Chapter 3 #2
Jaks’s bark of laughter swept away the rest of Quentin’s sleepiness. It was hard to remain groggy when something so beautiful stood in front of him. He hooked his right foot around Jaks’s leg and tugged him closer.
Jaks allowed it, stepping near enough that the fine linen of his pant legs brushed the tops of Quentin’s feet. “Can I help you with something, darling?”
Damn, he smelled good, like bergamot and expensive whiskey.
Quentin took another sniff before he replied, ignoring the amusement in his lover’s eyes. “I’m sure there are a lot of things you can help me with,” he purred.
Jaks’s eyes, darkening, lifted Quentin’s confidence. He couldn’t deny it was an ego boost for this highly desirable vampire to want Quentin of all people.
“We need to do something about that vampire soon,” he declared firmly.
“I’m trying.” Jaks scraped a hand through his hair.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of sway with the council.
Compared to them, I’m a young vampire, new to my position.
I’m still shoring up my power base after you took care of my predecessor.
I haven’t even had time to claim you as my consort formally. ”
“I thought I was already thoroughly claimed.” Quentin offered what he hoped was an enticing grin. “In fact, I was hoping to be claimed again, soon.”
“You haven’t been claimed in front of my people.”
“What?” he asked with growing alarm. “What are you talking about? I’m not having sex in front of your clan! They’ll just have to take your word for it.”
Jaks threw back his head and laughed.
Quentin kicked him lightly on the shin as he blushed fiercely. “Shut up. If that’s not what you meant, what are you talking about? What’s all this consort business? You never really explained it.”
Jaks kneeled before Quentin and captured his hands.
He pressed them between his larger palms like a benediction.
“You are mine, beloved. Some of my clan know of your place in my heart and by my side, but not everyone, and no one outside the mansion. I want to take you to the other enclaves and declare you as my consort, but I won’t if you’re unsure of us.
You must be confident, my heart, or others will push their way between us.
If you aren’t formally declared mine at least to my clan and Glenn’s sire does something, I can’t legally retaliate. ”
“Right.” One excuse after another flitted through his head.
Quentin frowned as he examined his feelings.
At first, he’d been appalled at Jaks’s staking his claim without asking, but over time, Quentin had become quite fond of his overbearing vampire.
It took only seconds for his mind and heart to reach consensus.
“I would be proud to be at your side.” He bit his lip. “But I’m not in any hurry to be a vampire.” It worked out for his mother, but only because the alternative was death, and Glenn had always been a little cracked.
Jaks’s smile could’ve powered the city. “You don’t have to be a vampire at all. If we’re properly bound, you will share my lifeforce without compromising your humanity.”
“I thought we were already connected. You got me a fancy necklace and everything.” He hooked a finger through the chain and lifted it slightly from his neck.
“We are bonded between our souls, but not through a proper ceremony with witnesses.” Jaks kissed him hard before leaning back.
“While the clan considers you mine, legally you aren’t unless we formally declare our bond before the clan.
Once a couple is bound by blood, word, and soul, they will both live the lifespan of the longest living race in the relationship. ”
Relief had him swaying, lightheaded after that reveal. He really didn’t want to be a blood drinker. Blood didn’t make him queasy; he just had zero interest in drinking it.
“I’ve never heard that before. The lifespan thing.” He tried to remember his Being Studies class. Surely, he would’ve remembered that one fact if nothing else. Weird, random things usually stuck in his head.
“We keep that information hidden. Please don’t spread it around.”
“Why?”
“Because humans would try to take advantage of the benefits of a longer life without providing the emotional support a vampire needs for a proper partnership. We purposely wiped that information from the history books after the slaughter of ’78.”
Quentin sucked in a breath. “They always gloss over what happened in history class. They claim it was some sort of vampire uprising, but they never say why.” Even as he tried to remember the class they discussed it in, he couldn’t recall the details.
Damn, his memory sucked.
“They wouldn’t share the facts even if they knew them. Not before framing it as the vampire’s fault.”
“What really happened?” Quentin wasn’t going to defend humans. Jaks was right about how some of them might respond to the possibility of living centuries beyond their natural lifespan.
Jaks scowled. “It started when Elize Stonely was turned down as a consort for Jacob Rathbourne. He was a born vampire from a prominent family, and although he loved her, he wouldn’t bond with her.
Obsessed with becoming immortal, she lied to her father about their relationship, claiming Jacob raped her. ”
“They killed him, didn’t they?” Quentin’s stomach swirled uneasily.
“Yes, and his entire clan. Of course, they claimed the vampires had been the aggressors, and when his clan retaliated, they were accused of being monsters. That’s why we are careful about transforming people.
Your friend Glenn was a rarity, and the way he was changed doesn’t seem to be due to emotional attachment.
I’m still uncertain why he was chosen, even accidentally. ”
“And my mother?”
“She was changed for you.” Jaks pressed his soft lips to Quentin’s forehead.
“You still don’t understand the power you have over me.
Our passions control us, vampires. When we pick our life mate, we will do everything in our power to make them happy.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but you and I are the gold standard, not the outlier.
My rule will partly be judged by how I treat my beloved. ”
He continued before Quentin could speak.
“That doesn’t mean I treat you well for show.
I truly care for you, beloved, and I will do everything I can to ensure your life is filled with as much joy as possible.
