Page 23 of Absolution

“Okay.” Cryptic much? I got out and glared at the beautiful people waiting in the cold, huddling together, flirting and generally just standing around. I didn’t really want to spend the next hour waiting to get inside so I could dance a little with Luca. Maybe there was some place else we could go?

Luca tugged my hand and led us straight to the door and the bouncer who stood in front of the rope. “Johnny,” Luca held out his free hand and shook the other man’s. The bouncer made Jamie look small which I’d have thought impossible until just then.

“Depacio, you little shit. Heard you were in town. Was going to hit the club, but haven’t had time. You up for sparring?”

“Sure, anytime. Just ring me.”

“Why Minnesota, man? I thought you were a permanent Cali-boy. Weather sure is better there.”

“And the people fake.”

“I get ya, man, I get ya.” He nodded his tiny head like a bobblehead doll. “Come on in.” He waved us through the door. “This one’s a little different than your usual playmates, eh?”

Luca put his arm around me. “Yeah, this one bites back. Hot, right?”

“If you like ‘em dead, I guess. No trouble. No provoking the locals. You know the drill.”

“I’ll be good. Or at least as good as usual.” Luca tugged me inside.

The music was loud, but not uncomfortably so like it was at most human clubs. People danced. There were tables scattered around the edge of the room where people ate food and talked. There was a second-floor balcony that appeared to have mostly diners on it, but a few danced near the railing, which also had a very fine netting over it. The place smelled like people: blood, sweat, and food, not dog, for which I was grateful.

“You need to eat first?” I asked Luca wondering if he wanted to get a table. The dance floor was filled with straight couples, gay couples, and everything in-between. All moving erotically. Some obviously didn’t know how to dance and no one seemed to care. I was pretty sure I couldn’t do much more than sway myself.

“How about you eat first, then we’ll dance a little.” Luca pulled me over to the side and helped me out of my borrowed coat, swinging it over the back of a chair at an open table. “No coat check here, but no one is likely to take our stuff either. Pretty hard to steal in here when the door guys can smell the stuff on you.”

So the bouncer outside had been a shifter? I had no idea. He hadn’t smelled like anything, but the cold often messed with my senses. Luca hung his coat too and stepped into my personal space, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. I tried to move back, but he pressed my head to his neck. “No sex, just food for now. I promise. Eat.”

He smelled so good I couldn’t resist. I licked along the pulsing vein in his neck, savoring the salty taste of his skin and the jumping beat of his heart. He shivered, but everything about his body language said he was relaxed, prepared even, for the bite. I carefully broke the skin and let the taste of him fill my mouth, gulping heaps of him down in a slow sensual draw. Not that I should have been gorging myself on my date, but he didn’t pull away or even seem to mind. My cock hardened and pressed into his thigh. Yeah feeding and sex went hand in hand.

Finally when I couldn’t hold anymore I licked his wound closed. The hickey made me proud. People would see it, see us together and know I’d done that. Marked him. That he was mine even if it was just for tonight.

Luca made no move to step away. He rested his lips against my throat, arms wrapped tight around my torso. We swayed a little though we were nowhere near the dance floor. His breath warmed my skin and I tilted my head up and away to allow him better access. Small kisses danced along the cords of my neck. I wondered if he hungered the way I did. How long had it been since he last had vampire blood? Most of my memories of being bitten were harsh and brutal. Not all that different from rape—and I’d experienced that before as well. But Luca’s touch wasn’t about pain or power or having control over me. His kisses were soft and body pliable. I could have shoved him across the room with a small nudge if I wanted to. He would just as easily step away if I did anything to tell him that his attention was unwelcome.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “Do it.” Better to learn now rather than later once we’d really started something.

“You sure?” he whispered, glancing up to meet my eyes.

“Yeah. Eat so we can dance.”

He didn’t ask again. The sharp prick of fangs pierced my skin, a quick but passing pain. This was nothing like the gnawing hunger that Matthew had shown me, or even the angry ripping of Andrew Roman.

Luca’s lips sealed around the wound and drew my warmth into his mouth. He should have been sucking on my cock for how erotic it felt. Did he have some sort of power to make it feel that good or was I wired that way?

When he finally let go, we were both trembling. He licked his lips, and I thought about the fangs he must have but I’d never seen. Maybe we weren’t all that different. Both exiles in a world were sameness was rewarded.

I leaned into him and brushed his lips with mine. Nothing demanding, just the barest of touches. He could have backed off the kiss easily if he wasn’t interested. Instead he opened for me, letting the taste of my blood and his on our tongues, mingle. He didn’t shove his way in, just gently explored like he was curious. He showed great care around my fangs and I did the same for him. They were small, but just as sharp. I accidently pricked my tongue on one of them. A rookie mistake, but he sucked at the wound until it stopped.

He tugged me away from the wall and toward the dance floor, lips still locked to mine, arms strong around me. He could lead and I was okay with that as I closed my eyes to all the other moving bodies that annoyed me and focused on him. We swayed to the beat. The music meant more for actual touching rather than the frantic gyrating I’d seen so many times at other clubs. Our bodies touched and fit together, melding, mouths feeding at each other, and minds solely on the man who danced with us.

I couldn’t feel Luca’s emotions. Not in the sense that I could tell what the people around us were experiencing. But his body was expressive. Sure he was hard, but he didn’t dig his erection into me or grab my ass like it belonged to him. He barely touched me below the waist. Just a hand in my back pocket resting like mine did on his lower back. His arms were a warm weight against me, strong, solid.

When we finally broke the kiss all I could see was him. He looked at me like I was something. It was odd, and weirdly exhilarating. All he seemed to see was me. This gorgeous guy in my arms wanted me. It didn’t matter that we were on the dance floor at a crowded club. The music played and we moved, eyes locked on each other, his breath mingled with mine. I couldn’t recall a time ever feeling so close to anyone that I didn’t even need words.

Time passed, though I couldn’t remember anything specific other than being in his arms. For a while I rested my head on his shoulder and just swayed with him. The music slowed and we barely moved. Cheek to cheek. People circled around, but I didn’t notice unless they got close enough to nudge us. Luca looked up twice to snarl at someone who must have gotten too far into our space. Someone nudged him a little harder and he shoved back, letting go only for a second, before his arms returned to their rightful place around me.

Someone whispered in my ear, asking me to dance. Like somehow I was going to let go of the guy in my arms for some stranger. I shook my head. Everyone stayed away for the most part. I’m sure we could have stayed like that for hours and I’d have been just fine. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt normal. Like maybe I could do this. Be a real guy, someone that was wanted by someone else.

Luca put a hand in each of my back pockets, cupping my ass, but only lightly. I ran my hands in circles over his arms, shoulders, and back. He was strong, defined in a way I’d always wanted to be but now could never achieve. I sighed into his shoulder happy that my first ever date was quickly becoming the perfect evening.