Chapter 15 #2
Rafe flashed him a wicked grin as if he could read the desperate thoughts racing through Philippe’s mind.
Grabbing one of his hands, Rafe pulled him into the bedroom.
Philippe gave a quick glance around to find everything was still as it had been when he’d last been in this room.
His eyes briefly snagged on the wall of windows looking out on the sparkling city against a black sky.
The sun would be rising soon, but not for another few hours.
Enough time for them both to shatter in that bed before he had to think about daytime protection.
His eyes snapped back to Rafe as he shoved down his sleep pants and stepped out of them. His hard cock bobbed and smacked his flat stomach. Pre-cum glistened on the head and Philippe ached to run his tongue over it. To lap it up and feel the answering shiver run along Rafe’s body.
“On the bed. I want to see you stretched out and waiting for me,” Philippe commanded. He barely recognized the husky tone that left his throat.
Rafe didn’t hesitate to crawl onto the mattress, giving Philippe a brain-melting view of his very perfect ass.
The vampire paused long enough to grab the bottle of lube out of the nightstand and then dropped on his back against the pillows and sheets.
His flawless pale skin glowed like a pearl among the deep gold sheets.
His hair lay like a thick, inky halo around his head while blue eyes glowed in the dim light, locked on Philippe.
Toeing out of his shoes, Philippe ignored the racing of his heart.
Anxiety and doubt that hadn’t been present seconds ago flooded his veins and nearly closed off his throat.
There would be no hiding from Rafe this time.
Rafe gave everything of himself when they were alone together, trusted Philippe so completely. Philippe needed to do the same.
Grabbing the hem of his sweater, Philippe quickly jerked it over his head and tossed it aside. His fingers dropped to the button of his jeans and he clenched his eyes shut to feel them trembling. He could do this. He—
“Look at me, mon ange.” Rafe’s gentle voice drifted across the distance, wrapping around him.
There was a subtle power to those words, but not the same gift he’d felt when he’d last been in this room with Rafe.
It was something stronger and deeper. He could feel Rafe’s love in those words as strongly as if he’d wrapped his arms around Philippe and pressed him to his heart.
Philippe blinked and looked up at the vampire still stretched across the middle of the bed. The smile spread over Rafe’s lips stopped his heart, and some of the peace he’d felt earlier was easing into tense muscles.
“Give me no more of you than you’re comfortable giving,” Rafe murmured.
“I want to give you all of me.” Philippe’s voice shook, but he stubbornly held Rafe’s gaze.
“When you’re ready.” Rafe’s playful smile returned. “We do have eternity stretched out in front of us. There’s no need to rush.”
But Philippe didn’t want to wait any longer. Didn’t want to hide.
Holding on to Rafe’s smile, Philippe unbuttoned and lowered the zipper of his jeans.
He hooked his thumbs inside of his pants and briefs, shoving them both down to the floor.
He paused long enough to remove his socks as well and then straightened to find confusion furrowing Rafe’s brow and wiping away his smile.
“I…I don’t understand,” Rafe admitted softly. “You are perfect. You have no reason to hide yourself. Artists would have fought for the honor of capturing your likeness with paint or marble.”
Philippe fought to hold tight to the tremulous smile on his lips. Rafe’s praise warmed him deeply, but the sexy man couldn’t see what still haunted him after so many years.
Slowly, Philippe crossed to the bed and climbed onto the mattress.
As he drew closer, Rafe’s eyes narrowed and his head cocked to the side as if trying to get a better view of Philippe’s right hip.
Swallowing hard, Philippe turned so that his lover could fully see his right side, wrenching a harsh sound from Rafe’s throat.
The handsome vampire reached out, straightening his fingers from where they’d been balled into a fist to lightly touch the old scar on the side of Philippe’s right ass cheek.
He didn’t need to turn his head to know what Rafe was seeing. A large Q was carved into his flesh. The skin there was still a little ragged and red, as if the mark had been made just days ago rather than centuries.
“Who?” Rafe’s wonderful voice trembled with rage. “Who did this to you?”
“My maker.” Philippe cleared his throat of the self-loathing that rose up whenever he thought of the scar.
“My story is too similar to Gideon’s, it would seem.
As a human, I caught the eye of someone I didn’t want.
Quentin. He didn’t appreciate my rejection, so he marked me.
Wanted everyone to know whose property I was.
