Master of Obsidian

Chapter 1-2

Four hours later, Jesse prowled through an alley alone. He wasn’t sure how they’d gotten separated. It seemed one second he’d been trailing Gideon through the long alley, alternately passing through shadows and green neon lights, and the next, he’d been utterly alone. Gideon had most likely heard a demon, or sensed another vampire, or was distracted by some damsel in need of rescuing, but that didn’t ease Jesse’s nerves.

Jesse lifted his head, scanning the high roofs for any sign of the vampire, but there was nothing. Just more blackness. He wiped the sweat from his eyes, wishing he had a large bottle of iced water. Brown clouds hung low in the sky, almost close enough to touch.

A soft thud behind him caught his attention, and he whirled around, eyes wide, axe raised overhead. Gideon stood feet away, his lips pulling into a smirk.

“Oh, Gideon.” Jesse lowered the axe. “You startled me.”

“Which is why I’m over here and you’re over there with the big, pointy weapon,” came the amused response. With long, sinuous strides, Gideon returned to his side and reached out to take the axe, his cool fingers brushing along Jesse’s. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it back when there’s a real threat.”

Jesse nervously pushed his glasses up his nose, doing his best not to notice that Gideon was standing too close, invading his personal space. “A real threat? Is the area clear of…of demons?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Jesse chuckled. “Well, of course, I meant demons that are a…a threat.” Gideon’s eyes were inscrutable in the darkness, but he still looked vaguely amused. Jess took a half-step back, seeking some breathing room.

“Now I think I’m a little insulted here.” Gideon handled the axe with a nonchalant ease that gave no indication how heavy the weapon really was. It swung slightly from his fingers as he edged forward, forcing Jesse to retreat until he felt the cold wall of the building at his back. “You don’t find me even a little bit threatening, Jess? And be honest now.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Because I’ll know if you’re lying.”

Jesse’s stomach dropped. He remembered how frightened he had been of Gideon in the beginning, but he had let that fear go—mostly. Oddly, it wasn’t the fact that Gideon was a vampire that left his palms clammy and his heart thudding. He was more aware of Gideon’s basic masculinity than anything else. “A little.”

The smirk returned. “A little is good.” Gideon lifted a hand and rested it, palm flat, against the wall by Jesse’s ear. “A little keeps you on your toes. Unless it’s not your toes you’re interested in being on.”

Jesse was so distracted by the fact he was thoroughly trapped that it took a few seconds for the meaning of Gideon’s words to sink in. Swallowing audibly, he murmured, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“See, now, I think you do. Smart guy like you, you don’t really need it all spelled out for you, do you?”

And there it was. The definite press of Gideon’s hips against his. The hard outline of a thick c**k beneath thin trousers. The heat of the alley didn’t seem nearly as bad as the heat that suddenly shot through Jesse’s groin.

Gideon’s nostrils flared, and Jesse knew he didn’t have a chance at bluffing his way through this, or playing dumb. Questions he’d long suppressed came to the surface of his mind. What did Gideon taste like? What did he feel like? What did he smell like? What the hell was going on in Gideon’s mind? Why this? Why now? Did Gideon see these questions reflected on his face?

“Maybe I do.”

For long seconds, Gideon merely gazed at him. The night shadowed his eyes from Jesse’s careful scrutiny, but the twitch in his jaw and the continued flare of his nostrils sent a dark thrill through Jess’ veins.

“And who would’ve thought that need and want meant the same thing to Jesse Madding,” Gideon murmured. “You want it spelled out for you? Let’s start with A. For arousal.”

The axe clattered to the ground as Gideon tossed it aside, and the hand that had gripped the handle so assuredly was suddenly around Jesse’s wrist. Hard enough to border on pain. Immovable.

Without looking away, Gideon guided Jesse’s hand to their pressed hips. He inched back enough to allow his fingers to come to rest on Gideon’s waistband. “Take me out,” he ordered.

