Chapter 17 Riley
RILEY
Riley endured a mini eternity waiting for Seth to wash the dough off his hands.
He tried to be patient, but he knew he was hovering, breathing hotly against Seth’s neck as he seemed to have a habit of doing these days. He couldn’t help it—Seth smelled the sweetest there, right at the back of his neck, his orange scent so tart and rich it made Riley’s mouth water.
Maybe Riley would have been able to help himself if Seth had seemed to hate it, but if anything, it was the opposite.
When Riley stood so close—their bodies almost touching, his breath blowing against Seth’s skin—all the little hairs on the back of Seth’s neck stood up, his heart raced, and his ears turned the prettiest shade of pink.
Seth wanted Riley. He might not have wanted to want him, but he did. And if that was all Riley had to work with—a certain fondness and base attraction—he was going to take full advantage.
He realized he might be slightly hindered by his own inexperience, but he was a quick student.
He’d been homeschooled for obvious reasons, and he’d always gone above and beyond the curriculum.
If nothing else, the quest for knowledge was a way to pass the time as well as expand his constricted world.
And now Riley was going to fill his entire world with his mate. He was going to learn and memorize and worship everything that made Seth sigh and moan and harden. He was going to fucking ace it.
Seth finally turned from the sink, and Riley stepped back to make room. Not too much room though. He could sense Seth preparing to retreat, to grow shy where he’d just gotten bold.
So Riley did what he knew would make Seth laugh if nothing else: Riley threw him over his shoulder.
Seth did laugh, a gasping sound of amused disbelief that turned into a faux outraged giggle as Riley headed toward the stairs, one arm banded around the back of Seth’s thighs. “What are you—”
“You wanted to see my room.”
Seth slapped a wet hand against Riley’s lower back. “Your moms.”
But Riley had heard his moms leave the house ages ago. They were either roaming the woods or walking into town. The majority of the rooms in the house were soundproofed—none of them wanted Riley to hear what two vampire moms in desperate love got up to—but the privacy was still appreciated.
So Riley ignored Seth’s half-hearted wiggles of protest until they were safely closed up in his room, and then he set his mate down on his feet.
He expected another slap or maybe a wagging finger, but instead, Seth grabbed Riley’s face, pulling it down to his level. “Let me see your eyes.”
Riley blinked brown eyes at him. “You thought it was my vampire taking over and abducting you?”
“It crossed my mind.”
Riley frowned. He wasn’t sure if he liked the implications of that. “I’m just as obsessed, you know. It’s not all…it.”
That was probably the wrong thing to say, considering how Seth had freaked out about the mate thing. And he did seem poised to say something argumentative in return, so Riley took quick advantage of their position and pressed a kiss to Seth’s open mouth.
It was incredibly gratifying, the way Seth went immediately limp, melting into Riley as he gasped into the kiss.
Yeah, this was totally the way to go about things.
Riley was just going to seduce Seth over and over until he forgot all his reservations.
The voice inside Riley seemed to like that idea too, purring its approval as Riley licked into Seth’s mouth, pressing his knee against the hardness between Seth’s thighs.
By the time they broke apart, Seth’s hands were fisted in Riley’s shirt and his eyelids were drooping, his pretty lips slack and reddened. He gazed around Riley’s room absently, as if looking for an anchor. “You have a lot of books.”
That was true, but Riley didn’t feel like going through an inventory of his possessions right this second. He kissed Seth again, backing him up to the bed while Seth was pliant and occupied sucking on his tongue. Riley lifted him with two hands on his ass, then followed him down to the bed.
“We can just kiss,” Riley murmured, brushing his lips against Seth’s jaw, down his throat.
Licking at Seth’s pounding pulse. Riley could do that without fear now.
He had a new confidence in his own self-control—a new belief that the voice wasn’t going to ruin everything if he let go—and it was almost as heady as Seth’s eager kisses.
For once, Riley and his voice were on the exact same page: keep Seth happy, do whatever he wanted, don’t let him run.
Riley hummed, sucking on that tender spot, loving the way it made Seth groan. “We could kiss for hours and hours.”
“And you’d be—” Seth arched up, his hands now twisting into the hem of Riley’s shirt. “You’d be okay with that?”
Riley went back to nibbling Seth’s jaw. He liked that there was the faintest hint of stubble there. Seth was usually so meticulous about shaving. “Yes.”
“I wouldn’t.” Seth tugged Riley’s shirt. “Do you have lube?”
