41. Salem
SALEM
H is steps slow as he draws near, searching my eyes like I’m an apparition. For a breath, I wonder if I got it wrong. It’s ballsy to show up out of the blue like this. But then again, he did it first in Chicago.
He sucks in a breath when I tell him, “Ana?s gave me your address.”
The quiet wisdom that speaks to me about Blue whispers to be still as he reaches out and grazes my sternum. It aches to witness the tremble of disbelief that I wouldn’t cross an ocean to be near him.
I needed to cross the ocean for him but also for me. My fears about Denzel…they’re getting harder and harder to shake.
His chin lifts, and the second our eyes meet, he’s there, falling into my arms.
I peel off his fitted cap and kiss his mop of curls as he holds tight like I might vanish. “I missed you, too, Blue.”
I let out a deep breath as I’m grounded by the press of his weight against me. Each breath bridges miles and miles of distance.
The headlights from the car that dropped him off startle him as it reverses out of the driveway.
He lingers for a breath before stepping back.
“How long do I have you?” he asks.
I let out an incredulous breath. Forever if you’d have me. “Just tonight.”
His shoulders curve in. “Come on.” He reaches down and lifts my duffel. “Are you hungry?”
“I can eat.”
“I’ll order us something.”
He unlocks the door with his phone app, and I follow him through the arched entryway.
We peel off our shoes and then continue through a dark foyer.
“Watch the steps,” he says before flicking on a switch and lighting up a sunken living room. He stuffs his hands in his back pockets as he looks around. “Uh, there’s a bathroom through there.” He gestures to a door along the hall that we just passed. “I’m still decorating the place.”
I bite the inside of my lip.
He’s cute when he’s shy.
A cute little liar.
I smirk. “Yeah?”
He looks around and squints. “Yeah, no.”
I snicker. We both know this is as moved in as he’ll ever be here.
“I like your couch. The olive color is nice.”
He rocks forward a little as I sweep my gaze over the gaming system, milk crates, and coffee table.
The peek of a rug through a half-closed door steals my attention. “What’s over there?”
“My music room.”
“May I?”
“Yeah. Come on.”
We step inside, and he clicks on a floor lamp that casts a red light.
There’s a grand piano in the middle of the room, a wall of guitars, and scattered papers strewn across the lid of the piano.
I recognize the amps but not the black metal board with glass tubes protruding out of it that sits atop a console table.
“What’s this?” I lean down and peer inside the glass.
“An amp.”
“Huh.”
“It’s an updated version of an OG that’s been around for decades.
It has a buffered output, so you can use a powered subwoofer with a low input impedance.
Basically, less resistance allows more electricity or sound to flow.
” He reaches for a half-burned joint in the ashtray on the piano. “Mind if I hit this?”
T-shirt hugging his biceps, he slides the joint between his lips and then hikes up his low-slung jeans.
The hunger hits quickly, and I rush him, wrenching the joint from his lips. I slam my mouth against his and push him against the wall.
He moans as I clasp the back of his neck and unleash the raw need that’s been caged since the cabin.
And if I’m hungry, he’s ravenous. His fingers dig into my back, pull on the loop of my jeans, grip my waist.
He shivers when his head arches back, and my teeth graze his Adam’s apple.
He caresses my erection and shudders as my teeth sink into his throat.
“Mmh.” I pull back, resting my forehead against his shoulder.
He cards his fingers through his curls and swallows roughly.
Opening my palm, I lift the joint back to his lips, reach back for the lighter, and ignite it. The tip disintegrates into the fire as he takes a pull.
“If you ever want to find yourself on my dick in under sixty seconds, talk amp and woofer shit,” I croak out.
His gaze darkens.
I press my lips to his and suck in the smoke. He tries to latch onto my tongue, but I pull back, soaking up his groan. His tongue glides across the seam of my lips before he rests the paper against them for a pull. We lick, suck, and inhale from each other as we shotgun the rest.
“You like Ethiopian food?” he asks.
“I like everything,” I reply as my head tips up. The edges of the room curve like a rotunda.
“Cool. Gotta piss. I’ll order us grub on the way.”
My socked toes press into the floor cushion.
There’s a name for it. I stare down at the floor. Looks vintage. Cranberry. No, burgundy but brighter. Muh-genn—tuhh, midnight blue, ivory. Ivory rectangle frame, ivory threads . Floor cushion .
Rug.
I snicker. Fuck. I feel good .
What kinda ancient scrawl is this? I bend down and pick up one of the papers and grin at Blue’s handwriting. Angling the paper under the dim light, the letters swim into hazy focus.
Sanguine
Brown skin, gold dust.
Nose ring, gold rust.
Parts protected, parts doomed.
Death will never claim parts of you.
Bloodless skin, brittle bones.
I dream him, him alone.
A slow drip, a slow bind.
Death’ll never claim what’s mine.
I read the words again and again. They feel humid on my skin.
