Chapter Ten

Will was always happiest in the air. There was no doubt about that. And having his new love sitting beside him as he raced above the trees was an unexpected and delightful bonus. He kept stealing glances to make sure Damien was okay. He appeared to be not only fine, but excited about their adventure. Val had shown him how to use the goggles. He’d used them already to get a sense of how they’d work while looking down from the air. So, he was ready once they arrived at the camp.

There was no more media now that the congressman had been arrested and his wife had gone into seclusion. The camp was all but deserted, its unhappy inhabitants having apparently fled.

As Will circled the compound, Damien peered down. “There are still some of the humans left,” he said over the mic. “Poor bastards might not have a place to go. We should do something to help kids like that. People like Father Ted—the priest this asshole’s brother killed, according to Emil—knew how at-risk these kids are. They need more than food, though. Do you think I could talk Alex into contributing to a new foundation or something to set up an anti-conversion camp?”

Will grinned. “I’m sure he would, but I’m happy to give you whatever amount you need, baby.”

Damien chuckled. “I bet it would take a million dollars or more. I’d have to ask Emil to help me run the numbers.”

“No problem. I can swing that.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Damien, I have something like a hundred million dollars. I’ve got it covered.”

Shoving the goggles up his head, Damien spun in Will’s direction. “The fuck you do!”

“We’ve been on this planet a very long time.”

“Holy fuck.” Shaking his head, Damien returned to his observation.

Will made a slow tour of the compound.

“There!” Damien pointed. “He’s getting in a car.” Will turned his bird to follow Damien’s direction. “He’s going through the gates and heading toward the Pike.”

“Then we’ve got him.” Will wasn’t worried about not being noticed by Bran now. He dropped down as low as he dared and followed.

Will could see for himself. Bran had left in a non-descript black sedan. He called it in over the radio to the others. “He’s all yours, Captain.”

From his perch in the sky, he saw the take-down unfold. Emil and Logan let him get ahead by about a quarter of a mile before pulling out from their hiding spot and tailing him. Will trailed behind them. He knew they were locked and loaded, and from what he’d seen of the former marine, she wouldn’t hesitate to take out Bran. Part of him wanted it to end like that. Part of him hoped Dafydd was wrong about his son and that Annika would change him into an asset instead of an enemy.

Beside him, Damien peered at the road without the benefit of the goggles. He didn’t need them now. He looked pretty chill, considering what was happening. Over the roar of the chopper blades, he could hear the boy’s heartbeat, only slightly faster than normal. Maybe Damien was better suited to this sort of thing than he was. His own body practically vibrated with tension, reminding him that he was a reluctant warrior, at best.

Because there was only one way that led to the Mass Pike, Emil didn’t have to worry about sticking too close to the asshole. So, neither did Will. They’d gone only a couple miles before they reached the point where the ambush had been set up in a wooded area with no houses nearby. Around a bend, the road straightened. He could see not only Bran’s vehicle but way ahead of it. Two motorcycles, the biggest available, idled across the road, blocking the way. Dark figures with impenetrable visors down over their helmets sat astride them—Alex and Val.

Seconds later, Bran slammed on his brakes and tried to back up while also turning around. Emil also braked and jerking his Escalade, planted it perpendicular to Bran’s car. Now that the fight was on, Will became calm and focused. The fucker was trapped. And just in case he thought he could get out and flee into the woods—which was exactly what he tried to do—Will lowered his chopper more and started circling the area, sending the trees into a frenzy of movement. Bran shielded his eyes from the whipping wind and looked up. The moment of distraction was all the others needed as they came running from behind their vehicles. Alex and Val drove their bikes to bracket him while Emil and Logan pointed their guns. The rest came screeching up from behind.

Bran looked wildly from side-to-side, ready to run through any hole. Finding none, he did the only sensible thing he could. He stopped and put up his hands. Will pulled away to reduce the wind and give the others room. Bran put up no fight as MacLerie shoved him to the ground, stripped him of his weapons and hogtied him for the journey back to the club.

“Woot!” Damien pumped his fist. “We got the fucker.” He grinned like a madman at Will. “Can we go home now?”

