Something warmed in Raul’s chest hearing that Ji-Su had waited up for him. He liked the idea of Ji-Su waiting for him at home. Liked it too much. “That’s okay. You can go back to sleep.”
Ji-Su shook his head and sat up. “You can drink now since you’re here.”
“I don’t want to disturb your rest.” Raul’s fangs sharpened, giving lie to his words.
“I don’t mind,” Ji-Su whispered.
Unable to think of a reason to turn down Ji-Su’s offer when it was what he desperately wanted, Raul dropped to his knees at the side of the bed. He started to reach for Ji-Su’s hand to take from the wrist as usual. But he could hear the blood rushing in more tempting areas.
He looked up, his eyes locking on the vein pumping in Ji-Su’s throat. With that single glance, he knew the wrist wouldn’t satisfy him tonight. He needed to feel his fangs sink into the delicate line of Ji-Su’s neck. This one time. And only because he was tired and his will power was weakened by the tequila he’d imbibed earlier that night. After this, he would go back to his usual emotionally detached bites at the wrist.
“I want to take from the neck tonight.” He was already unzipping Ji-Su’s hoodie as he spoke. The slow rasp of the zipper lowering preceded Ji-Su’s agreeing nod.
“That’s fine.”
Raul rose to sit on the edge of the bed. He parted the soft material of the hooded jacket, revealing Ji-Su’s throat and thin sleep shirt.
“Are you seeing anyone?” Ji-Su suddenly asked.
“No. Why?”
Ji-Su shrugged. “Just curious.”
“Hmmm.” He hummed once, unsure why Ji-Su had asked him that question. But since it didn’t seem to be that important to him, he gave his attention to what he was about to do. Even though he was taking from the neck, he would keep this bite impersonal. Casual. Ji-Su was simply doing his job.
Raul leaned down until his lips brushed Ji-Su’s throat, letting them linger to feel the beat of his pulse. Then, he slowly opened his mouth and bared his fangs. Hunger aching deep in his gut, he bit.
Impersonal went out the window the second Ji-Su’s blood hit his tongue. His taste was perfection, better than expensive aged tequila, better than any other human on the planet.
With a groan, he slipped a hand beneath Ji-Su to cup the back of his head and lift him up, bring him closer. He drank at a languid pace, savoring the blood, letting it slide over his tongue and down his throat so that every single taste receptor had a chance to be blessed with the flavor.
As he always did when he bit Ji-Su, he grew hard. His cock throbbed behind his pants from the moment the first drops of blood touched his fangs. But this time his body’s reaction was dangerous. He was walking a fine line drinking from his little blood pet while he was in bed, soft and sleep warm. It would be too easy to stretch out on the mattress, pull Ji-Su beneath him, and slide inside him as he drank. Determined to ignore the instinct that urged him to do exactly that, he let his eyes drift shut, concentrating on the bite, and the scent and feel of Ji-Su’s skin brushing his cheek.
A second later, his concentration was broken when Ji-Su moaned, his back arching as he tried to press closer to Raul.
Raul’s eyes popped open at the sound of that moan. Fuck, he mentally cursed as he realized he hadn’t held back his pleasure venom. There was nothing he could do about it now. It was in Ji-Su’s system and he couldn’t take it back. Ji-Su moaned again, his slender body starting to undulate in small, rolling waves. He was clearly aroused from the venom, a fact that made satisfaction ripple over Raul’s skin. A human would only react that way if they were already attracted to the vampire biting them.
He lowered a hand to Ji-Su’s side, planning only to settle and soothe him. But the pajama top had rucked up with his movements and Raul’s fingers landed on skin. Warm, silky smooth, bare skin.
Unable to resist, he kept his hand on Ji-Su’s body, sweeping his fingers up and down to caress his waist. He wanted more. He let his fingers slide down, dipping past the waistband of Ji-Su’s pajama bottoms to brush over his hip. Raul groaned. He neededmore. His hand left the shorts, but he continued his downward path until he reached Ji-Su’s bare leg. Raul caressed his thigh, feeling the soft as down hair against his palm. He gripped his thigh once and squeezed. Ji-Su gasped in reaction.
That was enough. Enough blood and enough touching. He forced his hand away from the warm, supple limb and slowly, reluctantly, withdrew his fangs.
“You taste...” Raul trailed off into silence, unwilling to say aloud what he thought of drinking Ji-Su’s blood.Like heaven, he finished to himself as he licked the bite marks closed. For several moments, he stayed there with his face tucked into Ji-Su’s neck, breathing in his scent as the heady feeding haze crested and then faded away. He lowered Ji-Su back to the pillow, released him fully, and sat up straight. He stroked his thumb over the bite mark.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ji-Su whispered as he lay there, arms above his head, fingers curled into his palms, loose and defenseless. His expression was soft and slumberous, and his dark eyes glittered with arousal as he stared up at Raul.
Raul stared back, his heart racing and desire humming in his blood. He wanted this lovely human. Wanted him so much that Ji-Su was constantly on his mind. A thought slipped into his blood and tequila hazed mind. What type of lover was Ji-Su? Would the human’s sexual preferences align with his own? He hoped so. Nothing would please him more than to have Ji-Su lay back in his bed while he set to work worshipping and pleasuring every inch of his body.
He was happy that Ji-Su was there in his home. More than he’d ever been with another blood pet. With the others, he’d been glad of the convenience for blood and sometimes sex. He’d even been glad for the company. But with Ji-Su, he wantedhim. His presence there filled Raul with a sense of rightness. Of contentment. But he realized he didn’t know how Ji-Su felt about being at the ranch. Would he even want to consider staying once their contract was up?
He had to touch him one more time. He brushed a hand over his soft hair, then cupped his cheek. To his pleased surprise, Ji-Su nuzzled into his touch. His chest tightened. Maybe he was being foolish waiting until their contract ended. If Ji-Su liked him, liked his home, why did he need to wait?
“Do you like being here?” he asked.
Ji-Su nodded. “I do. I’m grateful that you took me in. And for all the help you’ve given me.”