Anri watched Seth’s form slump to the ground inches from his vomit on the concrete. It smelled strongly of bile and a little like…sulfur? Even unconscious, Seth’s eyes were ringed with pain. Dread and helplessness filled him. He could still hear Seth’s heartbeat, and he could feel Seth’s warmth through their connection.
The noise of movement has him looking up to see Raum lifting Simone from the floor. There was a strange look on the demon’s face as he carefully cradled her form to his chest. Territorial anger surged through Anri and he tensed again but the demon called Raum just laughed. “Pick up your Wren and deliver us from here. This place,” he said, looking around, “is disgusting.”
“Go where and how?” Anri asked numbly.
“You must have arrived here somehow. I can only assume, but you presumably did not walk to this location. We shall leave in whatever mode of transportation you came, and travel to your home. I am most parched, would you by chance have any refreshments? Maybe beer?” Raum’s voice went dreamy, “I have heard wonderful things about a beverage called beer. I am seriously interested in trying that. Though, water would be sufficient. There are still feathers in my throat.”
Simone was cradled in his arms, her head slumped forward on her chest. Raum looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised. He had the aura of someone who gave orders regularly and did not have them ignored.
Seth moaned and Anri turned back to him. “I was shoved into the trunk of a car. I don’t know where the keys are. But…Simone and Seth…maybe one of their cars are here. Okay…” Anri muttered, focusing on Seth.
His body felt heavy and weak, drained of energy. Hysterical laughter bubbled up from inside of him. He had been drained. And then, Seth’s blood, he hadn’t taken enough, he knew it, but it was going to have to do for now.
Raum gave him a look that asked him what was funny, but thankfully he didn’t speak. Anri wasn’t sure how he might have responded, but the look sobered his frantic laughter. Seth needed him, needed him to keep it together. He shoved his hands under Seth’s arms, but jerked back when his hand rubbed against something strangely furry.
“Shit! Get the fuck off him!” Anri yelled, recoiling from Seth’s body. He instantly recognized the red-swirled black fur of the Spider-cat demon. “Get off! Fucking get of him! Get off!” The thought of touching the creature was absolutely repulsive, but he batted at the creature with his hands anyway. He had to get it off of Seth.
What the hell was it doing? It was completely swaddling his arm, its legs tucked impossibly tight around its body. It looked like a lumpy, fuzzy cast. Anri’s fingers found a seam where its legs were wrapped tight around Seth’s arm. He attempted to push his fingers under the leg to pry it loose from Seth’s arm. It didn’t budge but it did begin to hiss, the sound half angry cat and half can full of coins, all menace.
“If I were you, I would leave the englier be,” Raum said carefully. Anri’s hair hung limply over his face as he looked up at Raum. A few strands had fallen into his mouth.
“I have to get…this thing…off of him,” Anri said sullenly. “What is it doing to him? I can’t lose him like this, to this demon cat thing!”
“Do not disturb it. Not now. It is bonding with him. If you try to remove the creature from that boy it will harm them both,” Raum said gently. He shifted his stance a little to accommodate Simone’s weight. “It may poison you as well.”
“It’s poisoning him?!” Anri barked harshly, his heart leaping into his throat.
“I did not say it was poisoning him, I said it was bonding to him. I mentioned it would poison you. Your Wren will be fine.”
“Bonding? That thing is bonding to him? Like, a familiar? Wasn’t that Angelina’s….” Anri trailed off. “Oh fuck. Oh shit. How?”
Raum shrugged, balancing Simone carefully in his arms. “If I had to garner a wager, I would assume it was summoned to this realm with your blood. That boy is your bloodbound Wren. Full of your blood and…ah…essence. The witch, her control over it must have faltered and when that boy’s blood was spilled. It did what engliers do on occasion. It did look a bit starved, so it fed. It must have recognized you within your Wren and began the bonding. It probably saved his life, to be honest. He most definitely saved the creature’s life. It would have died instantly when the witch was unsummoned.”
