Page 29 of Claim of Blood
Lander sighed, hands moving to the second foot with practiced efficiency. “I can only speak from what I observed with myparents.” A faint, rueful smile tugged at his mouth. “Who, as you remember, scandalized half of Europe with their... enthusiasm.”
Adam remembered. Johan and Elisabeth’s compatibility had been unheard of—a second-generation pair who’d found each other by chance during the millennial gathering Erik and François arranged in 1800. Their connection had been immediate, overwhelming, and utterly shameless.
“They couldn’t keep their hands off each other,” Lander continued, tossing aside the second sock but remaining kneeling where Adam wanted him. “And they seemed to prefer an audience, much to everyone’s dismay. Especially François.”
A ghost of amusement flickered through Adam’s possessive haze. François de Montfort had always been the prude of their family, his letters of complaint a source of endless entertainment. Adam remembered writing back from America, bluntly suggesting he stop being such a stuffed shirt. That had been John Warren’s influence.
“François eventually banished them to Erik’s court,” Lander said. “Erik just... adapted. Had a few rooms soundproofed.” His expression turned thoughtful. “It took about a decade for the displays to calm down, though ‘calm’ is relative. I left for your court as soon as I could. There’s only so many times a child can walk in on their parents rutting against the kitchen counter.”
The frank admission drew a low, surprised laugh from Adam. Born vampires were vanishingly rare—Lander was only the third in history, and the first born to second-generation parents. His childhood must have been uniquely complicated.
As Lander rose, something primitive and feral surged through Adam. Not a decision, but a reflex as natural as breathing.
“Kneel.”
The word cracked through the air like a whip, backed by a power that couldn’t be denied. Adam heard the immediate response—not just from Lander, but echoing faintly in thenearby corridors as members of his Court reacted instinctively to the command, even without seeing him.
Lander dropped back to his knees, his composure finally cracking as his face went tight with something between surprise and wariness.
Leo trembled in Adam’s arms, and Adam realized with a start that he’d been unconsciously moving inside him again—slow, shallow thrusts that his hunter’s body welcomed with slick heat. The scent was dizzying: sex and claiming and the sweet musk of renewed arousal.
He tried to reel in his power, tried to find the control that had guided him for millennia. But the need wouldn’t leave. It sat in his chest like hunger, demanding satisfaction. He met Lander’s gaze and saw not arousal there, but hesitation. Wariness. Something clenched and uncertain beneath his careful mask.
The rational part of Adam recognized he was crossing lines, but the bond pulsed with approval, and the words left his mouth before he could stop them.
“Take out your cock.”
Lander’s jaw tightened, shock flickering across his features. For a moment, Adam thought he might refuse. But then, with visible reluctance, Lander reached to unzip his pants, freeing himself with hands that weren’t quite steady.
Adam’s gaze raked over Lander’s bowed form—so controlled, so tense, so defiant even in submission. Something primal in him approved of the resistance, wanted to break it down piece by piece.
“Touch yourself,” Adam commanded, his voice dropping to something darker. “You’ll stroke yourself while you watch.”
A beat of silence stretched between them. Then Lander obeyed, his hand moving to his cock with mechanical precision.
Good. Adam felt the satisfaction settle in his bones, even as part of him wondered what the hell he was doing. He beganto move inside Leo again, not hard or rough—just deep and deliberate, timing his words with slow thrusts.
“So this need,” he said, fingers flexing possessively against Leo’s thigh, “is it normal?”
Lander’s eyes flicked to where Adam’s cock slid into Leo, then back up, his expression strained. “Are you serious? You want me to answer that... right now?”
Adam didn’t stop moving. He just watched as Lander’s hand found its rhythm, halting at first, then smoother. “I only know what I saw in my parents,” Lander managed, his voice fraying at the edges. “And what I’ve learned from third- and fourth-generation claim pairs. I didn’t look further.”
Leo stirred more fully in Adam’s arms, awareness flooding back in stages he could track through the increasing tension in his body. When Leo spoke, his voice was rough with confusion and a hint of mortification.
“My cousin did.” The words came out slurred, barely coherent. “F-Felix... my cousin, second cousin? Felix...” His voice cracked beautifully. “Loves vampires. I’m terrible at the family tree, but... he’s a cousin. My father’s cousin, Alec—his son.”
Adam rewarded the information with a deeper, more satisfying thrust. Leo’s answering moan filled the space between them, raw and helpless.
“Felix is a hunter,” Adam stated. He could already see the pieces fitting together—a hunter with an obsession, someone gathering intelligence from the inside.
Leo’s flush deepened as he tried to form coherent thoughts through Adam’s deliberate rhythm. “Felix is obsessed. He’s always been... weird about vampires. Would never take a job on one. Avoided the marks. The rituals.”
Adam changed the angle of his thrusts slightly, making Leo writhe in his lap. “And?”
“We... we went to MIT together,” Leo continued, voice deliciously unsteady. “Rest of our cohort—the hunters, I mean—they all went to Harvard. In our first year, when we were still clean. Before initiation. Before any of the marks or tattoos that would have warned a vampire what we were. Felix and I would party together.”
Leo swallowed, his entire body flushed. “One night, he got drunk. Really drunk. Felix confessed to me that he’d let a vampire—a few of them, apparently—fuck him. For science, he said.” A fractured laugh escaped him. “Said they were the best orgasms of his life... then begged me not to say anything. The vampires never knew what he was... what he would become.”
