22. Body Language
BODY LANGUAGE
R yder’s body hummed with pleasure. He was grinning so hard and wide his mouth almost hurt from it. The urge to laugh or moan was interchangeable. He and Grayson were literally hovering two feet from the surface of the bed and Grayson was now looking down as if he were a cat in a tree in need of rescue.
“We aren’t going to have sex floating?” Ryder teased. “I’ve never done that.”
Grayson let out a pleased chuckle. “When I lose control--and I intend to fully--we will drop like two bowling balls onto the floor.”
“There’s a bed under us,” Ryder said with an eyebrow waggle.
“We’ll bounce off that sucker and hit the deck. Trust me. I’ve done this before,” Grayson said.
Ryder let out a choked laugh, picturing it in his head. When Grayson gave him a hard look, he stifled his amusement--partially--and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m just thinking about how that would look.”
“Well, you are the first person in it with me. Normally, I’m alone after an erotic dream. Most times erotic anyways.” Grayson frowned slightly. “I’ve never done this with another person.”
Ryder’s eyebrows rose. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Grayson had told him how careful he was with his powers being seen. If having sex usually triggered him, the young man would have been far less skilled than he clearly was. The sheer comfort with both of their bodies told him that Grayson enjoyed sex thoroughly and had explored it just as thoroughly. Yet he couldn’t help but feel a bit touched that he had caused Grayson to lose control like this. It was a first for both of them.
“I see. So we’re stuck?” Ryder couldn’t help that continued amusement.
Grayson’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never actually done a controlled landing, but it should be possible. I mean… theoretically.”
“Well, I’m pretty hardy and quick. So if you drop us I’ll keep us both from being hurt,” Ryder assured him.
“You haven’t ever had sex with an Ashyr, have you?” Never had them… do this?” Grayson asked, eyes searching his face with surprising alertness.
Was Grayson jealous at the idea of other lovers with powers like his? But no, Grayson was hungry to understand his powers. Ryder felt foolish for a moment, but still… there might be something else behind those tawny eyes.
“No, I haven’t. The only Ashyr I know is called Dani and only tangentially through Demos,” Ryder answered.
“I bet you don’t have relationships outside of your Bloodline,” Grayson said.
His eyes were no longer on Ryder, but instead was studying the bed beneath them as if gauging the distance and psyching himself up.
“I’m with you,” Ryder found himself saying.
Grayson turned back to him. “What? Oh… yeah, but I’m not a Vampire so I don’t count.”
Ryder blinked. “That’s not… no, that’s how this works.”
“I meant a relationship-relationship,” Grayson said, using his usual bluntness that seemed to get through all of Ryder’s fuzzy thinking on situations. “You can’t have a real relationship with a human unless you’re planning to turn them. We don’t live long. We age. So you could only really love another Vampire, right?”
Ryder considered this. “There’s something to what you say. I’ve not had much time for romance--”
“You’ve lived almost 500 years.” Grayson lifted an eyebrow at him. “That’s not enough time?”
Ryder grimaced. “You’d be surprised how fast it goes when you no longer have a ticking clock. Years flow together then decades and then centuries.”
“Hmmm, well, am I right that you’ve never had any relationships outside of the Weryn then?” Grayson asked, once more looking everywhere but at him.
Ryder caught Grayson’s chin and sat up. It truly felt like there was someone holding him in place, keeping him from falling.
“Are you worried about what that means about us?” Ryder asked.
Grayson lifted an eyebrow. “Ah, no , because there is no us. This is just fun. I’m not a Vampire. I don’t want to be a Vampire so I won’t be around long enough for you to have time for a romance with me. After all, if 500 years wouldn’t be enough then I highly doubt however long I’ve got would be.”
Grayson appeared amused, but his statements did seem pointed. Ryder was surprised that they hurt him. Not because it wasn’t true. Vampires only had true romantic relationships with ones they wished to turn and other Vampires. Getting attached to a mortal was the height of foolishness. It was also dangerous.
“Vampires need to be careful,” Ryder said.
“Because you eat your lovers?” Grayson asked, still amused.
“No… yes , that’s part of it. But we have to be careful not to get too attached to anything that will not last,” Ryder explained.