Anri looked down at the thing, the englier or whatever that was, firmly attached to Seth’s arm. He sighed, defeated. “This englier creature…it saved his life?”
“He was injured with a cursed dagger, bleeding profusely. He had previously donated quite a bit of blood prior to his encounter with the witch, as well.” Raum stared at him with a look that made him feel like a child. A child who had to have the obvious explained to him.
The way he was talking down to him made his blood boil with anger. Oblivious to his anger, Raum continued on. “It appears that he is still critically damaged. The englier will heal him as they bond, one of the benefits of an englier as a familiars, though it is so seldomly used as such.” Raum shifted again and Simone made a small noise. “This place…can we please depart? We can converse after we abdicate theses wretched premises.”
Anri struggled to pick up an unconscious Seth but he was heavier than he looked and Anri was still pretty weak from being drained. His adrenaline was wearing off rapidly. Somewhere inside him he found a reserve of strength and tapped it, more than ready to get Seth away from this horrible place.
Standing in the doorway to the room, he looked out over the factory floor, but it was pitch black as far as he could see. He looked back at the lantern longingly, but with Seth in his arms he had no way to pick it up. Even with his better than average night vision, he couldn’t see anything. He blindly followed Raum through the dark, cavernous room.
Things echoed oddly in the darkness, unsettling him. Raum was right, something about this factory felt weird, off. He and Raum dragged Seth and Simone through the factory, the sounds of their movements echoing eerily through the factory. By the time they reached the door to the outside he was ready to jump out of skin, he was that tense.
Anri breathed deeply as they stepped outside, then instantly regretted it. The air had smelled old and a little bit chemically inside the factory, but outside the air tasted like poison and rot and salt. Anri looked around, trying to find his bearings, but nothing looked familiar.
Raum was down the steps already, carrying Simone with ease. Anri looked at the steps, only a few, then glared jealously at Raum. He made it look so easy, like he was showing off. Anri didn’t want to injure Seth anymore than he already was, and now he was going to have to somehow carry a very heavy Seth down some shitty concrete steps in the dark. He couldn’t drag him down them, not without hurting him, so he was going to have to pick him up.
Anri looked up, sighing in relief as he spotted Simone’s car in the distance. He could do this, he could get Seth to safety. Seth had saved his life again. The least he could do was suck it up and carry him down a few steps. Besides, they were so close now. Almost there. Anri took a deep breath, then picked Seth up into a fireman’s carry. He swayed for a minute with Seth over his shoulders, leaning against the building until his dizziness passed.
When he felt stable again, he half stumbled down the steps and caught up with Raum.
“That’s Simone’s car.” Anri nodded to the nicer of the two cars. The other car, a light colored convertible that looked like it might have been a nice car when his parents were teenagers, was beat to hell. Anri prickled at the sight of it, remembering his terror-filled ride in its trunk. He swallowed hard, shaking it off as leaning heavily against Simone’s car.
“Simone is your sister? Does she have the means to operate this transportation?” Raum asked, nodding down at Simone.
“Yeah, my sister. Um…I’ll check her pockets for keys, if you don’t mind.”
“You two look similar. You quite resemble one another with your tendency for biting necks in awkward situations. Most definitely a family trait,” Raum said airily.
He was too exhausted and too scared to find a snarky response.
The doors were locked, but he had anticipated they would be. He wanted to be upset about it but he couldn’t blame her for locking them. He would have locked the doors, too, if he had a car this nice, or at all. Raum laid her body down on the hood of her car and began patting her down. He found her keys in her pockets and hit the button to unlock all the doors.
Anri shot Raum a pissy look. “What?” He shrugged. “Your hands are full.”
He opened the passenger door and then picked up her limp body, carefully sliding her into the seat. Anri dragged Seth over to the other side of the car. He used one hand to open the door awkwardly, his other hand supporting Seth’s dead weight. He was not as smooth as Raum as he jostled Seth into the car, making him feel guilty. Seth let out a small noise and the guilt ramped up exponentially.
