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London Loves Ch. 01

By: SadieRose



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn

Ladies and Gentlefolk, it's been a long time coming and for this we apologise most profoundly. My life has been up in the air so many times over the past three years and it's been difficult to sit down and write. My thanks go out as ever to the lovely Bellora Quinn without whose constant input and enthusiasm I would probably have barely set fingers to keys in earnest these last eighteen months. She and Xavier have kept this story alive and it would not be here today without her.

Blessed be, hunny.

But we have delayed enough, so without further ado, we are delighted to present to you, the long awaited sequel to Reach Out For The Sunrise and Dark Paths. We hope that you find some enjoyment to be had from its deliverance. As usual, there are unbridled scenes of M/M love and lust within this tale, so if you don't care for that kind of thing, please move on, there is nothing to see here for you. It will probably help your understanding of the story if you have already read the aforementioned tales, although we have done our best to recap for those without the time or inclination.

We ask only that you respect these, our words and do not take or reproduce them elsewhere without our permission.

CHAPTER 1 - THE JOURNEY HOME

It was hard for Xavier Gavrilov to imagine that just a few weeks had passed since he was dancing to Whipsnade's song Dark Paths on the stage in Switchbacks, in San Francisco and he had never even met their notoriously enigmatic singer, Rayne Wylde. So much had happened to him in that short window of time. He had been seduced and fucked deliciously hard more times than he could count by the beautiful singer; then abducted and attacked by vampires, discovered that Rayne was also a vampire, fallen head over heels for him anyway and become embroiled in subsequent running battles with the Undead. He had also been befriended, in fact practically adopted, by a notorious American Irish porn director, Patrick McNamara, and his glamorous entourage and obtained a passport under the auspices of being related to an English nobleman named Dominic Warren, a friend of Rayne's. Using that passport, he had flown out to Italy with his new friends and spent several bewilderingly busy weeks living it up at the mountain villa of an ex-porn star, now a famous European racing driver, named Aldo.

There he had learned that Aldo and his lover, Rayne had a long and turbulent history and that the handsome older Italian man was still in love with Rayne. He'd also had to deal with the -- not entirely unwanted- amorous attentions of Paddy McNamara's travelling chef and P.A., Valentino Chavez and more disturbingly those of a famously demanding fashion photographer who spent a week taking Xavier's picture at his Neapolitan studio and also at his flat. He had also been stalked and courted by a very sweet, young French vampire named Nicholas whom he might have fallen for under different circumstances.

Whilst in Italy he thought that he had lost Rayne completely when, following on from a violent row, the beautiful vampire had stormed out on him, intending to return to London with Lord Warren. Xav had been tormented by nightmares after losing Rayne, the first he had endured since leaving the USA, which came to a head when he woke, screaming, from a horrific dream in which he had felt a metal stake pierce the body of his lover, killing him almost instantly. That had been the catalyst for a sequence of unbelievable events that ultimately saw Rayne return to him in Naples, though the gorgeous English vampire was a very different creature when he fell back into Xavier's arms.

They had been inseparable ever since but it had only been a matter of time before his new mate felt the desire to return home. Xavier had known it was coming but dreaded it all the same, so it had been a shock and an amazing relief when Rayne asked him to come along.

It had been a turbulent couple of months for Xavier, all things considered. Consequently he had spent a good portion of the rail journey back to Rayne's home sleeping, with Rayne's protective arms around him. Now, looking out through the huge picture window, on a train that was hurling him across central Europe - two more first time experiences to add to the list; the wonderful, two deck train and the flying tour of a continent he'd only ever seen in magazines and on TV - he was beginning to wonder if this wasn't all a dream after all and someone would soon pinch him and wake him up.

Rayne was on the move, he got restless in confined spaces, even when they were as comfortable as those on the TGV. And Dominic had ordered lunch, which was currently spread out across the table top between them; three courses, salmon and sweet cakes and a cheese board and champagne. Xavier didn't know where to start eating first, which was also a novelty for him.

His undead lover liked to watch him eat but he also got a little bit jealous, only able to look at people who could still enjoy food putting it away. He'd gone off for a cigarette when they stopped in Nimes and now Xav was just a shade anxious that he had, for whatever reason, not got back on the train before it went on its way. Rayne had already run out on him once since they got to Europe and that episode almost had disastrous consequences. Now he worried when they were apart. And he also worried that this was wrong, in all kinds of ways.

Xavier had never been a dependent before. He wasn't inclined to be clingy and normally, if someone started to give him the signs that they needed space, he was the first to walk. But Rayne affected him like no one he'd ever known. It wasn't just the bites Rayne had given him, he was almost sure of it.

And that was another thing. His lover was a vampire; Undead; indestructible, even... maybe? For a little while when Rayne went missing, Xavier had panicked, convinced that he felt his soul-mate die. Dominic Warren, the English vampire expert who was Rayne's good friend, had told him that he believed it. Rayne had died, just for a few hours; and then something brought him back. By Rayne's account, that something had been the link he had to Xavier through the bites on his neck and the blood they had shared; his into Rayne and Rayne's into him.

That was just a little bit too freaky for Xavier to think about, even now. Rayne had walked out on him, but as he lay helpless, dying, in Paris, he had reached out to Xavier, hundreds of miles away in Italy and somehow their connection had given him something to hold on to. It still made no sense.

Other things were bugging Xavier's ass too. He was feeling things, sensing things that he had no right to know. And he could see vampires. That couldn't be right, could it? Of course, everyone could see them, but not everyone knew what it was that they were seeing. Xavier did; which was how he came to be having the conversation that he had with Dominic over lunch. Lord Warren, amongst his other talents, was High Priest of a Witches' coven back in England and like Xavier he had the gift of seeing vampires and the supernatural for what they really were. He also had a reputation among the Undead as a vampire hunter of some renown.

"As soon as I set eyes on him, on Nicholas, I knew it," Xav declared, still chewing a mouthful of something so delicious that he hardly knew whether to talk or just eat. "I knew he was... he was one of them, a vampire. I could just feel it, like a finger down my back. I could feel that he was... not alive. Like with Rayne. Except that I've been so close to Rayne that it almost feels normal now. I know other people don't give me that... shiver. But I'm not sleeping with most of them. I just thought it was that... and then I realised, when I saw him, Nicholas, I mean... I realised that it was because he was a vampire."

"You sensed it with Elian in Frisco too," Lord Warren reminded him calmly, sipping his champagne between bites of his smoked salmon fritters. "I knew even before then that you were a Sensitive."

"Not the same!" Xavier chewed and swallowed then reached for his tall, elegant glass and washed down the mouthful. "I knew that Elian was a vampire before I met him."

Dominic tilted the champagne flute towards him in acknowledgement. "Yes, but you were still able to shut him out of your mind with very little training. Do you realise how long it takes some people to master such a skill? Even I was practising for years before I could do it without having to meditate first."

"You think I'm some kind of natural psychic?" Xav blinked at him.

"I think that you had latent abilities," Lord Warren corrected him. "But I also think that the vampire marks Rayne gave to you enhanced those gifts. When my friend, Cameron marked me in my twenties it made a massive difference to my arcane abilities."

Xavier pulled a face at that. He wasn't sure if it was better that the gifts were his own or something that Rayne could give, and maybe just as easily take away. Dominic seemed to almost read his mind because he added; "You know, the skills Cameron Eldridge gave to me are still mine. They didn't stop when he... passed."

He hesitated and took a sip from the glass, looking out of the window at the vast river that was rolling alongside the railway tracks. When he looked back at Xavier it was with a rueful little smile. Dom was a handsome man despite the fact that he had to be in his sixties, at least, given some of his tales. His loose, thick ,silver curls still had the sheen of golden blond in them that was quite natural and though there were plenty of little laughter lines around his moss-green eyes and his generous mouth he did not have the seamed and wizened features of a man old enough to be Xavier's grandfather.

"He died?" the blond youth queried awkwardly. "I thought he was a vampire?"

"It doesn't make one immune, darling." Dominic's smile faded and he set down his glass with a little sigh. "It was a long time ago. We move on."

Xavier wasn't sure if he should say any more, or maybe try to change the subject. It obviously still hurt Dominic to think of him. Even without the sad, slightly wistful expression on his face Xavier could sense, like a tingle in the back of his head, how Dominic felt right now.

"What happened...?" he asked, biting the bullet, and then quickly added, "If you don't want to talk about it though, it's okay."

"As I said, it was a long time ago," Dominic's smile did not quite reach his eyes. "He killed himself, Xavier. Rayne asks me at least once a year how the hell he managed to do it. I still haven't been able to explain in a way that makes sense to him. But he used magic. He was a powerful mage, much better than I am."

He shook his head slowly. "Yes, I still miss him," he added in answer to the question that wasn't asked.

Xavier was acutely uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation now. Not because he didn't understand suicide or death, or because he empathised with Dominic, but because he didn't want to think about Rayne trying to get that information out of him. A few long moments went by, then Xavier gently brought the conversation back around to the present.

"So...I'm stuck like this then?" he said grimly and then, thinking of something else; "Why do you think the shielding stopped working for me? I mean, I was doing all right and then all of a sudden I was getting all this emotional stuff from everyone whether I wanted it or not."

And in the back of his head he was worried that it would happen again. He had believed he was going crazy when his head began to get over-run with the random thoughts and emotions of his companions. Without Dominic's support and Rayne's return he believed that he would have gone completely mad by now.

"It got harder to deal with whilst Rayne was in Paris, didn't it?" Dominic mused, whilst Xavier nodded gravely.

"Does that mean every time he leaves me alone my head will be full of other people's shit and I can't do anything about it?" he wanted to know.

The older man shook his head gravely. "It shouldn't work like that, Xavier. I think that the situation was worse for you when he was away because you were actually reaching out for him. You were open to anything and everything at that time, just in case he tried to reach you. And after he got back you just weren't shutting them out properly." He gestured in Xavier's direction with his fork then speared a piece of asparagus casually. "We can teach you how to handle that. Rayne was just as bad, when he was first Turned. In fact, sod that, he was a lot worse!"

He laughed quietly, lightening the mood a touch.

Xavier's expression said he wasn't convinced. Part of that was because he wasn't a vampire, so he didn't know what made Dominic think he could be as strong as one, and the other was that he had just had his normally unshakeable confidence badly rattled.

"What if I can't, Dom?" he asked in a plaintive tone, idly playing with the piece of bread he wasn't eating. Dominic looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, his expression softening.

"Xavier, when we were in San Francisco I sat you down on a bench, touched your forehead and told you to concentrate. I didn't really expect anything, but in five seconds you shut out all the background noise around us." He shook his head slightly. "For some, that little trick takes months of practice and intent focus, and some never are able to do that.

"Then, I told you to practice before we went to meet Yannis, but I only thought to keep you occupied with something to distract you because you were so worried. I never once thought that within a single day you would be able to successfully block a centuries old vampire from your mind for hours on end. I don't think you grasp how impressive that was. In a matter of weeks, with only haphazard practice, you were able to feel Rayne's emotional state, though he was hundreds of miles away," Dominic continued. "You have natural ability and you have strength, Xavier, you only lack training and discipline. You can do this."

Xavier still looked slightly doubtful, but he picked up a piece of cheese and ate it with the bread and shrugged, which Dominic took as a sign that he was at least willing to try.

"There is something else I need to tell you, before he comes back." Dominic glanced up nervously towards the end of the carriage where Rayne had last been sighted, vanishing in search of a nicotine fix. "He mentioned visiting Manchester to sort out some business. He... ah... he may be a little out of sorts when he comes home."

Xavier felt a hint of dread touch him unexpectedly. Of course, he had to ask; "Why?"

Again, Dominic glanced towards the corridor at the head of the stairwell. He put down his fork and leaned forward, studying Xavier's face intently.

"When Rayne initially left for the States I believed that he had no intention of returning to England," the older man said in a low tone. "It came as some surprise to me that he chose to return with you voluntarily. His last relationship here ended rather... tragically. I did offer to wind up his affairs in Manchester for him but he wanted matters left as they were. I believe that he is not yet fully resigned to the situation."

He sat back, shaking his head as if the memory left a dark shadow on him too.

Xavier looked back at Dominic for a few silent moments. Questions were piling up behind his deep blue eyes, but instead of asking them he looked down and then out of the window at the countryside flickering by. Topmost in his head was to wonder what had happened in this relationship that had gone so badly that Rayne would rather have left permanently than deal with it and secondly, what had changed that he thought he could take care of whatever needed taking care of now?

He wanted very badly to scratch those little mental itches and ask Dom, but he held back. Through the connection he had with Rayne, there had been a lot of little glimpses into each other's heads and pasts. On a couple of occasions, with effort and blood, Rayne had been able to push some actual thoughts and words into his head, very briefly. But their link wasn't telepathy, they couldn't read each other's minds. There were probably a lot of things Rayne hadn't told him and kept him shielded from. He knew that Rayne was much older than him, though he did not look more than twenty five. Of course it was only to be expected that his lover had been with others before him.

Xavier didn't feel slighted, and he didn't push Dominic for answers either. Some might have seen this as submissive acceptance, but in truth it was a respect for boundaries. That respect extended to not getting into his partner's business without him knowing about it. If he wanted to know, he should ask Rayne, not Dominic, and if Rayne didn't want to tell him... well, then he didn't want to tell him.

He cleared his throat slightly.

"All right.".

"All right?" Dominic rolled the words around in his mouth for a moment, then nodded again. About a hundred different responses had scrolled through his head when he decided to tell Xavier the truth but passive acceptance had not been one of them. He was beginning to wonder just how much Rayne had shared with Xavier already. "Well then... if you're okay with that, I just... well, you know that I know... so if you..."

He stopped and cleared his throat, then smiled awkwardly. "Well... you know where I am, is what I'm saying, I suppose."

Xavier was looking back at him now with solemn eyes, but the corners of his lips were curled just slightly, giving him a mischievous look.

"That I do," he agreed, popping another morsel into his mouth. He hadn't meant to flummox Dominic, but it was kind of a revelation that the usually suave-talking Lord Warren could occasionally be set off balance enough to stumble around for what to say. "And Dom, thanks... for the warning."

Their confidential chat was disrupted in any case by the return of the prodigal vamp, who looked much happier for his nicotine fix. He bent to give Xavier a quick kiss as he slid back into his seat.

"Jesus, are you two still feeding your fuckin' faces?" he laughed with mock disgust.

"I was hungry." Xav said, unconsciously drawing the last word out a bit, and completely unrepentant at the accusation of gluttony. Xavier's love of eating well and often was a firmly established fact. Part of that stemmed from leaner times; points in his past when he really had been starving, as was his favourite exclamation whenever his belly was empty. But mostly it was just a healthy appetite and a natural tendency to expend a lot of energy; despite having spent several weeks mostly lounging poolside and with a wonderful chef in the house that liked to keep him stuffed he was still sleek and toned. His lean body tended to run to thin if he didn't keep his calorie intake up.

Xavier was finished with the meal anyway; he had been picking at morsels these last few minutes just to keep Dominic company while they talked. He brightened in Rayne's presence, some of the unacknowledged worry in him draining away. Leaning towards the beautiful, dark-haired vampire he brushed his lips over the soft skin just below his ear, pressing warmly there for a moment. "I'm done now though."

"Mmmm... good..." Rayne purred against the lobe of his ear, making him shiver. "Because I'm fuckin' ravenous."

He licked Xavier's neck rather more than just affectionately. Dominic cleared his throat and unfurled a copy of the Times pretending to read it avidly.

Xavier's low, silky little chuckle was like pure, warm honey, and it let Rayne know he was up for whatever his lover wanted, whether here or elsewhere. Usually when Rayne fed from him it was while they were writhing naked somewhere, either as a trigger to a spectacular climax or the icing on one. It could also be a prelude though, a teasing appetiser, and they both enjoyed the thrilling risk of intimate acts performed surreptitiously in public places.


London Loves Ch. 01



The train was not full, but nor was it completely empty. The booth opposite their own was not occupied but there was a businessman in the double seat beyond it and a young couple in the next table seat. An old fellow was reading the newspaper in the seat closest to the stairwell paying them no heed as Rayne pulled Xav into his arms and pressed his cold mouth hungrily to the younger man's lips, kissing him long and hard.

His hand slid down to Xavier's waist and wriggled under the hem of his shirt, caressing the firm lines of his bare belly beneath. In collaboration, Xavier laved Rayne's tongue in lazy seduction with his own, falling easily into the kiss with responsive warmth. His skin tingled where Rayne caressed him, little sparks igniting inside him as his cock thickened in the tight confines of his jeans. His own hand began to travel in slow caresses up and down the inside of Rayne's thigh as he returned the kiss with growing heat.

Immune to the restrictions of their location, Rayne began to peel open his lover's shirt one button at a time, kissing his slow way down Xavier's neckline, into the hollow of his collarbone and lower, down his slowly revealed sternum, parting the folds of material carefully as if he was unwrapping porcelain. He kissed and licked Xavier's bared chest, running the tip of his tongue delicately around his mate's stiffening nipples, sucking and nibbling on them as his fingers opened the rest of the shirt buttons.

Xavier slouched back in the seat, his body tilted to allow Rayne a clean line of access down his front. He pulled in a quick breath as his lover's cool lips closed over the sensitive peak of his nipple and squirmed ever so slightly as his dick tried to expand further. Finally he had to reach down and discreetly rearrange things to a more comfortable angle. Meanwhile, mostly concealed by the table, his other hand crept up Rayne's thigh and was now gently massaging and caressing the prominent bulge at the fly of his jeans. His fingertip traced circles around the denim-wrapped head, feeling the slight moisture of his lover's arousal through the flexible cloth and making his mate exhale a little sigh of pleasure across his belly.

Rayne's mouth was sliding down over his abs now, his tongue exploring the delicious flavour of his lover's skin. His hand preceded it and moments after Xavier reached down to manoeuvre himself, Rayne pressed down on his abdomen and let his fingers slip under the waistband of the young mortal's tight pants. His hand slid under the head of Xavier's cock, moving lower until his middle fingers were splayed either side of his root. He began to stroke up and down gently over the mound of Xavier's crotch as he kissed the boy's rolling stomach hungrily.

His own groin was bucking urgently against Xavier's fondling hand as they contorted around one another. Dominic twitched down a corner of the newspaper and cleared his throat pointedly.

"That really isn't advisable on a full stomach."

Xavier's expression was dreamy, he bit his bottom lip as he tried not to groan aloud at Rayne's deft caresses. He looked up when Dominic spoke, his pupils slightly dilated with desire. "You just like to pretend you're so proper." he said with a grin, imitating Dominic's cut crystal accent perfectly. "We're not going swimming, Dom... an' besides..." He cut off, sucking in a little gasp as Rayne squeezed him and sent a hot flash of pleasure racing through him. "...no one's gonna see anything, are they?" he finished breathlessly. He was referring to the little shimmer he'd caught out of the corner of his eye, like a curtain surrounding them, but if you tried to look at it directly there was nothing there. Dominic had done some kind of hocus pocus to obscure them, Xav was pretty sure of it.

"You..." Lord Warren remarked, pointing one long finger in Xavier's direction, "...are so bloody sharp you're going to cut yourself one day, young man."

"Lucky, he's got me around to lick it all up when he does," Rayne exhaled, coming up from a detailed exploration of Xavier's navel and undulating treasure trail. "Speaking of which..."

He deftly popped the button on Xav's jeans and his fingers tugged down the zipper smoothly so that his lips could continue on their downward passage. Dominic made a little gasping sound that might have been exasperation and might have been something else entirely, and retreated behind his newspaper again, although the broadsheet did quiver in his hands from time to time. Rayne's cool lips found Xavier naked behind his zipper, to his great delight.

"Ohhh..." Xav exhaled as his lover's lush lips touched the sensitive crown of his cock. His fingers curled lightly on the edge of the table, trying to stay still and not draw too much attention despite any mystical protection Dom might have afforded them. His other hand slipped into Rayne's pants, warm fingers wrapping around the vampire's erection and stroking him slowly.

"Ooohhh yeah!" Rayne whispered almost inaudibly, his breath coming suddenly faster and harder in the hollow of Xav's bucking pelvis.

Slim, cool fingers wormed under him, easing him free of the denim and Rayne's warm mouth engulfed his shaft, the hard little stud in his tongue stroking slowly up and down the throbbing vein that ran to his balls. Dominic abandoned all pretence of trying to read the paper in his hands lowered it slowly as he watched the two beautiful young men making out uninhibitedly in the seat across the table.

"Uhhh...Rayne..." Xavier purred his name as his lover went down on him. His cock was throbbing with need between the singer's lips and he moaned low in his throat as he worked the smooth bead of his tongue ring over him. His hand slid off the table and into the sable locks nodding in his crotch, caressing along his scalp encouragingly. "Oh, that feels so-o-o-o good."

Rayne's dark hair caressed his abdominals as he slowly moved his head back and forth, drawing Xavier this way and that in the sweet suction of his mouth. His fingers curled beneath Xav's balls, rubbing in a steady circle on the continuation of his shaft, deep between his legs. He was thrusting in his lover's hand, spilling a slow ooze of wetness on Xavier's palm as he writhed across the twin seats. For those few, delicious moments no one else mattered but his hot, horny lover. They might have been the only two people in the world.

Xavier flexed in tiny little thrusts, still trying to keep his movements to a minimum. His breath started to come in ragged pants as Rayne nodded up and down in a steady sensual rhythm and pressed into that sweet spot behind his balls. His fist moved faster on Rayne's hard cock, moving with slippery ease now up and down over his glans repeatedly, almost in tandem with Rayne's mouth on his own erection.

"Uhhh, oh, god... oh, so good, so good..." he whimpered, biting his lips to keep any more throaty moans from escaping. Rayne went faster, applying more suction and Xavier squeezed his eyes closed, his cock swelling even harder between his soft lips as he skated closer and closer to the edge.

"Rayne...mm-uh, ohfuckmm..." His head tipped back on the benchseat, his lean toned body going taut as his hips thrust up slightly. "Uh, I'm cumming!" he whispered hoarsely.

"Uhhh... mmmmmm, yuuuhhh," Rayne nodded his approval, angling so that the head of Xavier's throbbing dick was rubbing against the roof of his mouth, almost far enough back to slip into his throat, and his tongue stud could play over the sensitive ridges of his frenulum whilst he was firmly stroking the base of his lover's shaft between his thumb and first two fingers.

He swallowed the first burst of milky fluid greedily as Xavier's thrusting cock lurched between his lips.

"Sweet Goddess!" Dominic exhaled softly, with a little shake of his head. He was fiercely aroused and barely struggling to disguise it, his jeans unzipped and his erect cock in his pumping hand under the folded newspaper as he watched Rayne blatantly sucking Xavier off. The blond's hand was in Rayne's pants, working him vigorously as Rayne slurped and nodded in his crotch. Dom had seen it happen plenty of times whilst they were all lounging in various states of undress around Aldo's pool but watching it on public transport in the middle of the afternoon was something else entirely. "Come on, ladies!" he coaxed in a whisper, "I don't know how long I can keep this spell up."

Xavier shuddered through a last spasm and Rayne came up off him panting and licking his lips, his eyes huge and dark and glittering with barely restrained heat. Xav didn't waste a second, knowing that look, knowing he was close, he immediately switched their position, tugging Rayne's pants open quickly and swallowing his plum coloured head in his hot mouth without missing a stroke of his pumping fist.

Rayne slumped bonelessly in his seat, propped against the window like a mannequin, those searing eyes fixed on Lord Warren. Dominic held his gaze, filled up with the metaphysical heat he was sharing, working himself hard beneath the shield of his respectable Times and allowing himself a moment of silent envy for the two beautiful young men sitting opposite. Xavier's blond head bobbed rapidly in his mate's lap and Dom could hear him sucking and gulping as Rayne's fingers prowled through his tousled curls, pressing him down over and over. Gradually his own head fell back against the seat behind him and his ebony hair spilled over the pale blue upholstery as those unblinking eyes closed and his lips parted in a soundless moan.

He was writhing like a serpent, his dark shirt and pants open, exposing the pale ripples of his smooth, lean body as it surged and bucked. He was a turbulent sea being channelled and sucked into the silent whirlpool of Xavier's hot, wet mouth.

"Sweet Lady!" Dominic panted, invoking his pagan Goddess in a husky murmur. He could feel the energy they were creating prickling against his skin. It rode him like he was a part of their illicit coupling, joined yet apart from them. As Rayne began to peak, Dominic felt his own balls swell and tighten with desire and he twisted to one side, burying his face against the rough material of the headrest and fisting the lurching shaft of his cock until he spattered the sports pages with a hot shower of his seed.

"Fuck!" Rayne swore grittily, under his breath, pressing down hard on Xavier's head so that he could feel the heat of his lover's mouth against his urgently bucking mound. Xav's chin was grinding against his jolting balls as the answering explosion shook him. "Fuckin'... ohhhh!"

Xavier swallowed greedily, fondling Rayne's balls as they gave up their load into his mouth until his lover slumped back on the seat, spent. He let his lips caress softly over Rayne's twitching shaft as he came back up and tucked his lover's cock back into his pants before quickly putting his own clothes in order. He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as he smoothed his mussed curls with a casual rake of his fingers. "That was fun!"

Dominic was still huffing softly, staring at them both with a look somewhere between astonishment and amusement in his moss-green eyes. Several times he moved his hand to adjust the position of the folded paper in his lap but in the end he just left it there, laughing breathlessly to himself and shaking his head.

Rayne's fangs were still fully extended as he sprawled comfortably in the corner by the window, one hand gently caressing Xavier's arm and shoulder. He pulled the blond boy closer to him, close enough to snatch a kiss from his lips.

The scintillating 'curtain' Xavier had seen out of the corner of his eye had dissolved as Dominic was showing his enthusiasm for the sports section, but no one in the rail car was paying much attention to anything but their own musings and conversations anyway. Xavier met Rayne's mouth with a tender passion, his soft lips parting at Rayne's seeking tongue and mingling their shared taste of salty pleasure.

Dom wriggled himself back into his jeans with a little sigh and tugged up the zipper, depositing the slightly wilted newspaper on the table as he levered himself to his feet.

"I think I need to stretch my legs," he remarked with a little smile, giving the boys some alone time.

Rayne grinned at him as he slid out from behind the table. He picked up the discarded Times and licked the back page lasciviously. Across the aisle one of their fellow travellers raised an eyebrow at that, noticing them for the first time. The vampire winked at her and carried on lapping at the photo of some ecstatic looking footballer, on his knees and drenched with rather more than just the sweat of the game.

"You will get newsprint on your nose," Lord Warren warned him sagely.

"Worth it!" Rayne said with his mouth full. "You bastards have been eating for an hour! I'm fuckin' starving here!"

Xavier looked at Rayne with a soft low chuckle, his eyes half closed and looking very sexy as he watch Rayne lap the newspaper. "You want to grab a bite here or somewhere else?" he asked with a completely innocent expression.

Tossing the paper aside, Rayne curled around him again, burying his face in the warm curve of his lover's neck. He wrapped his arms around Xavier and snuggled close, ignoring the furtive glances of the couple across the aisle from them.

"Much as I'd love to suck on you some more," he murmured seductively, "you need a rest after the way I laid into you at Aldo's. I hate to admit defeat but I want you fit and well when we get home. I've got other plans for you, Miz Gavrilov."

Although he felt a small thread of disappointment, Xav did see the sense in what Rayne said. He felt fine enough now, but he knew when Rayne drank from him too much he sometimes got light-headed or tired easily. Besides, the way Rayne put it, and the way he licked the curve of his ear, set up a throb of anticipation that overrode any disappointment. He sighed happily and tangled his arms around Rayne.

"What do you got in mind...?" Xav asked, his breath crossing over the curves of Rayne's ear in a warm caress.

Before Rayne got a chance to answer though, the woman that had been casting disapproving glances their way made her move, marching over to them with a mask of mixed anger and disgust on her pinched features. "You perverts are going to hell! There are decent people here that don't want to see such disgusting displays!"

Rayne's passion-darkened gaze bled slowly back to ice green as his head tilted to face her. Ever so briefly he let his tongue flicker across his full lips and still quite protuberant fangs.

"The decent people had the decency not to look," he told her in a dangerously quiet voice. "We're not doing anybody any harm, princess."

"God says what you're doing is a sin!" the woman shot back as her face flushed another shade darker.

Xavier watched her with a somewhat curious half-bored expression, wondering if actual steam might come out her ears like a cartoon character. He leaned his elbow on the table and propped his chin in the open, upturned palm.

"Jesus save me... from your followers!" he muttered as the other hand made a sloppy, irreverent genuflection with an exaggeratedly limp wrist.

Rayne made a point of sliding his arm around Xavier's shoulders and licking his ear before murmuring; "Well when He pops round for a sherbert I'll have to ask Him exactly what He means by that. But, til then..."

He wriggled his fingers at her in a brief little wave of dismissal.

She was closer to Xavier and now she leaned forward and pointed a sharp-taloned finger in his face. "You are a sinner and you're going to hell!" she screeched again.

Xav thought it rather ironic that she had missed what they were doing in plain sight not ten minutes earlier and it was only the sight of them cuddling a bit that brought on this zealot fit. When she didn't back off though he started to get pissed.

"Lady, get your fuckin finger outa my face and fuck off!"

She gasped liked he'd suggested she go fornicate with Satan and drew back her hand to slap his face. Rayne was on his feet faster than either of them could blink. The look in his eyes was caustic but he moved like silk, very smooth and very strong, catching both of her hands before she could land a blow. He leaned in close and Xavier, sitting inches from him felt the air shimmer almost the way it had when Dominic wove his spell of distraction around them. This felt edgy though, a little prickle of hungry eagerness sown through it.

Rayne held her with his eyes, not saying a word as he raised one of her wrists to his lips and exposed his fangs.

Xavier stopped breathing, not sure what Rayne was doing but instinctively staying still and silent so as not to distract him. He felt the tiny hairs on the nape of his neck suddenly stand on end, and just when he thought he couldn't stand it anymore and was about to whisper Rayne's name, the woman pulled her hands out of his and turned, walking stiffly back to her seat to sit and stare out the opposite window.

Xavier let his breath out slowly. "Stupid cow!" he muttered under his breath.

Rayne slumped back into his seat by the window, still staring broodingly at the woman who had accosted them.

"What?" Xav demanded, sensing some hostility and not quite understanding it.

"Now she's freaked out and she doesn't know why," the vampire exhaled, shaking his head irritably. "And I'm still fuckin' hungry. Go find me someone to eat!"

He managed a sidelong glance at his lover that somehow conveyed that he was not really angry, just a little bit frustrated. Xavier arched a brow at him, but he looked slightly amused.

"You want me to get you someone to eat?" he snorted softly. "I wouldn't think you'd have a problem finding someone yourself but..." He glanced around the car casually and unobtrusively pointed out the businessman with his head in his laptop. "I could get him," he said, and then wrinkled his nose slightly. "He's kinda old though."

Rayne's lips twitched but he murmured; "Well, you scared my last meal off. Mind you, I bet she'd have tasted bitter! Maybe if we both fucked her it would sweeten the jealous bitch up a bit!"

Xavier chuckled and shook his head. "Eww! You're better off with Mr. Laptop. I bet he's watching porn anyway."

As Xav was planning his seduction, said gentlemen looked up as if he sensed he was being stared at. Xavier didn't look away when he caught his eye, he just gave a slow smile and the guy quickly looked back down at the screen, a little flush on his cheeks visible even from that distance. Xavier turned and gave Rayne a slightly sly look, raising a questioning brow.

"I wouldn't have cruised him but blood's blood," the vampire said archly. "You're the one who'll be distracting him, anyway."

The look in his eyes was a definite challenge now. The man was risking another tentative glance and Rayne slid his arms around Xavier, kissing his ear as he murmured into it, but gazing very intently at the stranger. This time the man with the laptop did not avert his eyes so quickly.

Xavier gave Rayne and soft kiss and rose, wandering over to Mr. Laptop. "Pardon me, do you know what time it is?"

"Oh, sure, it's half past four," the man said, checking his watch.

Xav was relieved he spoke English, that might have been a glitch if he didn't. Not impossible, but more of a challenge anyway. Flashing his most charming smile, Xavier said; "Thanks," while making it obvious that he was glancing down at the other man's hands. His smile widened just a little. No ring, but a faint band of lighter skin around his left ring finger. Xav's eyes came back up and held his gaze for a moment or two before he slid into the seat opposite him.

"I'm not bothering you am I? Keeping you from work?" he asked indicating the laptop, and then held out his hand before he could answer. "I'm Xavier, by the way."




London Loves Ch. 01



The man shook Xavier's hand ."Um, Ben...and no, you're not bothering me. I suppose I could use a break," he said, closing the computer.

"So, are you travelling to Paris, or going further?" Xav asked.

"I have a few days' stop-over in Paris. How about you?" Ben asked, just a tad eagerly. Now that the young man was sitting across from him he couldn't seem to take his eyes off him.

"No, we're just changing trains and going on to London." Xav said, noting the slight look of disappointment on Ben's face. "You're on a strictly business trip then?" he asked with a coy little smile.

Ben swallowed, his eyes wandering over Xavier. "Well, not strictly. How about you, are you on holiday?"

Xav nodded, smiling and leaning in a bit, his chin resting on the back of his hand as he looked at Ben with those sexy eyes. "Yeah, we've come up all the way from Naples. It's the first time I've been in Europe. It's been a blast."

That was all true but the tone Xav used and the hint of excitement he let creep into his voice made him sound younger and much more inexperienced then he was. He dissembled easily, the hustle very subtle despite the speed Xav was manoeuvring him. Ben was practically drooling and he couldn't seem to tear his eyes off the blond lad's soft lips.

Xav had the hook in place, and now he set it, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper that he knew Rayne could hear anyway. "Hey Ben, my boyfriend thinks you look yummy...but he's kinda shy."

"Um, really?"

Xavier's grin was positively feral. "Oh yeah."

Rayne, who had been pretending to watch the scenery pass by as he listened in, now artlessly shrugged himself out of his seat and leaned across the aisle, draping a hand over Xavier's shoulder as he murmured; "I'm gonna take a slash, yeah?"

His lips touched Xav's and before he broke the contact his eyes slid to meet the incendiary hunger of his lover's new companion. He licked his lips, taking his time, then straightened and casually strolled towards the end of the carriage where the lav was situated.

Xavier's eyes were on Ben, whose eyes were definitely watching Rayne walk away. He tore his gaze away from Rayne's ass long enough to look at Xavier again. "Are you...? Should I...?"

"Wait just a couple minutes, 'kay? Then follow me," Xav murmured conspiratorially, and then slipped out of the seat heading the way Rayne had just gone. He was laughing under his breath as he slid into the stall with Rayne. "Never gonna fit three in here," he said. "You might have to distract him yourself." He made no move to leave though, twining his arms around Rayne and kissing him with a slow simmering hunger.

"Are you telling me you don't want to share?" Rayne studied him shrewdly, his hands coming up to cup Xavier's face before pulling his mouth closer for a deeper kiss. "Because... if you just want to fuck I guess I can wait to eat until we get to London. Your new friend is going to think you're one hell of a cockteaser though!"

He laughed huskily, his face gently rubbing up against Xav's cheek.

Xavier knew Rayne was mostly teasing, but there were hints of something more serious under the surface. No, Xav didn't particularly want to share Rayne right now, but both Rayne and Dominic had been telling him, or trying to tell him, for a while now that Rayne needed to feed from more than just him. He pointed this out to Rayne now; "I thought you were hungry?"

"I thought you were bringing lunch." Rayne managed to say it lightly enough but there was just a little edge to his casual retort. He softened it with a kiss on the nose but it was there none the less.

"He's coming," Xavier said. "Or he will be anyway." As soon as Xavier said it there was a light tap on the door. "That would be dinner now." He kissed Rayne softly and then pulled a bit away from him, not that there was anywhere to really go in the tight little cubical.

Xavier opened the door and Ben was standing there, looking equally excited and nervous. In order to accommodate him, Rayne moved to sit on the back of the cistern box with his feet on the loo seat, and Xavier pulled Ben in by his tie, the door closing and locking behind him.

The hint of nervous uncertainty seemed to drop away from Ben when he crossed the threshold, his hands having no trouble finding their way to Xavier's hips and sliding around to cup his ass. Now he had a bit of an air about him of a man that couldn't believe his luck.

"God, you're a gorgeous lad," he murmured, his lips groping for Xavier's.

Xavier let Ben kiss him, and he wasn't all that bad really. He had slouched a bit when he was sitting, but he was actually quite tall. Although he wasn't perfectly fit he wasn't really heavy either and he had most of his cropped, salt and pepper hair. His mouth tasted of some kind of tangy breath mint. After a moment or two Xavier broke the kiss and gave him a nudge, turning him to sit on the seat of the toilet so his back was between Rayne's knees.

"Allo Charlie," Rayne's fingers snaked through his hair and he pulled the man's head back so that he could look down into those wide, slightly wary eyes again. His smile flashed rather more dog tooth than any man ought to have and his long, cold fingers stroked down into the neck of Ben's shirt. "He is a bonny little thing, isn' he? Got a nice mouth on him too. Clever tongue, if you get my meaning."

He deftly loosened Ben's tie and his fingers began to unbutton the man's shirt quickly. His meal ticket murmured; "Umm... my name's not Charlie."

"Don't care what your name is, Charlie," Rayne whispered in his ear, humming softly to himself as he bared Ben's chest. "Muy non importanto, si?"

He licked Ben's earlobe, breathing him in greedily. He smelled lovely and toasty, like fresh bread and milky coffee and a thousand other homely things. A wife and kids, a well-paid job, a quiet life. Poor fucker!

Xavier slid down into Ben's lap, straddling his thighs. He kissed the opposite side of his throat, working up one side while Rayne was working down the other. His fingers deftly tugged open his belt and were working on his fly while Ben's hot slightly moist hands roamed over him eagerly. When Xav lifted his head for a moment so did Rayne and their lips met in a heated kiss.

Ben watched the two beautiful boys ravenously tongue-kissing an inch from his face and again couldn't believe his luck. He had stolen a few looks at them out in the dining car while they were busy cuddling up on the seat together and he never in a million years would have believed either of them would have given him the time of day much less be peeling his clothes off and letting him watch them making out. He let out a soft groan as Xavier's fingers found his stiff prick inside his boxers and wrapped around, skilfully stroking him.

"Oh yeah, that's it honey, that's it," he murmured hoarsely.

Rayne broke the kiss and dipped forward, bending almost double to kiss Ben's neck, then his shoulder, pulling the shirt roughly back and down his arms. His hands caressed the man's body restlessly but he kept his clothes on for the time being, as did Xavier.

"Stand up, Charlie," he purred huskily. "Show us that manly body, yeah."

Xavier moved fluidly, letting Ben stand as he slid down to the floor in front of him, tugging his slacks and underwear down his thighs as he went. A nice size cock sprang out from his descending pants, pointing levelly at Xavier's soft mouth. He had a thick dark bush around his equipment, but he smelled clean, soap and water mixed with musky arousal. The tip of Xav's tongue darted out to lick seductively over the head and Ben reached down to push his fingers into those soft looking blond curls, rubbing the head of his cock back and forth over those plush lips.

"Mmm, your mouth is so pretty...like a girl's mouth," he murmured down at Xav.

Xavier's long lashes lifted and summer blue eyes looked up at him; his lips parted, glistening wetly and he blew a cool stream of air across Ben's hard dick. "I'm much better than a girl," he promised in a softly husky voice, closing his warm wet mouth over the smooth plump head and nodding down slowly on his throbbing shaft until Ben's pre-cum was leaking like a stream over his lapping tongue.

"Oooh, fuckin'... ah, shit!" Ben's fingers tightened in Xavier's hair, tugging him forward roughly. "You ain't kidding, honey!" he panted, pushing deeper into the sweet wet heat engulfing him.

Rayne remained perched on the tank, his booted feet resting on the toilet seat as he snaked an arm around Ben's shoulders, drawing the man firmly back against his knees. He licked and kissed Ben's neck some more, sliding his hands down the broad expanse of his chest and playing a little roughly with his nipples.

"How'd you like that, Charlie boy?" he purred in Ben's ear. "Isn't he fuckin' amazing? He could suck you off all day. He just loves cock and by the looks of it you've got a nice one."

"Oh yeah, he's good," Ben enthused. "Such a good little cocksucker."

He wasn't letting Xavier do much of the work though. He had a hold on his head, fingers tangled tight in his hair and pressed to the back of his skull as he bucked his hips rapidly, pumping his erect cock into Xavier's open mouth.

Xavier usually liked to use a bit more finesse, but Ben wasn't allowing it and the best he could do was just relax his jaw and concentrate on not gagging as the older man fucked his face quick and hard. Xavier was not Rayne though, he needed to breathe, and when Ben ground his pelvis into his face, shoving his cock down his throat and holding it there, Xav had to push him back after a few moments to catch his breath. Ben gave him just a couple seconds before he resumed bucking his hips, groaning in ecstasy.

"Oh, there's a good little tart. C'mon now, you can take it," he panted. "Daddy's gonna fill your dirty little mouth with cum any second now!"

Rayne bristled a little and his fangs extended automatically. Now he stroked his hand back up slowly over Ben's face, and through his hair. His fingers tightened at the last minute and he yanked the stranger's head right back with a little snarl, making muscles pop sharply in Ben's neck and shoulders so that the man yelped with pain and surprise. Rayne was stronger than he looked.

"Oi! No call for that," the vampire warned vehemently. "He's a good boy but I'm the only one that gets to call him a tart, all right? You wanna get nasty with him you ask him very, very nicely. Are we perfectly clear about that?"

Still holding Ben tightly by the hair he nodded the man's head for him forcefully.

Ben let out a garbled sound somewhere between the edge of pleasure and pain, but his hips were still jerking rapidly, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to get there. "Aaarrrgg, all right, all right...whatever, I'll be nice," he huffed and then moaned again. "Just don't stop, Xavier...oh, god yeah...Please! Eat my cum!"

"Good lad, Charlie," Rayne chuckled warmly. His fingers remained tangled in Ben's greying hair and he pulled the man's head back against his shoulder to sink his fangs slowly into Ben's neck. His meal ticket's pulse was racing hard enough that the hot blood spurted into Rayne's mouth and he gulped it down greedily.

The combination of a fresh, hot feeder and the sight of his gorgeous mate on his knees giving head in front of him sent Rayne's left hand scurrying for the buttons of his fly and he released his stiffening prick with a little moan of relief, fisting it rapidly as he sucked and licked harder at Ben's neck.

Ben gave another startled yelp, but he was so close... and then a curious thing happened. A pulse of warmth ran up from his throbbing prick, racing up his body as a twin warmth spread down from his neck and they both ignited in his centre. The explosion went pounding through him with every beat of his heart and pulse of his balls as they suddenly unloaded spurt after spurt of thick creamy semen in the red hot suction of Xavier's sucking mouth.

"UUUUHHH!! Jesus Fuckin' Christ!" he yelped.

Ben's bones suddenly went to water and his knees gave out, sitting him back down hard on the seat of the commode and pulling his long prick wetly from between Xavier's lips. Xavier slumped back against the wall, his chest heaving a bit and his eyes huge and dark with a lust that hadn't been present until Rayne bit their companion.

"Did I say you could sit down, Charlie?" Rayne asked somewhat irritably, immune to the effect he and Xav were having. He slithered down off the tank so that he was crouched behind the breathless, helpless Ben, gently licking his neck until the last of the scarlet spill was lapped up and his bite was beginning to heal.

"Fuck, did you break the skin?" Ben asked, still panting as he reached up to touch his neck. "Naughty little bitch...I hope you didn't leave a mark!" He looked down at Xavier, who was still sprawled on the floor and looking remarkably delicious himself. "Worth it though...that was fantastic, best blow job I've ever got. You want to turn around an' get your pants down honey?"

"I don't think so," Xav said evenly.

Rayne tugged Ben's head around again and kissed him roughly.

"You're a sweetheart, don't push it," he whispered into the other man's open mouth. "Tasty though."

"You can't blame me for trying," Ben murmured back with a weak chuckle. "Not every day a bloke like me gets a chance with two gorgeous young lads."

Xavier was getting up from the floor and he looked a question at Rayne, wondering if he was done or going back for seconds?

"Whew!" Ben interrupted Xavier's thoughts as he sagged back a little. "Must have been even better'n I thought..." Ben said, sounding just a little slurred, like he was exhausted. "I feel light headed."

Xavier was pretty sure that had more to do with Rayne than him, but refrained from saying so. Feeling a little more sympathetic than he had a moment before, Xavier patted his shoulder.

"Go take a nap...and order yourself a steak done rare, you'll feel better."

"They do a nice hot chocolate up at the buffet car too," Rayne suggested, ruffling his hair. "Ask 'em sweet enough they might put a drop of rum in it."

Ben peered up at him curiously. "You didn't join in," he observed. "You just get off on watching then? Or are you gonna do him now?"

Rayne's eyes slid to meet Xavier's face. His lover was still licking his lips and the idea was not unalluring.

"Not my call," he said lightly.

Xavier's eyes held Rayne's and although he had a bit of a smirk on his lips those pretty blue orbs still smouldered with heat. "Thought you wanted to wait til we got to London?" he teased lightly, but the look on his face and the bulge in his crotch said he wouldn't mind revising that plan either.

"Can I watch?" Ben was looking from one to the other, keen to see the sexy blond get his pants down, though he was still feeling a bit groggy and he could not explain why. "Who goes on top? Or do you do each other?"

He had not put his cock away yet and was stroking it now excitedly.

"Hmmm... I dunno about that," Rayne drawled lazily, pretending to think about it.

Xavier gave a little shrug. "You can watch...but you have to let my boyfriend bite you again if he wants to."

The prospect of watching the two beauties (and maybe sneaking in a feel here and there) was too much to resist, Ben would have agreed to just about any kinky thing they wanted. "Sure, whatever sweetheart."

"Trade me places then," Xav said, wriggling out of his jeans. Ben's jaw nearly hit the floor as the hot blond exposed his sexy, golden thighs and pert backside, then turned to flash his erect dick and firm, shaved balls. He had an unbroken tan and Ben was already fantasising about spending day after day on some nude beach watching the little slut getting that glorious colour on his naked body.

It took a little manoeuvring but Ben was soon standing in front of the sink and Xavier was sitting on Rayne's lap facing him. His arms snaked around Rayne and his lips found his in a passionate kiss, and he pretty much put Ben right out of his head.   

"You never cease to amaze me," Rayne murmured huskily as they kissed and Xav reached down to guide the rigid cock protruding from his lover's open fly back between his legs. Rayne tilted his head to glance over Xavier's shoulder at their horny companion whilst the blond was caressing him. "Ben, be a cherub and get down behind him, give him a good licking. He loves a nice rough tongue up his hole. Get him good and wet for me, sweetheart."

Xavier completely ignored this directive, his concentration taken up with lipping Rayne's earlobe and nibbling down the side of his throat while he stroked gentle but firm fingers up and down Rayne's erection. He teased over the head, circling around the slit with the pad of his thumb while he kissed and sucked lightly at the tender skin of his throat.

Ben dropped down to his knees as soon as Rayne invited him to, cupping the pert golden globes of Xav's sexy little bum in his hands with a horny groan. He had never licked a boy's anus before but he couldn't wait to taste this beautiful blond slut's arsehole, or to watch in close up as the dark haired lad entered and fucked him.

"Such a sexy boy," he murmured as he bent down and kissed the dimple at the top of Xavier's crack, working his tongue down in between those golden cheeks.

Xavier's fingers tightened fractionally around Rayne's shaft, his hand stroking slightly faster, his lips vibrating a little purr along his skin.

"Mmmhhh... yes! I get such a good vibe off you when you're turned on," Rayne growled hungrily. He was nuzzling Xavier's cheek tenderly, quivering with pleasure at the gentle ministrations of his lover's lips and hands. The rhythmic rocking and swaying of the moving train just pressed them against one another more vigorously. Rayne's tongue slipped between Xavier's lips again as his wandering hands eased beneath the blond's close-fitting top and explored his lean, toned body restlessly.

Ben's tongue was wriggling urgently in Xav's cleft, probing and teasing him at the same time.

Xavier's hips rolled fluidly, as if he was dancing in place, the head of his cock butting up against Rayne's and sending little tingles up and down his spine. Ben was rimming him as eagerly as he'd gone about fucking his face, his wet tongue wriggling inside him while he moaned lustily. Xav had to admit he was getting more than just a little turned on.

The hand that wasn't busy stroking Rayne's cock slid up his back, fingers splayed and caressing while he kissed and licked his way back up his neck to his ear.

"Ahh, fuck me Ray...please," he whispered in his ear.

Rayne was grinning at him enthusiastically, loving how aroused his sexy young mate could get. Firmly now he wriggled Xav's snug top up baring his toned, sun-kissed torso and started to lick and bite his nipples. His fingers were curled around Xavier's cock and his own, gently rubbing them together and caressing the swollen head of Xav's boner with his thumb. Ben's tongue went into overdrive, sweeping wetly up and down his crack. He sucked a finger unbidden and wriggled it into Xavier's tight anus, vigorously working it in and out and licking up and down, around it, loving the way those firm, smooth balls jumped every time he licked them.

"Ahhh sweetheart," Rayne purred as his lover writhed and thrust in his lap. "You are ready aren't you? You look so fuckin' delicious. Take that top off for me, get your sweet body naked."

Xavier caught the edge of his shirt and pulled it off over his head. Most people experienced a sort of vulnerability when they were naked with the others around them clothed (even partially) but Xavier just felt less restricted. He rose up a little, letting Rayne angle his cock between his legs. Ben's finger slipped wetly from his hole and he used it to guide the vampire's smooth, cum-slick cock head up into the deep dimple of his tight ring, nudging and probing at him gently. Ben spat some more lube on the blond's flexing entrance, squeezing his perfect globes firmly and prying them wide apart, staring greedily as Xavier's ring opened up and Rayne slipped that thick, hard cock inside. Xavier's sexy little groan was total unadulterated pleasure, his eyes closed and head tipped back as he pushed down on Rayne further, trying to get that gorgeous cock as deep in his anus as he could.




London Loves Ch. 01



"Ohh, yeah..." he breathed as the black haired boy gripped his slim hips and began to fuck him eagerly.

Ben groaned too, his fist wanking hard and fast on his meat, eyes glued to the union of their bodies. He licked at Rayne's cock where it pumped in and out of Xavier's sweetly accommodating hole making the vampire growl with pure lust.

"You got a right big cock for a skinny lad, don't you?" Ben huffed excitedly as he rubbed his own hard, leaking penis. "No wonder your boy wants it up his hole so much!" He kissed and caressed his way up Xavier's sleek back. "You like that big cock pounding your arsehole, don't you princess."

"Mmmmyeah..." Xav agreed, riding Rayne with slow smooth rolls of his hips, grinding down on him. He felt Ben press up behind him, rubbing his dick on his ass suggestively and Xavier's body stiffened. "Don't get any ideas back there," he warned

Rayne, who was still practically fully clothed apart from the open fly of his black jeans, now noted the look of frustration on Ben's face and took pity on him.

"Are you up for it again already, sweetheart? Just look at you!" he laughed huskily, his voice dropping almost an octave as Xavier slid down on him and began to grind rhythmically in his lap. "Come a little closer and give me a taste then."

Ben was more than happy with that idea and stood quickly. A little too quickly. He felt slightly dizzy again, but it went away. He put one hand on the wall just in case, and stroked his cock with the other, rubbing the plump head over Rayne's pouty bottom lip.

