Page 22 of Threads of Crimson 2

He hesitated with his foot hovering over the first step to the porch. “But…”

“No buts, Lysandro. You can’t keep living in the basement of the library. I don’t care how nice it is; it’s not your home.”

He stared at me, and it was like the early years in Velvet Vein. I had no idea what thoughts were going through his head.

“If you won’t come in with me, then I’ll go back to the library and sleep in your office cave. Hell, I’ll move in there. It doesn’t make any sense—”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “No, you’re right,” he said after kissing me senseless. “We’ve been sleeping together every night. It’s unreasonable to make you run back here each day to change.”

I huffed. “You silly vamp. This is your home, not mine.”

His lips tipped up at the corners. “It’s definitely yours, as well.”

Giddy delight made me want to dance a little jig because I was pretty sure I was getting my way, but I didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. There was still the matter of getting him to share a bed with me. With us being in the same house, who knew what barriers he’d try to erect?

“Are you hungry?” he asked as we crossed the threshold.

“Not really. I kinda ate my way through every snack I had earlier.” I shrugged. “My nerves got the best of me.”

He nodded once, then grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to the room I’d been occupying. To his room. I braced for him to turn around and walk out, but instead he moved to his en suite. “I’m going to shower this disgustingness off of me.”

“Do you want company?” I asked, trying to play it cool, but even to my own ears I heard the plea.

Instead of answering me, he started dropping clothes right where he stood, exposing his beautifully pale body to me for the first time. I feasted on every bit of exposed flesh. Turning, he crossed into the bathroom, his ass muscles flexing with each glide of his feet. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, “Well, are you coming?”

I didn’t think I’d ever scrambled out of my clothes so fast. He stepped into the shower, then held a hand out to me, pulling me in so we were facing each other under the warm spray—all vestiges of Vesper rinsing off him and swirling down the drain.

“I’m not up to any kind of sexy time tonight,” he admitted. “I’m tired.”

Looking up at him from under lowered lashes, I admitted, “I want to do all the things with you, but right now, I just want to clean you. Is that okay? Can I just be here for you while you process? I can’t imagine how it felt to see your brother come through the Veil or how it feels to have a fledgling now, but I want to support you through it all.”

His gaze moved to the side as he nodded his head. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked bashful. Pumping soap into my palm, I rubbed my hands together until I had a nice lather. Stroking over his surprisingly soft skin, from his shoulders down his chest, I sighed. “This is my idea of heaven.”

He chuckled. “You and this concept of heaven again.” Cupping my chin and pulling my eyes up to meet his and off his dusky pink nipples, he said, “You, Benji Parker, are my treasure.”

I didn’t know what our futures held next. Lysandro would have to deal with the outcomes of killing Vesper, and I still needed to tell him about the letters. But those were issues for another time. For now, I would love on Lysandro as much as he’d allow, and I’d bask in being his treasure.

Lysandro

“Are you sure about this?” Benji asked, stroking a finger down my cheek. The sun had risen a few hours ago, and luckily for me, he was exhausted and ready for sleep, too.

“It’s what I must do, my treasure. I can’t just abandon those whom Vesper created.” I kissed the palm of his hand. “I came to terms with the possibility of that before Ego pulled Vesper from the Dreamveil.”

“Okay, then.” He pulled back the covers on my bed—well, I guessed it was his bed now—or maybe, maybe it could just be our bed. I didn’t hate the thought of that. In fact, I thought I might just love it.

“Can you…will you leave your clothes off?” I asked him, desperately needing to feel his soft skin.

He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Ohhh, so you do wanna have a little sexy time?”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “That would certainly relax me, but I think I need to deal with this first. They’ll have already felt the break with their Sire. I don’t want to leave any of the fledglings adrift.”

Steeling my resolve, I continued, “I can’t leave any of his children who seek the comfort of a Master without one.”

Dropping the bathrobe he’d put on when I insisted he have breakfast before bed, he wrapped his arms around me. “You’re such a good man. I know this isn’t what you wanted, but you’re doing it anyway.”

Squeezing him tightly, relishing the heat of his skin under my hands, I admitted, “The High Priestess was right. It was silly of me to ever think I could escape my destiny.”

Pushing him back, I waved at his underwear. “Take those off, too.”