Grayson frowned. “Why?”
“Because eternity can be a heavy burden sometimes. Loving a mortal--and not turning them--makes us feel the transitory nature of existence. It’s… unnatural to us,” Ryder strove to explain. “It can cause us to pine and that isn’t good.”
The frown cleared up and there was an almost look of pity on Grayson’s face. “I get it. Though I imagine it's pretty hard on the human, too, who loves you, but ages, withers and dies while you stay the same. Fresh and energetic.”
“I imagine it would be. Which is why I don’t look for comfort, friendship or anything other than blood and sex outside of my own kind,” Ryder explained.
“Right. Exactly. So we’re both not looking for anything other than a good time from one another. A really fleeting good time,” Grayson said.
Grayson’s gaze was steady with no hurt in it, but nothing else in it either. It was as if he had shut the curtains and locked the doors. And Ryder felt a stab of guilt as if he had just lied. But he hadn’t. It was the truth. This was very fun with Grayson. He enjoyed the young man. He was drawn to him, yes, but that was normal after what they had experienced. Grayson just made the protector in him come out, the alpha that wanted to keep those in his pack safe. Not that Grayson seemed to terribly need protection. The young man had saved Ryder and then himself. But still…
If only we had met under different circumstances! Ryder grimaced. Not here. Not at the school. Now Grayson is off limits, even if he isn’t Ashyr which is insane. He doesn’t even wish to be a Vampire!
But that too blank expression worried Ryder and hurt him, too. He truly wanted to be here and for them both to enjoy the time they did have together. They just couldn’t imagine that it wasn’t anything more than fleeting as Grayson had said.
Ryder though found himself saying, “I do not mean--”
Ryder did not get a chance to finish that sentence--and perhaps that was a lucky thing as he wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to say, but it would have been something, anything , to have Grayson look at him with joy again--because they suddenly both crashed to earth. And just like Grayson had said, they bounced. Luckily, Ryder landed on his feet and grabbed Grayson, stopping the young man from hitting the ground.
“Whoa! Shit! I didn’t realize it was going to just stop like that,” Grayson said and blinked a few times.
Ryder set him down carefully on trembling legs. Grayson stood there, quietly, looking at the fire and not at him. It popped and cracked. The golden light it gave off painted Grayson’s tawny skin. Ryder traced the light and shadows it cast on Grayson’s shoulder with his fingertips.
“Perhaps you should speak to an Ashyr Vampire. Maybe they could help you learn to use your powers better,” Ryder offered, even as inwardly he cringed at the idea.
Why? Shouldn’t I wish this for him? Ryder challenged himself.
But he knew that once the Ashyr were involved that he would be barred from seeing Grayson. They would all think that Grayson was Ashyr reborn, come back to them. And no filthy Weryn would be allowed to soil their possible Immortal’s skin with his lips and breath and cum. No, Grayson would be Courted by the most powerful of the Ashyr Vampires. Though Grayson said he did not wish to be a Vampire now, they would change his mind. Or they would make it happen.
Doesn’t his being Ashyr explain why the other Immortals cluster around him? Yes, it does...
“I think Balthazar took the memory of that Ashyr Vampire away. Otherwise, I think they’d already be here,” Grayson said with a shrug.
Ryder’s breath skipped. “Ah? Yes, yes, you’re probably right.”
“They’d want to know what exactly I can do and maybe why. They’d probably be freaked out that a human can do this,” Grayson said.
No, they would think they already know why. And they might be right...
Grayson turned around in his arms, smiling again, seemingly focused on him again. Those eyes were “open” but perhaps not as much as in the beginning of their coupling. But Grayson was smiling. His hands ran up and down Ryder’s chest, seeming to relish every inch of him.
“But I don’t care about them right now,” Grayson said, his voice a little low and breathy.
“Oh?” Ryder’s cock was already starting to harden again.
Stay here, his mind whispered treacherously. Stay with me.
Grayson’s still hard cock pressed against his thigh. “No. I’m just interested in you .”
And Ryder’s heart did not skip a beat then, or so he would tell himself later. He did not feel a sense of joy that was so piercing it almost hurt. No, that couldn’t have happened. This was just a light, fun time that he did not want to have stretch on forever like an endless road in the moonlight.