Xavier meanwhile licked his way down Rayne's neck and into the collar of his shirt while he undid the buttons to bare his chest. There were still faint scars there, but they were faded to the point that unless you knew they were there you almost couldn't see them. Xav bent his head to suck and tease a nipple while he rode smoothly up and down on Rayne's cock.

Rayne leaned back against the cistern and let his soft, cool lips part around Ben's luscious bulb, sucking it in gently and teasing beneath his cock head with the little stud in his tongue. He lifted his left hand to curl around the base of the other man's shaft and the long fingers of his right slid down around Xavier, slowly milking his beautiful hot rod as the blond gyrated naked against his thrusting groin.

A little moan of delight and desire rose in his throat and quivered through his limbs, trembling in Ben's aching balls and fluttering like a rapid heartbeat in Xavier's ass.

Xavier's eyes watched with glittering desire as Ben thrust between Rayne's lips, his fingers sliding into his sleek sable hair. He bucked a little faster on Rayne's rod, pushing his cock into the cool grip of his lover's stroking fingers and sliding up and down harder on his rigid pole, a few little breathless huffs coming to his lips with his excitement. His lover looked so-o-o damn sexy with his lips wrapped around a thick cock.

Between them, Rayne half turned, pushing upward with one hip so that he was able to face Ben and nod down on the rigid length he was offering, his fingers cupping the man's balls and milking them hard as he swallowed Ben's thrusting cock. His hips were bucking furiously upward driving his own twitching erection vigorously into Xavier. He pulled his head back, gasping un-necessarily, more for show and to quicken his own pulse than for any other reason. His hand moved to Xavier's blond curls and he kissed his lover deep and hard on the lips then pushed the younger man's mouth towards Ben's glistening dick.

"Keep him warm Xav, I am gonna explode right up you, any fuckin' minute!" he exhaled, his voice heavy with longing as he edged closer. "Oh Jesus! I want you both in my mouth when you... mmmhhhh! Uhhhhh!"

His hands moved to Xavier's lean hips and he drove himself up off the seat, his back arching and slim thighs straining. His prick lurched, tugging back against the curve of his lover's passage and he cried out incoherently as he felt himself begin to shoot gout after gout of thick, slippery spunk whilst pulsing furiously inside Xavier's fabulously hot channel.

Xavier's whole body was on fire as he sucked down Ben's cock and felt Rayne's volcanic eruption deep inside. He had one hand on Ben's prick and one on his own, pumping furiously on both as his lover pulsed again and again, Rayne's moans of pleasure shivered down his back like a caress and the moment he was done he stood because he couldn't hold off any longer and he knew just what Rayne wanted.

He pulled his mouth off Ben with a wet smack as he rose and Rayne slid to his knees on the floor, his face turned up towards their cocks, mouth open submissively, shirt and pants undone, showing off his lean, milky body and the half hard dick glistening wetly, fresh from Xavier's arse and dripping semen onto the black denim of his jeans. They both stroked hard and fast over Rayne's pale pretty face and open mouth. Xav's lean body went taut, the muscles of his abdomen standing out sharply as his balls clenched and he was there.

"Uhhh! Ohmyfuckin...oh...!" he moaned as his hot creamy cum spattered Rayne's lips and tongue and his sexy vampire lover began to lick and suck his spurting wand.

Ben was panting like he'd just sprinted a mile and he was right after Xav. He grunted as he gripped the boy's soft black hair in one hand, drowning the pretty little cumslut's tongue with his sperm, watching the lad suck his throbbing cock into that crème filled mouth, guzzling it down better than any whore he'd ever paid for.

Rayne groaned with delight as the two horny guys fed him their manna, shamelessly turning his head back and forth to lick and suck every last drop from both of them. When he opened his eyes again they were almost black with pleasure, quite startling against his pale skin. His tongue flickered across his lips over and over, savouring the mixture of their flavours.

"Sweet fucking christ!" he exhaled at last. "That... that was totally awesome. Thank you! Both of you!"

Xav chuckled low in his throat in complete agreement and bent to kiss the tip of his nose and then his lips. His own eyes were glowing with happy satisfaction.

Ben slumped back against the wall, panting and grinning. "That was something else!"

Xavier found his various pieces of scattered clothing and shimmied back into them.

"Can I look you up sometime?" Ben asked. "I travel a lot, I'm in London every month or so."

Xav gave his head a rueful shake but said nothing.

Rayne glanced at his lover inquiringly. Xavier could tell without even trying that he was deliberating the pros of having a regular snack partner with the cons of someone else ultimately getting their hooks into him.

"We move around quite a bit," he said at last, with a non-committal smile. Then, seeing how Ben looked so deflated he murmured; "I could give you my PA's number I guess. If we're in town he'll sort you out a hotel room for a couple of hours and maybe I could meet you there."

He reached into a pocket for his cellphone.

Xavier was a little bemused that Rayne had gone from not wanting to even know the guy's name to giving him a contact number. Ben must have tasted pretty good, he chuckled inwardly.

His clothes smoothed and straightened, and looking like he'd done nothing more strenuous than taken a little stroll, Xav popped the latch on the door while Rayne gave Ben the number. He stepped out of the cubicle without checking first, since there was nothing more obvious than a head sticking out of a restroom doorway, and let the door close behind him. There was no one around anyway.

Moments later Rayne caught up with him and slid an arm around his waist, planting a quick, fond kiss on his cheek. There was a slight flush of colour in his face and a contented gleam in his eyes that had been absent before.

"Dunno if I ever tell you this, but you are fuckin' amazing," he murmured, a smile curving the softness of his lips.

Xavier almost mirrored Rayne, slipping his arm around his waist, a tender somewhat surprised smile twitching at his own lips as he kissed his lover's cheek. Usually Rayne only said things like that while they were writhing naked, fucking each other's brains out. He could tell Rayne was in a far less irritable mood now that he'd got a good feed in him and it made Xav more happy and relaxed as well. He didn't think about how tuned in he was to his lover's mood, it just felt very natural.

"You're pretty fan-tab-ulous yourself," he murmured, briefly nuzzling his ear.

The dinner things were cleared away and Lord Warren was curled up with a book at their table when they returned to the carriage. He glanced up briefly, then looked again a little harder.

"You two seem very pleased with yourselves," he remarked, trying and failing to keep the smile out of his voice. "I wonder what could have happened to cheer you up."

He was just returning his attention to the page in front of him as the young lovers snuggled back into their seats and began to swap tongues again, when Ben also returned from the same end of the car, looking far too smug for his own good. The businessman had shed his jacket and loosened his tie and the glance he spilled over Rayne and Xavier was positively incendiary. Even if his aura didn't scream that he had just shared more than a coffee with the boys, Dominic would have figured it out just from that lustful look.

Xavier gave Dominic an amused look. "Well, we had our dinner, it was only fair."

"Bright Lady!" His Lordship exhaled, chuckling quietly to himself as he closed the book and focussed instead on the scenery flashing by outside.

LONDON LOVES

END OF CHAPTER ONE

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN: 2012



London Loves Ch. 02



© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2012

CHAPTER 2

HOME SWEET HOME?

Thanks for all the nice comments on chapter one. By way of a reward, here's chapter two, all ready to be unwrapped. Hope you enjoy it. The usual warnings apply; LONDON LOVES...? contains scenes of a graphic nature involving horny young men often in multiples of more than two. Oh, and vampires, so there's a bit of blood-letting involved too. If you don't like that, don't read it. And if you do like that tell your friends, but don't copy or reproduce it without our permission because that just makes us not want to do it anymore. xxx

The change of train, at Charles de Gaulle, on the outskirts of Paris was so rapid that the most romantic city in the world barely pinged on Xavier's radar. Ben was travelling on to the French capital and waved them farewell a little bit ruefully, and then the three of them were running for another train, a single deck conveyance this time but with so many carriages that it might well stretch all the way into Paris without leaving the platform at the airport station.

This train whistled across vast empty plains where, Dominic explained, some of the major battles of the First World War had been played out. Tiny clusters of identical white gravestones dotted along the route were the only remnant now of that terrible conflagration. After the long run up from Agde it seemed a very brief journey indeed before they were tilting into a deep cut in the earth and the train was suddenly swallowed into blackness. Rayne's fingers reached for Xavier's as the lights came up slowly in the carriage and they thundered down into the tunnel beneath the English Channel, on the final leg of their journey home.

Xavier, who had never really been bothered by any kind of claustrophobia, did his best to distract Rayne, but even he wasn't completely unaffected. It was an odd, slightly disorientating feeling that only got better as long as he didn't look out the windows. Of course, he thought, mostly his nerves were just an echo coming back from Rayne. Just a couple of weeks ago this would have been such an alien thought that just acknowledging it in private seemed bizarre.

Rayne's heart steadied when they emerged again, less than twenty minutes later. No matter how many times he made that journey he would never get used to the idea of being in a rat run less than ten yards wide, and barely half a mile under the sea. It freaked him out almost as much as planes unsettled Dominic. As they came up from the depths Kent, the county of his birth, was huddled under a pall of grey cloud as usual.

"Can't you tell we're back," he remarked sarcastically.

Xavier looked out, taking things in as they passed. The overcast sky wasn't like the fog that rolled in off the bay in the mornings and usually dissipated with the sun. This was a bit more like having a bowl turned over the world and Xav wondered if the sun was even out, although it must have been up there somewhere above the low hanging clouds, illuminating the day. Despite the iron-grey sky though, the countryside itself was pretty, and very green.

He was used to the city, where there wasn't much green at all but even the parks and the outer suburbs, where there were more lawns and trees, were different to this. It seemed to Xavier like the land outside was trying to make up for the colourless sky by being so vibrantly bright. It almost didn't look real, as if the train was rolling though a painting, and he couldn't help being charmed.

Gradually fields and trees gave way to hamlets, then towns, then finally the sprawling conurbation that was outer London. Tower blocks warred with the grey crawl of the slums in Rotherhithe and Erith then they picked their way through the rambling mazes of Penge and Catford, where the walls were decked with violent graffiti and public parks were outnumbered by public housing. The train spilled over the colourful urban splash of Brixton High Street and slowed as it reached the slow wind of the great grey Thames, clattering smoothly over the iron span of Blackfriars Bridge and into the heart of the city that had been Rayne's home on and off for so long now. He felt a little frisson of excitement to be back here after all this time away.

And then they were drawing into St Pancras International and people began to rise from their seats and gather their bags, ready to leave the train.

Throughout the long trip from Naples Xavier had shown a sort of passing notice to various parts of the landscape rolling by, and although he'd paid polite attention to Dominic when he told him some bit of history or something his interest had been on the surface at best. For the most part he'd been far more involved with being twined around Rayne than watching the countryside racing by outside.

Whey they finally stepped off the train and he took a look at the building they were in it was the first time Xavier actually got to stop and gawk a bit. Dominic and Rayne were both watching him with indulgent grins but Xavier didn't care. He couldn't seem to stop looking up. The arching framework of iron and glass overhead and the sheer size of the building had him massively impressed. He followed along in a sort of bemused fog, knowing he was slowing them down but totally unrepentant. It was probably the coolest structure he'd ever been in. However, he had no idea that the outside of the building would be just as worthy of admiration.

"Holy shit!" he murmured, staring up at the huge, red-brick gothic turrets straining up towards the faint shafts of sunlight that tried to battle their way through the clouds. "It looks like someone parked a castle on top of a railway line!"

Rayne was laughing quietly at his awe-struck expression.

"It's brilliant isn't it? They're supposed to be turning bits of it into apartments. I'd sell my whole fuckin' family for one of those!"

Xavier looked at him with an odd little smile. It was cool that Rayne remembered little things like this, given how patchy his memory had been since Dominic and Mikka brought him back from Paris. And it was the first time he'd even mentioned having any kind of family. That set another small rill of nervousness off in Xav. Rayne had a whole life here that he knew nothing about.

"Shall I find a taxi or do you want to take the tube?" Dominic called out over the almost deafening rattle and grind of the city street beyond the station's elevated forecourt. The sound of engines revving and idling was almost incessant. Horns sounded sporadically like the wind section of an orchestra tuning up for a performance and the rise and fall of sirens as one emergency vehicle or another cut through the nose to tail traffic sang in Xavier's ears.

Rayne was smiling beatifically though. He looked genuinely happy to be here. The grey London skies and chaotic city landscape suited him and he blended comfortably into his surroundings.

"We could walk," he suggested now.

"It's at least two miles, Ray. Let Xavier get settled before you drag his arse around the capital at least." Dom was laughing though, and shaking his head. "What do you think, Xav. Cab or the famous London Underground?"

Xavier actually hadn't minded Rayne's idea, he was used to doing a lot of walking and the bustle around them suited him just fine, not to mention that he was more than ready to shake off the relatively forced inactivity of their trip. However, he realised Dominic wasn't really relishing wading through all the chaos and probably wouldn't thank him for making him walk a couple of miles when they'd barely stretched their legs yet.

"I'd rather not get on another train for a while," he said a tad dryly.

Rayne lit a cigarette, making up for lost time but Xav noticed something in his face as he half turned away, pulling on the filter. His lover looked slightly puzzled for a moment, as if he was trying to remember something.

"Maybe we should get a cab," he demurred finally, glancing at Dom. "You can drop me... us off, yeah?"

If Dominic noticed anything amiss he was polite enough not to mention it, but while he was hailing them a cab Xav looked questioningly at Rayne.

"Anything wrong?" he asked, so quietly that no mortal would have heard him above the din of the street, but he knew Rayne would.

The little vampire chewed on his lower lip distractedly. His eyes were still watching the traffic below but he said; "I... I used to sell my arse for a living down there." He gestured with the smoke down the steps towards the shabby art deco frontage of King's Cross. "I remember that, but... but I can't remember where I'm supposed to live, Xav."

There was a sudden haunted look behind those distant eyes; a brief flash of undiluted fear, there so quickly that he might have imagined it, then gone again. Rayne took a long pull on his cigarette and discarded it, grinding the stub under his heel. Dark hair tumbled forward framing his ashen features and screening them and for a moment he looked as fragile as a lost child. Then Xavier saw Dominic waving to them frantically from the foot of the steps. He must have flagged down a cab.

Xavier slipped his arm around him and kissed his cheek.

"It'll come back to you, Rayne," he murmured comfortingly, guiding him down the steps. "It might take some time, but you've been remembering more every day," he soothed. "Maybe it'll come back when we get closer."

Rayne pulled a sceptical face. "I'm just glad that Miz Warren's here. I hope she knows where I live or we're just a bit fucked."

He slid an arm around Xavier's back though as they descended to street level and joined Dom in the purring black cab. The driver stowed their bags in the boot and then he was behind the wheel and they were off.

"Can you drop us first?" Rayne asked Lord Warren quietly, leaning towards him on the back seat. "Xav's a bit knackered."

"Sure," the older man responded cheerfully. "Not a problem." He leaned forward to tap the glass partition separating them from the cabbie. "Can you take us to Chepstow Villas first, darling?"

"Course I can, mate," the driver said cheerfully. He glanced at them in the rear view mirror then remarked; "Are you the bloke out of that band? Whatsis? Whipsnade? The ones that set fire to the BBC when you were on Top of the Pops that time?"

Rayne licked his lips warily, his expression betraying that he certainly didn't remember doing anything like that.

"Yeah," he said tentatively. "We didn't burn the place down though. I'd remember!"

"Thought so," the driver laughed. "You still get all those Japanese girls camping out on your doorstep?"

"You'll find out in a few minutes, won't you?" Rayne told him, turning to wink at Xavier. Under his breath he murmured; "I bloody 'ope so, at least we'll know which fuckin' house it is."

Dominic turned his head and gave the singer a rather strange look at that. He was frowning slightly as if he wanted to ask a question but wasn't sure how to begin.

Xavier might have given Dom a hint under other circumstances, but at the moment he was processing several things that were requiring his full attention. Uppermost was that Rayne had been recognised almost immediately as a celebrity and next was the possibility of fan-girls lying in wait for him.

He knew Whipsnade had been bigger than just some local group that played the bar circuit and smaller venues, but they had never quite made that leap across the Atlantic and the phrase 'Big in Europe' to Xavier translated as 'Never heard of you'...not unless you went digging on your own anyway. Generally, bands like that didn't get any airplay except for maybe some of the smaller stations between the time the bars closed and before the morning commute started.

He was... a little startled.

His startlement did not abate when a few minutes later the cab rattled steadily out of a narrow thoroughfare lined with small bohemian looking shops and cafes and pulled up in front of a row of large, neat, white-painted, three-storey houses with iron railings and steps up to the front.

Rayne put a hand to his mouth but it was hard to tell if the expression on his face was thinly disguised shock or amusement. One thing was for sure, either someone on this block had been murdered or it was the home of someone fairly notorious. There were notes and cards and flowers in various states of decomposition tied to the railings in front of one of the houses. Small cuddly toys were wedged between the bars wherever there was space. Ribbons fluttered everywhere. It looked like the aftermath of an explosion in a gift shop.

There were three young Asian girls outside the house in question and a skinny emo kid with long dark hair poking out of a black hooded top and ebony jeans so tight they looked as if they'd been sprayed on. The latter, who could have been either gender, it was hard to tell, was sitting on the top step watching with an expression of supreme disdain as the giggling Japanese girls took turns to photograph one another in front of the decorated railings.

"Jesus!" the singer whispered huskily. "I can see no one's been round to tidy the place up for a bit."

He reached for the door handle as the cab pulled up as close to the step as it was possible to get. Dominic put a hand on his arm clearly still wanting to ask about his earlier comment but at that moment the three young girls spotted them in the cab and all hell broke loose as they mobbed the car.

Lord Warren changed his mind about the topic and shouted; "Ray, I'll pay the cab and bring your stuff round later on when it's quieter. You and Xavier get in. I'll call you when I get home, darling."

"I owe you." Rayne grinned at him, then shook his head incredulously and opened the door.

As he and Xavier scrambled out of the taxi the girls swarmed over them like a rash, screaming and practically fighting for his attention. The cab driver was laughing with disbelief and called; "Good luck, mate!" as he pulled away from the kerb, leaving them to it.

Rayne's arm tightened around Xavier's waist as the younger man joined him on the street. He kept a smile plastered on his face but remained firmly polite with the girls, as they bombarded him with inane questions about where he had been and what he was going to have for dinner and sang little bursts of his songs to him off-key.

He signed autographs and posed for pictures with them patiently but when one of them looked a little defensively at Xavier and demanded to know who he was, Rayne called a halt to the proceedings without answering the question.

"We've got stuff to do now. It was nice meeting you but it's been a long day and I'm sure you've got more places to see, yeah?" he reminded them with a fixed smile.

They pressed more toys and notes on him and remained in a giggling huddle on the street as Rayne and Xavier climbed the steps. The emo child had not moved from his or her post on the top step whilst all of this was going on. There was a smirk on its face though now. Rayne leaned on the railings beside the door and handed the kid a tiny, purple, stuffed hippo.

"There you go, don't say I never give you nothin'," he said dryly.

"You've been gone ages," the kid told him, and only when he tipped his head back to look up at them was it plain that he was a boy. His pale, hazel eyes were rimmed in black eyeliner that made them look almost golden in the weak sunlight and he wore black lipstick and chipped ebony nail varnish.

He took the toy though, pressing it briefly to his nose then stuffing it into a pocket of his hoodie.

Xavier, who had remained somewhat shell-shocked throughout, now came out of his bemused state long enough to take a good appraising look at the skinny boy sitting on Rayne's step. He had almost immaculate skin, cream coloured and dotted with odd little freckles on the bridge of his small, upturned nose. His lips were cherubic but slightly chapped. Black was almost certainly not his natural hair colouring. He had a slightly wasted and unwashed look to him that the girls had not.

"How long you been sitting here?" he asked.

The boy looked at him as if it took an extreme amount of effort to tear his eyes off Rayne for even a second. Xavier found it a bit spooky.

"Who're you?" the boy asked, although with slightly less hostility than the girls had shown.

"Don't see how that's relevant to how long you've been cooling your heels on that step," Xavier retaliated.

The boy gave him a strange look, as if he was either trying to figure him out or calculate if he was being teased. "Day or so... Long enough."

Xav glanced up and down the street at the nice well-kept houses, none of which were as colourfully bedecked as the front of Rayne's.

"Are you serious?" he asked, looking back at the kid. "When was the last time you ate?"

"What? You my nan or somethin' now?" the skinny child flashed back with a bit of sneer.

Xav ignored it. "You got any money?"

"Xav..." Rayne spoke softly but Xavier was already pulling out his wallet.

"Here." He dropped some bills in the kid's lap since he hadn't moved. "Go get something to eat, okay?" he suggested as he followed Rayne up the stairs.

"He'll get bored with you," the boy shouted at his retreating back, crumpling the notes into the pocket of his tight pants. "He gets bored with all the guys he fucks sooner or later."

As they both turned to stare at him he tapped the side of his head and said; "I know. I watch and I know what happens."

"Fuck off," Rayne told him in a harder tone, stepping forward with heat in his pale eyes. "You know fuck all. Now get off my fucking doorstep before I call the fucking police, all right!"

Xav touched the back of his arm gently.

"C'mon Ray, just leave him be," he said, which was more generous than he wanted to be, but what Rayne was saying was right. The kid didn't know anything, other than what he saw. He did look back down at the teen though, meeting those large, hazel eyes that were more hostile now.

"I'm just sayin'," the boy muttered, shrugging his shoulders.

"That would be my problem, wouldn't it. Go on and go home or something. Rayne's been travelling a lot, he's tired. He didn't mean to snap at you." Xav said it mainly because he didn't want to hear about some kid OD-ing or washing up in the river with a note saying how heartbroken he was over Rayne Wylde telling him to fuck off.

The kid sneered at him as he backed slowly down the steps to the street.

"Just remember it, right, when he dumps you for a younger cunt. Remember what I said."

Rayne shoved Xavier's hand away snarling; "Right! That's enough! That is fuckin' well more than enough!"

He went for the kid, who turned on his sneakered heel and fled, laughing harshly. Luckily twilight was coming down on them now and the three Japanese girls had disappeared when the boy began to get aggressive. Rayne's fangs were out and there was a hunger in his eyes that was nothing at all to do with pleasure.

"Shit!" Xavier hissed, running down the steps after them. "Rayne, stop! The kid ain't worth it."

He didn't know why Rayne was getting so worked up about what some fucking brat said to him anyway. Maybe it was just because he knew Xav still felt a bit raw from the way he had run out on him in Italy.

His lover did not give chase but for a moment he seethed in silence before turning back towards the house. His cellphone was in his hand and he was dialling a number already, expression irritable. Rayne moved fluidly up the steps again, juggling his keys from his jacket pocket with one hand and the small black mobile cupped to his cheek with the other. As he selected a key and slid it into the lock he was murmuring; "Hiya, it's me. Yeah... yeah, I'm back... about an hour ago."

There was a little pause during which he tilted his head as the door swung inward and waved Xavier through it. They stepped into a wide, cream tiled hallway, painted a soothing shade of mint green and Rayne flipped another key from the bunch without even thinking about it, slotting it into the navy blue painted door to their right. He was still talking to the person on the other end of the line in a low, confidential tone that was slightly accusatory now, "Have you been down here recently? Yeah? Well have you seen the fuckin' state of the place?"




London Loves Ch. 02



His eyes met Xav's and widened with helpless frustration before rolling back towards the phone. He pushed the internal door open, leaving the younger man standing in the entrance to a wide, cream-painted hallway with a varnished wooden floor and a long, blue and gold rug underfoot. There were black and white frameless prints hanging sporadically on the walls; a couple of misty cityscapes and a picture of a young Asian male on a bicycle. Behind the door a large pile of post was shoved up against the wall, sliding down to the boards again like a paper avalanche.

Xavier looked around casually while Rayne talked on the phone. He was curious about who was on the other end, but more curious about the space he was in and thinking of how he might cajole Rayne into a better mood.

"I'm going to crash," Rayne said grimly into the mobile. "Not tonight. No... listen to me... not tonight. Just... just fuckin' well get something done about the front will you? It looks like fuckin' Christmas out there!"

He tapped Xavier's shoulder as the younger man was staring up and down the hallway at a loose end and pointed towards the doorway on the left, then made a slight shooing motion with his fingers.

"Really?" he exclaimed into the phone at the same time, in a voice that said he'd never been less interested. "You're telling me!"

The doorway Rayne nudged Xavier toward led to the lounge area, and Xavier's first impression was that it didn't really look like anyone lived here. He could still hear the low murmur of Rayne's voice in the hall talking to whoever it was he'd called automatically, without thinking about it. Xav looked around. It was a bit stark for his taste really, done in mostly black and white, and so spotlessly clean it looked like a show room, the kind you might find in the property pages of a classy magazine. What colour there was came mainly from the artwork which he was immediately drawn to, being a mixture of monochrome photographic studies and oriental painting. As he looked around the impression of starkness seemed to soften a little. There were ornaments and odd little personal touches like the sculpture of black stemmed, cream-coloured lilies by the window and a tangle of bleached, bare branches, festooned with fairy lights in the open fireplace. It was very nice, very sleek, and very ordered.

He was left to his own devices for about five minutes during which he could hear the low buzz of conversation out in the hallway and feel the slight prickle of Rayne's mood. He wasn't angry, just a bit irritable and... slightly embarrassed. Xavier could not figure that out.

He bit his bottom lip and worried at it for a moment. This place was vastly different to how Xav was used to living. When he finished a slow traverse of the room he felt a bit awkward and didn't know what to do with himself. He was almost afraid to sit on or touch anything for fear he'd mess it up. When Rayne finally came through into the lounge he was still playing with his phone but at least he wasn't shouting at anyone. He looked up now and smiled awkwardly at Xav.

"Sorry, I guess I'd forgotten what a fucking mess I live in, as well."

Xavier chuckled incredulously.

"You could operate in here! It's hardly a mess," he said, deliberately misinterpreting to lighten the mood a little.

"I'm not sure if there's food. Do you wanna have a shower and go out to eat or just get naked and crash?" His lover winked at him suggestively and put the phone down.

Xav snaked his arms around Rayne and kissed him softly. "I'm not hungry, we can stay in."

Rayne put a hand on his forehead.

"Are you sickening for something?" he asked in a lightly mocking tone, adding quickly; "Not that I'm complaining."

He pulled Xavier closer so that his lips could take possession of his lover's mouth. For a long time that was all the sound there was in the room, just the rustle of their clothing and the soft wet noises of their conjoined lips. Xavier melted into the kiss, a curious kind of relief washing over him. His shirt was whisked over his head and he pushed Rayne's shirt down his arms, both their hands reaching for the other's fly simultaneously. Xav felt his jeans sliding down his narrow hips at the same time as he eased his hands under the waistband of Rayne's pants and over the smooth curve of his cheeks.

The soft wet sound of his kisses along Rayne's skin travelled down his torso as Xav slowly sank to his knees. He let his lips trail very lightly along the stiffening length of Rayne's cock, a little purr of pleasure in his throat as they got naked together.

"You smell so good..." he murmured, nuzzling into the crook of his hip. "Taste even better..." he breathed, wet tongue coming out to lick slowly up the underside of his lover's shaft.

"Fuck!" Rayne laughed under his breath. "I thought we fed you on the train. Want some more, eh?"

He swayed a little on the balls of his feet, fingers trailing through Xavier's hair as that warm, sweet mouth caressed his rising cock. For a little while he could put all the anxieties of the last hour or so to the back of his mind. He was here, home, and later he could wander around the place and touch things, re-orientate, remember.

But for now...

"Oh fuck... that feels good," he breathed, closing his eyes as his beautiful, bare lover went down on him again.

Xavier slid his mouth very slowly up from the base of Rayne's cock to the tip, his cheeks hollowing with suction before he went down and came back up the same way, keeping it slow and sensual. When he came back up on the fourth or fifth stroke Xavier let him slip all the way from his mouth and wrapped his hand around the base, stroking him gently. His lips moved down to lick and suck on Rayne's smooth orbs, pulling first one and then the other into the heat of his mouth and rolling them on his tongue.

"Shit... I am gonna fall over if you keep doing that," Rayne exhaled finally, crouching to kiss his lover's beautiful mouth then taking his hand and drawing him over towards the futon where he sank down with a little sigh and lay back on the crisp white covers.

Xavier slid down with him, lust overriding his earlier hesitation about touching anything. One thigh came to rest between Rayne's, his throbbing erection in the little hollow of his hip, rubbing soft skin over soft skin as he bent his head to kiss his lips again. After another long slow tangling of tongues he broke off, a little smile curling his lips, his eyes half closed and lit with desire through his long, golden lashes.

"It's nice to finally have you alone."

Rayne's fingers stroked through his hair, caressing his scalp and pulling him slowly into another kiss. He spread his legs and his hips rose and fell, circling lazily against Xavier's nakedness. His right foot slid hungrily up and down the back of his lover's left leg as he enjoyed the heat and intimacy of Xav's body on his.

"I'm sorry I went a bit mental out there," he murmured huskily when their lips parted again. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I'd forgotten..."

He broke off and shook his head quickly.

"It's okay..." Xavier said, placing warm soft kisses along his collar bone, soothing him before he could get angry with himself again. "You didn't have to jump down the kid's throat though. What he said didn't bother me." Which was mostly true; it wasn't exactly a surprise to Xavier that Rayne got bored quickly or never made a connection at all with his lovers. That he might want to get rid of him some time soon though drove a nail into a very tender insecurity that Xav usually kept so well buried he could deny it even existed.

"He needs to learn not to be so fuckin' pushy," Rayne growled, a hostile edge creeping back into his voice as he thought about their doorstep encounter.

Xavier stilled, looking at Rayne curiously. The way he said that was not a reaction he would have expected to a simple, random encounter, it sounded more personal.

"You know him?"

Acid green eyes stared back at him for a moment, reflective and unblinking. In a quiet, atonal voice, Rayne said; "Kids hang out on my step, all the time, it doesn't give them squatter's rights."

Xavier gave him a funny look, but he could definitely tell this subject was a somewhat touchy one and he didn't want to get into any kind of talk that was going to spoil the evening. He let it go with a little smile, smoothing his fingers into Rayne's hair and nuzzling lightly along his jaw.

"No, it doesn't."

Rayne too mellowed, towing him down into a long, slow, sweet tasting kiss. He stroked the flat of one hand gently down Xavier's belly, into the curl of his groin and his fingers splayed around the root of his lover's throbbing erection, caressing his balls playfully. Their tongues sparred and Xavier ground against him on the comfortable day-bed.

"You are so amazing," Rayne whispered when Xav came up for breath. "Sit down on me, sweetheart. I wanna be inside you so badly. I need to watch you riding hard on me, gorgeous."

Xavier's slow grin was full of passion as he slid up onto his knees over Rayne. His hands caressed down that lean, cool, scarred torso and then he reached a hand behind his hip to angle him right, the ride he'd already taken on him a few hours ago making a quicker entry not a problem. Still, he took it slow, savouring the feel of it sliding into him and the expression on Rayne's face as he looked down between his spread thighs with a gaze that could have melted flesh.

Xav tipped his head back, closing his eyes when he had the head of Rayne's cock completely inside him. A low throaty groan lifted from him as he sank down a bit more and when he rolled his head back around to face front and looked at Rayne again, his eyes positively smouldered.

"I love the feel of you inside me," he murmured huskily.

Rayne leaned back into the soft white coverlet on the bed and closed his eyes with a little hiss of satisfaction. His hands were stroking firmly up and down Xavier's thighs as he felt his lover's deliciously tight arse swallowing him in.

"So warm," he sighed breathlessly. "That just drives me crazy for you, Xav. I love the way you dance on my cock. Turns me on so fuckin' much!"

Xavier looked down on his lover's beautiful face as he lowered himself slowly, a centimetre at a time, until he touched base on his pubic mound, with Rayne buried all the way to the root in him. The deliciously full feeling was enough to make him crazy with desire. His own cock stood straight up against his belly, bobbing slightly as he began to roll his hips and grind against him more eagerly.

He usually liked to lean forward after a little bit because he loved to kiss while he had Rayne deep inside him, but this time he leaned back, his arms braced behind him on either side. His thighs flexed, bringing him up and down on Rayne's stiff pole. Rayne arched his back beneath his lover, driving his lean hips up hard between Xavier's flexing thighs. As Xav dropped down on him he thrust up to meet the blond so that they were grinding fiercely against one another on the bed. Rayne's cool fingers wrapped around Xavier's aching shaft and fisted him hard as he pulsed in and out of the younger man's snug, wet sheath, driving himself faster and harder, then sinking back on the mattress gasping before either of them reached their peak.

That was so good Xav's head was spinning. A very light sheen of perspiration glistened on his torso.

"Come up off me, I want you in my mouth," Rayne growled hungrily. "I wanna suck you off."

It took Xavier a few seconds before he could gather his wits enough to comply. He curled his body slowly forward, making them both moan at the sensation, and lifted himself up off Rayne's cock. He eased up and forward a little, his hands resting on the mattress just above Rayne's head, putting his dick right above his face. He was so hard his cock was still straining straight up his belly, leaving smears of gloss on his golden skin and poking at his navel.

Rayne's hands coasted smoothly up his thighs to cup and fondle his cheeks as his studded tongue lapped hungrily at Xavier's throbbing balls. He took the younger man's hot, firm nuts in his mouth one at a time, sucking lasciviously on them, drawing them down from his scrotum in his mouth, then letting them pop back with a little grin. His tongue wriggled slowly back and forth up the quivering shaft, alternately tickling and licking his leaking prick. As he reached the head his fingertips gently brushed Xavier's stretched ring and he pressed two of them steadily through into the blond youth's clenching anus. His fingers fucked slowly in and out as his lips enfolded Xavier's blood-engorged dome and he nodded down on it with a moan of pleasure.

Soft fronds of ebony coloured hair tickled and caressed his lover's cum-damp belly as Rayne opened wide and swallowed him deeper, turning his head slowly so that Xavier's cock head rubbed up against different parts of his mouth and tongue almost constantly. Now it pulsed against the roof of his mouth. Now it was in the pouch of one cheek. Now it stroked urgently past the tightness of his pharynx and began to buck into his throat, frantic with need. Xavier's little sounds of pleasure came in an almost constant flow like a song.

"Ohhh...that feels amazing!" he whispered as the smooth dome of his head moved in and out of the tight constriction of Rayne's throat. His hips rotated slowly, pushing in short thrusts between his lover's lips and back onto his probing fingers. Rayne was hitting exactly the right place inside him and edging him closer and closer. Xav brought one hand down to caress Rayne's face, his fingers sliding around to cup the back of his neck as he whimpered with pleasure.

"Mmmhh...uhhhhh, oh, Rayne..." He could feel the rise, his belly going tense as he passed the point where he could have stopped. "Oh babe I'm gonna come so hard..." he got out as the first intense pulse burst through him.

He felt the coolness of Rayne's nose, rubbing and nuzzling in his crotch as his lover took one final, urgent thrust and eased back, sucking slow and gentle on the bucking shaft between his lips. The little vampire made a small, muffled noise of appreciation deep in his throat as he swallowed the first urgent spurts of hot release, still caressing Xav in slow circles deep inside and stroking himself steadily with the other hand.

By the time the last quaking pulse shuddered through him Xavier felt like his limbs were going to melt. He eased out of Rayne's mouth, shivering with delight as his tongue swirled around the ultra sensitive head of his cock and he slid back down Rayne's body to kiss him.

"Thank you, that was fantastic!" he murmured against his lips.

Rayne kissed him long and slow, still undulating against Xavier as they tangled on the low, white futon. He rolled Xav under him and rubbed his cock lazily against his lover's naked belly, streaking his warm, golden skin with pearly spill. When their lips parted he was still licking his chops like a well-fed cat.

"You are fuckin' delicious," he purred seductively at last, kissing his way down to Xavier's stomach and licking up the salty trails hungrily. "I just wanna spend the next month in bed with you and we can call out for food and stuff. How does that sound?"

Xavier beamed a smile at him.

"That sounds perfect to me," he chuckled softly.

Rayne's hands spread Xavier's thighs and he lifted his lover's firm arse cheeks up off the bed. Vigorously he shoved himself back into the sexy blond, thrusting hard in his hot, moist channel and mewling with delight at the way Xavier's firm rectal muscles gripped and milked him.

Xavier groaned, his neck and back arching, and he twined his arms and legs around Rayne and rocked in counter point to his rhythm. He thought after that powerful orgasm it might take him a little while to recover but he was still hard, still hot and ready, a low thrum already starting to build again inside him. He tightened around Rayne, his muscles rippling in little waves as he bucked against him and urged him on harder and faster. He wanted to get his lover off so they could start all over again... He didn't think they would actually stay in bed a month, but they could at least make love all night.

Rayne seemed keen on that idea at least. He pulsed urgently between Xavier's naked thighs, then pulled his lover up into his arms and knelt back, urging Xav to ride on him again whilst they kissed and necked passionately. Rayne's fondling hands were sliding all over his body, pinching and stroking, clawing and caressing. He gripped Xavier's arse tightly at one point and leaned forward, really slamming into him whilst biting his neck and shoulder - not enough to draw blood but enough to leave a raw red mark for a little while. Xavier's fingers dug into the taut muscles of Rayne's back and shoulders, undulating with him. Molten heat poured into him and he gasped out little cries of ecstasy at the rougher handling, his body on fire as Rayne nipped at him and slammed into him.

"Fuck! Oh...god...fuck me...!" he moaned, hot breath spilling over Rayne's ear.

"Uhhh... ohhh yeah!" Rayne was panting harder with him, lowering Xav back to the bed now and turning him half on his side so that he could straddle his mate's right thigh whilst the left heel hooked up over his shoulder. Xavier's back arched, his beautiful body glistening with sweat and droplets of cum and Rayne gripped his left thigh hard, bucking into him so that his balls slapped Xav's arse with every stroke.

"Gonna. Make. You. Fuck. King. Scream."

He grunted each word in a hoarse, hungry voice as he slammed his hips furiously between his lover's wide spread legs. His free hand snaked across Xavier's perspiration jewelled chest and he pinched the blond's erect nipples hard, twisting and pulling on them, one at a time, loving the urgent judder of his partner's tight body around his cock each time he tugged on a small, sensitive bud.

Xavier loved and hated his sensitive nipples played with, and of course Rayne knew that well enough! His hand reached down to grip his cock, stroking at a fast pace as Rayne bucked into him like he wanted to drive right through him. He panted hard, putty in Rayne's hands now, the blood pounding in his veins as he approached another earth shattering climax.

"AAaaafuckin...uh, yes! Uhhh! Uhhh!" He did end up screaming for him as a fresh gout of cum pumped from his balls and spilled over his hand.

Rayne curled over him and drove himself down into Xavier as he felt the inferno that was the younger man's thrashing, pulsing, spasm-ridden body tow him violently over the edge. He had been trying to hold off but had not expected to bring Xav back up so quickly. The ignition of that sexual spark in his loins took him by surprise but it was no less welcome for all that.

The sound that escaped his lips was more of a sigh than a scream but it shuddered through him like the aftermath of a small earthquake. Rayne was almost purring again as he subsided into Xavier's arms and buried his face in the sweat soaked hollow of his neck. His tongue was still lapping gently at Xav's salty skin, loving every scent and flavour of him, every little keening, satisfied sound, the wet, silken caress of his cock, the rising heat of his flesh.

"You are so amazing," he whispered huskily at last. "I think I may just have to manacle you to my bed like Elian did. That was out of this world."

"You can chain me to your bed any time." Xavier said with a weak chuckle, still trying to catch his breath. He hoped Rayne would anyway and could not hold off a little grin.

Rayne snuggled up to him, showing no physical signs of his ardour having waned, though he let his delicious lover rest for a little while in his arms and just curled around him in a tangle of limbs. He loved the rapid rise and fall of Xavier's chest against his own as the younger man caught his breath. With someone he had just met he would not have dared to be as rough as he had been but he trusted Xav to tell him if it hurt, just as Xavier trusted him to stop if he asked.




London Loves Ch. 02



His memories were still confused but he was sure that he would have remembered being in a relationship like this before. He needed to open another window into his past and he hoped that when Matty showed up that would help. The impulse to ring Matt Greening had been automatic, even though if asked he would have had trouble remembering the other man's name. Maybe biting him would help. He hoped so.

For now he just snuggled closer to Xavier, enjoying the warmth he shared so freely.

"We can move to the bedroom if you want," he suggested huskily, licking Xavier's earlobe and kissing him there.

At the moment Xavier was amiable to just about anything Rayne wanted, but that was one suggestion he found particularly enticing. He smiled a slow sexy smile at Rayne.

"You come up with the best ideas sometimes," he teased and let Rayne pull him up from the futon and lead him naked through the house toward the bedroom.

It had been dusk when they came in and now it was full dark but Xavier followed Rayne though the gloom of the inner hallway without any problems. In the bedroom Rayne turned on a bedside lamp and Xavier was happy to see more colour in this room than there had been in the lounge. The dark wood floors carried through into the bedroom and the walls were a sort of deep rust colour, saved from feeling too dark and cave like by the fact that the room itself was very spacious. The accent colours in the drapes and on the bed were done in lighter coppers, creams, and pale green. The bed was big enough for about six people (which didn't surprise Xavier, and made him smile) and had a heavy wrought iron frame that made him think that maybe Rayne hadn't been joking about chaining him up to it, and that sent all sorts of delicious ideas running though his head.

The overall feel of the room was warm and safe, like a sanctuary, and Xavier liked it instantly. He liked it even more when Rayne pulled back the bedspread and tumbled him across the sheets, coming down over him and resuming where they'd left off. Sprawled on the cool comfortable bed-sheets, Rayne began an intimate oral assault that lasted the better part of the next thirty minutes. He took his time, kissing Xavier long and slow on the mouth, his tongue exploring within as his gentle hands meandered over his lover's beautiful body. Long fingers combed through Xav's damp golden curls and snaked down the back of his neck as Rayne's mouth found the pulse in his throat and began to kiss and suckle on him there. He was intensely aroused by the thump of Xavier's heartbeat beneath the delicate layers of skin.

Rayne's cock throbbed against his lover's naked belly as his hands caressed up and down Xavier's back and the blond arched up off the mattress, pushing against him like a contented cat. The Vampire's lips curled in a smile as he drew his tongue slowly down the line of Xavier's collar bone to his torso and began to plant small, tender kisses on the moist flesh of his heaving breast. He cupped and squeezed the small, firm globes of his young mate's incredibly sexy arse and flicked the tip of his teasing tongue against the stiff buds of Xav's erect nipples, loving the way that he bucked and writhed when he was licked there.

"You are so fuckin' gorgeous," Rayne whispered to him, his breath flowing like a warm balm over the damp skin below.

Xavier's lean graceful body undulated slowly with Rayne's every touch, moving with him almost as if he knew where he was going to stroke or kiss or lick next, before even Rayne did. The smooth feel of the tops of Rayne's sharp teeth skating over his pulse sent electric tingles dancing across his skin and his cock stiffened to full attention once more. He moaned softly, longing for his lover's bite, but at the same time wanting to hold off, almost like when he couldn't decide if he wanted to cum or make it last. He wanted Rayne to bite him but was glad he held off because he could go on for a long time like this but if Rayne bit and fed from him deeply he would be done for the night.

Rayne thoroughly explored him with his mouth and Xavier thoroughly enjoyed every minute, then Xav tilted his body and switched their position, taking his turn to caress every inch of his lover with his lips and agile tongue. He moved down Rayne's slim body, tasting his skin as he went. After a long stop at his hard cock he kissed down the inside of his thighs all the way to his ankles. Kneeling between Rayne's legs he held his calf in one hand and stroked Rayne's cock with the other as he nipped at the side of his toe then laved it with his tongue. His half-closed eyes watched Rayne's expression. Some guys thought it was just fine to rim their asshole but got freaked out if you touched their feet.

Rayne just melted into the firm but yielding embrace of the mattress and let Xavier guide him with his mouth and his clever fingers. The toes of his other foot stroked up and down his lover's naked back as Xav explored him, happy to let him set the pace for a little while. That was another thing, Xavier knew how to touch him. He was so comfortable with the blond's skilful caresses.

It was almost scary to be back here in the place that he called home. Something was sure to wreck this bliss. He had a sinking sense of prescience about it but tried to push it to the back of his mind. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just not being able to remember everything that was making him paranoid.

This felt almost too good to be true.

Xavier continued to lavish attention on him, knowing each of Rayne's most sensitive erogenous zones and taking his time to pamper him the way he liked it. Only when the vibe started to change, when they were both moving from enjoying the sensual play back into wanting something harder, did he move Rayne's legs apart further and push his knees back up towards his chest. He dipped down to lick a wet line between his lover's cheeks and tease his puckered hole with his tongue.

Rayne almost always like to top him, but when he was particularly mellow and in just the right mood he liked Xavier to lead. Xav ordinarily didn't move in that direction unless Rayne asked for it, but he could just tell right now that this was what his lover wanted. Scooping Rayne's knees over his arms he leaned forward, nudging his hard leaking cock head up between his cheeks and slowly pressing it down on the dimple between them. He let his body weight press him in further until he was buried deep and his lips touched down on his mate's cold mouth, kissing him with rising passion.

Rayne melted around him, hooking his knees over Xavier's shoulders and upper arms, running his feet up and down over his naked back and rising and falling arse as they coupled on his bed. He uttered a low, long groan and began to writhe against Xavier eagerly as he felt the blond sinking slowly into him, filling him with that lush heat.

"Christ! That is just... ohhh fuck... so good!" he exhaled in a soft whisper.

"Mmmm, yeah..." Xavier breathed into his mouth between kisses. He slid his arms around Rayne, pulling him down on his cock with each thrust of his hips, fucking him steady and deep. "You feel so good..." he murmured, kissing down the side of his throat and nipping him there lightly. "Like that, sweetheart...?"

Rayne's hands stroked into his blond curls and by way of a reply he towed Xavier's mouth back onto his, kissing him ravenously as he rode the strokes of his lover's beautiful hard penis inside him. If this was his fate, he would relish it.

Xavier kissed him with heated passion, his hips bucking harder and faster into the tight grip of his lover's body. His hands slid further up Rayne's back, curling over his shoulders. He rode him long and deep for a good while, then slowed, not wanting to end it and then began to build them both up smoothly again. He lost track of time, lost track of how often he brought them up to the edge without tipping them over. All he knew was that it was long and sweet and hot.

By the time he was ready to end the sensual tease his skin was slick with sweat, little beads of perspiration running down his body, his breath coming quick and rough in his throat. He rolled agilely to his back, pulling Rayne up on top of him without even missing a stroke. One hand gripped his hip and the other wrapped around Rayne's jutting cock, stroking him in long firm glides of his hand as he bucked up into him like his life depended on it.

His lover moved astride him as if they were magnetically linked, sliding smoothly into place over him and riding down to meet each upward thrust into his body. Rayne's eyes were closed and his long, black lashes curled like commas, punctuating the paleness of his smooth cheeks. Small white teeth clenched fiercely behind his parted lips, glistening with the moisture of their hungry kisses. He moaned a low note, deep in his throat and a little quiver ran through him as Xavier's hand worked him over. Each time his palm caressed the underside of Rayne's cock head, the vampire shuddered again, keening urgently, his spill slicking Xavier's deft fingers.

Rayne drove down harder, making his dark hair sway like a damp curtain across his face. The whimper in his throat became a growl as he rose and fell and twisted like a lean, nude cowboy in the saddle of Xavier's jolting pelvis.

"Oh god! Ohhhhh my fucking god!!" he panted as the rapid pulse within him lit the spark that tickled the fuse, that blew the centre of him all to hell and back. He lurched in Xavier's pumping hand and blasted the blond's chest and handsome, sweat-sheened face with several good hard bursts of hot, pearly semen.

Xavier licked his lover's salty spunk from his lips, his tongue coming out to lap up the strip that had landed on his chin while he still pumped his hand up and down on Rayne's throbbing cock.

"Uhh! Oh fuck...oh, Ray!" He cried out his name as he started to come inside him, before the last quivering pulse of his lover's orgasm had even stopped squeezing around him.

Rayne folded bonelessly against him, gasping almost as if he was in pain as his trembling arms wormed beneath Xavier's body. He slumped against the small inferno that was his bucking, yelping, frantically orgasmic lover and pulled him into a deeply appreciative embrace. Sucking in a slow, shuddering breath he squeezed his glutes tight, clenching and releasing around Xavier as he felt that hot, beautiful cock begin to burst inside him.

"Jesus!" he exhaled in a small voice. "Uhhhh... sweet jesus, Xav! So... fucking... Ohh!"

He shook his head, lost momentarily for words. Instead he clung to his sexy, delicious young lover and held him as tightly as his quivering limbs would allow.

Xavier's heaving, bucking body eventually slowed as the powerful pulses coursing though him faded. His own arms had wrapped around Rayne and he hung onto him like he thought he might float away if he let go. Gasping for breath, heart hammering in his chest, he cooed happy, contented, nonsensical things, and if he didn't utter those three little magic words he still let Rayne feel how much he loved him with every frantic beat of his heart. He felt the sharp nick of Rayne's teeth at his throat, just enough to spill a few drops and he shivered, a little moan escaping him as Rayne's tongue licked over his skin.

Eventually his heartbeat slowed and his breathing returned to normal. His limbs felt like lead, the mattress under him (which was incredibly comfortable, managing to be somehow both soft and firm) seemed to suck him in, willing him to keep his eyes closed and tumble down into sleep.

"That was fantastic..." he whispered against Rayne's temple, still holding him tight. There could not possibly have been a better way to spend his first night in London, he thought with a sleepy grin

Rayne folded around him, his body fitting snugly into every curve of Xavier's hot, tempting form. He let his lips and hands slide over the younger man's skin as he whispered; "Get some rest. You're gonna need it!"

Xavier chuckled softly, not at all unhappy with that prospect. His fingers stroked absently along Rayne's back, but his eyes felt too heavy to open and after a little while he did succumb to the pull of sleep, blissfully content and peaceful.

PROWLER:

When Xavier's breathing slowed to a rhythmic rise and fall under his hands that he could measure time by, Rayne gently eased himself out from the tangle of his limbs and wrapped the heavy folds of the duvet around him. The apartment was protected, he was not sure how he remembered that but he had some idea that the protection came from Dominic Warren. Xavier would be safe here. But the vampire was hungry and he had already taken enough blood from his beautiful mate.

Planting a fond kiss on his sweat-damp forehead, Rayne rose from the bed and made his way by touch through the silent, dark, spaces of his home. As his fingers brushed over certain objects he found himself assailed by random memories, little pieces of thought and emotion. The stone bookend that Sadie had made for him; a little fragment of pumice from some beach many years before; those peacock blue crystal doorknobs that he bought in Covent Garden with Matty so very, very long ago.

He let his fingers release the faceted dome and walked into the cool, moonlit space of his bathroom. There were two bathrooms in the apartment. One adjoined his bedroom and there was another leading off the corridor from the kitchen that his guests could use. He made his way into the cool, spacious, silvery gloom of this chamber now.

The water felt good, cascading down on him, cold but utterly reviving and refreshing. He loved to immerse himself in water like this. Usually he liked it piping hot but tonight the chill was fitting. He was still warm from his urgent union with Xavier. Sometimes that was good and he clung to the heat from a lover as long as was decent but tonight he needed a clear head. Tonight he needed to hunt.

