Chapter Eighteen #2
“And what’re you?” Julien mused.
“The opposite of inertia,” he quipped back. “I’ll keep time.”
Karim returned to the other couch and Julien scooted in. “You’ll tell me if…” Julien said softly, trailing off.
Luis nodded. “But I’m okay, really. And it helps.”
“He’s not made of glass,” Karim reminded.
Julien ignored him, “Which side?”
Luis tilted his head to offer the opposite this time, pushing away the memories of last time… and what had come after. He wasn’t going home this time, so there was no opportunity for anyone to notice the remainder of bite marks.
Julien leaned in.
This time Luis was more relaxed with the prior bite chemicals lingering in his body. Still, he couldn’t stop the rush of anticipation that shivered through him as breath tickled his neck and then teeth bit in. Julien’s arm wrapped around him as he broke skin and started to suck.
It was intense.
Like last time, the haze came back quickly. Luis was aware now, though, of how he grabbed at Julien, how his body urged him on. The coil of heat curled tighter, and he could feel himself pressing against the seam of his pants, the arousal thick in his veins.
Karim said something, but Luis was deaf to it. The desire was everything, peaking higher and higher from the pull at his throat. Another shiver went down Luis’s spine and he gasped.
The fangs pressed in deeper, letting Julien inside him. It was wet, burning hot. Luis was making too many sounds, and couldn’t stop. Couldn’t even care. There was nothing so good as this.
How could he ever go back to anything else?
“Time.”
That one word cut through the fog like a blaze of fire. Luis’s hands loosened and the fangs came out of his neck. A tongue swiped across the wound once, then twice.
Julien was panting, and he raised a hand to cover his mouth. He didn’t look as wild as he had the last two times though. Julien stood, and Karim was there beside him, helping him up, helping him from the room.
“I’ll be right back,” Karim said. Luis let out a long sigh and leaned back against the couch. His whole body was buzzing with desire.
His palm pressed against his erection through his jeans and he groaned. He really needed that to go down before Karim returned.
He focused on breathing, on letting go of the want. Reminded himself that this was supposed to be, at the end of the day, healthcare.
He snickered to himself at the ridiculousness of that thought right now. It felt like anything but a medical treatment.
Thankfully, by the time Karim returned, Luis had calmed down. Karim came bearing another juice.
“Thanks,” Luis said.
He sipped the cool sweet juice, and Karim threw himself down on the other couch and started messing around on his phone. Not having to talk was nice, and Luis focused on recovering.
When Julien returned, it was with a delicious looking pastry. He set the plate and a small fork down on the coffee table for Luis.
“How’re you feeling?” Julien asked.
“I’m good,” Luis said, which was the truth. You?”
Julien sat beside Karim. “Good. Better, I think, than last time.”
Luis nodded, “You seemed better. I’m glad.” He sat up to take the plate.
“Mille-Feuille,” Karim explained. “A French pastry of layers, the cream is vanilla.”
“It looks amazing,” Luis said as he carved off a forkful. “Can you just make anything?”
Karim shrugged. “I worked a long time as a chef then a baker in a lot of kitchens.”
Luis put the fork in his mouth and then groaned. It was flakey and sweet and perfect. “Wow,” he said after the bite, “that’s damn good.”
“One of my favorite desserts,” Julien said. “But Karim does make it hard to choose.” Julien leaned over to peck a kiss to his husband's lips before Karim could undercut the compliment.
“No kidding,” Luis agreed, “Everything I’ve eaten here has been amazing.” He was quickly clearing his plate, still warm and fuzzy at the edges, “It’s really made the microwave meals tough to get through.”
He meant it as a joke, but he caught Karim frowning.
“You know, you could come over more and I would cook for you,” Karim said.
Luis froze. “Oh, I mean–I wasn’t trying to, uh,” he fumbled.
“It’s no problem,” Karim said. “It’s nice to cook for someone who can actually eat.”
Julien was already nodding in agreement, “It really wouldn’t be any issue if you wanted to come for dinner any day of the week. Karim makes a little something for me, but he could make more if you’d join us.”
Luis blinked at them. The worst part was how tempted he was. The food was good, but what was really alluring was the company.
“Oh, um. Can I think about it?” He asked. He was way too compromised to be agreeing to anything right now.
“Of course,” Julien said. “The offers on the table for anytime.”
“Thanks,” Luis put down the scraped-clean plate, and then a yawn broke through. He could feel himself coming down from the excitement.
Julien smiled. “Bedtime?”
Another yawn. “Maybe,” he concluded.
He stood and went to reach for the plate but Karim waved him off. “I’ve got it.”
Luis nodded. That was good because he suddenly felt heavy, exhausted. Like even trudging up the stairs and brushing his teeth was going to be a labor.
“Thank you both for a nice night,” he said. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Luis,” Julien said.
“Night. There’ll be bagels tomorrow for you in the kitchen,” Karim said.
He was full, but that still sounded amazing. Luis climbed the stairs slowly, digesting the evening.
Being here felt like being spoiled. The food, the company, the lack of needles. He didn’t want it to end, but…
Luis couldn’t stay here. This wasn’t his life; these weren’t his partners. His life was something he’d allowed to go untended, unnourished, and as a result, now, it was nearly unpalatable to him.
But he had no clue what to do to fix it.