“I ordered Ethiopian and Sri Lankan and bourbon crème br?lée donuts, but I think I want dim sum.” He leans against the doorframe. “How hungry are you?” He unpeels his gaze from his phone.
“Take a shower with me?” I ask.
“Mm.” He spins and heads into the hallway, typing into his phone. “You eat pork?”
“Any chicken or fish?” I catch up to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Chicken, fish, and beef,” he mutters, pulling us along.
“Shrimp stuffed eggplant?”
“Hell yeah,” he adds.
I think about mac and cheese, and my stomach grumbles. “How long?”
“Adding priority delivery. Should be quick.”
I let go of him to swipe up my duffel.
“I’m gonna grab water. Meet you upstairs? It’s the only room with a bed.”
I nod as I head up. I pass two rooms with boxes before I reach the one at the end with a bed and nightstand.
I strip down before entering the en suite. There’s a stack of fluffy towels and washcloths neatly folded in a cupboard. He isn’t a total caveman.
The water in the large marble shower heats up quickly.
There’s a spoon hanging out of his mouth and a pint of ice cream in his hand when he enters.
I grin. “Hit me.”
“It’s cashew-based.” He scrapes the tip of the spoon against the top, then feeds it to me.
“Mmm.” Mint chocolate.
He feeds us both a few more bites, then sets the ice cream on the counter and undresses.
His arms wrap around my back when he enters, and we stand that way for a while, letting the water wash over us.
Placing soft kisses along my back, his erection slots between the globes of my ass. “When can I have you?” he asks.
“You want to top?”
“So fucking badly.”
“It’s been a minute since?—”
“Hey,” he whispers in my ear as his hand wraps around my dick and strokes.
I suck in a breath as he nibbles on my ear. “Y’think I want to hear about other men who’ve been inside you?”
I breathe a quiet laugh.
He pumps soap onto a washcloth, then sinks it between my crease and cleans me. “I hate them.”
I know, my feral vampire.
He wrenches the spray nozzle free, and a blast of liquid heat against my rim sends shivers up my spine. “Can I taste you?”
My hips roll forward, easing through his hand. “Yeah.”
“Hold on.” He releases my erection as he places the nozzle back.
I look over my shoulder as he steps out of the shower. I laugh. “Seriously?”
He laps up a bite of ice cream. “I’m sho hngree.”
I pop my head out and open my mouth for him to feed me some.
“Hands on the wall,” he instructs as he slides the carton back on the counter, then steps back in. “Spread your legs.”
I glance over my shoulder as he lowers to his knees, and his mouth and nose slink past my crease.
My hips lurch forward. “Cold!”
The demon laughs as his hands dig into my waist, pulling me back, and he continues licking up toward my rim. Forehead falling to rest against the shower wall, the dizzying heat of water rains down my back, and his icy tongue massages circles before pressing inside.
“Mmm.” He moans low as his stubble drags across my rim.
I grunt as his fingers dig deep into the flesh of my backside.
“Baby,” I moan when his tongue sinks back inside.
He stills, then his head lowers, and he crawls between my legs. By the time I realize what he’s doing, his lips are wrapped around my dick.
His glazed eyes are raw with hunger and possession. He cards a hand through his curls, pushing them back. The dark letters scrawled along his knuckles…the suction, caress, stretch of his lips… Fuck.
I bite my fist as a blast of pins and needles vibrates through me from my fingertips to my toes.
I hear my dark moans as my whole body sinks into Blue’s tight, soft mouth.
He pulls me close—so close, the back of his head presses into the wall as his mouth moves slowly, grinding me down his throat.
A burning spreads behind my eyes as his throat constricts, choking on my release, and sending a shiver up my dick.
I pull out and spread the last drops of my cum across his lips.
“Come here,” I pant, lifting him to his feet. He licks my release off the corner of his mouth, and my tongue chases it, his head dipping back in surrender as I claim him.
“You’re so beautiful,” I rasp.
“No,” he whispers.
I raise his chin. “Blue, you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
I nibble on his bottom lip when he tries to pull away.
“Why are you still fighting this?”
He sinks his teeth into my shoulder as his arms curve under my arms.
“I can feel it right now. How much you want this,” I say.
He clings to me as he latches on to my shoulder, but he doesn’t answer. I kiss his curls. “It’s okay.”
I love you.
I know that scares you.
I reach past him for the other washcloth, then soap it up. He doesn’t let go as I lower the cloth to his back and lather him up.
He startles at the sound of the doorbell.
He starts to step back.
“Will they leave it?” I ask.
“Ye—” He clears his throat. “Yeah.”
“Turn around.” With his back pressed against my chest, I continue cleaning him. I let him turn his head and suck on my tongue as I wash his shoulders, raise his arms to get to his pits, and scrub and rinse down his chest. When I get to his cock, I mix soap and warm water in my hand and massage him.
He shudders as my hand wraps around his length and slowly starts stroking.
“See? So beautiful,” I whisper, gazing into his eyes as he comes undone.