Page 24 of Across the Sapphire Sea
You want to watch, so watch, Valeri had said.
Elias wanted to do more than watch, though his desire went without saying; surely Valeri knew that too. The warm air in the cozy, colorful room was thick with it.
Valeri made a show of undressing, stripping off each layer methodically, revealing the smooth pale skin beneath, inch by lovely inch. Elias couldn’t drag his gaze away from the demon…the vampire. And what did it say about him that he wanted Valeri even knowing what he was? Maybe because of it. To have a man like that at your side, in your bed, there was a certain pride in that possession Elias found irresistible.
Valeri stood on the bathing tray, wet a cloth and swiped the fabric over his strong shoulders, leaving a trail of water beaded in its wake.
Elias imagined licking the droplets from his skin but stayed perfectly still. He’d only been invited to watch, not touch. A twinge of fear at what might come next, what they were building up to, rattled his chest. Sex with a demon. It was nothing he’d ever dared to consider—why would he—but had quickly become all he could think about.
Blood filled his shaft, and he had to resist the urge to stroke himself.
Valeri seemed to know, turning so Elias could see the evidence of his own arousal. “Go ahead if you want.”
The words startled Elias from his staring. “Go ahead, what?”
“Touch yourself,” Valeri confirmed. “You want to, don’t you?”
Elias considered his next actions carefully. It was one thing to be mouthy in bed-play with another bondslave; it was quite another to order a vampire around. Could he say what he liked to a man such as Valeri?
Trepidation and lust combined to raise the hairs along the back of his neck. He pulled his cock and balls from his breeches and laid his hands at his sides.
“You do it,” Elias ordered, his voice projecting a confidence he didn’t feel.
Valeri’s eyes went very dark as he surveyed Elias like prey. A wicked smile lit his face, teeth gleaming like the metal edge of a dagger’s blade.
The vampire stalked forward, abandoning the wash, his naked body a gift and a warning. A low growl rumbled from his throat as he neared. Wet footprints lingered on the carpet.
“It would be my pleasure,” purred Valeri, reaching for him.
Elias’s heart raced, the thunder of its pounding loud in his own ears. The beat pulsed in his throat where Valeri had bitten him only last night.
Valeri closed his fist around Elias’s cock and gave it a firm tug. Elias gripped the armrest of the lounge he sat on in an effort not to writhe right off it. His lips parted on a moan.
“Lovely,” Valeri praised. “What else would you like from me, hmm? If you could have anything.”
Anything. Anything at all?There was much he desired. Valeri’s mouth on his cock, his fangs in his throat, but could he really ask foranything?
“I want to fuck you. Can I?”
Elias expected the answer to be no, and honestly, that would be fine. He liked it both ways. If Valeri wanted to take him instead, Elias would gladly turn over and present. The need to merge their bodies overrode higher thought.
Valeri continued to stroke him while watching the war raging in his eyes. Elias let him see it all. The need to claim, to be claimed, to be on the other side of the uncertainty as soon as possible.
Thumb circling the plump head of Elias’s cock, Valeri made his decision. “Why not?” He gave a playful shrug and stood.
“Really?” Elias couldn’t help the surprise in his voice. Was he going to be granted this? Allowed inside?
As Valeri crossed the room, Elias enjoyed a fantastic view of the ass he planned to plunder. Water dripped along every curve.
“I saidanything, didn’t I?” Valeri opened the top drawer of a chest and retrieved a palm-sized glass jar. He returned, set the jar aside, and pushed Elias’s knees together so he could climb onto the lounge and straddle his lap. Valeri’s hand landed on Elias’s cock and stroked.
Elias sucked in a delighted breath, thrilled with how events were playing out.
Valeri sat back on Elias’s thighs. “Touch me.”
The command was an easy one to obey. Every part of Valeri was tempting. Touch him where? With free rein like this, Elias hardly knew where to start. His focus shifted to the two pretty pink buds of Valeri’s nipples, and he could not resist them. He circled the buds with his fingertips, ran the pads over them lightly, then pinched.
When Valeri leaned into the touch, Elias pinched harder.
