Chapter 57
Marcus Loses His Mind
This was a mistake.
An enormous, horrible mistake.
Forcing Ethan into hunting when his mate was in a mood was turning into a test of Marcus’s willpower. He’d forgotten to take into account that his mate had a wicked streak a mile wide when pushed.
And Marcus had pushed.
Right now, Marcus was leaning against the wall in the dark nightclub, his hands balled into tight fists, as he watched his adorable mate flirt lavishly with another man who was supposed to be Ethan’s meal.
The problem was, Ethan seemed to be purposefully dragging out the process.
He was practically hanging on the man’s arm and touching his chest as he flashed his sweetest, most attentive smile.
It was part of hunting humans: Vampires lured them in, getting them lost in sexual energy so they could steal a bit of blood.
And Ethan liked to torment Marcus when he was pissed. He’d picked his prey based on how similar they were to Marcus. He’d touched and flirted outrageously, drawing out the moment, as if he were trying to make Marcus finally snap.
Marcus was at the end of his rope. He’d been so busy with Aiden and dealing with other vampire clans wanting the king’s time that he’d had little time to spend with his mate.
If he’d not set the reminder on his calendar, he wouldn’t have remembered that tonight was the night Ethan needed to feed.
His mate had been a vampire for barely two years.
There was no way Marcus was allowing him to hunt alone just yet.
Ethan’s eyes slid across the room, meeting Marcus’s with flawless accuracy, an evil grin spreading on his lips. The man tried to follow his gaze, but Ethan placed his hand to the man’s cheek, turning his head back so he saw only Ethan.
That gentle caress pushed Marcus to his limit. Those touches and smiles belonged to him and him alone. He shoved away from the wall, starting to wade through the crowd of scantily clad people listening to loud, obnoxious music.
At that second, Ethan pulled the man into his arms and pressed his mouth to his neck.
Marcus halted sharply, teeth clenched so tight his jaw was aching, but there was also relief.
Ethan was feeding at last. Their eyes locked over the man’s broad shoulder, and the anger burning in Ethan’s eyes was hot enough to light Marcus on fire.
Feeding took only a couple of minutes, and to the world it looked as if the two men were simply making out.
When Ethan was finished, he carefully directed the man to sit in a tall pub chair, partially leaning him against the wall for support.
Ethan murmured something that was drowned out by the music, and Marcus honestly didn’t care what it was.
He grabbed his mate’s elbow and dragged him through the bustle of people to the nightclub exit.
Bitter cold air smacked him in the face as they hit the sidewalk, but it did nothing to cool his temper.
Ethan tried twice to pull free of his grip, but Marcus didn’t loosen his hold.
Wisdom said they needed to at least make it to the car before they argued, but he knew he couldn’t wait that long.
He needed to remove the memory of that man from Ethan’s lips, from his fingertips.
Ethan was his mate. He was also his fledgling.
Marcus had been one of the vampires to make him.
He was the master, and Ethan needed to follow his directions.
It was a deeply ingrained instinct to only teach and protect a fledgling, but there was also a darker need to possess.
And Marcus had no interest in tempering that need right now.
He pulled Ethan into a narrow alley two buildings down from the nightclub. When they’d found some shadows heavy enough to cloak them, he released Ethan as the young vampire attempted to jerk away yet again.
“What the fuck!” Ethan snapped. “You were the one who insisted I feed tonight. I fed. Are you happy now?”
“No,” Marcus just barely managed to grind out between his teeth before he shoved Ethan against a rough brick wall.
He crowded close and slammed his mouth over Ethan’s in a brutal, demanding kiss.
Sharp fangs nicked his tongue, mixing a hint of his own blood with the rich taste that still coated Ethan’s tongue from his meal.
Instead of fighting him as he expected, Ethan clawed at his black button-down shirt, trying to pull him closer, as if he could make them one person.
A rush of hot, angry desire pumped through Marcus, flowing straight to his cock.
It swelled painfully, pushing on the front of his pants, begging for more attention.
Marcus jammed his hips forward, pressing his cock into Ethan’s hip and wringing a needy cry out of his mate.
Fingers twisted in his hair, sending a sharp pain through his scalp.
Ethan stretched up on the tips of his toes, rubbing his own hard-on against Marcus, his motions frantic and a touch desperate.
He lifted his mouth from Ethan’s, licked along his jaw, and nipped at his earlobe. “You’ve had enough blood for one night. Put the fangs away, and I’ll let you suck my cock.”
A full-body shudder ran through his mate. “Yes,” he moaned. Ethan’s fingers instantly disappeared from his shirt and hair only to latch on to his pants. He desperately tugged at Marcus’s belt, fighting to free his dick.
Marcus released Ethan and the smaller man dropped to his knees in the filthy alley, leaving Marcus to brace his hands on the wall as his hard length was consumed by scorching heat and bone-melting wet suction. Ethan sucked his dick like he wanted to drink every ounce of his soul.
Cupping the side of Ethan’s face, Marcus stared down in the shadowy darkness to find his wide eyes watching him while his lips were beautifully stretched around his length.
He thrust to the back of his throat and Ethan whimpered, sending the most delicious vibrations along his dick.
That perfect tongue worked around him, caressing him.
He fucked his mouth, losing himself in the sensation and the sounds of pleasure escaping his mate.
This was amazing.
But it wasn’t enough.
He needed to remind Ethan exactly who he belonged to.
