Page 70 of Love Lives

Aldrich stared at him. That was the response he got to confessing his deep dark secret?I don't care? A smile tugged at the vampire's lips. It wasn't a bad response at all. He ran his thumb along Remy's lower lip, overcome once more with this odd need to touch the mortal. "You sure about that?"

Instead of responding in words, Remy raised his hand, dug it into Aldrich's hair, and pulled him down for a kiss. It was different from the kisses they'd shared so far. Not rushed or hectic, not meant to get the other person to take their clothes off already. It was… deeper than that in a way Aldrich couldn’t quite grasp.

And even though the kiss wasn'tdesignedto get Aldrich out of his clothes, he wanted to get rid of them anyway. Remy's too. He wanted to make use of that condom that was still resting on the pillow. He wanted his reward for making it through this shitty day.

What better way to celebrate their survival than a good orgasm?

"Still want me to leave?" he asked, breaking the kiss to shoot Remy a teasing smile.

"I should," Remy said, only a little out of breath.

"But you don't." Aldrich smirked. "I know what you really want." His eyes trailed down the other man's body, to the bulge that was starting to tent his pants.

"Then don't be an ass about it." Remy raised his hips a little, as if inviting Aldrich to solve his problem for him.

"How do you want me?" Aldrich moved to whisper into Remy's ear. "I could make myself bigger."

Remy thought for only a moment before saying, "Drop the illusions."

"I haven't even--"

"All of them."

Aldrich considered that. "You mean--"

"The hair and whatever else you got going."

Aldrich was used to people making odd requests of him, but that was a first. Normally people asked him to change himself according to their type, bulk up, slim down, grow boobs... He'd heard the weirdest preferences, and he was happy to accommodate them, usually. No one had ever asked him to just drop it all, though.

"I want to see what you really look like," Remy insisted.

"All right," Aldrich conceded, because he'd promised 'whatever', hadn't he? "Just don't complain after the fact."

"Feeling self-conscious?" Remy teased. "C'mon, can't be worse than my scars." He said it in a joking tone of voice, but Aldrich ran a finger along the edge of Remy's scar anyway. The one on his chin.

"It gives you a rugged kind of look. I like it."

"You already got me in bed, so drop the sweet talk. And the magic make-up."

Aldrich snorted. "Fine." He dispelled the magic he'd kept active for so long it had started to feel like a part of him. Without it, he felt oddly more naked than he would have if he'd actually taken his clothes off--which he proceeded to do now if only to give himself something to do as Remy pierced him with a look.

"It doesn't make much of a difference," Remy mused.

"Just the hair and my nose," Aldrich agreed, shrugging his shirt off. "Some skin blemishes."

"Why are you hiding them?"

Aldrich shrugged. "It's easy."

The corner of Remy's lips tucked up. "You're vain."

"Like you aren't," Aldrich gave back, his gaze zeroing in on Remy's scar again. "Anyway," he said as he moved to take his pants off. "You'd better like what you see. There's no return policy on this. You already bought it."

"What if it's defective?"

"100% functional, I promise."

"Oh yeah?"