Page 70

That shoulder. Gabe eyed the wound critically. It looked like it had already healed substantially in the short time Soren had been showering. There was shiny pink skin around the edges that should have taken days or even a week to grow naturally.

Gabe might not know how Soren’s vampire healing worked, but Soren was right—a vampire body was substantially less fragile than a human one.

He watched as Soren stepped gracefully into the bathroom, gliding over to where Gabe was seated on the edge of the tub. As soon as the vampire was in reach, Gabe wrapped his arms around his slender hips, burying his face in the soft pale skin of Soren’s stomach.

He sighed in contentment as Soren began brushing his fingers through his curls. The knot in Gabe’s stomach was slowly dissolving. But still…

“You’re shaking, Highness. What’s wrong?”

Gabe lifted his head, gazing up into pale-blue eyes. “What do you mean, what’s wrong? He hurt you.”

“Ah.” Soren continued his soft stroking. “That upsets you. I didn’t realize you…cared…quite this much.” He hesitated over his words. A rare thing for Gabe’s bratty vampire.

Gabe ducked his head again, trusting Soren to decipher his muffled response. “I’ve maybe grown used to you or something.”

Soren chuckled, but after a moment, the movement of his hand stopped. “You know,”—his voice came out harder than before—“I’m no damsel. I was hurt. I’ll recover. For once, I gave as good as I got.”

“Someone can care about you—be upset when you’re hurt—without automatically thinking you’re helpless,” Gabe protested, looking up again.

Soren hummed noncommittally. Gabe wasn’t sure he was convinced. “Anyway,” Soren mused. “I’m hoping he got the message. I’m not his toy anymore.”

“I feel useless ,” Gabe blurted out.

It was horrifying to say it aloud.

Soren tugged at one of his curls, tsking softly. “You’re not,” he reassured Gabe. “You think I let just anyone in? You think I’d stay in this stupid fucking town for anyone else?”

Gabe swallowed hard. “Why did you? Stay, I mean. Why didn’t you run this time? I don’t mean now, I mean…this whole year. Why did you stay?”

Soren smirked down at him. “You really want me to say it out loud?”

Gabe nodded, his chin brushing against the vampire’s soft stomach.

“Let’s just say…maybe you’re not as boring as I first thought,” Soren teased.

Gabe grinned. “You never really thought I was boring though, did you?”

Soren gave him a light tap on the head. “Stop being insightful. And definitely don’t go spreading that around. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

Gabe tightened his arms around Soren’s hips, relief making him feel almost light-headed. Maybe this was something real after all. Something for the long haul. In which case, Gabe had some serious thinking about mortality versus immortality to do…

Soren took his hand off Gabe’s head, stepping out of his hold. “Get naked, Highness. The water’s going to get cold, and I want to soak.”

Gabe stripped hastily, stepping into the warm tub, watching with delight as Soren undid his towel and followed him in.

Gabe immediately wrapped his arms back around the vampire as soon as he was seated, Soren’s back to his front.

He sighed contentedly. It wasn’t exactly how he had envisioned the morning going, but he was happy enough to have gotten Soren in his lap in the end.

Soren matched his sigh, leaning more fully against Gabe’s chest. Gabe’s eyes started closing without his permission. It was just so…nice. He was pretty sure he could fall asleep just like this.

“Loofah me.”

“Excuse me?” Gabe opened his eyes with a start.

“Loofah me,” Soren commanded a second time, raising his hand. He held a baby-blue loofah with some sort of bath gel covering it. Gabe didn’t even know where it had come from.

“Did you just pull that out of your ass?”

Soren snorted. “Don’t be crude. Now rub me down. I’m injured. I need some pampering.”

Gabe couldn’t argue with that logic.

He grabbed the loofah, scrubbing it gently along Soren’s chest and arms, careful to avoid the vampire’s injured shoulder. He felt like he was on nurse duty for the second time that night. But then again, rubbing down a wet, naked Soren wasn’t exactly a hardship.

Soren’s shoulder had healed even more—Gabe was fairly sure if he stared hard enough, he would see it healing in front of his eyes. By tomorrow morning, he bet there would be no sign of the bite at all.

“Lean forward.”

Soren complied, and Gabe rubbed the loofah along his pale back, making note of all the spots along Soren’s spine that made him shiver when touched.

When he’d covered everything, Gabe set the loofah on the side of the tub, cupping water in his hands and rinsing off the suds, pulling Soren back against him when he was finished.

“Satisfied?” Gabe asked, pressing a kiss to the side of Soren’s wet head.

