Chapter Five
T hey appeared in Peter’s living room and Minho held on to his mate as he stumbled. The first few times of teleporting tended to scramble one’s senses. Peter paled, held his breath, then exhaled slowly. “That’s some way to travel.”
“Takes some getting used to as well.” Minho slowly released Peter and stepped back, watching him closely. Color slowly returned to his skin, and he waved Minho away when he went to hold his arm. “You’re sure you’re fine?”
“Yes, I’m good.” Inhaling then exhaling, Peter closed his eyes then reopened them. “I’m fine.”
Minho let his hands fall and watched Peter, seeing the man he was when Minho had first set eyes on him. He’d grown, matured, had a strength to him that hadn’t been present all those years before. His dark hair had lightened, grayed around the sides, the crinkles deepening around his eyes, but to Minho it heightened his attraction to his mate. The years had added depth to Peter, and Minho wanted to explore everything.
Reaching up, Minho palmed Peter’s face, his eyes flickering between Peter’s. “I have loved you for so long. I never thought I’d be here with you now.”
Peter closed his eyes, sighing softly as he leaned into Minho’s touch. “I still feel like I should apologize.” He opened his eyes. “But I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I made my choice.” Minho cupped Peter’s face and slid his lips over Peter’s. “I have now. We have now.”
“I don’t have many years to give you. You got the short end of the stick.”
“You’ll live as long as I do. When we mate our lives become bonded. We have decades left to explore life together.”
“Decades? What about aging? Will I be old and decrepit, dragging you down as I become less able to perform simple tasks?”
“No. You’ll be the same if not better. You will be more resilient to illnesses. You’ll be stronger, your senses improved.”
“Wow.” Peter blinked, his eyes wide. “That’s amazing.”
“So don’t worry about our ages. We have many, many years together in good health.” Minho kissed him again. “Bedroom.”
“Yes.”
Minho grinned and held Peter. “Hold your breath.”
“You know—” Peter blinked and sucked in a lungful of air. “We could have just walked, you know, instead of teleporting here.”
“But this was faster and I want us both naked. Why waste time?” Minho kicked his sneakers off and dropped his jacket to the floor. Peter chuckled and stripped too, and when they were both naked, Minho looked at his mate. “Peter,” he murmured, his fingers trailing over the hair on Peter’s chest.
“Not how I used to look.” Peter flushed as he ran a hand over his stomach.
“Stop it. I love you the way you are. I always have. My love for you has only deepened over time. Now stop talking and kiss me. I have a few things I want to do to you.”
Peter trembled under Minho’s touch. “I’m self-conscious. Look at you all ripped and muscles and tanned and glowing.” Peter waved a hand over his body. “I’m none of those things. Maybe once but not now.”
“Peter. I’m going to become annoyed with you if you continue to put yourself down. I have watched over you for years. I’ve seen you change, seen you mature. I know who you are and nothing about you will ever make me walk away. I love you. All of you. So again, stop talking.” Minho pointed down at his erection. “See? We need to be doing something other than talking.”
Peter opened his mouth to say something then stopped when Minho narrowed his eyes at him. “Fine. Kiss me, then.” Minho grinned and hauled Peter into his arms. Peter squeaked then gasped when Minho kissed him.
Peter’s lips softened under Minho’s, his tongue twining with Minho’s. Minho moved them over to the bed, his hands sliding over Peter’s naked skin, feeling the muscles move under his palms. He had no idea why Peter felt he wasn’t in shape. It had taken all of Minho’s resolve to keep his hands off Peter when they were at the restaurant. The man’s body called to him, and he wanted to spend the night exploring every inch of it.
Peter lay back and Minho stared down at him before crawling over him and kissing him again. Peter moaned, his body arching up, and Minho settled between his thighs, groaning when their dicks slid together. Tongues tangling together, Minho wrapped a hand around Peter’s dick and stroked up, eating up the sounds he made. Peter arched up and thrust into Minho’s hand, mumbling Minho’s name as they kissed.
“I want to do so much to you, but I have to feel you inside. Let me, Peter.”
“Yes,” Peter groaned.
Minho scrambled off the bed and grabbed his jacket, pulling the lube out of the pocket. He poured some into his hand and stroked Peter’s dick, rubbed some on his asshole, then climbed over him, settling above him. Holding Peter’s dick up, Minho bit his lip, closing his eyes as he slid down Peter’s length. The girth made him gasp; the pain fleeting as Peter stretched him wide until Minho was sitting on Peter. He placed his hands on either side of Peter’s head and smiled.
Lifting up, he let himself slowly lower, the pace slow as he adjusted. Peter’s hands gripped his thighs, the nails digging into his skin, and he relished the pain because it was Peter causing it. At last, his mate was with him.
The moment threatened to overwhelm Minho, so he pulled back from it, closed his eyes and rotated his hips, feeling Peter’s rigid length twitch in his ass. He lifted and dropped, picking up the pace, his fangs dropping. Leaning down, he kissed Peter, their tongues dancing erotically, and Minho cried out when Peter’s tongue licked his fang. Peter shuddered beneath him and did it again, causing Minho’s pace to pick up. He moved away from Peter’s lips, trailed his fangs along his jaw and down his neck. He could hear Peter’s heartbeat and he licked over the pulse, feeling Peter tense beneath him.