It was never properly dark in London. The city street lights cast a sickly pall through the torrential rain, spilling over the night sky. It was like eternal twilight even at four in the morning. Not everyone slept either. There were always prospects lurking in the shadows.

Rayne took them without thinking. It was so easy.

With Xavier he was always careful but it was different out here. The night unclouded his senses and suddenly everyone was blood. He could feel them and smell them before he saw them, sensing their type even before he bit down and let the heat and the coppery warmth spill into his mouth. The night was filled with pissed up, drugged up club bunnies, ripe for the picking and he tapped their sweet veins without a moment's hesitation. This was the truth then. He was a monster; a leech.

Not so much of a leech that he could not pull back and enjoy the dazed, appreciative kiss of his buxom blonde victim, however. Her mouth was silken soft on his, kissing the beautiful, shadowy predator gratefully as he enjoyed the hot spill of her blood, sliding down his gullet, sating his ravenous hunger.

He flagged down a cab and put her into it when he was done, sending the girl home. After the black taxi rattled away into the night he was still hungry. There were times when he understood why the older vamps and the less ethical ones just picked a victim and drained them. It did not make him like them though.

The hum of traffic was just winding up and the low rumble of the underground trains creeping like vast steel caterpillars beneath the streets of west London added their counterpoint to the early morning symphony. He could hear birdsong now and the air was cool and comforting on his face. It was the smell of home. The rain had stopped and he walked back towards Portobello Road but turned right, heading for Notting Hill. He was not sure how he knew which way to go but he followed his instincts.

He had been walking for several minutes when he became aware of the footsteps of his shadow. For a little while he walked on, pretending not to have noticed, then turned smartly into one of the gated gardens off Kensington Park Road. He moved into the shadows beneath the trees there and waited for the small, black-clad, hesitant figure to follow.

The boy lifted long white hands to his hood and pushed it back, almost sniffing the air. His upturned nose twitched a couple of times and he turned his head, looking into the undergrowth where Rayne Wylde had been standing moments before. As he took a step in that direction, the vampire slid out onto the path behind him and the speed of his attack carried the younger man into the bushes and threw him up against the bole of a plane tree.

A hand slapped over his mouth before he could scream and Rayne bit him hard on the neck, just beneath his right ear. The blood and memory swirled through him, filling him with energy and an intense, mindless rage. He did not take much but it was enough. Pulling back with a hiss of restless anger, he shoved the boy away from him and turned, shaking his head as more missing pieces of the jigsaw slotted into place.

The boy - Clinton Radley, he had a name now - stumbled and reached out to catch himself against the trunk of another tree, turning as he did so with outrage in his glistening golden eyes. He touched a hand to the bite on his neck but it was already healing and the young lad found himself suddenly face to face with the man his beloved mum had fervently believed was his biological father. A man still licking Clinton's blood off his fangs and his soft, cold lips.

Rayne stared back at him, suddenly realising that neither of them had ever properly acknowledged this fact. Clint had been staking him out for years, since he was about eleven years old, in fact. He was a regular fixture on the doorstep of the singer's house but he never told Rayne Wylde why he was there and Rayne, though he had sensed through the scent of Clint's blood that the boy was kin to him, had never spoken to him of the matter or even asked him who his mother was. Paternity suits were a fact of life in the music industry and given Rayne's lifestyle, he was no stranger to them. But Clint never asked him for anything. He seemed content just to be close to the singer. Although right now that was questionable.

"You fuckin' maniac!" he yelped in a shrill, anxious tone, rubbing his neck and staring at his hand in bewilderment as if he expected there to be more blood. "You fuckin' bit me!"

Rayne licked his lips again. The boy needed a wash but his blood was sweet. Jabez had been right about that. His Sire had been trying to convince him for years that he ought to build up a reserve of potential feeders who were not only blood descendants but offspring fathered since he was Turned. They were born Dhampir, the Everman claimed, able to smell out vampires, but also carriers of the richest, sweetest blood. Just a few drops of blood from a Dhampir of his line would give him more strength than pints of ordinary mortal swill; his Sire's words, not his own.

With Clint's blood came that memory, unbidden, and more; a sense of the boy's hunger and loneliness that he had never previously even guessed at. He lowered his head, suddenly ashamed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I won't touch you, I just... I was pissed off that you were stalking me again. I thought after the last time, after the court order and everything that this was gonna stop." Rayne looked up at him, his face very quiet and serious.

"I 'aven't got anyone else," Clint said, a shade defiantly. "Gran and Gramps dumped me. You're all I've got left now."

"I can't adopt you, Clint," Rayne told him wearily. "It's not that easy."

"I'm not asking you to," the boy retaliated. He shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? I never said a word to that judge about the reasons why I was following you. Did you never wonder why?"




London Loves Ch. 02



"I know why." Rayne leaned back against the tree where he had first bitten his son.

His son.

It felt strange to acknowledge the truth. Bewildering and a little bit exciting too. He had a son; a child of his blood, who was Dhampir. Jabez would be proud of him.

"You're... Claire's kid?"

The boy scowled at him darkly though the fronds of his black-dyed hair as if he would clam up on Rayne for that but after a moment he relented, muttering; "Chloe; her name was Chloe. She was a real person with feelings not just something for you to use, you dirty cunt! You thought you could pay her off and it would all go away, didn't you?"

"I didn't think that, Clint," the vampire exhaled softly though the memories were spilling back into him now like a rain of dark water. He remembered a small, oval face and red-brown curls that trickled around it; copper coloured eyes and a smile like sunshine that warmed his blood. "I didn't think anything, if you want to know the truth. I didn't rape her. She came to me of her own free will. She told me she was old enough and that was good enough for me. Your mum and her best mate used to hang out on our step like you do. We invited them in sometimes, just to smoke and talk and listen to music, stuff like that. We had a party one time and the girls came to bed with a couple of us. We didn't have to push them, they were well up for it. Then I had to go away on tour. We were gone nearly a year but when we got back she'd had you and your fuckin' grandad was trying to take us to the cleaners. I swear to god I didn't even know she was pregnant. I'd not have left things like that."

"You lied," Clint growled at him, coming closer but staying out of arm's reach this time. His eyes were hot with suppressed fury. "Gramps told me. You stood up in court and lied about shagging her. You said it must have been someone else."

"It never went to court," Rayne said impassively, though the anger was beginning to churn in his gut again, turning like a slow whisk in a vat of pimiento jelly. He didn't remember everything clearly but he was as sure about that as anything. Little pieces of the past were slotting into place. He remembered Matty's frustration with the legal process and how it had been his young manager's idea to steal a march on Chloe's parents by admitting to everything out of court so that they could settle it without the press getting wind of the situation. Matt had been sharp enough to figure out that if the Radleys went to the police then they were all in trouble. "Your grandfather's been biggin' it up to you. We never went to court. They asked for a paternity test, I consented to it, and we paid what your grandparents asked for your upkeep. Fair's fair, Clint."

"But it's not fair, is it?" the young man raged at him, his eyes brimming with hot, angry tears. "None of it's fucking fair! You get it all and you left her with nothing and walked away."

"I paid for what happened, it was the most expensive fuck of my life!" Rayne half turned to go but the boy went for him. He saw the flash of early daylight on the blade of the knife in Clint's shaking hand before it jabbed into his arm and he swore virulently, throwing the boy off him. The weapon was only a small flick knife but it went in deep and he curled his fingers around it now, yanking it out with a bark of pain. The blood soaked his ruined sleeve briefly then it turned to dust, trickling down to the grass at his feet and he felt the rent in his flesh begin to heal, fast and tight, prickling like a thousand tiny needles were pulling the skin and sinew back together.

Jabez was right, that blood was something else. He had been hungry and bone tired before biting Clint but the speed of his recovery from the attack was almost scary. Rayne flexed his fingers, staring at the ragged tear in his shirt-sleeve that was the only remaining sign of the assault.

Clint was staring too and his eyes widened as he realised what was happening.

"What the fuckin' hell are you?" he whimpered, backing away rapidly. "Jesus Christ!"

He turned and fled before Rayne could say a word but this time the vampire let him be. He had the feeling that this would not be the last time their paths crossed. Folding the knife in his hand, he slipped it into his pocket and headed back towards the house, mulling over the new memories he had gained.

XAV:

The darkness around Xavier seemed too thick, as if it clung to him, made him slow and clumsy, and no matter how he tried he could not see into it. He could hear though...his own breath coming short and shallow, his heartbeat rushing in his ears. He took a deeper breath and held it, trying to hear beyond the small space around him. At first he couldn't hear anything, and then he could make out the sounds of angry voices, the male voice furious and scathing, the woman's voice pleading and sobbing.

He knew where he was suddenly, and tried to make himself smaller. Huddling in the bottom of the closet he squeezed everything down tight and crossed his fingers on both hands, hoping that his mother's boyfriend wouldn't come into his room tonight, wouldn't find him hiding in the cupboard. His back and buttocks were still hurting from the last time.

Rough hands suddenly jerked him up by the arms, yanking him from the closet and through time by twelve or thirteen years. The smell of decay hit his nose and made him gag as he blinked his eyes in the sudden murky light, and then he wished he couldn't see as the rotting corpse that had once been a woman reached for him. He screamed as her cold putrid hands touched him and he struggled as her teeth sank into him. Over his screams he could hear the vampire, Steffen laughing mockingly, his un-gentle hands reaching down between Xav's legs to fondle him roughly.

In his sleep Xavier rolled over and flung the covers off, his body struggling against the nightmare even as his brain refused to let him wake him from it.

The scene changed, Steffen and Jeanette were gone, and he was standing on the London street outside Rayne's house, surrounded by blocks of white houses, the world strangely devoid of colour except for the scarlet that ran in sticky ribbons from his neck down his bare chest. He saw a smudged figure in black and grey in front of him. He thought it was Rayne at first but as he was reaching for him the figure looked up and he saw it was the kid that had been on the front step, his sneer firmly in place, those almost golden eyes glaring at him with hostility.

"See! I told you. He's gone, 'ain't 'e?"

Xavier's stomach rolled sickly and he shook his head. "He's coming back."

"If he comes back it will only be to tell you it's time for you to leave."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" A sudden surge of rage gripped him and he wanted to beat that smug look off the kid's face.

"I know. I know a lot of things you don't know. I know about him..." He pointed with his chin and Xavier looked. There was a shadowy man that he couldn't really see well, he was cloaked in menace. He wasn't doing anything but standing there and yet Xavier feared him, felt a dread well up in him that was nearly choking him.

"He's going to come for you," the kid whispered.

Xavier was shaking his head.

"No..." He didn't want that man anywhere near him.

"He's going to come for you, and then you're really gonna be fucked." The boy giggled and it was probably the most sinister sound Xavier had ever heard. " 'ere...take this."

Xavier turned his head as something was dropped into his hand. He looked down at a small vial with ashy grey powder inside, and his hand started to go numb, a sweet blissful numbness that rushed up and over him in a heavenly warmth. It made him moan aloud it was so good and he wanted it so much...make the world go away...make everything go away...

He suddenly turned his hand and dropped the vial on the pavement. It smashed and the contents leaked out as dark red blood. He looked up and the shadowy man had moved closer, hovering over the boy and reaching for him. Panic and sick dread clawed at Xav. He tried to yell a warning but his throat locked tight. He choked and tried to scream but all that came out was a desperate whimper as he sat bolt upright on the bed.

Xavier was alone in the bedroom. He listened to the hollow silence while he got his hammering heart under control and he took a few shuddering breaths. Just a nightmare; an incredibly vivid one, but nothing that could hurt him. He sat for a few moments more, not wanting to replay the dark dream but unable to help himself. Finally he wiped a hand over his face and sighed. Xavier was sort of glad Rayne wasn't still in bed with him, he would have felt awkward having to explain.

Still feeling unsettled he got up and padded across the room toward the adjoining bathroom. Again he was struck by the absolute pristine quality of the room, the tile looked like it had never been touched and every piece of glass or chrome positively gleamed. After using the toilet he went to the shower, adjusted the water temperature and stepped in, washing off the efforts of the night before and clearing his head of the residuals of the dream. By the time he finished and stepped out his belly was telling him how unhappy it was that he'd chosen to indulge his libido all night instead of eating dinner.

After drying off he wrapped a towel around his waist and wandered though the house toward the kitchen, although he didn't really have any hope of finding anything there but maybe there was at least coffee in the cupboard. Even as he was thinking it the smell of fresh brewing coffee reached him and he started to smile, then he stopped short with a sudden zing of shock as a little tingle went up his arms and the nape of his neck. He recognised the feeling well enough now. There was a vampire really close, but it wasn't Rayne.

Standing stock-still he listened to cups and plates clattering against the smooth granite worktop and heard someone obviously at work on a semblance of breakfast. Not knowing what else to do he picked his way carefully into the lounge, his heart beating double-time. He did not even have a hand on the louvered door that was half folded back between the kitchen and the living room when a cheerful voice with a cockney accent that could cut glass remarked; "I can smell you, you know. There's no point hiding."

Again Xavier froze for a second. Rayne was gone and there was a vampire in the kitchen. What was he supposed to do? Logic finally asserted itself. Rayne had told him vampires couldn't come in unless they were invited, so this one must have been invited before. That meant he most likely knew Rayne and since he was puttering around in the apartment, and had made it clear he knew Xavier was there, it didn't seem all that likely that he was about to get his throat ripped out or something.

Coming forward into the kitchen only a little hesitantly Xav said, "I wasn't hiding." His eyes met with the other man's warily as he remembered just a little too late how dangerous it was to look them in the eye. "I just didn't expect anyone."

The strange vamp was taller than Rayne by a good head, but just as skinny. He was wearing slim-fit, pale blue, denim Capri pants with a hipster waistband and little diamante sprinkles on the pockets. His fitted, short-sleeved white shirt was cut just high enough to show off an artful flash of midriff and the little paw-print tattoo inside the curve of his left hip. Dreadlocked hair the colours of every type of honey tumbled to his waist and the eyes that looked back unblinkingly at Xavier were a deep, dark-chocolate hue with little flecks of gold in the iris.

There were silver rings on just about all of his long, slender fingers, including the thumbs and also on a couple of his toes. (He wasn't wearing shoes, Xav noticed, though he was wearing pale blue metallic nail polish). A number of chains and pendants hung in the open neckline of his shirt and his wrists were draped in bangles and bracelets too. The adornment did not stop there, for he was pierced all over the place. His ears practically bristled with studs and silver hoops from the lobes right around the curving shell of his ear and even his tragus on both sides sported a glittering stud. He wore a diamante nose stud and a silver spike labret between his chin and lower lip. The bottom lip was also pierced with two little silver snakebite rings and he had another pair in his left eyebrow and a barbell through the right one.

Xav was willing to bet that the body mods did not stop at his face. The stranger's shirt was tight enough that he could see the outline of a pair of hoops in the guy's nipples and short enough to expose the flash of a jewelled belly bar in his navel.

The vampire's dark eyes travelled up and down Xav's body, lingering on the towel around his middle before returning to his face.

"Obviously!" he remarked in that spikey accent that made Rayne's angular, Estuarine tones sound smooth by comparison. "Where's Wylde, lover boy? He's up and about early. I'd have thought he'd still be in bed, given the incentive."

Again he eyed Xavier's towel, which was starting to feel much too small.

Xavier's expression was neutral, although one brow arched ever so slightly. The vampire was not exactly hostile but...there was just something about his tone that got under his skin, like he was not-so-subtly mocking him. Xav let his eyes travel over the long lean frame in front of him, since the vamp wasn't being subtle about sizing him up either.

"He's not here...obviously," Xav said blandly, handing him back just a little of his attitude. "Who's asking?"

His opposite number made a little snorting sound through his glittering nostrils and tossed those honey coloured dreads back from his face as he chuckled; "The bank manager's asking. Inland Revenue are asking. The NME are mildly curious." He leaned back against the counter where coffee was perking temptingly. "Matthew J Greening, that's me. I handle his PR, I used to manage his band, when there was a band to manage. Now they all sit on their arses and wait for the cheques to come through the door and I make sure it happens." 

His eyes raked Xav again as the little blond slipped by him to pour himself a mug of coffee. 

"Is there any cream and sugar?"

Matt made no move to get out of the way or answer the question, but he was still studying Xavier critically when he murmured; "Ray takes it black. And you are...?"

Xavier made a small face and blew across the black coffee before taking a sip. "Xavier Gavrilov."

Matt made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a snort. He shook his head.

"Yahweh! You couldn't make that up!" he snickered. "Did he bring you back with him or just pick you up at King's Cross, lover?"

Xav gave him a chilly little smile. "We met at a club actually, where I worked."

Matt whistled through his teeth.

"My my, how much did that cost him?" he asked sarcastically. "I mean, I bet you don't come cheap, do you babe? And shouldn't you be getting back to work soon, anyway? I bet the lunchtime shift's just warming up."

Xavier took another small sip of coffee and lifted his long lashes slowly to fixed Matt with an icy glare.

"You look like you would know," he said and set the mug down. "I'm a dancer, not a hustler, and we didn't meet at some club around the corner. We met in San Francisco. Rayne brought me with him to Italy before we came back here."

Matt laughed without parting his lips, a little huff of sound that conveyed his cynicism most effectively without wasting words. Though ultimately he could not resist spilling them.

"You must have been a good lay!"

Xavier's lips compressed and his eyes narrowed slightly. He was starting to get more than a little irritated.

"It's a bit more complicated than that. Why are you here, anyway?"

The lanky stranger looked him up and down almost dismissively as if he had no place asking a question like that but at last he responded; "I'm just keeping an eye on my assets, chicken. When one of my stable does a runner and doesn't show his face for weeks on end I feel the need to check up on him when he does finally raise his head. Rayne's not a relationship sort of guy, you do know that, don't you?"

This last remark was thrown in with an almost casual disregard for Xavier's feelings. The vampire was watching him though, measuring how he caught the curveball. This one was not as scatterbrained as he looked. He was trying to figure Xav out.

Xav returned the dismissive look with disdain to spare. It didn't matter that Matt was only pointing out something Xav already knew. He was getting really, really tired of everyone that saw him with Rayne assuming that he was a whore and in the next breath warning him he was going to be shown the door any minute.

"Maybe he's just not a 'relationship sort of guy' with you," he snapped back.

"Just don't make yourself too comfortable is all I'm saying," Matt Greening advised with a little sniff. "Any idea when he's going to get his arse back here, sweetcheeks? I 'aven't got all day!"

"You should keep your opinions to yourself is all I'm saying, princess!" Xav shot back. "If you don't want to wait I don't see an anchor keeping you here."

The tall, lean vamp sucked in a little hiss through his extended fangs, the first indication he had given of being remotely riled by this hostile exchange.

"Put your claws away, chicken. You don't wanna get hurt," he warned in a low tone. "What's his is mine, know what I mean?"

He licked his lips with a suggestive and entirely unfriendly smile.

Xavier blinked, the wolfish fangs suddenly reminding him of Steffen. He had forgotten for a moment that he was talking to a vampire. How stupid could he get? He was standing there in nothing but a towel antagonizing someone that could rip his throat out before he could even move.

He didn't like the too hungry gleam in Matt Greening's eyes either.

Fuming, his pride smarting, he backed off. He might be stupid but he wasn't crazy. If the vampire wouldn't leave it might be better if he took off until Rayne got back. Turning on his heel he stalked out of the kitchen. His clothes were still on the floor next to the futon and he whipped the towel off his lean hips not caring that the vampire was right behind him.

Matt certainly didn't waste time on preserving Xavier's modesty and grinned as the pretty little yank dropped his towel and wriggled into his jeans.

"Nice tush!" he remarked cheerfully. "He's not losing his taste, at least! Front door's that way." And he pointed a long finger in the direction of the hall, waving it in a small circle and flicking it skyward as if it was a magic wand, then went back to the kitchen with a dismissive chuckle.

Xav pulled on his tee shirt and headed for the door, still fuming. He slammed out and when he was on the other side of the door hissed irritably. "Bitch!"

He could have said more to Matt Greening perhaps, could have stayed and sparred verbally with him all morning in fact, but two things stopped him. One, he didn't really know what this irritant was to Rayne, and two he was a vampire. He was not really interested in finding out if he could push Matt Greening to violence when he knew that it would end badly for him.

Xav stalked down the pavement and it was only when he got a couple of blocks away that he realised he'd left his phone in his luggage, which Dominic still had. He had very little cash on him and what he had was in euros, he didn't really know where he was or where he was going, and he was still hungry.

"Fuck! Just fan-fuckin-tastic!"

He kept going, not willing to go back. He vaguely remembered where Dominic said he lived, but didn't know if he had the name of the place right and no clue what direction it was anyway. He heaved a sigh. Okay, he remembered passing a bunch of shops and stuff on the taxi ride in. He would just go window shopping for a couple hours, try not to get lost, and hopefully Rayne would be back by then.




London Loves Ch. 02



Xavier tried to cool off as he continued to walk. His empty belly coupled with the nightmare that had woken him and the testy exchange with Matthew Greening had him in a pretty foul mood.

He shouldn't have let Matt get under his skin. It was stupid to let him push his buttons like that, but within moments of meeting him the vampire had managed to poke hard at two sensitive areas by assuming he was a whore and then reminding him that he better not get too comfortable with Rayne. He wasn't sure which bothered him more at the moment. People treated you different when they thought they could buy you. The way they looked at you and talked to you were like you were subhuman, like they could do anything they wanted to you and it didn't matter. That was true enough when he had been hustling and it was probably why it made him so automatically defensive now when someone talked down to him like that.

It hadn't been all that long since he'd had to sell his body to get by. Crawling out of the pit he'd been in had been harder then anything he'd ever done, and even though he had gotten out of it he hadn't crawled all that far. Dancing at the club was still selling himself in a way but at least he didn't have to fuck anyone if he didn't want to, and it brought in good money.

Now he wasn't even doing that and until this morning he hadn't really thought about how dependent he was on Rayne right now.

Xav found a bench while he was mulling all of this over and sat down, chewing thoughtfully on the side of his thumb and not really seeing the peaceful day in front of him. What was he going to do here? He didn't have to do anything really, but living off Rayne didn't sit well with him. He was not extremely worried, it was just that there was a part of him that never quite rested, a part that said he always needed to be sharp and on his game, a part that knew that if he didn't watch out for himself the wolves that were always just a few steps away would close in and he would be right back where he started. He had been able to sort of ignore that part of himself for a little while, had allowed himself to just enjoy being with Rayne and be happy... and he was more than a touch pissed off that Matt Greening had sent him back down into a spiral of doubt.

Xavier finally picked himself up off the bench and set off to retrace his steps, quite a bit more dejected then when he'd set out. With any luck Rayne would be back and Matt would be gone.

~

Rayne let himself back into the apartment about thirteen minutes after Xavier stormed out, having come back to Chepstow Villas via a completely different route. As soon as he set foot through the door he was aware of a presence in the building that was not Xavier. His nerves prickled a warning then he stepped into the lounge and found Matty sprawled out on his futon playing Final Fantasy on his laptop, a large mug of black coffee steaming happily on the floor beside him.

"What have I told you about leaving hot cups on my floor boards?" he asked, folding his arms and pretending seriousness.

His one and only Fledgling beamed up at him, unconcerned, then rolled over onto his back holding out his arms for a hug.

"'Allo Lover, I 'aven't 'alf missed you," he chirped affably.

Rayne knelt down on the edge of the day bed and let himself be pulled into a protracted snuggle. He curled up on the mattress and rested his chin on Matty's shoulder, arms around his skinny ribcage.

"You've still not shifted that mess off my front step," he complained in his ear.

"There's a bloke coming round this afternoon. It'll get sorted," Matty promised with the easy confidence of someone used to getting his own way. "Where've you been, babes? I thought you were coming straight back, then I start to hear rumours about you causing agg with some vamp high-ups in Frisco. An' then I woke up in the night, 'bout three weeks back feelin' like I was gonna have a heart attack. I was out of it for days. You had me worried, lover. You never called or nothing. I thought you was dead, babes."

"I thought we had it in hand," Rayne lied, feeling a sudden pang of guilt for that. Of course what had happened in Paris would have hit Matt harder than anyone. Even Xavier. "It's sorted now, sweetheart. You don't need to worry. I'm back for a while. I'll handle things."

Matt brooded for a moment in silence. Then, unable to rest until he knew the answer he asked; "So who's the blond piece what was mooching round here in a towel this morning?"

Rayne sat up fast, looking down on him almost guiltily. "You've met Xavier? I thought he would sleep until I got back. Damn!"

Matt pulled him down and kissed his lips softly, shaking his head. "Bad boy, you have been fooling around with him haven't you? I thought he must just be a feeder at first."

"You'd better not have freaked him out," Rayne told him, pointing a warning finger at Matt's breast.

Matt beamed angelically at him. "Would I do something like that?"

"He went back to bed then?" Rayne still did not sound convinced.

Matt was unable to not look shifty at that. "Um... he said he wanted a bit of air. I'm sure he'll come back. He didn' even take a coat."

Rayne shot back out onto the street and did a quick circuit of the area but there was no sign of Xavier. The boy had certainly ducked under the radar. He knew that if he tried he could go back to the house and track his lover from there but maybe Matt was right and he would come back of his own volition. And if Xavier was put out by Matt's appearance, after this morning's little spat with Clint, Rayne was not sure that he had the will for another row.

When he got back to the apartment there was no sign of Matthew Greening and he managed a little sigh of relief for that and helped himself to the last of the coffee. It was one of his few mortal pleasures. Although he no longer got the rush from it, the warmth and comforting smell of caffeine always made him feel better. More human.

He downed the scalding brew then went back to the bedroom, deciding that he would try and get some sleep until Xav got back. When he stepped into the bedroom however, Matt was sprawled out naked on his bed, stroking the handcuffs from his dresser drawer up and down his chest with a very naughty little smile on his face.

"If he's gone shopping he'll probably be hours!" he chirped happily. "And I know you want to."

The worst of it was, he did want to. He wanted it so badly. And he felt like a dog as he unbuttoned his torn shirt and cast it aside. Matty was already sliding the cuffs around his bony wrists and looping the connecting chain over the head rail. Rayne could see that he was hard, aroused by nothing more complex than the act of restraint.

For Rayne it was a need of a different kind, a need to know. He unbuttoned his fly and wriggled his pants down, reaching for the elastane cords that would bind his mate's ankles to the rail at the foot of the bed and leave him open and submissive to his Sire's hunger. Matt arched and whined with pleasure as he was bound and the ball gag pressed into his open mouth. Rayne strapped it tightly, stiffening for Matt's absolute submission and sank his fangs into his Fledgling's proffered throat, absorbing the memories with his blood.

It turned him on, that submission, but it was also the reason they were no longer together. He always felt stained when Matty left, as if he was some kind of animal, preying on the younger man's subservient nature. It was not the case, he knew it. Matty had never begged him to stop and never would, and he was strong enough to break free if he didn't want to play, but he still felt dirty. And, at the same time, he loved it.

Being with Xavier was so different. Xav could yield and often did, but he was also more purposeful in getting what he wanted, and he was not shy of topping his lover when he needed it that way. Rayne adored that about him. He had always enjoyed being with a mate who could give as good as he got. It felt more balanced somehow.

Matty was a spoiled child. Still! He had never had it rough as a kid and he still clung to the belief that there was something exciting about surrendering all control. Okay, he had been working as a prostitute in Manchester when they met, having run away from a perfectly nice and comfortable home in a relatively leafy Tottenham suburb. But he had not been a whore for very long, and he was absolutely dreadful at it, having absolutely no self-preservation instincts. The reason they got together in the first place had not been for sex but because Matty had been robbed whilst he was blowing a trick down a side street. The guy had done a runner without paying and his mate had nicked Matt's sleeping bag and his coat, together with most of his takings.

When found by Rayne and Ciaran, the guy who was later to become Whipsnade's bassist, whilst they were sharing a squat in the city and (in Rayne's case, certainly) pretending to study at University there, Matty was begging for handouts on a corner of Oxford Road. He was clad in just a glittery boob-tube top, tiny denim cut-offs, purple tights and hand painted Doctor Marten boots. It had been about five weeks before Christmas and the temperature was minus five degrees. Rayne took pity on the scrawny, shivering kid and they took him back to the squat and thawed him out with soup and pizza. Later that night, Rayne kept him warm in his bed and one thing led to another. When Rayne returned to London about six months later, Matt came with him and they were lovers for over seven years afterwards.

Rayne had never been comfortable with the relationship though. It sometimes felt more like keeping a pet than having a lover who shared his life and dreams. Matt had a tendency to bound around him like a puppy and it began to slowly drive him crazy. As the band grew more successful he spent more and more time away from Matt, in the beds and bodies of other, more casual, lovers. Finally, whilst Whipsnade were on the road in Germany in the mid-nineties, the situation came to a painful and ugly head. They had a massive fight and Rayne finally found the balls to dump him, formally. For nearly three years they did not talk, although Matty was still officially the manager of Rayne's band.

Rayne still felt like a mongrel about that. Matt had never wronged him, never really betrayed him. The only thing that worked in their relationship was the sex, though. It was that sexual spark that healed their friendship. Sex with Matt was always amazing, even if it did leave him feeling tainted afterwards. It was like being hooked on a drug that he could not quit. They had been casual fuck buddies ever since they mended the rift and Matt never complained that Rayne didn't want to take it further. Nor did he make any conspicuous effort to get himself a proper boyfriend.

Now Rayne stroked his body against Matt's and licked hungrily around the black rubber ball between his mate's lips, feeling Matty's long, lean cock strain against his belly. The younger vampire whimpered, arching his back, trying to spread himself wider and make himself completely available. Rayne took advantage of that, shoving into him fiercely and pressing his mouth to Matt's throat as he fucked himself deep inside his Fledgling. Even in Unlife, Matt needed his dominance. He had not wanted to Turn the younger man, in truth, but Matty's petulant demands wore him down. Finally, Jabez had landed him an ultimatum, to either Turn the wretched boy or put him out of everyone's misery. He did so in a tone that suggested, not very kindly, that he would do the latter himself if Rayne did not deal with it.

As he stroked his length hard and fast inside his ex, Rayne bit down on him again, not to feed this time, but to taste a little more of what he had given Matty when he Turned him. Just like the afternoon on the beach when he bit Xavier and recovered the memories sewn into his lover's blood, sinking his fangs into Matty's neck opened another doorway for Rayne into his past. He bucked furiously between Matt's skinny thighs as he drowned in the well of memories. All of their shared past came flooding through him like a torrent and he finally understood now why he had been so reluctant to come to bed with the younger vampire. Matt's love for him was like a hot thread of pain running through both of their bodies. He loved with a child-like, almost scary intensity.

Rayne fought tears from the well of emotion he had opened. He channelled the passion back into sex and gave Matt what he thought he needed, taking full advantage of his former lover's subservience as they writhed and bucked on the huge bed. The combination of Rayne's pulsing sex deep inside and the rub of the metal cuffs on Matty's wrists and the tight cords around his ankles, not actually restraining him but presenting an illusion of restraint that was almost as good as - if not better than - the real thing, brought him to his peak. Matt groaned like an animal as he jetted his spill against his mate's bare belly.

The fierce contractions of his tight arse, and the added stimulus of the little rings and studs he had allowed himself to be pierced with around his ring and scrotum, served to bring Rayne over too. His fangs withdrew from Matthew Greening's neck and he came hard in his thrashing, ecstatic Fledgling

~

Xavier had no trouble winding his way back the way he'd come. The time he'd gotten lost in Naples in the middle of the night had been something of a fluke. He usually had an excellent sense of direction and as long as he was in a city atmosphere he did all right finding his way around.

He was still preoccupied with his thoughts when he trotted up the steps behind a young woman juggling her shopping bags while trying to get the key in the door. Xav did the chivalrous thing and offered to hold her bags while she got the door opened and then slipped in behind her. Rayne had given him an extra key to the flat last night which he'd fortunately found still in the front pocket of his jeans, but he hadn't had an extra for the front door yet.

As soon as he was inside the apartment he stilled for a second and waited. He'd never consciously tried to sense if there was a vampire around, he just sort of sensed them naturally after having been with Rayne as long as he had. He found that trying wasn't really that hard, he almost immediately got a tingle along his skin that let him know the vampire was still here and his lips compressed a bit with irritation. Then his features smoothed again as he realised Rayne was here too...and then, as he came further into the house, he also figured out where they both were.

He almost turned around and walked back out. He'd already spent a not very happy morning having doubts about their relationship and now if he didn't miss his guess he was going to have to put up with some heavy gloating as well. Great! With a sigh and a roll of his eyes he wished for once that Rayne wasn't such a horny bastard. Monogamy wasn't something he ever really expected (or wanted), in fact he was pretty sure that whole concept led to at least half the misery in the world. He wasn't going to get all bent out of shape if Rayne fucked someone else, but did it have to be that someone else?

Well, he had choices. He could still turn around and leave. He could go sit and wait for them to come out. Or... he could go see what they were up to. He sauntered down the hall as he decided on choice number three. The sight that greeted him as he slipped through the bedroom door curled his lips in a little smirk, his sky blue eyes darkening just a little.

"Hm... what I wouldn't have given to know where that that gag was earlier." His gaze moved from Matt's dark eyes to Rayne and his expression softened. He came forward and gave him a little kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Hi babe. When you're done can we go get something to eat? I'm starving."

Rayne rolled off Matt as his lover kissed him and sprawled for a little while on the bedcovers, just looking up at Xavier, measuring his expression, his reaction, his emotional state. He was not sure what was the most disturbing, having Xav catch him on top of Matt or the idea that he was so comfortable with his lover that he was not even disturbed by Xavier's presence in the house whilst he and Matt were fucking.

"I was just wondering where you'd got to," he said casually, once his breathing was back under control and Matt's spunk was slowly drying on his chest. "Hope you don't mind us starting without you?"

Matty looked less composed. His dark eyes were wide as he watched the little exchange between his ex and his ex's current mate. No doubt he was also quite conscious of the fact that he was still shackled to the bed, unable to say anything.

"I took a walk." Xavier said quietly, some of the smugness fading as he debated saying any more about the reason for his hasty unscheduled stroll around the neighbourhood. Predictably, he guessed, Matty hadn't been forthcoming about exactly why Xavier had slammed out earlier. His eyes flicked back over to the restrained vamp, holding his wide eyed gaze. "Didn't Matt tell you?"

Those brown and gold flecked eyes narrowed a bit. Xav had the upper hand at the moment and they both knew it. The very fact that Xav was standing there meant that perhaps Matt had miscalculated slightly about his connection to Rayne. Not only had he come back, but Rayne must have given him a key to get in, and he certainly wouldn't have done that if Xav were just a casual fuck he'd picked up. Xav could be a prick and tell Rayne that Matt had thrown him out, which wasn't exactly true, but he certainly hadn't made it a comfortable place for Xavier to be. Instead he just let a little grin creep across his face and gave him back some of the leering he'd gotten that morning.

"Are you inviting me to stay then?" he asked, his eyes coming back to Rayne once more.

Rayne pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed him rather more heatedly feeling the relief loosen his muscles as he realised Xavier wasn't about to make a meal of this.

"I thought I did that last night," he whispered into his lover's mouth. "I can reiterate the offer if you really insist though."

That wasn't really necessary. Xavier answered silently with another kiss, this one hot enough to make his love tingle all the way down to his toes. Deciding he was over dressed for the occasion he leaned up on his knees and peeled his shirt off. He popped the button on his jeans and unzipped in a slow tease, the look in his eyes melting hot before he leaned in and caught Rayne's lips again.

Rayne swept him down, pulling him onto the bed and devouring his mouth instantly. His hands slid inside the warmth within his lover's tight jeans and he pushed them down smoothly as he rolled Xavier onto his back and soaked in his delicious heat again, caressing him slowly all over. Matt pulled on the cuffs and made a little noise of protest as the other two began to rub against one another right beside him.

Xavier turned his head slightly as Rayne released his lips to nibble down the side of his throat. He was about to say something smart but Rayne's lips slid over and sucked gently on the little dimples where he marked him and instead a little gasp came out, his eyes sliding half closed. He blinked once and managed a slow smile.

Rayne nipped him, but only gently, barely piercing the skin with the points of his sharp little fangs. He swept his tongue over the sweetness of Xavier's blood, licking it up and Matty groaned again, hungrily this time. His own fangs extended, sinking into the rubber ball in his mouth and he strained on the cuffs, wanting to feed; wanting to share his Sire's delicious treat.

Xavier moaned softly, his eyes slipping all the way closed. He brought one foot up to caress along the back of Rayne's calf, his fingers gliding over his back as his hips rolled up against him.




London Loves Ch. 03



LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2012

(Which means, do not copy, reproduce, republish etc... without permission of the authors. You know the drill. Printing it to read later does not count, btw.) 

We've had a slight hiatus on chapter three which is why it's so short, so we've made up for it by sweetening the pill. On the plus side, it means you get an extra chapter. So, yay! Hope you like it. 

CHAPTER THREE

Xavier felt himself relax again with Matt's departure and slid down on the bed next to Rayne snuggling up close in the crook of his arm as the vampire called Lord Warren to arrange the retrieval of their luggage. The phone rang out exactly once before it was answered. Xavier licked lightly over Rayne's right nipple as his lover greeted Dominic. He sucked it into his mouth with a mischievous glint in his eyes as pleasantries were exchanged. Rayne was chewing restlessly on his lower lip whilst Dominic chattered away, none the wiser, on the other end of the line and Xavier teased his ultra-responsive peaks some more, with little flicks of his tongue. His sexy mate wriggled contentedly on the bed and when he spoke his voice was just a little higher and huskier than normal. 

"Are you coming here? Or do you want us to come over later?" he exhaled, then caught a quick breath as Xavier's teeth pinched one of his stiff little buds playfully.

Xavier's eyes twinkled and he made a sound suspiciously like a giggle.

Dominic was still engaged in the process of inviting them over while Xavier was ever so lightly circling the edge of Rayne's bellybutton with the tip of his tongue in a very suggestive manner. His lover, who had not bothered to dress, was responding very eagerly to Xavier's oral ministrations. He was reduced to making small, affirmative noises now to whatever Dominic was suggesting. 

"No... no..." Rayne ventured at last, in a fragile tone. "I'm fine... abso-fucking-lutely fine. No worries." He sucked in a long breath as Xav's tongue began a course of action that certainly wasn't conducive to polite conversation, or even rational thought.

Xavier had slipped down between Rayne's slim thighs, spreading his slender legs wider, and was kissing and lipping at the tender skin of his sac, his tongue wiggling lower to stroke along the smooth skin behind his nuts and tease into his crevice. Rayne drew his knees up and let his thighs fall apart loosely as Xavier's deft tongue explored him. He lifted one foot and stroked it slowly up and down the blond youth's golden skinned shoulder. 

"Yeah...!" he gasped softly into the slender black phone that was pressed to his left ear, but whether that affirmation was meant for Lord Warren or Xavier (or both) was entirely uncertain.

"Mmmm-uh..." Xavier moaned softly, pressing deeper, forgetting all about the fact that he'd only started out to tease Rayne as he got swept up in a heated rush. His tongue circled around the edge of Rayne's tight little pucker and then delved in while his hand reached up to stroke gently along his cock. 

Rayne shuddered with pleasure. After the exertion of the past few days he had not even considered that they might make out again once Matt had gone. Now he was happy to surrender to Xavier's renewed vigour. 

"Mmm-hmmm..." he said vaguely into the phone. "Uhh-huh, yeah... ohhhh yeah!"

Xavier snaked his hands around Rayne's hips and pulled him up from the mattress, tilting his perfect backside skyward, and only when he glanced up along the undulating line of his lover's naked body did he realise that Ray hadn't hung up yet. Xav's husky little chuckle reverberated against Rayne's sensitive hole while he ate him out hungrily. He hadn't been meaning to turn this into anything other than a bit of teasing fun, but he just couldn't seem to get enough of his beautiful dark haired boyfriend. He applied his tongue with vigour to Rayne's ass and didn't care if he was on the phone still or not.

"That took you long enough!" Rayne laughed huskily as Dominic finally twigged what was going at their end of the line. His free hand slid down to stroke through Xavier's soft curls. He bit his lips again, still smiling as his lover's tongue fluttered and probed in his clenching ring. "Mmmhhh..." he groaned, arching his back and pressing down with the foot on Xavier's shoulder as his slim hips bucked fiercely. "Jesus Dom!" he was panting as he switched the phone over to speaker mode so that Xav could hear the effect he was having; "Most people would have the fuckin' decency to ring back later, you know!" 

Dominic's little chuckle sounded completely unrepentant. "You called me, Darling!" he said, and they could both hear the grin in his voice. "What's the little minx doing to you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, you dirty-minded old fucker!" Rayne's answer dissolved into a husky moan and his breathing quickened automatically as Xavier took the teasing to another level.

Xavier had hastily unzipped his jeans and shoved them down his hips, shucking his clothes yet again. He was beginning to think he should just leave them off entirely when Rayne was around! He stroked the smooth firm head of his cock between Rayne's pert cheeks, rubbing seductively over his spit soaked anus.

"Want some, sweetheart?" he purred. 

"Oh yes!" Dom's little voice enthused over the phone before Rayne could summon the will to speak.

Rayne stroked his bare feet slowly over the firm globes of his lover's arse and nodded his head, eyes very wide and eager. His hand had moved down to caress Xavier's lower belly and his thumb was rubbing in slow circles at the base of his sexy mate's beautiful, rock-hard cock.

"He's not talking to you, you old queen!" he chuckled wickedly at Dominic, cutting the speaker again and lifting the phone back to his ear. Then his fangs extended slightly. "No, I am not gonna take fuckin' pictures of it! I'm gonna hang up now!" 

Rayne arched his back again, pressing himself urgently against Xavier's cock head, feeling the hot, sleek, spunk-wet dome stretch and breach his tongue-fucked ring. He made no attempt to press the disconnect button and Xavier began to get the distinct impression that his lover was enjoying this voyeuristic conversation, big time. Rayne's lush, milky coffee-coloured prick was curved up over his belly, standing proud of his navel and dripping little pearls onto his smooth skin as he teased Lord Warren verbally.

"Aaaahh, fuuuck!" Xavier groaned, tipping his head back as he sunk into the tight wet tunnel gripping him. "Uh, fuck, Ray...that's so good," he crooned, completely ignoring the phone in Rayne's hand. He didn't care if Dominic listened, and if it got his lover hot, all the better. His hands moved in soft caresses up and down Rayne's hips and thighs as he worked himself deeper, bucking harder. 

Rayne was fluid and complicit beneath him, his slim legs twined tightly around Xavier's hips and thighs as he rode each thrust with short, breathless cries of pleasure. He lifted the phone away from his ear now, reaching up to hold it to Xavier's cheek. On the other end of the line he could hear the rapid panting of a man perilously close to orgasm. It seemed Rayne was not the only one enjoying their little interchange on the phone.

"Uhhh... that's it, darling. Ride him hard!" their eager friend exhorted in a husky voice. "Sweet Lord and Lady you two are so delicious!"

Xav gave a breathless little laugh that turned into a sweet groan as he did just as Dominic suggested and fucked Rayne like he wanted to drive him into the mattress, while panting in Dominic's ear. One of his hands gripped Rayne's hip and the other circled around his shaft, fisting his cock in rapid strokes with each hard thrust of his own bucking body. 

He watched the tiny, tell-tale changes in Rayne, the expression on his face, the way he tightened his thighs around him and Xav whimpered with pleasure. "Ohhh, yeah...fu-uck, mmm-uh. I wanna make you cum baby."

Rayne undulated fiercely against him, his pale eyes gone almost black with lust; small, white teeth clenched hard, the lower jaw drawn back slightly so that his extended fangs overlay the lower canines, pricking into his bottom lip and drawing blood. His head turned restlessly from side to side and his hands moved over the bedcovers like wandering ghosts. He gripped the heavy cloth from time to time as the surge of sexual energy stoked up by Xavier's thrusting body became almost overwhelming. When that happened a little whine of longing escaped his throat and his whole body tightened for a moment around his lover's shaft, then released him, leaving Rayne limp and pliant again. 

"So close..." he whimpered in a shuddering voice. "Oh Xav! Fuck me! Wank me hard! So fuckin' close..."

Another tremor rippled fiercely through him and his fingers released the telephone, wherein Dominic Warren was making similar entreaties as he fisted himself to the urgent, breathless sounds of their coupling. It fell to the duvet unheeded as Rayne gripped the cover again, pulling himself eagerly onto Xavier's surging erection; bucking his own tumescent rod into his lover's hot, sticky hand as he rode Xav harder.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Jesus fuckin' Christ, Xavier!" he yelped, becoming frantic with need as he felt the hot spike of arousal plunging deep into his loins again. Powerful rectal muscles pulled tight around his lover's deliciously hot cock and his own horny member lurched and throbbed in the blond's pumping hand. "Omifuckin'god... that's it... wank me harder... fuck, yes... like that... Jesus, yes! Yes! Gonna... Gonna... Fuckmeeeeeeeeyesssssss!" 

Rayne slammed back down into the bedclothes, practically screaming as Xavier's breathtakingly beautiful prick pulsed inside him. The semen rose from his balls and jetted from the weeping eye of his own super-sensitive rod. Cum spattered like a warm, driving sleet on his heaving chest. He felt the climax surge through his loins with the swell and thrust of Xavier's hot cock in his belly, spilling heat into every nerve and muscle until he could hardly move at all. His blood was on fire and his heartbeat was practically tribal.

Xavier's body moved like a well-oiled machine, flowing in pounding rhythm with Rayne's frantic beat. He was caught up in the stunning, shuddering maelstrom of Rayne's pleasure, holding back his own just long enough to stroke and thrust every last drop of trembling orgasm from his lover. 

He released Rayne's cock then and gripped his narrow hips hard, powering into him with a few more deep strokes before he got caught in the undertow of Rayne's passion and was pulled down. He gave one more deep frantic thrust, buried as far as he could possibly go and the buzzing pressure behind his pelvis released in a spasmodic gush.

"Uhhh...uuuhhh...ohh god, Ray, ohgodohgod." Black spots danced behind his closed eyes and he collapsed over Rayne's panting body as the last of the violent tremors coursed through him. 

His head dropped on Rayne's shoulder and Xavier whimpered nonsensically as his hot breath huffed over Rayne's throat and stirred his hair, his arms locking around him tightly. Rayne curled around him, purring like a contented tiger, his mouth seeking and finding Xavier's trembling lips and kissing them long and hard. From the rumpled bedclothes beside them, his mobile phone buzzed for a little while with the tiny, tinny, excited voice of Lord Warren, expressing his admiration and gratitude ad infinitum. Or at least it might have been but Rayne reached for it without opening his eyes and turned it off. 

Xavier kissed him back with languid movements of his lips and loving strokes of his tongue. He didn't think he was capable of anything more strenuous at the moment. He didn't even notice Rayne shut the phone down because he was lost in a hazy drowse, the most amazing body buzz. The feel of Rayne's hands stroking soothingly up and down his dewy back was hypnotic, it felt so sensual.

"Mmm...bite me Ray, just a little?" he pleaded sweetly, his voice sounding almost drunk. His lover kissed the lobe of his right ear and licked him there playfully. 

"We are supposed to be trying to restrain ourselves, aren't we? Her Ladyship said I bite you too much for your own good, and I do worry that the old Queen's probably right. Bu-ut..." He sighed contentedly and kissed Xavier's neck, precisely over the twin dimple points of his previous bites. "Matthew was right, that you are very, very, fuckin' tasty."

The reminder of Matt pulled Xavier back to reality a bit. He didn't move but he had to ask. 

"Who is he to you?" Xavier had tried for a mild tone but was falling a little short. "I was trying to be nice, Rayne, I really was, but he had attitude the second he set eyes on me."

Rayne shrugged a little. "Matty's like that with everyone I shag. He's just jealous, still thinks he's got a piece of me." He tried for a look of innocence when Xavier just stared incredulously at him. "Okay," he muttered at last, almost unwillingly. "We were an item for a while. A long while; but we've not been together for ages now."

"How long?" Xavier asked, not entirely surprised by this but still a little bit stung at the idea of Rayne still seeing his ex-boyfriend.

"A while." Rayne hunched his shoulders again. "We should get cleaned up. Dom's going to make you some dinner."

The evasion bothered Xavier more than finding Rayne in bed with another man or knowing Matt was Rayne's 'ex'. His brows drew together slightly. 

"I'm not pissed, Ray. I just...wanted to know. It would be kinda stupid to think you didn't have a life before I came along, right?" He gave Rayne a look that was hard to read. Xavier had already guessed that Matthew was the one that Rayne had called last night. The first person he called. Before he even got his foot in the door. He wasn't jealous precisely but...a warning would have been nice. At the very least Rayne could have told Matt about him, that might have made his morning a little less unpleasant. "Are you really surprised he still thinks he's got a piece of you? He runs a big part of your life, you're still fucking him, he's got a key to your place, and it's perfectly okay for him to come over and throw your tricks out in the morning."

"He threw you out?" Rayne asked, his eyes darkening.

Xavier's mouth twisted slightly. "Not exactly. He suggested, pretty heavy, that I should get back to work. I could of just ignored it but I didn't know how long you'd be gone and I didn't know how much more mouth I could take." He snorted softly and gave a rueful shake of his head and then he went still suddenly as something else clicked into place, several somethings actually. 

He'd known straight off that Matt Greening was a vampire, had felt it before he even got close to him, just like he'd known what Nicolas was. He thought about his conversation with Dominic on the train, about how Nicolas felt, and Dominic had pointed out that he'd known Elian was a vampire too, but Xav had said it wasn't the same. It wasn't just that he'd known beforehand what Elian was either. He'd felt different. He felt like Jabez. And both of them felt different to Rayne, and Rayne felt different to Nicolas or Matt Greening...because both Nico and Matt hadn't been vampires that long. He didn't know how he knew that, but he did. If Matt hadn't been a vampire that long, Xav guessed that he and Rayne were an 'item' before Matt was Turned and from there it wasn't much of a leap to guess the rest. 

"You Turned Matt," he said softly, not at all sure how he felt about that.

"Fuck!" Rayne shook his head, a cynical half-smile pulling lazily at his lips. He threw his hands up. "I don't have to explain, but I will. You've met him now, you've listened to him - till your ears bled, I guess. He's a very, very hard person to say no to. And no, before you even ask it, I wasn't his boyfriend when I gave him my blood. It was all a bit... It was a professional arrangement, all right? And he had no fuckin' right to speak to you like that, but yeah... I guess that was partly my fault. I should have warned him." He looked at his hands with a little shrug. "Sorry. I didn't think."

The corners of Xavier's mouth tugged up the slightest bit. Rayne looked so fuckin' adorable like that; his expression halfway between annoyed and contrite. The apology, however grudgingly admitted, was enough to assuage Xavier, for now. His hands slid gently up Rayne's smooth chest and Xav's warm lips pressed searchingly to his.

"Okay," was all he said further on it, before he kissed Rayne again, longer and slower. He rolled, pulling the lean, nude vampire over on top of him, his fingers creeping up into his mussed hair. The kiss started to get more heated and Xavier finally broke off with a little laugh and a smile for Rayne. "Didn't you say Dominic's making dinner?"

Rayne's expression acknowledged a flash of surprise before shutting down again, giving way to the slightly reserved veneer. He did return the smile though. 

"Okay? That's it? You're not gonna give me the nth degree?" He narrowed his pale, pretty eyes suspiciously. 