Home. Will’s heart swelled with the simplicity of the concept, that he and Damien shared a home. Will should have felt both relief and happiness. And yet, instead, a sense of dread sat heavily in his gut.

 

* * * *

 

“I’m going to state for the record one more time that I really don’t think your being here is a good idea.”

Damien squeezed Will’s hand. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to add to your stress. But it’s important to me that I be a part of this. Bran did a lot of harm, and I need to see this through or frankly I’m going to have this scary fucker’s face haunting my dreams. Nightmares,” he amended. “Definitely nightmares.”

He let go of Will’s hand, reluctantly. “Don’t worry about me. Concentrate on Annika. I’ll be fine. I’ll stand way back behind the wall of alien bodies.”

Will’s troubled eyes met his. “Please do. He may be disarmed and chained, but he’s still dangerous.”

“You worry too much, Father Willem,” Annika said from his other side. “Damien and I will both be perfectly safe.”

Will blew out a breath. “Right.”

“You doubt this?” she continued. “Then you doubt yourself and the others. I do not. Nothing and no one will harm me with my hive standing guard.”

Will closed his eyes briefly. “You humble me, and I will not fail you.”

“Certainly not,” Annika affirmed in a refined tone that, as usual, reminded him of some character straight out of Dickens. Or maybe Jane Austen, given that Annika was decked out in a floor-length dress with a narrow skirt that shimmered in pale blue and was trimmed with lace, a narrow ribbon tied under her breasts.

Wait, what? When had that happened? Puberty had come to town like a cyclone, apparently while he’d been playing spy at the conversion camp. It had to be part of her alien nature, and seeing her sudden maturity was more startling to him than Will’s fangs had been. At least images of vampires were something he was used to, even if it was all fantasy. Seeing a child that he’d a mere two weeks ago made smiley-face pancakes for showing the first real signs of womanhood unnerved him. A fierce protective instinct stole over him, more powerful than what he’d felt when he’d found Elliot lying in his own blood.

I would die for her. I would kill for her. Glancing at the alien men around him, he understood, really and truly understood, some of what they must be feeling.

Damien made good on his promise, too, not wanting to be a distraction from Will’s central duty. He dropped back from his side as they entered a room at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement. He’d always been curious about what secrets lay here. He couldn’t believe he’d once joked about someone being kept chained, and yet that was exactly the situation. Of course, there were now two. Despite his reassurance to Will, Damien’s palms were sweating. So far, he hadn’t seen much of Will’s alien nature—or that of the other men. Sure, they were heavily armed and totally bad-ass, but nothing some humans might fit right in to. He had a feeling, though, that what he was about to witness would be otherworldly.

He entered the room next to Emil. He trusted the chef to the same degree as he did Will. Emil had saved his life, while Will had given him a wonderful future. His eyes popped at the array of weaponry they passed on their way to what had been described as cells. His first thought was that there was no way it was legal to keep this kind of stuff. Then he mentally rolled his eyes, as if these aliens had ever worried about human law, unless it suited their purpose. To think that for a thousand years, they’d been waging a war within their own kind. The information made him want to rethink everything he’d learned about recent human history.

Not that this was a time for reflection or a meltdown, for that matter, which he realized he was in danger of having, because this was too freaking much. Except he wasn’t going to do that to Will after kicking up a fuss about participating. He was going to stand next to Emil and try to look like part of Annika’s Pretorian Guard. At the far end of the room were three doors with small, square reinforced windows showing bright lights through two of them. A face appeared in one, startling Damien.

“It’s okay,” Emil said in a low voice. “He’s been effectively neutered. He only wants a look at Annika.”

“That’s creepy.”

“No, it’s not sexual. She’s our Queen, our touchstone, you know.”

Then the man at the window was forgotten as Val opened the second door and stood aside. Everyone was quiet, ranging around the room in a semi-circle, except for Alex, who stepped forward to address its occupant. It was the man Damien knew as Bran, although that seemed overly familiar when he really thought of him as ‘that fucker’. He rose from his built-in bed, wearing only his pants. He’d been stripped of everything else. Will had mentioned that he would have been naked but for Annika coming to meet him. He didn’t like the idea of his young daughter seeing the guy completely unclothed. That made sense to Damien. So did the fact that a metal ring was around the guy’s neck, tethering him to the wall.

