Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Noel was not taking the news well. Despite his earlier bravado, something was off.

And that worried the hell out of Fernando.

He kept his young lover close the remainder of the day. The only time he distanced himself was to give Noel and Hunter room to talk. Hunter had stopped by, and the brothers sat on the back patio of his chateau, nursing coffees and talking earnestly with each other. It was only after a good two hours that Hunter gave Noel a hug and readied to leave. After his departure, Noel seemed to withdraw himself even more, much to Fernando's worry.

They ended up in bed much earlier than usual as Noel had headed straight there and cocooned himself in many blankets.

Fernando followed him up and cuddled in with him, pulling Noel into the crook of his arm. He settled in with a sigh, head pillowed on Fernando's chest, and for a long moment he was quiet.

"Was this how you felt?" Noel's words were barely audible, muffled as they were by grief and blankets. "When your wife tried to kill you to get what she wanted?"

"I suspect it's very similar." Fernando grimaced at the parallel, but betrayal was betrayal, no matter what form it came in. He couldn't say there was no comparison to be made here. "Although, fortunately you weren't killed because of his greed."

Noel snorted but there was no humor in the sound. "Yeah. There's that, I guess. I just…I guess I don't understand why. That's why I'm struggling. I always knew his gambling addiction was an illness. A disease he didn't want cured. I tried to be patient with him because I knew the source of his bad habits, but making us the targets so he didn't have to suffer the consequences? There's no excuse for that."

"No," Fernando agreed. His tone was quiet, but his blood boiled with gathering rage. "No, there's no excuse for that."

"I always thought he did love us, in his own way, as he checked in on us once in a while. Now I think he was checking in to make sure we were still alive. Still paying off his debts for him so he could continue gambling as much as he liked."

Fernando winced again. That was likely the case. "Do you hate him for it?"

"A little. Yeah. But I'm also tired of thinking about him. My uncle has only brought me grief and stress in my life. I don't want to be tied to him anymore."

"I promise you that within a few days, those feelings will be gone."

"Okay." Noel snaked an arm out of his blankets to get a better grip on Fernando's neck. "I appreciate that. But I also don't want to think of him right now. Distract me? And you can't stop at a hand job this time."

Fernando tilted his head down to look at Noel and saw an intent gaze aimed his way. Noel hadn't meant put on a movie, or use something else as a distraction. He wanted sex. Most likely for comfort, but either way, Fernando was willing to give Noel whatever he needed. "I promise."

He shifted a little as they were still lying down, but he leaned in and kissed Noel, gently at first, pushing blankets out of the way to reach the warm body beneath. Noel responded enthusiastically, returning his kiss in earnest, but Fernando broke the contact before Noel could distract him. He tilted his head, kissing the corner of Noel's mouth, moving along his jawline, flicking an earlobe with his tongue before moving further south. Soft, sweet kisses, more teasing than anything. Noel sighed under the caresses, so Fernando amped it up a little. He snuck a hand under Noel's shirt, lightly trailing fingertips up along those abs, finding a nipple and giving it a tweak. He found the spot he'd suckled the first time he'd fed from Noel and worked it a little more.

He rolled them so that Noel was on his back, Fernando straddling his waist. Before Noel could get a word out, he pulled the shirt up, yanking it the last bit to clear Noel's shoulders and head, then left it loosely trapping his wrists together.

"Stay."

"But I want to touch you!"

"You will. But if you touch me now, I'll explode. Keep your hands there."

Noel's eyes nearly crossed from lust, but he nodded in agreement. He was so adorable, already ruffled from Fernando's previous attentions. Innocent in his trust, lewd with his intentions. What a delicious combination.

Fernando smoothed both palms over that pale chest, very much enjoying the view of his lover spread out underneath him. Noel's breath was already short and quick, and he displayed no shame at all, even when exposed like this under Fernando's gaze.

