Chapter 17 #2
They shifted together on the bed, legs tangling together as the kiss took on a new urgency.
Flesh tugged and little hairs scraped, sending tingles through his nerve endings.
Their hard cocks brushed along one another, and they both moaned.
Aiden grabbed Ronan’s hip with one hand, forcing him to remain still as Aiden thrust against him, grinding their dicks together.
Pre-cum leaked, making the friction and slide all the better.
There was an innate decadence to simply touching Ronan, to feeling his body move along his own that made him want to simply luxuriate in all those warm and sinful noises.
“Aiden, I need you,” Ronan rasped.
Reluctantly pulling one hand free from his exploration of Ronan’s body, Aiden felt around the bed, trying to find the goddamn lube.
At the same time, he thrust his hips into Ronan’s, wringing out another moan.
It wouldn’t take much for them to come just like this, but Aiden wanted to be inside of Ronan again, to leave part of himself in his man. Mark him. Claim him completely.
His fingers finally closed around the lube and he pushed upright, moving between Ronan’s legs.
He made quick work of stretching his body and slicking up his channel before pushing inside in a single, long stroke.
Ronan arched and gasped beneath him, muscles trembling.
He was so damn beautiful, dark hair on the white pillows, face flushed, wet lips swollen from their kisses.
Aiden finally had time to soak in all his beauty, his smiles, and his snarky comments.
They were together, and the world wasn’t going to tear them apart again.
Ronan’s lips quirked in a crooked grin. “Are you going to look, or are you going to fuck?”
Aiden hummed softly. “I’m taking a moment to cherish.”
Ronan barked out a rough laugh, grabbing him.
Aiden managed to swallow a cry of surprise as Ronan rolled them so that he was now on top.
Aiden’s cock slipped free in the tussle, but Ronan quickly slid back on, making them both groan.
With legs spread wide and one hand braced behind him, Ronan made a show of moving up and down on his cock.
Oh God, this was not going to last long.
Aiden had never seen anything so exquisitely erotic in all his life.
Ronan’s long body glistened with sweat as muscles and tendons flexed with each movement.
He was a decadent work of art. Each time Ronan slowly rose, he tightened his muscles, massaging Aiden’s rock-hard dick.
“Aiden, fuck—” Ronan choked out. His intention might have been to drive Aiden insane, but it was clear that he’d also succeeded in driving himself to the edge.
Aiden snatched up the lube, squeezed more on his fingers, and then wrapped them around Ronan’s straining dick. “That’s it, my prince. Fuck yourself on my cock. Show me how much you need me.” Aiden stroked him and Ronan cried out again.
His lover gave him everything. He picked up his pace, sliding up and dropping down hard.
Aiden thrust up to meet him each time, skin slapping loudly, but nothing covered up the sounds falling from Ronan’s parted lips.
He cried, begged, and demanded more. Sweat glistened on his skin under the pale lamplight.
It wasn’t long before thick ropes of cum splashed on Aiden’s chest while Ronan shouted his pleasure. Aiden smiled while he fucked Ronan through his release. His lover stole his breath away with his beauty.
The moment Ronan slowed, gasping for air, Aiden forced him onto his back and plunged his dick into his hole.
Ronan whimpered but still pulled him in tight.
As his orgasm broke over him, Aiden sank his fangs deep into Ronan’s neck.
The world exploded. He could hear Ronan’s shout, feel his body jerk as he possibly came a second time, but it was all so distant under the supernova of his own orgasm.
He filled Ronan’s tight channel while at the same time drinking thick swallows of his blood.
It was as if he were marking his lover to down his soul and he loved it. Ronan was his in every way now.
Lifting his mouth from the wound, he licked lightly at the last drops, allowing it to properly heal while resting all of his weight on his mate.
He would always love Julianna, but he’d never had this before.
In their intimate moments, he’d needed to be so very careful of her fragile, delicate frame.
But with Ronan, he could let loose his darker vampiric instincts to claim and possess.
A low chuckle brought Aiden from his daze, but he didn’t have the energy to even lift his head. He remained where he was, sure that if his weight was too much, Ronan would dump him on the mattress.
“What?” Aiden asked against Ronan’s chest. He smiled at the way his chest hair tickled the tip of his nose.
“I can feel your smug satisfaction. The only thing missing is a pair of fang marks in my ass.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Aiden slowly released it in the form of a happy sigh. “Later. We’ll do that later. I can’t move.” Ronan fell silent and new energy brought Aiden’s head up to look into Ronan’s dark eyes that now looked wet with unshed tears. “Does it bother you?”
“No, darling. It humbles me to think you want me so much.”
“Always,” Aiden said, settling his head on Ronan’s chest. Strong hands smoothed up his back, holding him close.
“I’m not going anywhere, my king. I will always be yours, and I wish the entire world to know it.”
Aiden couldn’t completely muffle the snort as a thought occurred to him. “I’m sure my sons know it now, considering the noise we made.”
