Extracting his hand from Stavion’s boxers, he moved it to rest over his mate’s heart. It was beating so fast and so hard Jory could feel it against his palm. He didn’t know what it meant, and it scared him. “It’s beating so fast,” he whispered, hoping he wasn’t doing something wrong.
Stavion placed his hand over Jory’s and pressed his more firmly against his chest. “This,” he murmured. Then he wrapped his fingers around Jory’s hand and guided back down to his swollen cock, pressing Jory’s palm against it through the thin cotton. “This,” he said again. Then he removed Jory’s hand, turned it slowly, and pressed it against Jory’s heart. “Is because of this. You can’t begin to imagine how much I want you. I don’t want to push, though. I’ll give you as much time as you need.”
Jory swallowed loudly as tears blurred his vision. Stavion wanted him, but he wasn’t forcing himself on him. He was willing to wait, to give Jory the time he needed to be comfortable. Hell, he wasn’t even asking for anything in return.
“Please say something.” Stavion sounded just as worried as Jory felt. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Jory. I would never—ever—hurt you, not even by accident. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’re safe and happy.”
Well, that did it. The tears he’d been fighting overflowed, spilling over his cheeks and running down the sides of his face. He sniffled and hiccupped as he pressed his lips together to keep from sobbing.
He reached his hand up but paused before he made contact with Stavion’s face.
He reached a little farther and stilled again. It took him several tries, and by the time his palm rested over Stavion’s cheek, his hand was shaking so badly it vibrated his mate’s face. Stavion didn’t seem to mind, though. He closed his eyes and sighed, turning his head slightly so that he could rub his cheek against Jory’s palm.
His warm fingers curled around Jory’s hand, holding it in a loose grip. Then he turned his head a little more and placed a tender kiss right over the pulsing vein in his wrist. “I’ll give you anything you want, Jory. We can take as much time as you need. I just want you close to me.”
Steeling his courage and taking a chance, Jory voiced his first desire in almost five years. “I like it when you call me baby. Will you please call me that again?”
Stavion’s eyelids fluttered open, and he smiled bright enough to rival the sun, his white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Very gently he brushed the hair back from Jory’s face and kissed the tears from his cheeks. “My baby,” he whispered.
Jory liked that even more. His heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest and his stomach did flips and loops, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. His first request had gone well, so he hoped he had as much success with the second.
“Will…Will you kiss me again? I like the way you kiss me.”
Stavion cradled the back of Jory’s head in his large hand as he placed tiny kisses along Jory’s cheek and down to the corner of his lips. “You never have to ask for a kiss.” He pressed their lips together, gentle at first, then with more pressure.
Jory gasped when he felt his mate’s tongue tickle the seam of his lips. His sudden intake of breath allowed Stavion to slip inside, his tongue brushing against Jory’s, stroking it and encouraging him to respond.
Moaning softly, Jory’s arms moved around Stavion’s neck as if by instinct, and he opened wider, pushing himself closer to his mate.
Stavion kept the kiss gentle, licking at the inside of Jory’s mouth in slow, languid glides of his tongue.
Jory wanted more. He tightened his arms and rocked his hips, his brain short-circuiting as Stavion continued to make love to his mouth.
His cock ached, his balls churned, and his whole body felt like it was on fire as he rubbed his dick over Stavion’s muscled stomach.
Oh, he liked kissing. There was something so intimate about the act. While he didn’t have anything to compare it to, it had to be the best kiss in the history of kisses. Stavion knew exactly what he was doing. Every caress of his tongue stoked the embers in Jory’s belly until he thought he’d combust from them.
Stavion’s other hand gripped Jory’s chin, tilting his head slightly and taking the kiss deeper. Jory went off like a bottle rocket. His body stiffened, his cock pulsed, and a low groan flowed from his mouth as he coated Stavion’s stomach with his semen.
It was complete euphoria for about three seconds before Jory realized what he’d done. A quiet growl rumbled in Stavion’s chest, and he went completely still.
Jory jerked out of his mate’s arms and scrambled backward until he fell off the bed. Knowing it was useless to run, he curled into a ball and wrapped his arms around his head. Things had been going so well. Why did he have to go and fuck it up? “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please, I’m so sorry.”