None of this would have happened to Seth if he had never met him. If he just had more willpower Seth wouldn’t be here, nearly bled to death and attached to some weird Spider-cat demon thing. But he hadn’t been able to ignore him. Seth wouldn’t let himself be ignored.
And Seth was special. Seth was…well, he was perfect, despite being male. Despite the fact that Anri had sworn off any and all Wrens after Angelina. He’d never felt like this, this level of desire and need, with Angelina, or any other girl, Wren or Norm, he’d ever been with before her. Seth was special.
Seth had saved his life. If he hadn’t met him, he would be dead twice over now. Or worse. Raum would still have been summoned, tied to Angelina through Anri’s blood, both of them a slave to the witch and her pet demon. It would have been his blood fueling the powers she received from Raum. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.
Raum finished buckling in Simone and was walking around the front of the car towards the driver’s door.
“Excuse me, but…” he tried to give Raum his best don’t bullshit me look.
“Hmm?” Raum responded wordlessly, one eyebrow raised.
“Do you know how to drive?”
Raum looked at him over the car, his hand on the door handle. “Not at all. I imagine it would be easy enough, and I desire to try. It cannot possibly be that difficult.”
Anri glared at the overly confidant demon. “Nope, not Simone’s car. And not tonight. I’ve just barely survived one near death experience today, I won’t risk a second. Nope,” Anri shook his head and put his hand out, palm up, expectantly. “I’m driving. Give me the keys.”
Raum looked like he wanted to argue. Anri rolled his eyes and emphasized his outstretched hand, nodding his head towards it. “Look, I’m driving. I’m not going to let you kill us all after we all just survived that whole ordeal.” When Raum still didn’t relinquish the keys, Anri walked around the car and plucked them from his hand, brokering no further argument.
Raum shrugged. “Next time.” He moved to the back door behind the driver’s seat.
“Don’t mess with Seth. I mean it, don’t touch him. I’ll kill you. I swear it,” he threatened with conviction. He didn’t know if he could hurt the demon or not…but if he even so much as touched Seth he would damn well try to tear him apart.
Raum sighed out loud this time. “As I mentioned already, you and yours are safe with me. I will not touch him, I vow it.” Raum said nothing more as he climbed into the back seat. Anri stared at the spot where he had been standing a moment longer, then climbed into the car.
He had no idea where he was headed and they drove in silence for a while. Anri had to turn around a few times before he finally found a part of town he sort-of recognized. He didn’t have a phone on him to pull up directions and he hadn’t thought to look for Seth or Simone’s.
“So…um…” Anri began once he was vaguely familiar with where they were. “Are you…did…um, why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have gone back to the demon realm or something? What happened with Angelina?”
“It is…complicated. We should talk when everyone is cognate, perhaps?” Raum suggested.
““Fine,” Anri grumped. “We can make small talk, though, right? Your name is Raum?”
“It is.”
“I’m Anri. That’s Seth back there with you, and Simone is my sister.”
“Mmm.” Raum was super talkative.
A few more seconds of silence, then Anri broke it again. “So, you’re a demon?”
“That is what I suppose I am to your kind. We do not refer to ourselves as demons. But, to your realm, it is how we are typically referred.”
You said that thing, the englier demon, that thing on Seth’s arm, you said it was bonding with him?”
“I did,” Raum answered simply.
“What does that mean?”
Raum snorted. “It means they are forming a familiar-master bond.”
“Assume I don’t know what that means,” Anri snapped in frustration.
“Assuming your ignorance is not difficult. It means that he and the creature will share energy and magic between them.”
“God you’re a dick. Magic? Is Seth a witch now?” Anri asked, turning around again.
Raum smirked. “Was he a witch before?”
“No, of course not!”
“Then a witch he is not.”
“He’s not? Huh. You mentioned engliers are not usually familiars. Why not?” Anri asked as they pulled up to a red light.
