Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Two nights after the visit to the Ministry member’s house, Ethan found himself standing in the foyer of Marcus’s new home, directing the movers as they hauled in boxes and furniture.
The pianos had arrived a day earlier, and a piano tuner was scheduled to come the next day to retune all three.
They’d made the trip in a private jet with Marcus’s brothers, which was hands down the most extravagant experience of his life.
Ethan had spent the majority of the time talking to Bel as Marcus and Winter whispered about something at the rear of the jet.
Rafe was stretched out along a bench, sleeping for most of the flight.
Ethan liked Bel. The vampire was sweet and dedicated to his research. He was also a lot more perceptive about people than his brothers gave him credit for, but Ethan figured it was easier for them to dismiss Bel as an absentminded professor than to accept that their nerdy brother had their number.
“Ethan,” Marcus called from the second-floor staircase railing.
Ethan looked up to see his lover leaning over the railing to look down at him.
He was wearing his usual dark suit, but his hair was standing wildly about his head.
Ethan was quickly learning this was a sign that Marcus was feeling stressed and anxious.
His first guess was the sheer number of people running around his house.
“Yes?”
“Has the Wi-Fi been set up yet? Janice needs me to look over some contracts.”
“Yes. I wrote down the password and put it in your wallet.”
Ethan nearly laughed at the look of surprise on Marcus’s face, but he muttered a quick thanks before disappearing again. Ethan’s guess was that he’d marched to the temporary office he’d set up next to the master bedroom.
Marcus had tried to fire him, saying that they couldn’t work together if they were dating.
He wanted to just give Ethan a generous allowance and access to his bank account if he needed anything else.
It was a little tempting after living most of his life hand to mouth, but he didn’t want to be a “kept man.” He wanted to do something useful and earn his own way.
And if he’d learned anything in the past month, it was that Marcus needed an assistant helping with all the various tasks of life, whether big or small.
For now, he’d managed to get Marcus to simply extend his contract indefinitely. He figured after they straightened out this political nonsense, he could find a more permanent job within Marcus’s companies. Maybe even finish his damn degree.
Yet even with those vague plans, Ethan couldn’t completely shake off Victoria’s words that no pet ever escaped their vampire. There was no life after Marcus.
Of course, he didn’t want to leave Marcus. He loved being with him, loved their talks and dinners together. He loved falling asleep as the sun rose in Marcus’s arms and making love to him.
But that damn skeptical voice kept taunting him. What if Marcus got bored? Eternity was a long time, and Ethan was getting older by the day. He wasn’t going to stay young and vibrant forever.
Shoving those dark thoughts aside, Ethan focused on getting the last of the truck unpacked, papers signed, and movers generously tipped. He’d just finished ordering pizza when he went to locate his lover.
The vampire had been moody since the last of his things were loaded on a truck. They’d stopped at Ethan’s old apartment to grab a few things he didn’t want to part with. The rest would be packed up by a service and donated to charity.
After Marcus snapped at the movers the moment they arrived at the house, Ethan sent him off to his room so he could handle the last of the move.
Marcus wasn’t in his new office, but he did locate him in the massive closet off the master bedroom. The thing was bigger than most bedrooms and even had its own sofa for lounging, as if Marcus or Ethan were in danger of wearing themselves out trying to choose a pair of shoes.
When he peeked inside, he found Marcus organizing his button-down shirts by color, which was kind of adorable and nerdy.
But what had Ethan’s heart skipping a beat was seeing his clothes carefully hung up and organized on the shelves and racks opposite Marcus’s.
He’d never shared a closet with anyone, and he could guess that Marcus was feeling the same eagerness, considering it was the first thing he’d unpacked out of the entire house.
“Have you mellowed?” Ethan asked from where he leaned against the doorframe.
Marcus smiled. He didn’t jump, proving that he’d heard Ethan approaching. “Yes. I’m calmer now. The movers gone?”
“Yep. Everything is here. I checked off every box. I’ve also ordered pizza, which should be here in about twenty minutes.”
“Good.” Marcus turned from his suits. His eyes darted over to Ethan’s clothes and then to Ethan. “I unpacked your things.”
“I noticed,” Ethan said, unable to keep from teasing his lover. He couldn’t help himself. He could feel the power in Marcus, see the way others reacted to him, and yet Marcus treated him like he was the one with all the power. It boggled his mind.
