Page 23 of From Frost to Flame

Lex flicked his eyes over Silas's body. “The neck is always the fastest and spills the most blood, other than the femoral artery, which...” He trailed off as he looked to Silas’s thigh and flushed. “So anyway, the neck is preferred if it’s not too much to ask.”

“It’s not too much at all. Now, you’re woozy so we should sit or lay down. Which sounds better?”

“Lying down sounds more comfortable,” Lex spoke slowly as he thought it over. “And I don’t want to stain your clothes with blood, so you might want to take your toga off.”

“Not a bad idea.” The seductive hiss of Lex’s words as fangs descended sent a shiver down Silas's spine. It was hard not to think of all the times that adorable sound meant sex was on the horizon.

That’s not what this is. I can’t get too excited,he repeated to himself to keep a hold of his brain.

Once Silas settled on the bed, Lex slowly straddled his waist.

Hesitantly, Lex let go of his right arm and let it hang at his side. He moved his good hand toward Silas's chest, then recoiled. “Can I touch you?”

In response, Silas took Lex’s hand in his. His palms were unmarred, and he could practically see Lex lounging with a book in hand and turning ancient pages carefully so they wouldn’t tear. He stroked his knuckles and met his eyes. “You can touch me. Can I touch you?”

“I know what my venom does to you,” Lex said as he pulled his hand away and placed it on Silas's chest, leaning in closer. “If you’re compelled to touch me, you can. No sex, though. And if I say our old safe word, you have to stop.”

“Of course.” Lex’s subtle movements made his robe hang down and revealed his glinting nipple piercings.

I wonder how he’d like a chain between them. No, I need to focus.

The blend of lavender and chamomile that stayed, even when Lex stripped down of everything, calmed Silas's entire body. He swore he sank further into the mattress. Silas had conquered monsters the likes of nightmares, and yet here he was completely subdued by a fragile vampire caressing his chest. Lex could ask anything of him, and he would give it.

“Once I bite you, I can’t take it back. You’re positive you’re okay with this?” Lex asked in a whisper.

Silas moved his hands to Lex’s hips, took them in a possessive grip, and tugged him forward. Lex’s little squeak of surprise made a smile tug at his lips. “I can handle being bitten. I wouldn’t have agreed otherwise.”

Lex dipped into his neck, and his soft dreads spilled forward, hiding his face. A familiar sharp pain shot from Silas's neck down to his toes, forcing him to grit his teeth. Within seconds, the pain was replaced with a flood of warmth and pure lust as venom poured into his veins. The heat of Lex’s breathy moan kissed his neck, and the mental hold Silas had on his wants slipped through his fingers. An involuntary growl escaped him.

How did I go a single day without him? Without this?

His hands roamed from Lex’s hips over the delicate plane of his body. His velvet skin was hot under his palms as if his blue flames smoldered just under the surface. Silas longed for every scorching inch to singe his tongue.

Do you still moan when someone licks your collarbone? Are you still shy when you look up at someone from your knees?

All his wolfish desires clawed forward as more venom flowed into his body. The urge to kiss Lex was replaced with a desperate desire to sink his teeth deep into his fragile flesh.

I’d claim you right on your neck so every wolf for miles would know you were mine. Or perhaps I should mark you right on your inner thigh. Then every time you parted your legs you’d remember to whom you belonged.

His thumbs found Lex’s piercings hidden under the silky fabric and massaged them in slow circles. Lex flinched, then invitingly leaned further into his touch.

The bed knocked rhythmically against the wall, and Lex’s grinding grew urgent. “You’re trembling,” Silas teased. He recognized Lex climbing to an orgasm from miles away. “Are you going to cum already?”

Years of gagging Lex’s smart mouth made it easy for him to decipher the embarrassed muffled “shut up” pressed against his throat.

Silas reached down and gripped Lex’s cock. He traced the tip already coated in precum, and it earned him a whimper. He stroked him slowly, enjoying the feel of him in his hands again. Lex’s body tensed and his fangs sank deeper. “So close from just grinding. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you wanted to get fucked tonight.”

Another muffled whine tickled his neck. He could feel Lex teetering on the edge in his own body. “Little one,” he purred gently. “Let go for me.”

Lex ripped his fangs out and gasped. With a shudder, he came in hot spurts on Silas's abs. He went slack on top of Silas as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Now, isn’t that better?”

When he only responded with a hazy moan of acknowledgment, Silas wasn’t surprised. One of his favorite things about Lex was how, post-sex, he mentally floated off. It was a boost to his ego every time. He had never been with another vampire, but he assumed expending venom in such a high dosage must have exhausted them.

He drew lazy circles on Lex’s lower back with his fingertips while he waited for him to mentally return. He looked down at his soft features and peaceful face and his heart clenched.

“I missed you.” Speaking the truth, even if it was to no one, was cathartic after so many years of denial. His chest tightened as the words lingered in the dark.

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