Master of Obsidian

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Gideon woke feeling warmer and more sated than he had in a very long time. His flesh still hummed from the rush of stolen blood, and the scent of s*x hung so heavily in the air that his c**k began to thicken before he opened his eyes. It helped, too, that the hard body he was currently wrapped around reeked of blood and his come. Without thinking, he bent and buried his face in his bedmate’s neck, sucking lightly at the puncture wounds his tongue found.

It was the soft groan that finally cut through Gideon’s morning fog. A groan he recognized all too well. The only difference was, he’d only ever heard it as a pained sound before. This was entirely new. But the throat it came from wasn’t.

Jess.

God, it was Jess.

The memories of the previous night came slamming back in a scarlet gale that had Gideon flying from the bed, staring down at his best friend’s supine form stretched out along his sheets. His bed. Gideon’s. Where Jess had never been before. Where he’d always sworn Jess would never be, because f**k if Gideon was going to mess up the best relationship of his existence with something as messy as s*x.

But he had. And he’d done it in a dirty alley with little regard to Jesse’s feelings and all his attention on his own pleasure. For some inexplicable reason, he’d tossed away every iota of decency and respect he had for Jess in favor of forcing the man to bend to his desires. Reliving the memories made him fully hard, but it didn’t stop the shame from pushing him farther away from the bed.

Jesse’s eyes fluttered open. Bright blue burned into Gideon’s, and a small smile curved the mouth he remembered all too well wrapped around his c**k. Before he let Jess speak, however, Gideon held up his hands, palms out, in apology.

“I am so sorry about last night,” he said.

Jesse blinked and sat up, but his body swayed like supporting his own weight was too much of an effort, and he relaxed against the pillows once again. Gideon braced himself for a withering look of disappointment, or a lecture, or, God, an apology. He imagined Jesse fumbling all over himself, trying to explain that it was his own very existence that was the problem, not anything Gideon did.

But he merely whispered, “I’m not.”

Gideon froze. “What’re you talking about? I almost killed you, Jess. That’s not…that isn’t…” His impotent frustration choked the words off in his throat. Some days he shouldn’t bother getting up.

“Can I have some water?” Jesse rasped. “My throat is a little sore.”

Scowling at his own inconsideration, Gideon took long strides from the bedroom to the kitchen, trying not to think about why Jesse’s throat was sore, or how good it had felt filling it with his c**k. The water splashed over the sides of the glass as he hurried back, fresh apologies already on his tongue as he handed it over.

Of course, it would be better if the memory of those minutes in the alley didn’t give him a raging hard-on. Or if Jess didn’t look at it over the rim of his glass as he sipped at the water like he wished it was that in his mouth instead.

“But you didn’t,” Jesse said, once he drained most of the glass. Gideon looked at him blankly. “Kill me. You didn’t kill me, even though we both know you could have at any time.”

“That doesn’t make it right.” He backed up, turning on his heel as he looked around for his pants. He found them lying forgotten next to Jesse’s shredded shirt. f**k. He’d forgotten ripping the clothes off Jess when they got back to his apartment. “I don’t know what got into me,” Gideon continued. “I’m not…I wouldn’t treat you like that.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Jesse set the glass aside. “Which are you more upset about? That we…had s*x or the way we had s*x?”

“That wasn’t sex.” He stabbed his legs into his pants, jerking them up around his hips. “That was me taking advantage of you for my own gratification.”

A shadow passed over Jesse’s eyes. “You weren’t taking advantage of me, Gideon. I can see why you’d think that, since you’re stronger than me, but you didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do.”

Somehow, hearing that only made feel Gideon worse. As unleashed as he’d been in the alley, it wasn’t that far off from how he knew he could get in s****l encounters. He liked being in control, he got off knowing he was the one in charge. And he knew many of his observations about Jess had been accurate. He would have to be blind not to see how Jesse looked at him when he thought Gideon wouldn’t notice, and having enhanced senses weren’t necessary to see the erections Jess commonly sported. Jess wanted it, all right, but only because he’d been attracted to Gideon for months.