“Even among creatures of the Daeva realm, they are unsettling. They are also too smart, making them difficult familiars to master, and they are quite toxic. Occasionally they will poison instead of bond, depending on their disposition.”
“Is that thing poisoning Seth?!”
Raum’s exasperation with him was tangible. “I already mentioned it was not. He would be dead by now.”
He had no retort. He had to trust this Raum. For now.
He turned left and relaxed a little. He finally knew where he was. This trip was uncomfortable, but it would be over soon. He wanted some answers and he wanted to make sure that Simone and Seth were okay. And he wanted to see Raum’s face when he spoke. Getting a read on the demon without seeing his face really difficult.
Silence was heavy between them. This time Raum was the one to broach it. “Not often you see a same-sex mated pair…”
Anri’s face burned. “Mated!” he exclaimed too loud in the small car. Then, more quietly he added, “We aren’t mated. Not that it’s any of your business. It’s, um, complicated. I’m not…shit. Seth is different. I…I don’t owe you any explanations,” Anri replied coolly. He ran one hand through his hair, the other gripping the wheel with white knuckles. He wished he had a hair tie to pull back his messy tangles.
“You are not fully mated? Why do you hesitate?” Raum asked. It didn’t sound snarky or sarcastic, but he had no idea how to gauge this man.
“Angelina called you something…what was it…Duke of Legion of something?” he changed the subject.
Raum sighed. “It is my family profession. I command and control Legion of Thirty Spirits.”
“Let’s pretend,” Anri began, “That I know nothing about the demon realm.”
Raum laughed. “Again, that is an effortless assumption to make. This conversation will be appropriate when all are cognizant. It is too troublesome to repeat myself. What of yourself?”
Anri snickered. “They call me Anri.”
Raum laughed at this, too. “You are a funny vampire. I believe I will enjoy it here. Is Anri your complete name?”
“Is Raum Duke of 30 Legion your full name?” Anri retorted.
Raum snickered. “No, my complete name is Sigliansadine Raum, Duke of Hell, General of the Legion of Spirits.”
Anri frowned and stopped at a red light. “That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? You act like you’re staying here….”
“I am. At least, for a while. I will explain it all, I promise, Anri the Impatient. That is my name with title. More simply put, Raum is my family name, and my given name is Sigaliansadine,” Raum answered from the dark.
Anri drove on. “Siglasi…yeah, I think I’ll stick with Raum? Our family name is Rousseau.”
A chuckle in the dark.
“What?” Anri barked.
“In my language your name sounds like the word for the particular shade of red that is blood.”
“Really?” Anri asked suspiciously. “It just means ‘red’ in French.”
“That marks it as ironic, then. French is a language from another country, correct? Are you foreign to this land?”
“No, I was born here. We are French-Canadian by descent. And, yeah, that’s the joke in my family. But, the name comes from my father’s side,” he answered distractedly as he turned onto the highway.
“Why does it matter if the name was your father’s?” Raum questioned.
“My dad was a Wren, a human. My mother is the vampire.”
“Huh?” Raum seemed genuinely surprised. “Your father was human?”
“Yeah? You don’t know where vampire babies come from? When a vampire and a Wren love each other very much…” Anri replied snarkily, feeling mildly superior that he knew something the demon did not.
“I suppose things are different now. That is not how I understood it, but I do not know the last time anyone above the working class from my line had been summoned. Dukes are not summoned lightly. This is my first time.”
“How did you think it worked? Simone and I are undead creatures that steal life from the living? That our blood magically turns humans undead?” he asked sarcastically, waving one hand around his head.
Raum snorted. “You really think you know all the answers? I know the source from where vampires come. I would place any wager you do not. I may not be current on vampire breeding protocol, Anri, but that does not imply-”
Oh god, the way he said his fucking name like it was a curse had his anger flaring. He interrupted him with vigor. “Screw you, Mr. fucking fancypants demon!” He was so tired, but he couldn’t stop his anger. Maybe because he was this tired.