“You’ve proven smarter than your brother,” Alex said. “Surrendering instead of fighting means you stand some chance of living.”

Bran’s face remained passive. He said nothing, merely stood there with his legs braced, staring at them all. With his sunglasses gone, he had that dead look that Damien had seen once. It sent a chill down his spine as it had the first time, despite the phalanx of equally scary fuckers on Damien’s side. Suddenly the idea of Annika getting anywhere near him seemed like a stupendously bad idea. Someone needed to get her the hell out of there. He took a half-step forward before he realized what he was doing.

Emil stopped him. “I promised Will I would keep you safe.”

“When?”

“When you weren’t listening. Plus, you also promised him moments ago.”

“I know, but I’m worried about Annika getting anywhere near that freak.”

“He won’t lay hands on her.” Emil’s tone brooked no disagreement. It was absolute, which served to alleviate Damien’s worry.

Alex moved to present a space for Annika to step forward. Will was right behind her. Damien could tell by the set of his shoulders how tense he was. Totally Defcon One stuff, and who could blame him. Queen or not, this was his little girl. Damien was a bit fuzzy on the how of it, but he knew she was a product of his relationship with his previous lover, Luuk. There were so many questions he needed to ask. Later.

Annika was fearless. With her back straight, she slowly approached the open cell. Each step was done with her usual, ethereal grace. How could Bran, the fucker, not drop to his knees and pledge his undying devotion to her? She must have been looking right at the prisoner, given the set of her head. If she was nervous, there was no indication of it. There was no visible tension anywhere in her body and her hands hung loosely by her sides.

Damien stood on his toes and leaned to the left to get a better view. Damn, his boyfriend was big, despite being the ‘runt’ of the alien litter. Boyfriend? Yeah, that fit, even if they had more than the usual amount of issues to deal with. He saw Bran showing some emotion finally, his eyes going wide. Then he pulled his leash to its limit with a single big step, coming up short from the confinement. He stared at Annika as she came almost within reach. Will’s hands on her shoulders stopped her.

No one said anything. It seemed as if they all barely breathed. Damien wasn’t sure exactly what they were waiting for, some acknowledgment by Bran that Annika was in charge. That’s all he knew. There’d been no time to ask for more specifics. He wondered how they could even trust that whatever Bran did was genuine, as opposed to a ruse. They must know what they’re doing.

It happened in the next instant. Bran slowly slid to his knees. “Is this what’s been missing my whole life?” His voice was softer than Damien would have thought. There was a lilt to it, much like Dafydd’s accent. He raised his hands in some kind of beseechment.

An almost imperceptible shift occurred in the room. Not quite relief, but there was a slight drop in the tension.

Annika took another step forward, Will sticking to her back. “You are welcome in the hive.” The girl’s voice was clear and calm. It even made Damien feel good.

A pounding caught everyone’s attention. “My Queen!” The guy in the first cell had his face pressed against the glass. It was almost comical. Damien couldn’t look at him, for fear he might burst out laughing. That was definitely not the thing to do at this pucker party.

And that’s when it happened. With everyone’s attention on that guy, Bran lunged, reaching his hands for Annika. There was more slack in his tether than had been apparent. Damien yelled out a warning and leaped forward. Will was already ahead of him. Grabbing Annika by the shoulders, Will tossed her to Damien. He caught the girl and staggered with her back into Emil’s waiting arms. He turned her away just as Will flew at Bran. Damien kept his head turned in Will’s direction, worried about him as much as he was about Annika. Will roared before sinking his fangs into Bran’s throat.

It was the spray of blood that forced Damien to close his eyes. He turned away and clasped Annika’s head, holding her tight against his chest, his hands over her ears so that she couldn’t hear as much of the horrible noises coming from behind him. There was nothing human about it, and he understood why Will hadn’t wanted him to come. And yet, he would not regret it, because in what must had been one of the worst moments of his life, Will had trusted Damien with the safety of his child.

