STORY EXCERPT

“Why do you think my safety is in danger?”

“You were abducted from your home. If I had my way, I would say that you should move in here permanently”—although, really, that had more to do with the fact that Dmitri wanted the man around because he wanted a continuation of that searing kiss they just had—“but I also realize that you have other priorities. You have a life outside of these walls. I merely suggest that you stay here so that the people who sold you realize that you are simply being allowed to live your old life while still being part of a new life here.”

“This doesn’t tell me why you think I’m in danger.”

Dmitri sighed. “It’s simple. If your kidnappers realize that we bought you simply to send you back to your old life, they may attempt to capture you again and sell you to someone else who will keep you quiet, and possibly locked up, for the remainder of your life. If they realize you are still owned and controlled by the people here, then it will deter them in the future.”

“Deter but not completely stop, yes? I mean, the basic gist of what you’re telling me is that you want me to stay here for my own protection, but you’ll allow me to live my old life. But even if I stayed here, it’s not a complete assurance that whoever kidnapped me won’t try again.”

“That’s right. I can’t give you a hundred percent assurance over anything, Jayce. They could still try. But if they tried to abduct you here, they won’t be able to get very far without someone in this building bringing you back.”

Jayce blinked, and his face scrunched up in an inquisitive manner. “Why do you say that?”

Dmitri realized the little conundrum he put himself in. He grinned, crossing one leg over the other, taking the glass from his nightstand and sipping it. The fresh taste of warm blood filled his lips as he looked at Jayce. “Don’t worry about it,” Dmitri said with a dismissive gesture of a hand, but he beckoned Jayce closer with a slight tilt of his glass to the man’s body. “If you really want to know, though, I would propose we do a little trade.”

The younger man adjusted his spectacles, giving a little sigh. “And what sort of trade are you thinking of, Mr. Marchetti?”

“It’s Dmitri, Jayce. Stop calling me that.” Dmitri chastised him with a playful little smirk. “The trade is simple. I tell you all that you need to know, but only after we have a little fun. Now, I’m not blackmailing you. You are very free to step out of the door whenever you want. You just won’t have the information you think you need.” The vampire sipped his drink once more, finishing it before setting the empty glass on the nightstand. “If I tell you, though, you might not look at the world the same way anymore.”

“What sort of fun?”

“The kind of fun that ends with you satisfied, tired, and with little bite marks all over your beautiful skin.”

Strange, what attraction could do to an intelligent man. Dmitri knew he was this close to divulging the secret of his entire kin to this one man he didn’t even know, really. Something in those eyes told the vampire everything he needed to know, however. Jayce was simply an unlucky man picked from a lottery built on the misfortune of others. He deserved to know.

Then again, why shouldn’t Dmitri get something he really wanted from the man and something that he knew the man wanted too? The way they kissed proved it. Jayce wanted him, and vice versa. There was nothing wrong with exchanging valuable information for the chance to bed a man like Jayce. Dmitri could see the cogs in the younger man’s head turning. He could have easily meant it as a joke—and it was half-meant as such, because he could always simply brush it aside, should the man not be willing to do such a favor—and Dmitri would have told him anyway, given an appropriate amount of prodding. Jayce’s face flushed, and he lightly licked his lips as if they had suddenly gone incredibly warm.

Under normal circumstances, Dmitri realized that the way he was baiting Jayce might have been construed as too domineering, yet there was just something about the man that called out to the animal inside of Dmitri. He was by no means a wolf, who would be in touch with his primal nature, but the vampire knew in the back of his mind that there was just something so alluring about the man before him, that made Dmitri want to claim every inch of the man’s body as his own.

The only thing to do now was to wait for the man’s answer. Dmitri could be very patient. He had all the time in the world, after all.

“Okay, Dmitri,” Jayce said, acquiescing to the man’s request. The reactions on the man’s body were apparent enough. They made Dmitri slightly grin and lean back against the headboard. “I’ll do it.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“You look really hot,” Jayce said abruptly. He blinked, scrunching up his face. “I think that came out wrong.”

“No, no.” Dmitri grinned. His eyes were filled with good humor as he nudged Jayce. “Go ahead. Tell me how much you like seeing all this,” he said, making a little sweeping movement with one hand down his stomach and near the tan line of his pelvis. The blankets were making a poor censor for the fact that his cock was ramrod straight. After all, what was one to do when one had morning wood?

