Текст книги "Tatterdemalion "

Автор книги: Anah Crow

Соавторы: Dianne Fox
сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

When the corpse finally fell in on itself in a fresh fountain of sparks, Dane turned away. It hurt to move, but he was good at keeping his expression neutral.

“Let’s go. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Lindsay nodded. “I can walk.” Dane could smell his blood and fear and pain, but he wasn’t about to

argue. He’d wait until Lindsay wobbled enough to warrant an intervention.

“Fine.” He stopped and gestured for Lindsay to go in front of him. “Go on. Least if something else

steals you, I’ll see it.” Dane watched him struggle, too proud to ask for help. Lindsay didn’t know how to

ask for help, and Dane knew it.

Dane caught up in two strides, sweeping Lindsay up in his arms and ignoring how it hurt. It was better

than watching. Sometimes, Lindsay could be ridiculous and it was irritating how much like Dane the boy

was being at those times.

“I’m not indulging you,” Dane muttered. That was still pissing him off. No matter what the guul had made Lindsay think, the fact remained that it was damned difficult for one of them to make someone think

something they didn’t believe in, at least a little.

“It feels like you do,” Lindsay admitted softly. “I didn’t want to be an obligation, like you had to do

anything like that to keep me happy. I…want to be wanted. That’s all.” He closed his eyes, tucking his cheek against Dane’s chest.

Dane pressed a kiss to his hair and tried not to get angry again. “It wasn’t your fault for thinking it.

Well, it wasn’t your fault for being stupid about it,” he said quietly. “Not completely.”

“It’s not?” Lindsay’s face was full of such desperate hope that Dane wondered, again, what Cyrus

thought he was doing giving someone so fragile to him.

“Not completely, no,” Dane grumbled, any residual anger temporarily diverted by Lindsay’s need to

be forgiven. “Demons play with your mind. The sweet smell, it’s not sweet. It’s the same smell as the other one. You think it’s sweet, because you know the smell of honey. Same as the way you felt that made you

walk off.”

Lindsay sighed, defeated, and sank into Dane’s arms. “Still my fault for thinking it. It wouldn’t have

happened if I didn’t believe it, right?” Sometimes, he was too smart for his own good.

“I should have remembered.” Dane wasn’t about to let himself, or Ezqel, off the hook. “It was my

fault.”

“But…” Lindsay started, but fell silent when Dane glared at him. He pressed his cheek to Dane’s

chest and gave Dane those wide eyes.

“My fault,” Dane said flatly. He didn’t need this ridiculousness. Right now, he needed to work out

where they were so he could get them back to the hotel.

www.samhainpublishing.com

101

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

“You killed it, at least.” Lindsay’s stubborn little voice drifted up from under Dane’s chin. He was

impossible, and it made him all the more irresistible.

“Who said I don’t want you?” Dane shifted so that Lindsay could be more comfortable even though

his voice got more angry as he spoke. He was frustrated with both of them. “Cyrus is going to kill me for

touching you at all—if I’m lucky, he’ll only kill me—and you’re going on about how I don’t want you?

Where the fuck did that idea come from?”

“You didn’t seem all that…I don’t know. Interested. I guess.” Lindsay raised his head to peek at

Dane’s face. “Cyrus is going to be angry?”

“Not interested…” Dane stopped on a street corner that was barely lit by a single flickering bulb.

“Cyrus is probably chewing his own hair. And I am interested in you.”

Dane could hardly help himself. Lindsay had grace and intellect and beauty and delicacy and strength

that hit all of Dane’s buttons right. He was everything Dane wasn’t, and so perfectly made. What the hell

did Lindsay want, poetry? Getting out of that kind of thing should have been an advantage to being with a

man, and Lindsay was definitely a man, even if he was still green and new to it.

Dane set Lindsay on his feet and held his shoulders so that Lindsay had to look at him. “Asking what

you want doesn’t mean I’m not interested. Where’d you get that idea?”

“It just…” Lindsay closed his eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t want you to be…tolerating me, or

something. And when you asked… I thought if you were really interested in me, it would sound different.”