"Do you want me to?" Xav teased, and then after a little pause said, "I told you, I'm not pissed off, I'm not gonna start playing the jealous bitch, I just needed to know what the deal was. I don't think you're lying so...there ain't much point getting bent outta shape about the past."

Rayne was still looking at him suspiciously and Xavier laughed. "Seriously, what do you expect me to do? You want me to flip out over it? Believe me, if you piss me off I'll let you know. I don't play games, Ray. I'm not pretending... anything, okay?" 

The look Rayne was narrowing on him mellowed and he shook his head. 

"No, I don't want that. I just... I kind of expect it. Whenever I try and predict what you're gonna do you always manage to turn it around on me. I guess I'm not used to people surprising me like that," he said carefully, pulling Xavier to him and planting a kiss on his forehead. "It's a bit weird, that's all. But I'm not pissed off, either. And I believe you're wanting to eat? I'm sure Her Ladyship will be happy to oblige after this afternoon's little game."

He kissed Xavier more tenderly, finding his lips this time and holding him close. The feel of that warm, affectionate body in his arms sent a little quiver of pleasure through him that was nothing at all to do with sex. Not that the sex wasn't utterly fabulous. 

They headed out to Dominic's place after a good shower and a change of clothing. Xav had borrowed some jeans and a mesh tee from Rayne's wardrobe, finding both a decent enough fit on him in spite of his lover's slightly shorter, leaner build. Xavier was just about to ask if Rayne remembered the route but his mate was leading the way confidently enough that he kept his mouth shut. Maybe being back in London and slipping into old, familiar routines was helping his memory. Xavier wanted to ride on the tube and Dominic's place was technically only one stop away but Rayne talked him into going overland instead, since they would apparently have to walk just as far to get to the tube station, then come back again, which seemed very strange to Xav. It was not an unpleasant stroll though, Dominic lived in a very affluent looking neighbourhood which was only a handful of blocks from Chepstow Villas and the bustling Portobello Road. As they crossed the street beyond the pretty little church of St. John's, Notting Hill, which looked as if it had been transported from some country village into the middle of London, they found themselves facing a stately crescent of imposing, Georgian terraced mansions, with perfectly pointed mink coloured brickwork to the upper storeys and white painted plasterwork on the ground and lower floors, Xav glanced at Rayne, wondering if he'd forgotten the location after all. He looked briefly uncertain. These houses were even more impressive than the ones at Chepstow Villas. Then he suddenly strode up to one of the doorsteps, more decisively. 




London Loves Ch. 03



"This is it. It's not the house I remember. This is his baby." He extended a hand towards the immaculate, black, soft-top, convertible parked at the kerb outside, almost as if he would pat it like a dog. He did not lower his hand to touch the car though. An almost Freudian reaction stopped his fingers millimetres short of the gleaming bodywork. "He loves cars, but he loves this one the best," he said with a feral grin, retracting his fingers. "Fuck knows why!"

He bounced up the steps towards the front door with indecent energy for someone who had spent almost the whole of the past 24 hours fucking, and on very little in the way of sustenance. 

Xavier seemed none the worse for wear either as he slipped up the steps behind Rayne, smiling contentedly. 

Standing at the door of this very nice looking three storey house, he had a spell of disorientation. All the days seemed to rush by him quickly since the moment he'd stepped sinuously out onto a stage to the pulsing beat of Dark Paths and danced to the voice oozing from the speakers into the crowd and then the owner of that smoky voice met him backstage with a feral grin and a hard on in his pants. His life had certainly taken some strange turns. It didn't hit him too often, but every once in a while he looked around and wondered how he had got where he was, as if it was just too much to have happened by chance and everything was speeding along far too fast. He reached for Rayne's hand automatically, feeling anchored at once by that gentle touch. 

His lover turned to look at him almost mischievously as he felt Xavier's fingers curl into his and the sound of the doorbell chimed the refrain of Kylie Minogue's 'Spinning Around' somewhere deep within the house. 

"He's a fabulous cook, I promise," Rayne said with a husky chuckle, the magic words that made everything else fall into place.

Xavier smiled again and took the opportunity to kiss Rayne while they waited.

They were still joined at the lips when the door opened and Lord Warren leaned in the doorway with a little smile pulling on his own expressive mouth. He was simply clad in pale jeans that fitted his tall, slender frame like a second skin and a silk shirt in a soft green that accentuated his gaze. He went barefoot in the house and his silver and gold curls flopped down loosely, almost into his eyes giving him a boyish look that was completely at odds with his age and status. 

"Goddess!" he sighed, "Just my luck! They're still at it!"

Xav broke the kiss with a little laugh and turned a sunny smile on Dominic, his bright blue eyes set to stun with happiness shining from them. "Hi Dom... Rayne said you actually have food here?"

Dominic swept an arm around him and kissed him fondly on the cheek as he welcomed Xavier into the house. 

"You smell good," he said, with a grin. "As does dinner. I hope you like Indian food, I'm in a spicy mood and I can do Mizz Wylde a veggie side plate, but I make Butter Chicken to die for. You do look hungry."

He ushered the younger man down a cool, mint-green hallway into a light and spacious dining kitchen which did indeed smell mouth-wateringly good. The maple kitchen units and black granite worktops occupied a deep, U-shaped alcove on the far side of the room. The near side, which was furnished half and half with light wooden bookcases and a long table in polished oak with six matching chairs, extended into a glass-roofed sun room out the back of the house with a view of the tree-lined gardens beyond. The floors were dark-grey slate with a strip of cream silk rug in the dining area, under the table, and there were plants of every description on the windowsills and shelves. A pair of tall, chunky, ivory candles set on ornate glass dishes decorated the table. Out in the conservatory there were a couple of plump, two seater sofas upholstered in lush, dark green velvet and a low, glass-topped table supported on a frame of burnished metal, wrought into the shapes of criss-crossing branches and vine leaves.

"Go through and make yourself comfortable whilst I check on dinner," Dom chuckled, patting Xavier's arse companionably. If he was at all uncomfortable about listening in on them this afternoon, it didn't show. "Ray, be a sweetheart and pour us all some wine."

Xavier was quietly observing his surroundings as he followed Rayne, taking in the house, the furnishings, and everything. He had a few immediate impressions. One was that the place suited their host well, it felt like Dominic, very refined and yet very comfortable. The other thing that struck him was the sense of wealth, it was a very, very nice house indeed. He supposed Rayne's apartment cost a pretty penny too, but the clean minimal lines didn't make you automatically think 'stinking rich'. This place did, yet it didn't seem ostentatious at all. The money had all gone into the fabric of the place; everything was immaculately constructed and fit beautifully. There was nothing here that seemed garish or out of place but from the floor tiles to the discreet white ceiling fan in the conservatory it was all top dollar. 

Xav curled himself into one corner of the comfortable sofa and tried not to let his stomach rumble at the heavenly scents that drifted around him like a tease. In the meantime, Dominic moved back towards the kitchen alcove and poked things in pans whilst Rayne located a bottle of wine from an ornate iron rack in the conservatory and wrestled the cork out of it deftly. There were three tall, green-stemmed vessels on the dining table which were more like goblets than ordinary wine glasses. He poured the wine into them until there was none left in the bottle then passed one to their host. 

Dom kissed his cheek again and returned to the stove though he kept up a sing-song chatter about food and the weather, inconsequential things, as the vampire returned to Xavier's sofa and handed him one of the remaining glasses. 

"Cheers," Rayne said softly, chinking his glass against the one he had just passed over and taking a careful sip as he came to sit beside Xav. "What d'you think? Nice place, innit?"

"Uh-huh." Xav agreed, taking a more generous gulp than Rayne had. His eyes widened a bit and he looked at the glass as he swallowed. He had never really liked wine, but he'd gotten used to drinking it in Italy, largely because Aldo enjoyed it and wine was sometimes as cheap as Dr. Pepper out there. Still, getting used to it and actually liking it were two different things. What he'd just tasted though he liked, a lot. It was just the right amount of tart and sweet with nothing bitter in it. If he had to drink wine this would be what he would choose.

"That's really good!" he said as he took another good swig.

"I should hope so!" Dominic chirped from the kitchen. He came back to lean in the archway between the dining area and the little sun room, his own glass balanced lightly in the cradle of his long fingers. "You know, you two really ought to look a hell of a lot more tired after the wickedness you got up this afternoon."

"We were just faking to get you off, and you know it!" Rayne said with a lazy smile. One corner of Xavier's mouth curled in a grin to match Rayne's.

"You are such a good actor!" he chuckled softly, taking another long sip of wine. 

Rayne smirked and rolled the large bowl of his wineglass back and forth between his hands. "So are you sweetheart. We really had him going there!"

Dominic looked from one mischievous face to the other and smiled knowingly. "Well it earned you dinner, anyway. I can't imagine Rayne's done anything so domesticated as buying food, Xavier. So you're probably starving by now, hot sex or not!"

"Well, I was starting to think I might have to beg to get a bite." Xavier, pushed himself to his feet and headed back towards Dominic, studiously not looking at Rayne for fear of laughing. "And that smells really, really good. I haven't eaten anything since we got off the train!" he said, with his best pathetic waif expression. 

"Come and sit down, darling. Let me load your plate," Lord Warren said with a little smile. "You need to keep your strength up whilst you're here."

"What would we do without you?" Rayne asked from the comfort of the plush green sofa where he was sprawled easily now, looking very alluring indeed in tight black hipsters and a shirt that was an even deeper green silk than the couch beneath him.

"You'd both be very hungry, I guess," Lord Warren chirped, ladling golden butter chicken onto Xavier's plate and letting the thick sauces run into the heaped rice and snippets of spring onion and coriander he had already put on there.

Xavier was eager enough to sit down and eat, although he was a little cautious with the first bite or two. It looked delicious, it smelled fantastic, but that didn't always correlate to tasting just as good. He needn't have worried though, somewhat surprisingly Dominic turned out to be the excellent chef that Rayne had promised. Xavier was instantly transported to culinary nirvana. Of course, being half starved added its own seasoning but in this case it wouldn't have mattered if they'd already eaten, everything was amazing. His expression showed his pleasure, along with the occasional sighs and "mmm's" of appreciation and the way he licked his lips. He didn't do it consciously but even eating turned into a sensual experience with Xav around.

"Dom, this is fantastic! I wanna marry you!" he enthused between bites. 

"Darling, let me check my diary and we can set a date," Lord Warren beamed across the table at him and tucked in, clearly accustomed to wooing visitors with his culinary expertise. 

Rayne pushed himself up from the sofa and came to join them. The table was set for three but Dom had clearly left it to his friend to decide what he wanted or did not want to eat. It spoke of a familiarity with vampires and their ways that came as something of a surprise to Xavier. His lover now reached across from his seat at the head of the table and dipped a finger into Xav's sauce, sampling it tentatively and pulling a face. 

"That is rich," he murmured softly. 

"I turned some greens in a pepper sauce for you if you're hungry," Dom said with a questioning glance at him. 

Rayne shook his head. "I'm sure it's fabulous, but... I'm not hungry for vegetables DW."

The older man reached across and patted his hand briefly. His smile was more paternal than predatory though.

Xavier looked over at Rayne with half closed sultry eyes, one knee crossed over the other and bouncing lightly under the table as he licked the sauce off his spoon. He didn't need to say anything, his look alone held a very suggestive offer. Rayne smiled at him in a way that said he wasn't entirely opposed to accepting either but then he stunned his mate with his next question, which was aimed at Dominic rather than him. 

"Do you mind if Xav stays here tonight?"

Lord Warren glanced rapidly from Rayne's solemn face to Xavier's and back before shaking his head. "Of course not, he's welcome. You both are, you know that." The look on his face said that he wanted to ask why but knew better.

This was clearly news to Xavier though, and he didn't have any qualms about asking. "What? Why?" 

Rayne snared the fingers that were not still wielding a piece of cutlery and drew them to his lips softly. "Because I need to go out and you're tired and I don't want you to be lonely," he said in a soothing tone.

Xavier just looked at him in surprise for a moment, still a little confused, then his expression slowly cleared as he realised Rayne had been planning to leave him here tonight all along. Irritation pricked along his skin but he managed to bite back the first thing that came to his tongue, and he even managed a calm tone.

"You could have just told me earlier you wanted to go out without me, Rayne. Don't treat me like a kid, okay?" 

Dominic's fork hesitated halfway to his mouth and he glanced from Rayne to Xavier then back again a little more warily. "He has a point darling," he said in a placating tone, at last, looking back at the vampire with a small frown. "I presumed you'd at least talked about it."

"We didn't have time to talk about it," Rayne said testily, slumping behind his wineglass with a scowl. "Besides, what's to talk about? You both know the score by now. I can't exactly take him hunting with me, can I? I just thought it might be more fun for him staying here than being stuck in on his own. So shoot me!"

Xavier was probably one of the most easy-going people around, but he had a limit, and if he was shoved too hard he'd shove back. 

"That is bullshit!" he snorted. "You gotta feed. I get that. You don't wanna feed off me. I get that too. What I don't get is why you think I can't handle it if you tell me even the simplest fuckin' thing! You knew you had to go out tonight, you could have just said so instead of acting like I'm a puppy that you need to arrange to drop off for the night!" 

"I'm telling you now." Pale green eyes stared balefully back across the table at him, warning him without words that a fuss was not what Rayne wanted or needed right at that moment.

Dominic put down his fork with a little hiss of indrawn breath, a better reader of aura and body language than either of his young guests. Xavier was about a breath away from an all-out explosion.

"Ray..." Dominic warned sharply.

Xav already hadn't had the easiest of days, mostly because of Rayne. His lover clearly hadn't bothered to tell his ex about Xavier - or Xav about his ex - before they'd had their run in this morning. Xav had been willing to let that lack of consideration go because he understood how sometimes you just didn't think about things, and Rayne had said he was sorry, and that had been good enough for Xavier. This, however, was manipulation, flat out. 

Xav wasn't stupid. Rayne hadn't told him what his plans were because he wasn't sure how Xav would react, and he didn't want to deal with it. So instead he sprung it on him at the last minute then tried to make it seem like he was just watching out for him when Xav got mad, and now that he'd finally pushed him to the point of a blow up he shut down and acted like Xav was being the unreasonable one. There was nothing Xavier hated more than being lied to or manipulated. It was like Rayne was purposely trying to see how much Xav would take, how far he could push him.

The seething anger in Xav hovered there on the brink for a moment and then as he realised Rayne had done this on purpose the energy suddenly seemed to drain out of Xavier. Instead of letting loose the fabulous temper tantrum that was brewing he slumped back in his own seat and sighed, running a weary hand through his soft blond curls.

"Fine! You're telling me now," he said woodenly, refusing to look at his lover. "Have a good night then." 

Dominic was giving Rayne a 'look' which said very clearly that he did not appreciate this dispute taking place whilst they were still eating. Rayne returned the glare with interest then pushed himself to his feet and sighed. 

"Fine! That's..." He threw his hands up in a gesture of defeat. "Just fine!" Tossing back the contents of his wineglass he set it down hard on the edge of the table and the stem broke in his hand. 

Dominic yelped; "No!" like someone had shot one of his precious dogs in front of him and even the vampire looked momentarily stunned. The blood on his hand turned quickly to pale dust but the cut took a little while to heal. He put it to his mouth, running his tongue over the rent whilst Dominic retrieved shards of glass from under the table, his expression utterly mortified. 

"Sorry..." he said at last, in a small voice. 

Dominic rose from beneath the table with a face like thunder, still cupping slivers of fragile, scalpel fine, green glass in one hand. 

"Get out!" he barked, pointing towards the sun room and the garden which provided the closest point of egress. "Just go! And try not destroy anything else on your way!"

Xavier sat petrified, his eyes just about as wide as they could get. He'd never seen Dominic lose his cool, or even raise his voice. He doubted a single broken glass was really something he would get worked up over so the glass must have been pretty special. 

Rayne took off in the direction he was pointed and didn't even look at Xavier, who refused to acknowledge how much that hurt. Hadn't he just told Rayne not to treat him like a kid? Then he shouldn't sulk like one. 

Dom got up and went for a dustpan and brush and Xavier stood too, meeting him on the other side of the table when he returned. 

"Dominic, I'm so sorry..." he said, trying to help gather pieces. He was sorry too, about more than just the glass. If he'd just kept his mouth shut maybe Rayne wouldn't have gotten pissed and set it down too hard. It was his fault, he had to spoil everything. 

"You've nothing to apologise for, darling," Dom sat back on his heels as if reading his mind and managed a weak, fraught smile for him. "I get so angry with him sometimes, Xavier. He just can't help himself. He has to be a spoilt brat and he just expects the world to move with him. Once upon a time I thought I could control that but I guess I know better now." 

He lowered his head for a moment, turning a shard of the broken wineglass in his fingers sadly. 

"They were a gift," he said at last. "From Venice, hand-made glass. A gift from someone I held in the highest regard." A little sigh escaped him. "Mea Culpa, Xavier. I should have put them away somewhere safe but I can't resist the chance to use beautiful things. Forgive me."

Impulsively Xav leaned over and kissed Dominic's cheek, a tender gesture meant to comfort. He sighed deeply. 

"Today hasn't been the greatest. I shouldn't have let him push my buttons, I don't think he meant anything bad. I guess it's just spill over from him not giving me a warning about Matt Greening."

Dom looked interested. "Matty's been round?" he queried lightly. "Um... you do know...?"

"That he's a major pain in the ass? Yeah, I know." Xav said, sounding only slightly disgruntled. He relented at the look Dominic gave him. "And that he's a vampire of course, and Rayne's ex, and that he made him. Not that I was told any of that before I had the pleasure of meeting him this morning."

Dominic's roll of the eyes told him that this was a disappointment yet not unexpected. He swept up the last shattered shards and removed them to the counter but did not bin them.

"Matthew's a sweet boy, when you get past his prickles," he said, turning back to smile at Xavier. "He knows that Rayne doesn't want him, and it hurts. But he'll never show anyone that. So he gets his revenge in other ways. Which you've probably figured out already." He drummed his long fingers restlessly on the kitchen worktop either side of his hips. "If they'd been closer he would never have Turned Matt," he said thoughtfully. "That was the ultimate cruelty. Neither of them seems to see it yet, but it's true."

Xavier saw it, that was for sure. Matt had a very long unlife now to wish he was something more to the man he loved. It almost made him feel a little more forgiving toward him. Almost!  Xav gave a little shrug. "At least I don't think he's gonna want to bite me again anytime soon."

Dom's eyes widened; "He bit you? Sweet Lady! Are you all right?"

"Um, yeah." Xav said, not sure what the big deal was. "I don't think he liked the way I tasted though," he added, and that reminded him about the problem he was having. "Dom, when can you help me with this shielding thing?"

"Ahh..." Lord Warren nodded gravely, as if something made sense to him. "Not so much the taste of you, I think, rather the stream of consciousness he downloaded with your blood. Well, that will teach him not to snack on another vampire's Chosen. You're quite right though. It will be to your benefit as well as theirs if you learn to contain your thoughts and emotions."




London Loves Ch. 03



He opened another bottle of wine and topped up Xavier's glass, then produced a rather magnificent looking chocolate-cake concoction from the chrome-fronted refrigerator and carried it through like a lure to the sun room, now shrouded in twilight.

"Bring a couple of forks and a pair of little plates through, darling," he chuckled, amused by the mesmerised expression on Xavier's face. 

IN DARKNESS: 

Rayne had to fight the urge not to slam the door behind him as he stalked out into the gardens. Only the thought of what Dominic might do to him if he broke the conservatory stayed his heavy hand. Lord Warren might look like an ancient club-bunny in his casuals but he was still a Vampire Slayer of considerable renown. Once outside, he slumped down on the bench in the terraced garden for a few minutes, composing his frustration until it became more manageable. It would not do to go out on the streets with the blood lust on him and a temper still percolating. The damage he could do under those circumstances did not bear thinking about. 

His brief taste of Clint earlier today had taken the edge off his hunger but he had not fed properly since bleeding the guy on the train, two days ago, and even then he had been careful not to take too much. And the sex with Xavier, though it fed him emotionally, also pulled on him in other ways. He was physically tired, which was unusual since his Turning. They had been fucking almost constantly since returning home though, which probably had something to do with it. 

Rayne almost smiled at that, but not quite. He would have some explaining to do when he got back, if Xavier was still around. And he could hardly blame the boy for being angry with him. His outburst had been harsh, and Xavier had a point, he hadn't been consulted about tonight. Rayne had just figured that it would be more fun for him to be with a friend than alone. He hadn't asked though. In truth he was not in the habit of asking. 

Little wonder that so few of his lovers lasted no more than a handful of days with him. 

He fished in a pocket of his jeans for his ciggies and lit up with a little sigh, blowing smoke into the pocket of quiet down here among the plane trees and poplars. There were so many of these little green squares tucked away off the London streets. They were tranquil places to come, if you had the fortune to be a key-holder or friendly with someone who was. 

Rayne wondered how long his friendship with Dominic could last under pressures like tonight's. He was way past the stage of seeing Lord Warren as a genial old flake. They had been through too much for him to be so dismissive of the older man. But Dom was mortal when all was said and done. He had the bites of two different Ancients on him, which offered some protection, even though one of those Vampires was now dust. And he was a powerful white witch to boot, which Rayne had learned pretty quickly not to mock. Dominic Warren knew his way around spells that could literally curl your hair. The image of affable old bugger was a bushel he cultivated to hide his light under, because he knew as well as any vampire how dangerous it was to be different in a world where the paranormal was feared and bland, homogeneous traits were the acceptable norm. He'd had excellent teachers, a white witch called Constance Harper and her lover, the vampire Cameron Eldridge, who had been his mentors and then his peers for some forty years until Connie was killed in a road incident that Dom swore was no accident. Eldridge did not survive her passing by more than a few months. Vampire or not, his heart and spirit were broken and Dominic grieved for them more than for the passing of his own blood parents. 

A lesser man would be dead many times over. Lord Warren had fought vampires and spirits, warlocks and weres in his sixty plus years, and amazingly he looked very well on it. Even more amazingly, none of it had ever graced the gossip columns or featured on the front of the tabloids, with the exception of a rather embarrassing incident generated to try and discredit him by an opposing Black Coven in London a few years ago. That had been just before he and Rayne first met, and Warren assured him that his own Coven had averted Armageddon by triumphing over their antagonists. Rayne knew better than to scoff by now, but he'd laughed his arse off at the time. It just seemed funny. Dominic was more like his granny than some kind of Terminator figure. 

And he'd broken one of the glasses, the special set of thirteen, made in Venice with a twist of Cam and Connie's ashes in the delicate green stems. How insensitive was that? And how the hell could he make amends for it?

More so, how was he going to apologise to Xavier for treating him so shabbily? The one person who had brought light and warmth to his cold days, and he had talked Xav down like he was a child, or a servant. He rested his forehead against the heel of his free hand and closed his eyes for a moment. 

Brian used to talk to him like that all the time; as if his thoughts and feelings were of no consequence. His uncle Brian always knew what was best for him. And usually what Brian thought was best for him was to shut his mouth and open his legs. 

Was that how he was treating Xavier? 

Matt had once told him that he didn't have a soul, even before Jabez bit him. That had been one hell of an argument. Matty didn't argue with him often, preferring to be subtler in his manipulations but they fought like wolves that night. They fought until Matt Greening was so badly hurt that Turning him was his only option. It was that or let the boy bleed to death in his arms and he could not. Angry to the point of blindness with Matt he still could not let him go. Even in that, Rayne had been deftly manipulated by his ex-lover. 

He wanted to go back in and just take Xavier in his arms and hold him and tell him how sorry he was; sorry that he was useless; sorry that he could be cruel without even knowing it; and more sorry than anything that he did not know how to change the way he was. But again the time was past and he knew he would not be welcome in that warm and friendly house right now. 

Snuffing out the cigarette, more calm and also a little sadder, he pushed himself to his feet and walked on through the gardens and out onto the darkening streets. Soon the night would shroud him and he could shrug off his conscience and hunt. That was some small comfort, but not much.

CONVIVIALITY:

Xavier brought the items he was told to fetch and followed Dominic readily into the little conservatory. "Keep them from reading me, yeah...but also keep me from picking up everybody else's shit. This morning when Rayne wasn't around, it was like the dimmer he put on me wasn't so strong. When I was walking around I couldn't get too close to anyone or I was feeling whatever they were feeling."

"Hmmm..." Dominic frowned slightly and cut his young guest a more than generous slice of cake, levering it onto the plate he was holding out. "That is a little disturbing. Maybe he is right to hold off biting you, and maybe that accounts for some of his behaviour tonight. Though not all of it, I think. There is a line of reason in Vampire Lore that suggests it is not wise to take blood from the same vein under the same moon, and this is not merely out of fear of weakening the Feeder. It is believed to actually weaken the vampire feeding from him. I'm not aware of any studies done on the Feeders themselves to show how it affects them but I've never heard of anyone becoming increasingly sensitive just because a vampire feeds from them more intensely."

He cut a second slice of cake for himself, adding; "I hope you like this, I haven't tried the recipe before but it looked absolutely delicious!"

Xavier's brows drew together slightly in a tiny frown. "Hey, Dom... can you not call me a Feeder?" he asked in a tone that suggested he was feeling a little insecure as it was without being referred to like a vampire flank steak. 

"Sorry, darling," Lord Warren conceded with a little smile. "I get lost in the technicalities sometimes. Nothing personal!"

Xav took a bite of the cake then and his expression melted back to something more agreeable. "Oh, man..." he said as the buttery, chocolaty confection just about make him weak in the knees. "I think I might actually get fat hanging around you!" He grinned. Then he thought of something. 

"Wait, they've done studies on vampires? Who's they? And what kind of studies?"

Dominic sat back with a little smile, still munching on a mouthful of cake with a look of bliss on his face. Amazingly, there was no way you could describe Lord Warren as fat, or even slightly rounded. He gestured towards Xavier with his fork as he swallowed the first mouthful. 

"One of the earliest modern Institutes for the study of Parapsychology was in your own country, at the University of Virginia, no less," he said with a grin. "The practice has spread to us across the pond. UCL students are doing PHd research into blood abnormalities and the 'myth' of the werecreature and I believe that Birmingham have a fairly robust centre for the study of psychic phenomena. And Simons Harrington in Liverpool have been doing solid research into vampirism for about a year now."

He did not add that some of this Liverpool research was due to them having Rayne as a somewhat unwilling guest of the Institute for about six months, prior to his trip to America. It had taken all of Dominic's resources as a mediator to get Wylde freed. Right now he was wondering if it had been worth it.

Xavier chewed on that while he worked on the slice of cake. Interesting, actually; of course, he was finding more and more that there were things in the world he'd never even guessed at. With a sigh he set the plate aside and licked the sweetness from his lips. He was quiet for a few moments, thinking, and he admitted to himself that he was worried Rayne wasn't coming back. That was it, Rayne had already decided it wasn't going to work and if he came back at all it would only be to tell Xav he was putting him on a plane home or something. Trying not to think on it he made himself focus on the here and now. 

"So, you don't know why this is going on with me?" he said. "What can I do though? The 'brick wall' thing isn't working."

"The 'brick wall' is a psychological exercise, pretty much like the flame technique that is used in meditation," Dominic explained, licking his fingers as he surveyed Xavier contemplatively. "It's effective because, done well, it can make people who are susceptible to energies and vibrations, such as vampires, for example, believe that there is nothing beyond the wall. To guard against a creature that can see through such trickery and sleight of mind, you need a proper spell."

Xav looked at him for a long moment or two, those big blue eyes blinking slowly once. "Dom, I've got no fuckin' idea what you're talking about," he finally admitted.

Dominic chewed on his lips throughfully for a moment. Whereas many people would probably have thrown up their hands in defeat he liked to view general ignorance as a bit of a challenge.

"Did you ever tell a white lie as a child to get out of doing something?" he asked at last.

"You mean like faking sick to stay home from school? Yeah, everybody does that."

Dominic nodded; "Mmm... sort of like that. The 'brick wall' is like that, it's something you put out there, like a smoke screen, to hide what you're really about. But it's not a real, tangible object. It's just a ruse. A serious Sensitive will see right through it. And when a vampire bites, they get memories with the blood that they take. Now a gifted person could actually create a barrier, a real psychic barrier that would keep thoughts in and also keep things out. There's a bit of a knack to it and it takes practice but it can be done." He paused to smile at Xavier. "Am I making any sense to you yet?"

"Can't you just tell me what I have to do?" Xavier asked. He was at heart a practical person, and the impatience of youth was not currently on his side. He didn't expect the solution to just be handed to him, he was willing to work and practice, whatever it took, but he wanted to be doing something now.

"Yes, I could, but no, I won't."

Xavier gave him a baleful glare but Dominic was unfazed. "If someone that's never danced before asked you to teach them, would you just rattle off where to put their feet without showing them or going through it at all? You've got to learn each of the steps first before you put the whole thing together."

Now that he was speaking a language Xavier could understand he settled down a bit. That was something he could relate to. "Okay...so how about showing me the first step then?"

"I will Xavier, I promise, but not tonight. For one thing you just ate enough to keep you grounded for a least a few hours, and for another Rayne was right about one thing, you are tired." He smiled to take any sting out of the words. "Get a good night's sleep, and then we can start when you're fresh."

Xav couldn't quite stifle the sigh of disappointment, but he nodded his head.

After talking a little while longer Dominic showed him up to one of the guest rooms on the second floor, which he was pleased to find also had a light, airy en-suite bathroom. Xav was also happy to find his luggage there since a change of clothes was a bit overdue... not that he'd really been wearing his clothes all that often! As much as he didn't want to admit it, both Rayne and Dominic were right, he was exhausted and not just in a physical way. It was still early by his standards but he decided he'd take a shower and head off to bed before he fell asleep on the sofa or something. 

Just as he'd finished up in the bathroom and came out wrapped in a towel he heard Dominic tap lightly on the door and he came in holding a small china cup, like the kind used in Chinese restaurants only this one seemed thin and looked especially delicate. A curl of steam rose from the surface as Dominic held it out to him. 

"Drink this, it will help you sleep."

Xavier took the cup and sniffed at it warily. "What's in it?"

"Nothing that will hurt you, I assure you. It's just herbal tea."

Xavier still looked dubious, but he didn't really think Dom would give him anything bad and it smelled okay, kind of like summer flowers. He drank the hot liquid in one, as if he was doing a shot, and handed the cup back to Dominic, who took that and his damp towel as he slid between the crisp white sheets on the bed. 

"Sweet dreams, darling," Dominic whispered as he bent and kissed his forehead and Xavier murmured a sleepy good night as he watched Dom retreat and close the door behind him.

He did not sleep right away though. As soon as he was alone he thought of Rayne and again a small part of him wondered if he would even come back. He shouldn't have gotten so worked up, he shouldn't have snapped at him, Rayne hadn't meant anything bad, he was just trying to look out for him. It had just felt... it had felt like the way Josh used to treat him. Like the times they'd go out somewhere and when they got there Josh would tell him he had to fuck some guy and he didn't give Xav any choice about it. The situation wasn't the same at all, but it had just struck a nerve with him. 

Xav closed his eyes and reached out tentatively along the psychic thread between them. Coolness and a hint of satisfaction came back and he tried something he hadn't really consciously tried before, he sent a feeling of comfort, like a soft caress down the thread. He didn't know if Rayne would feel anything or not, but he didn't have any more time to wonder. Sleep was pulling him down and he couldn't seem to struggle against it. He drifted off at last, still thinking of Rayne.

WALKING IT OFF:

As a boy, Rayne's favoured method for dealing with a problem was to walk it off. He had always been a fairly healthy child and lack of finances meant that generally if he wanted to get from A to B he would have to walk there, or cadge a lift. As he got older he also learned to jump trains and hitchhike, but on the whole, if the distance was reasonable he still liked to walk. A steady hike of nine or ten miles was nothing to him if he had a tune working itself out in his head or a thorny situation to resolve. And in London that was easy enough to do. 

Having set out from Dominic's place with no clear destination in his mind he followed his feet whilst the problem of what to do about Xavier nagged at him unremittingly. Many people considered the city at night to be a no go zone, and there were areas of the city that could be. Rayne had no such considerations to worry him. The vampire could be your best friend or your worst nightmare. He had been the target for unsuspecting muggers who certainly never raised a hand to anyone again. On a couple of occasions he had been bundled into alleyways by would-be assailants who did not live to regret doing so. Rayne had no qualms about his ruthless approach towards those who violated his personal space. He didn't always kill them, it wasn't generally necessary. But he was capable of putting the fear, if not of God, then at least of the Unknown, into much larger and less disciplined attackers, without resorting to cold-blooded murder. 

So his feet carried him north at first under the Westway and up towards the edge of Kensal Town. When he had been mortal and only marginally famous, one of his Dealer friends had lived up here, in a flat that cowered in the shadow of the Trellick Tower. Rayne often walked up and met him in Meanwhile Gardens on the bank of the Grand Union Canal. It was far from the most salubrious area of London but he felt comfortable here nonetheless. Most of West London's narcotics dealers knew Rayne Wylde by sight, even though he was no longer a regular customer. Generally he was still viewed as one of their own. 

His cousin Lewis still lived in Kilburn to the north but they had not spoken in years, not since Rayne fucked Lewis's boyfriend whilst living with the couple when he first came to London as a teenager. It was all water under the metaphorical bridge to him now. He had done things that he felt bad about but he could no more change the past than he could predict the future. Rayne swung west tonight, crossing the upper end of Ladbroke Grove and heading for the cemetery at Kensal Green.

In the early years of the new century he had disappeared for nearly three years, lost in a mess of drugs and psychological chaos that he still preferred to shut away behind closed doors. A body was found in Spitalfields and identified as 'Rayne Wylde'. He had actually been 'cremated' at Kensal Green, or someone that fitted his general description had been anyway, and the Faithful and the Press came out in their hundreds to gawk. Of course things were a little hard to explain when he turned up again just a few years later but hardly anyone remembered the furore these days. 

Rayne had denied all knowledge of the funeral and declared theatrically that rumours of his death must have been greatly exaggerated. The body of the man presumed to be Rayne Wylde was long since reduced to dust and ashes so an autopsy could hardly be called now. Since no one could actually establish that Rayne had anything to do with the mix up he walked away from the incident with little more than a rap on the knuckles for wasting police time. His sister still had not forgiven him though for letting the family believe he was dead. He regretted that some days. 

There were a lot of things to regret; looking back. A lot of water gone under the bridge, never to return. 

He stood on the bank of the canal near to the gas risers at Kensal Green and stared into the dark water below, lost in thought. It would serve him right if he lost Xavier over this. In truth he had never deserved the beautiful dancer. Maybe nature was just setting things back on their path again. Bringing him here had been the wrong thing to do. In America or even Europe he could hide behind an image but this was home, in so much as he had a home these days. Here his past would gradually creep out of the woodwork like so many maggots wriggling out of a corpse. And there was nothing he could do to protect Xavier from it. 




London Loves Ch. 03



Rayne wandered back into the quiet darkness of the cemetery and sat down on the steps of a half-ruined mausoleum. He looked up at the stars and wondered how Jabez had been able to stand this for over three thousand years. There were days when he thought he might go crazy and he was barely more than a decade and a half Turned. 

And then he felt it, like a slow trickle of something warm and sweet, deep in his chest. He was so used to feeling that little thread connecting him to Xavier pulling gently from his solar plexus that he almost took it for granted. When Xav was turned on, he was turned on. When his lover was happy he felt it like a miniature sunburst in his breast. And now, tonight, his dark humour had been augmented by the sense of Xavier having closed the door on him. He could still feel the boy but as if they were in separate rooms, shut off deliberately from each other. 

When the door opened he felt it like a cool draught of air pouring into his lungs. And then he sensed that little coil of heat, the searching vine of Xavier's aura, reaching out to him. He pulled it in at once; a drowning man clinging to a lifeline. His anger melted and he felt a gentle surge of peaceful contentment roll through Xavier in return. For all that he was thoughtless and hopeless, Xavier just wanted to be with him and was unhappy when they were apart. That knowledge left him feeling a little warmer, but also it gave him an edge of fear once more. What if he could not be all that Xavier needed? What would happen to them both then?

In the end he walked for miles, circling around the cemetery and zigzagging back and forth across the common at Wormwood Scrubs then back down Wood Lane and past the citadel that was the BBC television centre, a place he'd been chauffeured into, and escorted out of, so many times that he could not count them. He'd also walked by here days without measure, dreaming of fame, dreaming of Top of the Pops. And now he was back on the perimeter again, looking in and not entirely unhappy about the situation. Strange, how things went around like that. 

Wood Lane took him down to Shepherd's Bush. Shepherd's Bush Road guided his feet back to the edges of Hammersmith where Whipsnade had once played five nights at the Apollo in their heyday. The screams from four thousand teenage throats still echoed distantly in his head.

He walked to the river and by then it was midnight dark as he slid over Hammersmith Bridge and down the south bank. People passed him by, groups or couples and he let them be. He could take his time now. The pulse was steady in his throat. Xavier was sleeping, he could feel that his lover was resting easier now their souls had touched and he wanted to be back there in Xavier's arms. 

But first he needed blood. He strode on across the causeway, past the waterworks at Barn Elms and ambled over the greens behind the old Putney Hospital site. Cranes still towered up towards the sky here, beyond the athletics track. Down in the park behind the sports centre a young couple tangled in a hungry, half-clad embrace and he sat on the wall and breathed in their passion as they sank to the ground and fucked, in blissful ignorance of his presence. It would have been easy to mesmerise and bleed them both but they were so young and so wrapped up in one another. 

After a little while he rose and walked on, hungry and aroused, following the southern embankment to Putney Bridge and back across those low, lazy arches to the North side of the river. It was a walk of a little over a mile from there to World's End on the old Kings Road where he once spent a passionate, drug-addled night with an old flame, just a little while after he was Turned. 

As a boy he had come here as often as he could, addicted to the punk rock history of the area; the echoes of Sex and Seditionaries, the punk clothing stores run by Viv Westwood and Malcolm McClaren, which was called World's End by the time he reached his teens. He remembered being fascinated by the huge clock face with its hands spinning backwards on the front of the little, slate-faced shop and the beautiful, otherworldly garments arrayed around the crooked shopfloor within. The shop was still there but the area was so different today, all pharmacies and pizza restaurants. It felt too clean, too sanitised. 

"Allo," a male voice murmured as he stood, looking up at the clock, lost in his thoughts. 

Rayne took a step back and half turned to find a tall, dark-haired, unshaven stranger looking him up and down speculatively from the doorway of the nearby Oxfam shop. He was wearing a dark two piece suit that had seen better days and battered looking Doctor Marten boots. For a second Rayne did a double take because the man looked so very much like John Moon, a rancorous Yorkshire bastard who had pimped him for nearly two years of his life, back in his early twenties. 

His heart was still ticking over double speed even as he calculated that the man in the doorway was young enough to be Moon's grandson and probably half Greek or even Israeli to boot. 

"Did I scare you?" the stranger asked, coming forward apologetically. "I'm sorry. You looked beautiful, just standing there in the light off the windows. I wanted to get a closer look. Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Rayne breathed, nodding his head slowly. "It's so quiet tonight, I didn't hear you coming though."

"I was in the doorway, half asleep. I heard you stop." The man moved closer. "You are alone? You want some company, maybe?"

"You're sleeping rough?" Rayne asked him, blinking. 

"No, I came for a night out with friends, missed the last train. I will catch the first one home tomorrow. I have to work." He reached out, touching Rayne's cheek. "You are cold. Have you been walking around all night?"

"For a while," the vampire nodded again. 

"You want to let me warm you, maybe?" the man whispered, resting his hand in the open neck of Rayne's dark green shirt, against the cold skin of his torso. He was not too warm himself but Rayne could feel the body heat from his palm as a questing finger entered his shirt and stroked over one of his nipples. "My name is Ari, I will be gentle if you wish it but I like to fuck."

"Okay," Rayne agreed with a wary smile, hunger overcoming his reservation. "Here?"

"Come..." The man was smiling too now, it made his face a shade more handsome and Rayne relaxed as his hand was taken and he let himself be led around the corner and across the street into the shadows of a recessed gateway behind a closed and silent pizzeria. The alcove was overgrown with trees and vines from the front garden of the next house along. "What is your name?" Ari asked huskily.

Rayne told him and Ari pushed him against the wall there and pressed his lips to Rayne's cold, soft mouth. His hand slid up the vampire's shirt and groped his belly then shoved its way roughly down his tight pants. Rayne moaned hungrily as he was groped and then wanked, a hot, wet mouth exploring his neck as he reciprocated willingly. His fingers released the zipper on the other man's pants and he slid a hand inside, finding the horny stranger's erect prick at once. He pumped it and felt the slick of hot juice on his palm right away. Ari was randy for him and would probably shoot quickly. 

"Uhh... so good," the man grunted. "You are beautiful, my little friend. So good with your hands. Tell me, do you like a man on your back?"

"Yeah," Rayne panted, feeling his fangs extend. He sucked lightly on Ari's hot, sweat-salted neck as the slightly taller man unbuttoned his pants and shoved them down his thighs. Rayne wanted to bite him then and there but Ari turned him roughly and leaned out to glance up and down the empty street before dropping to a crouch and applying his tongue to Rayne's arse crack. He licked up and down the hairless cleft and moaned his approval, spitting on the vampire's soft, pink pucker then shoving two fingers into the sexy young man as he rose to his feet, with another nervous glance along the street.

Rayne bit down on his lips as he enjoyed the rough penetration of the stranger's thrusting fingers inside him. Ari lined up his rod then and spat on the head a couple of times before pushing it firmly into him. There was no talk now, just quick, rough sex. Rayne exhaled a little groan as he felt Ari's long, hard, circumcised penis sink deep inside him, thankful that he'd let Xavier stoke him hard this afternoon. He was still wet and receptive as Ari bucked into him and the man began to grunt softly with approval as he fucked the moist, snug cleft in front of him. 

When Rayne cried out urgently Ari's hand slid up to his mouth keeping him quiet. Which was what the little vampire wanted. 

Ari grunted with surprise when Rayne bit his wrist but he did not pull away, just kept his arm across the vampire's mouth, pulling Rayne's head back to his shoulder as he drove his cock deeper. As the vampire had suspected it took him just a few minutes to come, but he kept his tool sheathed in Rayne until his balls stopped lurching then gripped his mate's hard prick and held onto it as he started to thrust again, not losing his erection for a moment. 

Rayne licked his skin, feeling the heat of Ari's blood like a magical potion in his mouth and throat. It soothed the hunger and frustration in him so sweetly that he was willing to let Ari reload up his arse as many times as he liked so long as he got to suck on the soft flesh of his wrist. 

Following on from another vigorous fuck, he got to suck on Ari's cock as well, nodding down low on him, taking it throat deep and gulping down the thick flood as the handsome, horny middle-eastern male erupted between his lips. When he rose to his feet, they kissed and rubbed against one another in the darkness, not bothering to pull their pants up. Rayne bit Ari's neck and the man hardly seemed to care. He was fingering the little vampire again, whispering hungrily about how he wanted to get Rayne naked and screw him on his back somewhere very public.

Rayne fed his primary hunger and let Ari pull him through a private gateway into the small front garden of the house next door. Under the tree, behind the garden wall he laid Rayne down and yanked his pants off, shoving himself in hard between the vampire's slim thighs and bucking fiercely on top of his near-naked partner. Rayne tuned it out, closing his eyes. He was warm and sated, very content, and he just wanted Ari to get this over with so that he could go home and get himself cleaned up then seek out Xavier and take advantage of the chance to renew his energy. He could fuck all night but he wanted to be with his lover now, not some faceless stranger. 

It was nearing four in the morning by the time he had walked back to his apartment, taken a long, refreshing shower and changed his grubby clothing, then wandered back over to Dominic's. Lord Warren was asleep on the sofa in the sun room, a book still open on his chest, when Rayne slipped in through the unlocked door. He found a throw and put it gently over the older man, careful not to wake him, then moved softly up the stairs and found Xavier sprawled like an angel across the bed in his friend's guest room. 

Rayne shrugged his clothes off easily and wriggled onto the mattress beside his naked lover, curling around him and pulling Xavier close. He smelled so good, and felt even better, his skin warm and moist from the heat of the room, fragrant from the shower. Rayne kissed the back of his neck and snuggled up close to him, with a sense of relief and contentment that was almost overwhelming.

Xavier murmured sleepily, stirring only slightly as Rayne curled close around him, and then his presence must have registered deeper as he stilled and turned his head to look over his shoulder. 

"Rayne?" His voice was soft and a little thick with sleep, the valerian and linden flower concoction Dominic had given him making him fuzzy still. He didn't really need his lover to answer though, he already knew it was him and he turned to face him, his arms sliding around him at once and he pressed close, emanating relief as he nuzzled into the side of Rayne throat. 

"I'm sorry..." he whispered huskily. "I didn't mean to snap at you." 

Rayne kissed his blond curls tenderly, cuddling up to the warmth of his lover's body. Xavier smelled so good, so sweet and fresh and he was generating enough heat to cook on.

"Shhhh..." the vampire breathed. "I should have warned you that I'd have to bugger off at some point. I guess I've just got so used to you knowing what's going on in my head that I took it for granted." 

He cupped Xavier's face, drawing his lips up for a slow kiss.

Xavier's responsive kiss was tender and sweet, melting softly against Rayne's lips, all forgiven on both sides in that one gentle kiss. He wasn't sure if Rayne wanted anything more than that...or just wanted to fall asleep with him, so he didn't take it any further than the slow sweet kisses, yet the way he moved slightly against the vampire's body suggested he would be receptive to more if that was what Rayne wanted. 

His lover seemed content to curl around him and rest though. The last little frisson of tension melted out of him as he snuggled into Xavier's arms. A brief warmth that flushed his skin with rare colour was the only testimony to how he had spent his evening. It was not exhaustion that unmanned him however, just a simple desire to wrap himself around Xavier and rest beside him. 

It had been a long time since he felt so safe and so content in someone else's arms. 

LONDON LOVES...?

END OF CHAPTER THREE

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM AND BELLORA QUINN 2012



London Loves Ch. 04



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn

CHAPTER 4

London Loves... a Mystery

And all of Rayne's head is a mystery, folks. Ignorance is bliss, apparently. Try telling that to Xavier!

The usual terms apply, we hope you enjoy this latest chapter but it belongs to us. Please don't copy or reproduce it elsewhere or we might decide not to let you know how it ends. Thanks!

Rayne had found the ring, with some spare keys and other bits and pieces of tat, in his music room off the hallway on the evening after his argument with Xavier; the evening after he broke Dominic's commemorative wine glass. He had retreated there once they got back to the apartment to give Xavier some space, but also to try and find some mental peace for himself. IAs far as he could remember he had never been much of a one for sharing his private space before Xavier came along, but some of the things he had found tucked away in that little box, just inside the lid of his upright piano, seemed to contradict that. There were house keys that he could not recall using; an address book with names and numbers for the Greater Manchester area and a receipt from a magazine, presumably, for an article he had no memory of writing. The ring was the most alarming clue though. He owned plenty of jewellery, but nothing like this. It was a flat, chunky band, made from two separate circles of aluminium and white gold, fused back to back and set with nine tiny diamonds around the outer face. Apart from this the outside was unadorned. On the inside surface there was an inscription in a swirling, romantic script. RJW My heart is always yours. KMJD

When he saw it, Rayne's heart thumped once, so violently that he thought he might be sick. For the life of him, he could not remember who KMJD was, but that person had clearly believed that they meant something to him. He knew of only two men in his life that might be able to solve the mystery for him.

He wasn't inclined to discuss a potentially important part of his love life with his ex-boyfriend right now, so that meant one thing. He was going to have to eat humble pie, and plenty of it.

He turned up on Dominic Warren's doorstep the next day with a very expensive bottle of white wine and a small, colourful business card.

"The guy's based in Dulwich," he explained, handing over the latter with an apologetic grimace. "But he's got a really good rep, I promise. If you show him one of the other glasses he reckons he can reconstruct it. He isn't cheap. Trained in Murano, he says, but I'll foot the bill, he's already got my details. I don't expect you threw the bits away, did you? Least, I 'ope not. I 'ad to go south of the river for that."

Dominic contemplated the details in silence for a moment then looked up at Rayne seriously. "If you think I'm going to forgive you that easily..." he began, but he pocketed the card anyway. "I'll think about it. Is that all you wanted?"

Rayne shook his head, knowing when he was rumbled it was safest not to try and lie about it. He held out the small, black velvet bag. "I was hoping you could tell me what this is."

Dominic opened the drawstrings and decanted the simple, heavy ring into his palm. The diamonds glinted in the sunlight like tiny stars. His face fell dramatically.

"Oh damn! You really don't remember anything, do you? I'd hoped it was just..." He closed his mouth again but it was too late anyway, the look on his face told Rayne without words that he'd been acting out of character and it had already been noted.

"It's coming back in bits and pieces," the little vampire confessed as Dom relented and ushered him into the house and straight through into the kitchen where he spent most of his time. "Being with Xav helps, it's like... when I bite him, I mean, when I share with him through the bites rather than just taking, I wind up giving him something that's personal to me. And most of the time he doesn't even know he's got it. But when I bite him and drink from him I get some of it back, like it's one of his own memories."

Dominic nodded sagely at that as they settled on the sofa in his sunroom. On this warm, bright summer's day the door and the windows were open onto the garden and the place was fragrant with the scents that wafted in on the breeze.

"That makes sense, darling, Jabez and Cam both told me that they had similar experiences with human partners, where the biting went beyond feeding and became a way of sharing. I think that's in your Undead genes, Rayne. When you get close to someone and you want to give something back, to share as much of yourself as you can with them, well... maybe it happens instinctively. You're doing it without even thinking about it."

"Speaking of Jabez," Rayne said, momentarily distracted by something that had been very much on his mind since he returned to London. "Where is the grouchy old bugger? Has he been in touch with you? Because I haven't heard a peep from him, not even a fucking card to ask if I'm okay after... y'know."

He shrugged a little, still unable to speak about what had happened to him in Paris. Dominic shook his head, though he looked worried too now.

"Nothing," he confirmed. "He hasn't called, hasn't been round. He doesn't answer the phone. Mersen said he's not called in but he's in the Far East, apparently. Pot hunting, or so Mers' seems to think. Nothing life or death. He'd have taken Mersen with him if it was."

"I'd know it if anything had happened to him, right?" Rayne said warily.

"If anything serious had happened, we'd both know," Lord Warren assured him, touching the twin bite marks under his shirt collar tellingly with his forefinger.

He was still holding the ring that Rayne had given him in the other hand and now the vampire nodded towards it, his expression filled with trepidation.

"So... who gave me that?" he asked bluntly. "What happened to us? Why don't I wear it anymore? None of that was in the memories that Xav and Matthew gave back to me."

"No, I expect not," Dominic told him soberly. "Kevan happened whilst you were living in Manchester. Back before you went out to the States and met Xavier."

"Do what? I lived up north?" Rayne blinked at him. "I mean... I know I was at college up there for a while but I was just a kid then. Matt gave me that much back; I met him whilst I was up there."

"I know, my darling," Dominic was picking his words carefully now. "You... uh... you know what happened to Simon?"

Rayne's expression closed down again. He nodded his head twice. All of that had come in a rush, both from Matt and from Xavier. When he was trying to share the depth of his feelings for Xavier with the younger man, he could not do so without having Xav understand something of his former life. And so he had those bittersweet memories back now; of long, sunny, summer days spent in the close company of his best friend; of Simon's balanced wisdom, both in the recording studios and on tour, that kept him from going over the edge; and ultimately the pain that he could do nothing to heal as his precious Simon died in his arms, struggling to breathe, fighting to find the words that needed to be out of him before they were silenced forever.