And then he turned me so the scar would always be fresh and new. ”
“Mon ange…”
Philippe gave a little shake of his head, wanting to get all the words out, so they could finally move past it.
Not think about it. Pretend he wasn’t branded like some piece of cattle.
“It was by sheer luck that he was killed by another vampire a couple of months later, allowing me to disappear. But despite being dead for almost all of my vampire existence, he made sure that I could never forget him.”
Rafe’s hand left his hip to tightly grip his jaw.
Philippe reluctantly turned his head, leaning into that strong touch while lifting his gaze to meet Rafe’s glowing eyes.
Desire still burned there, but also rage.
“That worthless creature’s only redeeming act was to bring you into our world so that I would have the good fortune of meeting you so many years later.
Beyond that, he does not merit a thought.
This mark does not diminish you. You are still a perfect golden light.
You are still mon ange. Nothing will change that. ”
And Philippe’s heart soared from his chest. He lunged at Rafe, sending them crashing back onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs and sheets.
Hot skin pressed together, and they both moaned into their kiss.
Philippe thrust both hands into Rafe’s wild hair, holding him prisoner as he ravaged his mouth.
He ate up every groan and whimper as if he were starved.
Rafe’s wonderful hands roamed his body, massaging away tension and leaving muscles loose.
Breaking off the kiss, Philippe wandered slowly down Rafe’s taut body, nipping and licking at whatever bits of delicious flesh presented themselves. His tongue dove into the hollow of his collarbone and swirled around one nipple, bringing it to a hard peak before moving to the other.
Rafe stretched out his arms to his sides, fisting the sheets. His head was thrown back, pressed into the mattress while the tendons in his neck trembled and strained, as if he couldn’t bear to hold still another second.
“Dearest, you’re making me feel quite selfish,” Rafe said in a harsh voice.
Philippe’s hand tightened on Rafe’s thick thighs while his tongue swirled around his adorable belly button. “It would be quite selfish of you to steal away my fun.”
“Perish the—fuck, Philippe!”
Philippe nearly chuckled as he managed to break Rafe’s train of thought while sucking one of his balls into his mouth.
“Please, baby. Let me suck your cock,” Rafe begged.
Philippe’s dick ached and throbbed, demanding to allow Rafe to have him, but Philippe clamped on his remaining shreds of control.
Rafe was exquisite. Every inch of him was beautifully flushed, and a light sheen of sweat was starting to glisten across his chest and brow.
Wild, hungry eyes watched him as he bent again and ran his tongue up along Rafe’s rigid length.
He sucked just the tip inside of his mouth, lapping up all the pre-cum.
The wonderful salty taste danced on his tongue, and he was tempted to bring him to completion just like this, but Philippe longed for something else.
Sliding one hand from Rafe’s thigh, he gently brushed across his sac and down along his perineum before circling his hole.
“Oh God,” Rafe sighed, his eyes falling closed in a look of relief. “Yes, please. Please hurry.”
Grabbing the lube from the tousled comforter, Philippe quickly squeezed a sizable dollop on his fingers and rubbed them together, warming the viscous liquid. He returned one finger to Rafe. His lover moaned and pressed down, trying to force Philippe inside of him.
A low chuckle escaped Philippe, and he ignored the fact that it sounded breathless and eager. “In a hurry? I thought we had an eternity.”
“Do not be evil, Philippe. Between us, I am the evil one,” Rafe snarled.
“Is this what you’re so desperately searching for?” Philippe asked. He pressed just the tip of his finger inside, stopping at the first knuckle. When he moved no farther, Rafe swore and lifted his head to glare at Philippe.
“Philippe!” Rafe shouted.
Philippe laughed again. He removed his finger completely, and Rafe sucked in a breath as if he were preparing to shout again. Philippe never gave him the chance. He shoved two fingers deep inside, stretching him. Rafe’s back bowed off the bed and he cried out.
“Do you want more?”
“Yes.”
He slid his fingers in and out a couple of times, relishing the little sounds he was pulling from Rafe, before he finally pushed in three fingers.
Rafe gasped and stiffened. Philippe held perfectly still, allowing Rafe a moment to breathe through the pain.
With his free hand, Philippe reached up and wrapped his fingers around Rafe’s straining cock.
He stroked him slowly, relighting the fire that burned in Rafe’s body.