“Get them out of here.” Will. His voice was like a rusty nail going down a chalkboard. It wasn’t human, which was the point of all this, of course.

Damien tried to turn to him, again, but Emil held him close, much as Damien had with Annika. MacLerie also stepped in behind him, blocking Damien’s view. He tried to break free and go to his man. How horrible he must be feeling. The men sandwiching him were immovable forces, though. He grunted in frustration.

“No,” Annika said, clutching his arm. “He doesn’t want us to see him like that.” Her voice was surprisingly calm, considering a madman had just tried to— God, he didn’t know what. Nothing good, that was for sure. Something fatal, almost certainly. Jesus, how was she not shaking? He fucking was.

Damien kept trying to break free, even as he was being herded out of the room. “Like what? See him how?” he clarified because Jesus, he wanted to be there for Will.

She brought their little scrum to a halt with no effort at all and stared up at him with her bright blue eyes. “A monster.”

Damien shook his head. “He’s not.”

“Of course, he isn’t. But you’re going to have to convince him of it.”

With that, they continued on their way, out the door and up the stairs. Music from the club blared and it all seemed so unbelievably normal, given the bizarreness of what had occurred in the basement. He felt schizophrenic, the duality of the life he’d been living—was going to keep living so long as Will didn’t get stuck too far up in his ass about their relationship—sending him off-kilter. An entire alien drama had been playing out around him for at least the last year while he had led a pedestrian human existence. He’d had no clue. Billions of people hadn’t. He’d gone down the rabbit hole now and nothing was ever going to be the same again. He was almost dizzy from it all. And the enormity of everything that had happened for the last week or so hit him like a freight train, making him reel even more.

He needed to do something to banish the horror of it, to ground him again. He would see Annika safely to her home, because that had been Will’s unspoken request, even knowing that Damien made a poor guard, compared to the others. Then he was going to do the one thing he knew would soothe his soul and remind him of who and what he was, at least until he could be with Will again. Because his life was about to change forever—and with his full, if not pants-shitting, approval.

He was going to give up a lot, such his relative innocence about what was really going on in his world. One thing, however, would never change for him. He knew what he was destined to do, what he was good at and someone had once said that an army couldn’t march on an empty stomach. He was a crappy fighter but an excellent cook. This was how he could contribute. He had seduced Will with his food long before entering his bed or by playing spy. At least, he thought he had. There was no one he dared ask about what their kind needed after wreaking whatever terrible vengeance Will was on Bran. He knew his man, though, what he liked.

The only question in his mind was whether to bake a cake or a pie.

 

* * * *

 

Will stood under the showerhead with the water temperature just this side of boiling. It was uncomfortable, but he needed to wash every trace of blood and gore off him, which naturally was nothing more than ash dusting his skin. It had left him within a minute under the spray. The water swirling around the drain ran clear. In his mind, however, he saw the ‘before’ pieces of Bran flying out of his mouth and spraying around the room. It coated his throat—or at least it felt as if it did—despite numerous passes of drinking and gargling. His body was as clean as it was going to get.

He needed more, to cleanse himself of the lingering stench that was Bran and what he’d dared to do. It was all emotional and symbolic now. He knew that. This extended foray into Harry’s lab-based shower was helping him get his shit back together. He couldn’t go see Annika or Damien until he’d reined in the monster and returned to being merely her father, his lover and a man who had only wanted to see the stars up close.

There was a knock on the opaque door. “How are you doing in there, Willem?”

Emil. Will wrenched the tap off and shoved the door open. Emil jumped out of the way as Will leaned out, dripping on the tile floor. “What’s wrong? Where are Annika and Damien?” Whatever calm he’d managed to achieve was swept aside by instant and, yes, irrational fear.

Emil put his hands palm up. “Whoa. Sorry, dude. I didn’t mean to frighten you. They’re both fine. Annika is out walking Babette with MacLerie, Brenin and Demi acting as chaperones slash guards. Not that there is any reason to suspect she’s at risk with Bran gone, but we figured you’d appreciate the extra security.”