No.
No.
No .
Grayson’s arms slid up and around his neck. He had to get up onto his tiptoes to have his mouth reach Ryder’s without Ryder lowering his head. He pressed a soft kiss to Ryder’s lips. He pulled back, tilting his head to the side, still smiling, and leaning in to kiss him again. He licked his lips as if Ryder was a fine wine or a sweet he was tasting and evaluating whether it was to his taste or not.
“You are so serious now, Ryder. I’m going to think that you’re offended that I don’t want to spend eternity with you,” Grayson murmured.
Ryder’s smile was a little rigid. “I couldn’t have you even if I wanted you… and you wanted me.”
Grayson frowned. “Oh? Oh. Right. No fledglings from the school. Even though I’m not really a student, I’m close enough, right?”
Ryder gave a curt nod. “Exactly.”
“This game of chicken you’ve got going with Balthazar, Caemorn and the others, do you really think it’s going to work?” Grayson looked like he didn’t think so.
“It must. It is not safe this way.”
“All right. I see you’re married to that idea. So… why are you upset?” Grayson asked.
“I’m not.” Clipped. Curt. Cold. Ryder grimaced. He was upset and he did and didn’t know why. “I’m… I’m not. Not in the way you think.”
“I only know you’re upset suddenly and it has to do with me or something I’ve said,” Grayson told him.
“No, you’re wonderful. You’re perfect.” Ryder paused. Is that what he meant to say? Yes… Grayson was perfect in all of this. He wasn’t being so perfect. “I just… I like you. And even though I’m saying what’s between us is fleeting , it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter.”
Grayson looked away. “Okay.”
“It doesn’t have to matter to you. I just want you to know that it matters to me,” Ryder said and clenched his jaw.
What was he saying? What did he mean?
Grayson slowly looked back towards him. “We’re going to see one another tomorrow and the night after that and the night after that. Especially if we’re going after the Pact. And I’m supposed to keep all those hungry students away from you so… if we have fun together that’s fine, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
“If we enjoy it and look forward to the next time that doesn’t mean anything but that we are having a good time,” Grayson said.
“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
“I’d like to enjoy you. I’d like to do this again. Loads of times actually. We won’t get a chance to do everything I want tonight.” Grayson flashed him a smile.
Ryder actually blushed. “No, nor I.”
“So we’re just going to enjoy this and not worry about anything then? We have this time and then when it ends, it ends. No harm. No foul.” Grayson’s expression though was so blank as to be disconcerting.
Was this what Grayson wanted? Or was this what Grayson thought he did? Or were they both just saying what they thought the other wanted to hear or what they thought they felt but really didn’t?
“I want more of this too. I want to… enjoy you as well,” Ryder admitted.
Maybe this night would be all they got. After all, the Ashyr would discover Grayson’s ability at sometime. Sooner rather than later. And if Grayson really was an Immortal reborn then… well, then Grayson himself would not be interested in anything more with him. He was a Weryn and his and the Ashyr’s Bloodlines were not terribly friendly. Not that the Weryn were friendly with any Bloodline, but he and Demos had taken out one of the Ashyr’s damaged War children. They’d had to do it. They hadn’t been able to wait for backup or alert the Ashyr to deal with this Childe themselves. So they were not a favorite.
“Then we’re good. You’re not upset anymore?” Grayson added.
“No. I’m not upset.”
“It was my fault for talking.” Grayson grinned. “Talking during sex is a bad idea. Talking before sex usually is. And talking after is completely verboten so--”
“How do you get your partners into bed if you do not speak to them at least beforehand? Do you grunt and point? Make hand gestures? Thrust your pelvis in their direction?” Ryder asked, a smile threatening to break out and wash his upset away. Grayson had that effect.
He actually knew the answer to that question. When he was shifted and with others of the Weryn, they communicated by the slightest of movements, sounds and scents. But he was curious what Grayson would have to say.
“You’d be surprised what a few hip thrusts can communicate.” Grayson waggled his eyebrows. “Here, let me show you.”