“No.” Soren shifted against him, then placed the loofah back in Gabe’s hand, pulling the same hand under the water.

Gabe had already been half-erect just from being in the same vicinity as a naked Soren, but blood rushed to his cock as he felt hard proof of how much Soren had enjoyed that little rubdown.

“Are you sure?” Gabe murmured, squeezing Soren’s cock lightly. “You just—”

“I’m sure. I told you I wanted pampering. Pamper me.”

Gabe laughed, but the sound came out slightly strangled. “All right, brat.” He removed his hand and started stroking Soren again with the loofah. First his lower belly, then his hips, then the insides of his thighs.

Everywhere except for where he knew Soren really wanted it.

Soren squirmed against him more with each pass. After the third sweep, he snapped. He turned his head to glare at Gabe. “I’ll do it myself if you won’t.”

Gabe laughed again, giving in easily. He’d just wanted to see how long it took for Soren to lose patience. He dropped the loofah, wrapping a sudsy hand around Soren’s hard cock. “Like this, baby?” he asked, gripping him tightly.

Soren gave a soft sigh. “Oh, yes. Just like that, Highness.”

Gabe jerked him with firm strokes, twisting his hand around the head the same way Soren liked to do for him.

He was rewarded with panting breaths and delicious little whimpers from his vampire.

The water in the tub started churning as Soren chased Gabe’s grip.

Gabe restrained him with one hand on his hip.

“Shh, baby. Be good. Keep still for me.”

Soren whined in protest. Gabe could see it becoming an addictive sound. It was so rare that Soren let Gabe take control. So rare that he let himself be the focus of attention.

Gabe kissed along the back of his vampire’s neck, making his way over to Soren’s delicate ears, nibbling along the edges. The bath soap smelled like lavender, but Soren’s own cold pine smell still broke through.

His only warning before Soren came was the vampire gripping the edge of the tub tightly, keening as he found his release immediately after. For such a chatty brat, Soren didn’t say much in bed. Gabe didn’t mind—he liked the noises Soren made for him better than any coherent words.

Soren sighed in satisfaction as Gabe released his cock, reaching a hand back in search of Gabe’s erection.

Gabe batted the hand away, nuzzling his nose against Soren’s ear.

“I’m close already. Just stay where you are?

” He rubbed himself against Soren’s silky skin, his cock gliding between Soren’s pert cheeks in the water.

He kept his movements small, doing his best not to get bathwater everywhere, but it still took barely any time at all for him to finish, groaning into Soren’s hair as he emptied himself against the vampire’s lower back.

Soren laughed to himself. “That was quick, Highness.”

Gabe nuzzled his neck. “I can’t help it that you’re so fucking sexy, brat.”

Soren preened at that. “Too true,” he agreed.

They used the showerhead to rinse themselves off again before drying off and climbing into Soren’s bed. Gabe gathered his vampire close, pleased when Soren moved easily into his arms. He brought up something that had been weighing on his mind. “Danny and Roman will be back soon.”

Soren hummed.

“Are you— Are we— Is this thing between us some sort of secret?” Soren stiffened against him, and Gabe mentally cursed his bumbling words.

“Do you want it to be secret, Highness?” Soren asked lightly.

“No,” Gabe answered quickly, gratified when some of the stiffness left Soren’s body. “Not at all. I mean…they’ll have to find out eventually, right?”

Gabe didn’t quite have it in him to ask the rest of it. Because we’re together, right? Because this is long-term. Because you want to keep me? You think we’re meant to be?

He hoped Soren got it anyway.

“Right,” Soren agreed.

Something unclenched in Gabe’s gut at Soren’s easy confirmation. He sighed, tightening his arms around his vampire. “Why didn’t you ever tell Roman? About Hendrick. Couldn’t he have helped you?”

It took Soren a minute to answer. Gabe waited patiently, stroking Soren’s back in the silence.

“There were some things that took a long time to unlearn. Asking for help was one of them. Showing weakness at all… And Roman had his own drama. And I liked—I liked that he saw me as someone who could help him. I didn’t want him to see me as—as—”

“A damsel?” Gabe offered up.

“Exactly,” Soren said, pressing a kiss to Gabe’s chest.

“I don’t know how anyone could see you that way. You’re so strong. So fierce. You scared the shit out of me when we first met.”

“Because you thought I was a monster?”

“Because you’re so goddamn appealing,” Gabe admitted. “Even when you were freaking me the fuck out.”

Soren bit his pec with blunt teeth. “Good.”