He was not sure when Dominic had moved closer but suddenly the older man's arms were around him and he was holding Rayne tightly kissing his hair, all his earlier vehemence over the broken glass forgotten.

"Sweet boy, I am so sorry," he murmured tenderly. "I know how much you loved him, and he you. Xavier must truly be unlocking your heart though. I never saw you weep for him so easily before."

Rayne lifted his head, biting his lips, fighting down the huge wave of unchecked emotion that threatened to drown him.

"That was only a few years ago," he forced out now. "Is that why I went back to Manchester?"

"Mostly , I think," Dominic agreed. "You needed to be away from London, from everything that reminded you of him."

Rayne was nodding slowly as if this made sense. "So who was... is... who is Kevan?"

"You met him whilst you were living there," Dominic said, his tone becoming more cautious again. "He was a detective. You helped him initially, with a case, as I understand it. This is difficult for me to explain. You told me some of it at the time. You had your misgivings about the relationship. He wasn't gay, I remember you telling me that over lunch once. I got the impression you needed to get it off your chest at the time, as if it was troubling you. You said that you liked it because that was the way you felt about yourself."

"Well... that makes sense, I think," Rayne laughed nervously, still trying to resurrect the memories that lay dormant in him. "Why did he give me the ring if neither of us wanted to face up to our gay genes? You're..." He hesitated again, his eyes widening with sudden dread. "You're not gonna tell me that I married him, are you?"

Dom shook his head, but his face remained sober. "No, Ray. You didn't tie the knot. He had a wife and kids, I think you said. He was a married man." He handed back the ring with an apologetic wince.

"I know how to pick 'em, don't I?" Rayne's laugh was sharp and humourless. Then it died on his lips as something sank in like a cast stone dropping into a still, deep pool. " Had?"

"I beg your pardon?" Dominic blinked at him.

"You said had... he had a wife and kids. What happened to us, Dominic?"

Lord Warren drew a long breath and let it out slowly. Then he explained to Rayne Wylde the real reason why he had run away to the States as soon as he was released from the secure unit of the Liverpool research hospital where he had been incarcerated for six months, following the unexplained deaths of two young men found beside him and the dead body of his police detective lover at that man's south Manchester home one night in the height of summer, almost one year ago. For a time Rayne's ashen face held no expression as he listened to the words that made no sense to him. There was no context in his memories for this tale.

"They found me at the house. I don't understand," he ventured weakly at one point.

"Rayne, the neighbours called for a SWAT team, they'd heard screaming and gunshots. If Kevan's partner hadn't come out on the call with them, it's likely they'd have tried to shoot you dead," Dominic told him patiently, though his own heart was hammering now.

"But I don't get it, he was my boyfriend. They thought I killed him?" Rayne was shaking his head slowly, still bewildered, turning the ring in his fingers as if it held the answers.

"They had no idea what had happened in there, Ray," Dominic reiterated. "All they knew for a fact when they walked into that room was that Kevan was dead and you were holding on to him and wouldn't let go, and... others died in that place, darling. They had no idea how many others at first, but they found... remains." He stopped and swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat. "Remains of something that had once been human... plastered over every wall, over everything in that room. They locked you up, for months, Ray. It was horrible. They... well, let's say their hospitality would have been considered barbaric by animal rights activists if you were a chimpanzee. It took every last connection that Jabez and I had between us to get you released, and even then neither of us believed that you would survive. You were a very long way away from us, my darling boy. Even when you occupied the same room, you were a long way away. I worried when you decided to go to America, but Jabez said to let you go. Maybe he saw something in your future. He was right to give you your head, if you had stayed then you'd never have met Xavier. So I suppose that the Lord and Lady were looking out for you."

He was rambling now, growing nervous in the face of the vampire's continued silence. Rayne was just staring at him as he talked, not really listening, past the part about human remains, but a slow sense of nausea was creeping over him as the meaning behind those quiet, insistent words seeped in, and with them came memories; dark, terrible memories that were like something out of the worst nightmare. He stumbled to his feet and as Dominic reached to catch him he shook himself free of the older man.  

"I need a cigarette. I'll be back in a while."

He needed something stronger in truth, but the nicotine fix would have to do for now and he walked blindly down into the sunken garden hidden behind the rows of elegant London townhouses, moving on autopilot. He chain-smoked his way through half the packet of Marlboros in his shirt pocket as the pieces that Dominic had given him slipped into place in his head. In their wake, fragments of recall were coming to him now, slotting into the gaps in his mind. He saw a large, awkward man with the build of a back-street bruiser and the shy smile of a little boy, looking up at him, hope and tenderness mixed in his gaze. There were more emotions than images though; humour, anger, frustration, humiliation that blazed like a dying star in his chest, concern, doubt, lust... a whole lot of lust, searing through him like a flame, and yet more anger; a blinding, senseless rage such as he could not remember feeling before Xavier came into his life and he realised that he had something worth fighting for.

He turned the ring around between his fingers again, remembering gentle, blue-grey eyes and a soulful stare that would have put a puppy to shame. In contrast, he felt the ghosts of hot needy hands on his naked body and a sexual charge that was almost beyond his control.

It was then that he could taste the memory of blood; the salt flavour of it in his mouth, the feel of it on his hands, on his skin, and the raw iron tang of it filling his nostrils until he could hardly breathe. The pieces were still jumbled up in his head, like a deserted room in the aftermath of a party, debris strewn everywhere. He had been afraid... no, not afraid but anxious, and that anxiety was mixed up with the overpowering sense of lust and need and energy that he always felt moments before reaching a blinding orgasm. He remembered trying to reach out, to make it stop, but something was holding him back. And then he saw something that would have stopped his heart in his chest if it had still been beating.

"No..." he whispered, as the memory came crashing back down on him, just as those young hooligans, fuelled up on White Lightning and foolish bravado, had come crashing into Kev's bedroom on that night... that fateful night.

He'd gone out for a smoke, he remembered it now, he wanted a ciggie before they went to bed and Kev didn't like him smoking in the house. When he came back in he'd locked the door but he hadn't put the alarm back on, partly because he couldn't remember how and partly because he secretly thought it was silly when there was obviously someone at home.

They had tumbled into one another's arms on the big, comfortable bed, the way they always did; ravenous for the press of lips against lips, flesh on flesh. He had surrendered to the cool metal of the police-issue handcuffs around his wrists, the only things that could hold him for more than a minute or so if he chose to fight them. He yielded as well to the fierce heat of Kevan's need, giving in to the other man's hunger to press inside him, to straddle and ride him, bucking like a machine as he buried that big, satisfying cock deeper. That surprised him on two counts, firstly because he was rarely submissive with his lovers, to the best of his knowledge and secondly due to the fact that he hated to be restrained. He'd picked that one up from Matty, who had always loved it.

The memories kept on spooling. At one point Rayne had thought he heard a crashing noise and implored Kev to stop, to check it out, but his lover, ever randy and ever persuasive, convinced him that it was just something outside on the estate. It was that kind of place, hence the security alarm and the barbed wire around the tops of all the back walls; he remembered that too, with a sense of shock. But Kev was unconcerned and so he let it go, like a fool.

Because Kev believed that if someone was in the house the alarm would trigger. Wouldn't it?

Consequently there was nothing to stop them, nothing to stop those little thugs, who had been sent by bigger thugs that didn't like to get their hands dirty, to warn Kev to keep his snooping copper nose out of business that didn't need to bother the Bizzies. Except, of course, they did more than just warn him in the end.

Rayne sank to his knees in the gardens as he heard it all, felt it all, happening again in slow motion, like a scene from a film reeling out in his head over and over from every angle. He heard the sound of the gunshot, although initially he didn't realise what it was because it didn't go off with a bang like a starting pistol, it made a soft, whooshing sound like an arrow being fired into a mattress, ending with a dull, wet 'thunk' as it struck its target, practically at point blank range; it was not an enormous room after all. He saw it again, the moment of shock in Kev's eyes as the bullet punched through him like he was made of liquid, which in a sense he was. He felt it hit him, it's impact slowed by his lover's body but still enough to jab into his belly just beneath his ribs, like an impatient finger and then Kev began to spurt blood over him like a ruptured oil pipe and he could not get his hands down from the cuffs to stop it.

He screamed now, as he had screamed that night, struggling to get his hands free as the teenage gunman lifted the automatic pistol again, this time aiming higher and firing the shot that extinguished the last of the light from his lover's eyes.

People came running from every direction and for a moment he was not sure where he was, though he thought he could hear Dominic's voice, quick and urgent, trying to soothe him, to bring him back out from the horror of this waking nightmare. He knew that his fangs were bared as they must have been on that night, a little under a year ago, when he finally ripped the cuffs free of the bedframe in his incredulous rage and flung himself between the body of his twitching mate and the laughing maniac who had just shot him dead. He saw the laughter in their eyes turn to disbelief, and then to terror. And it happened that quickly; because he could not remember anything else, just the screams, and the blood and the silence.

"Shhh..." Dominic was murmuring, his strong, warm hands pulling Rayne to his feet, much as Dave Ramsey, Kev's partner had finally done when he pried Rayne from Kevan's still-warm body, steering him firmly but gently away from the carnage.

Shhhh... There's nothing you can do. Leave it... Leave it... He's gone, Ray.

He did not weep until Dominic got him back to the house. Only then, in the safety of that warm, familiar kitchen did he let the barriers break and an ocean of tears flowed free of his aching eyes. Dom did nothing to try and make him stop. Rayne had not cried for Kevan at all, insofar as the older man knew. Now he was finally making up for lost time, free at last to grieve for his lost love.

Xavier rang when Rayne was quiet at last, sleeping out his grief on the sofa with a soft, green throw wrapped around his fragile looking body. The young man had panicked, able to feel that something was wrong, but unable to reach Rayne on his mobile. Dominic marvelled again that these two had found one another at such a time. Xavier was truly a sensitive, he thought. He was so finely tuned to Rayne's emotions that they did not even have to be in the same parish for him to know that his mate needed him.

Dom did something then that he hated; something he rarely did with his friends. He lied. He told Xavier that everything was fine, and that Rayne had been getting flashbacks to what happened in Paris but he was okay now.




London Loves Ch. 04



If Rayne wanted to tell Xavier about Manchester then that was up to him, Lord Warren decided. He had tried to talk to Xavier about this during their journey back to London but the younger man had steered the conversation away from Rayne's past, and maybe rightly so. He would not play the Devil's Advocate this time. Some things were probably better left unsaid.

3 WEEKS LATER

Xavier was sprawled on his belly on the futon puzzling out a sudoku when the mail came. It had been a few weeks since the fight at Dominic's house and since then he was aware that his lover had been round to see Lord Warren and all was presumably well between them again, for which he was glad. He liked Dominic's company and the older man had been a good friend to him both in Italy and since their return to London.

He could hear Rayne tinkering idly with the guitar in his makeshift studio and Xav gave him his space when he was in there. They had not talked about this,Rayne had never specifically asked to be left alone when he was trying to write, but Xavier seemed to know naturally when he was off in thought or concentrating on a tune and didn't want to be disturbed, so he stayed out of the way. That was one thing Xav was good about; he didn't have to constantly be by his lover's side and he didn't come on like he was being neglected if Rayne had things to do without him. The only thing that ever really riled him was being kept out of the loop.

Apparently this was something of a new experience for Rayne, and it was therefore initially treated with some suspicion. Only when a little time had passed without them having another blazing row was he finally forced to accept that Xavier genuinely wasn't the needy, clingy type.

Xavier got up to collect the post since he'd nothing better to do and he carried the customary pile of envelopes and small parcels through to the lounge where he set them on the coffee table for Rayne to get around to, if and when he felt like it. Generally, Xav never even looked at the letters, there was no reason to expect that any of them would be for him, but this morning there was a largish manila envelope in with the rest of the assortment and as he set it down his eye happened to land on the label. He was more than a little surprised to see his own name there, not even on a pre-printed label but hand-written in dark blue ink, in a firm, square, precise script.

Picking the package back up, he looked at the return address curiously and realised that it was from Marco DeCellio, the photographer who had been so keen to work with him in Naples. He chuckled under his breath as he stood there for a moment holding it, thinking that it had been so long since he'd gotten a piece of mail that he almost didn't know what to do with it. He sat down with the package, figuring that Marco must have coaxed the address out of Aldo, as he opened it and pulled out another tightly wrapped bundle in waterproof paper. From this he finally extracted a thick sheaf of mostly eight by ten photos, another thinner manila envelope, and a letter.

Marco's letter was brief and to the point.

Xavier, put these into a portfolio and get yourself an agent. The magazine was extremely pleased with the shoot and they are in the process of doing a layout using many of these shots. I've also had an offer on the exhibition pieces, not one, but ALL of them, by a very interested party. I have enclosed copies of these in a separate envelope along with some private shots.

All the best, Marco.

Xavier set the letter aside and thumbed through some of the photos bemusedly. They did look very professional, for all that he was dressed in nothing but skimpy underwear in most of them. Xavier played well to the camera, having that ability to seem to look right through the lens so it felt less like viewing a picture and more like he was looking right at you from the photographs. A thread of playful sensuality seemed to infuse them and Marco had done interesting things with the light and shadow too. He liked the light coming from the side rather than straight on, which gave the images a softer, more natural look. He didn't think he'd take Marco's 'suggestion' all the same, but it was sort of interesting to think about.

"What you got there?"

Rayne's slightly husky voice, right behind him, just about made Xavier jump out of his skin.

"Jesus!" he yelped, dropping the photos onto the futon, startled. "Fuck, Rayne...I'm gonna hang a bell on you or something!"

He laughed to disguise his shock and the vampire flashed a fanged grin and flopped down on the day bed beside him, reaching for one of the pictures idly as the other hand caressed his boyfriend's sexy arse. His eyes widened as he checked out the detail.

"When did you get these done?" he wanted to know. There was no clue in his voice but the pupils of his eyes widened and darkened as he admired the sleek lines of his lover's body and the shadow of the twin bite marks on his neck in one particular shot. "They're recent."

"Aldo had a party whilst you were... away... and introduced me to this guy, Marco." Xavier hesitated only briefly as he handed Rayne the curt missive from the photographer. He picked up one of the photos and looked at it critically, making a small contemplative sound as he did. "I should have charged him more," he said in a distracted voice.

He opened the second packet and spilled its contents out. These were completely different to the others, the shots more natural and obviously meant for more than just a magazine spread.

The series Marco had showed in his exhibition (and had subsequently already sold for a pretty penny) comprised several black and white prints. These were the ones that Marco had taken of Xav dressed in leather and cuffed to the ladderback chair. They had turned out to be subdued and beautifully erotic.

There was a close up of Xavier's hands with the leather restraints around his wrists, his fingers curled lightly as if he were testing the give in the cuffs. Every detail was picked out, the creases of his knuckles, the long elegant shape of his fingers, the neat clean nails that were almost too perfect for a man's hands, except for the one ragged edge that looked recently torn. The next picture showed him at an angle to the chair, his head tipped back, knees bent and ankles strapped to the legs; a coy, playfully submissive look on his face. The next photo was arresting, the kind of shot that was both beautiful and so poignant it was hard to look at. The expression on Xavier's face showed a naked, raw pain from the intensity in his eyes to the slight parting of his full lips, as if he'd made a little gasp or cry.

Rayne cleared his throat as he studied this last image, adjusting himself consciously on the bed and settling again, on his belly, to stare into the darkness of his lover's eyes. Most of the shots were delicious fluff, with Xav doing what he did so well, acting out a role; playing to the audience and giving the lens of the camera what it wanted to see.

This picture was different. It seemed to go beyond the surface and delve deeper into his partner's soul.

"What did he say to make you look at him like that?" he asked distractedly, still staring at the reflection of Xavier's pain-filled eyes.

Xavier stared down at the photo silently. Marco probably could have stabbed him and he wouldn't have been as surprised and hurt as he'd been by what the photographer had said. At the time he believed Rayne had left him for good and he had just learned that his fear that Rayne had died was a mistake, or so he'd thought at the time. He had been very confused and wounded and Marco felt no hesitation in twisting him up inside even further, the result being this haunting picture, which Xavier had to admit was the best of all he'd taken. His tongue flickered nervously between his teeth and unconsciously he bit down for a moment on the lower lip.

"He asked me..." He had to clear his throat, taken by surprise at how much the memory still hurt. "He asked me... hadn't I been seeing you, and when I told him you'd gone, he said it must have hurt to get dumped like that," Xavier finally answered.

For a moment or so Rayne was completely silent, utterly still. Then he laid the photo down on the bedcovers and pushed himself to his feet without a word. The wrapper from the parcel was still lying on the edge of the day bed and he picked it up, scanning it for a return address before casting it aside and turning back towards the door.

Xavier hadn't once lied to Rayne since he met him, but he wished he had lied just then, or at least evaded the question.

"Rayne?" he called after him and stood when he didn't get a response. "Hey...um, where are you going?"

For a moment his lover hesitated in the doorway then he muttered; "I'm going to do what I should have done while we were still in Italy. I'm gonna wring his fuckin' neck. Cunt!"

Xavier's eyes widened and he stopped short, not sure what to say. He hadn't expected Rayne to get that pissed.

"Um, you're going to fly all the way back to Naples to kick his ass?" he asked, carefully controlling the urge to crack a goofy grin.

Rayne met his eyes, suddenly caught between righteous fervour and anxiety.

"You don't want me to kick his fuckin' arse from here to kingdom come?" he asked, and his expression added; Why not? He deserves it, yeah?

Xavier let a small smile curl his lips as he closed the space between them, gave a little one-shouldered shrug, and slipped his arms around his bristling mate.

"It was an asshole thing to say, but other than that he didn't treat me badly," he said kissing the edge of Rayne's hard set jaw. "He didn't try and rip me off and he didn't try and fuck me...well, he didn't try to that hard anyway," he conceded, at last. "I think he got off more on taking the pictures."

"I can see that," Rayne answered testily. "Another reason to kick his fuckin' balls up into his gullet!"

He couldn't maintain the scowl with Xavier this close to him though. His hands came to rest on his lover's hips and he kissed Xav's nose quickly. "So you don't want me to give him a kicking?"

Xav finally let out the grin that he'd been holding back. He kind of liked how protective Rayne got, even if he didn't need to be in this case. "If you went all the way to Naples just to kick some dude's ass that talked smack to me that would play hell with your reputation, baby." Xavier teased, and then laughed lightly at Rayne's expression. "No, I don't want you to go wring his neck. I can think of better things to do."

Xavier nibbled suggestively on the tender skin just below Rayne's earlobe.

"Oh yeah?" Rayne's mood relaxed a little but the look in his eyes said that he was still mulling over ways in which to make Marco DeCellio pay for the slight against his lover. "We-e-ell... you may have to persuade me."

He pulled Xavier's lips onto his very softly. He didn't like the idea of letting anyone get away with hurting Xav like that, but also the thought of flying off to settle a score was a convenient distraction. He was still fretting a little over the idea of having to leave his lover behind in London whilst he went North but not sure how to take him along without having to explain a whole load of shit that he wasn't ready to talk about just yet. Somehow it was all easier when Xav was in his arms; when they could just kiss and fuck and not have to talk at all.

"I can be very persuasive..." Xav whispered in his ear, tickling along the outer ridge with the tip of his tongue. He moved backwards, his hands sliding down Rayne's arms to his wrists and pulling him gently back toward the low fold down couch.

They tumbled across the mattress again where the photos were still scattered and the second envelope still holding the rest of the pictures shifted and spilled its contents out by Xavier's shoulder. These images were in color, but the light was low and soft and showed Xavier stretched out naked and aroused on the crisp white sheets of a bed.

For a moment Rayne just blinked at them, not sure whether to be angry or turned on. He sprawled on the mattress and pulled Xav astride him then reached for a handful of prints, flicking through them distractedly. From time to time his hand slid down to caress his lover's slim thigh as he stared at the photographs, his face pale and unreadable. His body was easier to read, though. He was getting steadily harder between Xavier's legs as he looked at each print in turn.

"What sort of client does this Marco bloke take pictures for, exactly?" he asked at last, shaking his head.

Xavier shifted his body slightly, pressing his growing erection along Rayne's through their jeans.

"The underwear modelling ones were for some menswear catalogue, and he wanted the black and white bondage shots for his gallery exhibit." He glanced at the photos still in Rayne's hand that showed him naked, his face relaxed and sleepy, the fingers of one hand toying with a nipple while the other wrapped around his hard cock. "These he took for himself," Xav said, seeming not the least embarrassed or distressed. "He told me he wouldn't sell them," he added, plucking the last photo from Rayne's fingers gently and leaning down to brush a kiss across his lips. "I'd just woken up from a dream...in which you played a starring role," he concluded, smiling at his lover.

The vampire looked up at him with a small, incredulous twitch of his lips. He put the photos aside. "You'll tell me anything! Did you know he was snapping you while you were doing that to yourself?"

He ran his hands lightly around Xavier's lean hips, loving the way the younger man's body undulated slowly against his own when he touched him like that. Tenderly he began to massage Xav's delicious backside.

Xavier nodded.

"Yeah." He had his hands braced on either side of Rayne now and he lowered his head again to kiss him teasingly. "I was so fuckin' horny from the dream, I didn't care if he watched."

Rayne's lips lingered on his but he did not seal the kiss. His hands gripped Xavier's arse a little harder.

"So he spent the night with you?" he whispered, eyes narrowing as he processed this information. He reached over and picked a few of the photos back up. If he put them all together and flipped through them they could almost make a shot by shot movie. The expression on Xav's face was soft and sexy from sleep, but his lean young body was hard and ready, his slender graceful hands touching his own willing flesh and taking full advantage of that fact.

Xavier looked down at him curiously. He'd felt a little ripple from Rayne and his expression turned slightly confused. A moment ago he'd thought Rayne was just angry on his behalf but now he wasn't so sure, which didn't make sense. Surely he wasn't jealous, why would he be? He didn't seem to mind sharing him. When Xav thought about it though he realised, since meeting Rayne ,every time he'd been with someone else either Rayne had been involved too or it had been with someone they'd fucked before. He still wasn't sure if that was the problem or not but he knew Rayne wasn't exactly happy about something.

Xav shook his head slowly. "No, he didn't. He never touched me. I think he came into the bedroom to wake me up to get ready to shoot. He took a picture of me sleeping and the sound of the camera woke me."

"He stayed at Aldo's then?" Rayne's tone was light but persistent. Clearly he wasn't about to let the matter go.

"No..." Xav said, still looking at him curiously, a small uneasy frown starting to draw his brows together slightly. "After we met at Aldo's party he asked me to come work for him and I stayed at his place for a couple days." He paused, hating the feeling that he needed to somehow explain himself. "Rayne, you were gone... It was just a way to make some quick money," he said, trying to not to sound defensive but not entirely succeeding.

"Did Aldo know about this?" Rayne asked, indicating the photos of Xav spread out on the bed masturbating, clearly still mulling the situation over in his head. He could not stop looking at the photos though. What had Xavier said? They were for the photographer's own collection? "Fuckin' dirty bastard!" he exhaled tremulously, shaking his head. His temper was rising again. "What kind of cunt takes advantage of the fact that a young guy's on his own and vulnerable in a strange country so that he can take soft porn photos to jerk off to later? I can't believe you let him do that, Xavier? I thought you were a bit smarter than that!"

He regretted the choice of words the minute they were out of his mouth but he couldn't take them back now. The photos were trembling in his hand and he just wanted to... actually he didn't know what he wanted to do with them. They were amazing pictures actually; so sensual. They made him want to strip Xav and just take him hard. Instead they were fighting over this.

Idiot! his conscience sneered at him.

Xavier's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah? Well I guess it's so much smarter to let a total stranger tie you up and do whatever the fuck he wants to you, huh?"

He threw the words back at him in a low voice that simmered with heat and reminded Rayne of exactly what he had been doing while those photos were being taken. He slid off Rayne, angry now. Things had been so peaceful, they hadn't had a single disagreement since that night at Dominic's a few weeks ago. He knew he shouldn't get angry but whenever they argued Rayne always managed to push his buttons. In a single sentence Rayne had managed to make him feel both cheap and like a wet behind the ears kid that didn't know any better.

He swept up some of the scattered photos and stalked through to the kitchen where he threw them into the trash, as if by doing so he could erase what he'd done or what Rayne had seen. His throat felt tight and that pissed him off too, that Rayne could make him feel so stupid, so easily.

Rayne rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the cool linen for a moment, breathing slowly, bringing his hair-trigger temper under check once more. It would not help matters to stalk into the kitchen after his lover and stoke up the flames of an argument he had no appetite for in any case. And they were amazing photographs; just a little too intimate for his ego to handle right now.

After he felt he'd regained some tenuous control he pushed himself to his feet and followed Xavier into the kitchen a shade reluctantly. His beautiful lover was still bristling, both hands gripping the worktop as he stood with his back to Rayne, his spine and shoulders an angry cross, forbidding him to come closer. And Rayne hated that invisible barrier. He wanted more than anything to go to Xav and take the boy in his arms and kiss away the hostility but he was rooted to the spot, unable to take the first step.

"Xav... Xavier, I'm sorry," he said quietly, instead. "I... I didn't mean to upset you, I wasn't thinking straight. I seem to be able to fuck things up with you every time I open my mouth right now. And I don't want to do that. You... you were right, I left you alone there and it was none of my business what you did or didn't do afterwards. I couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened and how I'd feel if he'd done something bad to you. I'm an idiot and I'm sorry."

Xavier didn't move and he didn't speak for several long moments. Then his shoulders slowly dropped and he turned around. His posture was still a little defensive, arms loosely crossed over his chest as he leaned back against the counter.

"It was just business, Rayne. I didn't want to let PJ and Aldo take care of me, no matter how much they tried to. It was easy money, he paid me a lot more for those extra pictures and I didn't even have to fuck him. I didn't think it mattered." He finally lifted his eyes to look at Rayne, telling him without words that he wished he would just come over and hold him. "I didn't think you were coming back, Ray. It's not like...like, I just forgot about you. I thought about you all the time."




London Loves Ch. 04



"I don't deserve you, really, do I?" Rayne said huskily. His gaze roamed up and down Xavier's tense body restlessly and he shook his head. "I suppose I knew it when I went away and... it was always going to come back to that. I fuck things up, Xav. Everyone... every time I get involved with someone, I manage to fuck up their lives. And even when it's going well, even now when I've been happier than I've felt in years just here with you... I know it's all going to get screwed up and it'll be my fault, because it always is."

Rayne held his hands up before his lover could move or say anything. "I'm sorry... I thought he'd hurt you or bullied you into the photos or something bad like that, and I wanted to do something. But I can't do anything can I? I'm really, really bad at this whole relationship thing, Xavier... and I don't know how to be any different."

Xavier pushed away from where he was leaning and moved to him at once, lifting his hands to his shoulders and caressing lightly along the back of his neck.

"My life was way fucked up before I ever met you," he said, a sad little smile pulling his lips. "And there are people that suck way worse at the relationship thing than you, believe me." He leaned in and kissed the tip of Rayne's nose.

Rayne moved against him so that their foreheads almost touched and he could feel Xavier's warm breath, a little too quick on his skin. He lifted his eyes to look up into Xav's clear baby-blues.

"I still don't deserve you," he whispered, pushing up onto his toes slightly to touch his lips to Xav's mouth. "Do you forgive me?"

"If I forgive you can we still go make up in bed?" Xav asked with a small grin.

Rayne pretended to think about it for all of a couple of seconds. Then he snagged an arm around Xav and caught him between the legs, hauling the blond up over his shoulder and carrying him unceremoniously back through the lounge and along the corridor, into the bedroom where the duvet was still rumpled from their morning passion.

Xavier laughed when Rayne tossed him down on the bed and then proceeded to show him very thoroughly that he was forgiven, several times.

Afterwards they lay twined around each other, naked and damp and spent. Rayne was on his back and Xavier curled to his side, tucked under his arm, a small contented smile on his face. They lay like that together for quite a while and then Xavier turned his head, resting his chin on the back of his hand where it lay on Rayne's chest and looked up at him.

"What's bothering you?" he asked softly.

"What makes you ask that?" Rayne countered cagily.

"Come on, Ray..."

"It's nothing."

"It's something," Xavier said, giving him a look that was hard to read but held a bit of sadness. "If you don't want to talk, it's okay. But, I know something is wrong. I can feel it. You've been off with me since the other day when you went to Dominic's. I just want you to know... to know that you can talk to me, if you want to."

Rayne tilted his head in the nest of pillows to peer down at Xav, the little sheen of moisture from their energetic tumbling already beginning to aspirate on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. He stroked Xavier's sweat damp curls and smiled sorrowfully.

"Can't hide much from you can I?" he sighed. "That's gonna be a ball ache."

His smile said that he wasn't serious but the tenderness in his eyes added that, yes, there was a problem. He was notoriously hard at sharing his feelings and knew it but didn't Xavier deserve to know everything about him if he wanted to get in this deep? But on the other hand, did Xav deserve to have the crap-heap of his past dumped on his pretty head so soon? He cleared his throat and let his head sink back into the pillows staring up at the ceiling as he figured out where to start; how much to say.

"I'm going to have go up to Manchester for a couple of days, yeah?" he ventured by way of an inroad. "You're okay about that, aren't you? I mean, it's a bit off for me to leave you here but it wouldn't really help you to come with me."

Xavier looked back at him with serious solemn eyes. "I'll be okay by myself for a while," he said, and then added almost hesitantly. "I know you have things you need to take care of."

That focused Rayne's attention on him for a moment. Not so much what he said, but how he said it. Before he could ask Xav explained; "Dominic said something to me on the train. He warned me that you might be... upset, about things that had happened here before you left. That you might have some things that you needed to attend to. That's all he said though. I told him that if you wanted me to know more then you'd tell me yourself."

Rayne pushed himself up on his elbows not sure if he was more surprised that Dominic had considered breaking his confidence or that Xavier had stopped him. He wriggled back into a sitting position so that Xav had to kneel up to maintain eye contact with him. Gently he reached out, stroking his fingertips along the younger man's cheek as he contemplated how to proceed.

"Xav..." he breathed at last. "He... he was right, it's been a fucking ridiculous year for me. It's amazing really that we met the way we did. So many things could have happened to stop it but they didn't." He lowered his head for a moment, suddenly feeling his heart race at the mixture of emotions raging within him. "I have an apartment in Manchester, did he tell you that? I used to live there, for a couple of years anyway."

Xavier nodded silently, then when Rayne still wasn't looking at him he murmured; "I think he did mention it. And that you've been trying to sell it."

"Yeah," Rayne said quietly. "I can't live there again. Not in that place anyway; which is a shame because apparently it's a nice apartment." He swallowed and lifted his head to face Xav. "I was... I was with someone whilst I was up there, sweetheart. We were lovers, more than lovers... just for a few months."

He let out a shaky breath as the words left his lips as if they franked something he'd only hoped was a bad dream until this moment.

Xavier wasn't sure if he was expecting that or not. He supposed not. Rayne hadn't seemed like he was just coming out of a relationship when they met, but then sometimes it was hard to tell. People reacted differently to things. Xav licked his lips lightly, a sense of foreboding suddenly shivering down his spine. He almost didn't want to ask, but he made himself.

"What happened? You... you broke up?"

Rayne's hand moved to his face and he rubbed his eyes, rubbed his forehead as if it hurt to think. He shook his head.

"He... he died," he said in a voice so small that it was almost a whisper. "Nearly a year ago. A year ago this Friday. Some cunt broke into his house, walked into his bedroom, shot him in the back and... he died."

The words fell from his lips like some kind of mantra. Though he saw the scene in front of his eyes as he spoke it, still it seemed unreal somehow; detached from him like a sequence of stills from an old movie. He wanted to cry but there were no tears left. The lump in his throat felt like iron though and the hurt closed cold fingers around his neck, choking him slowly.

Xavier sat by his side motionless and silent for several long moments, that eerie sense of foreboding not going away for all that it had been confirmed that something horrible had happened. There was more to it, Xavier was almost sure that wasn't where the story ended, but he didn't have the heart to press Rayne on it. Instead he very gently slid his arms around his beautiful boyfriend and pulled him into his embrace, pressing his lips softly to his temple and just held him.

"Baby, I'm so sorry..." he whispered into the silk of Rayne's hair.

"You've nothing to be sorry for." The kiss seemed to thaw the cold sense of shock that had briefly wrapped around Rayne, threatening to strangle the life out of him. He looked into Xavier's eyes very solemnly. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I told him there was someone in the house but he was so sure... so sure that no one could get in if he didn't let them. I should have made him stop, made him check..."

He cleared his throat again, expelling a small, incredulous huff of breath.

The pain and cold Rayne felt seemed to seep out of him a little and touch Xavier's heart with thin icy fingers. The expression 'I feel your pain' was, for Xavier, quite literal, especially around Rayne. His bright blue eyes shimmered with emotion and he stroked a tender hand soothingly over his lover's back.

"You were with him when he was shot?"

The vampire nodded, expressionless. His emotions were everywhere though. For almost twelve months he must have believed he could close it down, shut the feelings away where they wouldn't touch him but saying those words unlocked the door that kept them hidden, safely out of sight and mind. He still could not clearly remember everything that happened on that fatal night. A part of him wanted to believe that he had imagined it all, that he'd maybe had some kind of breakdown and Kevan had not been able to handle it; had gone away for both of their sakes.

He knew it was not true though. When he closed his eyes and thought of that night all he saw was blood. His fangs extended involuntarily at the memory and he turned his head away, sickened by it.

Xavier was quiet for a long moment. He had begun this tentative enquiry with the intention that he would not push, that he would let Rayne set the pace for how far and how deep he wanted to go. But now... now Xav thought he sensed something that he was intimately familiar with. The memories Rayne had of that time wore away at him; weighed him down, becoming a burden he carried around with him. Xavier thought he maybe wanted to purge some of that poison inside but he wouldn't do it unless someone gave him a little pressure.

He lifted his hand and gently took Rayne's chin, turning his head back to look deep in his eyes.

"What happened then?" he asked, his voice still very gentle and coaxing.

But Rayne just shook his head again, the words were choking him. He felt tears well up in his eyes, tears he had not been able to weep when they prised him away from Kevan's body and the nightmares began. Mortified, he pulled away, more forcefully this time. His eyes slid shut and long lashes caught the salt offerings like brief, shimmering jewels before he cupped his face in his hands, swallowing down the crippling sorrow furiously until he could breathe without sobbing out loud.

When he lifted his head his eyes were red, not merely bloodshot but red as fresh blood. The whites were scarlet, the beautiful green of his irises black as midnight. His fangs bared in a little snarl but Xavier could feel, even through the initial fear, that he was in no danger. Rayne's anger was directed inward. He was more dangerous to himself than anyone living.

Xavier did not pull him back but did not move away either, simply holding his place patiently. He wanted to ask again what had happened when Rayne's lover had been shot. His instinct was to force it out of him, make him share some of that heavy load so maybe he could start to heal, but another part of him was afraid to press him so hard; afraid Rayne would reject his help and push him away. The fear won out, for now. He closed his fingers around Rayne's, rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of his hand.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" he asked, clearly worried now about Rayne going back on his own to deal with things after such traumatic circumstances.

"There's something I need to do," Rayne said hoarsely. He still could not meet Xavier's eyes, ashamed of himself for the emotional episode but also unable to tell him the whole truth. "It wouldn't be right to... I need to do it on my own, Xav. Do you trust me?"

Now he looked up, finally, seeking the truth in his lover's sorrowful blue eyes, his own once more clear. Xavier looked back at him unflinchingly and he answered slowly; "Yeah, I do. I trust you, Rayne."

He wondered if his lover knew just how rare a statement that was for him. He'd learned suspicion early and it had stayed with him. In fact, at that moment, Rayne was the only person in the world he truly trusted.

He lifted Rayne's hand and turned it, kissing his palm and nuzzling there for a moment. "Do you trust me?"

Rayne took his hand, pressing the backs of Xavier's clever fingers to his lips and then to his cheek. He took a quick breath, then another.

"Sometimes I think you're the only one I can trust," he whispered at last. "Don't let me down, Xav. Please don't let me down. Not yet."

Xavier leaned close and slid his arms around Rayne again, holding him tightly and burying his face at the crook of his neck.

"Not ever!" he promised. "Even if we fight sometimes, even if we scream and yell and act stupid and totally fuck up, I still couldn't ever hate you and I won't ever try and hurt you."

Rayne kissed him long and hard then, pulling him close, immersing himself in Xavier's warmth and knowing just from that contact that his words were spoken from the heart.

"I will come back," he promised when their lips parted briefly. "I just have to do this on my own. I need to end things properly."

Xavier nodded in wordless understanding. He would worry about Rayne while he was gone, but he knew some things you just had to do on your own. That seemed to be enough for his lover. Rayne curled around him and held him tightly as they snuggled together on the bed.

It was comforting to have someone to hold, the vampire thought. The comforting warmth of Xavier's body helped to drive off a little of the chill he felt descending whenever he thought of returning to Manchester. It was like having his own little sun to revolve around and the idea of that brought some consolation, and even a shaft or two of summer sunshine to the winter of his aching heart.

That delicious heat warmed him slowly, right through. He knew that there were dark shadows to confront in the weeks to come but here and now, in this comfortable bed in a room where the darkness had never reached him, he was able to shut it out and immerse himself in Xavier's sunlight. His cold hands moved restlessly back and forth over his lover's body, just sucking up the sweet flames that he could practically feel rising from Xav's skin, flowing out, seeping into the flesh and muscle and sinew of his hands and arms, flooding down into the bones, until he virtually glowed with that inner fire himself.

"You are amazing, do you know that?" he murmured, tilting his head to touch his lips whisper-soft to Xavier's mouth.

They had only just finished having some pretty amazing sex, but both the huskiness in Rayne's voice and the bitter memories he had just shared seemed to seep intimately into Xavier's skin, reaching down inside and making him shiver. He slid his arms around Rayne's neck, pulling him closer, returning the soft kiss with another, deeper one. He took a breath, almost letting what his heart was feeling slip out in words, but holding them back at the last minute and kissing Rayne passionately instead. If he had to go alone Xavier wanted to make sure he had a sweet memory to take with him

If Rayne was exhausted from the morning's fun and games it didn't show. He spent a little while just lipping tenderly at Xavier's mouth and then suddenly rolled up and onto him, kissing deliberately harder, whilst his hips rocked in a slow rhythm like the ocean, pushing their bodies together. He rubbed himself against Xav very eagerly, stiffening for him in spite of all the other concerns crowding his mind. Somehow being with his lover like this just drove any other considerations out of his head. It was like a magic spell erasing the dark things from his thoughts.

Xav's hands roamed slowly down Rayne's back while they kissed, his fingers tracing lightly up and down the lean musculature and the bony knobs of his spine, sliding sensually over the wings of his shoulder blades as they moved under his palms. Heat started to pool back into him, stirring his arousal, stiffening his sex, making him moan softly.

He bent a knee, sliding his inner thigh up the outside of Rayne's leg, lifting his hips to meet him as they rubbed together slowly.

"So...you liked those pictures, huh? They got you turned on?" he teased Rayne, wanting to lighten the mood slightly, and finding also that he was sort of turned on by Rayne's reaction.

"Mmmhhh..." Rayne purred, already very aroused by the way that his lover's little moans and gasps shivered through his blood and bones and made one particular bone stand up very proud indeed. His hands moved down Xavier's spine now, caressing the silk of his skin, the hardness of the muscle beneath. Until meeting the dancer he'd not even realised that it was possible to feel the muscles in someone's back like this but Xav was simply firm all over, beneath the supple covering of his flesh. It was beautiful to touch, like running his hands over a warm, living, beautiful sculpture. "Almost as turned on as you're getting knowing I'm turned on by them," he added, determined not to be ribbed without giving some back.

Xavier's chuckle was a warm, silky, almost dark sound as he conceded the point. He could not very well deny it when the proof was pressing up into Rayne's belly so firmly. He hooked his leg up over Rayne's flexing backside, tilting his hips more, inviting him deeper.

"If you ask nicely I'll re-enact that scene for you, only better," Xav promised.

"You are a very bad boy, I knew there was something that I liked about you," Rayne chuckled, his own voice growing thicker and deeper at the thought of those particular images, the ones where his mate was sprawled on the tangled bedsheets, his hand sliding lower and lower until it was gliding enthusiastically up and down over the rigid projection of his gorgeous cock, oblivious to the camera; or at least, apparently so. "Touch yourself for me, sweetheart. Show me how you like it."

Xav's eyes looked up at Rayne half closed, teasing, his lips curled in a deliciously coy little grin, but he did not hesitate a moment to send his hand caressing down his lean torso. His long fingers played lightly over his own hard flesh, just letting the pads of his fingertips skate lightly up and down his shaft at first. His other hand toyed absently with his nipple.

His cock head was already oozing a slow drip of clear precum and Xav touched it with one finger, circling around the silky skin there. He shivered almost delicately and then curled his fingers around his stiff prick, giving a slow stroke up and down.

"Mmmm-uhhh..." he moaned softly, letting his one leg fall to the side, opening him up wider for Rayne's eyes and his body.

Rayne shuddered with need as he watched the younger man gently exploring the sensitive tip of his glans. His mouth watered at the sight and scent of his aroused lover beneath him and as Xav began to fist his cock gently he knelt back between the blond's legs and dipped his head, touching his lips and tongue to the glistening peak of his engorged penis, licking the little jewels of moisture up greedily. Then he rolled forward again, briefly pressing his salty lips to Xavier's mouth in an appreciative kiss.

"You are so-o fuckin' delicious," he whispered hoarsely. "Jack it harder for me now, sweetheart. Show me how good it feels."

"Ooohhh..." Xav exhaled, his lips parting around a little gasp and his eyes darkening.

Rayne's smoky voiced suggestion seemed to drip pure erotisim into Xavier, shivering down his flesh, flowing into his veins, and throbbing in his hard cock. His fingers tightened on his stiff pole, moving more firmly, stroking a little faster. The edge of his index and middle fingers tugged the looser skin up slightly, bumping up over the ultra sensitive frenulum and back down, again, and again.




London Loves Ch. 04



His eyes were mere glittering slits now, watching Rayne, his breath coming faster between his spit wet lips.

"Mmmmm, fuck me Rayne...I'm so hot, so turned on, I need you..."

His lover was smiling, that slow, lazy smile that didn't quite bare his fangs and he reached down idly now, propped on one elbow, the other hand moving between Xavier's legs, cupping his balls and gently manipulating them in their silken pouch as he watched his lover writhe and flex from his shoulders to his knees, still pumping his erection with eager, jerky movements in a delicious contrast to the smooth way he rolled his torso and belly, pushing his hips and groin upward into the descending stroke of his rapidly moving hand.

"You have any idea how fucking sexy that looks?" he asked as the smile quickened to a canny grin, the amusement and pleasure glittering in his vivid green eyes.

"Sexy enough for you to want to pounce on me?" Xav asked with a hopeful little smile.

"Minx," Rayne chuckled, tightening his grip on Xav ever so slightly as he leaned in closer to kiss his mate again. His lips practically bruised Xavier's this time and he began to rub his fingertips slowly back and forth just behind the firm, spongy orbs in his palm, more gently squishing them against Xavier's body as he did so. He knew just how firmly to press to cause more pleasure than pain, although the touch was still enough to make Xav's eyes water.

Xav was holding his breath and it came out in a little rush, hitching in his throat and coalescing into another soft groan. Hot desire flashed into him so quickly it made his head spin. His mouth opened under the assault of Rayne's lips and tongue and he slid his other hand lower now to wrap around Rayne's cock, easing up and down in time with the fingers around his own erection.

He felt his lover moan hungrily into his mouth at the touch of that warm hand slithering back and forth along his shaft, just the way he liked to touch himself, only a thousand times hotter, physically and emotionally and sensually. It didn't take much to bring him up to the boil just as fiercely as Xavier. Soon he was groaning hard on every breath as those deft fingers worked him up better and better with each stroke.

"Oooohh, fuuuuck I want you!" Xav's whisper held a little growl under the words and he pushed one shoulder up, rolling in a smooth motion that switched their positions. He threw one leg over, straddling Rayne's hips, and bent his head to devour his mouth again. Rayne's hands were on his cheeks, gripping and tugging, parting the taut globes of his arse, and Xav helpfully tipped his hips forward as Rayne did the opposite, their cocks sliding together sensually before Rayne slipped back far enough to press the heavy silken plum of his cock head to his ring.

He was already slick and stretched from their earlier efforts and one sharp push was all it took for him to pop past that defensive muscle. Xav flexed his thighs, groaning and wriggling, eager to have Rayne sink deeper. At the same time Rayne rolled his hips, pushing himself upward, feeling the spearhead of his shaft delve deep and hard into Xavier's hot, welcoming body. He held on tight to the younger man's slim hips now, rocking and riding with him as Xavier squirmed and bucked and shoved himself downward onto his throbbing cock. Rayne closed his eyes and clenched his teeth hard because he could feel the buzzing in his blood getting louder and more violent as they took the temperature up by a few more degrees.

"Uhhh... Jesus!" he growled huskily. "Jesus Christ on a fucking moped... Xav! Uhhh gawd...'m not gonna last like this, babes."

"S'okay..." Xav panted. "Me neither..."

He sealed Rayne's moans in with another searing kiss and bucked his hips faster. His hands gripped the sheets either side of Rayne's head, clutching and releasing in time with each of his down strokes. Rayne's fingers tightened on him and Xav kissed a path to the side of his throat, nipping and sucking the tender skin there.

Rayne arched his back. He could feel each of Xavier's little bites and suckles go searing through his flesh like tiny, blazing arrows in his bloodstream. Each one was making a beeline for his cock and balls, swooping down into his bucking groin and stabbing him with wild bursts of electricity that made his thrusting cock lurch and throb even more urgently.

For a moment he wondered what the hell he was doing, leaving Xavier alone to go trailing off up North. Dominic had offered to find an agent who would sell the apartment for him. He ought to just leave it at that.

And then he wasn't thinking at all. He was just clinging to Xavier and circling his hips furiously, pressing his cock deep and hard inside that luscious body and holding on as the liqueous fireworks went off within him, driving a trembling, ragged gasp of pleasure from his throat.

Xav rode that intense feeling for a moment, the almost painfully tight grip of Rayne's arms around him, the extra steel in his cock right before the hot liquid burst of bliss, and then he let go of the pressure he was barely managing to contain and burst right along with him. He had no little fangs to bite Rayne with but he sucked the soft tender skin at the base of his throat hard enough to leave a small mark there, raising the blood to the surface, even if it would only last a few moments.

He collapsed into Rayne's arms as the last shuddering pulse of his orgasm rippled through his hot sweaty body and left him feeling floaty and spent. His vampire lover pulled him close and nuzzled against the moist heat of his neck, returning the love bite with interest. Although he hadn't meant to drink deeply he did let his fangs sink hard into the heat of Xavier's skin, sucking on him gently as he made slow thrusts into the cum-slick inferno between his peachy cheeks. For those few moments that they were entwined in post orgasmic bliss he was actually contented, a rare sensation for Rayne.

Xav was pretty damn contented himself as he nearly melted in Rayne's arms. His body was already flooded with the blissed out feeling that came from a massive orgasm, and the feel of Rayne's slow, lazy thrusts and those razor sharp pinpoints sliding into his pulse magnified that feeling about a hundred times. Every muscle in his body relaxed. As odd as it might seem to someone else, Xavier felt more comfortable and at home in Rayne's arms, with his teeth embedded in his flesh, than he did at any other time.

"Mmmmhhhh... you taste so good," Rayne purred happily at last, pulling back a little to lick his neck and trail his fingers through the spill of creme on his bare chest. He slipped them in his mouth with a little grin and made 'yummy' noises before towing Xav in for a longer, deeper kiss.

Xav licked his tongue across Rayne's bottom lip, let the tip flicker inside playfully, then deeper once more as the taste of his cum and his blood and Rayne's saliva all mixed into a delicious liqueur in his own mouth. He felt a little pang then, a longing to ask Rayne not to go, or at least not to leave him behind, but he pushed that feeling down as selfish and immature. He could live without his lover for a few days, or longer, if he had to.

As if sensing some of his emotions Rayne whispered into his mouth, their lips still touching softly. "Will you miss me?"

"Maybe a little." Xav murmured back, his lips twitching slightly. Actually, he didn't want to admit how much he thought he was going to miss Rayne, it just felt so ridiculous.

"If you're good I'll bring you a present," the little vampire purred... curling around him again and stroking his hands tenderly all over that sweet, warm body, thinking that he was certainly going to miss this; the heat and the sex and the sheer physical high of being wrapped around Xavier.

"Yeah? I mean...yeah, you better." He chuckled softly and slid off Rayne then, curling to his side and getting comfortable. "When are you going?" he asked more seriously.

His lover's head turned into the pillow for a moment, letting the dark hair tumble across his face, screening him as he murmured; "I was kind of thinkin' I might go tomorrow... There's something I need to do on Friday but then I can be back for the weekend, you'll 'ardly know I'm gone." He was stroking Xavier's bare chest almost soothingly with the flat of his left hand as he talked.

Xav nodded, almost surprising himself with how well he took that announcement.

"Yeah, best to go and get things done then," he said understandingly, then he punched Rayne's shoulder, just a little bit too hard to be playful. "Tomorrow? And you were gonna tell me when, exactly?" He shook his head though, his lips twitching with humour. It was just so typically Rayne he couldn't help finding it kind of funny.

Ray looked up at him, lips twitching slightly as well, though there was still a sombre cast to his icy clear gaze.

"Um... kind of... tomorrow, I guess," he murmured almost bashfully. "Don't tease, I'm used to living on my own. I don't normally have to tell someone when I'm going out."

He said it with a wry little smile though, catching some of Xavier's amusement, relieved at least that they weren't going to have another scene about this. If he had to face up to his demons this week he would at least do so knowing that Xav was waiting for him when he returned. That put some warmth in his heart, quite unexpectedly and he slid his arms more tightly around the beautiful blond boy, pulling him closer again. His cool, dry lips touched Xavier's full, wet, deliciously warm ones, kissing him again, more slowly and tenderly.

Xav knew Rayne was trying to distract him, and that was also very typical of his lover, but he wasn't upset. He let himself be distracted, and he did some distracting of his own, and then they got all sorts of distracted again together. They were going to be apart for maybe a week, and Rayne was leaving tomorrow, and suddenly they both wanted to make every minute count until he had to go.

LONDON LOVES...?

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2012



London Loves Ch. 05



© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2012

Yes, Ladies and Gentlefolk, we have not abandoned you. We present, without further ado, Chapter the fifth of Rayne and Xavier's adventures in England and we hope that you find them suitably entertaining. Please remember that we post the stories out of the love of our black hearts and ask only that you do not take and reproduce them elsewhere without our permission. That said, we hope you enjoy...

RAYNE - MANCHESTER

Rayne's lips were still tingling from the ferocity of Xavier's farewell kiss when the cab turned up to take him to the airport. They had spent the morning and most of the night before tangled passionately in his bed and on the futon and the floor of the lounge and finally in the shower as he got ready to leave. Now, as he strapped himself in and prepared for take-off on the Heathrow to Manchester shuttle service, he just wanted to get things over and done with as quickly as possible so that he could get back to London and be in Xavier's arms again.

