Master of Obsidian Read online

  Rivulets of blood trickled down his back, disappearing one by one. Gideon’s tongue traced over swells of flesh until Jess felt his mouth at the upper curve of his ass. His heart thumped, and he stood a little straighter, spreading his legs on instinct in order to open himself up.

  “I already said you weren’t going to be rewarded,” Gideon chastised. He came around Jesse’s body, standing tall and pressing his blood-slick chest to Jess’. “You don’t get my cock, and I’m not touching your ass.” He smirked. “Not even if you beg.”

  Jesse leaned forward, stretching his neck to tentatively lick the patch of skin beneath Gideon’s jaw. For a moment, he savored the taste of Gideon’s skin—which led him to thoughts of other areas of Gideon he wanted to taste. “I don’t get your cock at all?”

  “No.” His eyes turned golden. “I get yours.”

  Blood smeared down Jesse’s body as Gideon slid down. His breath caught in his throat as Gideon grasped his cock at the root, angling it away from his body. With one last wicked leer, Gideon dropped his jaw and swallowed Jess down in one stroke.

  Jesse fought the temptation to close his eyes—he needed to watch Gideon. He tensed, expecting to feel razor sharp fangs against his shaft, but Gideon was surprisingly careful. He pulled back, sliding his warm mouth along Jesse’s shaft, and then swallowed him once more, his teeth barely scraping against his cock. Gideon looked up, his golden eyes sending a shockwave through Jesse’s body.

  “Oh…” Jesse panted. “Oh…Gideon…I’m…”

  He was trying to warn Gideon, desperate not to let this end, but Gideon created hard suction around his shaft, and Jesse exploded deep in his throat, his cock jerking several times against Gideon’s rough tongue.

  The manacles rattled from how hard Jess was shaking, but Gideon didn’t move off his cock even when he’d stopped coming. Instead, he sucked at it, slipping his tongue into the slit to chase stray droplets. Only when Jesse started softening did he pull off.

  Gideon stood and stepped back, putting several inches between them. If he tried, Jess imagined he might be able to push himself enough to gain contact, but his muscles failed him, and he only watched as Gideon undid his pants.

  “My turn,” he said simply.

  Fresh hope burned in Jesse’s gut, but Gideon didn’t advance. He stood there, eyes heavy on Jess, and fisted his cock, stroking it in long, hard pulls from tip to root.

  Watching Gideon made Jesse forget he had already come. His pale skin was still streaked with blood, and his hard cock was glistening, and Jesse knew what that little drop would taste like. He was still waiting to taste all of Gideon’s come, and he couldn’t believe that Gideon truly intended to deny them both. But Gideon didn’t take a step forward, just watched Jesse watch him.

  “Gideon…please…” He knew Gideon said begging wouldn’t do any good, but he thought it was worth a shot.

  His hand moved a little bit faster. “Say it again.”

  Hope ignited in his chest, his balls ached, and his ass clenched. “Please, Gideon. Fuck me. Fuck my mouth. Need to feel you. Please.”

  A sound that was half-grunt, half-groan, came from Gideon’s throat. “You do look pretty when you beg,” he murmured. He took a step forward. “You look prettier painted in my spunk.”

  There were precious seconds where Gideon’s hand was a near blur, where Jesse couldn’t breathe for that fragile hope still choking him, where all he could see was the muscles working in Gideon’s upper body. Gideon’s head dropped back, the sinew of his neck standing out, and with a feral cry, he stripped his cock one last time before he exploded, his come crossing the distance to land on Jesse’s stomach, in the coarse hair at the base of his cock, everywhere Jesse couldn’t reach.

  Jesse looked down, watching the thick fluid roll down his skin with sharp disappointment. His wrists felt raw from the manacles, and he ached from his neck to his ass, and still, all he thought about was how much he had wanted Gideon’s cock. At that point, he would be happy with Gideon’s teeth. He needed that connection. It didn’t even feel like a sexual need anymore. It felt more basic, like a thirst that settled in the back of his throat.

  And Gideon knew it.

  Averting his eyes, because the sight of Gideon’s body was making it worse, he muttered, “I think my fingers are numb.”

