Page 17

Roman

R oman had lived many lives over—more than he deserved—but he had never in all his time seen such a gorgeous sight as his lovely Danny sprawled back on the bed, flushed and panting, eager for a taste of Roman’s cock.

He palmed himself idly as he looked over every bare inch of his mate, this sweet man who had kissed Roman’s demon so gently, welcoming him—all of him—into his bed.

He’d had lovers turned on by his demon before, but that had been about the thrill of danger, not about Roman himself.

And there had always been the underlying scent of fear in every encounter.

If Roman was honest, the fear had added to the pleasure for him, like adding an exotic spice to a dish, making the experience all that more delicious.

But with Danny, there was no fear, just sweet submission and trust.

The boy had given in to the pleasure of the bite, kissed Roman’s demon face with no hesitation, and then positively melted under Roman’s ministrations to his cock.

Sweet, lovely mate.

And now there he was, looking positively debauched, limp-limbed and staring at Roman with those big brown eyes full of dazed contentment and desire.

It made Roman want to take him fully, to enter him and claim him completely.

He knew Danny would let him fuck him senseless, would give Roman more of that sweet compliance and submission.

But now wasn’t the time, what with Danny bordering on the edge of exhaustion from alcohol and the general trauma of the night.

Besides, Roman wanted to take his time, to give Danny only pleasure, and he wasn’t sure he had the restraint to do so at the moment.

But he could do other things.

He leaned fully over Danny and began prowling slowly up the boy’s body, dropping kisses and nipping at bare flesh along the way, feeling every inch the predator but for once not minding.

He gave Danny one last brutal kiss when he reached the boy’s mouth, then reared up to kneel over his chest. “I’m going to feed you my cock now, lovely mate.”

Danny whimpered but opened his lips wide, and moments later Roman hissed at the feel of his hot mouth on his cock.

Doe eyes gazing directly into his own, Danny moved his head up to take all of him, pushing on despite gagging slightly until his nose was practically pressed to Roman’s hip.

Roman’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he felt Danny’s throat tighten around the head of his cock as he swallowed experimentally.

“Merde. Fuck. So good, lovely Danny.”

Danny backed off Roman’s cock, releasing it with a soft pop and grinning up at him with watery eyes. “Looks like I’m not the only one with a filthy mouth.”

Cheeky little king.

Roman wound his hand into Danny’s soft curls, taking pleasure in the small gasp it elicited from his mate’s mouth. He made such lovely little sounds. Roman groaned as Danny relaxed and slackened his jaw, giving him tacit permission to fuck his mouth.

He’d never thought he would get to go to heaven, but here it was: his mate’s sweet mouth around his cock, taking every punishing thrust with little moans of delight.

Roman wasn’t going to last. He’d been rock-hard since the first taste of Danny’s blood, him and his demon both bathed in desire, in pure want for this boy.

“Going to come, sweet boy.”

He waited for Danny to pull against his grip, but the boy just nodded and sucked even harder, sending electricity through every inch of Roman’s body as he came hard into his mate’s mouth.

Danny eagerly swallowed every drop, eyes never leaving Roman’s, until Roman eventually pulled him gently off his now too-sensitive cock.

Perfect, sweet, ours .

Roman slid his knee up and over Danny’s torso, moving to lie on his side, facing his mate, making sure as much of their skin was touching as possible. He lifted his hand back into Danny’s dark curls, working his fingers through them gently.

His demon was purring in wordless contentment.

“You really do have me at your mercy, little king,” Roman whispered. “All of me.”

He watched as Danny smiled softly and hummed a little in acknowledgment, seeming to enjoy the gentle petting just as much as he had enjoyed getting his mouth fucked.

Perfect creature.

Roman thought Danny was perhaps drifting off, but after several minutes, the boy′s eyes opened, and he turned his head to Roman.

“Can I ask a favor?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

“Anything for you, lovely.”

“Can you—can you not do that with anyone else?”

Roman couldn’t help the flash of anger that ran through him. Did his mate really think he would be fucking anyone else? That he would ever want to fuck anyone else? Had he messed up so badly by disappearing the other day?

He needed to set this straight.

“I will not be touching any other person in that way, Danny. Human or vampire,” he ground out. “I would hope—I would hope that you would not be either.”