And that in itself felt like a betrayal. So much had come back to him since they returned to London. Biting Matty and then Clint had restored memories to him that he was barely able to conceive possible. But it had been talking to Dominic that restored the elements which led him North. He knew that there were still missing pieces and he would only find them there. But the shards he held in his hands were bad enough, they already coloured his nightmares. And there had been nightmares, some dreadful ones too.

Since Paris he had dreamed repeatedly of a man standing over him with a long pike in his hand, laughing as he plunged the pointed head into his breast. At least three nights a week he woke in a cold sweat as the blade pierced his heart. But lately his dreams had been muddled. Sometimes he was hiding, sensing that the danger was drawing closer, the bogeyman was coming to get him and drag him out of the closet. He saw his mother lying dead on the living room floor at their old house in Dymchurch, which made no sense. He had never seen his mother's body and she died in the garage of Brian's house in New Romney anyway.

The worst dreams were the ones where he was holding Kevan in his arms, begging him to wake up, screaming at him to fight, to try and stay alive for just a little while longer. Sometimes in those dreams he was tangled in a long piece of material like a shroud or a bridal train and it wrapped his feet, tripping him, refusing to let him reach Kev's side. He lay weeping hysterically in a tumble of pale, blood-stained cloth as his mate slowly spilled his life force into the pastel carpet. In the background he could always hear bitter laughter, as if the gods were mocking him for daring to believe his life could be anything other than tormented. It was this last dream that still plagued him as he stared at the open magazine in his lap without seeing it and tried not to think of the thousands of feet opening up between himself and the ground.

He was not as bad as Dom when it came to flying, but he had never liked it. The sense of claustrophobia was always stronger when he was trapped on a plane. And these days he could not even have a quick drink or a snort of coke to alleviate the anxiety. Instead he slipped his hand into his short black jacket and retrieved the little velvet pouch, which was slightly worn now from being tucked away in pockets and bags but still went everywhere with him, as it had since he retrieved it from the box in his piano. His fingers loosened the drawstrings at the neck and he tipped it from the bottom so that the single item it contained slipped coolly into the palm of his right hand.

The nine tiny diamonds set into the matte, platinum outer circle of the chunky little ring were as bright as the day when he had first let Kevan put it on his finger. The inner circle was white gold so that it looked, from above, like a curious eclipse. There was an inscription on the inside, which he had not noticed initially; only discovering it after Kevan was dead. It read; "RJW my heart is always yours KMJD". Typically, for Kevan, it was sentimental nonsense but Rayne had considered giving up the ring until he found those words. Now he could not countenance it. It would be one more betrayal and he had apparently deserted Kevan too often over the past year. It was time to make amends now.

Time to say goodbye.

The cab took him to a boutique hotel in Piccadilly where he checked in under an assumed identity. He had credit cards in the name of James Raymonde, which he used periodically when he did not want attention. Since Whipsnade began their career hiatus he had also written songs for other SOLD artists as Jay Raymonde so it was an easy alias to pick up and put down. Once he was safely tucked away in the comfortable suite, five floors up above the busy Mancunian streets, he hung up the few clothes he had brought with him and took a shower, then lay down on the bed trying to decide what to do. The ring was in his hand again and he slid it onto his third finger now, startled by it's cool weight, perfect fit and the familiar feel of having it there, even after all this time. It was like being an actor, sliding back into a role he had not played in years.

The past few weeks had been a heady dream and he had been happier than he had dared to feel in months with Xavier but this place had been his real life for three years and he had spent almost twelve months of those three years with Kev Delaney. If Kevan had listened to him on that fateful night almost a year ago, maybe that life would have carried on and he would still be here; he would never have met Xavier Gavrilov and his existence would have been very different.

"Shit!" he exhaled, shaking his head slowly. "This is hard, Kevan. Please bear with me. I never meant for things to work out like this but please try to be happy for me, yeah? I still miss you so much."

He curled up on his side then and drew his left hand to his lips, kissing the cool surface of the ring and closing his eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from them once more. Over the past few days he had been ridiculously emotional and it just had to stop. Kev had always had this effect on him though. Xavier gave him balance and stability but Kev had unlocked the door to his feelings and allowed them to spill out unchecked. Rayne still didn't understand how he had managed it, but what was done was done. There was no putting the genie back in the bottle. He just had to finish things properly now, in order that his life, such as it was, could go on.

Rayne lay naked on the bed, enjoying the feel of the cool, clean linen against his skin and the comforting smell of it. He stayed there for the next three or four hours until it began to get dark, simply thinking things over, remembering times he had spent here and things that he and Kevan had done together. Then he pushed himself to his feet and pulled on his snug black jeans and a dark blue silk shirt. He ran his fingers through his hair and wriggled his feet into black silk socks and his faithful Chelsea boots, then tugged on his jacket, snared his keys and wallet and went for a walk.

He had not intended to go to his old hangouts tonight but his feet led him from the hotel down Auburn Street, overshadowed by new apartment blocks now, and into the Gay Village which had been his home during the time that he lived up here in Manchester. It seemed stupid to walk within metres of his old abode and not stop to see if it was okay. He stood outside the misleadingly shabby white block, staring forlornly at the green glass bricks that framed the double-doored entrance to the building. There was nothing to stop him going inside. He had the key and the entry codes were in his head somewhere. When he touched his fingers to the number pad they would come back to him like magic, just like the pin for his credit cards did and just as he knew how to locate people in his phonebook. He could not make his feet move closer though. Not tonight.

Instead he walked down Canal Street through the early evening crowds, still a light-hearted mixture of city types and tourists among the more bohemian locals. It was too early for the hardened ravers yet but they would come, he knew it, just as magpies were drawn to any shiny object. His feet took him to the Rembrandt where he first met Kevan and Dave and this time he crossed the threshold and went inside. There were no familiar faces, people he would have fenced words with, to his relief and he ordered a shot of Stolichnaya for old times' sake and knocked it back easily. The bar tender topped him up without a word and Rayne smiled and indicated with a gesture for the young man to have one himself.

It had been just before Xmas, a little over eighteen months ago that he first teamed up with two police detectives, Kevan Delaney and Dave Ramsay, here in this very same pub. Together they managed to put a stop to the murderous activities of a Vampire who had earned the nickname of The Canal Street Ripper. Although he had allowed both men to fuck him afterwards, he did not really get together with Kevan until a few months later when the guy asked him out for a drink. He had considered saying no. Kev really wasn't his type and he hadn't been looking for company, but curiosity got the better of him. After talking for about three hours, over a couple of bottles of Barolo, they went back to Rayne's apartment around the corner and spent the remainder of the evening and most of the night screwing like animals

Kevan was married, but separated from his wife. Dave, his work partner, was gay and had introduced his buddy to the pleasures of the Gay Village after growing tired of listening to Kev complain that he never got laid on the straight circuit. As a result, Kevan had quickly acquired a taste for young male prostitutes. He had a prodigious sexual appetite, something that Rayne readily appreciated.

As he'd admitted to Dominic, Rayne had never considered himself to be exclusively gay. Pressed to define his own appetites he would grudgingly admit that he swung both ways but it was interesting for him to meet a man who also considered himself to be essentially straight but who liked to fuck other guys too. It worked for them both. Their relationship hung on a strong physical bond though, emotionally and intellectually they were hardly compatible at all. Even Kev, who quickly became besotted with his vampire lover, had to admit that they had precious little in common beyond the fact that they always had amazing sex. Initially, Rayne reflected now, he had been incredibly cruel to Kevan but the big man always came back for more. It was as if he expected the abuse and tolerated it patiently in order to get what he wanted. He began to go to the gym regularly because Rayne told him he made the apartment look untidy and the results were quite eye-catching. Even women Kevan worked with, who had never previously given him the time of day suddenly began to pay attention when he walked into a room. Rayne advised his lover on clothes and grooming and actually took a quiet pride in the handsome man that began to emerge from the chrysalis of the slob Kev had been when they first met.

All of this spilled through his consciousness as he sat at the bar. The memories were so real to him that he almost expected to see Kev come lumbering through the pub door and call out to the bartender for a bottle of Becks. He downed the second shot of vodka, pushed a twenty across the counter and walked back up Canal Street towards his hotel.

"Hiya, you going somewhere?" a voice asked from just behind him and he turned to see a good looking kid in a black tee shirt and white jeans grinning at him hopefully. His blond hair was spiked up a little on top and reminded Rayne painfully of Xavier, though his eyes were a greenish brown colour.

"I'm going to crash, I've been travelling all day," he said with a lopsided smile that never reached his eyes.

"Want some company?" the boy persisted, reaching out to stroke his fingertips over the sleeve of Rayne's jacket.

"I'm kind of tired," Rayne lied, though he did not move away, deliberating that it would not hurt him to feed from the blond boy.

"I'm legal, and I'm clean," the lad said persuasively. He held his hand out. "My name's Jack, what's yours?"

"Jay," Rayne told him, briefly and firmly shaking the proffered hand. "I like to be on top, Jack."

"That's okay, I don't mind subbing," Jack grinned at him. "You look well good in those tight kecks."

He moved closer now and when Rayne did not increase the space between them automatically he tilted his head and touched his mouth to the vampire's cold, soft lips. At the same time the hand Rayne had just shaken reached between his legs and boldly groped his dick and balls through the tight denim.

"Fuck, you've got big knackers," Jack panted into his mouth. "Bet they make a lot of cum, Jay. I love eating cum. Have you got somewhere we can go, or do you want to go down by the canal?"

"You talk a lot, don't you?" Rayne said with a tired smile. He was contemplating taking the lad back to the apartment, which was nearer than his hotel, but the canal bank, under the bridge, would do. He might have to compete for space with other mating couples but the night was still young and it was only Tuesday, not a busy evening on the club circuit.

In the end he led Jack a little way up the canal bank to the next bridge where the sound from the clubs and bars was just a distant buzz. The boy crouched down there, popping the buttons of his fly, and sucked Rayne's dick without needing to be told. His warm hand gently worked the vampire's clean-shaven balls as he nodded and slurped. Rayne leaned back against the arch of the bridge and laced his fingers behind the boy's head, wishing it was Xavier on his knees in front of him. Jack wasn't anywhere near Xav's cock sucking skills but Rayne still pressed his head down until he could feel Jack nuzzling his mound, then fucked his throat rapidly.

"Uhhh... Jesus!" he panted as he shot his load in the blond's mouth and pulled out quickly, letting the gasping boy scramble up into his arms to kiss him; tasting his own salty spill on the blond's tongue and lips.

He was still half-hard and his nuts and the head of his prick were tingling pleasingly as he went down on one knee and started to suck Jack off. His fingers pulled the boy's white jeans down to mid thigh, exposing a nice thick seven incher and smooth waxed crotch. Rayne licked up and down his penis and sucked Jack's firm young balls. The sound of the busy city over their heads was almost inconsequential. They were about thirty feet below street level here and sheltered by the dark curve of the bridge and right now the only sounds that were important to Rayne Wylde were the pre-orgasmic moans of his young mate. Jack growled softly in his chest as he was taken deep into Rayne's throat and the pretty, dark-haired Londoner pressed two searching fingers up his arse, frigging him urgently.

"Man! You suck like a fuckin' bitch!" Jack yelped delightedly. He cried out harder as he began to thrust and cum in Rayne's mouth, the fingertips inside him touching just the right spot.

Rayne swallowed his thick, teen crème greedily. There was nothing to beat the feel of a young man's prodigious flow of cum on his tongue and it tasted heavenly. He stroked his cock as he suckled the last drops from Jack's throbbing knob-end.

"Turn around," he crooned, stroking the blond's naked thighs now. "Lean on the fuckin' wall. I'm gonna shag you til you can't stand up on your own."

"Ahhh... fuck, yeah!" Jack moaned happily as he rested his splayed hands against the dark brickwork and pushed his bare backside into Rayne's face.

The vampire's cool hands parted his cheeks and a wet, studded tongue explored Jack's crack vigorously for several minutes, making the blond wriggle and utter little cooing noises. When Rayne moved to his feet and bent over him, Jack's face turned back to meet him and they kissed for a while. Rayne eased his cock head into Jack slowly and began to buck his hard length into the blond's hot, wet rectum, his fingers gripping the boy's bare hips.

"Ohhh... man! Are you doing me bare?" Jack groaned, bucking like a wild mare as he felt his randy, black-haired stallion mount him.

"You don't mind, do you?" Rayne soothed, kissing his neck and feeling the rapid eager pulse just beneath the skin. "I'm clean, Jack. It's okay, really."

"I... uhhhhhh... I don't mind, Jay. I like it. I never had a guy go in me bare before though," Jack panted. "It feels fuckin' great. I wanna feel your cum up my arse."

Rayne pushed himself balls deep inside the blond then pulled back until just his head was inside. He did this a couple of times, feeling Jack whimper and writhe under him as he teased the kid. Then he began to thrust hard, shoving Jack against the wall with the force of his deceptively slender body. They were well matched for height, which he guessed Jack must have calculated when he was cruising for a mate. The blond was nice and tight around him although it did not take very long for Rayne's thrusting cock to open him up and get him hot, wet and slippery inside.

"Ahhhh... yeah!" Rayne groaned as he leaned into the blond and pounded his arsehole fast and deep. The firm muscles of Jack's rectum pulled and sucked on him until he was ready to burst again. "You are so fuckin' hot, Jacky boy. That is amazing."

"Uhhh... don't stop!" Jack whimpered. "Man! That feels so fuckin' good!"

"I'd like to get a little kinky, if you don't mind. I bite," Rayne panted in his ear.

"Oh fuck, yeah... anything!" the boy gasped as his mate surged deeper. "Whatever you fuckin' want. I am this close!"

He held up his smallest finger. Rayne's arms snaked about him tightly and he buried his face in the warm crook of Jack's neck and shoulder, sinking his extended fangs deep. He bucked fiercely into the blond, shutting out his emotions, just riding the tide of sexual pleasure and sinking into the coppery heat of his blood. He fed long and hard and the first shut off point did not come until he felt Jack shudder with the force of his own orgasm and sink to his knees. Rayne went down with him, coming hard into the boy as he held Jack close, kissing and licking his slender neck.

"Oh man! What did you do? I never felt like that with a guy?" Jack groaned huskily.

"You'll be okay," Rayne promised him, his heart still pounding. He had not taken so much from a feeder in ages and he was buzzing from it, feeling invincible. Usually he left them able to fend for themselves, but he worried that Jack would not even make it back up to the street.

Rayne moved to his feet and fastened his pants then made the boy decent. Jack was sprawled at his feet, still huffing rapidly. His face was very pale. Rayne touched him and fretted again that he was too cold. Rayne could feel the low level buzz in his veins that told him the boy had been speeding. The combination of amphetamines and blood loss was not a good one.

"Do you live locally?" he asked, coming to a crouch by the lad's side.

"Ardwick," Jack said faintly.

"Is there someone at home right now?" The vampire slapped his face gently to keep him focused.

"Uhh... maybe my mum... dunno," Jack slurred.

"Crap!" Rayne slid his arms under Jack's shoulders and eased him to his feet. It took him a little while to walk the boy back up to the street. And then there was no sign of a taxi anywhere.

Automatically he headed back towards the apartment. Rayne had not planned to go there so soon but he could not take Jack back to the hotel and he would not abandon him on the street in this state. It was less than a quarter of a mile to his old home.




London Loves Ch. 05



Rayne swallowed his reservations and whispered. "Come on. Let me take you somewhere you can rest and get better."

The entry code for the apartment came back to him just as he had hoped it would as he set his fingers on the keypad. Rayne practically had to carry the blond boy up the stairs to his front door but Jack was barely any weight at all and he got the lad inside without being overseen. Once they were in, Rayne took him upstairs and laid him on the bed. The room had been left as it was when he last used it, the dark silk of the sheets was drawn back and rumpled, and ever so slightly dusty. Rayne checked that the power was still on then turned on the bathroom light and ran a hot bath. He managed to get Jack undressed and into the hot water then called out on his mobile for a takeaway.

Once the kid was warm and Rayne had coaxed food into him, he put Jack back to bed and wrapped the duvet around him, leaving his exhausted guest to sleep it off. Feeling numb, Rayne went back down to the lounge and curled up on the supple suede cushions of the long sofa. He chewed on the large knuckle at the base of his thumb, lost in thought, but he did not succumb to sleep. It would not do to have Jack wake in the night and come looking for him only to find him 'dead' on the settee.

Rayne spent the night in darkness, alone on the couch. He was not ready to sleep upstairs, not yet. And certainly not with another man. The darkness was full of ghosts, full of memories, and he was unable to shut them out. He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes but whenever he did that he could feel Kevan's hands on his body, sliding under his clothes; Kev's hungry mouth on his neck and those strong fingers stripping him, groping him, parting his legs...

With a little gasp of anguish he pushed himself to his feet again, pacing the room restlessly, refusing to sleep.

"Leave me alone," he whispered disconsolately. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But please... please let me be!"

Finally, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, retrieving the little velvet bag and the ring it contained. He tipped it out into his hand again and slid it onto his finger. Like a charm it stilled the unquiet spirits in his head. Pressing the third finger of his left hand to his lips, Rayne returned to the sofa and curled up there once more.

He did not sleep but his thoughts were more restful and the memories that came to him were not of blood and vengeance but softer and more consoling. He contented himself with the recollection of strong arms around his shoulders and warm, steady breath on the nape of his neck. More than once he considered calling Xavier. He needed to hear a fond, familiar voice and more than that he needed to be in a comforting embrace. Rayne was used to feeling lonely, the desolation had been a part of him for most of his life, but this was like a nightmare. The need that kept driving him was eating his spirit. For a little while that night he understood why people believed vampires to be soul-less. In order to survive it was necessary to shut out any sense of humanity. But he still craved it. Without it, what kind of a creature would he become?

He already knew the answer to that question. Without it he was a cold, blind, ruthless killer. Stripped of his humanity he could go back up those stairs like a silent ghost and drain the sleeping boy in his bed until he was little more than a breathless husk. He could go out onto those teeming streets peopled with mindless hedonists and rip out their throats until the police sent a SWAT team over to pump bullets into him and blow him to oblivion.

Miserably he drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them there staring into the darkness. He was the darkness made corporeal, the worst of nightmares in a human form. And here he waited, back in the place that forced him to confront it more than almost any other. Time and time again he reached for his phone and turned it over in his hands, playing up and down over Xavier's number. So easy; it would be so easy to just call and listen to his sleepy voice; to tell Xav how precious he had been, one last time.

And then he would do it. He would go out there and show them what a monster he could really be.

Rayne turned off his mobile and threw it across the room, then he wrapped his head in his arms and wept silently until daylight began to seep like blood into the room.

Jack was mildly embarrassed in the morning, bereft of the confidence the speed had given him, but Rayne played it cool. He made coffee and called the kid a cab to take him home. As they were waiting, Jack grinned shyly and whispered; "I like the toys in your bedside cabinet, Jay. Maybe we can come back here again some time and you can tie me up and use them on me, huh?"

Rayne studied him for a moment. Once upon a time he would have capitalised on a remark like that but today he was too sorrowful and far too tired.

"I don't think so, sweetheart," he said gravely. "Last night was enough. Take care, Jack."

When the boy was finally gone, he pulled off the bedclothes then stripped himself and took a long, hot shower. The scalding water focussed his thoughts as always and he shut out everything unnecessary as it drilled down on his head and simmered through his lank hair, enfolding his body in liquid heat.

Then he set about the preparations he had come here to make.

For most of the morning he was on the phone to various estate agents, arranging for the valuation of his property and the clearing of his personal effects. Some of this he sorted out himself during the remainder of the morning. There were things here that he did not want to leave to the hands of outsiders.

The restraints and sex toys he packed into the lid of the small case he had brought with him. Each one conjured a memory and he was not ready to explore those memories yet.

Rayne opened the sliding glass door of the wardrobe next and flicked through the clothing within. Most of it could go. He had been a peacock in his younger days but now he tended to stick to a certain look and style. Sleek and simple, suited his spare frame. The little black silk dress that Kevan had bought him when they first began to play more exotic games still hung in its wrapper and he took it out and laid it on the bed.

Over the next hour or so he emptied the drawers and the wardrobe and divided the contents into two piles, a small 'keepers' pile and a much larger 'charitable' heap. There was a third, brief selection on the bed but he packed the larger mound of items into carrier bags and put them aside and packed the 'keepers' in his case too before addressing those. Of the pile that remained, most of the things were undergarments and he had neither the desire to keep them nor the wish that they should fall into the hands of others. In the end he took them down to the basement where the caretaker had a small incinerator and he fed them, piece by piece into the flames; each item conjuring up a separate memory, one that would never leave him. He lingered until he could be sure that everything was fully committed to the fire and then he turned away, returning to the apartment with crimson tears glazing his eyes.

XAVIER ALONE

As Xavier went through his morning routine he realised that it had been a month since their arrival by train in London. Rayne had left for Manchester in the small hours this morning and now Xavier found himself... bored. Dominic had things to do, Rayne was heading north, and Xavier didn't really know anyone here. He and Rayne had spent most of the time since they got to London wrapped up in each other and hadn't even gone out much, which Xav did not regret in the least, but now it felt a little odd to be alone, even for just a few hours. Maybe it was knowing that Ray wouldn't be back by lunchtime that made it feel different to the other days when he'd just popped out for ciggies or a bite to drink.

Still, life had to be lived, and this morning Xavier had decided he'd had enough of cold cereal for breakfast. By the time he was dressed he was picturing bacon and eggs. Of course, if he wanted them edible they weren't going to be cooked by him!  

With nothing more than breakfast in mind he headed out the front door, locking up behind him. He got no further though before he spotted a hunched figure on the top step, dressed almost the same as he'd been the first time Xav had seen him.

The kid looked, if possible, even thinner and scruffier than he had on the day of Xavier's arrival in London. There was a tiredness in his eyes and dark circles around them like Rayne sometimes got when he was hungry or hurting. Though his hair was obviously dyed, a strip of some tawny shade showing through now close to his scalp, he seemed to have made a conscious effort to actually look a little bit like the singer. The slight upward tilt of his nose was almost identical and the way his full, colourless lips hovered between a smile and a sneer was very self-consciously Rayne.

His dark hood was pulled up over the back of his head and unruly hair poked out around his face like the mane of a small, starved, emo lion. It was a cool morning and he was already shivering a little as he pulled on a roll-up between the thin white fingers protruding from his cut-off gloves.

"Didn't Rayne chase you off once already?" Xavier asked mildly.

"I need to talk to 'im," the boy said, rising at once when Xavier turned to face him. "It's important."

Xavier's eyes settled on him, though it was hard to tell if his expression was sympathetic or just resigned. "You're not supposed to be here, you know."

"It's important!" the boy repeated stubbornly.

Xavier shook his head once. "He's gone. He had some business to take care of."

"When will he be back?" The boy was nothing if not persistent. He shivered again though, shifting from one sneakered foot to the other as if both gave him pain. From the look of his battered Converse hi-tops there was not much sole left in either of them. He stared at Xavier with big, unblinking eyes, defensive and fascinated, like a little fox that had found something inexplicable waiting in the mouth of its den.

Xavier cocked his head slightly, considering the boy in front of him just as curiously.

"I'm not sure. Could be awhile," he finally answered. "You could tell me what it is, and I might be able to get a message to him," he offered, curious to see what the kid thought was so important, or what he figured Rayne would think was important.

The boy continued to study him with that wary expression on his face. His nose twitched as if he was scenting out the truth but then he just sat back down on the steps and wrapped his arms around his skinny knees. "I'll wait for him."

"Guess it's not that important then," Xav said and turned to head down to the street.

"What would you know?" the kid muttered under his breath, sinking his chin onto his folded arms and shivering again.

Xavier stopped and turned slowly, one eyebrow arched almost delicately. He bent from the waist so that he could look the boy in the eye. Holding one hand up in front of the scruffy kid he ticked off a count, touching his first three fingers to his thumb on each point.

"I know where he is. I know how to get him a message. And I know bullshit when I see it!" Xav said, and then straightened. "If it was really something worthwhile, and if you were smart, you'd use me to get a message to him. He's gone, probably won't be back for a week, maybe two. And I'm sick of being polite to a brat. If you're here when I get back I'm calling the cops and I'll have them move your ass."

"Don't..." It was a half-strangled noise in his throat but the look on the boy's face said it was an effort to make the plea. "Don't call the bizzies. I know he threatened it but he wouldn't call them, not really. He knows it'd get me in a lot of trouble. Will he really be gone for that long?"

The look in his hazel eyes was suddenly lost and a bit desperate.

Xavier studied him carefully, not immune to that desperation. He knew what it was to be afraid of the cops too, and he hadn't really meant the threat either. Of course, the kid didn't need to know that.

"Tell me what's so important and maybe I won't call them," Xavier said.

The emo kid bristled for a few seconds but he was too tired and cold for such a battle and probably hungry too. Shoulders slumped as he tugged his hood forward over his face but he muttered; "Need him to talk to my grandad again. I need some money, they won't let me have any more. They said I have to go home if I want it. But this is my home. I just need what's mine."

This, understandably, didn't make any sense to Xavier. Why would Rayne talk to this kid's grandfather? And why would the kid think he would? Unless he was just nuts... but Xavier didn't think so. Rather than satisfy his curiosity the answer brought up more questions.

"All right...I'll ask him for you," Xav said cautiously, then on a whim added, "...if you come to breakfast with me."

The kid just stared at him and Xavier gave a little shrug. "I don't like to eat alone. Come on, I'll buy." The boy didn't move and Xavier sighed, turning his back again. "Or you can sit there freezing your ass off and starve. Like I fuckin' care!"

The boy on the doorstep gave this all of fifteen seconds thought. Xavier was just wandering back towards Portobello Road when he bounced to his feet like Tigger and ran after him, catching up before the turn. He held himself very straight in an attempt to match Xav for height (which just about failed) then glanced sidelong at him almost shyly, muttering; "Don't suppose I can come in and have a shower or something after, can I?"

"Maybe," Xavier murmured, deliberately not sniffing in the kid's direction. "What's your name?"

There was a moment's hesitation and then, a little shyly, he answered; "Clint. Don't laugh, it was my mum's idea. She called me Clinton James, I'm not named after Clint Eastwood!"

"I'm not laughing," Xav said, although he was smiling a little at the way he answered. "My name's Xavier. How old are you, Clint?"

"Seventeen," the boy flashed back immediately, a defensive look in his tawny eyes.

Xav snorted softly. "Don't fuckin' lie to me, okay? I peg you at thirteen maybe, fourteen tops."

Clint bristled a bit at this but reluctantly conceded; "I'll be sixteen soon!"

Xav nodded, that was more like the truth. Clinton had been living on the street for a while too, Xav gauged by the look of him, but at least he'd had someone to call for money. Seemed grandad's wallet had dried up though. Xav wondered why. It could be a lot of things. Maybe whatever family member had been playing the sucker had finally had enough of funding his habit. Xavier didn't see any obvious signs though. The kid was tired and dark eyed, but he wasn't twitchy, itchy, and bitchy. Well, not beyond normal bitchy anyway and Xav thought that was mostly self-preservative bitchiness. Still, Xavier knew full well that looks could be very deceiving.

He wanted to ask why Clint didn't just go home but he kept his mouth shut. Sometimes home really was worse than the street. It wasn't his business, and besides any suggestion like that would just make Clint go on the defensive again. He also didn't ask how come Grandad wasn't coughing up cash any more. If he wasn't cutting the kid off because of drugs he figured it was because he was trying to bribe him to come home. He did however have one question.

"How come you want Rayne to ask your grandad about the money?"

Clint looked at him with a knowing smile. "Get me breakfast, and I'll tell you. I should have figured he wouldn't talk to you about it."

Xavier narrowed his eyes suspiciously, thinking maybe the kid was just playing some kind of game, being all mysterious because he wanted attention. He managed to keep his tongue still only because Clint maybe had a point, Rayne did make habit of not telling him things, that was for sure. Since he'd already offered to buy him breakfast anyway it wouldn't hurt to wait until they were settled to hear what Clint had to say.

"Okay," he conceded, with a shrug and took Clint to his favourite cafe. They had a little seated area out the front where customers could sit in the watery autumn sunshine, though when they got there Clint preferred to stay indoors, so Xav collared a double table by the window where they could at least see the daylight.

"What are you having?" the genial Irish waitress asked and Clint looked a question at Xavier who just waved at the menu.

"Whatever you want."

In the end Clint ordered most of the breakfast menu; sausages, bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, baked beans, black pudding, fried bread (extra slices) and three poached eggs. Even Xavier, who could eat for his country, blinked at the size of the plate. Clint beamed his thanks at the girl who brought it to their table and emptied it in under three minutes. He ate like he feared someone would steal the food from under his nose and mopped it up with the extra slices of buttered bread. He knocked back the mug of milky tea and grinned at Xavier enthusiastically.

"You're right, it's fantastic here. Can I have another poached egg? And some more sausages? And that fried bread was ace, just nice and crispy."

"As long as you don't puke or expect me to carry you outta here you can have whatever you want," Xavier said airily, and then added; "Except beans! I don't know what is up with putting beans all over a perfectly good breakfast. That's just... wrong!" His expression clearly said he thought it was disgusting. He kept his opinion about the milky tea to himself though. Ugh!

The waitress came again and took Clint's order and Xav got a refill on his coffee. "While we're waiting on your seconds, you wanna answer my question now?"

The boy stretched like a well-fed cat and said; "You sure you really wanna know?"

Xavier narrowed a look on him that could have refried his beans.

"Okay... you asked," Clint licked his lips and leaned across the table. "I've got a secret that puts me closer to him than you'll ever be."

"Look, don't try and play cute." Xav said, a bit of a sharper edge cutting into his voice. "Just spit it out." He was starting to lose patience.

Clint looked taken aback, very briefly, as if he hadn't expected Xavier to be quite so sharp with him. He retreated behind his mug for a moment then when he saw that the cute approach seriously wasn't going to do him any favours, he put it down.

"Xavier, you're a nice bloke. I didn't come here to piss you off," he said carefully. "You wanna know what you're getting into though. He's used to getting what he wants. But I know what I'm worth, all right? And I think you do too, so don't get mad at me when I tell you this."

"Just fucking tell me, okay. I'm getting very tired of all this," Xav warned him, still conscious of a little bubble of anxiety that was welling up inside him as Clint fixed him with those solemn, unblinking eyes.

"You want it," Clint muttered, holding out his hands helplessly. "Okay, Xavier. He's my dad. Is that straight enough for you? He fucked my mum, she had me, he's my daddy. Cool?"

Xavier looked at the none-too-clean boy across from him and his mind automatically kicked the words back at him and told him the kid he was lying. He had to be lying. Rayne wouldn't let his own son live on the street. Would he? If Clint was really his kid Rayne would have told him. He would have told him something like that! Wouldn't he?

He stared hard at the boy and he actually felt the word 'liar' form on his tongue but it didn't quite make it out of his mouth. He saw now what he'd been seeing all along but hadn't put together. Clint's eyes weren't the vivid green of Rayne's but they were the same shape, and placed in a face that had the same fine bone structure. His nose had the same jaunty tilt at the tip and his mouth had that cherubic softness that could twist into a slightly mocking, not-quite-smile at the drop of an 'h'. His colouring was different, and his face was a tad longer and leaner, but the resemblance was so close that Xavier couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before, and now that he had he couldn't un-see it.




London Loves Ch. 05



The anger rose up in him so swift and hot it was nearly choking him, and he wasn't even sure what he was so angry about, but he knew he had to leave. Now! He pulled his wallet out and dropped the money to pay for the meal on the table, standing as he did so.

"I've got to go," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Whatever Clint had been expecting it clearly wasn't that for he jumped to his feet at once and tried to catch Xavier's hand as he put the money down.

"Wait... don't go. You believe me, don't you? I can tell. I can see it on your face, you believe me. Please don't go, I really need to talk to him. It's not just about money."

"Let go of me," Xav warned, shaking him off fiercely. "I don't owe you anything. I don't care who you are."

He got as far as the sidewalk outside the cafe before Clint caught up with him. He didn't try to grab him this time, maybe sensing that it wouldn't be well received but he got in the way at every opportunity.

"Xavier, listen to me. You know there's something weird about him, you've been living in his fucking house. You know that he's not..." He bit down on his lips and shook his head. When Xavier tried to push past him he dodged in front again and held his hands up, barring the way. "He isn't like us, Xavier."

Xavier glared at him, grabbing his shoulders and physically moving him to one side.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said each word very clearly. He had to concentrate hard now because anxiety was rolling off the kid in waves and Xavier was soaking it up like a sponge. If he didn't get away from him it felt like he was going to have a panic attack right there on the sidewalk.

He started walking again and Clint called after him, his tone gone from pleading to sneering.

"That's fuckin' right. Force me to tell you and then get pissed off at me. I should have fuckin' known you couldn't handle it!"

Xavier stopped, feeling his face flush hot with barely contained anger. Yeah, that was exactly what he'd done too, wasn't it? He wasn't really angry at Clint though, it wasn't his fault. He counted down from five and heaved a sigh, then half-turned back, shaking his head.

"I'm not pissed at you," he said, then paused and sighed again, wiping a hand over his eyes and wondering if he'd lost his mind, but thinking that if he stormed off now he'd probably never get the answers he wanted. "You still want to come have a shower?"

Clint caught back up to him, although now he was wary again. He opened his mouth to say something but Xavier held up his hand. "Don't say anything. Just...give me a few minutes until we get back, then we can talk."

He needed the time, less to cool down than to focus. He hadn't had so many problems with picking up too much on people's emotional crap since Rayne had done... whatever it was he'd done to him at Aldo's. Of course, Rayne hadn't left his side until now either. He needed to get a handle on all this shit that was bombarding him at the moment or he really was going to go crazy.

By the time they got back to the house Xav's hands were shaking as he opened the door with his key, letting Clint follow him inside. He closed the door again and locked it, leaning there for a moment and feeling the physical barrier help shut out the background noise a bit and dampen down his empathy with every bastard on the street. Taking a deep breath and letting it out he beckoning to Clint and waved towards the hall where the bathroom was.

"Go have a shower first, then we'll talk. Don't break anything, and don't steal anything. Got it?"

"I'm skint, not desperate," Clint said airily. "Besides, I've been here before."

And he strode down the corridor to the bathroom and slammed the door. Moments later Xavier heard the water running and off-key singing echoing down the passageway. He just shook his head and moved wearily into the lounge. Xav was not the best at handling kids. He had no patience and although he was not so old that he couldn't relate, he had grown up too fast and too hard to put up with much shit.

He sat down in the centre of the futon and folded his legs into the lotus position. Dominic had been admonishing him for weeks now to meditate and do the exercises he'd shown him, but Xav was sporadic at best. Now he wished he'd done what Dom had told him. Better late than never he supposed.

He listened to the shower, the tiny little pings and ticks of the house, the low hum of traffic outside. He started to shut the little noises out one at a time, relaxing and breathing as Dominic had taught him, until the world went away and he was calmer inside.

Clint was in the bathroom for an indecent length of time. Rayne could soak for an age but the boy had to have been in there for nearly an hour. Xavier resisted the urge to find out what he was up to. There was virtually nothing he could take and no way out except for the small, semi-circular ventilation window in the wall. It was just a matter of waiting him out.

When he finally emerged into the kitchen he was swathed in towels like a Bedouin chieftain. His pale skin had a bit of a rosy blush to it from the hot water but his eyes were still tired.

"Can I stick my stuff through the wash?" he asked, rather less pushily. "I know where everything is. I'll fuck off as soon as it's dry, yeah?"

Xavier waved a resigned hand. "Go ahead."

He listened to the boy puttering with the washer and Clint returned a short while later looking wary, perhaps conscious of the fact that he was alone in the house with a stranger, and wearing nothing but a pair of bath towels. Xav was more relaxed now and he'd had time to think about things. His initial reaction had been based on Rayne letting him stumble into something blindly, again. It wasn't right to take it out on Clint though.

"I'm sorry I got so pissed. It wasn't directed at you," Xav explained as the boy walked back into the lounge.

"I figured." Clint flopped down on the edge of the futon and sank back on it with a little huff of breath. "I'm kind of used to it by now. He doesn't mean to be a fuck-up but I guess he's kind of embarrassed about it. I mean, it's not the kind of thing you tell someone you want to impress into bed, I guess. 'Hey, and this is my kid, I knocked his mum up about sixteen years back and had to pay her family off and guess what, he still comes round here hassling me about it!'"

The boy shoved a hand into the towel around his wet hair and scratched his head restlessly. He added, incuriously; "You're American?"

"Yeah," Xavier answered. "From California."

"Far out," Clint remarked with a little yawn. He turned onto his side and curled up, hugging himself, still bundled in the damp towels. "He's deffo going more for guys than girls now, yeah? Can't make his mind up. Fuck, I'm shattered Xavier. Dunno when I last slept properly. Some fuck's always waking you up when you're sleeping rough. Ball ache! You seem cool though, better than that tall, skinny fuck that's always yapping at me, he loves giving me grief that one."

Xav had no doubt the 'tall, skinny fuck' Clint meant was Matty Greening. He felt a touch of solidarity despite his reservations.

"Don't feel bad, you're not the only one he likes to give shit to. Natural born talent I think!" Xavier said blandly, looking at Clint speculatively now. "So let me get this straight. Rayne's still paying your family for your upkeep, but you'd rather be in the gutter here than with them?" Xav shook his head and muttered, "That's gotta piss him off." Conversely though it made Xavier feel better that Rayne hadn't totally abandoned the kid. He was still paying for him. It wasn't his fault if the kid wouldn't stay where the cash was.

"Rayne can't make them give you the money, you know. If he tried, the court's more likely to just make you go home." He tilted his head slightly. "But you know that, right? So what did you really come after him for?"

"He put money in a trust for me but I can't get at it legally 'til I'm 18," Clint mumbled sleepily. "Record company pays my Grandad maintenance but my gran and gramps moved to fuckin' Devon about 3 years ago, took me with 'em. I don't like it down there though, fuck all ever happens. I miss my mates. Rather be here, even sleeping rough."

He rolled onto his back and tugged the towels closer around him as he turned his head to look at Xavier curiously. "Just lately I feel like I need to be here, I can't explain it's like an itch, I just need to scratch it. I feel better when I'm here, near him. It's been a ball-ache having him away. He's been gone so much lately, y'know. But even when he's being a cunt, it feels better in my head when I know where he is." He hesitated almost shyly then asked; "Xavier, has he ever...? Shit... this is a really fucked up question, but did he ever try and bite you?"

"Why would you ask that?" Xavier said cautiously.

Those large hazel eyes looked back at him unblinkingly.

"You know why," Clint finally said, reading more into his silence than his words.

Xavier debated privately with himself. Odds were pretty good the kid wasn't just asking on a hunch. He'd seen something, or maybe he felt something. If he really was Rayne's son, and Xav already wasn't doubting that, maybe there was some kind of bond there, like he had with Rayne. What would that be like, to feel so oddly connected to someone and not know why? But that was quite a leap to go from feeling some odd connection to thinking his dad was a vampire. It could have been Clint had followed Ray one night and saw him with some feeder...Xav couldn't say for sure and he couldn't exactly ask without giving away anything. If that had happened he guessed that had to have freaked the kid out a bit.

Xavier let out a small sigh. "Clint...you can't talk to anyone about this. They would just think you're nuts anyway, right? So...so let it be. Okay?"

"So he has tried something with you? I'm not imagining it?" Clint was suddenly more wide-awake. He pushed himself up, dislodging the towel wrapped loosely around his damp hair but ignoring it. "There is something very, very weird going on, Xavier. I just wanna know what it is. He doesn't feel like other people. At first I thought it was just because I knew he was my dad, but now I'm not so sure. That skinny one, the one with the gob on him, he feels the same. It's like my skin tries to crawl off my bones when he's around me. And I know I'm not related to him. At least... I 'ope to Christ I'm not!"

Xavier felt like he was being backed into a corner. He didn't know what he should tell Clint. The kid knew something was up, he was describing exactly how Xav felt when there was a vampire around, and Xav also knew how it felt when no one would tell him what was going on... yet, he also had other concerns. Like, the more Clint knew the more bother he could be, and Rayne probably wouldn't thank him for discussing this with his kid since it was obvious he hadn't told him anything. On the other hand, if he said nothing Clint might just get himself in trouble trying to figure things out on his own. He could get seriously hurt if he started asking questions like that to the wrong people.

He didn't owe this kid a damn thing, but he was not so hard hearted that he could just turf him out now and let him wander, and maybe go seeking out some other toothy fucker that gave him that same strange feeling he was picking up off of Rayne and Matty.

Xavier could vividly imagine what a vamp like Elian Iannopolous would do with a tender young boy like Clint poking around, asking to see his fangs.

"Fuck..." Xav hissed under his breath, running an agitated hand through his hair. "You're going to get in trouble with this... you're going to get me in trouble with this!" he grumbled, and then capitulated.

"They're...different, you're not wrong," he began slowly, and then hurriedly added, "but if you go telling anyone else they'll laugh at you or put you in a nut house, so just keep it to yourself, all right?" He looked Clint straight in the eye, leaning a little closer, his eyes very serious now. "And, Clint, if you ever get that feeling around someone else... you know, that little itch inside like you get when one of them is close..." Xavier licked his lips nervously. "Play it cool, like you didn't notice anything, and then get the fuck away from them as fast as you can. You hearin' me? It ain't no fucking game. Ending up dead would be the least of your worries."

Xavier's eyes were haunted enough that Clint knew he wasn't just trying to scare him. Then Xavier suddenly looked away and wrapped his arms around himself like he was cold.

Clint hesitated, caught between reaching out towards him and letting him be. He decided it would probably be best not to tell Xavier that he got a kind of weird feeling around him too, but not in the same way. His dad's blond boyfriend could be a little spiky but he was a nice enough bloke, in so far as Clint could tell. Not many groupies would have bought him breakfast or let him hang out like this, or even told him half of what Xavier had hinted at. That scored him some brownie points in Clint's book.

"Are you okay?" the lad asked at last. "You don't look too good. Can I get you anything?"

Xavier shook his head.

"No, I'm fine," he answered, and looked at Clint thoughtfully. "Listen, I really don't know when Rayne is coming back. It could be as long as I said or sooner. I know I said I'd call him for you but... well, he's got a lot on his mind right now, and probably wouldn't be real receptive to making calls or anything anyway. If I give you some cash to carry you through can you just wait until he gets back?"

"I s'pose," Clint said with a little shrug.

"All right. You can get some sleep if you want to. You look like you could use it," Xavier said, sliding off the end of the futon.

The boy eyed him suspiciously for a moment and Xavier asked; "What?"

"Are you gonna slip me your dick while I'm asleep?" Clint wanted to know.

"What sort of fuckin' question is that?" Xav's eyes widened with disbelief. "And if I was, would I tell you about it first?"

Clint shrugged again. "Guess not."

Xavier shook his head incredulously and went off to the bedroom. After a couple minutes he returned with a light blanket and pillow and dropped them next to Clint, then wandered off again to go play with the laptop until his mood improved.

Xavier checked in on Clint a few times over the next couple of hours but he seemed fine and slept pretty much the whole day away. He finally woke in the evening and Xav took him out to dinner because he was hungry by then too. After that it just didn't seem right to toss him back out, so Xav let him sleep on the futon again. In the morning it seemed even weirder to ask Clint to leave, knowing he was Rayne's kid, and knowing he didn't have anywhere to go. So Xav let him stay, and a hesitant friendship began to develop.

The kid seemed to have endless questions about him, his life, what he did, where he'd lived. It annoyed the shit out of Xav at first, but he soon realised his curiosity was driven at least partly by a desire for attention. He just wanted someone to talk to, and since Xavier didn't have anyone else to hang out with anyway he didn't mind so much, although he did try and edit a lot of what he told him.

Clint seemed happy to get his feet under the table. He persuaded Xavier to touch up his roots for him, then he disappeared for a few hours and returned in the afternoon with a bag of weather-beaten clothes which he also took the liberty of putting through Rayne's washing machine and tumble-dryer. He was not beyond chancing his arm either, and Xav came out of the bathroom later that same evening to find him no longer engrossed in the computer game he had been playing a couple of minutes ago. He tracked the youngster to the bedroom where Clint was investigating the contents of his father's wardrobe.

"He ain't 'alf got some fancy gear, 'as he?" he laughed at Xavier's slightly impatient expression. "You reckon this would suit me?"

He held up a sheer, sleeveless black top with a slashed neck and little silver safety pins hanging from it, preening in front of the mirror inside the wardrobe door.

"No," Xavier said, taking it out of his hands. "Not unless you're on a stage, or working a corner," he added as he put it back on its hanger and returned it to where it belonged.

"You're no fun, you know," Clint told him seriously. Then he grinned and blew Xav a kiss.

In the muted light of the bedroom and with his hair newly dyed, for a moment he looked so like Rayne that it made Xavier's heart jump.

"It's self-preservation. Rayne is fussy about his stuff," Xavier said. "Which you shouldn't be snooping through!" he added, thinking about a couple of drawers of sex toys in particular that he didn't want to think about Clint looking into. And where were those pictures of him? After their argument Rayne had retrieved the ones he thrown in the trash bin and scooped up the rest and Xav hadn't seen them since. He turned and made a little shooing gesture as he walked toward the door since Clint was blocking the doorway now.

"Yes mum," Clint grinned at him. "Bet he'd do his nut if he knew you'd been letting me live here, rent free while he was off doing his thing. Serves him right for not ringing though, yeah?" before Xavier had time to comment on that last remark, or even feel stung by it, Clint was rambling on again. "Tell you what, you should come and see where I hang out usually. I'll give you a proper tour, city of London and all that. Introduce you to some of the lads I mix with. Just to say thanks for helping me out. Would that be cool?"

It was on the tip of Xavier's tongue to tell him no. He could not really foresee anything but trouble if he got introduced around to Clint's friends. However, he didn't think the casual invitation was quite as casual as Clint made it seem. He supposed there weren't too many people that were nice to Clint, and this was sort of a way for the kid to say thanks. Besides, what else did he have to do?

"Sure." Xav said with a little shrug.

"Cool!" Clint beamed at him. "We'll do it tomorrow, yeah?"

He bounced back into the lounge and settled in front of his dad's laptop again, queuing up another game.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, one of those rare autumn days when it was both sunny and not too cold. Even the city looked quite bright and pleased with itself in the sunshine and Xav took Clint to their regular café for breakfast before they set off on their travels. The boy even consented to sit outside with him, even though he muttered under his breath that it was a poncey thing to do in England.

"Only tourists and students sit out on the pavement," he said in answer to Xavier's quizzical look. "Fuckin mental, innit, when you're paying in your cover charge for a roof over your head and central heating."

When they had eaten and emptied the large coffee percolator (Clint had acquired a taste for coffee under Xavier's tutelage but still couldn't be coaxed to drink orange juice!) the boy led him off towards Kilburn where he had grown up. On his usual wanderings Xavier had somehow always gravitated down towards the river but Clint led him away from the Thames, walking for about a mile and a half, into a land fringed with tower-blocks and three or four storey, balconied courtyards that were always loud with chatter or the yelps of children. The walls of shops and garages were bright with zig-zags of graffiti here and more litter tumbled through the streets than in the area he was beginning to think of, just a little bit, as home.

He could see it in the people too, they were more casually dressed on the whole. Any suits he spotted generally belonged to harassed looking office workers and were cheaper and more crumpled than the business attire of the city bankers. The general uniform of worn denims and tee shirts or hoodies and track bottoms was the norm here. Xav was slightly conscious of being a bit over-dressed.




London Loves Ch. 05



"He used to live here, you know," Clint told him conversationally as they wandered up Kilburn High Road and Xavier took in the melting pot of colours and cultures that clashed on every street corner.

There were take-aways and delis of every persuasion, from every corner of the world. Mouthwatering aromas filled his nostrils at every turn. Indian haberdasheries sold bright swathes of coloured and hand embroidered silk. There were cabinet makers from Eastern Europe and a plumber and bathroom fitter on one corner whose name had far too many 'z's and 'j's and far too few vowels in it for Xavier to decipher.

"Rayne, you mean?" Xavier asked, slightly surprised by this. He had thought that his lover lived by the sea before coming to London.

"He lived in a squat just up the road," Clint said, with the assurance of a tour guide. "My mum told me about it. They were always squatting places, none of them 'ad proper jobs so they just moved into a place and kind of took over 'til somebody caught on and they got kicked out."

That raised another question that had been bugging him since Clint kind of moved in. He ventured to ask it now.

"Where's your Mom now? You've said a lot about your grandparents but why isn't she looking out for you?"

Clint looked at him with that slightly shut down gaze that he knew well because he'd seen it on Rayne's face so many times.

"She died," the boy said at last and turned the conversation back to the various flats that Rayne had allegedly and illegally inhabited along the High Road.

Xavier looked shocked. He wanted to ask more but he was also conscious that this might lead to questions in turn about his own mother and as he considered his reluctance to get drawn on that he realised that maybe he had more in common with Clint than he'd thought. He was also quite shocked by the boy's allegations though; not so much that Rayne would do something as illicit as breaking and entering but that he hadn't been thrown in jail for it. Which led to a short discussion about the finer differences of squatting.

"Where I come from you wouldn't dare try that without a lease first. You don't pay the rent they get the court to come pry you out after a while. But if you just moved into some empty place, that's called breaking an' entering and will land you some jail time," Xav said. "Which is partly why there's so many large homeless populations across the country, I guess."

Clint scoffed at that.

"It depends who owns the place, over here," he said, with a little shrug. "Some of them are right bastards and they might make a case of it if they caught you. Some never come near a place though. There's some nice, big old buildings that never get looked at. Companies buy 'em and they're meant to develop 'em but they run out of money so the buildings just sit empty. Seems a shame not to make use of 'em when there's kids sleeping rough, yeah? If the bizzies turn up you just grab as much of your stuff as possible and leg it out the back window!" He grinned at Xavier. "C'mon, I'll show you what I mean."

A little way further up the main road, he turned off into an alleyway behind a tall, weary looking art deco building with a high white turreted frontage that towered over the rest of the block. It looked like someone had picked it up from a street in New York and plonked it down here without checking that it would fit. Clint led Xavier through a couple of battered gateways into a long goods yard that backed onto the rear courtyards of a terraced row of buildings behind the main road. This area was both a little more grubby, and in some ways more colourful, almost garishly so. Out of the corner of his eye Xav picked up that their progress was not unobserved. Some of the seemingly empty buildings were not so empty. It occurred to Xav to ask, "You stay 'round here sometimes?"

"It's a bit of a drop-in centre," Clint said casually. "The old flicks got bought by some bunch of God-Botherers and they're meant to be turning it into a church but they 'aven't done nothin' to it for ages. We got in through the back where the builders'd been working. It's far out inside, Xav."

There were a few young blacks and a scrawny white youth in trainers and caps playing with a basketball in the yard behind the old cinema and they paused to check out the newcomers then went back to their game. From the state of the fence around the yard, whoever owned the property had given up on repairing it. It had been patched in numerous places then just left alone.

Clint pried a section of metal cladding away from the grimy red-brick wall and revealed a doorway. He nodded towards it. "Go on, get in before someone sees us."