“Don’t mind him. He’s,” Simone slurred from next to him in the front seat, her voice raspy, “a little sensitive about the vampire thing. He,” she coughed. She sounded horrible. Anri wished he had some water to offer her. “He gets all bent out of shape over it.”
“Simone!” Anri exclaimed, anger replaced with concern. “Please, rest. We are almost home now.”
“Who’s the,” she turned her head back slowly, trying to peer at Raum in the darkness, “tall dark stranger in the back?” Her body went rigid as she realized where she was. “Oh, shit, Anni, are you okay? You must be, you’re driving. You hate driving. What happened? Where’s Sethy?” She shifted in her seat and gasped in pain, her hands over the wound in her abdomen. Then she saw Seth. “Oh, shit, Seth!” She exclaimed, twisting despite her pain to see him better. “Anni, is he….”
“He’s…okay. For now. Please. We are almost home. How are you feeling? Are you okay? What happened back there? You made an unexpected entrance,” he asked her, worried and concerned. “There was a lot of blood…:
Raum laughed in the darkness. “Simone Rousseau, I am Sigaliansadine Raum, Duke of Hell, General of Legion of Thirty Spirits. It is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said regally.
“What?” Simone asked. “Legion of Thirty Spirits? Anni, who is he for real? Did you pick up a homeless guy in my car? It smells bad in here.”
Raum snorted again.
“You should be a little more polite, Simone. You, uh, kinda attacked and bled him….” Anri said quietly.
“I what?!” She exclaimed. “Shit. That fat kid with the cloak stabbed me in the guts with a sword or something. He had on some weird armor, around his neck. I couldn’t bite him. I don’t remember anything after that.”
“You, ah, rushed into the room and, um, helped yourself to Duke Raum,” Anri said awkwardly as he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment. The car was too quiet when he turned off the engine. They sat in the dark silence for a moment, then Anri got out and went around the car to Seth’s door.
“I…oh my god. I, ah, I am real sorry, Duke Raum. I usually don’t bite people I’ve just met. I don’t even remember it. I’m…” she trailed off uncertainly as she tried to climb from the car. Raum jumped from the car and held his arm out to her. She looked at it critically, shaking her head no.
“As you wish,” he said, nodding to her. “My title is not necessary. You may call me Raum.” She stumbled past him, one arm hugging her side, leading the way to her apartment.
No one spoke as they clambered through the hallway and into Simone’s apartment. Seth’s dead weight was still incredible, but he was so close now. Raum tried to help, but he sent him a look that had him backing off. He didn’t trust this demon and sure as hell wasn’t going to let him touch Seth in his current condition. And, well, he owed Seth.
Raum bowed to Simone as she opened the door. She stared at him for a moment, then motioned for him to go in, walking past him. He shrugged and followed her in.
Anri half dragged and half carried Seth into the apartment, then back to his room. The englier creature was still attached to his arm, the only movements of the creature were the slight rise and fall of breathing. He lay Seth down on top of the comforter on his bed. Anri’s bed at full size seemed so much smaller than Seth’s king size. Seth was almost too tall for Anri’s, his feet nearly hanging over the edge.
Simone was right, Seth smelled bad. There was blood everywhere. He had some foul black liquid that smelled like bile and sulfur on his shirt and crusted around his mouth. The lighting in the room made everything look fake, like it was monster movie make-up.
Seth was too still. The only movement he made, like the creature attached to his arm, was a subtle rise and fall of his chest with each shallow, wheezing breath he took.
The sound of Simone walking past and then a door slamming pulled him from his shocked paralysis. The pipes groaned in the walls, and he heard the splash of water as she adjusted the temperature of her shower. Simone must be feeling at least half way okay. She had drank from Raum earlier, apparently sating her lust. She was up and able to move around, so she must be healing okay, but he wondered how the demon’s blood might affect her system.
