Blurred Memories (29 page)

Andrew entered the house
through the back door, so he wouldn’t track blood and mud through
the lobby. Abandoning his shoes by the door, he examined the sword
he carried. He had wiped the blood off right after killing the
demon, but the blade could use a fine scrubbing—and some
sharpening, too. The metal armor the demons wore dulled the best
weapons much too fast. It could wait until morning, though. And in
any case, Craig was better at this kind of thing than Andrew was.
Besides, what was the point of being the boss if Andrew couldn’t
delegate?

Having convinced himself
that the sword could wait, Andrew left it in the weapons room and
climbed the stairs to the second floor. He started to reach for the
banister, but changed his mind when he realized how dirty his hands
were, covered in blood and mud like the rest of him.

As always, Andrew turned
left first when he reached the top of the staircase, quiet steps
down the hallway so he could check on Jacob. The door wasn’t
completely closed, and Andrew pushed it open with his elbow. He
didn’t dare go in, not when he reeked of blood and Jacob was so
sensitive to that smell, but peeking in was all right.

Jacob lay on his side, tiny
fist curled under his chin, the top of his teddy bear’s head
peeking from under the sheet. Andrew’s fingers twitched, itching to
pull that sheet a little higher, but his hands were dirty. After he
washed up, maybe he’d come back and tuck Jacob in.

Andrew used his elbow to
pull the door almost completely closed and started down the
hallway. The door to the master suite wasn’t closed either, and
while Nicholas was pretending to read, Andrew knew he had been
waiting for him. As soon as Andrew entered the sitting room,
Nicholas looked up from his book and his eyebrows shot to the
ceiling.

“
It’s not my blood,” Andrew
said with a faint smile, trying to sound reassuring.

Nicholas sniffed twice.
“Yes, it is.” He jumped up from the sofa and came closer. His eyes
darted all over Andrew, clearly looking for wounds.

Andrew grimaced as he
stretched to pull his jacket off, and he shook his head. Nicholas
would have argued about anything just for a chance to get the last
word. “No, it’s not. You think I wouldn’t know if I was
hurt?”

The words rang hollow,
however, maybe because Andrew did hurt, every muscle in his body
protesting with each movement he made.

Nicholas sniffed again as he
started pulling Andrew’s clothes off more roughly than was
necessary. Andrew half-heartedly started batting his hands away,
but he was too tired to really try to stop Nicholas from undressing
him, or from leading him to the bathroom. Andrew needed a shower
after all, and if Nicholas wanted to help, Andrew had no issue with
that.

After pulling the shower
curtain closed and turning on the water, Nicholas stripped, and for
once there was no teasing to his movements, no furtive looks to
check that Andrew was enjoying the view—which Andrew was, leaning
back against the sink. Nicholas undressing wasn’t the prelude it
usually was, and instead it seemed to be no more than a necessary
step before he could climb into the tub. He checked the water
temperature with one hand while he held out the other toward
Andrew.

Andrew swallowed back his
automatic protest that he didn’t need help to climb in the tub, or
to get under the pleasantly warm water, or to clean himself. But
Nicholas’ hands on him were gentle, stroking as much as they
cleaned, and Andrew simply closed his eyes and gave himself
over.

“
Aha.” Nicholas’
exclamation carried the echoes of triumph. He pressed a finger to
Andrew’s bicep, caressing with no more pressure than a feather.
“There. You’re bleeding.”

Andrew hadn’t felt it until
now, the pain diluted in the aches of a long, hard fight, but now
that Nicholas was pointing it out, Andrew could separate that
slight twinge from the rest.

“
Okay,” Andrew sighed
without bothering to open his eyes. “You were right.
Happy?”

“
No,” Nicholas muttered,
and leaned in to rest his mouth against the cut. He traced it with
the tip of his tongue, the touch as intimate as it was delicate.
There couldn’t possibly be more blood seeping from the cut, not
when it had to be closing already, but Nicholas licked and sucked
for a moment, and Andrew’s cock grew thicker and heavier with each
passing second.