  Without tucking away his cock, Gideon grabbed a set of keys from the cupboard. The hard length pressed into Jesse’s side when Gideon stretched to unlock the manacles, smearing the come around. It was a terrible tease. He didn’t need to see Gideon’s eyes to know it was deliberate.

  The moment the pressure was relieved on his burning muscles, Jesse sagged, wondering how he’d be able to stand. The strong band of Gideon’s arm came around his back to support him, and he looked up to meet his eyes.

  “Have you learned your lesson?” Gideon asked. All frivolity was gone.

  Jesse had learned his lesson, and for a moment, he despaired. Gideon would not seek out the substance that acted as a catalyst for both encounters, and Jesse didn’t think anything had changed for Gideon, either. But he couldn’t imagine coming to work every day, being near Gideon, talking to him, touching him, watching him, and being content to remain friends, as if nothing had ever happened at all. There had to be a way around both unwanted options.

  “I have,” Jesse said softly. “I shouldn’t have tried to trick you. It won’t happen again.”

  “Good.”

  Without another word, Gideon led him from the room, half-carrying him back down the stairs when his legs failed to work properly. He dropped him unceremoniously on the couch and retreated before Jess could touch him further.

  “I’m going out,” he said. “Do what you have to in order to clean yourself up.”

  Jesse nodded, wondering if Gideon realized this sort of treatment hurt him far more than getting fucked in an alley, or chained to the ceiling. He only hoped that when Gideon came back to himself, there wouldn’t be another round of apologies—for either of them. Though the chances of that were slim to none.

  Gideon walked out of the apartment without another word, but Jesse didn’t feel like he had the energy to make it to the bathroom. He went as far as the kitchen to find a towel and wiped his chest clean before stumbling back to collapse on the couch. Careful not to aggravate his back, he curled up on the oversized sofa and tried to figure out what was to be done.

  Chapter 5

  The entire time Gideon cooked breakfast, he heard Jesse’s even breathing coming from the living room. He had returned from his night out right before dawn to find Jess asleep on the couch, and all he had felt was guilt. He’d been angry at the trick, and he’d acted without thought, without care that this was his best friend he was toying with. As Jesse had known he would. As Jesse had hoped he would, though Gideon suspected he’d envisioned an encounter a little less bloody.

  He wanted to carry Jess into the bedroom and let him sleep it out in there, but the scent of his blood still hung thick in the air and pretty bruises had blossomed along his friend’s skin, colors that made Gideon want to lick and nibble flesh he shouldn’t touch. Leaving him on the couch was safer, if not as comfortable. So he was making it up to him by fixing breakfast.

  Not that some scrambled eggs and bacon said I’m sorry for flaying you very well. But it was a start. And after they were done eating, Gideon was going to have a long talk to Jesse about what exactly he thought he was doing.

  He set the table, but before going to wake Jess, he fetched a loose T-shirt and sweats for him to wear. He was going to have to start including a wardrobe allowance in their budgeting if he kept this up.

  When he walked into the living room, Gideon paused. Jess was awake.

  “I brought you some clothes,” he said, awkwardly thrusting them out. “And there’s eggs. And bacon.”

  Jesse studied him warily for a moment before nodding and accepting the clothes. He moved a little stiffly as he dressed, but he didn’t make a sound, or even wince in pain. He s
ilently made his way to the kitchen, detouring to the cabinet where Gideon kept his painkillers and helping himself to several, before sitting at the table.

  “It smells good.”

  It was both easier and more difficult to face Jesse when he was this calm. While Gideon wasn’t eager to think Jess was in pain, the fact that he refused to even show it had to mean he was more hurt by what happened than he was willing to admit to Gideon. He carried over the hot mugs—coffee for Jess, blood for himself—and sat down opposite him. Waiting to talk was a bad idea.

  “What did you think you were doing?” Gideon winced inwardly. The question came out angrier than he’d hoped. He supposed he still harbored some feelings about being manipulated.

  Jesse took a long sip from his coffee before answering. “If it makes you feel better to think it was all my fault, that’s fine. But I didn’t thrust the knob into your hand. You took it from me, without, I might add, noticing the gloves I wore. I didn’t force anything on you. But you know what? It doesn’t really make a difference. Because I’m tired of both of us trying to pretend that everything is normal.”