Dane wanted to bang his head on the lamppost, except that his head already hurt. “Maybe I am

indulging you,” he admitted. His hands were filthy, so he used the back of the cleanest one to push

Lindsay’s lank hair back from his smudged face. “It’s nothing I don’t want. What’s wrong with being

indulged? What’s wrong with someone giving you what you need? Sometimes it can fix things nothing else

can.”

Lindsay bowed his head. “I didn’t want it to be like…” Dane could guess the rest of that sentence.

… like his parents, being civil to him out of duty instead of love.

“This is now. That’s what I’m trying to tell you, with everything. This is not then.” Dane dropped his

head to nuzzle Lindsay’s nose with his own. “This is a different life.”

Lindsay tipped his head up, eyes closed. He was so young, far too young to be starting over, but here

they were. Even if Lindsay had lived all his years free, he would have been inexperienced, next to Dane. In spite of all the terrible things that had been done to him, Lindsay was so innocent, ignorant of so much

good as well as so much of the evil in the world. All Dane wanted was to make sure that Lindsay learned

the best of things first.

“It’s over,” Dane reminded him, instead of saying what he wanted to say, for fear of sounding

patronizing. “Your mother wouldn’t even know your face. She’ll depend on the kindness of strangers until

she dies. You nearly killed your father from hundreds of miles away. You could do it again.” Dane nudged

102

www.samhainpublishing.com

Tatterdemalion

Lindsay under the chin with a knuckle, making Lindsay open his eyes. “Your life now. Say what you

need.”

Lindsay hesitated for a long moment. “You.”

Dane was a tired, hurt animal, but the answer made him smile, made him warm in places he hadn’t

remembered he could be warm. He should have told Lindsay to pick something better, something more

useful, something more beautiful, something less broken. He couldn’t. What he wanted wasn’t worth

considering here, but he wanted this. “Then you’ll have me.” He pulled Lindsay to him and kissed

Lindsay’s soft mouth.

Resting his hands against Dane’s chest, Lindsay opened up to the kiss, yielding so easily. “I’m sorry,”

he whispered when he could speak, his lips warm against Dane’s.

“I can’t always be there to make sure you survive your mistakes. Or mine.” Dane scooped Lindsay up

again and started walking. “If you’re sorry, make smaller mistakes. So will I. Okay?”

Lindsay nodded, snuggling up against Dane’s chest. “I’ll try,” he promised.

“You’re a fast learner.” Dane laughed quietly. He could smell Lindsay’s sweetness under the muck

and smoke and the musk of other men. “But I might have to put you over my knee if you don’t hurry up.”

“No, thank you,” Lindsay muttered, stretching up to butt his nose against Dane’s chin. “I won’t run

away from you again.”

“Good.” Dane turned up a street that was better lit and they passed people who gave them odd looks.

“We’ll get a cab soon,” he promised. “Get you back to the hotel and you’ll feel better.”

Lindsay tucked his head against Dane’s shoulder, closing his eyes again. Nothing hurt anymore.

Dane’s blood bubbled with the satisfaction, however muted, of a kill, and the pure pleasure of being

claimed. He could have walked the whole way back without a second thought except that he didn’t want to

make Lindsay wait to get clean. It wasn’t only concern for the grubby little bunny, though. Dane wanted to

get the smell of other men off of what was his.

Eventually, Dane managed to hail a cab, though it took a handful of money waved at the driver to get

him to stop. Even in the cab, he didn’t let Lindsay go. It eased Dane’s pain to have Lindsay in his arms,

warm and alive and safe.

When the cab stopped, Lindsay opened his eyes and raised his head. “We’re back at the hotel,” Dane

murmured, and Lindsay closed his eyes again.

In the room, Dane finally put Lindsay down, tucking him into a plush chair so he could put away the

demon heart. Lindsay yawned hugely and rested his cheek against the back of the chair. There was color

under the dirt on his face. The little sleep had done him a world of good. “How’s your back?”

“Stings,” Lindsay murmured, pulling his feet into the chair and curling up. “Are you all right?”