Stavion’s heart shattered in his chest as he listened to Jory apologize over and over. He should have taken things slower. But, God, Jory tasted so good, and he hadn’t been able to help himself.
The fact that Jory had erupted with nothing more than a kiss was the sexiest thing Stavion had ever witnessed. It was such a turn-on, he’d been damn close to following Jory right over the edge.
Throwing his feet over the edge of the bed, he slipped to the floor and kneeled beside his distressed mate. He rested his hand on Jory’s shoulder, but pulled it back when the man flinched beneath his touch.
“I’m sorry, Stavion. I’m sorry. Please, I didn’t mean to.” The sobs wracking his body shook his small frame with such violence, Stavion thought he’d die as he watched it.
“Jory, sweetheart, look at me.”
When Jory just shook his head, Stavion made a snap decision that he hoped wouldn’t backfire and blow up in his face. Settling his back against the side of the bed, he scooped Jory into his arms and held him tightly as the man fought against him.
“Hush now, baby. Everything is okay.” He stroked Jory’s hair, his back, every part of him he could reach as he tried to calm and comfort the smaller man. “I’m not mad. I would never hurt you, remember?” He kept talking, keeping his voice quiet and soothing as he held his mate tight to his chest. Eventually, Jory’s struggles receded and suddenly, he was clinging to Stavion with a strength that belied his small stature. His sobs quieted as well, though his lean muscles still quivered and quaked beneath Stavion’s hands.
His little face buried into Stavion’s throat, and Jory wiggled around until he could lock his legs around Stavion’s waist. They sat that way for a long time, neither saying a word. There were so many things Stavion wanted to ask—so many things he needed to say. They could wait, though. Comforting his mate was more important that assuaging his curiosity.
He continued skimming his fingers over Jory’s slim back long after the man had settled. The corners of his mouth turned down at the bumps and welts he encountered. The skin was raised and puckered in dime-sized circles in places. The more he explored, the more his gut tightened and bile rose up in his throat. It took every ounce of willpower to keep his mouth shut and not ask where the scars had come from. He had a pretty good idea, but he wanted Jory to trust him enough to tell him the story. That trust wasn’t there yet, but he hoped one day soon.
“Not so beautiful now, am I?” Jory murmured against his neck.
Stavion squeezed his eyes closed against the pain in his heart.
“You will always be beautiful to me.” While the marred skin made him sick with what his mate had been through, it in no way detracted from his beauty. He only regretted that such horrible things had happened to the man. It didn’t matter that he’d only just met Jory. A part of him died inside that he hadn’t protected his mate from the cruel hands of Cyrus Redway.
“I didn’t mean to do that, Stavion. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be disappointed in me. I’ll do better. No one has ever kissed me before, and it was so amazing.”
Jory rambled on and on, but Stavion had stopped listening. He didn’t know how much more his heart could take. Every new discovery he made about Jory was both amazing and painful. How the man could even function after what he’d been through was a miracle in and of itself.
“You’ve never been kissed before?”
Jory tensed again, but only briefly before he relaxed against Stavion’s chest. Stavion took it as a good sign, and hope blossomed inside him. “Well, I have now,” Jory said, and Stavion could hear the smile in his voice, feel his mate’s luscious lips stretch over his throat.
“Smart-ass.” Stavion chuckled and kissed Jory’s temple so the man would know that Stavion was pleased and he wasn’t being reprimanded. “Did you enjoy it?” It was a stupid question, but Stavion wanted to hear Jory’s voice again—especially now that it wasn’t filled with fear. Besides, he hoped the little man would become more comfortable voicing his wants and dislikes.
Jory leaned back a little and insinuated his hand between them, dipping his fingers in the drying semen on Stavion’s stomach. It took everything in him not to growl at the hesitant touch. Then Jory lifted his fingers and held them to Stavion’s mouth as he gazed up at him with apprehension in those pale green eyes. “What do you think?” he spoke so softly, and if not for his vampire hearing, Stavion wouldn’t have heard him.
Unable to bear the uncertain look in his mate’s eyes another moment—and because he really wanted to know what Jory tasted like—Stavion opened his mouth and bent his head to capture Jory’s fingers in his mouth.