“I do, thank you.” Putting his own kind aside, humans already posed a danger to his precious girl child.

Emil scratched his ear. “And Damien is baking in the family kitchen.”

Will’s lungs started working again. “Baking?” That was probably the least important fact that Emil had given him, yet it was the one that he latched on to. If Damien was making food, that either meant he was fine or so freaked out that he was desperate for a distraction. “What?” As if that mattered, but the word came out of his mouth anyway.

Emil shrugged. “I didn’t ask, but given the amount of flour flying around, it might be a wedding cake.”

Will snorted, which is probably what his friend intended. “Thanks for the update. Would you?” He gestured toward a rack of towels.”

Emil grabbed one and handed it over. “Here.” He stood watching Will dry off then said, “I think they’re both worried about you. At least, Damien is.”

“I’m fine,” Will said briskly.

“I didn’t say I was worried about you. It’s the boy you have to convince.”

“Yeah, I know.” He stopped and stared Emil in the eye. “On a scale of one to ten, how freaked out was he about what happened down here?”

Emil grimaced. “I’d be tempted to say it was an eleven, except that would be too much of a cliché.”

Will’s heart sank at the information. Shit, can I ever get Damien comfortable with me again? Everything had happened so fast, from learning about his true nature to seeing it in action. How much shock and awe could a human accept at this point?

“And before you start writing the obituary for your relationship, the freak-out was over concern for you, not about what you were doing.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously. Will, Damien was fighting me and MacLerie to get back to you, not away.”

“That can’t be true.” He couldn’t believe it. There was only so much disappointment he could take in this unexpected life he was living.

Emil put up his hands again. “You don’t have to take my word for it. Ask Annika. She’s the one who convinced him that the best thing was for him to do what you’d trusted him to—getting her and himself out of there.”

Will opened his mouth to argue the point. Emil overrode him. “Better yet, ask Damien. You’ll see. That boy loves you, Will, and one thing I’ve learned loving and living with a human myself is that they are stronger than you think. They’re young and maybe appear frivolous and pleasure-seeking, but don’t underestimate them. When it matters most, they are loyal and formidable allies. Talk to him,” he emphasized before turning to leave.

“Oh, and I brought you clothes.” He pointed to a pile on the counter. “Harry burned your old ones.”

“And Bran?” Will couldn’t help but ask.

“Val used the industrial vacuum. He’s the Boston sewer system’s problem now.” Emil flashed a grin. “Take your time. Make sure that when you go to Damien, you’re in the proper frame of mind. Better yet, talk to him. Tell him how you feel. I find Jase really likes it when I do that. I bet Damien will appreciate you sharing your feelings with him, too.”

With that, he left. Will stood for long minutes, fighting the urge to get under the punishing spray again. Then he took Emil’s advice, dressed and went in search of the one thing, the one person, who could make him feel a whole lot better.

 

* * * *

 

In the end, Damien made both a pie and a cake. And he did it in the family kitchen, because when Will came looking for him—and he had to believe he would—Damien wanted a private space for them to speak freely about what had happened. He also worried that somehow he’d let slip something that he shouldn’t in front of the other club staff. Since learning the truth about the Stelalux family, he hadn’t been around anyone other than those in the know. He wasn’t sure he was ready to live this double life. Maybe the other boys could give him pointers. Quinn, Mackie and the rest of them seemed to move from one world to the next without effort. God, he’d been hanging with all of them in their personal living space, no less, for a while without realizing that something was up.

No, that wasn’t true. He’d known they were different. Their size alone had set them apart and their unusual eyes, even their sexuality. So many gay men in one family defied statistics. Their wealth and natural power had always made him worry, a little bit, that they were into illegal activities. He’d hated whenever those thoughts had entered his mind. It had seemed like a betrayal of everything good and kind that Emil, in particular, had done for him. His instincts had been right, although no amount of imagination would have led him to the truth.