Dane would feel better when he wasn’t carrying around body parts from an animal he didn’t plan to

eat. From his suitcase, he got the black and silver box that Ezqel had given him for the heart. The black bag

www.samhainpublishing.com

103

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

that held the heart was still hot, but it hadn’t leaked any blood into Dane’s pocket. Dane tucked it carefully into the padded box, taking the time to knot the strings of the bag seven times.

“I’m fine. Wouldn’t have been a problem except for the dying thing.”

Dane took the knife from the sheath under his vest and laid it into the lid of the box where it fit

perfectly into an indentation there and glowed blue as the box locked. Once the light faded, he put the box in his suitcase. He started to take off the damned ring and pushed it back onto his finger with a sigh. They might need it again.

“I’m sorry you got hurt. And that I couldn’t help. Again.” Lindsay frowned. The little scowl was

rather endearing, really.

“Getting hurt is what I do.” Dane peeled off his vest; when he let Lindsay see him, the last of the scars

were still visible. “I get over it. Nice that you care. Thanks.” His tone was dry, but he meant the words. He was unaccustomed to the sentiment and it made him feel awkward, as though Lindsay’s concern was a coat

several sizes too small for him to wear.

“Can you do it a little less?” Lindsay tilted his head. “You’re a fast learner…”

Dane stopped getting undressed and glared at Lindsay a long moment before he laughed. “Smartass.”

Lindsay looked unrepentant as he laughed as well, wretched little brat that he was. It was good to hear him laugh. The animal in Dane couldn’t think beyond the moment and the man didn’t want to. Nothing could be

wrong in his world when Lindsay laughed like that.

“Come on.” Dane kicked off his boots. “We both stink.”

Dane’s pants were the next to go, and Lindsay was sure Dane could smell the lust that surged in him.

He’d seen Dane naked a few times, but the wonder hadn’t faded. Dane was gorgeous. As he stood up,

though, his lust was dampened by the pain from his back that made him wince and hiss in a breath. “Let me

just…” He started unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers awkward and slow.

“Let me.” Dane was right there, though Lindsay hadn’t heard him cross the room. He ran one hand

over Lindsay’s hair, so gently. With the other hand, he hooked a claw in the opening of Lindsay’s shirt and drew it to the hem. The fabric parted with a whisper and the shirt fell open.

Lindsay stared at his torn, stained shirt. It took a moment for it to sink in that Dane had sliced it open

and his razor-sharp claw hadn’t touched Lindsay’s skin at all. “Oh,” he breathed. “Thank you.”

“Don’t think you’ll be wearing it again.” Dane pushed the shirt back from Lindsay’s shoulders, his

warm palms skimming Lindsay’s skin, and let it fall. “It’s not really you anyway.” His long hair brushed

Lindsay’s cheek and he pressed a gentle kiss to Lindsay’s temple. “Let me help with the rest?”

Lindsay nodded. He hurt too much to be able to get his clothes off nearly as quickly as Dane could

and, if he was totally honest with himself, the show of control was intensely arousing. “Please. I think I like it when you help.” He had little hope of being less than honest with Dane.

104

www.samhainpublishing.com

Tatterdemalion

“I noticed.” Dane sniffed playfully in the hair over Lindsay’s ear before he sank to his knees and

unlaced Lindsay’s boots.

It was such an unfamiliar pose to see Dane in, but Lindsay was beginning to understand that those

kinds of things didn’t matter to Dane. He was beginning to understand a lot of things about Dane that he

hadn’t grasped before. Dane had almost died for him– again—and Lindsay knew now that these weren’t

isolated incidents. Dane would do anything he could to keep Lindsay safe. Lindsay hoped that someday

he’d deserve that kind of devotion.

Lindsay let Dane help him strip, swallowing hard as he felt the brush of Dane’s claws against his skin.

His clothes fell to the floor. God, that was really hot. After everything that had happened tonight, he

should’ve been curled up in the corner, shaking and terrified. Instead, Dane’s care and touches soothed him and let him move past the fear. Dane couldn’t fix everything, Lindsay knew, but he could fix a lot by being who he was and caring about Lindsay.