That wasn’t good enough for Gideon.

“Look,” he tried again. He felt a little braver with his c**k covered, though the way Jesse’s gaze kept straying, he knew his arousal was still far too evident. “Last night shouldn’t have happened. Maybe you did want me to…do what I did, but I know and you know that’s only because there’s this physical attraction between us. And I’m not going to f**k up our friendship by turning you into my s*x slave, there to satisfy my every whim. You deserve better than that, Jess.”

Gideon watched the wheels spinning in Jesse’s head. For a moment, Gideon thought Jess planned to argue with him, but that moment passed. “I see,” Jesse said stiffly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “You’re right, of course. Our friendship is more important. Not to mention our professional relationship.”

He exhaled in relief. “Exactly.” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I mean, really, how much work are we going to get done if you spend all your time on your knees?”

“We’d have to learn how to multi-task, and I know how much you hate that,” Jesse said, pushing the sheets aside shamelessly.

Gideon’s eyes widened. Jesse had more than a few teeth marks marring his body. He looked like…well, he looked like somebody who had spent all night in bed with a vampire. A vampire who wasn’t terribly concerned if his bedmate was entirely conscious.

“Gideon? I’d like to take a shower, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything to wear.”

“You can borrow something of mine,” he replied automatically. “But maybe you should spend today in bed. You had a…rough night.”

Jesse rubbed his cheek. “I’d like to wash up a bit, at least.”

His gaze was fixed on the spot Jess was worrying with his fingertips. It was already going rough with stubble, but through the dark hairs, Gideon noticed the tiny flecks of dried come clinging to his skin. His mouth watered.

“Stay there.”

The only thing disappearing to the kitchen did was make the scent less prevalent. As Gideon filled a basin with steaming hot water, he bowed his head, trying to banish every thought of how Jess had tasted, how Jess had writhed, how Jess had begged Gideon to let him come in the wee hours of the morning when not even the stars were out to play. By the time he returned to the bedroom, all he’d accomplished was thickening his layers of guilt.

Jess should have better, but it had been so long since Gideon had had somebody in his life he could call his best friend, he had forgotten there were certain lines not to be crossed if one didn’t want to lose said best friend.

And Gideon couldn’t lose Jesse. He needed the man far too much for that.

Jesse sat patiently while Gideon set about the task of bathing him. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t any different than the simple first aid tasks Jesse performed on a nearly nightly basis, but it was different. For starters, there was the unmistakably fresh smell of Jesse’s arousal. And despite the multiple bite wounds, there wasn’t a single drop of blood on Jesse’s skin. Gideon had seen to that before they both passed out in exhaustion.

“Gideon, I know you’re going to be wrapped up in your guilt for quite some time, but I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t regret last night. I’m not sorry it happened. If you don’t want it to happen again, I understand. But don’t…brood over it.”

Gideon frowned, ducking his head to avoid Jesse’s steady gaze. “I’m not brooding.”

“Maybe not right this second, but you’re close. And I’m sure when you’re finished here, you’ll go upstairs to the office, turn off the light, pull the shades, and mull over every single detail.”

Sometimes he hated how well Jesse knew him.

“I’m going to pull the f*****g shades because it’s the middle of the day. And I’m not going to mull.” At least, he was going to do his damnedest not to. “I’m going to find out what the hell happened to me last night before it happens again and I turn you into a chew toy.”

Jesse looked pointedly at his chest. “I think it might be a little late for that, but I appreciate the sentiment.” He lifted his chin, exposing his neck, making himself vulnerable. “Be sure to get under my chin, too. I feel a little…itchy.”

