Page 82 of Thomas
“Why are your eyes alighted?” Cameron asked frankly. “Did they not burn out from last night?” He didn’t know all the rules about a vampire’s eyes alighting, but this seemed odd.
Thomas closed his bright eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his pale fingers. “The fact of the matter is, I’m a horny bastard. And I’ve been sitting here contemplating what I could do to rectify this without pressuring or offending you.”
“Offending me?” Cameron asked, puzzled but concerned. “Why would you offend me? If… if there’s something you need me to do, tell me.”
Thomas dropped his hand. They watched each other in the stillness, and it was clear to Cameron that Thomas was deliberating in his mind. Grappling with the filter between his thoughts and his words.
“I don’t want you to run away from me again.”
“I will not,” Cameron said, slightly embarrassed at the memory.
Thomas stared at him with his glowing eyes. His Adam’s apple dipped within the stretch of his creamy neck. “Will you sit on the edge of the bed, please?”
“Yes,” Cameron said, perplexed but moving as asked. Thomas moved with him, and by the time Cameron’s feet were planted firmly on the floor, Thomas had slinked in front of him. He rested on his knees, eyes glowing and with his palms flat against the sheets on either side of Cameron’s hips.
“I just… I need tohaveyou in some carnal way. I want you to relax, and whatever you offer me, I will happily receive. Do you understand?”
Swallowing hard, Cameron took a breath. “Not really.”
“I want you to come,” Thomas said plainly. “I want you to have an orgasm while my mouth is on you. I would like to taste you and know without doubt that I’ve pleased you. Is that clearer?”
“Quite.” Cameron ran a palm down his face and took another intentional breath.
“Can I do that to you?” Thomas asked. “Are you comfortable with it?”
“I… I am. Yes. But should I—Would it be better if I did this for you? Wouldn’t that help to, um… ease your frustration more? I’d be happy to try.”
“No. Not right now, that’s not what I want.” He leaned and slid his hands up Cameron’s hips until his fingers were hooked in the band of his briefs. “Will you lift, please?”
Cameron steadied himself with his palms and raised his hips from the mattress. Thomas pulled and guided the stretchy black material around the curve of his backside, then over his thighs and down the length of Cameron’s legs until they were at his feet. Thomas slipped them past the final barriers and then set Cameron’s underwear aside.
A flash of heat crawled up Cameron’s neck and face from the reality that he was sitting there stark naked, in broad daylight and with his cock and balls inches away from Thomas’s face. The embarrassment of it was overwhelming and he could barely breathe because it felt as if all his organs had stuffed themselves inside his chest and throat. Hedidwant to run away, or make a silly joke. Anything to lighten the awkward tension.
“Merciful gods, you are beautiful.”
Cameron glanced down to find Thomas staring up at him with his aquamarine irises. He lifted from his position, then rested his palms against Cameron’s knees and leaned until they were practically nose to nose.
“Cameron, you’re beautiful,” Thomas repeated, almost a whisper. “How lucky am I that you’ve chosen me? That you’ve gifted your love, body and nature to me.” Thomas tilted his head and softly pressed into his mouth. Cameron received him, lips parted, and relaxed his shoulders. The tenderness of the kissand Thomas’s words calmed and reassured him until, slowly, the tension in his chest ebbed.
Thomas pulled up from him and spoke quietly. “Are you okay, my darling? May I please you?”
Cameron exhaled, his own eyes burning brightly as he nodded. “Yes. Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Within the first month of living under the same roof as Cameron, it had become clear to Thomas that his then roommate was much more comfortable with giving than he was receiving. The theory had reached its precipice when Henry had gifted Cameron the 1964 Anniversary Maduro cigars.
In the wake of the thoughtful present, Cameron had complained multiple times that he could have supplied them for Thomas himself, and that Henry hadn’t needed to give them so many. That the gesture was too much.
There were countless examples in Thomas’s memory of Cameron freely giving and doing. But almost none of him simply accepting. Thomas had wondered if this was the outcome of being weighed down with the heavy responsibilities of running your family’s entire estate, overseeing an aristocratic realm and raising your baby sister, all at the tender age of nineteen.
There would be so much to do, understand and manage, so where would he have the opportunity to receive anything from anyone? To truly take pleasure in anything (or anyone) for himself?
Even within their arrangement, when Thomas had arrived, Cameron made it strictly clear that he was not expected to do anything while Cameron supplied for all of his needs. He understood Cameron’s altruistic intent—however, Thomas was not the type of vampire to sit idly around on a velvet chaise while someone else did everything for him. Although the nature of their pairing made it such that the scales could never be truly balanced, Thomas still wanted to contribute where he could.
Thankfully, slowly, Cameron was letting his guard down. Thomas was helping to organize the upper library, and Cameron had even begun explaining about the accounts management and estate dealings. The progress was steady and undeniable.
As Thomas dragged his palms and fingertips along the inside of Cameron’s naked thighs, he pressed, wanting him open wider. Both physically and emotionally. Thomas found contentment in giving as well. Cameron needed to learn how to share in the giving between them.