When Nicholas’ lips finally
rose from Andrew’s skin, Nicholas took a half-step back and Andrew
just had time to open his eyes to watch him lithely drop to his
knees. Before Nicholas even touched him, Andrew groaned simply from
the sight. A few weeks earlier, Nicholas had dyed his
hair—again—and it was now a light honey color, very close to what
it had been when Nicholas had first become Andrew’s Childe. Andrew
hadn’t said anything, because he was half-convinced that a word of
praise would be the fastest way to ensure Nicholas would dye his
hair again, this time in an outrageous color. But Andrew liked
this. He liked looking at Nicholas and staring back across decades
at what they had once been.

Nicholas leaned forward,
resting his hands on Andrew’s thighs, and laid his mouth at the
base of Andrew’s cock, just above his balls. His tongue darted
down, pressing against the middle of Andrew’s sac, the pressure
both exquisite and insufficient. Andrew bit down on his bottom lip
and blinked, shaking away the water drops that clung to his
eyelashes so that he wouldn’t miss a thing when Nicholas moved his
mouth.

Nicholas did so just a
second later, sliding up in a sinuous path to the tip of Andrew’s
dick. The water cascading over them had washed away a bead of
precome, but Nicholas’ tongue caressed Andrew’s slit, the point
digging in to find a bit of flavor.

Andrew groaned, the sound
swallowed by the rush of water. “Come on,” he said breathily, one
hand raking through Nicholas’ hair to cup the back of his head. “No
teasing. Just… Ah yes…” Andrew sighed as Nicholas’ mouth engulfed
him. “Just like that, my boy.”

Nicholas’ blowjobs were like
his moods, like his hair: always changing. The last time he had
taken Andrew’s cock in his mouth, just a couple of days earlier, it
had been a lazy affair, full of tiny licks and slow breaths blown
along wet trails that had covered Andrew’s balls and
cock.

This time was different.
This time, Nicholas took Andrew in to the root almost at once, then
swallowed hard. And again. Nicholas kept working his mouth and
throat around Andrew’s cock, pushing him toward his release without
finesse or mercy—not that Andrew wanted either of those
things.

Andrew struggled to keep his
eyes open, but his mind didn’t register anything more than touch:
the hot water cascading over him, Nicholas’ hands on his thighs,
Nicholas’ mouth on his cock, Nicholas’ hair under his fingertips.
The dull pain that had pulsed through him slowly faded away,
replaced by need, building like pressure in his balls.

“
Touch yourself,” Andrew
grunted when his knees started buckling. He locked them and rested
his free hand against the wall for support. “Come on, Nick. Touch
that pretty cock of yours for me.”

Nicholas’ right hand left
Andrew’s leg, and while Andrew couldn’t see it slide down, he felt
Nicholas’ movements reverberating through both their bodies.
Nicholas continued to suck as hard as he jerked himself off, and
after only moments it became too much. Andrew’s fingers tightened
on Nicholas’ hair, holding him in place as Andrew’s hips jerked
forward, pleasure shooting through him and into Nicholas’ mouth.
Andrew moaned aloud, then hissed when Nicholas sucked harder still,
pulling out every last bit of come from him.

When the sensation became
too intense on his too sensitive flesh, Andrew stumbled just one
step backward and leaned back against the wall. Nicholas was still
kneeling, his hand working his cock furiously. He looked up through
golden eyes, droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes, his mouth
open and a drop of come staining the corner of his lips. His tongue
flicked out to lick it up, and Andrew moaned again at what a
beautiful image his Childe made. The next second, Nicholas came,
long strands of come spurting over his fist as he pulled on his
cock a few more times. Andrew’s dick twitched painfully at the
sight, eternally—if this time hopelessly—needy.

Andrew offered his hand to
Nicholas and drew him up, pulling him close. Their chests heaved
together for a moment, then stilled together again. Nicholas turned
off the water and drew the curtain open, stepping out first and
offering his hand to help Andrew climb out.

