Page 61 of Lucien

And how could Luc deny him?

He nudged Jamie’s head further to the side with his nose, pausing for a moment to nuzzle at the soft skin of his mate’s neck before biting down, his mouth filling with peaches and cinnamon and everything good in the world. He groaned as rapture coursed through him. It was beyond belief, how good this human tasted. Luc found himself tangling his fingers into Jamie’s hair, tugging his head more firmly into position, gulping down his mate’s coppery essence greedily.

Luc had bitten plenty of humans in his time, but none had tasted like Jamie. He tasted like what Luc imagined heroin would have felt like, had he ever tried it as a human. Luc thought again of the rumor that those humans with special powers had especially delectable blood. There could very well be truth in that. But Luc wanted to believe it was just…Jamie. That he would be this alluring, this delicious, no matter what abilities he did or didn’t have.

Jamie gasped as the pleasure of the bite coursed through him, his body rocking against Luc’s subconsciously. Luc used a hand on his bottom to guide him into a steadier rhythm, their cocks rubbing against each other through the drenched fabric of their underwear. Jamie was panting in no time, his limbs trembling. “Gonna come. Oh fuck, Luc, gonna come.”

“Yes,” Luc urged. “Come for me, flower.”

Jamie rocked desperately a few more times before he shuddered in Luc’s arms, the scent of his release combining with the taste of his blood enough to drive Luc to his own orgasm.

Luc licked his bite closed carefully while his mate recovered, limp against him. “This is why public pools are disgusting,” he mused, pressing a kiss to the healing bite.

Jamie gave a tired laugh, his warm breath tickling Luc’s shoulder. “Thisis why? Vampires biting poor, innocent humans and rubbing their junk together until they both get off? I’m not sure that’s as much of a public health issue as you think it is.”

Luc grazed him with a warning fang. “You’re a menace.”

“Yourmenace,” Jamie mumbled into his skin, still chuckling softly.

Yes. Yes, he was. Forever and always, as soon as fucking Soren texted Luc back.

Luc considered whether he needed to drive up to Colorado and see for himself, but for one, it was possible Roman and his posse would tear his limbs off before he could ask any pertinent questions, and for two, he didn’t want to leave Jamie alone for a whole hour, let alone days at a time.

He was also pretty sure his monster would turn the car around before they even crossed city limits.

After a few more minutes of embracing in the cool water, Jamie wiggled out of Luc’s arms. “Time to dry off, monster.”

In answer, the heavens opened up, the heavy fullness of the evening air finally giving way. Rain pelted them both, and Jamie laughed, twirling in the shallow end of the pool, raising his head to the sky. “It’s a monsoon!” he cried, delighted. “I thought they were done for the year.”

Luc watched his mate dance in the water. Luc was sure, if anyone else could see him, he’d look like a fool, smiling widely with his fangs out like some kind of Halloween jack-o’-lantern. But he couldn’t help it—he was mesmerized. There was a key part of Jamie that Luc was just…missing in himself. This zest for life.

Luc had appreciated certain things over the years, surely. Sex. Luxury. Elegance. Violence.

But not this. Not the simple pleasures in life. The rain. Old books. Fresh peaches.

Jamie seemed to love it all.

He would appreciate eternity; Luc was sure of it.

And Luc would appreciateJamie. That would be enough, wherever they ended up.

The desert rainstorm barely lasted fifteen minutes, all of which Jamie insisted spending in the pool, claiming there was nothing better than swimming in the rain. It wasn’t until afterward, changing into their wet clothes, that Luc smelled something…off. The storm had let loose the smells of the desert city, strong enough to cut through the chlorine—creosote and asphalt mostly. But underneath, there was a sense of….subtle decay.

Luc followed his nose to the small building that served as the pool’s changing area, Jamie close on his heels.

“That’s always locked at night,” Jamie warned him.

Luc tried the handle, which gave easily at his turn. “Not tonight.”

He opened the door to find the source of the scent sprawled in the tiny changing room. Luc had already known in the back of his mind, of course. It was a smell he knew well.

There was a dead body on the floor.

A very pale corpse. Drained of its blood.

fifteen

Jamie

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