Page 31 of Soren

“I thought so. For a long time.” Soren sounded thoughtful. And a little sad.

Gabe sat up. “I can be fun.” He lunged, digging his fingers into Soren’s ribs.

Soren just stared at him, unimpressed, while Gabe ran his fingers along every would-be ticklish spot he could find. “What are you doing, human?”

“Huh.” Gabe sat back, eyeing the vampire. “That used to work on Danny.”

Soren huffed. “I’m not your brother.”

“Good thing, huh?” Gabe grinned. He went back to his cuddling position, this time with his head in Soren’s lap. He inhaled the vampire’s comforting scent, allowing it to relax his muscles even more. There was a low-level arousal humming through his body, at Soren’s smell and his nearness, but he chose to ignore it.

Maybe he and Soren would get each other off before he left for work, but Gabe liked this part of it too. When the flirty, teasing vampire let Gabe be soft and needy.

Gabe was apparently turning into a cuddle slut in his thirties. It was weird; he’d never been one before.

Breathing in deeply, Gabe had a thought. “I haven’t seen you smoke.”

Soren’s petting paused again. “Is that so?”

“You were smoking the first night I met you,” Gabe pointed out.

Soren hummed that noncommittal hum he loved. “Flattered you remember.”

There was an extended pause.

“Soren,” Gabe pressed.

“Yes?” Soren asked innocently.

“Why did you stop?”

Soren huffed. “Well, you don’t like the smell, do you?”

Gabe didn’t know what to do with that information. Soren had stopped because Gabe didn’t like it?

“Do you like Hyde Park?” he found himself asking. It suddenly seemed very important to know.

Soren was silent for so long Gabe thought he wouldn’t answer. “Not particularly.”

“Oh.”

Soren cleared his throat, his hand lifting off Gabe’s head. “I probably— I can’t— I’ll most likely move on soon enough.”

Gabe nodded to himself. That made sense.

That made perfect sense.

But the warm relaxation that had been building in Gabe cooled in an instant. The knot in his stomach was back in full force.

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the couch. He wanted to keep touching Soren. Wanted to keep feeling this good.

Even if it wouldn’t last.

Gabe sighed, tilting his head to one side, then the other, trying to work out the kink in his neck. He was close to done putting in orders for the patient he’d just visited. He was hoping they’d be able to get the breathing tube out by morning. When he’d told her, she’d had tears of relief in her eyes—it was painful, being on a breathing machine when you were awake enough to be aware of it. She had grabbed Gabe’s hand in gratitude, and it had taken everything in him not to shed some tears himself.

He was a little…extra emotional lately. As if his new habit of opening up to Soren had released something inside him.

When Gabe’s dad had died, the medical staff were the only people who had been any source of calm in the storm, the only ones who had seemed to have any sort of control over the situation.

---