Grabbing a fistful of hair, he held Ethan still as he pulled his cock completely free of his mouth. Ethan tried to chase it, a little moan slipping out, but Marcus tightened his grip. “Open your pants. I want to fuck you.”
“Here?” Ethan gasped while at the same time, his hands jumped to his button and zipper.
“Yes.” The single word escaped Marcus in a hiss.
Ethan stood and shoved his pants to his thighs, but as he started to turn Marcus bent and grabbed him by his thighs, lifting him up.
Pinning Ethan to the wall with his legs folded between them, Marcus shoved into his tight hole.
His lover howled in a mix of pain and pleasure as muscles contracted around Marcus, pulling him in deeper, holding him tighter.
“Fuck!” Ethan cried, but his demands turned to angry snarls. “Dark. Make it dark. Your dick has been out in the public long enough. No one else is allowed to see it.”
As he thrust into his lover, Marcus set his special gift free, sucking away all the light in the alley.
Pitch blackness reigned. Nothing could penetrate the gloom he created.
He lost all sight of Ethan, but he could feel his perfect body, hear his fractured pants, and smell the mixing scent of sweat and sex.
Marcus’s orgasm was rushing toward him too fast, igniting little fires throughout his body until he threatened to burn up completely. But not before Ethan. He changed the angle of his thrusts, waiting to hear just the right sound.
Ethan cried out, his pants turning to begging as Marcus pegged his prostate perfectly, over and over again.
When his lover exploded, Marcus followed him over the cliff, slamming his mouth over Ethan’s to drink down his scream of ecstasy.
Marcus’s brain shorted out, but it didn’t matter.
He was holding the man he loved, and no one would ever touch him.
When he could conjure up a clear thought, Marcus let go of his hold on his power, letting the meager glow from the nearby street leak into the alley. He carefully removed his dick from Ethan’s ass but didn’t release his hold on his lover.
Ethan’s breath brushed across Marcus’s ear in deep, hard pants. “I’m still pissed at you,” he grumbled while tightening his grip on Marcus’s shirt as if he could pull him closer.
Shutting his eyes, Marcus rested his head on Ethan’s, trying to gather the energy to move.
Now that the irrational jealousy had been spent, and he’d marked Ethan like a damn animal, his brain was working, and shame burned through him.
But in his defense, Ethan had deliberately pushed him to this point.
“Do you think you can stand?” he asked gently.
Ethan grunted and Marcus slowly allowed Ethan’s legs to straighten and drop to the ground.
“What’s going on with you?”
And that was the wrong thing to say. Ethan’s head snapped up, anger flaring bright in his eyes as he jerked his pants into place. He made a sound of disgust as he used his shirt to wipe up the cum that was smeared across his stomach and the front of his pants.
“Did you know that the last time you took me to hunt, it was exactly this time?” Ethan demanded. “Just like the time before that and the time before that.” He took a step toward Marcus and despite being several inches taller, Marcus still retreated.
A sick feeling twisted in his stomach. He could guess where Ethan was going with this, and Ethan had a right to be pissed.
“Ethan—”
“You didn’t take me to hunt because you thought of me or wanted to spend time with me or were even worried about me.
You’ve turned me into an item on your to-do list. I’m a reminder on your calendar!
” Ethan took another step closer and poked him in the center of his chest. “I’m your mate, not a to-do item, and you will treat me as such. ”
Ethan was completely right.
Marcus dropped to his knees in the middle of the alley. His mate’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He tried to escape, but Marcus held him in place by lightly gripping his hips with both hands.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, and I’m so very sorry.
You are not something to be checked off a list. You are my fledgling, which means you deserve my care and full attention.
But most importantly, you are my mate. No one is more precious to me.
I can’t survive without you. I’d rather walk into the sun than have you leave me. ”
His sweet mate tipped his head back and groaned loudly. “You weren’t supposed to be so good at apologizing.” Ethan looked at him, attempting to glare, but it was ruined by the smirk tilting his lips up. “I can’t be mad at you when you say things like that.”
Tightening his fingers on Ethan’s waist, Marcus stared into those beautiful eyes that watched him. “Will you forgive me, my precious love? I’ll do anything to earn your love and trust again.”
Ethan ran his fingers through Marcus’s dark hair, pushing it from his face.
His gaze was soft and warm. “Of course. I could never stop loving you or trusting you. I do understand that Aiden and the clan and all the other vampires are keeping you busy. I guess I was just feeling neglected, and then I realized about the reminder. I kind of lost my mind,” he finished, wincing a bit in embarrassment.
“I understand, and I have neglected you. I’ll talk to Aiden about finding some help within the clan to manage things so I can spend more time with you. I am so sorry I haven’t been attentive to you.”
Ethan leaned down and captured Marcus’s mouth in the sweetest kiss. “No more apologies,” he whispered, their lips brushing. “We’ll both do better next time.”
Marcus stole another slow, deep kiss, loving how Ethan leaned into him. His knees ached on the cold, hard concrete, but just the pleasure of his mate pushed it to the back of his mind. Ethan truly was his everything. His sun and moon.
“How about we go home, you put on your favorite collar, and I spend the night showing you exactly how precious you are to me?” Marcus suggested in a dark voice.
A low moan vibrated up Ethan’s throat, and his eyes dilated with desire. “Yes. That. Let’s do that. Now.” As he spoke, he was pulling Marcus back to his feet. “Let’s go do that right now.”
And Marcus lost his mind for Ethan all over again.