Chapter 18
Eighteen
Winter was slow to wake later that night.
His sleep had been so very deep and restful.
It felt like it had been his best sleep in decades.
He didn’t want to stir from his comfortable bed and warm blankets.
Turning on his side, he reached a hand out and slid it across the sheets.
They were cool and empty…and that was wrong.
Blinking his eyes several times, he stared at the spot on the bed on his right, trying to pull together his sluggish thoughts.
His bed hadn’t been empty when he fell asleep.
No, Fox had been there. His warm slender body and soft skin had been pressed up against his own.
Gentle, steady breathing had lulled Winter deep into sleep.
Fox’s heady scent mixed with the lingering smell of sex had filled his nostrils.
But now he was alone.
Shoving upright, Winter’s eyes darted over to the clock on the nightstand, where it read just a bit after sunset.
He would have preferred to wake with Fox still in his arms, but that wasn’t practical.
The man had probably woken a couple of hours earlier and gone to find something to eat.
Winter couldn’t force him to survive on vampire hours. It wasn’t logical.
His good mood crumpling a little, Winter got to his feet and headed to the bathroom where he quickly took care of necessities before pulling on a pair of dark-blue sleep pants. He wanted to see Fox first, reassure himself that the man was okay, and then he could properly shower.
On a whim, Winter paused outside of his room and instead of going down the stairs, he peeked into the guest room he’d given Fox to find the blankets were rumpled and his clothes from the previous night were piled at the foot of the bed.
Winter was sure the bed had been made yesterday and all those clothes had been in Winter’s room.
Fox hadn’t gotten up a couple of hours earlier in search of food.
He’d crawled out of Winter’s bed during the middle of the day and returned to his own bed. He’d rather sleep alone than with Winter.
Unexpected pain and anger surged through him, knocking him an unsteady step backward.
Why? Why would he do that? They’d laughed and talked after sex.
Fox had been comfortably settled in his arms, warm and protected.
The man had obviously found his release with Winter.
He’d fucking cleaned it off the man’s stomach and cock before falling asleep.
Why leave?
Was he still worried about being a threat to the Variks? After their passion cooled and Fox had time to think, had he come to regret it all?
Winter clenched his teeth, his anger turning to acid in his veins. He had no desire to be anyone’s regret.
But maybe this new distance was for the best. Once Damon was taken care of, Fox would be returning to his life in Denver. There was no sense in risking some kind of crazy attachment to the man when he was only going to leave.
Silently descending the stairs, he found Fox in the kitchen, placing the milk back into the fridge. A bowl of cereal was on the center island waiting for him.
“Good morning! Er…or rather evening,” Fox said cheerfully. He gave a little shake of his head. “I’m still getting used to that. With the shutters over the windows, my brain just makes wild guesses at what time of day it is.”
“Don’t worry about getting used to it. You’ll be heading to your normal life soon enough,” Winter mumbled.
Fox’s smile disappeared and his brow furrowed. “I figured getting laid would put you in a better mood when you got up today. Are you always a grumpy vampire after sex?”
“I’m not grumpy,” Winter snapped, which only made him sound grumpy, but he ignored it. “And you know quite intimately that I don’t sleep in a coffin.”
Fox’s smile was back in a flash. “Oh, I know.” His voice was the most delicious purr. “That was the best sleep, and I woke up all toasty with a vampire wrapped around me.”
“But you didn’t stay in my bed. You got up and went to your bed to sleep,” Winter accused.
The words were out of his mouth before he could catch them, and he was immediately cursing himself.
He hadn’t meant to broach the topic like that.
He’d just wanted to make sure Fox was okay and not upset by what they did.
This…this was a fucking disaster. He should have had a glass of blood prior to allowing words out of his mouth.
His brain worked better when he had a drink upon rising.
Fox’s smile slipped a notch and he looked a little confused. “Sure. I thought it would be best if I did. I’m sure we broke enough of your rules last night about keeping things casual and anonymous.”
Shock slammed into Winter’s chest at Fox’s words. “You moved to your bed out of consideration for me?”
“Yeah.” Fox shrugged just one shoulder this time. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his new jeans, looking adorably awkward. “We agreed sex was just supposed to be fun. Sleeping all day together kind of felt…intimate.”
“How would you have preferred to wake up this morning?”
Fox stood frozen for a second, and then he was across the kitchen in the blink of an eye.