This was not exactly how he'd envisioned spending his day, but Xav didn't hesitate to slip through and Clint came in right behind him just as quickly. It was a little weird, Xavier felt a curious time slip, like he regressed a few years in Clint's presence. He laughed at himself inwardly, and he had to wonder if the situation was reversed and they were on his home turf would he have been as easy going with Clint? Probably not. When he had been living hand to mouth on the mean streets everyone was either baggage or competition.

It was much darker inside, most of the natural light cut off, but there was enough to see the walls in the hallway they were in were painted in Day-Glo colours that swirled from floor to ceiling in shifting patterns. He imagined it would be an interesting spot at night under black lights.

As his eyes adjusted he could see that he was in a passageway leading to a lofty space where there was some light and noise filtering back down towards them. At the end of the graffitied passage a set of double doors were wedged partly open and Clint led him fearlessly through into a larger space where he could clearly hear the sound of music, a driving, pounding beat that reverberated in his chest as he walked.

Temporary lighting rigs had been slung up along the walls, hanging from rusting iron gantries overhead and in front of him was a huge curtain wall and a sequence of ropes and pulleys hanging down from it. The sound seemed to be coming from somewhere deeper in the building although there were two young men trying to fix a motorbike in the middle of the empty chamber. One of them lifted his head as Clint and Xavier came in but just waved a hand as he recognised the younger lad and went back to his bike. The other never even looked up.

"Saul and Trance," Clint explained with a grin. "Saul broke us in here. He's the fixer. Anything we need he can sort it. Light, water, heating, you name it. Gotta keep the lighting and noise out back here though so no one sees from the road, yeah?"

Xavier nodded bemusedly, following along and taking things in. It looked like parts of the old theatre had been gutted, parts refurbished and then partially re-gutted, and parts that still looked whole and intact from the day of its opening. Most of that was closer to the front lobby and although in shabby disrepair now you could still see through to its grander Art Deco heyday.

Besides the building itself they passed a few people sleeping (or perhaps passed out) in some of the halls, and a few rooms that were obviously being used as shelter with blankets and bags staking out territory. These rooms had at least one person keeping watch on things.

The little hidden world was familiar, and not, to Xavier. He'd known of a few places sort of like this back home, but nothing reaching this scale. This had taken effort, and co-operation. It was dirty but not completely trashed and filthy, it may not be a safe place but it was somewhat guarded. It was quite a bit more then a flop pad for tweeked out huffers and junkies, and Xav realised right away without even having talked to anyone that there was a sort of community here.

They walked through to where the auditorium was; the stage and some of the seating still intact although the screen was long gone. Here there were more people, a few sitting or hanging out in clusters, an arid smell of cigarettes, cannabis, and spilled beer perfuming the air.

This was where the music was coming from. Xav's attention was drawn up to the stage where about twenty or thirty kids, ranging in age from maybe a little younger than Clint to a few years older than himself were formed in a loose circle in the centre of which one or two took turns dancing.

Xav watched the dancers as they approached the group, since Clint had spotted someone he knew and was headed in that direction anyway. He introduced Xav to a couple guys, who gave Xav the distinct impression that he would not have been allowed to just walk in here like this without Clint. That was okay with Xav though, he understood the way it was. Clint chatted with them a bit while Xavier paid half attention, mostly watching what was going on in the centre.

They had been standing there about a half-hour when Clint leaned over to him, indicating the guy currently doing some windmills in the centre while the gathering ooo-ed and cheered him on. "That's Spence. He's really fuckin' good, yeah?"

"He's got some tricks, yeah," Xavier said in a mellow undertone.

Clint snorted at him incredulously. "He's the best. He does these flips and all kinds of shit."

"Mm-hm," Xavier responded neutrally, edging a little closer to the front.

"What're you doing?" Clint tone was suddenly wary.

"Taking a turn." Xav said, taking his jacket off and trying not to grin at Clint's worried expression. He knew the kid thought he was about to embarrass the hell out of him in front of his friends.

Xavier waited until a break came between dancers and made his move out from the edge with a slick little glide and float that was pretty standard but looked really impressive. He did some fancy footwork, switching up some of his choreography with a more freeform street style to get warmed up and when the bridge in the music came up he flipped into some aerials and flares.

The tricks weren't really a whole lot different from what some of the others had been doing, but there was a marked difference in the way Xavier moved. He didn't just jump out there and bust a couple flips or spins. Every movement was planned, each trick flowed smoothly into another, linking them together to make it an actual dance that fitted with the music, rather than just a handful of acrobatics or cool moves done with the music as a backdrop.

Even toning it down Xavier moved like water, an easy grace about him that made it seem like gravity just didn't hold onto him the same way. What he did wasn't easy but he made it look like it was easy, graceful, beautiful.

Spence settled on the lip of the stage area beside Clint whilst Xavier was working the auditorium. He nudged the younger lad and grinned.

"Where you find that one, then? Him no street?"

"Could be," Clint grinned back. "He's smart enough, yeah?"

"Him threads don' say street," Spence laughed, shaking his head. "Him too young to be yo sugar daddy, man."

"I didn't say he was," Clint retorted defensively. "He's a mate of my dad's."

"Yo mythic father, na?" Spencer nudged him and chuckled again. "Easter, yo don' need to spin me no tales. We all know yo got no daddy. Yor grandaddy brung yo up right though. What yo doin' for the pretty dancin' boy that he takin' care of yo so good?" He twitched the hood of Clint's zip-up top between his fingers and pressed it to his nose, sniffing appreciatively. "Yo smell nice, baby!"

"Fuck off! He's just a mate. I'm not doing anything for him." Clint shoved him back and scowled at the older lad.

He hunched his shoulders and watched Xav dance in silent admiration of the way the lithe, blond American moved, so engrossed in the performance that he didn't notice the skinny kid who was going through the pockets of Xavier's leather over by the back of the stage. A couple of the boys who had been pulling shapes earlier now joined Xav and tried to copy his moves.

Xav paused for a bit, watching, then came back in. He was actually having fun. He knew better than to show off straight away, and he came across just right. Good, but not so good anyone was gonna get bent outta shape about it. Once the ice was broken though he could do a bit more, bring out some more impressive things like a handstand that turned into a one-armed hop and that rolled right into some air flares that were really difficult. They were like a regular flare but instead of planting the arms and rolling the legs around them you inverted at one point in the rotation and left contact with the floor entirely. That neat little manoeuvre won him some admirers, and a few got brave enough to ask him to show how he did it.

Xavier was willing enough to spend a few minutes slowing it down to demonstrate off to the side from the main group. Both tricks took a lot of upper body strength, balance, and practice but Xav showed them how to start out slow and build up to it so they didn't face-plant or break their neck.

He danced some more then, firstly by himself and then pulling a girl that had been watching avidly in with him, others joined in and things started to take on a more relaxed party atmosphere. Xav moved between the bodies, dancing with several partners, laughing and flirting mildly, chilling out. He lost track of time, and it felt good to sort of cut loose, but when he started feeling restless he broke off to find Clint and see if he was ready to head out yet.

By this time Clint had hooked up with a couple of guys he used to go to school with and they were sharing a bottle of White Lightning and laughing like little kids about something too arcane to even explain. Clint tried to pull Xav down with them, mumbling something about maybe staying the night here.

"You get on with the lads all right, yeah?" he suggested with a grin that said industrial strength cider was not the only thing he'd ingested since they arrived. "It'll be a laugh."

Xavier gave him a crooked grin just shy of a smirk. "I got a warm bed waiting for me, kid. You wanna stay here and party you go ahead but I'm going home."

He gave the boy's hair a playful tussle and tried not to worry too much about him as he grabbed his jacket and meandered his way back out. Clint had obviously been taking care of himself for a while, and he was with people he knew. He would be all right... and when the fuck had he started acting like such a mother hen? Jesus!

He shook his head at himself and started walking, surprised to find that it was already well after dark outside. It hadn't seemed like they'd been there that long but he guessed they must have. His thoughts drifted to Rayne and he wondered how he was doing. He hadn't rung, and Xavier had thought about calling him but he hadn't wanted to seem like he was checking up on him, or prying, especially since Rayne had said he wanted to be on his own. He knew Rayne needed this time, but a small selfish part had hoped he would have called by now. Xav missed him, he wanted to reach out to him...and yet he held back, respecting his lover's need for space and privacy. It was not an easy thing to do and made him feel melancholy and lonely. He shook his head and firmly told himself to stop being ridiculous.

He huddled further into his jacket, the warm day had turned into a decidedly cold night and he was glad for the warmth of the leather coat as he walked.

About three blocks from the theatre Xavier noticed he was being tailed. He kept calm as he looked up the street for some place that was open that he could slip into. Unfortunately all the windows looked dark. Cursing silently for not paying better attention to his surroundings he started to walk a little faster. He crossed the street and turned down another quickly. There were three young men following him, and now they knew he was aware of them. They picked up their pace as well.

Xavier didn't waste any more time, he broke into a run. There had been several times in his life that he'd run from potentially dangerous encounters. He'd frequented some seriously bad neighbourhoods and had had to duck and run more than once. He was pretty damn fast, and he'd known all the streets and had usually escaped harm. Unfortunately he was not familiar with the streets here. He ran blind, dashing down what he thought was a side street that turned out to be an alley with a fence at the other end.

"Fuck!" he snarled, although his feet didn't stop moving. He made a jump for it, the forward momentum propelling him upward as he scrambled for the top. He had one sneakered foot at the ridge of the fence and he probably would have made it over and got clean away if the men chasing him had been a little bit slower or he'd had more of a lead.

The three chasing him hit the fence a second after he did though and rough hands grabbed the back of his jacket, yanking him back down.

"Where you think you're going, huh?"

Xavier was spun around and shoved against the fence. He held up his arms defensively.

"What do you want?" he demanded, trying not to sound panicky.

"Whatever you got. Empty your pockets."

Xavier was almost relieved. When he'd lived on the streets he'd gotten mugged before. If you handed over whatever you had it was usually quick and painless. He pulled out his wallet and gave it to the thief.

"We'll 'ave that leather too," one of the other guys said.

Xavier slipped it off, a little more reluctantly. It was fuckin' cold out!

"Twenty quid? That all you got?" the first one complained, peering into the wallet Xav had handed over. "You're not holdin' out on us now?"

He wasn't, he hadn't taken much cash with him because he didn't think he'd need it and he didn't have any cards here yet, now he wished he had because these guys were looking disappointed and Xav smelled imminent danger. He was dressed nice; after shopping with Aldo he didn't own anything but 'nice'. The Armani jeans and silk shirt looked expensive because they were. He suddenly felt a lot more uneasy and made a quick decision. He threw the jacket at the one closest to him and ran at them at the same time, trying to get back to the street.

He ducked under an arm and almost got past but they were fast too and hard hands grabbed him again.

"Let me fuckin' go!" he yelled. "I don't got nothin' else!"

"Shut your fuckin' gob!" the one that had a hold of him growled and threw him roughly up against the side of the building.

The back of his head hit the bricks and a burst of pain shot through his skull as his teeth clicked together. "That's all I got, I swear!" he panted.

He wasn't lying either. He didn't have a ring or watch or even a chain on him. Nothing to appease them as they searched him quickly with rough hands. He really, really wished he had something because he could feel their frustration and anger growing. It was a sick sort of stomach dropping feeling, or maybe he'd hit his head harder than he'd thought, either way the vibe he was getting off these three was making him start to shake. He looked like money to them, and he'd wasted their time. The only thing they found was the key in his pocket, which they dropped on the ground.

He had a sinking feeling they were going to take that out on him, and he was not wrong.

Xav saw the fist coming and ducked, trying to rush by them again in desperation. It missed his head but drove into his shoulder like a hammer blow, throwing him off balance.

"Hold on to the fairy fuck!" the meanest looking one of the group shouted, the one that Xav could feel the rage boiling off of like blasts of heat from an oven.

Xav's arms were swiftly grabbed and he was yanked backwards. He squirmed and pulled trying to get away and in the struggle he didn't see the blow coming until it exploded across the side of his face in a bright red flare of pain. He sagged for a moment but survival instinct made him continue to struggle, trying to get his arms free, to throw his weight this way and that to break their hold, but they were stronger and just gripped him harder, forcing him upright.




London Loves Ch. 05



The ridged knuckles of a fist impacted with the left side of his face again, rocking his head back on his shoulders, and then jabbed again, slamming into the corner of his mouth and mashing his lips against his teeth. His head spun, he was dazed and tasted blood in his mouth and then another punch drove like a hammer blow into his stomach. Air whooshed out of Xavier and his lungs seized, his muscles turned to water but still he struggled to break free, if not to get away than at least to protect himself from the heavy fists that felt like rocks pummeling his abdomen and ribs now, striking again and again.

The taste of violence had sparked something in the thug beating him, Xav could feel and almost taste it on his tongue like the salty iron tang of his own blood in his mouth. To call it animalistic was wrong, it was far more cruel and mindless than an animal. This was a purely human emotion, the desire not just to hurt him, not just to punish him, but pound his frustrated rage into Xavier's body until bones broke and blood sprayed and maybe until there was nothing left to pound but a lifeless pile of meat.

The blows raining down on his body took their toll, sapped all of the energy right out of him until he was less being held in place by the hands gripping him than he was being held up by them. Just when Xav was starting to feel numb, just when he was wavering on the edge of blacking out, a knee came up between his thighs, driving into his groin and Xav bent double, coughing, dropping to his knees on the pavement and clutching his balls as the two arseholes holding him finally let go of him. They were laughing maliciously and calling him filthy names, congratulating themselves of fucking up his pretty face, but Xavier only heard them distantly. The pain was roaring in his ears, throbbing with the beat of his heart.

The fucker that had been using Xav as a punching bag kicked out at him where he crouched on his knees, catching him in the side and driving him down to the pavement. Xavier curled into a defensive ball as another vicious kick landed on his midsection. He rolled, trying to get away, his ears still roaring with the pain but mixed now with the harsh curses and seething hate fueled rage coming from up above him somewhere as the hard toe of a boot found the base of his spine, the softer unprotected flesh of his kidney, the edge of his ribcage, his shoulder. There was nothing methodical to the stomping, it was a mindless beating, like an enraged toddler throwing the mother of all tantrums, only this toddler was six feet tall and two hundred pounds of muscle and the toy he was breaking was living flesh and blood. Xav curled tighter and he had time to wonder if the heel of that boot would come down on his head next. If it would smash his skull open and leave his brains smeared on the bricks of this dirty alley. Before he found out he finally, mercifully, blacked out.

The two thugs that had kept Xavier from fleeing or defending himself seemed to sense the same thing, that perhaps their friend was going a step too far, and just as he drew back his leg to kick the back of the blond kid's head they grabbed him and pulled him back, not willing to take the step over into being an accessory to murder. The three of them stood there, breathing hard, fists still clenched, adrenaline surging. In that short pause the trio all looked down at the still, battered, unconscious form curled on the ground. None could even tell if he still breathed. The adrenaline rush began to shift from self-righteous fury into fearful self-preservation.

"Let's get the fuck outta 'ere," the one now wearing Xavier's jacket suggested hoarsely, and the other two quickly agreed. All three moved swiftly back to the street, not even looking back once at their victim who lay in a crumpled, bruised and bloodied heap next to the wall like a piece of refuse that had blown and caught there.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2012



London Loves Ch. 06



by Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn © 2012

CHAPTER SIX

As we're now on Chapter Six, regular readers should be well aware that the Rayne Wylde and Xavier Gavrilov stories contain strong elements of M/M love and sex, so for those of you that are new to this series, you have been warned. Although having said that, there isn't actually much sex in this chapter for obvious reasons to anyone that just read chapter five. Sorry about that, but we will make up for it.

We post the stories here free of charge for those who enjoy them. As usual we ask respectfully that you do not copy or reproduce any of the stories anywhere else without our prior permission.

MANCHESTER

Rayne's eyes flickered over the face of his mobile phone as he sat down at the dresser, preoccupied by the realisation that he hadn't spoken to Xavier since he got up here. At first he had thought it would be easier to do this if he was able to keep the two parts of his life completely separate but now he worried that his silence might be misinterpreted as a lack of concern. He stared at the mirror gloomily and studied his ashen face. Kevan always worried that he was too pale. There was time enough before he had to make his appointment. Rayne opened the top drawer and selected pots and bottles methodically before applying the make up just as his former lover had always liked it. The lip gloss was too red, the eyeshadow too defined for his tastes but Kevan loved it like that.

He painted his nails a deep aubergine shade that was almost black and his eyes watched from the mirror, liquid green against the smokey purple of the eyeshadow that ringed them, whilst the polish dried. Finally he rose and went to the bed where he had laid out a few simple items, things that his mate had loved to see him in; loved to fuck him in.

He managed the short basque top on his own this time. On the first occasion he had worn one of these for his lover it had taken him almost an hour to not fasten all the hooks and eyes properly. With the stays pulled in it cinched his waist and gave him a slight curve. It was also fucking uncomfortable but he tolerated it today. The wisp of silk that comprised the suspender belt was next and he rolled on the sheer black stockings before adding the purple and black silk thong briefs that completed the ensemble because Kev liked him to do it that way around. It was a ritual, a part of their game, and he had to do it right today because it would be the last time.

The silk cupped and caressed his limp cock and hairless balls like the fingers of a yearning ghost. Rayne closed his eyes tightly because tears would ruin the eye make up and he did not want to have to begin again.

The black dress slid on smoothly over the insubstantial undergarments and he turned in front of the mirror, careful to ensure that there were no tucks or ridges to spoil the line. Once he would have consulted someone over the effect but he knew it well enough now to judge for himself.

Black, over the knee boots in supple leather completed the look. The heels were just high enough to bring him to Kev's shoulder. They could almost make eye and lip contact without stretching when he wore them. Rayne was reaching for his three-quarter length black coat, keys and phone when the buzzer from the front hall sounded and he uttered a little huff of incredulous impatience.

Not now! Please... not now!

It took him a minute to glide down the stairs and press the intercom button that allowed him to check who was outside, by which time the buzzer had sounded again, twice. He opened his mouth to speak when he saw the familiar face looking up at the camera but no words would come.

"Ray?" Dave Ramsay said urgently, into the grille. "The caretaker rang me. I asked him to let me know if anyone came to the apartment. He told me this morning that you were back. Are you there, Ray?"

He was wearing a sober black suit and a long dark coat, that made him look paler and more serious. His light brown hair was slicked back from his face and his expression was drawn between solemn and anxious. When he saw that look, Rayne knew that he could not do this alone. Dave was his guardian angel and it would be churlish to turn him away.

He kept his finger on the button and forced his voice to steady as he said; "You'd better come up. Don't you dare laugh, or I'll kill you."

The green button opened the main door and he saw Dave pass out of range of the camera. Moments later he was tapping on the door to the apartment and Rayne turned the catch and let him in.

"Ray, thank go... Jesus!" Dave blinked at him, looking him up and down. It was not the first time he'd seen his old partner's lover dressed this way but clearly it took him by surprise.

Rayne levelled a warning glare at him. "It's getting late. I was just about to go out."

"Dres..." Dave stopped himself again. He did a quick mental recalculation and said; "You're going to the cemetery?"

Rayne nodded once. "I wanted to... I didn't... I mean, last year I couldn't..."

He looked away, fighting the lump in his chest again. Damn it to hell!

"I need to call a cab," he said, deflecting the explanation.

"Let me take you," Dave offered, his tone mellowing. "My car's just around the corner."

Rayne looked up at him almost resentfully.

"You knew I would come, didn't you?"

"I sort of figured you might," Dave said with an awkward smile. "I wasn't expecting this though." He waved a hand that managed to encompass the whole of Rayne's attire in a simple gesture.

"You think it's funny?" Rayne accused. "If you feel like that I'll go on my own thanks!"

"I don't think it's funny," Dave interrupted at once. "Actually, I think... I think it's kind of touching. Kev would have loved it. I'm sure you've put a smile on his face, Ray."

Rayne felt his lips tremble and he turned away at once, heading back into the lounge so that Dave would not see him cry.

"I need to fix my hair, I won't be long," he said in a tight little voice.

LONDON

Clint was just relaxing into the vibe for the night. Tosh had brought some fairly excellent weed down and he was enjoying a good hit from the smoke when Xavier slid over and said something about going home. He wasn't heavy about it, but Clint was kind of sorry he'd decided to rush off like that. He'd hoped Rayne's new boyfriend would stay for a bit and enjoy the party, but maybe it just wasn't his kind of scene after all and Clint had him pegged totally wrong. In any case he was polite enough about it and after he'd gone a couple of the guys mentioned that he seemed okay. They were impressed enough with his dance moves and Clint enjoyed a bit of kudos by association.

Then he spotted Maverick pissing about with a new toy. Mav was just a kid, really, barely fourteen. He lived with his auntie in the tower block behind the State but spent most of his time shadowing the street kids because he thought they were cool. Clint knew he didn't have a mobile because he'd been bleating about it just the other week, so what the fuck was he playing with? As he leaned over for a closer look the little gadget in the other boy's hand played a trilling little tune that he recognised right away. He'd heard Xavier's phone play that ringtone a couple of times whilst he was staying at the house. And actually that looked a heck of a lot like Xav's mobile...

"Where'd you get that?" he demanded, making a move on the scrawny schoolboy who backed into a corner at once, trying to hide the phone. This only franked Clint's suspicions and he made a grab for Maverick.

The pair of them rolled on the ground, kicking and punching until one of the older men separated them. Right away, Clint laid out his grievance. The guys who hung out here were not above a bit of casual pilfering but there was an unwritten rule that you didn't nick stuff from your own. And Xavier had come here as his guest. Clint was mortified.

Spence and Taz made Maverick hand the phone back right away and the boy was dispatched, still snivelling from a clip round the ear from the former, home to his auntie's flat. Clint, meanwhile, hauled himself to his feet. If he put a bit of a sprint on he might catch up with Xavier before he got too far. A part of him felt a bit guilty letting the other man walk home alone in any case. It was a long way and although it wasn't all through areas that were too rough, if he took a wrong turn he could have wound up on some bad estates. Mind you if he did that then Clint might never find him.

For a moment he deliberated waiting until the morning and popping round with the phone then. He could always say it had fallen out of Xavier's pocket and someone found it after he'd gone. That would save him and the State boys some face. He was just about to roll with that idea when the phone began to play a different jingle, one he vaguely knew as the refrain from Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love'.

When he squinted at the display he read one word; 'Rayne' and his resolve melted. He pressed the call-receive button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi."

"Xavier?" His father's voice sounded a little slurred and slightly husky, not as sharp and precise as usual. Maybe he'd been hitting the weed as well?

"Uh... he's gone to bed. He wasn't feeling so good," Clint lied awkwardly, suddenly figuring that it had been a very bad idea to answer the call. He was not a good liar and even though he ached to hear Rayne speak to him, he could tell that he wasn't all that happy.

"Who's that?" Rayne wanted to know. "Why have you got Xavier's phone?"

"He... um... he left it with me," Clint said, biting his lips anxiously. "I should get it back to him. Um... can I get him to ring you?"

At the same time he was beginning to feel a little burn of humiliation. His own father, right here on the phone, and Rayne didn't even know who he was. Well, fuck him!

"Can't you wake him?" Rayne was asking suspiciously. "Look... who the fuck is this?"

"I've got to go," Clint said coldly and pressed 'disconnect'. Then he turned off the phone and rammed it in his pocket. His happy mood had disintegrated so he made his farewells and trudged off into the night.

He had not gone much more than half a mile down the nearly deserted High Road when he saw the three young men saunter out of a side street, laughing and running at one another. They were play fighting, aiming kicks at each other and didn't see the slight, willowy youth slide into the shadows of a shop doorway up ahead. Clint wasn't afraid of a bit of rough-housing but there was something about the attitude these lads were giving out that he didn't want even a little piece of.

He laid low, pressed back against the side of the alcove until they had gone by. Only then did his brain calculate that the one in the middle was wearing a short leather jacket that looked very much like Xavier's. It was a classy jacket, quite distinctive actually. Clint felt his heartbeat speed up and he counted to ten to let them get out of earshot then ducked out of the doorway behind them and tore back up the road the way they had just come. His sneakered feet made hardly a sound on the pavement but it still sounded loud to his ears, as did his choking breath. He skidded into the side road they had come out of and ground to a halt.

It was a dead end. Nothing in the road ahead but debris, discarded shopping bags blowing on the wind, a pile of cardboard boxes by someone's front gate, a long, pale shape sprawled on the ground by the boxes like a piece of carpet someone had rolled up and thrown out. Except it was wearing shoes; quite decent shoes, not the kind of thing that lasted long on your average dosser.

Clint raced towards the boxes and dropped to his knees beside Xavier. The blond was draped in a lifeless, boneless heap on the ground, bleeding badly from his head. His arms were hugged defensively around his lean torso and he looked very dead.

"Oh shit!" Clint groaned. "Shit! Shit! No!"

He put a hand on the blond man's throat but wasn't sure if he could feel Xavier's pulse there or just his own, throbbing wildly in his fingertips. Xav was cold but it was a cool night and he had probably been lying here for quite a few minutes. Clint stroked his hair anxiously.

"Xav, wake up. Please..." he begged.

Xavier didn't move, still giving no real sign of life and that scared Clint enough to risk rolling him over onto his back. He gasped softly at the sight of the young man's face, so battered and bloody. The skin around his left eye was swollen and purple all the way from the socket to his temple and even the outline of his cheekbone was obscured by the bruise. Blood trickled from his nose and the corner of his mouth, the soft, plush looking bottom lip split and bleeding as well. Beneath the bruises and blood his fair skin had taken on an ashen gray tone that Clint could make out even in the darkened alley. He could feel his own heart slamming against his ribs now, sure he was looking at a dead man.

"Oh no, oh shit!" Clint moaned, sliding his hand under Xavier's neck, although he wasn't sure what he was meant to do.

Xavier's arm slipped down from his chest and his head lolled slightly. The movement and the pain it caused must have been enough to rouse him because his eyelids fluttered slightly and a soft groaning exhalation came from his swollen lips. Clint's relief was immediate but at the same time he was still so scared he could feel his stomach rolling and flipping like he was going to be sick at any minute.

"Xav? Xavier?" he murmured, wanting to shake him fully awake, but too afraid.

Xav's eyes opened, the left one only managing to crack a tiny slit. He blinked at Clint without recognition for a moment, and then the world came crashing back on Xavier hard. He drew a sharp breath that came out an agonized groan.

"Ooooh... fuck," Xav slurred through swollen lips. His whole body throbbed with pain. "Shit!" he hissed, swallowing convulsively as he tried not to throw up or pass out again.

He blinked several more times as Clint started to babble at him in a voice that was scared, relieved and guilty all at once. He didn't hear a word the kid said, it was all just a buzz in his ears as he lay there and tried to decide if he had the will to get up. Cold was seeping into him but not enough to numb the agony of every screaming bruise, only enough to add its own layer of misery. His head was swimming dizzily again and he knew he was going to have to either get up now or tell Clint to get help. His mind ticked that over. The idea of having an ambulance come caused near panic in him, for no rational reason, but it was there nonetheless.

"Shhh, Clint..." he murmured muzzily as he lay there for a moment or two more, steeling himself against what he knew was coming, then he swallowed hard. "Help me get up," he said in a ragged voice.

Clint was shaking his head. "Xavier you look pretty messed up. Maybe you need an ambulance or something," he protested, chewing his bottom lip worriedly.

His face blurred in front of Xavier's eyes for a moment but he looked so like Rayne when he did that.

"No!" Xav said more determinedly, and then had to wait a minute to speak again, panting as spots began to dance in front of his eyes. He willed himself to stay conscious. If he passed out again he knew Clint would call 999, and he would end up in a hospital somewhere, tubes in his arms, pumped full of morphine. "No..." he repeated more softly. "Not if I can get up, okay? If I can't then... Just help me get the fuck up," he said, sounding suddenly desperate.

Taking deep even breaths and with Clint helping, Xavier forced himself up on one arm until he was half sprawling, half sitting. He rolled onto one hip, and had to stop. Oh, Jesus Fuck, he hurt everywhere. Clint was babbling again and Xavier shushed him. When he got his breath back and the spots receded from his vision once more he slowly, with the kid's help, got to his knees, then up on his feet and stood, weaving unsteadily.

"Xavier, please. Let me call for..."

"No! I'll be okay." Xav cut him off, not at all sure he would be. He was clinging to the brick wall next to him with one hand and Clint's arm with the other so he didn't go down again. He looked at Clint's anxious face. "I'll be fine," he repeated, trying to sound more convincing. "Just help me get home, okay?"

"That's a long walk," Clint tried to point out reasonably.

"Yeah, I know," Xavier said, sounding terribly, terribly resigned.

It was more than a long walk, it was a tortuously interminable nightmare in which Xavier stumbled along like a zombie, swaying like a drunk, on the verge of passing out. Clint half dragged him at times, intermittently pleading with Xavier that they should stop and get him seen to properly. Xavier adamantly refused each time he suggested getting medical attention and only when they were actually, physically on the stone steps in front of Chepstow Villas, and Xav reached into his pocket only to come up with nothing as he remembered how the key had been taken from him and tossed onto the tarmac, did he finally break down. A small sob of pain and angry frustration rose from his throat as he slid down to sit on the step, cradling his aching ribs and stubbornly refusing to let any more emotion out.

He hurt. He hurt so badly. He had only wanted to get here, to get inside where he could crawl into bed, where he could safely nurse his wounds in peace.

"Will you let me call now?" Clint asked, pulling Xavier's cell phone from his pocket.

Xavier looked at the phone in his hand for a moment as if he didn't recognise it, then hope blossomed as if the boy had produced a bright shining beacon of salvation. He was so giddy with gratitude he forgot to even question how Clint had come to have it in his possession.

"Thank fuckin' god!" he breathed as he took the phone and switched it on. Once he had it in his hand though he stopped for a second, thinking. It was really late now. No, it was early actually, closer to morning than to night. It had taken three times as long to walk back as it had when they were headed out. Dominic would probably answer anyway, but Xav didn't know if he had a key. If he had been thinking right he would have realised before they began to walk that Dom would come and get him, but his head was fogged. The tunnel vision of determination had given him one single-minded goal of getting here so he could curl up safe and sleep. He only wanted to be inside and he knew one person close by that had a key. Rayne had given him his number before he left just in case of some emergency.

Well this was probably as much of an emergency as he could remember since he arrived in London. Xavier opened his phone and called Matty Greening.

It rang four times before going to voicemail. Xavier hung up without leaving a message and pressed the send button again, with the same results. He waited all of thirty seconds and called again. This time he got an answer, from a very pissed off sounding vampire.

"Do you know what fuckin' time it is?" Matt's sharp voice cut across Xavier's ears but all he could do was breathe a sigh of relief.

"Not exactly," Xav answered in a strained husk of his normal voice. "I'm sorry... listen, I lost my key... I'm freezing my ass off on the step. Can you come let me in?" Xavier's throat clicked slightly as he tried to swallow. "Please..."  

"Am I your mother now?" Matt sighed on the other end of the line. Xav heard rustling as he wriggled out of bed and pulled some clothing on, one-handed, still hanging onto the phone with the other. "Oy weh! What the fuck have I done in my past lives to deserve this, eh? I should make you sleep on the fuckin' doorstep, tomcat! How would that be, eh? How'd you like that, loverboy?"




London Loves Ch. 06



Xavier did not smile because it would have hurt too much, but he knew by the surly tone that Matt would come and let him in. "Thanks, Matt. I owe you," he said, and hung up before Matty started in on just how much he was going to owe. He looked over at Clint. "Thanks for getting me home." He tapped his finger on the phone. "I'm thinking you didn't take this if you were bringing it back to me," he said, his brain starting to shift into forward gear again.

Clint nodded, looking apologetic as he started to explain but Xav held up a hand. "Don't worry about it. I was stupid, should have been watching better." He sighed; "Listen, Matt's more likely than not to be a total prick when he gets here. You don't have to hang around to get a load of shit from him if you'd rather take off."

"I'm not leaving you here on the fuckin' doorstep on your own," the boy warned him seriously. "You could keel over. That lanky streak of piss might decide to go back to bed and not bother. Then what?"

That seemed to settle it, and in the end Xavier was grateful. Matt took his sweet time getting there but he was drifting in and out for most of the wait anyway. Clint kept on shaking him and talking to him to keep him conscious. Even so he was in a light doze on the step, the pain throbbing dully as he huddled up to the boy, when Matt finally did arrive.

MANCHESTER

It felt strange to be sitting in the comfortable warmth of Dave's Mondeo, watching familiar streets flash by; like he had never been away, almost. He could forget that he was dressed in a way that would certainly get him attention, whether people recognised him or not. He could even, if he tried hard enough, convince himself that the last eighteen months had never happened; he'd never been to America, never experienced the claustrophobia of a seven foot square, windowless cell, or watched as a teenage boy, no older than Clinton, raised a semi-automatic and put two terminal bullets in the man he was making love to on their bed.

Rayne blinked and pulled his thoughts away from that. He would not think about any of it; whichever way he looked at it the feelings were disloyal, either to Kevan or to Xavier and he could not handle the guilt trip today, of all days.

"You okay?" Dave asked him, solicitous though he knew that the answer would be in the negative.

Rayne just shook his head, unable to speak for the pressure in his chest that was forcing an iron fist slowly up his tightening gullet into his throat. He felt sick and lost, his head so full of pressure that he could believe it might explode.

"Bernie sends his love," the other man said, to fill the silence. "He had to work today but he said to tell you he's thinking of you every step of the way. We both miss you, Ray."

"He's a sweetheart," Rayne said huskily, his voice still too tight. "You too, Dave. You didn't have to do this."

"And you reckon you could have done it on your own?" his friend asked with a wry smile.

"Eventually." Rayne glanced his way and forced a smile he didn't feel. "Can't keep putting it off, can I? I've got to say goodb... I've got to say it, in the end."

He swallowed again, because the word had almost unmanned him, as if he was not unmanned enough in this ridiculous get-up. He took a short, hard breath, and another. Dave's hand left the steering wheel and landed briefly on his arm and for once he did not push it away.

Manchester's Southern cemetery was a huge sprawling necropolis, with lawns and headstones in every shape and size imaginable reaching out as far as the eye could see. He was glad, on seeing it, that Dave had chosen to come with him. Finding Kev alone in here would be the challenge.

His escort, ever the gentleman, offered his arm and Rayne took it, figuring they might draw less attention that way. Kevan always told him that he was every inch the lady in his sleek drag attire but he felt conspicuous; too masculine for the delicate heels and silk stockings and the slick, tight feel of too much Maybelline smothering his trembling lips. He put a hand to his hair, trying in vain to smooth it and fighting a losing battle against the persistent Mancunian breeze. It was a grey day with low cloud, threatening the city's virtually omnipresent rain. The weather seemed suited to their purpose though. And Dave had thought to bring a large umbrella from the car.

"What was it like?" he asked as they walked, Dave shortening his stride to match Rayne's stilettoed steps without needing to be pulled back. "The funeral? Were there...? Did many people turn up?"

"It was a sell-out," Dave admitted with a grim smile. "Family, friends, colleagues; they all came out the woodwork. And the fucking press of course. Murdered Copper Laid To Rest! You could see the fucking headlines before they even stopped snapping us."

Rayne's head turned, eyes wide enough to tell Dave without words that he'd not seen any of it, that there was still a gap as big as Manchester in his memories of that time. For a moment Dave was brittle then he mellowed.

"You weren't around. I guess I keep forgetting that there's a lot you missed in that shithole." He had the decency to look embarrassed. "We... I did everything I could to get you out of there, Ray. It wasn't easy, there was a lot of circumstantial evidence. Your mate the Earl had a lot to do with them letting you walk, I reckon."

"I owe Dom for a lot of stuff," Rayne said neutrally, but his mind was already spilling ahead to that meeting with the grave and as they drew nearer he was getting that sharp pain in his chest again.

The plot, when they found it, took him by surprise. The stone was small and simple, a single piece of polished, onyx-coloured granite, chamfered at the edges and with a slight sparkle of mica. It was set at the head of a slab of paler, unadorned stone framed by a three sided rill filled with small, smooth, white pebbles. An inscription etched in gold, in a clear, square script, proclaimed the sole occupant.

Kevan Michael Joseph Delaney, husband and beloved father, 1970-2017. That was all, eight words and eight numbers to mark the brief existence of a man who had loved with a passion that still seared his soul.

"Can you give us a minute?" Rayne asked, feeling the words rise up to choke him.

Dave nodded solemnly. In silence he offered his umbrella but Rayne just shook his head. The threatened precipitation had been little more than a shower of fine drizzle which was easing off now. Gusts of wind rolled around the open aspect of the huge necropolis though, tousling his carefully styled and pinned hair until it hung around his pale face like a shroud of torn, black silk. He was glad in a sense because it gave him something to hide behind.

As the sound of Dave Ramsey's boots crunching on the gravel receded, Rayne took the last few steps that would make all of this deeply, horribly real. He crouched now, remembering to keep his knees together as lisping Paul, his femme stylist from Amberley's Bizarre, had once drilled him. It was not easy in heels but he managed to duck low enough to clear a few dead stems from the small, black marble vase with its gilded pepper-pot top that sat on the narrow plinth at the foot of the headstone.

Carefully now he set his single carmine rose in place in one of the small holes. It stood out like a splash of blood against the polished charcoal shade of the granite. Rayne closed his eyes, still struggling with his emotions. It was a surreal experience. He had expected to feel traumatised, overwhelmed by a sense of horror that was at least equal to the shock he had known as his memories began to return. Somehow those feelings remained dormant in him here though. Instead he knew only detachment. It felt slightly unreal. He wasn't able to associate his memories of Kevan with this innocuous dark grey stone.

It seemed inconceivable that Kev could be lying beneath the slab under his shiny, Manolo Blahnik heels. Somehow Kev - at least the Kev of his limited memories - seemed too big, too bold, altogether too jovial for such a cold, sombre resting place.

He touched the stone, seeking some kind of solace, as if he expected to feel Kevan's spirit reach out in the same way that Xavier's did. In his heart he knew it was folly; he'd lost enough people in his life to be reasonably sure that - barring a vampire bite - they did not come back.

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he said, huskily now, just in case Kev could somehow hear him, or feel the genuine sorrow in his heart. "I wanted to come sooner."

He felt bad, because that too was a lie. He'd barely known his own name when they released him from the hospital, and as soon as he was halfway well again he'd gone tearing off across the Atlantic in search of an escape from the memories.

"I didn't deserve you really, did I?" he murmured now. "I kept on trying to tell you that, but you never listened. In the end I couldn't even save you, could I? Fat lot of good I was!"

He caressed the cold, polished stone with his fingers, even though he knew it was a futile gesture. Kev would not feel it where he had gone. In fact, he would probably never feel anything ever again.

"I hope you can forgive me," he said now, regardless of this, just because he needed to say it; he had to get the words out before they strangled him. "I need you to forgive me, 'cause... 'cause I've met someone else, babes. And... you'd like him, I'm sure. He's blond, and he's cute as a kitten and he likes being tied up. All that kinky shit really pushes his buttons. And I'd like to think we'd got your blessing, right? Because I love him so much it hurts, and the thought of losing him like this... it rips me apart. And I reckon I understand now, I know what you were feeling like inside, and all the stuff you were trying to tell me that I was just too thick skinned, or just too plain thick to get while you were here..."

He closed his mouth, reaching for the band around the third finger on his left hand and twisting it distractedly as the wind lifted his hair and blew it in tattered flags across his ashen face. He felt the emotion well back up in him again, brooding like the storm clouds above the avenue of trees beyond this silent line of gravestones.

"I guess what I've come... what I've come to say is... well, goodbye I s'pose. I... I'm not good at this kind of thing. You know I'm not, but... well, I won't... I probably won't come here again. I've got to carry on you see. And there's people that need me now. I mean... I know you needed me too, but they're... they're here and alive... and..."

Rayne stopped again because he felt a single carmine tear run down his face, and then another. He reached up to rub them away but one still splashed down, wet and red on the damp stone. It was that single tear that opened up the floodgates and he was suddenly on his hands and knees, touching the cold, wet stone, sobbing his heart out because it was so unfair; so very horrible and cruel and desperately unfair to have to leave Kevan here in this cold, grim, awful place beneath a plain, insignificant piece of stone that didn't even begin to tell the world at large what a good, warm-hearted, loving man he had been.

He had meant to leave the ring, to push it into the soil or just leave it sitting on the gravestone and walk away. He had wanted to give it back, so that he did not have to think about what it represented, but now that he was here he found that he could not do it. And as Dave so wisely said, afterwards, when he had scooped Rayne up off the ground and wiped the scarlet streaks from his pale, pretty face; Kev would have wanted him to keep it.

"He gave it to you," the other man said gently, when they were back in the warmth of the car. "You don't have to wear it forever, but don't throw it back in his face now. He doesn't deserve that."

He had wanted Rayne to come back to the house, to stay with him and Bernie until he had to go home, but Rayne declined politely. He was effusive in his thanks for the other man's kindness to him today but tonight, of all nights, he was not looking for company.

Though, actually that was not true. He wanted Xavier; more than anything else he wanted to be back on a plane, flying home to be in his lover's arms. Being there beside that lonely grave today had shown him what was important, he supposed.

It was getting late by the time he got back to the apartment though, and by the time he had showered and changed and finished packing up the things that he did not want the removal company even seeing, let alone having to deal with, it was too late to get a flight back to London. So he curled up with a couple of bottles of vodka and wrapped himself in the soft, warm throw from the back of the sofa, trying in vain to drink himself into oblivion.

And that was when he began to get the shivers; the warning pangs that something was very, very wrong. He got up again and paced restlessly, then gave in to the need to call, to find out what was happening. Even if he was being completely stupid and he'd woken Xavier up on a mad whim, he would feel better.

At first no one answered and he settled back down again, nursing the phone to his breast, trying to tell himself that Xav was fine; he was sleeping. It wasn't so late though that he'd be sound asleep, surely? Rayne tried to push the warning feelings down, to make them be still but they just surged up more ferociously in his chest, making his heart beat hard of its own volition. He felt sick and scared, like he'd never felt in his life, not even when Carlsen stood over him with that spike and plunged it into his chest.

In the end he called again and this time a voice answered and he knew a second of relief before realising that it wasn't Xavier. It wasn't Xavier! Someone had his phone. Why the fuck would someone else have Xavier's phone? It didn't make sense.

He demanded to talk to his boyfriend and a very young sounding voice, slightly uncertain, told him that Xav couldn't speak to him right now. And then, as he lost his temper, the speaker hung up on him and turned off the phone. When he tried to call back it just went to voicemail.

Rayne dropped his mobile and pulled his clothes on then threw the last few things into bags and called for a cab. He didn't know what was going on but he understood one thing, he was no use to Xavier up here. He might not have been able to save Kevan but he was damned if he would sit on his arse feeling helpless whilst Xavier needed him. By the time the taxi turned up he was on the phone again, trying to get booked on the first available flight back to London.

LONDON

"Oh fuck!" the tall, blond dreadlocked vamp growled as he stumbled out of a taxi and took in the scene. "What the fuck happened to you? And what's that doing here?" He pointed an accusing finger at Clint who merely glowered at him, a look that was painfully reminiscent of his father. Matty, used to dealing with the older version by now, took it in his lengthy stride. "Don't look at me like that, you little fuck! I thought we'd been through this, heh? Did you not hear a fuckin' word that nice judge was saying to you? Stay Away From The Fucking House! Capiche?"

"Rayne isn't here," Clint retorted, sullenly, showing no inclination to move. "And if it 'adn't been for me, he'd be dead by now."

He pointed at Xavier, then gave him another little shake. "C'mon, stay with us."

That was perhaps a slight exaggeration, then again maybe not. Besides, Xavier doubted Matt would care or even have wanted the kid to make sure he found his way back in relatively one piece. His eyes cracked open and a groan of protest rose from him at being jostled again. Matty's face swam in front of him. Their bickering grated along his skinned nerves and he wished he had the strength to tell them both to shut the fuck up, but he was relieved Matt had actually come. He was icy cold now and he wasn't even sure he could make himself get up a second time tonight.

"Leave him alone, he's all right," Xavier mumbled softly in a weak attempt to diffuse any further harassment from Matt.

"You don't know the half of it, lover," the vampire sighed under his breath, but he rolled his eyes and bent to scoop Xavier up in his arms.

Matt Greening was stronger than he looked because he lifted Xav effortlessly and managed to juggle both him and the key pad as he opened the front door to the apartments and carried him through into Rayne's quiet, familiar lair. Clint hovered in the doorway for a moment, as if uncertain of his welcome, then Matt looked over one bony shoulder, dark eyes narrowed impatiently.

"Well... if you're coming in, do it, but whatever you're up to, shut the fucking door, all right?" he huffed at last, turning back towards the bedroom. "And try not to nick anything!" he called back vehemently.

Xavier heard the door click softly shut a few moments later, but it was the last thing he heard because he slipped back into the dark again as Matty laid him gently on the bed. When he regained consciousness, he slowly realised two things. Firstly that he was naked, and secondly, with a little ripple of anxiety, that Matt Greening, his lover's vampire ex was bent over him, licking his face like a puppy.

"mmph, wha'are you doin'?" he murmured groggily, although he sort of knew what he was doing given the way that his tongue drew slowly over the split in his lip. "Don't..." Xav whispered, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep him from looking in his head via the flow of his blood. It was a bit late for protests though. Xavier moved a fraction of an inch and groaned miserably. His poor face probably looked bad enough but his torso and back were covered in deep bruises that made him appear as if he'd been hit by a bus; it felt like it too. Fucking bastards!

Matty confirmed it for him, leaning back on his elbow with a little fanged smile and a lift of one studded eyebrow. Xavier was slightly startled to realise that the young vampire was also stark naked. And more than a little bit happy to see him! The studs and rings in his semi-erect cock glistened softly in the lamplight.

"It's too late for false modesty now, honey," he drawled, shaking his gold and silver dreads ruefully. "At least you didn't get knocked about turning tricks. Ray would have just loved finding out about that, wouldn't he! Where'd you think you are, loverboy?" Matt wagged a finger at him now. "London's nothin' like Mary-fuckin'-Poppins, you know? And you wanna watch your back if you're gonna start running around with little cunts like Stalkerboy. You can bet your bottom shekel he's got something to do with it, so don't get taken in by that bleedin' heart act he puts on."

Xavier was not in a receptive frame of mind for a lecture and his baleful expression said as much, but at the moment he was pretty much at Matt's mercy, which was a scary enough thought in itself!

"Clint didn't set me up," he argued. "He wanted me to stay. And I'm not fuckin' stupid. I know how to look out for myself...usually." His mouth closed and then he let out a sorry sigh. "I wasn't paying attention, it was stupid. I know." Xav tried to roll away from Matt and gasped, immediately wishing he hadn't moved. The pain that shot through him made him want to cry but he'd bite his own tongue off before he'd shed a tear in front of Matty Greening. "And I'm not a whore, you know!" he retorted hotly, grasping for anger to keep the tears at bay.

For a moment Matty's expression was completely unreadable, but he shook his head at last and the look on his face mellowed as he touched the backs of his long, cold fingers to Xavier's swollen cheek, ever so gently.

"I was licking you to heal the cuts on your face. I took my clothes off because I like my clothes and don't want your gore all over them. I know you're not a whore, Xavier Gavrilov. And I didn't do anything to you while you were out of it, all right? I'm not a rapist or a child molester," he said methodically, ticking off the points on his fingers as he spoke. "Now, I could bite you and share blood with you, which would help you heal. But I know Ray's already done that once at least. It doesn't stop me trying, but if he's marked you twice then I could actually Turn you by biting you like that. Help me out here, lover?"




London Loves Ch. 06



Xavier blinked at him, his dark blue eyes gone wide. Well, one of them anyway. The other was a little too swollen for that.

"He's bit me twice, like that," Xavier said slowly. "I don't want to be Turned, Matt." His heart was beating a hard tattoo on the inside of his chest, though whether it was fear or something else was hard to tell. Even in as much pain as he was, the temptation was there. The craving to be bitten throbbed like a slow burn in the twin points on his neck and flowed through him like molten lava. It had been a while since Ray had taken anything more than a drop or two of his blood and he felt that acutely now.

Matt licked his lips slowly. His dark eyes were flecked with gold like hot little stars in a dark chocolate sky.

"Shame, that," he purred at last, shaking his head. "But if you're twice marked then you'll heal faster than any ordinary sucker. Maybe you ought to think about seeing a doctor though. The kid was pretty adamant that you didn't want to, but he'll say anything, to be honest with you." He held up a hand to forestall the inevitable attempt to defend Clint's honour. "Listen to me for a minute, lover. I know you've taken a shine to the little bastard, but he's trouble. Ray's done what he can, but he can't afford to get involved too much with Clint. The boy's not right in the head. He's cost us a fuckin' fortune, and he's never fuckin' satisfied. Ray tried to get to know him a bit better a few years ago, but it all went pear shaped. We didn't take out a restraining order just because he was being a bit of a pain in the arse. The kid threw a wobbler about something, accused Ray of trying to molest him, then tried to burn the fuckin' house down when that didn't work out for him."

Xavier stared at Matt for a moment but he knew, without asking how, that the vampire wasn't making it up or blowing it out of proportion. He was surprised by the disappointment that touched him and he nodded carefully to let Matt see he wasn't ignoring what he was saying.

"I'll be careful with him," Xavier said. "I couldn't just let him starve though, you know? He's Rayne's kid..." He trailed off for a moment, thinking. He knew what he'd felt about Clint; the kid might be troubled but he wasn't evil. "He's just pissed off, wants attention," he said absently and then looked up at Matt again before he went off on one. "I know it doesn't excuse trying to burn the fuckin' house down, I'm just saying..."

He let it go with another little sigh. Then he thought of something else. "Matt...don't go calling Rayne about this, all right? He's got enough to deal with right now."

Matty sighed gustily but he nodded his head. "If you'll let me call a doctor just to make sure you're not bleedin' out somewhere we can't see, I promise not to say anything to him, yet. 'Kay? Don't want you dying on us. Ray would rip my nuts off if I let that happen." He paused, with a sad little smile. "His bleedin' phone's switched off anyway, the awkward cunt!"

"You already tried to call him?" Xav asked, alarmed. "Please don't tell him. I'm okay, honest. I don't need a doctor." Xavier spoke with more animation than he'd shown the whole time, his anxiety noticeable. He really had a fear of doctors, Matt figured shrewdly.

"I didn't ring him about this, it's okay," Matty reassured him. "But I'd rather you saw somebody professional. I'm not a medic, lover. If you start to slide the only thing I can do for you is to give you that third bite. Do you understand? I'm not gonna sit here and hold your hand while you die on me then have to explain to Raymonde what fuckin' happened when he gets back." The blond vampire looked genuinely worried now.

Xav was seriously worried now too, although for different reasons. He couldn't explain why he was so scared of doctors, there were a lot of mixed up reasons in his head about it. He suddenly hit on an idea though. "How 'bout if I call Dom? He knows about healing and stuff... if he says I have to go to the hospital I'll go, okay?"

He had been out of action for a little while when Matty first put him to bed so it was almost morning by this time. Matt handed him his phone and Xav switched it on to ring Lord Warren. The display told him he had five missed calls. They had all come in during the small hours and were all from the same number.

Rayne had been trying for most of the night to call him. Finally he had sent a text message that read. What's going on, Xav? If u don't ring me back by 6am I am coming str8 home. *worried*

"Shit!" Xav hissed under his breath. "He doesn't fucking call me for three fucking days and decides now he's worried."

