Page 34 of The Psychic and the Vampire

He soothed the tight muscles with his thumbs and then used the base of his palm to run along either side of Ant's collarbone. Its effect was almost electric, the way Ant moved, leaning forward, letting out another sigh as Viktor's hands moved down his back on either side of his spine.

“Sometimes you just need a bit of pampering.” Viktor kept his voice low. “It's not like I'm asking for anything else from you in this moment, we’re just strengthening our connection. You’ve made it clear how difficult any intimacies are for you when there is a conflict between my actions and what I might be thinking. So just accept this – allow me to soothe your jagged nerves and encourage you to relax through touch.”

Ant’s chuckle was low and sent a jolt of electricity to Viktor’s balls. “Why do I get the impression that you're just trying to lull me into a deep sleep so that then you can go out and wreak havoc and mayhem on the people you believe have caused us harm this evening?”

“I did say I wasn't going to talk about it,” Viktor said firmly. “You will learn that I can be a very stubborn vampire. I know that your energies, the energies you expended today, far exceeded anything that could or should be asked of any normal person. My focus is getting you to relax. I want you to know how much you are cherished and cared for…seeing as you have such a callous disregard for your own life."

Viktor bit his tongue, actually that time, tasting his blood that trickled down his throat. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Scrap that last remark. I said I wasn’t going to talk about it.” He focused on his fingers that were kneading up and down the muscles on either side of Ant’s slender spine.

“You can no more stop being you than I can,” Ant reminded him. “I thought we'd already agreed that we would be ourselves, at least when we’re alone together.”

Viktor snorted. “That’s definitely true, but I’d like to suggest that doesn’t always work when two parts of a couple are very independent people. For example, if I was being myself right in this minute, we wouldn’t be having a leisurely bath. You would be sprawled on the bed, gripping onto the covers with both fists while I rutted into your ass with a cock that wouldn’t quit until I had claimed every inch of you all over again.

“Tonight scared the fuck out of me. I’m not ashamed to tell you I don’t process those feelings very well and honestly, I don’t know how to deal with it. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing at all. You don’t need me going barbarian over your ass.”

“You should do it,” Ant said simply. “Remind me that I am still alive. Remind me that life is precious and full of pleasure, instead of the shit I see day in, day out. Remind me that we have a connection that's worth fighting for, because I believe that too.I just think that there are different ways of fighting than using your fists or vampire claws. Can you understand?”

Viktor tilted his head slightly, turning Ant's chin so that he could see into his mate’s eyes. “You have a plan?”

Ant shook his head slowly. “If I had a plan I would share it with you just so we could get to the sexy side of an evening. I worry I may fall asleep before we get to it, and I don’t want that to happen. I want to help you relax, and I want that most instinctual of connections with you, too.”

Narrowing his eyes, Viktor shook his head slightly. “If no plan, then what?”

Ant let out a long breath. “So much for not talking about this. I might not have a plan” - he pointed to his own chest - “but I have a sister. I have a sister who is a genius at creating strategies and bringing down our enemies, in alegalway. With Bridget’s help we will make sure that the people who came so close to killing us tonight will know never to mess with us again.

“But please. Are you going to hate me if I just want to forget about it for five minutes? That maybe I want to feel your hands on my skin. Maybe I want to feel the way your body presses me into the mattress. Maybe I want to scream loud enough to rock the ceiling at the way your cock plunders my hole because that might be the best way I'll get a good night's sleep tonight.”

“So, it's not just because you're horny then. I’m a sleep aid.” Viktor laughed in spite of everything that had been going on. His mate wasn’t wrong – Viktor was stressed, tired, furious, all jumbled in with a million other feelings he didn’t know what to do with.

Scared? Did he mention scared? Viktor had never been scared in his whole damn life but seeing his SUV explode and not reactingfast enough to stop Ant flying through the air to land on the pavement…yeah, scared was front and center.

The one person he was certain of was his mate. The one thing he was certain of was their mating. Viktor was certain he didn’t have the right mushy words to make Ant feel special, and it seemed his mate didn’t need them. They both just needed to shut off their brains and let their bodies do the communicating for five minutes.

Standing up, Viktor brought Ant with him, water streaming off the pair of them as he stepped out of the bath and padded back through to the bedroom. He barely managed to remember to grab a towel on his way past.

“We're going to get the sheets wet,” Ant murmured, although he didn't seem unhappy about it, snuggled against Viktor’s chest, his hand firm around the back of Viktor’s neck.

“That's what the towel's for,” Viktor said briskly. He couldn't help himself. Just looking at Ant's innocent face and knowing somebody came so close to stealing the life he could see in Ant's eyes…

Yes, there were deep shadows under Ant's eyes. Yes, it was clear from the way Ant’s limbs were lax in his grip that his body was tired. Even through their bond, Viktor could sense that exhaustion and he did his best to put a leash on his energies as he laid Ant out on the bed and started to gently dry his body.

If there was a system for drying someone, Viktor had never learned it. He barely swiped a towel over his own wet body every time he stepped out of a shower. But tuning into their bond, Viktor took the towel and rubbed up Ant’s arms, one at a time, and then used small circular rubbing motions over his mate’s throat, neck, and chest.

Kneeling on the bed, Viktor got distracted for a moment by the way the dark towel rippled down Ant’s torso, tenting as it hit the groin area. Determined to do things right, Viktor ignored the cock. He was ignoring his own, it was only fair. He ran the towel down Ant’s right leg and then his left, picking up each foot as he reached it and carefully wiping in between each of Ant’s toes. Ant wiggled and chuckled, but Viktor kept at it until every inch of Ant’s front was dry.

“Toss the towel away.” Ant’s gray eyes had darkened and his nostrils flared. “Remind me…”

The towel was tossed to the floor. Viktor surged up, sliding his hands under Ant’s shoulders and rolling him so that his mate’s body was on top of his. Viktor had to kiss him, so he did, nipping and sucking, kissing the top lip and then sucking the bottom lip in between his own. It hit Viktor’s mind that he might be holding his mate too tightly, and he tried to stay firm rather than grabby.

But it was fear that was driving him – fear on so many levels. People he'd been associated with, people he had brought into Ant's life, were trying to take that life away, and Viktor couldn't even think about that without his other half wanting to come through.

He knew – there was no question – he would rampage like no vampire had done before, if anybody harmed a hair on his precious Ant's head and yet even as he thought that, Viktor realized somebody already had. He felt a lump on the back of Ant's skull, and he carefully moved Ant's head to one side and shifted his fingers, so he wasn't pressing on to it, but the kissing couldn’t stop.

It's not as though Ant was lying like a bump on his body. Viktor had no idea where his mate was getting the energy from, but it was there. Ant was clinging to him, kissing him back with apassion, feeding their emotional link, Viktor realized. He could feel Ant’s desperation the same as he could feel his own, but there was longing there as well – another sensation that was shared by them both.

They rolled together, Viktor’s legs hooked over Ant’s to keep their bodies together. The kisses turned frantic - at one point Ant was nipping at Viktor’s neck and his cock could feel every graze of Ant’s teeth as though it was his shaft being attacked by Ant’s mouth and not his neck. Viktor started doing the same to Ant, hoping to make him feel the same way.

Penetration wasn’t going to happen. They were both too primed, too ready, and Viktor didn’t want to lose that momentum by doing the necessary prep. He wasn’t going to ask Ant to use his magic either – that man had done enough that night.

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