Grayson pushed his groin against Ryder’s. His cock, hard and leaking and needy, pressed against Ryder’s hip and then between his thighs. Lust bloomed within him again as if it were hot embers that were fed fresh, dry wood. Grayson was utterly intriguing and--
“And what about this move? What does it communicate to you?” Grayson asked as he leaned to the side, exposing his neck to Ryder.
Ryder’s eyes fixed on the pulse point in Grayson’s swan-like throat. His fangs slid out and were fully extended. His heart sped up, joining in rhythm with Grayson’s. The young man’s heart rate increased as he did this.
“I want to fuck you and then you can feed from me. Or if you can do it at the same time…” Grayson smiled bewitchingly at him as he suddenly broke out of Ryder’s light embrace and sauntered to the bed.
Ryder tracked him with his whole body. Grayson’s heart rate increased again, knowing the predator was at the forefront, but he still smiled. He laid down on the bed, almost coquettishly and started to fondle his cock. The other arm slid under his head as he regarded Ryder just as hungrily.
“You’ve seen the other in me and accepted it,” Grayson said. His thumb trailed over the head of his cock and pulled the slit apart. He shivered as he did it. “I don’t want you to hide who you are either. I know you’re a Vampire, Ryder. I want you to be one with me.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Ryder got out in a thick voice around his fangs.
He was not hungry for food. He did not need to slake his thirst. He wouldn’t have agreed to do this if he had been the least bit interested in blood. But the thought of Grayson’s blood on his tongue--hot and sweet and inviting--had his stomach clenching and his mouth dry as dust.
“Probably not,” Grayson admitted. “But I’m open to it.”
“I would say you were foolish, but I want to taste your blood very much.”
Ryder stalked over to the bed. If Grayson resisted him or showed any hint that he wanted this to stop, Ryder would stop. He was in control of the predator. The predator did not control him.
Grayson laid back on the bed, completely seemingly at ease. His eyes tracked Ryder’s approach and his breath caught when Ryder pounced onto the bed. He’d used his Vampire speed so likely it had appeared to Grayson that he’d disappeared from beside the bed and reappeared straddling the young man.
His hole ached to be filled almost as much as his fangs desired to thrust into willing flesh. Normally, he was the one topping when he fed, but this actually better, because there was an equality about it. And, besides, he had always been quite good at topping from the bottom.
He positioned himself above that hard, straining, leaking cock. He could feel the body head rising from Grayson’s form. His eyes became slits and, as was always the case when hunting prey, he could see the veins and arteries underneath the skin. They seemed to rise to the surface. It was more like echo-location than actual seeing. His hearing became so acute and his eyesight so keen that the human body’s tender spots were completely laid bare.
The throat.
The wrists.
The inner arms.
He slowly lowered himself onto Grayson’s cock. The young man gasped as he led that lovely, pink-flushed head into his opening. He was slick enough that he slid down the whole length in one go. It bore down on Grayson’s cock as soon as it was fully sheathed inside of him. His eyes slid fully closed and he breathed around the hard length. Grayson let out a moan that became a mewl of need as he released and bore down again and again.
The young man’s hands were on his hips, urging them to move up and down. Grayson was not using his powers. That would have been the only way for the young man to have the strength to move him. But the need in those frantic touches had him smiling. He opened his eyes once more.
Grayson’s expression was one of abject pleading. Sweat had beaded on his upper lip and forehead as his arousal had grown from banked embers to a roaring fire. The young man clutched at his hips and keened.
Move.
Please.
Move.
I’m going to cum if you don’t!
And I want to cum after feeling you move.
All of these words were unspoken. So Grayson was very capable of communicating without words.
Ryder began to slowly lift himself off of Grayson’s cock. A slow, sensual slide. He shivered as the cock ran along his prostate and a hot, tingling sensation filled him. His hands though were steady as he moved them up Grayson’s stomach, following the lovely lines of his chest. Grayson’s stomach jumped at the touch even as the young man trembled with the effort of not cumming.
Ryder sank back down in one fluid movement and then was on the rise again. Grayson let out a gasp and clutched Ryder’s hips so hard that his knuckles went white. Ryder’s fingers kept moving up past the midpoint of Grayson’s lovely chest, circling around the peaked nipples that could so easily be sucked on and made to bleed. Grayson’s breath hitched in his throat and it was beautiful.