The question shot a jolt of electricity straight to Riley’s dick. He groaned. “Yes.”
“What about condoms?”
Riley paused his nibbling and raised his head. “I’m undead. I can’t give you anything. But if you’d prefer them—”
Seth let out a slow breath, but Riley didn’t miss the way his hips bucked up. “No. That’s… Oh boy. Okay.”
Oh fuck. This was happening. Riley was going to fuck Seth, and he was going to do it bare.
He swallowed. Hard. “But we have to get naked.”
Seth arched his brows. “We do?”
“Yes,” Riley told him, nodding frantically to make it extra clear. He hadn’t seen Seth fully naked yet, and he was going to start ripping fabric if it didn’t happen soon.
Seth gave him a soft smile. “I like naked.”
The smile dissolved into an equally soft laugh as Riley immediately tugged Seth’s shirt off, wrestling with his wayward limbs and making sure Seth’s soft pants and underwear were quick to follow.
Riley tossed the bundle to the floor, then rose onto his knees, straddling Seth’s bare calves, and drank him in.
Seth said he liked running, and Riley could see the evidence of it.
There was strength in his thighs. In his arms too—probably from handling dough like he did.
And while he was slim, his muscles were still covered by a soft layer that Riley wanted to lick and nibble at.
His skin was noticeably paler where his clothes covered, with sparse curly hair on his chest and a thatch at his groin that was darker than what covered his head.
Riley had already known he loved Seth’s cock, all pink and slim and ruddy at the tip. He was gratified that it was standing at attention for him, leaking precum onto the soft swell of Seth’s belly.
Seth lay surprisingly still under Riley’s intent perusal. Riley could hear Seth’s heart hammering, but he didn’t cover himself, although a dark blush spread from his cheeks down his neck.
“You too,” Seth finally commanded, and Riley stood only long enough to shuck off his clothes, climbing back to straddle Seth’s calves again afterward.
For some reason, it was Riley’s nudity that had Seth covering his face. “Jesus,” he moaned.
“Can we do it like this?” Riley asked. He had to swallow hard again—so much naked Seth, and Riley was almost on the verge of drooling. “Facing each other?”
“We can, but for the first time, it might be easier—” Seth made a little turning gesture with his hand, then rose onto his elbows. “Do you want to open me up yourself?”
Riley had to grip the base of his cock hard to keep from embarrassing himself. “Yes. Yes, that.”
“Get the lube.”
While Riley did what Seth asked, Seth turned over onto his belly, tucking a pillow under his hips. Riley’s mouth went dry as he fell newly in love with the line of Seth’s spine, the way it drew the eye down to the fleshy globes of his ass, the strong muscles in his legs.
Riley also had a suspicion this position wasn’t just for ease, that Seth was creating a little distance between them where he could. But that was fine.
This wouldn’t be the last time they did this. Only the first.
Riley set the lube down on the covers and crawled between Seth’s spread legs.
He let himself pet and stroke to his heart’s content, running his hands up and over Seth’s shoulders and back, loving the way Seth’s muscles tensed and then relaxed under his hands.
He moved his touch down, down, over Seth’s hips and ass, spreading those lush cheeks, fixating on what was revealed.
It was so small here. So tender. How was it supposed to take him?
Just the thought of it had Riley’s cock bucking.
He gave himself another squeeze and then set his throbbing erection right there, on that soft, soft skin.
He rubbed gently back and forth, moaning quietly at the feel of it.
He was going to be inside there soon. Gripped by that tight sheath. Surrounded by Seth.
“Having fun?”
The question shook Riley out of his fog, and he realized he was squeezing Seth’s cheeks around his cock like that was the endgame of this whole experience. He might have been embarrassed, if not for the throaty, husky rasp of Seth’s voice. He liked Riley rubbing on him.
“Yes,” Riley admitted. “I really am.”
But he drew back and grabbed the lube. He squirted some on Seth’s crack (“Jesus! Warn a guy!”), then squirted more on his fingers.
He pressed on that hole lightly with his fingertip, rubbing careful circles.
He teased and cajoled until it softened for him, his fingertip going in easily.
The rest of his finger followed, and it was unfathomable, wasn’t it, that Riley was going to feel this tight heat around his dick soon?
“Okay?” Riley asked, his own voice about an octave lower than usual.
He heard Seth’s hard swallow in the silence. “Have you done this before?”
“You know I haven’t. I’ve just…thought about it. A lot.”