There was so much he still didn’t know. As soon as Will arrived, he was going to sit him down, give him a big slice of pie, a bigger piece of cake and pick his alien brain. If they were going to make this thing between them work, Damien needed to know the score. What was expected of him? Should he kneel before Annika, kiss Alex’s ring? Did Alex even wear a ring? He hadn’t noticed. He thought he could do both those things, although they would rub his democratic soul wrong. Did he have to promise to obey Will, like Mackie had Val? He snorted. Nope, that was definitely not going to happen. Sure, he loved alpha males as much as the next boy but…

The big one, though. The super-humongous one was the hardest. “Do I have to let him suck my blood?”

“No. That is a choice you make, and I will never pressure you to do so.”

Damien jumped. He hadn’t heard Will approach. The guy was two feet away from him, wearing a different T-shirt and jeans from earlier in the day. His hair was wet, a testament to how he must have showered somewhere before returning home. Damien’s mind shied away from imagining what he’d had to wash off.

Putting down the knife and plate in his hand, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“That is what I intended to ask.” He jammed his hands into his front pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Matters downstairs ended rather badly, as I had feared. I didn’t want you to witness what you did, but I am glad you were able to take Annika in hand. It eased my mind.”

Damien didn’t hesitate. He went to him and wrapped his arms around Will’s waist. “I didn’t see much of anything, although I can imagine what you had to do. I’m sorry. It must have been horrible, your fear for your daughter, then the need to, um, do what you did.”

Will embraced him in a bear hug that squeezed the breath out of him for a few seconds. “It was upsetting, the part about Annika. I feel stupid at allowing myself to be distracted.” He kissed the top of Damien’s head. “Thank you for being more vigilant.”

Damien smiled against Will’s hard chest. “I didn’t do anything. You guys are mega-fast and totally on-point always.” He was pleased at the compliment, nevertheless. He wanted to feel useful. He wanted to be useful.

“We managed to miss that Bran had retained some slack in his chain. And he was quite convincing in his acceptance of our Queen.” Will’s chest shook on a deep breath. “Who knew he was such a good actor. He must have inherited that from Dafydd. Dracul was never that effective at hiding his true intentions.”

“You were ready anyway.”

“I’d hoped to be wrong, but I went into that room knowing that I would kill him. It was my right, too, when he went for my child. Not even Val would have insisted on taking that privilege away from me.”

“It was terrible, though, right?”

“Not for me. Not entirely,” he amended. He pulled away in order to look Damien in the eye. “This is part of my nature, to do what is necessary without much regret.” He sighed. “Although, truth be told, I am not a natural warrior. I prefer flying.”

Damien chuckled. “You’re wonderful at that. Will you take me in your helicopter again some time?”

“Certainly. And in my plane.”

“Do you have a rocket, too?” he teased.

“Not anymore.”

“Huh?”

“I was a pilot for our ship. Please don’t take the crash as any indication of my skills.”

Beneath the joke, Damien saw insecurity, so he put his plan into action.

Releasing his hold, he backed up. “Sit.” He pointed to one of the stools across the counter. “I’ve been baking.”

“So I see.” Will dutifully did as Damien asked. “Chocolate cream pie and”—he sniffed—“lemon cake. My favorites.”

Damien winked. “I know.” He placed the generous portions in front of his man and watched as he scarfed it all down. It was a good thing his alien man’s diet wasn’t restricted to only blood.

“What’s it like?” When Will paused in his eating and glanced up, he explained, “Having my blood sucked? Would it…hurt?”

Will put his fork on his plate and grabbed his hand. “First, you must believe me when I say that I will never put you under any pressure to do that.”

“I know. But if I wanted you to?”

“You might benefit from asking one of the other boys. I don’t know what it feels like for a human.” He rubbed his thumb along the back of Damien’s hand. “The strike does hurt, except it’s almost like a spark, jump-starting your pleasure. At least, that’s how it feels to me. Then, as your blood is pulled through your veins, it’s like your dick’s being massaged.”

“So, it’s all sexual?”

“Mostly, yes.”

“And does it make you come harder?”

Will’s eyes sparkled. “Yes.”

Damien barked out a laugh. “Fucking A, Willem. Why didn’t you lead with that? Come on.”

He dragged his man upstairs.

