Page 9 of The Vanishing
Four
My timing is shit.Nino’s heart is racing. He’s been wondering about this for months, the topic nagging and clinging to the edges of his consciousness. He’s always stifled the urge, knowing how much Haruka dislikes talking about his first mate.
Yet here it is. Awkward and spilling out over their anniversary dinner.
“Yuna did not want children,” Haruka says, his eyes unblinking. Nothing more.
“So… that’s it?” Nino asks. “End of story? The two of you never tried…”
Haruka takes a visible breath, his gaze shifting toward the patio doors of the courtyard. “We did. She became pregnant once, but eventually lost the child. We did not try again.”
Dammit.Nino feels like he’s been punched in the chest. His throat is tight. “I—I’m so sorry…”
Haruka nods. “It is not something I like to think about.”
In Nino’s mind, the next natural question is whether or not Haruka still wants children. Does he want a big family? Should they seek assistance to try to have kids themselves someday? But Nino can’t answer these questions himself. He doesn’t know what he wants, only having recently contemplated the topic.
He still feels like an adolescent in some ways. He can’t imagine being responsible for the lives of young vampires—teaching and guiding them between their ancient culture and the complexities of modern society. He’s still figuring it out for himself.
Picking up his wine glass, Haruka brings it to his lips, then tilts his head back to drain its contents. When he’s finished, he pushes up from the table. Panicked, Nino stands, blocking his path.
Haruka frowns. “What are you doing?”
“What areyoudoing?”
“I am getting more wine.”
They’re frozen in silence. Just as Haruka moves around him, Nino acts on impulse. He steps into him and crouches down. In a swift motion, he chops his arm at the back of Haruka’s knees, making them buckle so that he can sweep him up and cradle the bulk of him against his body.
Haruka’s eyes widen from the surprise attack. He squirms. “N—Nino, put medown.”
“I shall carry his grace to the counter—”
“Stop.”
Laughing, Nino places his flustered mate back on his feet. “His lordship doth protest—it amazes me that we’re the same height but you’re not heavy to me at all.”
“Pleasedo not do that.”
“Why?” Nino frowns. “You let me pick you up when we’re having sex?”
“That—that is different.”
“How so?”
“There is context,” Haruka says, avoiding Nino’s gaze as he tries to move past him. Nino steps into him again, scrunching his nose.
“So I can only pick you up if I’m sliding my cock—”
Gasping with wide burgundy eyes, Haruka reaches up and pinches Nino’s mouth shut with his fingers. Nino breathes a muffled laugh. Haruka laughs as well, bringing his free hand up to cover his flushed face.
Nino grabs his wrist, pulling Haruka’s fingers away. “Seriously, Haru? Nobody else is here but us—even Asao and his supersonic hearing are gone for the night. Why do you get embarrassed like this whenever I try to talk about our sex life? We talk about everything else.”
“Because discussing it is redundant.” Haruka breathes out, running his palm over the top of his smooth black head. “I am there. I know what we do.”
Stepping even closer into him, Nino squares his hips and presses Haruka’s backside into the table. He rests his hands against Haruka’s waist, then leans in and kisses the sexy little mole just off the center of his nose. “The lord of the manor just isn’t accustomed to someone talking dirty to him. It could be fun… You can tell me what you like?”
Haruka shakes his head, grinning. “You know what I like based on my reaction… and I do not know those words in English.”