“I won’t.”
“What if I want you to?” Peter groaned and moved his hands from Minho’s thighs to his hips, thrusting up when Minho dropped down. “What if I want it?”
Groaning, Minho licked Peter’s neck again. His throat ached, his eyes itched, and he squeezed his eyes shut, hiding his emotions. One of Peter’s hands slid up in back and the fingers curled into his hair. “You’ve waited so long. Make me yours. Don’t wait another day.”
“Peter…” Minho choked and swallowed, scraping his fangs over Peter’s pulsing vein. Peter thrust up, hard and fast, and Minho blinked, his tears sliding free. He bit, his teeth slicing Peter’s skin, his blood coating his tongue, and he felt it. Their bond, snapping into place, tying them together, and Minho lost all control. Crying out, his body shaking, his mind going blank, his orgasm destroying his senses, washing him away.
When he opened his eyes, he licked Peter’s throat and buried his head in the pillow, hiding his tears. Peter ran his hands over Minho’s back, then tugged on his hair. “Look at me.”
Minho shook his head and gave a muffled ‘no.’
Peter tugged again, and reluctantly he lifted his head, but couldn’t look into Peter’s eyes. Peter wiped the tears from his cheek, then kissed him. “I can feel you.”
Nodding, Minho sniffed and carefully moved off Peter to curl into his side. Peter rolled onto his so they faced each other. His fingers moved through Minho’s hair and Minho turned his head, nuzzling Peter’s palm. “You know I really like your chest hair.”
Peter choked then laughed. “You don’t have any.”
“And yours is thick. I can run my fingers through it. I like the salt and pepper look.”
“Feeling better?”
“Ugh. Can’t believe I did that.”
“You’ve waited all these years. It had to be overwhelming for you.” Peter rolled onto his back and pulled Minho, urging him to lay his head on Peter’s chest. Running his hands through his hair, Peter murmured, “I could feel them. All jumbled up. Happiness, love, amazement. I could barely tell them apart, they were so strong.”
Minho couldn’t respond. Those same emotions were rising up, choking him, making him shudder. Tears spilled, and he didn’t stop them. He knew Peter would take care of him, and he did. He wrapped his arms around Minho and held him tight, murmuring soft words that made Minho smile through his tears.
When he felt more in control, he lifted his head and kissed Peter. He tapped the side of his head. Can you hear me?
Peter blinked, his eyes widening. “Can you hear me?”
Minho grinned and pecked Peter’s lips. “We can talk to each other like this. It’ll take some getting used to at first, but whenever one of us is working, we can talk like this.”
“I can do it too?”
Nodding, Minho explained how. The furrowed brow on Peter had him smiling. “Really. You can do it.”
“I think of you and talk to you. In my head.”
Throwing his head back, Minho laughed, happiness flooding through his body. Yes. Try it.
“Hmm.” Minho?
“Yes?”
“Holy shit, I did it.” They both laughed and Minho grabbed Peter’s face, kissing him. “That’s…wow. Just wow.”
“Great, huh? We can talk like this all the time.”
Peter side-eyed him then smirked. So if I’m at work and want some fun you can come over?
Minho’s lips parted, his eyelids lowering. Licking Peter’s lips, he bit one as he answered Peter. Make sure there is no sunlight and I’ll come over whenever you want.
Peter arched up and Minho felt his arousal. I can’t believe I’m hard again. That hasn’t happened in a long time.
We’re mated now. “How is your head? Some mates have said it hurt to talk this way at first.”
“There’s a little niggle of pain, but nothing serious. Will I always have it when we talk this way?”
“No. It eases with time and practice, or so I’ve been told.”
“This is so strange. I can feel you. I can tell they’re your emotions and not mine. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Minho didn’t need Peter to say anything. He felt the same way. “I can feel you too. You’re confused, happy. Maybe a little unsure, but there is an underlying calmness to you.”
“Yes. I never expected to meet someone like you. Never expected to be here with you right now, but I’m not worried about it. This feels right to me. Like being with Diane did.”
Minho smiled. “I met Diane.”
“You did? When?”
“She was at a late evening mass. I spoke to her for a few minutes when she waited outside for you one night. She was kind and sweet, but strong too. I used to go to church but over the years I stopped.”
“Do you still go?”
“Not as much as I should, but when things have settled and there isn’t as much of a threat as there is now, then I’d like to go again. I can only go when the nights grow darker at an earlier time. Autumn and winter, mainly.”
“Do vampires have churches?” Peter’s fingers traced circles on his back and Minho closed his eyes.
“Some of us practice but most don’t. You tend to lose faith over the years when you see what others are capable of. Also when you live as long as we do, it doesn’t seem as important. Watching you two, seeing Diane practicing, made me reconsider, so I went to church.”
“It may sound strange but I’m glad you got to meet her.”
“I can see why you fell in love with her. She was an amazing woman and I’m sorry you lost her.”
Peter’s fingers flattened on his back and held him tight. “I can feel you mean those words.”
“I wouldn’t lie to—”
“Dad! I’m home!” They heard heavy thumping up the stairs, then the bedroom door burst open. “Mike couldn’t…what the fuck?”