The taste of his mate’s cum exploded over his taste buds and made his head spin. Sweet and salty, a bit earthy—he’d never tasted anything so divine. He couldn’t stop the muffled groan or the swelling of his cock as he swirled his tongue around the digits in his mouth. He wanted more of the sweet nectar but held himself in check, leashing his desire in a chokehold.
He blinked open his eyes, and he almost wished he hadn’t. The burning desire in Jory’s eyes was captivating, but it also made his cock throb painfully and his balls draw tight to his body. Jory licked his lips, his nostrils flared, and Stavion whimpered pathetically.
Letting Jory’s fingers slip from his mouth, he felt trapped by his mate’s stare. He couldn’t have looked away if the room was on fire.
He’d waited hundreds of years to find his mate—his sunshine. Jory wasn’t without his issues, and it would be a slow and winding road to navigate, but Stavion didn’t mind. Jory was perfect and well worth the wait.
“I need to tell you something.”
Stavion nodded slowly. If the quivering of Jory’s lip was any indication, it wouldn’t be a happy secret. “You can tell me anything.”
“I’m scared,” Jory whispered as his chin dropped to his chest.
“You won’t want me after I tell you.” Sliding his hand up the smooth column of Jory’s throat, Stavion cradled his chin and lifted his face. “There is nothing you can tell me that will make me not want you.”
Jory didn’t look convinced, but he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know you’ve been wondering what I am. The doctor couldn’t figure it out, either. He asked me, but I was too scared to tell him, so I just said I was human. Obviously, I’m not human, or I wouldn’t know that you’re my mate.”
Stavion placed his hand over Jory’s mouth to stop his nervous rambling and smiled. The guy really was adorable. “Just tell me, sweetheart. I promise I won’t be mad, and I swear I will still want you no matter what.”
Nodding once, Jory looped his slender fingers around Stavion’s wrist and removed the hand from his mouth. “I’m a hybrid. I am part human, so I didn’t really lie about that.” He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, speaking without opening them. “I’m an Aíma Demon.”
Stavion dipped his head in acknowledgement as the smile slowly slid from his face. He understood why Jory had been afraid to tell him. Demons of all kinds had a bad rap—mostly because of the Arsidians. The soul-sucking demons were vicious, manipulative, and just plain evil. Not all demons were created equal, though.
Lifting Jory’s hand, Stavion skimmed his fingers along the soft skin of his mate’s arm and sighed. The flesh was riddled with scars as well as three new slash marks. It appeared as though no one had ever educated Jory about his nature.
“Baby, first thing I want you to know is that I’m not mad, and I still want you very much.” He ignored Jory’s gasp of surprise and continued. “I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”
Jory bobbed his head as he gazed at Stavion in relief. “I’ll tell you anything.”
“Do you know what it means to be an Aíma Demon?”
Jory shook his head and frowned. “I need blood. That’s all I really know.”
That was something else they’d have to discuss. Stavion didn’t know who was donating the blood, but from that moment on, it stopped. He would be the only one to give his mate what he needed.
“That’s because an Aíma is a blood demon. Aímas really aren’t much different than vampires.” Many of the blood demons were even able to live among covens because they were so much alike. There were only two real differences. “You know you can go out in the daytime.” Jory nodded again, but remained quiet this time.
“You need blood to live like I do—like a vampire. When I take blood, I absorb it into my body where it nourishes me. It’s like putting fuel into a car. My body uses the blood until it’s gone, and then I will have to feed again.”
“Okay, so how is that different than me?”
“Think of your body more like a bathtub.” It was a strange analogy, but Stavion really couldn’t think of a better way to explain it.
He held Jory’s wrist loosely and brushed his thumb over the scars.
“You fill your body with blood, and it does its job. If you were in a bathtub, you’d fill it with water and clean your body. When you finish, you have to drain the water. Your body works the same way.
The blood cycles through your body and mixes with the water, causing it to double in volume. It can be very painful.”
Jory bobbed his head solemnly. “It does hurt. That’s why I do this.” He looked down at the scabbing wounds on his forearm. “It’s like this big pressure building up inside of me until I feel like I’m going to explode. When I cut myself and bleed, it lessens a little.”