Page 75 of Thomas
“Oh, I am, believe me. There’s something about you that has me wound tight like a metal coil, and I barely recognize myself. I’ve not… I haven’t ever been quite like this in my past romantic liaisons. I’ve been passionate, but I feel almostneedywith you.I don’t mean to be. Within the depths of my nature, Iwantyou, and I have to tell myself to calm down almost always.”
“When you say that you want me, does this mean sex?”
“Not just sex,” Thomas clarified. “More than sex.” At the base of his spine, it was this itchy, throbbing and discontented thing. His nature writhing around and irritated because it desired someone that he was strictly not allowing it to have, nor fully indulge in.
Cameron shifted to sit on his ass. He drew his long legs up to bend his knees and rested back against the couch. “More than sex. Do you mean bonding, then? Mating?”
There was no use trying to ignore or hide it anymore. “Yes,” he breathed. “I think so.”
Cameron nodded, not balking or freaking out at the idea, which was reassuring. “It’s very difficult for vampires in Eden to bond,” he offered pragmatically. “Even if we tried, it may not take for a very long time. It could be years.”
“I know,” Thomas said. “I’m not demanding that we try. It’s just a feeling I have toward you. I know you wanted this arrangement to be strictly on paper, but are you open to having more with me?” He was fairly certain he knew the answer—especially in the wake of Cameron’s heartfelt confessions—but his chest tensed anyway.
“I think I’m open to just about anything with you, Thomas. Of course we can try when we feel it’s right.”
Seeing his opening, Thomas batted his lashes and smiled. “Anything?”
Cameron froze. “Are you about to test the limits of this?”
“Not ludicrously! Can we have sleepovers?”
“Sleepovers?”
“Yes, where I occasionally spend the night in your room, or you in mine, of course. Like we did in Antibes.”
“We can,” Cameron said, then considered further. “But I detest sleeping in full pajamas. I usually sleep in my briefs and nothing else. If that’s a problem, we may not be able to commit to this exercise.”
Beaming, Thomas straightened. “Oh, that’s not a problem for me, my darling. Quite the contrary.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The pinching tension in Thomas’s neck only worsened as Wyatt’s presence drew nearer to the small sitting room. Thomas exhaled and closed his eyes. It didn’t bode well that the last time he’d been in this room, he’d been with his fathers when they’d dropped him off at the Ashford estate.
That memory alone made him lightheaded, as if the ghost of himself from only two months prior were sat across from him—pale, miserable and looking and feeling dead to all the world.
The door opened and Lennon stepped inside first. “Your grace, Lord Wyatt Grant of Oberdeen House.”
Thomas stood as Wyatt sauntered into the room, beaming and with his arms outstretched. His reddish-brown hair was neatly trimmed and fashionable, and his clothing was smart and well tailored, as always.
“Anton! You stunning creature—how wonderful to see you again.” He walked right up to Thomas to embrace him, but Thomas held his palms up and leaned away.
“Wyatt—pleasedon’t. For fuck’s sake.”
“Ah right, yes, yes, of course I shouldn’t behave this way anymore considering our respectivecircumstances.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he took a step back, as if it were all a cleverjoke that the two of them shared. He lowered his voice. “But you know what you do to me, Anton. I’ve never quite excelled at resisting your magnetic allure.”
“Do try,” Thomas said, brushing his thighs as he sat down in the tufted chair behind him. He gestured toward the small couch. “Sit.”
Wyatt winked, clearly amused. “Yes, my lord. As you wish.” He eased back, sat down and folded his leg, grinning flirtatiously all the while.
The man was utterly exhausting—always had been. When Thomas was younger and hadn’t known himself, he’d tentatively yielded to Wyatt’s overbearing charms. How could being so blatantly adored and desired be a bad thing? Surely Thomas had just needed to give it time, then his feelings would grow to match Wyatt’s and they’d develop a passionate and meaningful relationship.
Except that hadnothappened. The more Thomas gave, the more Wyatt coveted, and the whole situation became unbearable. Thomas had felt like a toy that a spoiled, whiny child was wholly affixed upon and yet could never be contented with. He always wanted the toy to do more, give more, say more.
“Thank you for accepting my request to visit today,” Wyatt said, pouring himself a cup of tea. He didn’t think to fill Thomas’s cup. “The viscountess is lovely, but I’ll be candid with you in that gettingawayfrom the estate alone is never an unwelcome opportunity.” He paused briefly with his teacup lifted, studying Thomas openly. “Seems you and I might be in similar circumstances?”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Thomas asked, not bothering to fill his own cup. He did not intend to be in Wyatt’s presence for much longer.
Wyatt smirked. “Well, I can’t perceive Lord Ashford’s scent upon you. I noticed this at the party as well. He’s made noattempt to formally mark you as his own, so perhaps yours is an arrangement of convenience as much as mine? What a waste—the man is in possession of a rare and precious stone and doesn’t bother to properly claim it. I suppose that does leave room and opportunity for the two ofus, don’t you think?”