  Gideon frowned. “What are you talking about? Everything will be normal again, if we keep that stuff—whatever it is—away from me.”

  Jesse looked at him with a combination of exasperation and amusement. “No, Gideon, it’s not. It won’t be. I was happy before to pretend that I didn’t want you, and you didn’t know it. But I can’t now. And you sure as hell can’t pretend you don’t know what I…want from you.”

  The echoes of his pleading filled Gideon’s ears, and he fought not to squirm in his seat as his cock hardened. “What about what I want?” he countered. “You’re the best friend and partner I’ve ever had. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

  “What makes you think I’d stop being those things, Gideon? I’m still your friend. I still know you better than anybody, and the only way I’d ever stop being your partner is if you fired me. And we both know you’d never do that, because you don’t like to research.”

  “Because sex is messy, Jess. Especially the kind of sex…” He braced himself for being honest. “…I’d want.”

  “That’s why we shower afterward,” Jess joked, but it fell flat. “Gideon, the kind of sex you want is the kind of sex I want. You haven’t frightened me, or horrified me, or maimed me, or damaged me. We’re both consenting adults, and I’m not so naïve I don’t know what I’m consenting to.”

  He looked down at the mug of blood he cradled between his broad hands. “You can’t tell me that given the choice, you wouldn’t want the candlelight and roses route, Jess. Hell, that’s what you deserve. Not being treated like a toy for me to drag out whenever I feel the urge.”

  “First, I do not have an unfulfilled need for candlelight and roses. And even if I did, messy sex doesn’t preclude those things. Secondly, Gideon, what do I have to do to convince you that I want to be dragged out whenever you feel the urge? I don’t want to be treated like a toy, true, but I do want to be treated like your toy.”

  Lifting his head, Gideon met Jesse’s earnest gaze, noting the slight lean in the other man’s upper body as he angled himself closer. It was the way he always was, Gideon realized now. Always trying to fill the space around Gideon, always there filling his senses. It was as much who he was as the fact that Gideon noticed. Jesse had preoccupied his thoughts more than once since coming into his life.

  Was it so bad, what he was suggesting? Jess was right; he wanted it or, at least, he thought he wanted it. And Gideon craved the freedom to touch Jess the way he dreamed about, without fear of recrimination. The drawback rested in the possibility of dissension later on. Gideon had enough exes he’d been forced to walk away from. He didn’t want to add Jesse to that list.

  He leaned back in his chair, sprawling his legs out in front of him. It gave Jess a clear view of the bulge in Gideon’s crotch, though at the moment, Jess seemed too intent on his face to notice.

  “All right,” Gideon said. “Convince me.”

  Jesse blinked, straightening like Gideon had slapped him. He only hesitated for a moment before sliding off the chair and onto his knees between Gideon’s thighs. There was a distinctively hungry gleam in Jess’ eyes, reminding Gideon of all the pleading from the day before. Keeping his eyes locked on Gideon’s face, he unzipped Gideon’s pants and wrapped his fingers around his erection.

  Though the contact made him want to sigh in satisfaction, Gideon remained stoic, refusing to even unfold his arms to reach out to Jess. “I have certain expectations of my partners,” he said. “And I’m still a vampire, remember. I bite, I like to hurt, and I love to make people bleed.”

  “I’ll start taking iron supplements so I won’t become anemic,” Jesse answered, calmly.

  “I’ve never found a boundary I didn’t rip out of my way. If you’re not prepared to follow me, this thing between us doesn’t even get off the ground.”

  “I always thought it was a given that I’d follow you wherever you wanted to go.”

  Gideon finally reached out and rested a hand on the top of Jesse’s head. “You haven’t seen a fraction of the places I go,” he warned. He began pushing Jess toward his hips, but instead of aiming him for his cock, he pushed him lower until his nose was nuzzling Gideon’s balls.

  “Show me,” Jesse murmured, before drawing his tongue along Gideon’s skin, first tracing one ball, then the other. He used his tongue, teeth, and lips without hesitation, lapping and sucking eagerly.

  It was hard not to groan at the dark promise in Jesse’s tone. It had been a long time since Gideon had found anybody as willing as Jess, and the lengths he actually believed Jess would go made him want to shoot on the spot. When he was touching Gideon like this, it was hard to remember his rationalization for not pursuing it earlier.

