Page 70 of Absolution
He actually had a new wash of color that decorated his back with wings. Not one giant set like an angel, but dozens of birds. Birds of various colors, flying outward forming a tree-of-life type shape. There was no rainbow, more variation from the birds of prey, eagles, falcons, ravens, and hawks. I reached out to touch it, running my fingers across a raven or two, detailed despite the black outline.
“Was this inspired by your change?”
“Yes. Seiran actually drew it for me a while back. I asked him for lots of birds, but told him it needed to be more badass than just a bunch of black winged shapes.” He shivered under my fingers. “We’re all connected through the earth, so that’s why it’s the tree. Birds land in the tree, rest, and nest in a tree. Earth and water make the tree grow. Fire burns it down to make way for new growth.It’s a balance. Took five sessions to complete. Burned for a long time, but you were in the ground and the pain made me think of you. It kept me from cutting again.”
“Sorry,” I said and withdrew my hand. I never wanted to hurt him.
“Don’t be.” He turned and stepped close. “I like you touching me.”
“Even though I’m a vampire?”
“I think that’s more your hang-up than mine. I don’t want to be bitten, but I don’t mind that you’re a vampire. You’re still just you.”
“With fangs,” I pointed out thinking about the whole revenant thing. There was an edge of that inside still, wasn’t there? I could feel it waiting, just like all the energy from Seiran, Kelly, and now Galloway. Was that part of being the siphon? I glanced at the bookshelf again. Stupid books. “I hate reading,” I said, “but I have so many questions.”
Con laughed. “Unless it’s a video game.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.
“I do like video games. Too bad there’s not a video game that teaches me all this vampire shit for real,” I agreed, sighing as his body pressed against mine. This was nice. I’d fallen asleep on the couch with him before and tried really hard not to focus on how nice it had been to be there. “Is this real? You and me?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re okay with Luca?”
Con snorted. “He’s hot. I wanted to hate him, you know? ‘Cause you’d talk about him when you guys were chatting online. You liked him. He made you smile sometimes with silly things that he said. And I tried to be happy for you. Thought that it was good that you could like the guy you’d have to feed from. And maybe you’d find out you loved him. But man did that piss me off.”
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t be. That was me, not you. I was jealous. Wanted you to want me.”
“I did…do want you.” Fuck, had since the moment we’d been thrown together as haphazard victims of Kelly’s white-knight syndrome. “I just don’t want to lose our friendship.” Con was part of what kept me feeling human, real. He grounded me in a way I feared I’d lose without him.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Even if Luca sticks around?” I had to admit the guy was really growing on me.
He sighed and pressed a light kiss to my lips, which I accepted and returned. “I’m not the badass you are.” He rested his forehead against mine, leaning down, and stared into my eyes.
“Okay?”
“I’m a little needy.”
“Okay?”
“You were gone a few weeks, and he was around a lot. Making passes and playing games with me. We talked about you at first. He’s nice. Smart. I wanted to hate him, but I really like him. He gets me in a lot of ways. And yet is so different that I find him fascinating. Then it just sort of happened. He kissed me and we made out…which led to other things. You were still gone. Sometimes we’d sit together at your grave and play card games to pass the time. Thought you could maybe hear our voices. I kissed him there once. Hoped you’d wake up because you were so mad. Are you mad?”
“No.” And I wasn’t. I had no right to demand anything of either of them. If they found comfort in each other, who was I to judge? Well, and quite frankly, the thought of the two of them together was really hot. “Do you want me to find someone else to feed on?” Did he want Luca instead of me?
“No. I want all of us to work this out. Fuck the Western view of monogamy. I’ve never been good at having just one lover. I thought maybe with the two of you…we could find something that works. If you’re open to it.”
“Uh, since we all had sex several times already today, or yesterday now I guess, I think that means I’m on board.”
“But I don’t want to always be all of us,” Con said as he wrapped his hands around my face and pulled me close for an intense kiss. This was no glancing touch of the lips, but a full onslaught on my mouth, lips, teeth, tongue. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the taste of him. He pressed his hips to mine and I felt his erection. When he finally let the kiss end, we were both breathing hard. “Sometimes I want it to just be me and you. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” I promised him, turning us to press him into the counter and grind my hips against his. “I’m all for that. Same goes if you just want Luca sometimes too.”
“You too,” Con said. “He gives amazing head.” Con closed his eyes like the memory was enough to get him off. “Never thought a blow job could be that good until I met Luca.”
“Wow, I have some standards to live up to then, eh?” I teased.