Jesse’s heart slammed against his chest, and he didn’t know if the weight settling in his lower stomach was fear or relief—relief seemed most likely. His fingers were awkward at first, numb and slick with sweat, but he forced himself to concentrate. He worked the zipper down and reached into Gideon’s tight pants to grasp his hard, smooth shaft. Jesse pulled him from the material, gripping him loosely, and looked up with questioning eyes, trying to suppress his excitement. He didn’t want to look like an over-eager puppy.

The smile that greeted him reminded Jess of some of the pictures in his father’s books, the ones that were kept under lock and key in the back of the cupboard Jess was never supposed to have seen. He had, though. He had been far too curious to restrain himself, and the memory of the devils, smiling over the seething bodies at their feet, superimposed over Gideon’s features for a moment long enough to make Jesse’s c**k jump.

“That wasn’t hard, now was it?” Gideon taunted. A soft chuckle filled the space between them. “Except I am. And do you know why, Jess?”

Jesse shook his head mutely. He couldn’t form any words, his throat too constricted to allow that much air to pass. He moved his wrist without thought, stroking Gideon’s c**k from the bottom to the top and then back again.

Something hard glinted in Gideon’s eye, and the grip around Jesse’s wrist tightened. “I asked you a question. I expect you to use your mouth to form all those pretty words you like so much.”

Jesse’s c**k jumped again. “I…no. No, I don’t know why, Gideon.”

He leaned in as if he was going to kiss him. At the last minute, Gideon turned his head and skimmed his mouth over Jesse’s cheek until it settled over his ear.

“Because I see you. I see the way you look at me. Do you have any idea how hungry you look?” Jess shivered as Gideon snaked his tongue out and traced along his lobe. “Do you have any idea how hungry that makes me?”

Jesse was suddenly very, very aware of how close Gideon’s mouth was to his neck, and how delicate his skin was. A hint of fear skittered down his spine, but that was far from the strongest reaction Gideon was pulling from him. He shook his head, but remembered Gideon wanted him to speak, and murmured, “I…I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know that I dream about sinking into you? Or didn’t know that when you look at me, you clench your ass every single time?”

There was no sense in denying he had a strong physical reaction to Gideon—though he wouldn’t characterize it as every time. “I didn’t know you dream about me.”

“And why wouldn’t I?” The hand around Jesse’s wrist disappeared, only to reappear at his belt. Jesse didn’t feel Gideon’s light fingers as he undid the buckle and opened up his pants to free his aching c**k. “You walk around the office with a hard-on. You look at me like a puppy desperate to be petted.” Jess gasped as Gideon stroked once, hard, up his length. “And you make that gorgeous O shape with your mouth that’s just begging to be filled. Tell me how I’m supposed to resist.”

Jesse licked his dry lips, but it didn’t seem to help. Gideon followed the small gesture with his eyes. He didn’t know how to respond to that, though he suspected Gideon still wanted him to speak. As his glasses slid down his slick nose, he shook his head.

Pulling back, Gideon clicked his tongue. “Someone’s not learning his lessons.”

He stepped back without warning, and Jesse nearly stumbled forward. Gideon caught him with a strong hand around the back of his neck, and the next thing Jess knew he was being forced to his knees.

“Time for the letter B,” Gideon said. “And pardon me for being crude here, but…hell, why am I apologizing? Blow.”

It wouldn’t occur to Jesse to resist, even if Gideon couldn’t break his neck with a twist of his wrist. Gideon’s commanding tone didn’t leave any room for denial. He trembled as he opened his mouth and leaned forward, closing his lips around Gideon’s c**k. The second the cool, velvety skin touched his tongue, Jesse moaned. Gideon increased the pressure on his neck, forcing him to relax his jaw and swallow Gideon’s c**k to the root.

“That’s it.” Gideon sighed. He held him in place as his other hand came up to stroke the hollow of Jesse’s cheek, a gesture almost frightening in its gentleness. “You feel f*****g amazing, Jess, but I knew you would. You don’t do anything halfway.”