Dane stood, running his hands up Lindsay’s thighs and hips as he did, and all the way up Lindsay’s

body to cup his face. The touches left a trail of heat in their wake. Lindsay felt like he was burning up, and Dane hadn’t even kissed him yet.

Just like the walk back to the hotel, Dane scooped Lindsay up and carried him to the bathroom, only

this time, Lindsay was awake and aware enough to enjoy it. He gave Dane sweet kisses and soaked up the

warmth and the feeling of being cared for. Wanted. Dane wanted him.

Dane settled on the edge of the big, deep tub and turned on the water, still holding Lindsay to him

with one arm. His expression was definitely troubled and, though they were both filthy from the fight with

the guul, when Dane picked up a washcloth and wet it, it was Lindsay’s face he washed first.

Lindsay closed his eyes and didn’t move while Dane washed his face. When the cloth moved away,

Lindsay opened his eyes again. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing now.” Dane kissed his forehead. “Wanted that stuff off your face.” The unhappiness was

fading from his expression as he studied Lindsay’s clean face. “To see you.”

“Oh.” Lindsay couldn’t help but smile. He felt warm through at the idea that Dane liked looking at

him—at him. Leaning in, he nudged his nose against Dane’s chin and kissed him lightly on the mouth. “It’s me now.”

Dane rumbled, a happy noise, and nuzzled against Lindsay’s cheek and neck. He huffed softly there,

like a sigh, and then patted Lindsay’s hip. “Into the tub.” The hot water was getting deeper, swirling around the curves of the tub and sucking at Lindsay’s feet as he stepped in. “Izia packed some salves,” Dane said, letting go once Lindsay was steady. “I’ll see to your back.”

“Why didn’t I pass out this time? I mean, I used my magic—or tried to, at least. It felt like he

was…eating it up, like it wasn’t doing anything. But why didn’t I…?”

www.samhainpublishing.com

105

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

“You never got to use it.” Dane came padding back in with a couple small jars in one hand. He

stopped to get more washcloths and some hand towels from above the sink. “The guul took your magic

before you could use it and hurt yourself with it. The magic is in you all the time, like your blood, but quiet.

When you drew on it, you made it easier for the guul to take. Whatever was left, you couldn’t use enough

to do any damage.” He stepped into the tub and nudged Lindsay forward, sitting down behind him.

“So I shouldn’t have tried to use my magic at all.” Even when Lindsay wanted to help, he failed. “It

didn’t do me any good at all, did it?”

“Not you.” Dane caught Lindsay around the waist with a big hand and pulled him back. Lindsay

found himself leaning on Dane, his cheek against Dane’s chest, while Dane rinsed the muck and gravel

from his wounded shoulder. “While it was feeding on you, I had some time to heal.”

Lindsay nodded, cheek sliding against the soft, thick fur on Dane’s chest. “I don’t want to be so

helpless anymore.”

“You need to keep your head up, to start.” It burned when Dane was washing, but he stopped and,

after trying to identify the next sensations, Lindsay realized that Dane was plucking debris from the

scrapes. “You could get mugged by a lamppost, the way you go around.” A kiss on the nape of Lindsay’s

neck took some of the sting out of the words.

“I’ll do better.”

“That’s all I want.” Dane kissed his hair. The longer Dane worked, the better Lindsay felt, especially

when Dane put Izia’s salves on his throbbing arm and torn back. By the time Dane set the jars aside, the

wounds of the evening were fading into nothing but a dull ache and the itch of healing skin.

Lindsay rested and snuggled Dane as best he could while Dane washed his hair. When Dane shifted

him aside and moved on to washing his own hair, Lindsay picked up the cloth Dane had used on his face

and washed the rest of his body. When he was finished washing himself, he wriggled around in the tub,

sloshing water up the sides, to wash Dane, too. It was his fault Dane was all grimy and dirty, after all. And Lindsay wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to touch.

The grooming made Dane purr and he sank to rest his head on the edge of the tub, twisting his long

hair up and out of the way of the cloth. Other than that, he was passive and relaxed—all Lindsay’s.

Lindsay washed Dane’s face last, and once it was clean, he leaned in to rub his cheek against Dane’s.

