Becomes the Rose (7 page)

“I’m sorry,” Tarin whispered.

“
You
saved
us.
You
have
nothing
to
be
sorry
for
,
kleiner.
Sadness
will
give
way
to
joy
once
grieving
has
passed.
”

“Are you alright, my love?”

The
gentle
words
of
his
lover
as
he
was
tenderly
enfolded
into
strong
arms
broke
the
dam
of
Tarin
’
s
emotional
restrain
t
,
and
he
sobbed
his
own
pain
into
Boyce
’
s
broad
chest.
Eventually
Tarin
’
s
sobs
subsided
to
be
replaced
with
an
occasional
hiccoughing
tremor.
Still
Boyce
did
not
loosen
his
embrace.
After
a
while
,
Tarin
pushed
back
from
Boyce
’
s
chest
,
although
he
did
not
break
his
lover
’
s
hold.
He
looked
up
into
azure
depths
for
a
long
moment
and
took
a
deep
breath
before
speaking.

“
Make
me
yours
,
Boyce
,
for
all
time
,”
he
said
softly
,
but
firmly
.
In his life, Boyce came first
, and as far as Tarin knew this was the only way to ensure they would always be together.

Boyce held close the one thing he loved most in this world, gazing proudly and lovingly at the human who regarded him with such adoration and trust. Tenderly, he caressed the younger man. He stroked the smooth cheeks and then his fingers carded through the luxurious chestnut curls. Smiling, he leant forward and placed a soft kiss on Tarin’s mouth.

The touch reignited the warmth between them as if they had never been apart and Boyce heard Tarin sigh softly as he pressed his lips back against his.

Boyce felt Tarin responding and his own long restrained passion was reawakened. He deepened the kiss, his tongue tracing the younger man’s lips, asking for entrance, and it was granted. Boyce thrust his tongue forward, teasing and exploring. A soft whimper came from his lover, and Tarin’s hands reached for him as the younger man let himself to be swept away by the growing heat.

It was with every ounce of his self-control, and utter regret, that Boyce eased away.

“Not here, not in this place of so much sadness and death,” he said soothingly. “We can be in my real home in just a few hours. That will give me time to recover even more from my spiking so that I can care for you as you will need.”

“You promise?” Tarin asked. “When we get there?”

“I’ll need to organise a few things that are necessary, but yes, when we get there I will make you mine forever.”

They kissed deeply, sealing the vow.

Although the bedroom Boyce led him to was sumptuous, Tarin had been left alone for hours. He had not even been given the opportunity to sit cuddled up to his lover on the journey to Boyce’s home. He’d sat in the passenger seat while Flynn and Eric rested in the back, the blond vampire letting his lover feed and recover from his attack.

Tarin stood up from where he’d been lying on the four-poster bed. Boyce’s home was a veritable mansion, and when he and the other vampires returned there had seemed to be people everywhere. Boyce had led him upstairs, leaving Flynn to begin explanations, and promised to return as soon as possible. He’d been served a beautifully prepared meal in the room but he missed his lover. Tarin could not stop the niggling inner voice that kept trying to insinuate that now that Boyce was free he no longer needed him.

He stood at the French windows and drew back the thick lace. The garden had small lanterns hanging from the trees and solar powered blue lights picked out pathways. A large fountain was illuminated and it looked beautiful and ethereal but Tarin sighed and turned away. His eyes raked the room.

The bed, bureau, dresser, and wardrobe were all in the same pale wood and looked antique. Tarin remembered Boyce’s origins and wondered whether the furniture was centuries old like the vampire himself. The walls were papered in muted greens and golds which were faintly echoed in the pastel green and cream bedding.

And Tarin would have given it all up for the attic floor back in Boyce’s other home if only his lover was there.

He decided to look for Boyce, hoping he would find him quickly. Tarin opened the door and peered around. He had not really looked around as he’d been brought in because there had been too much to take in. Now he was looking at furniture and furnishings and artworks that looked expensive, exquisite, and original.

He walked down the staircase and was relieved to see Flynn heading towards him.

“How’s Eric?” he asked immediately.

“Recovering well, thanks to you.” Flynn smiled. “Boyce is sorry he has been so long, Tarin, but when we arrived a message was sent to the vampire who is overlord to our clan. He wanted to meet Boyce and have the situation fully explained. I think Boyce is at the end of his tether.” The blond grinned. “As much as he respects Varick, he wants to be with you.” The blond’s countenance became serious. “Varick wishes to meet you. He cannot stand in your way in regards to becoming Boyce’s mate, however, you will be in a position of power and one that commands respect from many of my kind as well as your own. It’s quite a responsibility.”

“I don’t know…” Tarin began shaking his head, but the blond’s big hands caught and held tightly to his upper arms.

“Don’t begin to doubt you can do it before you even try,” Flynn said reassuringly. “Thanks to you, we are all safe and free. You’ve already shown courage, intelligence, resourcefulness and, very importantly to Varick, fealty.”

Feeling a mixture of embarrassment, nervousness, and anticipation, Tarin let Flynn lead him into a large sitting room. There, the most overwhelming emotion became love as Boyce immediately rose to meet him and enfolded him in a tight embrace with a soft sigh of pleasure. Tarin melded against his lover, opening his mouth and silently inviting the vampire to plunder its depths. By the time the kiss broke he was flushed and panting.

“So this is your intended.”

The amused voice had both men turning and Tarin stared at the man before him. Dressed simply in charcoal grey slacks and a black cashmere sweater, the slight blond before him looked nothing like Tarin would have expected of a powerful vampire lord. However, he had no real idea just how old Varick might actually be. As if reading his mind, the other man smiled easily and tilted his head.