  But Jesse’s offer suggested something else to Gideon. It was possible to show Jess how different their worlds really were, that he didn’t want Gideon completely unleashed. It was simply a matter of pushing him through the wrong door.

  Knotting his fingers in Jesse’s hair, Gideon pulled him off his balls, smiling slightly at the disappointment gleaming in Jesse’s eyes. “I think that’s an excellent idea,” he said. “We’ll make it a date. One week from tonight.”

  “One week.” He looked down at Gideon’s cock. “Are we going to do anything else between then and now?”

  “We?” Gideon shook his head. “You, on the other hand, had better get to sucking me off. And remember it’s going to have to last you for a week.”

  That, apparently, was all the encouragement Jesse needed. He experimentally slid the tip of his tongue from the base to the tip of Gideon’s cock, before wrapping his lips around the head. As he sucked on the sensitive flesh, his tongue dipped into the slit, teasing out drops of pre-come.

  Gideon kept his hand loose on the top of Jesse’s head, ready to start setting the pace if Jess continued to toy with him too much. “There are things you’re going to do this week in preparation for our night out,” he said. His gaze was fixed on the contrast of Jesse’s mouth against his cock, the tight suction of the red lips as he continued to savor Gideon’s pre-come. Fuck, but Jess had a gorgeous mouth. It was going to be a real treat to see it put to good use finally. “The first of which is, you will not come in that time period. I want you primed for what I have in mind.”

  Jesse looked up at him through his lashes, his assent bright and clear in his eyes. He moved his mouth down Gideon’s shaft, swallowing more and more of his length, but still moving slowly, as if trying to prolong the entire experience. Gideon sighed as the tip of his cock finally brushed against the back of Jess’ throat. His tongue was still busy, snaking around his shaft.

  “Second…” The temptation to lean back and close his eyes to appreciate this was great, but Gideon knew he had to say what needed to be said. “You’re going to shave. I want your balls smooth as silk when I suck on them.”

  Jesse grunted, cupping Gideon’s balls whil
e he pulled back. Jess massaged his sac lightly as he began to move his head. It seemed like he was swallowing his cock farther each time Jess slid forward. Like the time in the alley, Jess didn’t seem to hold anything back.

  Gideon slid lower in the seat, widening his legs to encourage Jesse’s exploration. With a subtle pressure, he began to push on the other man’s head and this time, when the tip of his cock hit the back of Jesse’s throat, Gideon didn’t let up. He kept on pushing until he felt the tight muscles constrict around his length and Jesse’s lips buried into his crotch.

  “And, third, leave your ass alone.” He held Jess in place, waiting until those lashes lifted and they were looking into each other’s eyes. “You’re going to be tempted to get yourself ready, maybe stretch yourself out so that you don’t have to wait so long. Don’t. I want you as tight as possible for me.” Gideon grinned. “And really, you’re going to stretch around me soon enough. Let’s make it a little more fun.”

  Jesse moaned, the vibrations going through Gideon’s cock and straight to his balls. When Gideon loosened his grip on the back of Jess’ head, Jess didn’t take his eyes from Gideon’s as he pulled all the way back, almost letting his cock fall from his lips. Gideon increased the pressure on Jesse’s skull, slamming him back down. He moved without resistance, his teeth barely scraping the length of his shaft, and once again, Jess’ throat constricted around the tip.

  Gideon lifted his other hand to Jesse’s head, taking him between both hands in order to hold him properly. He fucked Jesse’s mouth in bruising strokes, each one harder than the last, and all the while, Jess kept the suction around his shaft tight, taking him in and letting him out with intense eyes locked on Gideon’s. Too soon, Gideon’s balls tightened, and the fire in his belly coiled, and in a single stroke, he buried his cock in Jesse’s throat, shooting deep as Jess swallowed every drop.

  Only when his cock stopped twitching did Gideon let go of Jesse’s head. “Stand up,” he ordered.

  Jesse stood, but not before sliding his tongue over Gideon’s shaft one more time. The sweats outlined Jess’ erection, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He was breathing a bit faster than normal, and Gideon heard his heart hammer. He didn’t have to say a word to betray how aroused he was. Gideon saw the pain of it in his eyes.