He leaned in to kiss Noel properly, loving the eager and immediate response he got in return. Noel always kissed him like he couldn't dream of doing anything else. Fernando reveled in the feeling, sucking Noel's tongue into his mouth so he could rub his own against it, playing with it as he liked.

As he indulged in the kiss, his hands found Noel's waistband and got a good hold on it. These really had to go. Fernando wanted to see this man properly. He broke the kiss so he could move, pulling Noel's shorts off all in one go before tossing them carelessly to the floor.

Noel was not shy under his eyes. He cocked a brow at Fernando, letting him look his fill without a word. Granted, he had nothing to be shy about. Hot damn his mate was fine.

Fernando's own lust was at the tipping point, so he slowed them both down. Noel was still stinging from the aftermath of betrayal, and his first time should be nothing but pleasure. He started at the foot of the bed, catching up one of Noel's ankles in a hand and placing soft kisses in the arch of his foot, not in any hurry as he made his way up toward the knee, past it, and along the tender skin on the inside of his thigh.

There was a sound of shuffling above him, then the headboard briefly squeaking. Noel had latched onto it, fingers gripping it tight. To keep himself from reaching down, breaking the hold Fernando had put him in?

Fernando rewarded the good behavior by licking a stripe along one of Noel's balls, then blowing a stream of air along it.

"Fucking shit ," Noel groaned.

Oh, he liked that. Good. Fernando turned his head and licked the other ball, doing it just for the sheer pleasure of teasing him. Very rewarding hobby, as it turned out. The scent of male and musk was strong in his nose as he leaned in further, placing the flat of his tongue on that lengthening dick and licking another, longer stripe there. His canines ached with the need to bite, but no, not just yet. It still hadn't been two weeks since his last feeding, so it could only be a love bite, but his vampire instincts insisted on a bite regardless.

"You're such a tease." Noel's breaths came in pants, body clenching a little with every motion of Fernando's mouth.

He said that, but he was clearly enjoying it. Fernando continued with a mental grin, hands stroking up and down Noel's thighs in a warm, sensual stroke as he worked the dick gradually into his mouth. There was a hint of pre-come, just a touch of salt against his tongue as he kitten licked the tip. Noel was nice and hard now, firm in his mouth, and Fernando indulged himself by taking him deep for a moment, letting the tip graze the top of his mouth before pulling free.

Noel was past words and just moaned, thighs quivering under Fernando's hands. Oh, he was more than ready to come, Fernando could tell.

Too bad Fernando wasn't ready for him to. Not yet.

He lifted his torso, grabbing the lube, and then lifted Noel's leg to rest on his shoulder, giving him the access he needed. Fernando dropped his head a little, spreading lube onto two fingers, then reached between Noel's spread buttocks. He inserted one finger, just to get the feel for the angle, watching Noel's expression like a hawk. Noel's eyes kept fluttering to half mast, his breath hitching with each thrust of a finger. Fernando gradually worked in the second finger, and this time Noel flopped his head to the side, unable to contain his moan.

"That's…" Noel trailed off, lost for words. He sounded half gone from the fingering alone.

Fernando was getting a bit desperate himself. He didn't really want to finger Noel past his breaking point, and while he wanted to fuck Noel hard and fast, he fought to remember why he had to take it slow. When he could feasibly get a third finger in, he called it good and immediately slathered lube over his erect dick. Then more lube for Noel, just a healthy swipe, and then he positioned himself once more, lifting Noel's ass off the bed.

"That's it," Noel encouraged, eyes fixated on where Fernando knelt. "Fuck me. Make us both feel good."

Fernando slid in by degrees, not really teasing, just adjusting them both to the sensation. His head tilted back, eyes closed in pleasure as he slowly sank into Noel inch by inch. Yeah, that was perfect. He felt all-encompassing warmth as he bottomed out, and he took a second to breathe, eyes locked on Noel's.

Noel stared back at him, mouth parted, and his eyes spoke volumes of how intense the pleasure was for him. "Good for you?"