He shook his head to clear it. Right now he needed to focus on getting Seth comfortable and cleaned up. His non-responsiveness was really starting to worry him. Okay, focus on what you can do, he thought to himself, he’s going to be okay. He needed to be more confident, but he couldn’t muster find it in him. He continued to chant the last part in his head like a mantra.
First thing he needed to do was remove the bloodstained clothing and clean Seth up. The englier attached to Seth’s arm was a challenge. The best way to get his shirt off was probably to cut if off, but he really wished he could just remove the englier. He knew, though, that nothing good would happen if he somehow was able to pry it from his Wren’s arm.
The englier made his skin crawl. He really, really, really didn’t want it attached to Seth in any way. Raum had said that it was Seth’s familiar now. Did that make Seth a witch? Or a wizard? A warlock? What did you call a male witch? Wait, no, he was forgetting that Raum said he wasn’t one. So, what did it mean? His head swam.
Focus. He needed to focus. He was so tired. But he couldn’t leave Seth like this. The englier was staying, obviously. He didn’t have to like it, it wasn’t going anywhere. From what Raum had said, it had saved Seth’s life. Raum implied he would be around for a while, so it stood to reason that Seth’s new familiar wasn’t going anywhere, either. Anri gritted his teeth at the thought.
He forced himself to work, trying to keep his mind from dwelling on what had happened. Trying to keep himself from feeling guilty for putting Seth in this position in the first place. Trying not to think about how bad Seth had been hurt or if he would wake up this time.
Seth would wake up. He had to wake up, because he was not going to die this way, he wouldn’t allow it. He was going to be okay. Anri just had to get him cleaned up. One thing at a time.
He walked out to the kitchen and ran the tap water to get it hot. Filling a bowl with the steaming hot water, he found a clean dishtowel and some scissors. He took the water and scissors back to his room. After a thought, he ran back to the kitchen, returning with an empty trash bag. He grabbed the scissors and began to cut away at Seth’s shirt. Seth’s body was cool and relaxed as Anri moved him around, cutting the shirt off of him.
“You should provide him some of your blood,” Raum said from the doorway. Anri jumped, and his temper flared. He hadn’t heard the demon approach.
“Don’t tell me what to do. I know what I’m doing,” Anri snapped through clenched teeth. He concentrated on Seth, trying hard to ignore the demon.
“Then do it already. I cannot comprehend why you wait? He will recover faster. The bonding will finish more expediently and be easier on him, too, along with the englier.” Raum said. “Then, when he is well, we can all have a chat.”
“Can I have a little privacy?” he nearly growled. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I want to clean him up first.” Anri looked up at Raum from where he was perched on the bed next to Seth. “You know what? Get out of my room. You aren’t welcome here. I may have brought you back here, because what else was I gonna do with you? But, you are definitely not welcome in my room.” He glared at the demon icily, hoping he took the very obvious hint.
They both looked over when Simone walked up behind Raum. Her hair was wet and she had her glasses on, freshly showered. She looked better. Almost good. Her face was pink and fresh and she didn’t appear to be in any sort of discomfort. At least Raum had helped out that way.
A vein of tension Anri didn’t realize was running through him dissipated and his heart felt a bit less heavy at the sight of her looking so normal. Anri wiped a few stray hairs away from his face with the back of one hand.
Simone stood next to Raum in the doorway. She looked at Seth and Anri, then at Raum. She gave a subtle nod to Anri, then grabbed Raum’s hand. Raum looked at their clasped hands in shock and let himself be gently led down the hallway.
“Come on with me. He’s completely unreasonable when Seth’s involved. Would you like some coffee?” he heard Simone ask the demon. He couldn’t make out Raum’s bassy response as their footsteps receded down the hall.
Anri sighed, then returned to cutting the shirt off Seth. He was careful not to touch the englier. Seth moaned a little as Anri shifted his body. At least he was responding, it had to mean he was getting better, not worse. He carefully pulled the shirt out from under his back and Seth stirred but didn’t wake. Seth’s jeans were just as stained as his shirt. He couldn’t help but blush as he unbuckled and then pulled down Seth’s jeans and remembered the last time he was in Seth’s pants.