“I know you said that you wanted to share a bedroom, so I assumed it also meant sharing a closet.”
“It did.” Ethan walked into the room, he moved to his clothes and touched the frayed hem of a pair of jeans before crossing to Marcus’s tailor-made suits.
He ran his fingers over the silky material of one tie before looking at Marcus.
“I think our clothes look good together. Power suits meet lazy Sundays.”
“I love how you dress. Don’t change if you don’t want to.”
Ethan moved to the dresser in the center of the room and lifted himself up so that he was seated on the top.
Marcus stepped between his legs and wrapped his arms around Ethan’s waist. This way, Ethan was only an inch or two shorter than Marcus, giving him much easier access to his lips.
They kissed slowly, letting the fire build between them.
The hands resting on his hips suddenly slid under his shirt, rubbing against his bare back.
And then they were pulling the shirt over his head.
A low laugh turned into a gasp as Marcus started kissing down his chest. Marcus’s tongue swept across his nipple, followed by the hint of fang. Jesus fuck, he probably shouldn’t be as turned-on as he was by Marcus’s fangs, but he couldn’t deny the way his cock filled at just the touch.
“We shouldn’t,” he groaned. “The pizza. It’ll be here soon.”
“You eat the pizza. I’m hungry for something else.” Marcus attacked Ethan’s belt and pants.
Ethan leaned back on his hands and smiled at Marcus as he worked on pulling Ethan’s jeans down to his thighs. “You can’t fool me. I know vampires can’t survive on cum.”
Marcus leaned down and nuzzled Ethan’s cock through his cotton boxer briefs. “That’s just an appetizer. I’m craving you tonight. I want to christen our bedroom. Make it ours.”
Ethan gave up trying to argue or talk any sense into Marcus when his lover freed his cock from his briefs. “Your fangs better be packed away,” Ethan warned.
Marcus looked up, smiling broadly at him. Ethan could clearly see the fangs slide away. Yes, Marcus biting him was a major turn-on, but sadly, that turn-on stopped when it came to fangs in his dick.
Lowering his head again, Marcus licked and lightly sucked the head of his cock, teasing him, before finally taking his dick into his mouth.
And then Ethan was in heaven. It was the first time Marcus had sucked him, and Ethan was content to lie there and enjoy every touch.
But that relaxation ended too quickly as Marcus found his rhythm, driving Ethan toward an orgasm.
“Marcus,” he whimpered, trying to warn him that he was going to come soon.
Fingers slipped under his sac, massaging his balls and sliding along his perineum.
How Marcus always knew the perfect ways to tease and drive him insane was amazing.
It was as if his body were the keys of a piano. Marcus was a master at playing him.
“Oh God, please, baby. So close. Please,” he begged. He gripped the edge of the dresser, his head tilted as he lightly thrust into Marcus’s mouth. Marcus tightened one hand on his hip and sped up his movement on his dick. He was a fucking goner. Ethan shouted and came hard down Marcus’s throat.
Ethan collapsed against the dresser, his body spread out like a damn human sacrifice. He shivered as Marcus sucked and licked his cock clean before letting it slide from his mouth. He blinked and looked up to find Marcus leaning over him with a smug smile.
“Pleased with yourself?” Ethan murmured. He was content to lie there for the rest of the night.
“Very. You?”
“Oh, fuck yeah. At least we’ve got this room christened.”
Marcus glanced around as if assessing Ethan’s comment. “It’ll do for now. We still need to break in the sofa.”
Ethan laughed and then made a lame grab for his underwear. He missed and didn’t try again. He was in no rush to get dressed. “As big as this house is, at least I know you’re not going to get bored with me soon.”
Marcus’s expression turned dark as he looked at Ethan. “How could I grow bored with you? I told you I love you. Don’t you believe me?”
“Of course I believe you. It’s not that.
” Ethan sat up and started pulling his pants back into place, but it was too difficult still seated on the damn dresser.
He hadn’t meant for this conversation to get so serious.
He hopped to his feet and put his clothes to rights again, but it also gave Marcus a chance to move so that he was standing directly in front of Ethan.
“Then tell me. What is bothering you?”
“It’s nothing. Something Victoria mentioned. I’m just being neurotic. We should head downstairs. The pizza guy is gonna be here soon.”
“The pizza guy can wait. Please tell me what has you neurotic.”