Feeling Dane’s skin sliding against his own was as intimate as a kiss.

The gesture got him a warm purr and a nuzzle in return, and Dane’s big hands sliding across his back

as Dane pulled him in close. “Thank you,” Dane murmured in his ear.

“It was my pleasure.” Settling his body against Dane’s in the warm water, Lindsay drew back enough

to kiss him on the mouth.

106

www.samhainpublishing.com

Tatterdemalion

“I know.” Dane’s voice had that teasing growl, and Lindsay could feel him smile before he kissed

Lindsay again. This time, the kiss was less gentle, more open, and Dane left one hand on Lindsay’s hip

while he got the other in Lindsay’s hair to keep him near.

Lindsay pressed himself up to Dane, skin on skin, and flicked his tongue along Dane’s lips. This

close, he could feel everything, and the warm water surrounding them made their bodies slide against each

other like silk.

Dane’s hand in his hair tightened as Dane kissed him hard enough that Lindsay felt the edge of his

fangs, how sharp and long they were. Dane’s claws brushed against the nape of his neck too, all the little

hints that he was in the hands of someone who was barely human at the best of times. And yet Dane was so

careful with him. There was a ripple of tension in Dane’s body and a low rumble in Dane’s chest, yet he

was still safe.

Lindsay moaned and rocked his body against Dane’s, feeling the proof that Dane wanted him as much

as he wanted Dane. That got Lindsay a low growl and Dane’s fingers slipping between his ass cheeks.

Dane nipped his lower lip and kissed him harder. Arching into the touches, Lindsay moaned again. “Dane.”

“Bed.” Dane followed the word with another kiss before he pulled back. “I want you in bed,” he said

roughly, nudging Lindsay’s cheek with his nose.

It took a moment for the words to register. “Yes.” Lindsay slid back off Dane’s lap, out of Dane’s

arms, and stood up. Once he was out of the tub, he held his hand out to Dane. “Come to bed with me.”

Dane let Lindsay draw him out of the bathroom. The lights were out, but the moonlight trickling in

through the open balcony doors washed everything in a thin coat of white. They were still sleek and wet,

but it was a hot night. Even the breeze making the gauze drapes dance like ghosts was warm. When they

got to the bed, Dane bent to kiss Lindsay again, one hand in the small of Lindsay’s back to pull him close.

Lindsay slipped away after one kiss and fell onto the bed. He sprawled out, damp skin sticking to the

soft sheets, and smiled up at Dane. The way Dane was looking at him was like one of his fantasies come to

life, and it sent a thrill of pure pleasure through Lindsay’s body. Dane wanted him.

Dane’s growl was definitely predatory, a low thrum that sent a shiver up Lindsay’s spine. Dane

crawled onto the bed and over Lindsay, inspecting him carefully in the low light. Lindsay could make out

his expression clearly, couldn’t miss the way Dane’s tongue flickered over his fangs before he growled

again. Dane nudged the hollow of Lindsay’s hip with his nose, breathing in Lindsay’s scent, and his hot

tongue washed across Lindsay’s balls.

Lindsay’s breath caught in his throat and he arched, legs falling open. Dane’s feral behavior only

turned Lindsay on more, reminded him how much Dane wanted him.

Dane’s tongue was slightly rough and it felt incredible as he tongue-bathed Lindsay’s balls and licked

up the shaft of his cock. Dane’s hands were all over him too, stroking his thighs and spreading him open.

Dane purred as he licked at the head of Lindsay’s cock, pleased with whatever he tasted there.

www.samhainpublishing.com

107

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

“Dane…” Lindsay couldn’t keep from writhing. He wanted more, everything, anything Dane would

give him.

Dane kept moving up Lindsay’s body. His inspection was thorough, but not slow. Soon, he was

nipping and licking Lindsay’s nipples, then kissing up to Lindsay’s mouth. All the way up Lindsay’s body,

his hands left hot trails of pleasure everywhere he touched. Dane’s rough breathing and all his little noises sounded so aroused and possessive. When he finally kissed Lindsay on the mouth again, he laid his body

over Lindsay’s, covering him.