“I am indeed quite a bit older than Boyce, although outward appearances would belie that fact,” he said laughingly. “I am Varick, lord of Boyce’s clan and of several others in this vicinity as well as elsewhere. I am very pleased to meet you, Tarin. Your bravery and resourcefulness saved people precious to me.”

“Thank you,” Tarin said, extending his hand to the blond and blushing.

“You’re a lucky man, Boyce,” Varick said. “He’s quite exquisite. Now, I’m not so old that I don’t know you’re both itching to be alone. So I will do this very quickly and arrange for a more formal celebration in due course. Pascal du Bois, is this the man you wish to take as your consort?”

“Yes, he is,” Boyce said, filled with love as he gazed at his lover.

“Tarin Medway, do you wish to become as one of us, a denizen of twilight, and do you want to be taken as consort of Boyce?”

“I do,” Tarin said without hesitation.

“Then I suggest you make your arrangements with Flynn, and I will see you both when Tarin has recovered.”

“Thank you, Varick,” Boyce said. He almost dragged Tarin from the room, speaking rapidly to Flynn before scooping Tarin in his arms and returning him to his bedroom.

Tarin was stunned to find they were both naked, his lover already kneeling between his spread thighs, within seconds.

“Boyce,” he moaned, desperate to progress their lovemaking.

Boyce understood the unspoken urgency. A low, feral growl escaped him as he settled over Tarin, pushing his weight onto the younger man. He aligned their already hard members and ground down. In response, Tarin whimpered, pushing upwards, and Boyce knew the younger man would be helpless to prevent himself from being pulled along by the current of their shared passion. His tongue traced along the jawline of the younger man, caressing down his lover’s bared throat and across his slender torso before finding a taut nub and taking it into his mouth. He nipped and sucked each in turn before his attention focused on his lover’s dripping erection and he enveloped it in his mouth.

Groaning appreciatively around the hard, hot shaft filling his mouth, Boyce found Tarin’s desire an incredible aphrodisiac, making him harder than he had ever been before. He sucked, nipped, and licked in long, slow, teasing movements or swift, sharp strikes over his lover’s turgid flesh. One hand reached to stroke over his mate’s writhing body. He tweaked one nipple, pulled on the ring in the other, ghosted over ribs, played with the crisp fur at the base of Tarin’s member, and relished the moans and whimpers emanating from his lover. The other hand dipped into the oil Flynn had left, and his fingers pierced deeply into his lover’s molten core.

Arching as his nipple was amorously assaulted, Boyce’s nips and tugs going straight to his groin, Tarin moaned appreciatively. He gave a sound of momentary distress as Boyce moved away from his nipple, which became a pleasured sigh as the vampire moved to caress the other hard nub, playing with the piercing. His hands ran along the older man’s back and arms as Boyce moved along his body, teasing, tormenting, and soothing in turn.

As Boyce slowly took Tarin’s shaft into his mouth and sucked strongly, Tarin found his nipples tightening further into hard, little nubs. He was totally, achingly erect in Boyce’s mouth, his hips bucking up into the moist, hot cavern. He choked off a scream of pleasure as the wet heat engulfed his rigid flesh from root to tip over and over. Writhing and mewling as he was held in place, he found himself at the mercy of Boyce’s sinfully talented mouth.

“Please,” he begged.

Another cry rent the air as a slick finger pressed proprietarily into Tarin’s tight channel. The digit expertly found and stroked across his sweet spot. A second finger joined the first within his body, stretching and slicking him, even as Boyce’s mouth continued to work his shaft. They stroked, delved, and spread inside him, and Tarin’s hips began to thrust eagerly.

Tarin shuddered and bucked on Boyce’s fingers, the motions working to arouse him beyond coherent thought.

Their gazes locked as Boyce’s eyes seemed to bore into his soul. Slowly, Boyce released Tarin’s hard shaft from his mouth, exquisite torture. With a last, slow, deliberate lick from root to tip of Tarin’s erection, Boyce lifted his head from the engorged flesh and knelt up between the wantonly spread legs. He seemed to drink in the sight of Tarin; aroused, desperate, needy, his body open and ripe to plunder. Tarin was not above begging for the return of his lover’s touches, if only he could find the voice to speak.

Boyce knelt, looking down at the bountiful, erotic feast offered to him, and Tarin thought he’d never been more aroused. His vampire reached to stroke his own member and then coated it with the same oil he’d used when preparing Tarin. As Tarin watched, Boyce gave a wide, sultry smile and the younger man moaned, licking over suddenly dry lips.

Torn between the loss of the hot, wet mouth and anticipation of what was to come, Tarin spread his legs even wider, inviting the older man into his body.

“Please, Boyce,” Tarin cried as a third finger pressed inside, twisting with each thrust into his eager channel. “Now, please.”

The wicked smile on Boyce’s lips thrilled Tarin, and he panted as the older man positioned himself between his trembling legs. Tarin writhed as Boyce’s hands ran along the soft, sensitive flesh of his inner thighs, fingers reaching higher and higher until they reached his groin. One hand slipped below to teasingly stroke over Tarin’s glistening portal, and Tarin shivered in delight. Then his lover paused, looking intently into Tarin’s eyes, and despite his arousal he knew Boyce was seeking the final affirmation.

“Please, Boyce,” he said, his eyes pleading.

Unable to take his eyes off his lover, Tarin watched as Boyce leaned forward, letting some of his weight rest across him before capturing Tarin’s lips in a passionate kiss. His tongue surged into Tarin’s mouth, pushing in and out, imitating the act to follow. Tarin could feel his vampire smile as he wrapped his legs around Boyce’s waist, impatiently urging him to complete their joining. Their lips reluctantly parted and Tarin sighed as Boyce’s mouth trailed down the side of his face. One hand now balanced his lover, and the other reached down to guide the vampire into position.