“Has your hair always been this long?” Alek’s voice was rough with desire. He couldn’t disguise his lust as composure even if he’d tried to.
“You don’t like it?”
Alek’s lips twitched. “I’ve yet to find something I don’t like on you, Belleron.”
“You’ve only known me a day, really.” Bell smirked. “We had one ten minute introduction, then I was gone for two days until I came to you last night.”
“True. But, so far I like what I’m seeing.”
“Me too,” Bell whispered.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Bell asked, “Can I have another one of those kisses? Like before?”
Alek blinked. He hadn’t expected that. Bell had confessed to him last night that vampires weren’t known for their displays of affection. A person probably wouldn’t see two vampires holding hands walking down the street. Everything was done behind closed doors. Hugging and touching were the least of a vampire’s needs, and kissing was certainly at the top of that list.
“One of those long ones.” Bell touched Alek’s mouth with the tip of his slim finger. Alek almost had a mind to capture it between his teeth, but he refrained, instead edging closer until his mouth was only a breath away from Bell’s. “Didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do. Then again… maybe it’s just you, Aleksei. I only want to kiss you.”
Alek didn’t let another moment pass. He sealed his mouth over his mate’s and dominated the kiss. Bell moaned salaciously, arching his sleek body into him and letting Alek take the reins. The savage alpha inside him had him gripping his mate and spinning them to pin him against the tree beneath him. Alek pressed into Bell until he struggled to breathe.
MATE! Alek’s mind blared. His entire body vibrated with uncontrolled energy as he held Bell caged between his arms. He wanted to take a step back and gather himself enough to will his beast down, however it wouldn’t allow Alek to move. The hot energy radiating from him made the air shimmer around them, despite the frigid coolness. His beast brought the temperature of Hell with him. The growl Alek released terrified him… and it should’ve frightened his mate. But it didn’t.
Alek’s breathing halted when Bell’s hand glided up his trembling body and stopped dead in the center of his chest.
Bell couldn’t move. He knew that, even if he wanted to—which he didn’t—he couldn’t. Instead, he stood there spellbound and too drunk from Alek’s power. Captivated. The air became so warm and inviting that he relaxed instantly. Alek’s energy was addictive and Bell wanted to writhe in it and make sure it cloaked him. He wasn’t sure what he was experiencing but he liked it. It flowed through his mate and into him.
“What’s going on?” Bell breathed on the base of Alek’s throat.
Alek didn’t answer him. With his eyes hooded, Alek kept his teeth clenched and his fingers digging into the muscles of his back.
With his hand pressed firmly to Alek’s chest, Bell cocked his head to the side, his superior hearing targeting a voice different from his beloved’s—a deeper, harsher voice tinged with authority and danger. “Talk to me,” Bell murmured.
Alek gasped and grunted through a violent shudder. “What are you doing? Don’t call on him.”
“I want to speak with it.” Bell could feel the storm surging within Alek, his animals battling for control. They wanted something dear from Bell that he wasn’t ready to relinquish.
His body.
Alek’s wolf needed to mate with him. Bell listened to the sense of urgency as they growled and snarled for Alek to take Bell away and seal their mating. And he was correct in his assumption, that there was more than just Wolf lurking inside his cherished. My gods. Bell wasn’t even sure if it was an animal or… or… an entity. Whatever it was, it wanted Bell with a vengeance.
He’d only given himself to another once—to a vampire he’d trusted, who was dead now—so many years ago that he vaguely remembered the feeling. It had happened quickly, was over fast and not very pleasant. Bell wasn’t used to being the submissive one. In his world, he was the alpha. He and Wick. When he’d fed from other vampires or humans, he didn’t bed them as they all wanted. It wasn’t often he felt the desire to get off. Sex had always seemed overrated to him. A way to get worked into a frenzy to achieve a mediocre anti-climactic finish. A way to get messy with another’s bodily fluids that he could do without. Lastly, and most important to him, a vampire was at their most vulnerable after vigorous sex and feeding. He could never trust that some random conquest wouldn’t get him intoxicated on blood and orgasms, and catch him off-guard enough to hurt him. He didn’t trust easily, that was his nature.