“Please.” Lindsay licked at Dane’s mouth, desperate, pleading licks, trying to tempt Dane into more.

“Yes.” Lindsay felt the word as much as heard it, hissed against his mouth. Dane kissed him

recklessly, sharp teeth and all, before pulling away with a harsh exhalation as though it hurt him to do it.

“Stay.” He pressed another kiss to Lindsay’s mouth. “Like that.” Dane wasn’t gone long, rolling out of bed

to pad over to his bag. He returned with something he’d dug out of it and slid into bed beside Lindsay, pulling him close with a rumble. “Tell me what you want.” He didn’t make it easy to think, the way he

kissed Lindsay’s neck.

“Fuck me,” Lindsay managed. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to feel Dane inside

him like that.

Dane’s response was to bite him on the neck with a growl, sliding his body over Lindsay’s so that his

cock rode against Lindsay’s thigh. He stopped biting before his teeth did any damage, and whispered,

“Good.”

Good. Yes, so, so good. Lindsay shuddered and swallowed back another plea for more. “Yes.”

Dane pushed Lindsay’s legs apart with one of his and Lindsay heard the familiar sound of a lid

coming off a jar of some kind of salve. He was mustering up enough thought to wonder what it was when

Dane bit him gently again, under his jaw where it was soft and vulnerable, and then Dane’s slick fingers

were stroking behind his balls.

Lindsay’s hands found Dane’s shoulders and the back of his neck. “God, Dane,” he managed, when

Dane’s fingers slid over his hole. “I want…”

“Soon.” Dane slowly pressed a finger into Lindsay as he trailed kisses over Lindsay’s chest and rolled

to kneel between Lindsay’s thighs.

Lindsay breathed through the strangeness of it. Dane touched that place inside him that made him

want to writhe. “Dane,” he gasped. “Oh God, Dane.” There wasn’t any room for worry, here, only pleasure and need and the heat building up in Lindsay’s belly, already threatening to spill out.

Dane purred and didn’t stop, pushing Lindsay further and further into a place where there was no

room for thought. His fingers filled Lindsay up more, stroking inside him exactly where he needed to feel

it.

“Please. Dane, fuck me. I want.”

108

www.samhainpublishing.com

Tatterdemalion

Dane was there, kissing Lindsay gently on the mouth and stroking his hair, soothing him. When Dane

pulled his fingers out, there was an almost unbearable moment of nothing and then the heat of Dane’s slick cock sliding into him.

“Patience,” Dane said, his voice thick with need. He was moving so slowly, letting Lindsay take him

in.

Oh. “Oh, fuck,” Lindsay breathed. Dane’s fingers had been nothing compared to this. Lindsay could

feel his body opening up for Dane, and it felt amazing. He wanted more, faster, now, but Dane’s kisses kept him from begging with anything more than soft whimpers.

“Good,” Dane murmured, as Lindsay gave in to being patient. Finally, he was deep inside Lindsay,

his heavy body pressing Lindsay into the soft bed and protecting him from the world at once. “Better

now?”

“Yes.” But Lindsay wanted more, so much more. “No. I want. Move.” He showed Dane what he

wanted, tilting his hips and tightening his body around Dane’s cock. The sensations surprised him—how

much more full and tight it made him feel—and he gasped out a soft moan.

Dane made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a purr. “Yes,” he said, nudging his nose

against Lindsay’s. He pulled back slowly and slid in again, letting Lindsay feel all of him this time. He set a lazy pace that was almost too slow except for the way he pushed in so deep at the end of each thrust,

making Lindsay moan every time.

Dane seemed indifferent to his own pleasure. When Lindsay managed to focus, Dane was watching

him, fixated, and smiling. It was such a rare expression for him, and so gentle. “Better now?” he teased, softening it with a kiss.

“I want…” Lindsay swallowed another moan when Dane moved again. “Want it to be good for you.”

“It is.” Dane kissed him again, hot and slow this time, pressing their bodies close. “Perfect.” His voice

was so raw and human right now. “I forgot how good it could be like this.”