That doesn’t mean I’ll always let you have your way; my primary job is to make sure you have everything you need, not necessarily everything you want. ”
Quentin’s chest puffed up. “I’m not a child who is asking for too much candy. I am my own person. I don’t need you to get things for me.” He refused to be seen as merely an extension of his lover, no matter how much he cared for Jaks.
“I know, my sweet. To me, you are an amazingly independent individual. To others, you are the second half of my soul, and they will expect you to act accordingly.” He held up his hands as if to hold off Quentin’s vitriol.
“Although I’d appreciate it if you were polite to other vampires, I don’t expect you to bow to their expectations or let them push you around.
I picked you for your fierce spirit. It would be foolish to expect my lion to become a housecat. ”
Quentin felt his cheeks heat, ridiculously pleased to be considered lionlike. “I think we’ve wandered off topic.”
“Have we?” Jaks cupped Quentin’s cheek. “I think announcing you as my consort is exactly on topic.”
He sighed. Conversations with vampires were so hard to keep on track. His vampire, especially. “I don’t mind being known as your consort, but we have things of higher priority right now.”
“Nothing is more important than you.” Jaks sat on the couch beside Quentin. Before he could continue their argument, Jaks pressed his mouth to Quentin’s in a hard, hot, soul-consuming kiss. They parted, panting.
Quentin gave a smug smile at the wild look in Jaks’s eyes. If he wasn’t careful, he could easily be consumed by this powerful, handsome vampire. He was proud that he could hold his own against his passionate lover. “Ready for some bonding time?”
“Can I at least take my socks off?” Jaks whispered against Quentin’s lips.
“You can take off anything you want as long as you return quickly.” Quentin trailed his fingers across Jaks’s high cheekbones before releasing him.
Jaks licked his lips, eyes never wavering from Quentin’s. “No problem.”
With startling vampire speed, Jaks stripped off every bit of cloth covering his muscled body.
A strangled sound caught in Quentin’s throat. It took him a minute to find his voice. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Jaks’s cheeks turned a faint pink. The brightest Quentin had ever seen a vampire blush. “Sweet-talking me out of my clothes will work every time.”
“Good.” Quentin smiled, exhaustion fading as his libido kicked into high gear.
“You are a bit overdressed for this party, however.”
“Hmm.” Quentin trailed his gaze over every inch of his lover.
“Clothes? You are wearing too many.”
“Is that so?”
Jaks nodded.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“That depends.” Jaks kneeled on the couch, hovering over Quentin, before sliding his cheek against Quentin’s like a cat marking its territory.
“On what?” Quentin played along.
“On how fond you are of this outfit.” Jaks grabbed Quentin’s shirt and ripped it in half.
Buttons flew.
Quentin’s mouth dropped open. “I hope you have a minion who can sew.”
“I’ll work something out.” The rest of Quentin’s outfit was handled with the same ruthless determination.
In no time, they were rolling around on the couch, dangerously close to falling off. Quentin slid down until he was level with Jaks’s erection. “My favorite part of you.”
Jaks scoffed. “And I thought you were in love with me for my mind.”
“Nope. Your cock. It’s perfect.”
Jaks’s laughter made his erection bounce around until Quentin took it under his control. Wrapping his right hand around the shaft, he held it in place before sliding it into his mouth. His needy moan vibrated the warm flesh between his lips.
“Teeth!” Jaks scolded.
Quentin lifted his mouth to respond. “You should be happy I don’t have fangs.”
“True. Though I once had a lover…”
Quentin tightened his grip. Jaks yelped. “I’m certain you weren’t going to mention another lover while I have your cock in my hand. Were you, darling?”
“No-no. Not at all, beloved.”
“Good.” Quentin dipped his head back to his task, mindful of his teeth. He didn’t wish to harm his lover, even if he was aggravating as fuck.
Sucking, licking, and pumping, he brought Jaks to the brink over and over before backing down. After several cycles of this, Jaks grabbed Quentin’s arm and yanked him up with his disturbing vampire strength. “No more, beloved. I must have you now.”
Quentin scrambled for the lube in his bag. He always kept some in there in case of out-of-the-bedroom emergencies. Jaks’s needy scent spiked his arousal. The joyous click of a lube cap made him even harder.
There was the requisite fumbling of two bodies on a too-small surface. They grappled until Quentin decided it was easier if he climbed on top.
“You are so beautiful.” Lust drenched Jaks’s voice as if he had to choke out the words.
“I’m glad you think so.” In no world did Quentin think of himself as beautiful, but if the sexy, delusional vampire beneath him found him attractive, he’d take it.
After applying more lube and carefully opening himself up with shaky fingers, he sank onto Jaks’s cock, sucking in a breath as the tip breached the ring of his hole.
“You feel so amazing around me,” Jaks gasped.
Quentin was too busy to respond. As they merged, his magic reacted. It crackled across his skin, not as an electric livewire but as a response to two forces of nature intertwining. Blue-white sparks transformed into waves of golden light that swooped around Quentin before circling them both.
Jaks’s fingers dug into Quentin’s hips. “What’s going on?”
“I-I don’t know.” He clenched his thighs to keep his balance, sliding farther down Jaks’s erection and opening himself up to both his vampire and his magic.
A pulse of power burst between them.
Snap.
Together.
They were one.
Quentin came with no other stimulation and felt Jaks do the same inside of him.
For the first time in his life, Quentin felt complete.