"Exquisite," Fernando breathed. His hands grasped Noel's upper arms so he could lean in and kiss his lover, their tongues battling with each other for control. He let Noel win as his enthusiasm was so sexy. And giving up control here meant he could focus somewhere else.

With a rock of his hips, he pulled out and then pushed in again, none too gently.

Noel's mouth broke from his on a gasp, eyes fluttering shut. " Yes ."

Liked that angle, did he? So did Fernando. It grazed Noel's prostate perfectly, not hitting it square on, but more like a teasing caress. He felt the flex of muscle around his cock with each thrust, and little sparks of pleasure danced along his nerves with every thrust in and out. Fernando couldn't decide which he liked better: the tight grip of being fully seated in Noel, or the anticipation when he pulled out. It was a question he tried to solve every time, but all it made him want to do was thrust harder, to put more speed and force into his movements.

The bed creaked as a counterpoint, but Fernando ignored it, too lost in his pleasure, in Noel's, to pay it any mind. So good. It was too good. Noel grew steadily hard from the anal friction, and part of Fernando wanted to put a hand to that pretty cock, but part of him didn't. He didn't want to push Noel over the edge just yet.

Some trigger switched inside Noel. He abruptly let go of the headboard and instead latched onto Fernando, fingers digging in. In a sudden motion, Noel attempted to flip them, a move that surprised Fernando as his lover wasn't usually one to be aggressive. Assisting in the motion, Fernando's back hit the mattress, legs lying flat on the bed as Noel got situated and straddled him before thrusting his hips downward, Fernando's cock slipping back into that tight heat. For fear of hurting Noel while in the throes of his pleasure, Fernando gripped the sheets instead, unsurprised when he easily shredded through the fabric in his unchecked state. Holy shit, that angle—that angle was perfection itself, and combined with the view of Noel seeking his own release, it was a scene worthy of a grand painting.

This connection, this heat shared between their bodies, was so much more intense than before. He rocked into it, jaw clenched as Noel thrust down again.

He couldn't—he couldn't take any more of this. Fernando needed to come, needed to see Noel consumed by pleasure.

Grabbing Noel's dick, he worked it with purpose, giving Noel the friction he likely craved. Noel grasped Fernando's hand with a firm hold, a silent plea, and rocked his hips in time with the cock entering him. It was too much, Noel gasping for breath above him, the hypnotic sync of their bodies, it was all precisely what Fernando needed, but it was too much and—

His climax ripped through him without warning, and he sharply thrust up, hands snatching Noel close to his chest as he acted on instinct, head turning to clamp his teeth on the slender column of Noel's neck. He had to bite him, he just had to—and it was perfect, that hot rush of blood in his mouth even as his climax roared through him, his semen flooding Noel's channel. He thought he felt Noel come too, but he was too lost in the sensation of his own body to properly notice.

Fernando might have checked out for a second. Next thing he knew, he was still struggling to make sense of what happened, a warm afterglow making him feel loose and heavy in all the best ways. Noel was collapsed over his chest, also breathing hard.

"I'm heavy, but gimme a sec," Noel panted. "I'll move."

"You're a nice heavy. Don't you dare move," Fernando countered, wrapping both arms around him to keep him precisely where he was.

"Oh good. I really can't think of moving." Noel pressed a kiss against his shoulder and somehow slumped even further on top of him.

They lie there like that for a long moment, just enjoying the aftermath of great sex. Fernando checked the bite, but it was already closing. Further proof Noel was definitely a true mate, as he absorbed vampire saliva quite well.

Some undeterminable amount of time passed by before Noel murmured, "So, for the record, you can seduce me anytime. Really. Anytime."

"Oh, is that right?" Fernando grinned into his hair, quite smug. "Bite included?"

Noel replied in a low, dangerous purr. "Bite very much included."

All said, it seemed this distraction had worked perfectly. Fernando gave himself a mental pat on the back and held Noel a little closer.