There, that was better than touch anyone else and I’ll fucking rip them apart , wasn’t it?

Roman’s fearless little mate actually rolled his eyes at him.

“I’m not talking about the sex part, grumpy pants.

Could you not…bite anyone else? You said you didn’t have to feed very often.

Could it be just from me? It just felt so…

intimate. I don’t think I want you doing that with any other humans. ”

Danny’s voice got softer as he went on, alerting Roman to how hard it must have been for the boy to voice the request, cheeky eye roll aside.

His chest warmed at this unexpected display of possessiveness from his mate, and Roman’s answer was easy. “I will bite only you, my little king.”

“It’s really all right?”

“I was drinking from blood bags before this. I did not want to risk biting humans, too fearful of my demon going overboard. I do not fear that with you, however. You soothe him, even in the act of feeding. I will gladly bite only you. And should you need a break, blood bags will tide me over. I will not risk harming you with…overuse.”

He didn’t complicate things by bringing up what they would do when Danny turned. He still didn’t know how to bring up the subject at all.

How did you ask a man so full of humanity to give that humanity up for you?

Danny had devoted his life to humans—caring for his mother, protecting his brother, working for his community as a nurse. He clearly wasn’t ready to leave all that, and it could be very difficult for a new vampire to be around their old life.

Roman had tried, and it had…not gone well. He brushed aside memories of familiar voices screaming “demon!” before they could take hold. Now was not the time to turn maudlin, not when he had his perfect mate in his arms.

Roman could wait for his mate to be ready. He would wait for his mate to ready.

Danny turned to his side and curled up into Roman’s chest, tucking his head under Roman’s chin. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Anything. Always,” Roman answered.

“One more thing? Will you stay? Be here in the morning?”

“I will stay.”

He waited until Danny’s breaths had deepened, the boy sleeping soundly, to whisper the rest of his answer.

“Forever.”

Roman had been lying awake for a few hours, content to hold Danny and listen to his mate’s rhythmic breathing, when he heard the sounds of Soren returning from his hunt.

Roman had texted Soren Danny’s address, with the agreement that Soren would return after hunting and stay with them at Danny’s house, at least until the Luc situation was resolved.

An extra layer of protection for his all-too-vulnerable mate.

He gently untangled himself from Danny’s sleep-laden limbs—his mate really was something of an octopus at night—and padded down the stairs to the living room, where he could hear Soren moving around.

He found Soren standing in front of one of Danny’s bookshelves, perusing the titles. He looked up at Roman’s entrance.

“You’ve fed?” Roman asked.

Soren nodded, grinning wide. “I found the most delicious man. Well“—he gave Roman a sly look—”not as delicious as your adorable boy’s big brother. Hello, Doctor Muscles, am I right?”

Roman raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Please do not make my life more complicated by pursuing my mate’s brother. There are plenty of other men in this town for you to harass.”

Soren gave a mock pout. “Not even a little taste? I can easily make him forget it. Little Danny never even needs to know.” Soren had always been especially skilled at compulsion.

Roman shook his head. “Just steer clear. Please.”

Soren opened his mouth, seeming to be on the verge of arguing, before he closed it again and gave a little shrug.

Even that little bit of resistance struck Roman as odd.

In the time that Roman had known him, Soren had always found his human partners interchangeable—fixating on them completely in the moment but discarding them from his mind the moment they left his bed (or club, or alley—Soren wasn’t particular).

Roman was fairly sure that Soren had had at least one serious relationship in his past, a vampire ex he never spoke about, but it had seemingly put him off commitment completely. Except, of course, Soren had been the one to tell him and Luc about mates in the first place.

His little friend, for all his own flightiness, had always seemed surprisingly fascinated with the concept of eternal love.

Either way, they had bigger things to concern themselves with at the moment.

“Any signs of Lucien?”

Soren smirked. “Other than the thoughtful present he left us at the bar?”

“And we’re sure it was him?”

“I know his handiwork, Rome. So do you.” Soren gave him a pointed look. “And knowing it was someone you fought to protect Danny from? He loves that psychological mind game shit.”

Roman let out a sigh. He knew it had been too much to hope for it to have been a random coincidence, but he’d needed to hear it said out loud.

Soren tilted his head to the side, studying Roman. “Have you told your boy about it all?”

“Yes. He knows now. The whole ugly story.”