay, just a bit, and then I want you… if you’ll let me.”
Certainty was never a given; there were too many options and too much bewilderment until now. Everything boiled down to did Keith want to provide for Jax on a very primal level? Yes! “I want to give you what you need.”
Jax brushed away Keith’s shaky hands and opened his own jeans. He pulled out a mouthwatering dick. Not huge but the right size for Keith. “Here.”
This is a blowjob, but it isn’t a simple “return the favor, insert cock, and suck” blowjob. How many cocks have I sucked? But this one… this is Jax…. Where to begin?
Maybe a fact-based question was the way Keith needed to go. “If I swallow, does that make me a zombie?”
Jax shook his head in a rather loose manner. “No, there needs to be a blood exchange.”
“Right, like in the book.” He wasn’t thinking. Resting his hands on Jax’s knees, he asked, “What happens if Corey doesn’t want me?”
Jax sighed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Yeah, but—”
Caressing his face, Jax hushed him. “Shhh, Corey’s upset. He’ll come around. This will work out.”
How could he be so confident? “How do you know?”
“It will.” Jax ran his fingers through Keith’s hair.
Keith nodded and let himself sink into this moment of fantasy becoming his reality. He knee-walked closer to Jax, and through denim, he rubbed his hands on Jax’s muscular thighs. Tracing his hands up to the waist of Jax’s jeans, he worked them down, not stopping until they were around his ankles.
Jax’s erection jutted out from a neat nest of dark curly hair, and a drop of precome clung to the tip and begged to be licked away.
Licking at the drop seemed to rip a moan from Jax. Keith stared up at him and was thunderstruck by the awe he found in Jax’s expression. He flicked his tongue around the mushroom-shaped head and licked more droplets as they appeared.