Those tingling strands of heat bloomed and then flooded Ryder. He could feel the arousal all the way to the tips of his fangs. He lifted his hips and inch then pushed down to the root of Grayson’s cock again and again and again. Then he was rising so that the head of Grayson’s lovely member was just about to slip out of his body and then he thrust himself down again so that Grayson’s ball pressed against his ass. Heat and desire were like the flames of the firelight licking his body. He felt consumed by them.
His fingers now were at the hollow of Grayson’s delicate throat. They dipped into that hollowed, followed its contours, tapped along its high ridges and then smoothed the deep valley. Grayson’s eyes were hooded. His pupils were blown wide with desire. His lips were parted and that pink tongue swept out and licked those lips as if to welcome him.
Ryder leaned down and captured that mouth. He tasted Grayson on his tongue. He dragged a fang over it and blood--a thin stream--passed from Grayson’s lips to his. He drank it down.
His whole body reacted to the taste. It was like tasting eternity. That’s what he thought at that moment. Later he wouldn’t understand what that meant. But at that moment he felt he had been waiting for this taste his whole life. Waiting to experience it again . And here it was. The oldest memory. The best memory. But the first time too.
For a moment, he wasn’t in this bed with Grayson, but in another. Firelight painted the furs and pillows that were piled high beneath him and around him. Someone was curled on top of him. His right hand was running through their hair. They were humming.
“Aren’t you glad that we did this?” a voice that he did not know and yearned for asked.
“I am. How could I not be?” His voice, yet not his voice, answered. “But it will cause trouble. The others will see it as a threat. Two of us together--”
“So we should just not love each other then? Because others might be threatened?” That beloved voice was angry and scared. Scared he would regret this.
“No, no, I said I was glad. I do not regret this. I never could. You are… the other half of me,” he admitted in that strange voice.
“Even though I can’t shift into a flock of birds or a wolf or a--”
“You’ve proved you are my match no matter what form I’m in,” he chuckled.
“We did fly together.” The beloved voice was pleased.
“Yes, we did. And we shall again.”
Ryder gasped and he was back in the moment. He had broken off the bloody kiss. He was staring down into Grayson’s face. The young man’s eyes opened and he looked confused. Why had Ryder stopped? He didn’t want it to stop!
Ryder’s hips had ground down on top of Grayson’s cock. That beautiful organ was completely inside of him. Completely connected.
Not complete. Not yet.
He leaned down and kissed Grayson’s lips once more. A hot, deep kiss full of desperation. But then he moved along Grayson’s chin and jaw until he got to his throat.
And then he was biting down. His fangs were sinking into Grayson’s flesh like twin knives into butter on a hot day. He wondered, just as he took that first sip, what he would see with a full mouthful of Grayson’s blood. He wanted to see more, know more of this strange vision.
But this time, he only glimpsed the darkness behind his own eyelids. The blood filled his mouth and heated his throat and belly. But no further visions came. He would have felt disappointment if not for Grayson’s arms winding around him, reminding him that this moment was what mattered, not some strange dream…
His ass clenched around that delightful cock. Grayson raked his nails down his back. Grayson’s voice was in his ears as he felt the hot pump of cum flood his insides and his own cock spray its seed.
“Fly… we’re flying,” Grayson whispered.
Ryder’s orgasm then swept him over the edge and he heard nothing more for some time other than the whoosh of Grayson’s blood and the beating of his heart.
He came to when the young man sighed and his body went lax beneath him. Ryder’s eyelids flew open and he realized he was still feeding. Terror like an ice pick stabbed his belly, but then, another part of him, though, It would be the excuse I need to turn him. If I’ve taken too much…
But he released Grayson’s neck from his fangs and pulled back. He went to tap Grayson’s cheeks to rouse him from, hopefully, a blissful orgasm and not from lack of blood. But Grayson’s eyelids fluttered open of their own accord and he was smiling at Ryder. He reached up and ran the back of his hand along Ryder’s cheek and into his beard.
“So… so amazing,” Grayson said.
“Are you… are you all right? Did I take too much?” Ryder’s body was rigid and yet trembling from the release.