Dane wanting this—wanting him—was more important than anything else. “So good,” Lindsay

agreed, losing himself in the pleasure again as Dane moved with more urgency, fucking him harder instead

of simply moving to let him feel the sensations of it all. Lindsay shuddered and arched into Dane’s thrusts, crying out as heat flashed through him and come spattered Dane’s hand and his own belly.

“I like that,” Dane purred. “It’s so good. I could eat you up.” He groaned as he fucked Lindsay hard,

shudders running through him with each thrust.

It was everything and nothing like Lindsay had thought it would be. The way Dane felt, pushing into

him fast and hard, the way he sounded, the way he looked—Lindsay’s imagination couldn’t have come up

with something so perfectly beautiful and fascinating. Something so addictive. Lindsay wanted to feel like

this—wanted to be the one to make Dane feel like this—again and again.

www.samhainpublishing.com

109

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

Dane kissed Lindsay like he really was trying to eat him up, hard and hungry. His rhythm faltered at

last and he came with one rush after another.

As Dane relaxed, Lindsay threaded his fingers into Dane’s hair and pulled him in for more kisses.

Dane rubbed his cheek against Lindsay’s and hummed softly, relaxed and contented. Lying down, he drew

Lindsay into his arms and curled around him. He settled Lindsay’s head on his shoulder and kissed

Lindsay’s temple and cheek and mouth, purring.

Lindsay snuggled up in the warmth of Dane’s body and closed his eyes. The world hadn’t seemed this

right and full of hope since he’d walked into that room at Ezqel’s house and found Dane sleeping in the

bed, alive. Lindsay hadn’t felt this good and right ever.

“Sleep now,” Dane rumbled. “Tomorrow, rest.” He kissed Lindsay’s hair and huffed softly. “You

need more than all this mess.”

He tugged the covers up and tucked them both in, warm and safe. It was better than any dream, so

good that Lindsay clung to being awake as long as he possibly could. As he drifted off, he could feel that

Dane was still awake, watching him fall asleep.

110

www.samhainpublishing.com

Chapter Ten

The next day, after Lindsay had finally woken, Dane insisted they were still on vacation. Lindsay was

pretty sure that Cyrus didn’t think anything of the sort and that Dane was going to get in even more trouble, but Dane didn’t seem in the mood to hear it. He led Lindsay out to the pool and covered him from head to

toe in sunscreen, muttering direly about how pale Lindsay was and how likely he was to burn, and then

sprawled out on a two-person lounge chair and promptly fell asleep in the sun.

Lindsay felt a ridiculous surge of affection for him right then. Dane had probably hardly slept all

night, watching over him. In the light of day, Dane could get some sleep, knowing Lindsay was well.

Eventually, Lindsay made his way into the pool. The water felt warm to his cool skin, though not as

warm as the bath the night before. Some of the pool’s other occupants were splashing around in one corner,

laughing and having fun. Others were swimming in lanes on the far side, showing off their bodies and

athleticism. Lindsay watched both for a while, then rolled onto his back and floated, basking in the warmth.

He was relaxed, for once. Content. There were marks on his skin from Dane’s hands and mouth, and

the swimming trunks he’d bought from the hotel gift shop did little to hide any of them. At least Izia’s salve had made the wounds from the guul fade. Lindsay hadn’t used it on the marks from Dane. Up in their room,

Lindsay had stood in front of the mirror, behind the closed bathroom door, and just stared at himself for a long time. In the pool, he floated with his arms outstretched, careless of what anyone thought of his body or his scars or the marks of his sex with Dane.

He liked the way he looked, like this, and he knew Dane liked it too. He remembered what Kristan

had said, that Dane had rolled over and gone to sleep after having sex with her. That wasn’t what Dane had

done last night. It was that, even more than the sex itself, that Lindsay would keep replaying in his mind.

Rolling himself upright, he climbed out of the pool and padded over to Dane’s lounge chair. He

toweled off, crawled up beside Dane and, after a moment’s hesitation, snuggled up close. Dane wouldn’t

mind.

“Where’d you swim, the ice bucket?” Dane grumped, shifting to get his arm around Lindsay. He