Page 57 of Two Thousand Blades

With the sun rising, Ming Yu retired for the day, leaving him alone with Xiang at last. However, before he could even inquire into Xiang’s problem, the vampire whipped around to face him, one finger pointing at the tip of his nose.

“All right, what’s going on with you? Why were you so eager to leave the Variks? Do you not like them?” Xiang demanded.

“I’m indifferent to the Variks. They appear to be nice enough and are good friends with your family, but I have no reason to care about them,” Kai admitted.

Xiang deflated, his hand falling to his side and his brow furrowing yet again as it faded into the same worried expression he’d worn while in the Variks’ library. “Then…why were you so interested in leaving to come back here? Are you worried about your hoard?”

“No, I’m not worried about that.” Kai took brief pleasure in being able to point at Xiang’s face the way he had moments ago.

“What?”

“You wore that same expression the entire time we were at the Variks’ home, and I don’t understand why it is there.” Kai lowered his hand to rest on Xiang’s cheek, his thumb sliding across his cheekbone. “I also didn’t think you would tell me what is troubling you while so many people surrounded us. Returning here appeared to be the best solution.”

Xiang stared at him, but he could feel the movement of his jaw muscles against his palm as he clenched his teeth. Just as he began to worry that maybe Xiang wouldn’t tell him, the vampire grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the twists and turns of the hallway until they were behind the closed door of Xiang’s private chambers.

Within the seclusion of that room, Xiang released him and started pacing across the open space, his hands balled into trembling fists at his sides.

“I…I keep seeing Winter’s expression in my mind when Fox was lying there, the blood pouring out of him. The panic. The absolute fear that gripped him. No matter how hard I try, it keeps repeating in my mind.”

“And it makes you worry about your clan mates,” Kai filled in.

Xiang spun around, his eyes wide and shimmering. “No! It makes me think of you!”

That simple declaration rendered Kai speechless. He could only watch as Xiang closed the distance between them in two long strides. His hands gripped both of his arms, digging his fingers into his flesh with enough force to bruise, but Kai couldn’t tear his gaze from Xiang’s. The worry that filled his expressive face had twisted into pure terror.

“I don’t care if you think it’s stupid; I need to hear you say that you won’t be killed like that. The fae won’t be able to hurt you like the queen did the last time. That?—”

Kai stopped Xiang’s panicked words by placing the pads of his fingers to his lips. “Stop. Breathe,” Kai commanded. He lifted his fingers and immediately replaced them as a “But” stumbled from Xiang’s tongue. “You forget. I’m a dragon. We are extremely hard to kill. I’ve lived on this earth longer than you. Longer than all the members of your clan combined. And I’m not even the oldest of my kind.”

Xiang grabbed his hand and pulled his fingers away from his lips, his eyes still attempting to peer straight into his soul. “But the last time you stood up to the queen, you barely made it back to the hoard. You could have died.”

“I was badly injured,” Kai conceded, though he hated to. “But I would have healed, even without your care. It just would have taken me longer.”

Of course, he wouldn’t have fought the queen’s magic as hard as he did if it hadn’t been for Xiang. The strange, combative vampire not only gave him a reason to fight, but there was something special there that gave him the strength to defeat the pull of the magic. He wasn’t ready to put it into words yet. Not when things still felt so fragile with Xiang. But soon.

He lifted his hand to Xiang’s jaw and caressed the stubble that grew there, loving the contrasting feel of rough hair and soft skin. “I’m not going anywhere. The fae cannot defeat me. No one can stop me. I will stay here as long as you want to keep you and your clan safe.”

For the first time in too many hours, the first hint of a smirk twisted up the left corner of Xiang’s mouth. “That sounds pretty cocky there, Mr. Dragon. Don’t you think you’re asking for trouble?”

“I was cocky when I thought no one could find my hoard, and the fae proved me wrong.” Kai’s hand slipped to circle Xiang’s throat and tightened, holding him captive. Xiang swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing by his thumb while his heartbeat fluttered against his palm. Everything about him was an enticement, pulling him in deeper and deeper in the dark swirling waters that were Xiang. “Now I have something new in my hoard that is precious to me. No one will steal it. No one will even touch it. You are mine.”

Xiang’s lips parted on a gasp, and Kai took it as an invitation.

He seized that perfect mouth, sealing them together so that Xiang’s moan could only go down Kai’s throat. The world faded away, and he lost himself to the taste of Xiang as his tongue swept through his mouth, memorizing every bit. Electricity zipped through his body, tingling along every nerve ending, as Xiang gripped his hips and pulled him in even closer. Their knees bumped and Kai widened his stance, welcoming Xiang.

This was better than anything he’d ever experienced. He was flying higher than when Huangdi pressed that sword into his hands. Better than sliding into his hoard after being away for a long period. Xiang was joy. He was soaring above the clouds on a warm summer day, the sunlight glistening along his scales.

With a groan, Xiang tore his lips away to drag his mouth along Kai’s jaw before nibbling on his neck. “I did not expect you to be so good at this.”

Kai tipped his head, giving his lover more access to his throat, relishing the scrape of fangs followed by the soft swipe of his tongue. “You thought I would be a terrible kisser?” Even as he spoke, his fingers tugged at Xiang’s still-damp T-shirt, pulling it up so he could slide his hands along smooth, chilled skin. The rain had lowered the vampire’s already sub-human temperature, but he had ways of raising it again.

Warm breath gusted across where Xiang had been kissing as a laugh escaped him. “Not bad. Just…someone who might not have a lot of practice.”

It was hard not to chuckle. Xiang was trying very hard not to say that he thought he was a virgin. Grabbing the hem of Xiang’s shirt, he ripped it over his head and tossed it aside. The damn thing was only getting in the way.

“No practice?”

“Well,” Xiang hesitated. He paused, focusing his attention on helping Kai out of his own shirt. A hiss escaped them both when their bare chests came together for the first time. Kai’s heat instantly overwhelmed Xiang’s chill, putting a flush to his cheeks.

---