By morning, most of Andrew’s
bruises would be gone, and moving wouldn’t hurt so much anymore. At
that moment, however, Andrew was glad for Nicholas’ hands rubbing
him down with a nice, fluffy towel, and also glad when Nicholas,
without wisecracks or snarky comments, slipped an arm around
Andrew’s waist and helped him into bed.

“
Hungry?” Nicholas asked as
he sat next to Andrew.

Eyes already closing, Andrew
rumbled. “A bit. Can you get me…” Before he could finish, soft skin
was brushing his mouth.

Andrew opened an eye to find
Nicholas’ wrist in front of him. In the light falling on them from
the bathroom, Nicholas’ skin was as pale as ivory. Andrew licked
his lips and closed his hand gently over Nicholas’ wrist. Pressing
his mouth there for the ghost of a kiss, Andrew then pulled until
Nicholas was all but draped over him.

“
You’re gonna hurt
yourself,” Nicholas said, but the protest was feeble.

Andrew raised his head to
nuzzle Nicholas’ neck, breathing in deep. So soon after their
shared shower, Andrew could mostly smell soap, but beneath it,
always present, was the core of Nicholas’ scent, what he smelled
like when no fear, no amusement, no lust tinged that scent. Andrew
had always loved Nicholas’ smell. Andrew had also always loved to
sink his fangs into Nicholas’ skin and the taste of his
blood—Andrew regretted that he had only tasted it hot once, the
night he had sired Nicholas—and the quiet sounds Nicholas made when
he was bitten and the way Nicholas’ body squirmed against Andrew’s,
as though trying to get just a little closer to him.

Tired, hurt, drowsy and a
little drunk on blood, Andrew decided he would tell Nicholas all
that, tell him he loved all of these little things—all of
him.

But when Andrew lifted his
mouth off silky skin, when he moved his lips, all that came out was
a quiet, “Nick…” before he drifted into sleep.

…
continued in
Fangs
& Lullabies

About the Author
:

Kallysten’s most exciting
accomplishment to date was to cross a few thousand miles and an
ocean to pursue (and catch!) the love of her life. She has been
writing for over fifteen years, and always enjoyed sharing her
stories and listening to the readers' reactions. After playing with
science fiction, short stories and poetry, she is now trying her
hand, heart and words at paranormal romance novels.

To see her other stories,
including free short stories and sample chapters, visit
http://original.kallysten.net

Other stories available
from this author
:

Aria &
Will

In an indistinct future,
humans and vampires are allied against the savage demons that
relentlessly attack their cities. In the fortified town of
Newhaven, a centuries-old vampire, Wilhelm, is slowly losing track
of why he fights. Meeting the human child Ariadne and watching her
grow up to become a fierce fighter reminds him of his purpose and
gives a face to the humans he tries to protect. As years pass,
however, and Aria becomes a young woman, then a vampire, his
protectiveness slowly turns into love...

His Sire’s
New Pet

As Master vampire Alan
returns from a fight against demons, he is furious. His Childe,
Jeremy, acted foolishly on the battlefield and was hurt by a demon.
For this, Alan will punish him, and Jeremy knows and accepts it,
kneeling at his Sire’s feet as soon as he enters their lair. A
human accompanied Jeremy home, however: his lover and submissive,
Tyler.

Right away, Tyler claims
responsibility for Jeremy being wounded and asks to be punished in
his place. Alan is initially reluctant to bring a novice into the
relationship he shares with Jeremy, but the appeal of playing with
a new sub for a night wins him over – and it doesn’t hurt that
Jeremy and Tyler look very pretty kneeling next to each
other.

Will Tyler endure Jeremy’s
punishment until its very end, or will it prove too much for him?
And how does Jeremy feel about sharing his lover with his Sire for
one night… or maybe more than that?

Souls
Night

To be allowed to join the
Fighters who protect her village from fierce demons, Mierna has to
go through the woods on Souls Night in search of a weapon. What she
finds, instead, is a strikingly attractive vampire who once kept
her people safe along with his now lost clan. To her surprise,
Elden gives her the sword she had come to steal, and when she asks,
he accepts to teach her how to use it. In exchange, she offers him
a few mouthfuls of her blood.