Gideon’s fingers tightened around the washcloth. Taking Jesse’s chin in hand, he tilted the other man’s head to the side to avoid his eyes before setting the damp cloth to his skin. Both of them knew there wasn’t anything there, but Gideon’s first mark, the one he’d felt searing all the way to his toes, the one he’d had to struggle to pull away from because Jesse’s blood had been so f*****g succulent, lay within two inches of where Gideon washed, begging him to return and take a taste.

“You need somebody who’s not going to hurt you,” he heard himself saying.

“Some things hurt more than others, Gideon.”

There was nothing to say to that. Jesse’s desire was unmistakable. But Gideon’s resolve was stronger.

Dropping the cloth back into the basin, Gideon rose from the bed and crossed to his wardrobe. “I’ll leave my cell phone on the nightstand for you,” he said. He began pulling out clothes he thought might fit Jess, heedless of the color or match. They were about the same height, but his broader frame meant most of his shirts would hang on Jesse’s leaner form. “If you need anything, you call me, all right?”

“I was doing some research last night before we went out. If you could bring me my books? They’re upstairs. Oh, and maybe you should write down what happened last night?” Jesse frowned and shook his head. “I mean, what happened to you when we were separated. Maybe you unknowingly ran into the creature we’re looking for.”

“Books. Check. But I can tell you what creatures I ran into. None. I thought I heard something in that warehouse, so I ducked inside to check it out. Came out on the roof, jumped down into the alley, and…” His voice trailed off. They both knew very well what happened next.

Jesse nodded. “Right. Well, maybe we can investigate the warehouse again later.”

The last thing Gideon wanted was for Jess to be anywhere near the warehouse. “I’ll check with Richards to see if the location means anything to him. He’s the one who pointed us to that neighborhood in the first place. Maybe there’s a link between what happened to me and what happened to his son.”

“What did happen to you, Gideon? I mean…I know what happened, but what did it feel like? Was it your demon? Was it something else?”

It would be nice to be able to blame his actions on the fact that he was a vampire. It would be a lot easier to look Jesse in the eye if Gideon could say, “Yeah, that damn demon. It’s all his fault.” But it would be a lie, and for as much damage as Gideon was sure he’d already done to their friendship, the last thing he needed was to add dishonesty to the list of his crimes.

“That was all me,” he conceded. He stuck his nose in his wardrobe to look for a shirt for himself, unable to meet Jesse’s inquisitive gaze. “I just…didn’t care about consequences. I knew what I wanted and I was going to take it.” The rest of it came out in a rush. “And being in charge makes it hotter.”

“I figured it was probably all you,” Jesse said softly. “I doubt your demon would have let me crawl away from a meeting like that. Although, I do hope you don’t truly believe that I made it through school on my knees. Because I didn’t.”

“No, no, of course not. You’re too smart for that.” Curiosity got the better of him. “But last night wasn’t the first time you’ve given a blow job. At least, if it was, you’re not only smart, but the fastest study I’ve ever known.” Or a born natural, he thought, but kept it to himself.

“No, it wasn’t my first time,” Jesse said mildly. “You’re not the first man I…” He almost visibly called back his words, substituting them with, “have been physically attracted to.”

He had to know. “Please tell me it wasn’t your first time getting f****d, either. Because if I thought that was all you had to base the experience on…”

“You’d what? Take it back? Give me something else to compare it to?”

His c**k jumped at the thought of f*****g Jess properly. On his back, on his bed, maybe spreadeagle and cuffed and taking the time to pound into his ass for hours…

Gideon swallowed against the wave of lust. “I’d never forgive myself,” he ground out.

“Oh, well. Don’t let it keep you up at night. It wasn’t my first time for that, either.”

It was a small relief, but not nearly enough to alleviate his mood. Slipping his shirt on over his head, Gideon removed his cell phone from his pants pocket and set it on the nightstand, before hurrying to the door.

“I’ll bring those books right down,” he said.

He was out the door before Jess could respond. The first thing he was going to do when he got to his desk was jerk off. Maybe then he’d be able to concentrate enough to figure out what had happened to him.