 

Will didn’t give any resistance as Damien dragged him to the suite. He let his lover pull him into a hungry kiss at the top. They slammed against the wall, arms tangled and pelvis-to-pelvis. Hard cock met hard cock, grinding and humping. Their breaths mingled as each of them vied for the chance to swallow the other whole. Human though he was, Damien was no delicate creature. Or shy, for that matter, Will thought as the boy, holy fuck, stuck his hand down the front of Will’s jeans.

When did he unsnap my fly?

It didn’t matter. All Will cared about was that after the brutal event earlier in the day, this mutual claiming and affirmation of his relationship with this human was a balm. And this was with Damien fully informed about who he was taking to bed—well, almost fully informed. There was one more thing that Damien deserved to learn before committing himself to Will. He prayed it wouldn’t be the deal-breaker.

At the moment, far from shying away from the reality, Damien was embracing it. God, he was going to let Will suck his blood. Will wouldn’t have tried to broach the subject for a long time, hoping that if he kept putting himself in Damien’s orbit, giving him his body however the boy wanted, that maybe—maybe—he would one day trust him with this one thing in particular that terrified humans.

Damien’s piercing rubbed Will’s tongue as he fucked his mouth. It made him mad for the chance to feel that thing along his dick. He broke off the kiss, to make the suggestion.

“Suck me!”

Damien grinned and nipped at Will’s lower lip. “Right here?”

The idea had merit. No one they lived with would give a damn, but Annika could come walking along at any minute. And speaking of which… “Shit, we can’t stumble into my bedroom like this. My daughter may be maturing right before our eyes, but not even my people are that casual about sex in front of our children.”

Damien shook his head. “She’s still out walking Babette in Boston Common with Demi and Brenin. MacLerie is with them, in case muscle is needed.”

Will paused, his intense need to get inside Damien sidetracked by his more pressing duty. “Is she all right? I haven’t seen her since… You know. Harry has a shower in his lab and Emil brought me clothes. I needed time to make myself more civilized.”

“She’s fine,” Damien quickly reassured him. And there was sincerity in his eyes, making it easy to believe him. “Better than me, in some respects. Nothing seems to faze her.”

Relieved, he said, “She’s the Queen. It’s kind of their thing to remain calm when the rest of us are losing our shit. It’s hard to think of her in those terms, though.”

“If you’re concerned she’ll be freaked out about our being in your room, we could go to my apartment.”

Will raised his eyebrows and he cupped Damien’s ass and tug it in close. He groaned because, God, it felt so good. “You have an apartment?”

Damien laughed. “Were did you think I lived?”

“I don’t know.” Will frowned. “I guess I’ve always thought of you as being in the kitchen and nowhere else—except my bed,” he added with a squeeze.

Damien gasped. “Yeah, well, if you’re going to keep that up, we’ll never make it all the way to my place. Right now,” he added with a moan, “I’m doubting we’ll make it to your room.”

“No worries.” Will used his grip on Damien’s ass to lift him off the floor.

Damien whooped, much as he had in the chopper when they’d captured Bran. But that misery wasn’t something Will would think about. It had no place in his mind compared to the sheer pleasure he was going to enjoy once he got Damien into bed. He used his natural speed to tear down the hall, through the suite and into his room. He jumped the last few feet to land on the bed, rolling onto his back to take the brunt of the fall.

They laughed even as they grappled to take off their clothing. This was something extra, the ability to enjoy each other’s company as well as their bodies. They hadn’t gotten very far before Damien remembered Will’s earlier entreaty. The boy escaped the kiss Will had him locked in before licking his way down his chest and onto, oh yes, his cock.

Damien swirled that extra special tongue of his around the head, stimulating the bundle of nerves located underneath. Will’s eyes crossed and he fisted the bedding so that he didn’t pull Damien’s hair out by the roots. Because God, it was too much. Then Damien sucked the shaft into his warm, wet mouth and inhaled him.

“Shit! I’m going to come.”