Both hands grabbed fistfuls of Winter’s hair, dragging him down, allowing Fox to slam his mouth over Winter’s.
Molten hot lust surged through Winter, burning away any lingering bit of anger and hurt.
He met each of Fox’s hungry, desperate kisses with his own, swallowing his little noises like they were the bites from the finest meal.
It all happened so damn fast. One minute they were kissing and breathing each other in and in the next, their pants were being shoved out of the way so they could line up their rigid cocks.
Winter pinned Fox to the fridge and lifted him up with his hands under his thighs.
Fox didn’t stop eating at his mouth, fingers tightly clenched in his hair.
They thrust together, cocks leaking so that they easily slid against each other.
Fox threw his head back and screamed, “Fuck me!”
But it was too late. Winter was already coming hard on a shout. Fox followed him a couple of heartbeats later, crying out Winter’s name.
Releasing Fox’s legs, Winter kept the man panting heavily locked to the fridge. He could feel their cum sliding across their stomachs and starting to soak into his pants, but he didn’t care. He was more concerned with the rapid pounding of Fox’s heart and the crooked smile on Fox’s lips.
Fox lowered his head again and immediately claimed Winter’s lips in a series of slow, tender kisses that were threatening to shake him more than the brain-melting orgasm.
“I have no idea how that happened,” Winter murmured over Fox’s mouth.
He could feel more than see the man smile. “I will admit that it was not exactly what I had in mind when you asked…well, whatever you asked. I don’t remember anymore.”
“Do you mind?”
Fox’s head jerked back and slammed into the fridge door. He winced, but his full attention was on Winter. “Orgasms really do a number on your brain, don’t they? I’m gonna have to remember that.”
“What—”
Fox kissed him again and Winter relaxed. The witch didn’t feel upset at all, so there was no reason for him to worry. He just gave himself over to Fox’s lips and tongue, letting him work the same spell that consumed Winter every time Fox kissed him.
When Fox lifted his head, his smile was smug, and Winter had no room to fault him for it.
“Of course, I didn’t mind. If you’ll recall, I was the one shouting for you to fuck me.”
Winter huffed a laugh before he lowered his head and nuzzled his face into Fox’s neck. He didn’t want to bite him. Just breathe in the man’s scent. To wrap himself in it. Fox put his arms around Winter’s shoulders and pulled him in tight. Winter hugged Fox to him, but he only squeezed out a sigh.
“I’m the one who’s blurring lines and confusing things,” Winter said, refusing to lift his face from Fox’s neck. It was easier to say this stuff when they weren’t looking in each other’s eyes.
“I don’t know. You had some pretty clear rules, and I was the one who blew through them first by demanding that kiss.”
That had Winter lifting his face to look Fox in the eye. “That was not a bad idea.”
“No, that turned out pretty nice,” Fox said with a cheeky grin. But it disappeared again, and Fox turned serious. “Maybe it’s just a sign that we shouldn’t worry too much about the lines and rules.”
“And what?”
“Date. You know…like normal people.” Fox immediately laughed at Winter’s frown. “You’ve never dated before, have you? You’ve just fucked your way through history.”
Winter swatted Fox’s ass. “Don’t! You make me sound ancient. I’m not that old, nor do I fuck everything that moves.”
Fox nipped at his lower lip and stroked it with his tongue. “I figured you must have some taste if you’re with me now,” Fox teased.
“I haven’t had the chance to taste you yet.”
Fox shivered. “I have no idea if you’re talking about sucking my neck or my cock, but just how you say it makes me horny.”
Winter leaned in and sucked Fox’s earlobe into his mouth for a second. “Both,” he breathed across the damp, tender flesh.
“Jesus fuck, my brain is getting starved for blood,” Fox moaned. He shook his head once, as if to clear it, and glared at Winter. “Dating isn’t different from what we’re doing now. We have fun, hang out, talk, learn about each other.”
“Fuck,” Winter supplied.
“Yes. Of course. But we just remember that we can’t get too serious right now because there’s a lot of shit going on. You’re in the middle of this vampire war. There’s the prophecy.”
“You need to get back to your life,” Winter said.
Fox shrugged. He looked away from Winter as he mumbled. “And there’s the ghost thing.”
The witch was no longer meeting Winter’s eyes, and it was making him nervous. Very gently, Winter rubbed his fingers along Fox’s cheek in a tender caress before forcing him to tilt his head up. “What are you talking about?”