Again, he shook his head to clear it, focusing on the work at hand. The jeans were disgusting. Holding them and looking at Seth’s scrap of a shirt, he made an executive decision to throw the whole lot of clothing away. Bunching it all up, he threw it inside the garbage bag he had brought. He would have to find something for Seth to wear once he woke up. Most of Anri’s clothes would probably be too small to fit him, though. He’d worry about it later.
Anri grabbed the bowl of water and washcloth and began to wash Seth’s down.
Gooseflesh pimpled behind the washcloth as he worked it over Seth’s wiry body. His face burned with embarrassment as he wiped the gore and ichor from Seth’s torso. He ran his hands over Seth’s lean frame, appreciating the smooth silkiness of Seth’s skin and the firmness of his muscles under his fingers. Seth shivered and Anri pulled his hand back quickly.
Anri grabbed a spare blanket out of his closet and covered Seth’s exposed flesh. He then moved to wipe the gore from Seth’s face. Seth had new scarring on his lower part of his neck, closer to his collarbone. Guilt blossomed in Anri’s chest with the knowledge that he had done that to Seth. He didn’t remember doing it, completely lost to bloodlust, but he knew the scars were his mark. Silvery pink flesh scored large down into a dimpled scar at the base of his collarbone. He must have taken a chunk of flesh. Shame and guilt forced him to trace the scars with his fingers, memorizing each one. He would repay Seth for these scars, and for saving him. He would.
Another wave of exhaustion crashed into him. He had to finish this or he was going to pass out himself. He resumed washing Seth down, gently cleaning the gore and bile from his face. Anri’s hand jerked back in surprise as he wiped around Seth’s mouth. Seth’s jaw had moved, his lips parting slightly, then his mouth closed up again when Anri’s hand moved away.
Experimenting, Anri brought his hand close to Seth’s mouth again. His lips parted slightly and his head dropped back just a little. He took his hand away and Seth’s neck relaxed and his mouth closed.
It was still hard for Anri to believe they were bloodbound, but Seth’s unconscious reaction to him was pretty solid proof.
Exhaustion consumed him as his stress and adrenaline plummeted. He had wanted to watch over Seth until he woke, but he was too tired. He really wanted to shower, but he just couldn’t find the energy.
Mustering up the last reserves of vitality he could find, he stripped down to his underwear. His clothes joined Seth’s in the garbage bag. He wiped himself down with the cooling water as much as he could, feeling like he could drop at any minute. He crawled under the blanket next to Seth.
He reached over and grabbed the scissors off of the nightstand. Laying down on his side, he propped himself up on his elbow so that he was facing Seth with his back to the wall. He winced as he stabbed the scissors into his wrist, drawing them through the flesh of his arm so that he would bleed freely. Seth’s nostrils flared and his body went rigid. He must have been able to smell the blood. His blood. Seth’s head tilted towards him, though he was still unconscious. Anri put his bleeding wrist to Seth’s lips.
Nothing happened for a tense moment. A drip of blood slid down Seth’s lips and rested on the corner of his mouth.
And then Seth’s mouth closed over his wrist and he drank. With a strength he wasn’t anticipating, Seth grabbed his arm, wrenching it firmly against his mouth. The suction on Anri’s wrist created a tight, pleasant sensation and he relaxed into it naturally. Everything was alright. Everything was going to be alright now. He lay his head down on the pillow and Seth drank, the movement of his throat in tempo to the pulse in his veins.
Anri felt his cock stir. Blood and sex often went together. For now, though, he just wanted the comfort of Seth’s body against his, the suction of Seth’s mouth over his wrist. He scooted in closer to Seth so that their bodies were pressed together. Seth unconsciously wiggled into him, sending a surge of joy into his tired heart. Anri sighed contentedly. He fell asleep with his arm still clutched against Seth’s mouth.
Dreadfully Erotic 