Damien wrapped his hand around the base of Will’s cock and clamped it like a vise. The cum that had started climbing up his dick slammed back into his balls. Will wanted to launch up and take control, knew that he could do that with no effort at all. He forced the urge back the same way Damien’s fist kept his cum prisoner. He made himself lie there as Damien worked his dick with his mouth, tongue, lips and lungs. The rapidly contrasting changes in sensations was driving him mad. He had to settle for moaning and rocking his head, then he morphed into pleading.

Damien pulled off his cock with an audible pop. “What? What do you want, Willem?”

He opened his eyes to slits, looked at his lover’s lips, puffy from the lavish attention. “I want my cock inside you.”

Damien’s eyes lit up. “Two minds but with a single thought.” He made to roll over to the head of the bed and stopped. “Do we need condoms?”

Will shook his head. “No. I can’t infect you with anything because I can’t catch any of your human illnesses.”

“Best. Answer. Ever.” With only one leg actually free from his jeans and shorts, Damien swung it over Will’s lap. “Let’s keep our eyes open. I want to watch you watch me.”

Damien didn’t wait for a reply. Lifting Will’s shaft straight, he wiggled so that he lined the tip with his hole. Then with his gaze fixed on Will’s, he slowly lowered himself. The tip had just breached the puckered ring when Will thought of something important.

“Lube.” He tried to rise.

Damien shoved him back with surprising speed. “My saliva will have to do. I want to feel the burn, baby. Besides, you always feel so cool, so without the latex in the way, your skin will ease the sting.”

Will wanted to explain about his body temperature, but that kind of tutorial wasn’t on the menu at the moment. The next thing, Damien had seated Will balls-deep in his amazingly tight and welcoming ass. He did things with his channel to fucking milk Will’s dick and his hole clenched in a way the encouraged him to come instead of stopping him. It was hard to keep his eyes open, but he did it because Damien wanted him to, and pleasing his boy was the most important thing at the moment.

“They get darker. Your pupils. I thought I’d noticed it before.” He shook his head. “They’re black, aren’t they?”

Will nodded.

“Do they change into other colors?”

Yes, when I was ripping off hunks of Bran’s flesh and spitting them out, they were as red as the blood coating my face.

He didn’t say any of that, naturally. “Faster. Harder.”

“Yes, sir.” Damien picked up speed, placing his palms on Will’s chest for leverage.

Will began a counter rhythm, bucking up to meet Damien’s ass. He reached between his arms to take hold of his boy’s leaking cock that bounced between them. He wasn’t so far gone as to forget that pleasure was always a two-way street. He kept his grip firm, stroking the shaft with equal speed as the drilling Damien was giving himself. The boy’s pre-cum slicked the way, easing Will’s worries that they were going too fast and hard for a human.

That’s when Damien rocketed matters into orbit.

He tilted his head, exposing his neck, and said, “Do it. Bite me. Is that the right way to say it? It sounds kind of snarky.”

Will couldn’t help grinning. He stopped jerking his boy for a second as he asked, “Are you sure?”

“Now,” came the breathless reply.

Will hesitated only a moment more before giving into his heart’s desire. He grabbed Damien by both arms and tumbled him over, careful to keep their bodies connected. Now he lay between the boy’s splayed legs. He rolled his hips to seat his dick as far as it would go. The pulse at the base of Damien’s throat called to him. He inhaled deeply, smelling that sweetness, and for the first time, knowing that soon he would be able to taste it.

“I want this more than my next breath,” he confessed.

“Now, Will.” Damien stretched his neck as much as he could, the cords bulging, his vein right there for the taking. But, and this was the best part, he kept his eyes open. He wasn’t afraid of this. He wasn’t afraid of him.

Will let his fangs descend, took one last lungful of Damien’s scent and struck. They both convulsed, Will shooting his cum deep inside his boy and human semen hitting his chest. Yet it was the taste, salty and warm and yes, somehow sweet, all at the same time that consumed him. The flavor burst onto his tongue, filled his mouth, slid down his throat. He moaned and thrust his cock hard. Damien convulsed, his legs wrapped around Will’s hips. His heels kicked Will’s ass. So he thrust again and again and once more they were riding that incredible wave of orgasm.

And all the while, Will pulled at Damien’s vein, afraid he’d be unable to stop.