Page 65 of Map of Pain
He took Nick’s hand and traced an X across his palm with one finger, the touch feather-light and deliberate. Nick’s skin tingled where Luka drewthe symbol.
“I understand,” Nick said softly. “It’s okay.”
Nick watched with a mixture of anticipation, fear, and awe as the whites of Luka’s eyes shifted—turning inky black while the brilliant green of his irises remained, almost glowing. A strange calm settled over his features, transforming him into something thatwasbeautiful and otherworldly and faintly terrifying. He looked like a beautiful nightmare.
Still holding Nick’s hand, Luka guided it to his own face, pressing his cheek against Nick’s palm in a gesture that somehow conveyed‘I will treat you with care’more clearly than any words could. Then he moved Nick’s hand to the back of his neck, settling it there in the soft hair at his nape.
Nickwasalready in uncharted territory. He found himself lost in the beautiful pools of Luka’s transformed gaze, catching the glint of canine teeth thathadsplitinto four sharp points. Luka moved closer and hovered his lips over the spot Nickhadindicated. The anticipationwasalmost unbearable. Nick’s heart felt like it might explode from his chest, heat burning and twisting in his lower belly as he wondered if hewasinsane for wanting this.
Without lifting his head, Luka traced a small question mark against Nick’s shoulder with one finger.
Nick nodded and traced a tiny check mark against the back of Luka’s neck with his thumb. Luka huffed a small laugh against his skin, the cool breath sending shivers down Nick’s spine. It felt like magic.
Then Luka bit him.
The burn of the bitewasa familiar fire, and instinct screamed at Nick to fight. Instead, he pulled Luka closer, his body acting on a deeper, more primal command. But the searing pain he expected never fully bloomed. Lukawasstill against him, a statue of deadly grace, not drinking. He felt the ghost of a touchagainst his skin—that phantom question, traced with a single, hesitant finger on his shoulder. Waiting.
He let out a ragged breath, the sound torn from him, and traced a hard, decisive check mark on the back of Luka’s neck.Yes. Continue.
Permission granted, Luka’s mouth sealed over the wound. Itwasn’tthe frenzied tearing Nickwasusedto. Itwasa slow, gentle pull that sent a jolt of pure shock straight to his groin. A soft lick of a tongue soothed the sting, and then another pull, deeper this time. Itwasn’tpain. God, itwasthe opposite of pain. Itwasa dark, coiling heat low in his belly, a pleasure so foreign and forbidden it felt like sacrilege. Every gentle sip, every pass of Luka’s tongue,wasa spark on a trail of gasoline.
He didn’t think; he acted. His hand clamped onto the back of Luka’s head, fingers tangling in his silky hair, pressing him harder against his neck. A deep, guttural rumble vibrated from Luka’s chest into his own, a sound of pure, animal satisfaction. His brain screamed wrong, wrong, predator, WRONG, but his bodywasarching into the contact, a whimper of pure want escaping his lips. Itwasn’ta sound of pain. Itwasthe sound of a man starved, finally being fed.
Stop overthinking it.
Luka’s fangs retracted with a wet slick of sound. His tongue laved the wound one last time, a soothing balm thatwasanything but calming, before he pressed a soft, open-mouthed kiss to the marks. His lips, damp and chill, began a hungry trail up Nick’s neck, over the scarred tissue, to his jaw. He paused, leaning his forehead against Nick’s, his breath stuttering out against Nick’s cheek.
Nick’s eyes snapped open to meet Luka’s. Theyweremolten; the inky blackness drowning the green, burning with a hunger thathadnothing to do with blood and everything to do with him. Luka’s lipswereswollen, red, and glistening. A flush of colorstained his high cheekbones. Hewasdevastatingly beautiful. And Nickwasn’tscared. Hewasutterly consumed.
Luka’s fingers trembled as he traced that familiar symbol again, this time on the hard plane of Nick’s shoulder.More?
Fuck the check mark.
Nick surged up, capturing Luka’s mouth in a kiss thatwasa collision. Any semblance of control shattered. All he could tastewasthe copper tang of his own blood and the intoxicating flavor of Luka’s tongue. His hand fisted in Luka’s hair, angling his head for a deeper kiss, while Luka’s hands slid down his back, fingers digging into the muscles there, pulling him closer until therewasno space left between them. Theyweremoving together now, a frantic, grinding rhythm of pure, unadulterated need.
Luka’s arousal, hard and insistent, pressed against his thigh, and a ragged noise tore from Luka’s throat, a sound of wanting that sent fire straight through Nick’s veins. He broke the kiss, both of them panting, chests heaving.
“I want to touch you,”Nick rasped, the words raw.“Luka, can I touch you?”
Luka’s responsewasan enthusiastic nod. He ripped his own shirt over his head and popped open the button on his jeans. He leaned back on his elbows, a silent, breathtaking offering of his entire body.
For a split second, Nick froze. Hewasn’tusedto this freedom, to this power. But Luka’s gaze—patient, encouraging, and burning with that same desperate need—washis anchor. He leaned down, his mouth crashing against Luka’s again as his hand explored, no longer tentative. He felt along Luka’s chest, then the corded strength in his arms, feeling the muscles jump and clench under his fingers. His hand slid lower, stroking the rigid length of him through the denim.
A choked moan broke from Luka’s lips. His head fell back, baring his throat in complete surrender, his hips lifting, bucking into Nick’s touch. Utterly unguarded.
“More? Please?”Nick whispered against his mouth, a demand and a request.
Luka seemed to understand instantly. He gestured to his own jeans, his fingers spelling a shaky, tentative,‘Off?’
Nick gave a frantic nod, his own arousal a painful, throbbing ache. Luka lifted his hips, and Nick helped shove the denim down, his breath catching in his throat. The sight of him—naked, vulnerable, flushed with desire from head to toe—was intoxicating.
“Can I…will you let me…watch?”Nick’s voice trailed off, not sure how to continue but knowing he wanted to keep going.
Luka’s smilewasradiant, a flash of pure joy in the middle of their haze of lust. He sat up just enough to press one more slow, deep kiss to Nick’s lips before leaning back, his molten eyes locked on Nick’s. He wrapped a hand around his own erection, and with deliberate, measured strokes, began to pleasure himself.
Nick’s hand went to his own groin, mirroring Luka’s movements through the fabric of his pants, mesmerized. The intensity of Luka’s stare made him feel stripped bare, seen in a way thatwasboth terrifying and exhilarating.
“What are you thinking about?”Nick breathed out, his own rhythm matching Luka’s.