Jesse wanted to return the sentiment. Gideon felt more than amazing. He rolled his tongue around Gideon’s shaft, waiting for the implicit, or explicit, permission to move again. He closed his eyes, savoring the way Gideon tasted, the way he completely filled Jesse’s mouth. He looked up to Gideon through his eyelashes, waiting.

The grip at the back of his neck loosened but didn’t entirely disappear. “Suck me,” Gideon said. The hoarseness of his voice surprised Jess; perhaps he wasn’t the only one treading on thin ice here. “And think of it this way. You want me good and wet because I didn’t Boy Scout and bring any lube with me.”

Jesse’s chest burned. Gideon’s dark promise had stolen the air from his lungs. He took a deep breath through his nose as he pulled back, dragging Gideon’s heavy c**k through his lips. He gripped Gideon’s hips with both hands, and then began bobbing his head. Hollowing his cheeks, he created as much suction as he could with each stroke.

The muscles flexed beneath his palms, the flesh cool and hard as he molded his fingers over it. Every time Jess sank down Gideon’s length, Gideon clenched his ass. If Jess had been a little bolder—or didn’t have his mouth full—he might have commented that maybe Gideon was the one eager to get f****d.

Of course, that would undoubtedly compel Gideon to f**k him even sooner. Jesse suddenly wished it was possible to speak and suck at the same time.

Jesse slipped his fingers between Gideon’s thighs, cupping his balls gently. He rolled them around his fingers, weighing them, massaging them. Gideon widened his legs more, but he wasn’t making a single sound. Jesse needed to hear something, anything, any sign that he was doing the right thing, doing it the right way. He redoubled his efforts, letting the tip of Gideon’s c**k go down his throat, pausing, sliding back slowly, and then swallowing it just as deeply, again and again.

It started with the smallest of grunts.

Jess wasn’t even sure he’d heard correctly, so focused was he on savoring every inch of Gideon’s c**k. But then it came again, a little louder this time, and Gideon’s hips thrust forward slightly to meet his downstroke.

Jess took courage in that. On a whim, he scratched his fingernails along the sensitive skin of Gideon’s sac. The jolt that drove the c**k deep into Jesse’s throat prompted him to do it again, and soon enough, the words of encouragement were spilling from Gideon’s lips.

“Made for this, weren’t you?” he said. “I’ll bet you were a hit with all those English schoolboys. Probably earned your grades on your knees with your mouth wrapped around their…oh fuck.” A shudder rippled through Gideon. “f*****g love your mouth, Jess. You need a new job in the office. On your knees, under my desk, worshiping my c**k. Bet you’d f*****g love that. I know I would. f**k, yeah, just like that.”

Jesse paused long enough to nod. His c**k throbbed, the pleasure-pain focused in his groin and radiating through his body. He felt it everywhere from his toes to his back teeth. He wanted to come, he felt like if Gideon kept talking he would come, but he didn’t dare try to relieve some of the pressure. That would require taking attention away from Gideon, and he didn’t have to be told that wasn’t acceptable.

The hold on the back of his neck began to tighten, Gideon’s answering thrusts growing increasingly erratic. When Jesse felt Gideon’s balls tense, he almost smiled in anticipation of the taste about to erupt along his tongue. But then Gideon was jerking back his head, and wrapping his own hand around his c**k, and all Jesse could do was watch as Gideon stroked once, twice, and then came with a roar, his warm come shooting out to splash on Jesse’s face.

Jesse nearly whimpered, his c**k twitching and jerking, like it was being tugged on a string. He put his tongue out, licking a drop of come from his cheek as it rolled down his face. He put a hand up to wipe it away, but Gideon caught his wrist, a simple shake of his head enough to stop him. “Gideon…” Jesse didn’t mean it to happen, but it came out as an almost desperate plea.