Jayce rolled his eyes. “A flatterer and someone with a big head! I really lucked out, didn’t I?” Jayce deadpanned, to which Dmitri only lazily placed a hand behind his head before grabbing onto the human’s wrist and tugging him down until Jayce lied right above him, their chests pressing together and Dmitri’s face mere inches from his lover’s.

“What are you doing?” Jayce whispered softly, his voice ragged. Dmitri looked down at the man’s throat, seeing him swallow in anticipation, his larynx bobbing up and down.

“Something that I think we should be doing every night from here on out,” Dmitri admitted with a grin, before latching his lips down against Jayce’s neck, nuzzling against it and suckling it harshly into his lips, tongue caressing and sliding up and down before popping Jayce’s skin free, seeing the harsh red mark that appeared there. “I want you, Jayce.”

“Fuck,” Jayce moaned, his arms pushing down onto the bed on either side of Dmitri’s head, bracing himself as he craned his neck to give Dmitri more access. With their naked bodies pressed together, he could feel the warm throbbing of Dmitri’ cock against his stomach. Insistent and stiff, it pressed against him, telling him exactly what the vampire wanted.

“Tell me you want it too, Jayce,” Dmitri whispered harshly, his hands finally roaming over the pale skin of the man above him. His hands found their way to the pair of cheeks on Jayce’s ass, kneading and squeezing them before parting them slowly and giving him the softest spank.

Jayce’s body arched when he gasped, pressing the tips of their cocks together and sliding against Dmitri. They both moaned. “I want it too, Dmitri,” Jayce finally said, his eyes glazed over. His hands clenched tightly onto the bed sheets underneath, his knuckles turning white from how strong his grip was as he barely held on to his desire.

After having sex on that first night when they met, Dmitri and Jayce hadn’t touched at all aside from the affectionate gestures they shared with each other. It only felt natural to do it with each other, too, which only gave more credence to Dmitri thinking that the two of them could be good together. There were even times when Dmitri’s fangs popped out at night, wanting to mark Jayce and make sure everyone knew whom the human belonged to.

But he was a creature of intellect, not of instinct. He could push down what he wanted if it meant making sure that he wasn’t doing anything hasty. After all, committing to having someone become his bloodmate was irrevocable, even though it was his decision. He’d only had one until the day he died.

Dmitri rocked their hips together slowly, dragging his cock up and down and sliding the tip of it against Jayce’s navel while Jayce’s cock pressed and rubbed against Dmitri’s sac. One of his fingers pressed against Jayce’s pucker, a smirk on Dmitri’s face as he did so. He realized he was going in dry, but it was just a finger, and he wanted simply to feel how tight Jayce was around that digit.

“Ah!” Jayce’s voice was smooth as he moaned out in surprise. There was just the slightest tinge of friction when Dmitri’s finger pushed in slowly, as deep as it could, inside of Jayce’s hole. Dmitri wiggled it slowly, curiously, finding the perfect angle, as well as the sensitive spot inside of Jayce. And when he did, Jayce gasped and became like putty, pressing more of his weight down onto Dmitri.

Jayce braced himself, pushing his feet down into the bed and grasping tighter onto the sheets around him, scrunching up the fabric as he stared down into Dmitri’s eyes. Dmitri, on the other hand, was grinning. There was a wild and uninhibited look in the vampire’s eyes, almost as though he wanted to see Jayce lose control, even if only for a moment.

“D-Dmitri,” Jayce gasped out, closing his eyes and nuzzling against the vampire’s cheek. “Please.”

The way he begged silently almost made Dmitri want to take him then and there, but he couldn’t, not yet. There was so much of Jayce he still needed to explore.

Dmitri could feel every contour of Jayce’s body press against his, and though the human was lithe rather than muscular, it felt amazing to have his smooth, hairless skin rub against Dmitri’s own. Their nakedness proved too much for either of them to bear, and while the two of them writhed against each other, Dmitri slowly slid that finger out of Jayce’s tightness with a satisfied little grunt.

“Beg for me, just like that,” Dmitri whispered in a harsh tone, twisting their bodies and flipping Jayce onto the mattress so that his face pressed into the soft pillows. “So handsome,” and, Dmitri wanted to add, although he simply said it silently in his head, so mine.