There was movement under him briefly as if Ronan shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a feeling they’ve all wandered off and found interesting ways to amuse themselves.”
That was so very true. All their love was shiny and new. It needed to be explored thoroughly.
With some grumbling on Aiden’s part, Ronan managed to roust him from his very comfortable spot and into the shower.
There they spent a little time getting clean and a lot of time exploring ways to bring each other pleasure.
By the time Aiden stumbled back to bed, his legs could barely carry him.
Under the covers, he snuggled close to Ronan, their arms and legs entwined so that Aiden was no longer sure where he ended and Ronan began.
“Aiden?”
He hummed softly, proving that he hadn’t drifted off to sleep just yet.
“Your power?”
There was no stopping the stiffness that invaded his limbs at Ronan’s question. He trusted his lover, didn’t think he reviled him for it, but his soul shied away from thinking about his so-called gift. Ronan tightened his arms around Aiden as if he could protect him from his own mind.
“Go ahead and ask. I trust you.”
Ronan spent several seconds peppering Aiden’s temple and the side of his face with slow, sweet kisses. He didn’t speak until some of the tension fled Aiden’s body again. “Your gift…I’ve never heard mention of it before. Not even in rumor or whispers.”
“Because I haven’t used it in centuries.
” Ronan’s hand ran down his back and up, digging into muscles and massaging away old fears.
Cuddled close in the darkness, in Ronan’s warmth, his touch, his wonderful scent wrapping around him, it was easier to talk of old horrors.
“When you live long enough, I think there’s no avoiding becoming a monster.
Even if only for a little while. My first few centuries as a vampire were not good ones.
I was consumed by my grief. I’d lost you.
Failed you. I hated myself for not escaping with you immediately when you suggested it. ”
“You couldn’t have known what would happen. Neither of us could have,” Ronan quickly said, but Aiden was already shaking his head.
“It didn’t matter. I was beyond logic for a time.
When my gift arrived, I saw it as a sign that I was supposed to be death.
I slaughtered my clan, the vampires who made me and tore me from you that first night.
It took me nearly fifty years, but I traveled back to where we were ambushed that night.
Naturally, there was no sign of you. I slaughtered the humans who had been the enemies of your family all those years ago, even though I doubted any of them even recalled our names.
I wandered for a long time, killing vampires.
No one spoke of my gift because I left behind no one to speak of it. ”
“What made you stop?”
He huffed out a dark, bitter laugh. “I saw the ravages of the Black Death. I saw its indiscriminate touch. The waste of life. The children sobbing next to dead parents as the illness slowly stole their lives away. My anger and vengeance were nothing compared to it. I was small. A pathetic child screaming against the darkness, and I decided, no more. I studied other fighting styles. I’d be able to defend myself should I be attacked, but I wouldn’t use my gift again.
I told myself that I would have to accept what fate handed me.
If I was not strong enough to win in a fight, then that was what fate willed. ”
“But tonight—”
“My resolve broke. I broke.”
“You didn’t,” Ronan forcefully said, immediately rallying to Aiden’s defense. The warmth it conjured in his chest was short-lived, though.
“I did, my prince.” Aiden lifted his head to look into Ronan’s dark, worried eyes.
He refused to run from this. “I think the threats against my family have steadily worn me down over the past several years. For too long, we fought constant attacks from those who saw us as a threat because of Julianna, because of our close bond, and ultimately, because too many sensed that I was incredibly old. We won each time, but I could always see a new battle waiting on the horizon. I was tired.”
“And I was the final straw that broke your resolve.”
“No, Ronan. You were my first glimmer of hope. You were the first thing I wanted for myself in so very long. I’m not proud of what happened tonight, but I refused to be bullied by the Ministry another second. They needed to know that I would protect my family, my mate, with everything that I had.”
Ronan’s arms tightened around him and captured Aiden’s mouth in a long, demanding kiss, wiping away any lingering doubts. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for risking the lives of your children for me.”
Aiden smiled against Ronan’s lips. “I think it’s adorable that you think I could have stopped them from accompanying me.” Ronan chuckled and Aiden rested his head back on his lover’s chest.
“Do you think it’s over?” Ronan asked quietly in the darkness.
He didn’t even need to think about his answer. “No. The Ministry isn’t the type to just let this go, even if it is in their best interests. We’ll be hearing from them again, but it won’t be any time soon.”
“That would be nice. A little peace and quiet—” A bark of laughter jumped from Aiden’s throat and he pressed his face into Ronan’s chest. “What? You don’t think it will be quieter now that the Ministry has been at least temporarily taken care of?”
Aiden lifted his head and grinned broadly down at his lover. “I know you haven’t been here long, but you have met my sons. Do you honestly think they are capable of peace and quiet?”
Ronan’s nose wrinkled and his brow furrowed as some thought crossed his mind. “No. You’re right. They will definitely find some mischief.”
With a happy sigh, Aiden placed his head on Ronan’s chest again. “Welcome to the Varik clan.”