He’d not orgasmed so hard in… he didn’t know how long.
Grayson’s eyes fully opened. They were clear and not hazy. “No, no, I’m fine. You took like two sips. That was it. Then you sort of… passed out.”
Ryder blinked. “Did I? I… I was worried that I lost track of myself.”
That sounded so odd. Had he passed out? He couldn’t believe it! But Grayson seemed fine .
“No, you were perfect.” Grayson studied him. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I am. I just need some water. What about you?”
“Ah, sure.”
Grayson reluctantly let him go and Ryder quickly got up. Both their bodies were sticky with sweat and cum. Grayson was still inside of him as he peeled himself off. He missed that connection between them. But he needed to orient himself. He felt so strange.
“That was… incredible, Grayson,” he assured the young man.
A brilliant smile. “You aren’t wrong. I feel like I could sleep for a week. As long as you are here.”
Ryder realized there was an unasked question in that. Would he stay? He’d told Grayson it was dangerous. And he’d just passed out after a--a vision or something? Could he risk sleeping beside this warm, alluring young man whose blood sang to him?
“I’ll be right back,” Ryder said.
He walked to the bathroom. Without much thought he washed himself off in the sink and cupped water in his hands to quench a thirst he didn’t have. Could he stay here? What had happened?
We did fly together.
Yes, we did. And we shall again.
With trembling hands, he filled a glass of water for Grayson then he turned the taps to make the water warm and wet a towel in it. He carried both back to the bedroom. He stopped at the foot of the bed. Grayson had created a nest for them. It was clear that he wanted Ryder to stay. He smiled awkwardly at Ryder.
“Are you okay?” Grayson asked again.
“Yes, I’m okay. I’m better than that.” And he wasn’t lying.
He handed the water to Grayson while he used the towel to clean the young man’s front off. Grayson laughed, telling him it tickled, but not batting his hands away. Then Grayson was sliding under the covers, leaving a space for him.
“Your blood was better than the wine,” Ryder said.
Better than anything.
“Oh? That’s good, right?” Grayson asked.
“Yes.” And no. “But that just means I need to take extra special care. You did want to see me as a wolf, didn’t you?”
Grayson’s eyes widened. “You’re going to--”
“Shift and sleep with you as a wolf so I don’t…” drain you dry , “... snack on you.”
“We mustn’t have that. I’d want to be awake for that.” Grayson touched the already healing fang marks on his neck.
“Indeed. So… would you like a furry companion in the bed or on the floor?” Ryder asked.
“In the bed! I bet you’re fluffy.” Grayson grinned.
“Yes, well, maybe a little.” Ryder blushed. “Good night, Grayson.”
“Ah, goodnight.” Grayson didn’t take his eyes off of him.
Ryder set down the towel and then he shifted into his wolf form. Grayson gasped and leaned forward. His eyes were huge. Ryder knew the form that he cut. He was a gray wolf with black and white markings. He was also huge . Bigger than a normal wolf by far. If he stood up on his hind legs he could place his front pants on Grayson’s shoulders and be eye to eye with the young man.
With a smile curling his lips, Grayson patted the bed beside him as if Ryder really were a wild animal he was trying to lure near. Ryder lightly jumped up onto the bed. Grayson’s mouth opened wide and then he surged towards Ryder and threw his arms around his wolf neck.
“Oh, my God! You’re amazing! You’re beautiful ! Ryder… Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” Grayson asked.
His hands ran all along Ryder’s glossy coat. Grayson kissed his snout and his head between his flickering ears. The petting and the kissing was rather enjoyable. He had never let anyone do this. He settled down beside Grayson. The young man laid down too and pulled the covers over both of them. He put a protective paw around Grayson’s shoulders. Grayson buried his head into Ryder’s fur.
He felt the warm breaths from the young man even out as he fell into sleep. Ryder’s eyes took longer to slide shut. His mind was replaying the vision and then stopping on that moment where he had lost himself and hoped and feared he had taken too much blood from Grayson.
This is insane what I am doing.
Yet Ryder did not wish to stop or leave.
Finally, his eyes slid shut and he fell asleep and dreamed of flying with Grayson.