Ian shrugged a shoulder. “I want to say yes. I’d like to think I’d do it for him if the situation were reversed, but this isn’t like asking him for any old favour. I’m a supernatural creature now.” Jesse smiled at the awe in his voice. “And I’d be asking him to risk his dream job.”
“Do we have any choice?” Lys asked, looking between them. “We need to get him away from here until we know where things stand.”
“What if Raph refuses to let me join your coven? What if he orders you to kill me?”
“He wouldn’t.” Jesse might have raised it as a possibility, but deep down he didn’t actually think it would happen. As vampires went, Raph was one of the good guys, and he believed in their agreement with the VLCD. “And on the slim chance he does, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. As long as you’re with Blake, you’ll be safe. An attack on a VLCD officer would render all agreements null and void, and it’d be hunting season on vampires, which no one wants to go back to. Plus, the other covens would be well pissed off with him.”
“So,” Lys said. “Have you heard from Cate since you sent that last message?”
Ian reached for his phone. “Yeah, she told me to drive safely and asked if I was okay to meet her again after work on Friday.”
“What did you tell her?” Jesse asked, realising they should probably have talked about this earlier, but everything kept happening at once.
“I said yes. Figured I’d cancel later. She’d want to know why if I said no.”
“That’s fine,” Jesse said quickly, not wanting Ian to think he’d done something wrong. “Right, so this is what I propose we do.”
JESSE LOCKED THE door after Lys left and leant back against it. A tense restlessness had taken hold, and he both wanted to get tonight over and done with and stay in this moment forever. Movement on the bed caught his attention, and Jesse looked up to find Ian watching him.
Their eyes met, and Jesse felt that pull. The one he’d been trying so hard to ignore since he’d given his blood to Ian in the alleyway. “You need to feed,” he whispered. “So that there’s no temptation later. Well, not as much,” he added, because there was no avoiding the fact that Ian’s body was still adjusting. He was going to be tempted by Blake’s blood, but if he didn’t physically need it, then hopefully, he could control himself. If not, well, Blake was VLCD. He’d have the tools to restrain Ian without permanently hurting him.
Ian tracked him as he walked over to the bedside table. “You should eat too.” Ian lifted his chin a little. “I don’t want you eyeing Cate as a tasty snack.”
Jesse smiled. He’d had years to hone his self-control. “I won’t.”
“Please,” Ian said, voice soft. “I don’t want to be the only one doing it.”
It hadn’t occurred to Jesse that Ian might feel self-conscious about it. Jesse had been drinking blood for so long, he forgot that it’d weirded him out in the beginning.
Picking up two of the blood bags, Jesse sat on the bed and handed one to Ian. “Cheers.”
Ian laughed and took the bag. “Thanks.” His fangs dropped down, taking him by surprise judging by his gasp. “I keep forgetting I have them.” He tongued the tip of one, then the other, and Jesse watched, mesmerised and more than a little turned on.
“I don’t.” The words slipped out, and Ian’s gaze snapped to Jesse’s, eyes dark.
I need to feel them on my skin.
“Drink,” Jesse coaxed, letting his own fangs slide out slowly before tearing off the corner of the bag.
He swallowed mouthful after mouthful, his body reacting immediately. A slow warmth crept through him, energising him in a way he never remembered experiencing as a human. Everything came alive—senses sharpened, and every nerve ending seemed hypersensitive.
Turning his attention to Ian, he watched the bob of his Adam’s apple as he drank, remembered the way the soft stubble felt against his mouth, and he wanted it again, so fiercely it hurt. “Ian.” Jesse didn’t recognise the low, ragged voice that came out of him.
Ian set the empty bag aside and looked up. Blood stained his lips, calling to Jesse in a way he was powerless to resist.
He had Ian pinned on his back in the blink of an eye. “This okay?” he murmured, licking his lips as he stared down at him.
“Better than.” Ian grinned up at him and spread his legs wide so Jesse slotted between them. His cock pressed against Jesse’s, both hard and begging for attention.
“Are you sure you want this?” Jesse had to be certain it wasn’t obligation driving this. “We don’t have—”
“Stop talking.” Ian had his fingers over Jesse’s lips. “The only things I want to hear out of your mouth are groans of pleasure. We have a few hours before you have to leave. Let’s not waste them.”
Jesse couldn’t argue with that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jesse licked his lips, fangs sliding away with a snick, and Ian wished he had the guts to ask him to keep them out. He’d fucked Jesse, blown him, had his hands all over his body, but that was before.