Matty was looking at him with a semi-amused expression but for once he had nothing to say. Xavier stared at the phone for a few moments, not knowing what to do. He hadn't wanted Rayne to find out about him getting jumped because he hadn't wanted him stressed out. Now that was kind of moot. With a small sigh he flipped the phone open and called Rayne back. The call was answered almost immediately, which ordinarily would have made Xav smile but the tone he got was not what he was expecting.

"Xavier?" Rayne's voice was sharp and suspicious.

"Hey, babe. It's me..." he said, trying to sound cheerful and reassuring and sounding forced even to his own ears. "I'm fine... didn't mean to worry you. I had the phone turned off."

"So who the fuck answered it the first time I rang last night?" his lover asked him, sounding dangerously fraught. "I know it's a bit off for me to disappear for a bit and leave you on your own and I don't mind you having company, for fuck's sake but..." He caught his breath. "Getting your date to hang up on me then shutting your phone off is a bit low, don't you think?"

"My...what? What are you talking about...?" Xavier was still thinking a little slowly but he was trying to put the pieces together now. Someone had answered his phone last night and hung up on Rayne? It had to be Clint. Now he had two things to worry about explaining.

"Oh...no, it wasn't like that, Ray. I didn't have him hang up on you... wait, I mean, no, I didn't even know he answered, and that wasn't a date that was...um...fuck... look, Clint came here looking for you. You remember him, right? He was hungry and I fed him and then I couldn't just tell him to fuck off cos, well I couldn't, and then he hung out for a bit, and he wanted to show me some places and then some fuck took my phone when I wasn't paying attention, and Clint was just bringing it back to me so he must have been the one who answered when you called."

Xav stopped his ramble suddenly and even he didn't know if anything he'd just said made the least bit of sense. He was pretty sure he had a concussion and it was making him a bit confused. All he knew was he was hurting pretty badly again and things were getting sort of grey around the edges.

Rayne did not say anything for several seconds. He made a small noise that sounded a little bit like he was being strangled, then, almost atonally he murmured; "Okay, that's it. I'm at Ringway and I'm getting the first flight back down." He hesitated and his tone softened slightly as he added; "Are you okay? I was getting some weird vibes from you last night when I was trying to ring you. You sound a bit..."

He didn't finish the sentence though, so Xavier could not be sure exactly how he sounded. Probably none too good though.

"You don't have to do that Ray, don't worry about me, I-I'm sorry...I didn't want you to get freaked out. I'm fine." Only, he wasn't fine, and he wasn't able to hold it together any longer because that grey fuzz around the edge of his vision was closing in and he knew he was going to pass out. He twisted himself a bit, hoping the sharpness of pain would clear his head, either that or it was going to black him out entirely, but it worked. Instantly it felt like shards of glass were moving around inside and it brought him up into full consciousness real quick. Only he wasn't able to suppress the gasp it brought to his lips, and now Matty was shaking his head at him and took the phone out of his hand.

"Scrap that, lover! He got the living shite kicked out of him last night and the little mare's playing tough guy this morning. Tell him to go and see a fuckin' doctor will you? He might listen to you." Matty smiled into the phone for a second and chuckled. "Love you too!" he said sarcastically and handed the mobile back to Xavier.

Xav gave him a scathing look for snitching on him, but he cupped the phone to his ear.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Rayne demanded. "Who attacked you? I want you to call the cops, okay? Report this, it's totally out of order. I will be back ASAP but please, please let someone check you out." An edge of anxiety had crept into his voice as he said this last part.

Xav was still looking daggers at Matty but he spoke calmly into the phone, his voice quavering only a little. "I...I don't...Rayne, please don't make me do this," he breathed, closing his eyes so he wouldn't see Matt's face while he pleaded like a kid that was afraid of the dark.

There was quiet on the other end of the phone for a long moment or two, then Rayne said; "I'm asking you to see a doc, Xav, not to pack your bags. For me, please? I'm worried about you."

Xavier made a small sound like a whimper, only it wasn't pain driven this time. He would do anything for Rayne but he was completely terrified of hospitals and anything to do with them.

"Okay," he finally forced himself to say and it came out in a very small voice.

"They're not gonna hurt you," his lover soothed. "It's just a precaution, yeah? I'll be there, really soon, and Matthew will stay with you 'til I get there. I just want you to be all right."

"Okay," Xavier said again. It seemed all he was capable of at the moment. He whispered goodbye and stopped himself from saying any more than that, although it hurt him more than all the bruises on his body not to tell Rayne what he really wanted to say. And then he handed the phone back to Matt when Rayne asked him to. Xav faded after that. He let Matt take over because he was drifting in and out of consciousness during the next few frantic phone calls and while being bundled onto a gurney and transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital.

The paramedic who stayed with him all the way from the apartment to the A&E unit was cute and funny, though Xav was in no state to appreciate him. He was being fairly cooperative, at least right up until they wanted to put an IV drip in him as a precaution.

"No! No fuckin' way!" He startled the nurse with his vehement refusal. When the poor woman tried to calm him down and explain it was just procedure in case they needed to give him medicine or they found anything seriously wrong, Xavier nearly climbed up the wall behind his bed trying to get away.

Matty was looking at him like he was cracked in the head but Xavier didn't even see him. His fear was so focused he didn't notice much of anything. "No! No IV! You're not putting anything in me! I don't need any drugs!"

The nurse eventually calmed him down with reassurances they wouldn't give anything to him that he didn't agree to. Xavier's expression clearly said he doubted every word she said, but he did reluctantly let them do their tests, even when another nurse came in and wanted to draw blood. He watched her every move, not looking away like most people did when the needle slid into his vein; not even when his blood started to fill the little tube.

He submitted to the examinations, x-rays, and ultrasounds, answered questions while lights were shone in his eyes and he tracked a moving finger.

Hours later, or so it seemed, he was given the verdict. He had a concussion, two hairline fractures in his ribs on the left side, multiple cuts and abrasions and too many contusions to count. The doc was especially worried about his kidneys and spleen. While they did not show signs of rupture or internal bleeding the bruising on his back and sides over those organs were deep and the swelling could still cause him problems.

They wanted to keep him for further observation and Xavier put his foot down again. They'd already been there half the morning, he was not staying overnight unless Matty could stay with him, he protested. That wasn't allowed, so Xavier adamantly wasn't staying. He started to get panicky again when they tried to talk him into it, worse than he'd been about the IV. He looked like a cornered animal, as if he just might try jumping out the third-storey window if they pushed the issue with him. They did not push.

Finally Xav was released, rather reluctantly, with the admonishment that he was to rest and take the prescription for pain medication he was given. Rather more firmly he was instructed that he was to come back immediately if he had any new symptoms or if the pain increased, especially in the abdominal area.

Xavier agreed to anything just to get out and he looked harried, completely stressed, and on the verge of a panic attack until they were actually clear of the building. He was sweating, shaking, pale as milk, and generally looked like an alcoholic on a three day dry spell as they finally got in the cab for the trip back.

Matt was shaking his head at him in the car "Did you really think they wouldn't let you out again?"

Xavier nodded solemnly, his eyes still huge and frightened. He reached in his pocket for his cell and called Rayne, immediately feeling better as soon as he heard his lover's voice.

"I did it." he said hoarsely "I'm okay, nothing too serious. They let me go..." This last was said with such profound relief and surprise that it was truly bizarre.

"Like they can afford to keep you!" Rayne teased mildly. "I'm glad you're okay though. Look, I'm in a cab, just leaving Heathrow now. I'll be with you in under an hour and you can tell me about it."

He sounded tired but good-humoured. Matty on the other hand was still studying Xavier as if he was a new and interesting species of bug.

Xavier did not satisfy his curiosity, he was too exhausted for one thing. He slumped down in the seat as soon as he was off the phone. Xav felt no compunction about using Matty's shoulder for a pillow and stayed huddled up close to him like a pup that had found a comforter for the short cab ride. Although Matt perhaps didn't realise it, his staying with Xav throughout the hospital ordeal without leaving him once had scored him some major points.

By the time Matt got him back in bed he was hollow eyed and so worn out he couldn't have stayed awake no matter how hard he fought it. He was asleep within moments, having not even opened the bottle of meds the hospital had given him. Matt Greening tucked the boy under the duvet and left him to sleep. It had been an exhausting morning and they had spent most of it waiting at the bloody hospital, not his favourite environment, and from the way Xavier acted whilst they were there, definitely not the kid's idea of a good day out. He was already beginning to wonder about that. Rayne too could be freaky about doctors and it went back to a time before he was Turned so it wasn't just that he was worried about them finding out he wasn't human.

Matty knew enough about Ray's childhood to guess that he'd been poked about by medical people and shrinks a fair bit in his teens, hence his dislike of them now. He wondered what Xavier's story was. The boy was certainly petrified of the men in white coats and his stark refusal to let them put him under, or even sedate him, was a worry.

Whilst Xavier was asleep and his lover was still in the back of a black cab fighting its way through the east London traffic, Matt took the opportunity to have a dig for information. He went first through the drawers that he knew from experience were left empty for visitors. Xavier certainly had good taste, there were quite a few high end designer labels in there. Little wonder he'd presented such an appealing target for muggers. Under the wisps of scanty underwear he found a plain brown envelope with a reinforced back and, casting a glance at the boy to make sure he was asleep, he pulled it free of the drawer.

It was addressed to Xavier here, so it was a recent arrival, probably not much use as a clue to his past, but Matty opened the top and peered in.

Now that was much better, there were photographs in there. Very interesting.

The young vampire slipped out into the hall and closed the bedroom door quietly behind him. Once he was back in the lounge he flopped down on the futon and tipped the photographs out of their sheath. Flicking through them, Matthew Greening whistled appreciatively, reassessing his initial opinion of Xavier Gavrilov as some bit of clubby eye-candy Rayne had picked up for a quicky. The boy was incredibly photogenic. He wasn't really tall enough to be a catwalk model but he could certainly work the lens of a camera. And the style of the pictures told Matty straight away that he was looking at the work of a decent photographer, not just any old snapper with a fancy camera.

He turned over one of the pictures where Xav was bound and virtually naked, and whistled again at the studio details stamped on the back of the image. Now that was a name to conjure with! No wonder some of these shots were a bit risqué.

Matty was just getting to the private collection, the images of Xavier nude and masturbating, when he heard the key turn in the door.

"Shit!" He snatched up the shots and stuffed them back into the envelope, then adjusted the hang of his rapidly hardening cock in his tight jeans. When the front door banged shut, he picked up a pillow and slapped the envelope underneath it, rolling to his feet as Rayne came into the room, looking tired and worried, but interestingly quite well fed.

"Babes!" Matt crooned, throwing his arms around the older, smaller man affectionately. "I missed you so much!"

"Fuck off!" Rayne laughed huskily. "Idiot!"

He did reach up to plant a little kiss on Matty's lips though. His Fledgling was inordinately pleased. The verbal abuse he had learned to live with but physical tenderness from Rayne always lifted his spirits. He did squint more closely at his former lover now they were nose to nose though.

"Have you been wearing make-up, babe? There's still a bit of shimmer in the corners of your eyes." He grinned at the look of alarm on his ex's face. "Bad boy! You were out partying last night weren't you?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Rayne said evasively, pushing him back out of his personal space. He wasn't rough, but deliberate enough that Matty didn't force the issue.

"How's Xav?" Rayne asked.

"The child is sleeping," Matty said loftily. "Doctors were a bit worried about him, wanted him to stay for a few days but he wasn't having any. They don't think there's any internal bleeding but they've told him to keep an eye out for any abnormal swellings."

He winked playfully at his ex and returned to the futon with a little smile.

"Thanks for staying with him," Rayne said in a softer voice. "I appreciate it, sweetheart. Really I do."

"Aww shucks, it was nothin'!" Matty put on a mock mid-west accent and waved a dismissive hand at him. "The chicken and I are getting on famously, lover. He's quite a sweetie when he's not sulking at me or giving me grief."

He leaned back, hands braced behind him on the bed, feet apart, looking up at his deliciously rumpled ex with a suggestive smile. "While he's out of action, d'you want to have a little fun, huh?"

"I'm a bit fucked, to tell the truth," Rayne said, though he did come to sit beside Matt on the futon. "Tell me what happened?"

The younger vampire sketched out the details of the attack in so far as he'd managed to prise them from Xavier and the reluctant Clint, and Rayne's features darkened perceptibly as he listened to the list of his lover's injuries. He was angry but not sure who to direct that anger against.




London Loves Ch. 06



"You think Clint set him up?" he asked now, brooding quietly.

"Xavier's adamant that he didn't have nuthin' to do with it," Matty replied. "I'm not so sure though. He's been hanging around here, apparently. The chicken took pity on him, let him stay here a couple of nights."

"Jesus!" Rayne put a hand to his forehead and lowered it to rub his eyes. "That's all I need! He let him in the fuckin' apartment?"

Matt nodded gravely. Rayne looked frustrated.

"I'm gonna have to get the wards boosted, it's no good. If he can come and go as he likes, anyone could use him to get at us," he complained bitterly. "Clint's a loose cannon, Matty. I can't afford to have him inside my protection. I need to talk to Dominic, see if there isn't a better way to keep him out."

He moved to his feet, shaking his head unhappily, one hand still cupped over his mouth as he considered the far reaching impact of having a boy who could sense and - potentially - kill vampires hanging around in the place he thought of as sanctuary. Clint was still just a kid, probably he didn't even realise what it was that he could do, yet. But he would find out. There were unscrupulous people out there who would find out too, and who might not draw the line in using him to fight and destroy the Undead.

He did not need to remind Matty of that, but he was going to have to talk to Xavier about it. And that was not all they were going to have to talk about.

"Does Xav know he's my kid?" he asked, half turning to look anxiously at Matt.

The blond bit down on both lips and the apologetic look he gave his Sire was answer enough.

"Shit!" Rayne hissed vehemently, feeling the fear rise up in him again; the fear of losing Xavier over this. Every time he thought of being without the boy it hurt a little more and compounded the confusion he had been feeling in Manchester. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

~*~

Xavier slept most of the rest of the day away, curled into a foetal ball in the centre of Rayne's spacious bed. He did not hear Rayne's arrival, nor did he wake when the vampire had slipped silently into the room to check on him.

Once Matty had left and Rayne had gone around the apartment three times making sure that the place was secure and nothing important was missing, he returned to the bedroom and gently checked on Xav again to make sure that he was breathing and not in any obvious discomfort. The lad was still sound asleep and his lover winced at the sight of the bruising on his otherwise peaceful face. Had he not been so reluctant to leave Xavier alone, he would have gone right out and tried to track down the bastards that did this to him. But right now he just wanted to be with his lover.

He toed off his boots and snuggled down on the bed next to the boy, putting his arms around Xavier gently and wriggling up to his back so they were spooned comfortably with the duvet between them keeping Xav warm. Rayne nuzzled the back of his neck, breathing in the familiar, vanilla and almond scent of his delicious body. It hadn't been his intention but he felt so comfortable, for the first time in days, that he nodded quickly and let himself drift into a light sleep.

Xavier's dreams were filled with dark confusion. In them he ran down unfamiliar streets, but he wasn't chased by the three thugs that had beaten him, it was only one guy. He was stocky and faceless but Xav knew he was the same man he'd had a nightmare about before, on the first night in Rayne's flat, and he was just as terrified of him in this dream as well. He ran down a blind alley and saw Clint standing at the end, his eyes wide and frightened. His wrists were tied together and held above his head, secured by a long rope that went up and up and disappeared into the night sky. Xavier ran to him in a panic, feeling the unknown foe closing in behind him.

His heart slamming against his ribs, Xav reached for the rope tying Clint's wrists. The boy's eyes were wide, white rimmed with terror.

"Get me out of 'ere! Please!" Clint panted, struggling to get free.

"Hang on, I'm trying..." Xav told him, yanking desperately at the knots.

A hand fell on his shoulder, gripping him painfully. As Xav turned he felt the pin prick of a needle in his arm, looked down to see the plunger of the syringe being depressed.

"No! No... don't... I can't..." Xav cried disconsolately. He turned his head to look at the man but all he saw of him was shadows, then pain lanced down his side and he gasped, groaning as he was yanked up from sleep.

When Xavier contorted in his arms it was enough to wake Rayne. The little rill of fear coursed through his blood and he sat up at once, his hand reaching for Xavier's cheek to sooth him but stopping shy of touching in case the bruises were still too painful.

"Shhh... it's okay. Just a dream," he said, his voice sounding too thick and sleepy still.

Xavier's eyes cleared slowly as he blinked awake. Rayne's visage came into focus and he reached for him, wanting to melt into his embrace, the relief evident in his expression even through the bruises. He caught his breath with an agonized groan as pain ripped into him and he remembered that he shouldn't move so fast. Swallowing hard he waited for a second or two, then managed a weak smile.

"Hey baby," he murmured, his voice still husky with sleep and the disturbing dream. He reached for Rayne's hovering hand more carefully and brought his fingertips to his lips, kissing them softly. "I missed you. Sorry I look a wreck for your homecoming."

The look in his lover's pale eyes danced between concern and bemusement.

"What in fuck's name have you been doing to yourself?" he asked but his tone was more beneficent than belligerent.

He stroked the backs of his fingers gently over the less damaged side of Xavier's face.

Xavier turned his face into Rayne's palm, nuzzling there sleepily. "Guess I've gotten a little slow," he said. "And I forgot to dress down for the occasion. It was stupid. Matt's saved you the trouble of making that abundantly clear if you'd rather skip pointing it out?" Xav sighed in a tone that was half chagrin, half hopeful that Rayne wasn't in the mood to lecture.

"Matthew's very good at pointing out other people's mistakes," Rayne said, his voice hard to read. "He tends to forget that he's already made most of them himself, pretty spectacularly in some cases!"

Xavier lifted his hand to trace his fingers lightly over the curve of Rayne's cheek, looking apologetic. "I didn't mean to pull you straight back here, I didn't want you worried about me while you had things to do. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, given the choice between sorting out business and babysitting a cute little fucker that can't put up much of a fight right now..." He broke off at the look on Xavier's face and winked at him. "I'm kidding, yeah? I was practically done up there anyway. Just wallowing in a bit of self-pity, I guess. Your timing was okay."

He moved to cuddle down beside him and Xavier would have liked nothing better than to stay right where he was and go back to sleep with Rayne wrapped around him, but his bladder was demanding he get up first, and he was dreading making the trip.

"I'll be right back," he told Rayne as he pushed the duvet back and slowly, gingerly, rolled to one side trying to push himself upright.

"Woah, are you sure you should be getting up?" Rayne was around the other side of the bed faster than he could think; ready to catch him if he went crashing down.

Xavier nodded but he felt incredibly feeble and slow. It was so strange not to just bound out of bed like normal, to actually feel every bruised place protesting his movement. His back was just as bruised as his front and he suddenly got a little flash of being dropped to the pavement and curling defensively while hard boots kicked him. Fucking bastards!

"I'm okay," he lied, gasping through gritted teeth and holding his aching side as he took shallow breaths. When the wave of dizziness mostly passed, he took a deeper breath and got up out of bed. Rayne looked a bit like a new father waiting to catch him, holding out his arms and hovering as Xav hobbled across the room and into the adjoining bathroom.

He was alarmingly out of breath and dizzy again by the time he reached the toilet and he had to put one hand on the wall behind the tank to steady himself while he pissed. He noticed his stream was dark and he knew it meant there was blood in his urine. Frightening as that was he'd expected it and he wasn't too freaked out. He'd taken a hard blow to the kidney once before and had pissed blood for a few days then too. He was sure it would clear in a day or two.

He finished peeing, flushed the toilet, and then made his way back to bedroom. Every step sent up a throb of pain in seemingly random places. By the time he got back to the bed he felt sick and the thought of the bottle of painkillers on the bedside table crossed his mind, but he didn't reach for them.

Ray was watching him with a look in his eyes that said he would have rather carried Xavier there and back but knew how stubborn and independent his lover could be. He knew too that he'd have been just as much of a pain in the arse if it was him lying injured on that bed. More so, even!

"Can I get you anything?" he asked now, easing Xav back down onto the pillows and adjusting the duvet around him tenderly. "Did they give you anything for the pain?"

"I can't take them," Xavier said simply.

"If they make you feel sick you could eat something first," Rayne suggested.

"No..." Xavier said quietly. "It's not that. They're opiate based. I just...I don't do good with pills."

Rayne settled on the bed beside him, his face betraying some understanding of what his lover was telling him. The initial alarm in his eyes mellowed almost instantly to a more solicitous concern and he stroked one hand tenderly up and down Xavier's arm, whilst the other slid around his shoulders pulling him a little closer.

"Matt said that you freaked when they tried to knock you out in the hospital," he said carefully. "Is that related to your problem with the painkillers, maybe?"

A few long moments ticked by before Xavier answered. "Sort of."

It seemed like that was all he was going to say about it, then he licked his swollen lips lightly and continued.

"When I first wanted to get clean I tried going through 'the program', you know...? But I couldn't hack it. I kept fucking up, not doing what they told me to, sliding back. I wanted to quit using, but I was scared, and I just couldn't get away from it, and then I found that certain prescription drugs would take the edge off." Xav paused and took a little breath. This was still hard for him to admit. He had felt so weak then, so worthless, and he didn't want to appear weak or worthless to Rayne.

He swallowed and went on. "I thought...you know, cos they came in a little bottle from the pharmacy they were safer, but I was just trading one addiction for another. Then the guy I was getting the pills from got busted and I couldn't get anymore, so I went back to using heroin, and I OD'ed... I was pretty sure I was gonna die." He took another little breath and went on. "After that I knew I had to quit, I had to stop or I really was going to die, and I didn't want to die. The only way I could do it, the only way I could get my shit together and get clean was to just go cold. I detoxed on my own, no little pills to make it easier, and that nearly killed me too. Or, at least it felt like I was gonna die... I almost wanted to die at that point."

Xavier stopped himself before he bit his lower lip, instead just running his tongue over the swelling, although it seemed Matty's licking had healed up the split at least.

"The only way I could get some control was to give up everything, and I mean like, everything." Xav continued hoarsely. "For a long time I wouldn't even take aspirin or drink a beer.

"Then, after a while of being clean and sober, I lightened up a little. I was better. I thought I could handle myself okay, and for the most part I could. I could drink, even get drunk, without sliding back into old habits. But it wasn't a replacement, you know? It was the same with coke. I could go out, get a buzz on, have fun, and it was no big deal. As long as I stayed away from the smack, as long as I didn't take anything that was related to any kind of opiate, I was okay. Then, I got a hold of some pills again, and...I don't know, I just thought that it would be okay, that I could handle it, because I could handle everything else. So, I took them, and then I took some more, and then I was scoring them kind of regular, and one night I forgot how many I'd taken and I took some on top of what I'd already taken and I ended up OD'ing again." He paused here and finally looked at Rayne.

Rayne held his eyes now. He had been watching intently as Xavier told him all of this and did not avert his gaze when his lover turned to look at him.

"Ahhh sweetheart," he groaned softly, pulling Xavier as close as he dared under the circumstances. "I should have come back. I had the shutters down and I didn't even pick up on the vibes until later when I tried to call you. I ought to have been here for you but I was too... Fuck it!"

He rested his forehead against Xavier's temple, careful still of the bruises on his face. "I should never have left you. Matty's precious, and he wouldn't have walked away, but he doesn't understand what it feels like. Matt's one of those people who can take anything and step away from it. He doesn't get hooked, or if he does, it never seems to fuck with his head so he doesn't understand what it's like when you lose control of it. When you're hanging onto the tiger's tail and it slides through your fingers..."

He looked up, his forehead still very close to Xavier's, their eyes practically level. Gentle hands raked lightly through sweat-damp golden curls

Xavier got quiet for a few moments as he took this in. He was debating how much more to say, but he'd gone this far so he might as well tell the rest. "It was an accident, Rayne. A total fuckin' accident. I was stupid, not suicidal... but, just my luck I got some psycho bitch at the hospital I was at who had something to prove I guess. Her evaluation said I was suicidal. They put me up in the loony toon ward.

"I didn't handle it well," he said flatly, which was like the understatement of the year. He had pretty much flipped out for real when they locked him up. "I got really pissed off, and they got tough with me, and I spent some time tied down to a bed shot up with who fuckin' knows what for I don't even know how long. They decided I was a danger and I needed to be kept longer. No matter what I said no one was listening. I screamed and I raged and I told them I wasn't nuts." Xav gave a bitter little laugh here. "When that didn't help my case I cooled off, and I got a bit smarter about it. I starting playing along. I said what I was supposed to say, and I took whatever they wanted me to take, until they finally let me go.

"I was in there for weeks before they cut me loose, with no money, nowhere to go, and a bottle of some anti-psychotics. They let me go and were all smug about it, like, 'See? We made you all better! Take this shit that'll turn you into a zombie and get the fuck out.' That's why I hate them so much. I can't stand doctors or hospitals!"

"I'm so sorry... I made you go in there, because I was worried. And I didn't know. I didn't realise how bad it would be for you. I'm sorry," Rayne whispered, kissing Xavier's nose softly. "I wish I could make it go away for you."

Of all the responses Xav had thought Rayne might give him, this was not it. The tender concern washed over him like a balm and he snuggled closer to his lover, kissing his lips carefully. He was so grateful for his understanding he was nearly overcome by it and was totally taken by surprise at the amount of emotion that welled up inside him and spilled over with a relief of pressure he hadn't even known was there.

He usually fought tears, and if he could help it he wouldn't let anyone see him cry, but he couldn't stop the hot stinging tears that ran down his cheeks now, and he clung to Rayne like a lifeline. He really had been absolutely terrified of going to the hospital, had only done so because Rayne asked it of him, and now he was relieved beyond words that his lover actually understood where he was coming from. It was probably the first time he'd ever shared anything so personal and had someone really get it. Rayne held him and soothed him and when the torrent of tears finally died down he felt lighter inside, and a sense of the ridiculous struck him; although he hadn't the energy for more than a chuckle.

"Since you left all I've been thinking about is how I wanted to jump your bones when you got home, and instead I'm bawling all over you."

"Ahh... what I wouldn't give to be balling all over you," Rayne whispered cheekily, unwilling to let Xavier wallow in the sadness that had clearly been eating him up. The tears had left him lost for words. In the short time that he had known Xavier he had already figured that the younger man fought shy of showing his emotions too readily. He was drawn to that, it was something else that they shared. After the traumatic rollercoaster ride of the past few days he was stunned by his lover's emotional release but also relieved that for once this week it was someone else crying on his shoulder and not the other way around. "Mmmm... sweetheart," he murmured, snuggling around Xav protectively. "If I ever find out who did this to you, I promise you I will feed them their own fuckin' balls."

His tone was light enough but Xavier didn't think that he was joking.

He nodded his head on Rayne's shoulder, not feeling in the least bit generous toward his attackers. If Rayne did ever happen to find them...well, they deserved whatever they got.

They lay together quietly for a while after that, but Xavier was having a hard time getting comfortable. Having slept hard for several hours already he couldn't drop off easily and every ache seemed to be throbbing. Finally Rayne talked him into taking one of the painkillers, reasoning with him that one pill, when he was in this much pain, didn't mean he was backsliding. Xavier took the pill, but he also made Rayne take the bottle away. He felt bad about that, like he should be strong enough now, trustworthy enough to take his own medication without abusing it, but he also felt safer with Rayne in control of that little bottle.

When the drug started working it did take the edge off his pain and allowed Xav to relax and start to drift. He slipped into a dream, only this time it was a much nicer dream, filled with the touch of Rayne's cool fingers stroking lightly along his skin and the softness of his lips brushing here and there. It was not an intense dream, but the sensations were stirring and erotic.

When he woke again a few hours later he was still pleasantly floating, happy to feel the curve of Rayne's naked body fitted to his backside. The dream, coupled with a few days' abstinence, had him horny as hell despite his banged up condition. Still somewhere between awake and asleep he slid his hand over Rayne's where it was resting on his hip and moved it down into the well of his groin and over the stiff swell of his cock, sighing happily.

Rayne had been drowsing comfortably again, at ease enough to sleep for the first time in days, but when Xavier's hot hand guided his fingers over the warm, restless bulge in his pants he exhaled a little moan of pleasure.

"Bad lad! You're supposed to be taking it easy!"

He wriggled down, manoeuvring Xavier onto his back and pushed up his t-shirt to kiss the unbruised parts of his chest and belly (which were difficult to find under the circumstances) then touched his lips softly to the growing pulse beneath the silky material of his lover's underwear. Rayne breathed in the hot, sensual scent of Xavier's rising cock and kissed the swollen head more greedily, wrapping his lips around the shrouded dome and holding it in his mouth as he tenderly nuzzled his mate's crotch.




London Loves Ch. 06



Xav exhaled a soft moan, of pleasure this time. His head was still kind of fuzzy from the narcotic in his system but it was a pleasant kind of fuzzy. He told himself not to move, though it was hard to simply relax. His fingers tangled lightly into Rayne's silky hair and he caressed along his scalp, a little purr rising in his throat.

Rayne lifted his head and looked up at him searchingly. "You sure about this?" he wanted to know. "I don't want you hurtin' yourself. You don't need to do this if you're not ready, sweetheart."

He touched his lips to the wet silk shrouding Xavier's straining cock head, letting his breath stream like a warm caress over the sensitive bulb of flesh. His hands were gentle on his lover's slim thighs, slowly stroking his fingers up and down over Xavier's lean hips.

"I'm sure..." Xav chuckled a little breathlessly. His expression softened at the look Rayne gave him. "As long as we don't get too carried away I'll be fine," he assured his mate.

Rayne's smile said more than words. He nuzzled Xavier's groin almost delicately, breathing in the heat and need of his lover's body. Then, carefully, he eased back the silken envelope of Xavier's tiny briefs and slid his hands within, inching them slowly down his thighs and releasing him. Cool, soft lips caressed the velvety sleekness of Xavier's stiffening cock and Rayne's tongue deftly laved the warmth of his eagerly throbbing shaft. He licked upward with swift little strokes towards the exposed crown and worked around it, as if it was melting ice-cream and he wanted to catch every dribble in his mouth.

"Ooooohhhh, ba-aby..." Xavier breathed. "That feels so nice." He let his thighs fall farther apart and already he was having to fight the urge to roll his hips. It was going to be hard to stay still, but he wanted this so much.

Rayne moved between his splayed thighs, resting his weight carefully on his elbows as he nodded down over Xav to take the boy's cock gently in his mouth. He turned his head slowly, stroking the tip of his nose back and forth across Xavier's belly whilst he swallowed his lover deeper. Dark fronds of hair brushed Xavier's skin at the same time, making his breath come a little faster and more raggedly.

The way Rayne moved on him was slow and sweet and careful but Xavier was so keyed up with wanting that it wasn't going to take a whole lot to make him come anyway. The caress of his lover's lips and tongue up and down his shaft sent little sparks, one after another, flaring though him. After a while though it grew harder and harder to remain passive while Rayne sucked him. His thighs and buttocks began to flex with the rhythm of Rayne's nodding head, his erection pressing stone hard between those soft lips, and his breath quickening into little gasps.

He was so close, teetering on the edge. Soft moans of pleasure and encouragement came whispering from his lips. He was just hitting the point where he couldn't stop when he realised it was going to hurt when he came. His abdominal muscles contracted involuntarily at the same time the fission sparked in his balls, slamming the flood of pleasure headlong into a sharp twist of pain that just about short circuited his brain with confusion.

"Uhh!...uhh!...oh fuck, mmm-uhh that fuckin hurts... so good...!" He panted and shuddered, nearly incoherent with the clashing sensations.

Rayne came up and off him with a little hiss and Xavier could tell right away that his fangs were out. His tongue flickered around his lips, drawing in the last drops of his lover's hot eruption of cum but the look in his eyes and the quiver that ran through him from his shoulders to his slim hips indicated that he felt in his blood just how hard it had been for Xavier not to scream as he came.

"Oh god! I wish I could do something to make the pain go away," he groaned, low in his throat. He moved over Xav, tenderly lipping at his neck now, grazing the marks he had left. Xavier did not have to be so close to know what he was thinking. One more bite and he would not have to suffer so much pain.

"Rayne...?" Xavier got out his name between gulps for breath and he swallowed hard. "Y-you don't want to Turn me," he whispered. "I'd rather suffer through the pain than lose you."

Rayne closed his eyes. For a moment he drew away, then he shook his head slowly. "I don't know what to do any more," he whispered huskily. "Seeing you hurting like this... It just brings back too many bad memories, I guess. I don't want you to get hurt, Xavier. I wish I could protect you, but I can't. And... I'm so scared that I'm gonna lose you the way I... I..."

He could not finish the sentence. Instead he pushed himself up from the bed and walked out into the hall where he slumped against the wall and sank down to sit on the floor with his head in his arms. The recent trip was still too fresh in his mind, the memories of Kevan's death still too raw. He curled into a ball and wept soundlessly, unable to contain the emotion any more.

Xavier let him go because he didn't have much of a choice. He lay there for a few minutes and although he did not hear Rayne weeping he felt it, felt his sadness and confusion as badly as his own pain and after a few tries he struggled up from the bed and followed him out.

He knew without asking exactly what was bothering him so much, a combination of worries and memories. He didn't want Rayne to hurt any more than Rayne wanted to see him in such pain, and worse he felt he was the cause of it. His own stupidity and his own weakness put Rayne in this position of fear and uncertainty.

That guilt only compounded his other guilt about not being there for Rayne while he was finally dealing with the loss of his previous lover, never mind that he hadn't wanted him there. He carefully slid down to the floor next to Rayne and reached out to comfort him, steadfastly ignoring how much it physically cost him to do it.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," he whispered huskily.

For a moment Rayne remained huddled on the floor, shivering constantly, though he barely made a sound that was audible to human ears. Then he unfolded and his arms moved around Xavier, holding him and clinging to him, needing to be held in return. He cried quietly, but Xavier felt each sob and his t-shirt absorbed every bloody teardrop from his lover's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Rayne breathed huskily, at last, when he could not cry anymore; could barely talk at all. "I should be looking after you but I can't even take care of myself. I have no right to tell you what you can and can't do, Xavier but I never meant to get so involved with you. I don't mean that to sound cruel. I... I just wasn't looking for another relationship. It was all too soon. You took me by surprise."

Xavier swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "I know, Rayne. I know," he said with a sad sigh. "I wasn't looking for... I didn't mean for this to happen either." He stopped, then tentatively asked, "Do you regret it?"

Rayne's head came up and red-rimmed eyes met his. The vampire looked slightly shocked by the question and it took him a moment to formulate an answer. At last though, he shook his head.

"No. I... I feel a lot of things, but not regret," he croaked, forcing a tremulous smile. "I'm scared though. Scared of it happening again. So scared of losing you."

Xavier's lips parted slightly as if he would say something but no words came. There wasn't much he could say to something like that. He couldn't promise Rayne he wouldn't die on him. How could he promise that? At the same time what Rayne was really saying sunk in and it made him a little dizzy and flushed him with warmth and helped heal something inside that was still raw.

He knew Rayne cared about him. On a surface level Xav knew he wouldn't be here with him right now if Rayne didn't want him, no matter how much Ray might have needed his blood to pull himself back together and put the pieces back in place. Still, there was a very wounded part of him that didn't believe he quite measured up, that any minute the bottom would drop out of his world and Rayne would tell him to leave.

To know that Rayne was actually afraid of losing him, that he was as afraid of losing him as Xav was of losing Rayne...well, it was enlightening to say the least. Xavier leaned in to kiss him, soft lips clinging tenderly to his lover's.

"You won't lose me," he murmured into his mouth. "I love you."

He whispered those words so quietly it was almost just a breath, but he had to say them. Even though he was still very afraid of Rayne's reaction, considering the last time he dared utter those small fateful words. Even if Rayne couldn't or wouldn't say them back, he just had to say it this once. His heart was going to break if he couldn't tell him how he felt this one time.

Rayne's lips moved softly against his own for a moment. Then he drew back, examining Xavier's too pale features seriously. Gentle fingers brushed his cheek and the vampire murmured; "I'd better put you back to bed then, hadn't I? If I can't make you better, then at least I can make sure you don't get worse."

He slid out of Xavier's embrace and pushed himself to his feet, then picked up the younger man as easily as if he were a child and carried him back to the bedroom, ignoring Xavier's indignant protests that he could walk on his own.

END OF CHAPTER SIX

LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2012



London Loves Ch. 07



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2012

Well here we are on Chapter 7 already! How on earth did that happen? Our thanks as always to everyone that has managed to keep up and follow the story so very far. To new readers, London Loves...? and its prequels are predominantly gay male and vampire/supernatural related so if that isn't your bag look away now.

We love that you love the stories, but please don't take them and reproduce them on your blogs and stuff like that, at least not without asking first. It's hard enough keeping track of what gets stolen from Litty without having to track down stories that have been 'borrowed' from other sites as well. Thankyou, and enjoy...

CHAPTER SEVEN

Xavier hadn't thought he'd be able to sleep again, but he was wrong. He'd slipped down easily into sleep with Rayne wrapped lightly around him and hadn't woken again until the sun was well up. When he did open his eyes it was close on thirty six hours since he'd been chased into that alley and beaten. Given a day and a half for the real aches to set in he'd expected to feel even worse. The deep bruising was still very painful and he wasn't going to jump out of bed and start dancing any time soon but he wasn't nearly as badly off as he had feared. He was very sore, but moving considerably better than he had been the day before.

The very next thing he noticed was how hungry he was. He either hadn't had the opportunity or the inclination to eat since breakfast two days ago with Clint and now he was just about ready to devour the pillow under his head.

He woke alone but the sound of conversation was a low buzz in the background. Rayne was talking to someone in the living room. Once his eyes had adjusted to the brightness he struggled into a shirt and pants and managed to limp through to the other room to find out what was going on.To his relief their visitor was Lord Warren, not Matt Greening. In spite of Matty's kindness in looking out for him after he was attacked, Xavier was still uncomfortable with Rayne's ex boyfriend hanging around the apartment.

Dominic was sitting on the edge of the futon talking to Rayne who stood by the window looking out. They both turned when he came into the room though. Rayne looked concerned but Dom's expression was one of mingled shock and horror.

"Bright Lady!" he exclaimed, springing to his feet and coming to Xavier at once. "You should still be in the bedroom, young man. You're black and blue, you poor thing!"

Xavier brought his arms up in an unconscious warding gesture, afraid Dominic was actually going to hug him, which would have been fine under ordinary circumstances but would be very bad for him right now. He relaxed though when Dominic stopped short of actually pulling him into his worried embrace.

"I would be, but there isn't any food in there," Xavier pointed out with with a small rueful smile that looked particularly pathetic given his current battered state.

"There isn't any food out here either," Rayne said, not entirely helpfully.

Dominic looked from one to the other like they were naughty children and shook his head. "Goddess! What am I to do with the pair of you? Ray, the boy needs nourishment if he's to get better. Haven't you even made him soup?"

"He was asleep," the little vampire sulked, clearly put out at being cast as the villain.

"Well he isn't sleeping now," Lord Warren declared sternly. He turned to Xavier with a proprietary smile; "What would you like for breakfast, darling?"

"Anything sounds good right now. I'm starved," Xavier said. "There really isn't anything to eat here though... Rayne just got back," he added by way of a slight defence for his mate. "... and I've just been eating out 'cause, you know, I can pretty much fuck up anything that needs to be cooked. There's a place not too far from here I've been goin' to for breakfast," he explained casually.

Dominic looked at him like he'd suggested something utterly ridiculous. "Tell me you weren't planning on hobbling down there this morning."

Xav shrugged, and then winced slightly, stopping mid motion. Dominic made a tsk-ing sound and motioned him to sit.

"Why didn't you call me?"

Xav looked up at him at little abashed, because he should have but he hadn't been thinking clearly. "It was like, 3 in the morning when I finally made it to the apartment... I knew Matty had a key and I wasn't sure if you did so I 'phoned him. I've been either at the hospital or sleeping and haven't had a chance to call you...or eat anything, since."

"Oh you poor darling," Dominic sighed again, shaking his head. "It's a wonder you haven't faded away to nothing."

He stroked Xavier's hair tenderly then reached into a pocket of his short coat for a small pad and an expensive looking pen. He scribbled a list and passed it to Rayne almost dismissively.

"There's a herbalist on Ladbroke Grove, near the library and a delicatessen called Snickett's about halfway down Portobello Road, they should be able to sell you most of that," he said sternly. "Shouldn't take you more than a half hour to get there and back. I'm going to run this poor lad a nice hot chamomile bath and let him soak those bruises properly. Honestly! You're supposed to be taking care of him, Rayne."

The little vampire studied the list rather sullenly but he did not argue and when Dominic gave him another of those 'looks' he reached for his coat and bent to give Xavier a gentle kiss.

"She's worse than my Nan," he breathed, touching his lips to his lover's mouth again.

Xavier returned the kiss with a hint of desperation. He'd much rather have been the one going out than the one left behind to be fussed over. Rayne's lips were twitching with a bit more humour as he pulled away and Xavier shot him a look that said thanks for that! before the vampire hurried out the door, leaving him in Lord Warren's tender care.

Quickly Xavier realised the pointlessness of resisting and he hadn't the energy to put up much of a protest anyway. He gave in and let Dominic minister to needs he didn't even know he had.

The huge green-glass soak tub in Rayne's bathroom was already filled with steaming water and various flowers and what looked like bark and twigs when he ambled in there. At least it smelled good. He stripped off his clothes while his friend was humming over the water adding a drop of this or a dash of that. Dom's little gasp made Xav turn around and then he looked away from the horrified and worried look on his friend's face. He supposed he did look pretty bad under the tee shirt, the dark purple of the bruises in full bloom over his torso probably wouldn't even begin to fade for a few days yet.

Xav didn't say a word while the older man alternately oozed sympathy and cursed the men that did this to him. He got into the tub at Dominic's direction, hissing and wincing as he tried to ease down into the hot water.

"For fuck's sake Dom, are you trying to boil me or what?" he whined a bit.

"Don't be such a baby," the older man chuckled, shaking his head. "The hot water will draw the bruising, darling. The comfrey tincture that I added to it will help to reduce the swelling, chamomile is always soothing, thyme and rosemary are good for your skin in any case. Don't scrub, just soak for a little while. I'll make some rosehip tea when Ray gets back, that should boost your immune system, help you get well from within."

He beamed at Xavier like a beneficent angel then left the young man to simmer for a while in the deep, green-glass bowl of aromatic stew. The rippling water reflecting on the cool green and white tiles was oddly soothing and it was quiet and peaceful in the bathroom once he was on his own.

In fairly short order Xavier got used to the temperature and relaxed bit by bit, his head resting on the back lip of the tub, the water reaching almost up to his neck. The hot scented water was soothing and felt silky on his skin. As he let his mind start to drift, not actually falling asleep but just floating a bit below total consciousness, he thought he felt a little shimmer of something flow over him. Nothing unpleasant, it was almost like a caress under the heat of the water. He guessed the low tingle along his skin to be the feel of Dominic's magic.

He stayed where he was, just drifting and feeling that tingle spread slowly through him until the water began to cool and he judged himself sufficiently prune-like. At last he got out, feeling as though he'd just steeped himself in a giant bowl of herbal tea... which essentially was true. He was not miraculously cured of all his aches and bruises, but the raw ache of his damaged muscles was less as he patted himself dry and wrapped himself in one of Rayne's robes. He didn't feel like crawling back into bed yet, despite knowing Dominic would probably chastise him for wandering around rather than resting. After the hot bath he felt pretty much rested anyway.

His stomach gurgled contentedly in advance appreciation of the hot bacon rolls his rebellious lover had fetched back with the shopping, knowing that he would not want to wait whilst food was cooking. In view of the fact that he knew the smell of bacon left Rayne nauseated, it was a touching gesture.

He could hear voices coming from the kitchen again and guessed Dominic was in there with Rayne. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop but as he approached he couldn't help overhearing what they were talking about. Dominic was asking questions and Rayne was sketching out the details of what had happened as far as he knew; received in a third hand account. They were discussing the possibility or probability of Clint's involvement in the attack. Xav didn't get upset, but he did look quite serious as he floated into the kitchen and helped himself to a bacon bap whilst Dom was busy cooking up a pot of something that smelled equally heavenly on the stovetop.

"Clint didn't set me up," Xavier injected into the conversation with his mouth full, although he wasn't trying to be rude about it. "I know he didn't."

Dominic glanced up anxiously from the pot he was stirring and Rayne, who was leaning on the counter beside him shook his head gravely.

"I don't want you to mix with him any more," he said. It wasn't a direct order but it had that tone to it that added, if he was defied, he would not be happy about it. "Maybe he didn't mean for this to happen to you, but he hangs around with the kind of people that..."

Rayne broke off because Dominic gave him a look that Xavier didn't see. He could guess from Rayne's defensive reaction that Lord Warren didn't always approve of Rayne's choice of companions either.

"Xavier's a grown up, Ray," was all Lord Warren murmured. "And Clint is nearly an adult too, you can't police them all your life. What happened was unfortunate, but this is London. You can't wrap the boy in cotton wool, darling."

Xav put down the roll, feeling the delicious food turn to ashes in his mouth and slid onto one of the barstools by the kitchen island. He was bristling ever so slightly at Rayne's high handed tone, but he was not altogether surprised by it.

"Are you more angry that I let him hang out here, or that I found out he's your kid?" he asked mildly. He didn't really want to get Rayne wound up but there were some things that needed saying between them, and he'd be damned if he was gonna take all this sniping about Clint and not say a word in his own defence.

Now Rayne's hackles were up too and Xav could tell Dominic was thinking he might be in the middle of yet another row. Xav held Rayne's hostile gaze though, treated him to a tired, slightly lopsided smile and waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not trying to give you shit about it Ray, I just want you to be fair, that's all. If you don't want to let me in on things like, 'oh, by the way, the little emo brat on my front step is my kid...', then don't get pissed off at me cos I stumbled into it."

Rayne opened his mouth and Xav hurried on. "By the way, he's not a bad kid... and I'm pretty sure he knows you're a vampire. I did the best I could to keep him from tripping out until you got back and decided what you wanted to do about it."

Rayne's teeth clicked together softly as he closed his mouth on whatever it was he had been about to say. Dominic moved the pan he had been stirring off the heat and turned to look from Xavier to the little vampire with a chuckle.

"He's a smart one, say what you like!" he remarked with some amusement and Xav wondered if Dominic was talking about him or Clinton.

Rayne shook his head incredulously. "He told you I was a vampire? The little fuck!"

Xavier put his chin carefully on the palm of one hand, resting his elbow on the counter.

"No...not exactly. He tried to get me to tell him you were a vampire though. He was asking some pretty pointed questions. I didn't confirm or deny anything, exactly, but he's not stupid Ray. He's...he's feeling something. He told me he was drawn here, to you. I think he can feel the difference around vampires like I can..." He trailed off for a second and then looked back up at Rayne. "I had to tell him something, at least. I didn't want him trying to dig up info on his own, I was worried he'd get into more trouble than he could handle. So, I told him if he got that feeling around anyone else to stay away from them."

Dominic sucked a short breath through his teeth and Rayne looked irritably at him.

"It's happening," the older man said with a small shrug. "You knew there was no way of stopping it. He is coming into his inheritance, Rayne. The child of a union between a vampire and a mortal woman will grow to become Dhamphirii. Better that he does so as your ally than your opponent, darling."

"I think Clint's drawn his own battle lines," Rayne said darkly. "If he comes near Xav again, I will wipe the fuckin' floor with him. But if he thinks he scares me, he's got a nasty shock coming."

The vampire looked unsettled though. It was clear enough from his mood that he felt he was being forced to take a stance he'd rather not have adopted. Xavier had touched on a sore spot, Clint was his son, for good or ill and his track record as a father was already a less than shining example.

"Rayne..." Xavier waited until his lover looked at him. There was both concern and confusion in his sky blue eyes, his face expressive despite the discolouration of bruises. "He's not such a bad kid, really. I'll stay away from him if you want but if he comes around I'm not going to treat him like shit. He didn't do anything wrong."

"You don't know him half as well as you think you do, Xavier," Rayne warned.

"Matt told me about what he did. About him accusing you of stuff and then trying to burn the place down. I'm not saying there's any excuse for that, I'm not saying he's not messed up, but I think it's all coming from just wanting attention."

Rayne gave him an incredulous look. "Yeah? This last time I caught up with him he stabbed me in the arm."

Xavier finally looked shocked. "You're kidding..."

The vampire looked seriously at him. "I don't have the scars to prove it, fortunately, but my jacket's still hanging in the hall, there's a nice little tear in the sleeve now that'll be a bitch to mend. Thing is, I don't actually think he was going for my arm, if you know what I mean."

Dominic also looked shocked by this and visibly upset.

"That's beyond attention seeking, you should call the police, my darling," he said. "What if he hurts someone else? Someone who'll bleed more?"

Xavier didn't thank Lord Warren for pointing that out to Rayne, especially since he was being so protective as it was. He was still quite shocked that Clint would actually stab Rayne and he felt disappointment settle on him keenly. Could he have been that wrong about the kid? Were his instincts that far off? He sat there quietly staring a hole through the worktop in front of him and wondering if he had actually misjudged Clint. Maybe the boy had set him up, after all. It wasn't impossible. Actually, it would have been very easy.

But then, why had he asked him to stay at the theatre? Why had he come along and helped him? Why stay with him and drag his ass all the way home? But on the other hand, wasn't it just a little convenient the way Clint had found him in that alley? What if the kid had taken his phone on purpose to give himself a reason to come after him in order to cover his own tracks? Maybe he was playing some game, trying to make himself look good, get close to Xavier to hurt Rayne?

If Clint really did have something to do with the mugging, Xav thought... well, disappointment didn't begin to cover how that made him feel. He should be pissed, and somewhere inside he was, but he was also wounded. He'd gotten to kind of like Clint. He'd been good to the kid for more reasons than just because he was Rayne's son. Now he felt he'd been stupidly naïve and he couldn't meet Rayne's eyes.

Maybe Rayne saw a little of the confusion in his face because he moved closer, so smoothly and silently that Xav was hardly aware of him until he felt his lover's hand on the back of his neck. It was a gesture designed to be both soothing and a little possessive.

"We don't need to get the police involved," the vampire said atonally. "I'll deal with Clinton. Right now our priority is Xavier. He needs to get well, and then we need to figure out how to build his defences up so that something like this can't happen to him again." Rayne kissed his lover's blond curls, tenderly whispering; "Don't worry. None of this is your fault, sweetheart."

Xavier leaned into Rayne, letting himself be comforted, but still feeling rather disconsolate.

"I've been thinking about that very thing actually." Dominic said while he poked around in the pans on the hob. "I've just about taken care of all the most pressing business here and I'm overdue a trip back home." He turned around, smiling at them both. "Why don't you both come with me? Get out of the city for a while and Xavier can recuperate in peace."

Rayne exchanged a look with Xavier and murmured; "You're inviting us to hang out at Flowery Twats? We must look a mess!"

Xavier looked quizzically at him, but Rayne was grinning now so he figured it was some sort of a long standing joke between them.

"It's not the first time I've let you stay there, darling," Dominic did not look up from his pans but a smile quirked his lips too. "And yes, I think you are both in a bit of a state. Maybe the chance to get over your respective traumas somewhere neutral will help you both to recover. And I can work on building your protection with you from day to day. It will speed the whole process up."

"In that case," Rayne said sarcastically, "you're on!"

Dominic finished making dinner and then made sure that Xav ate everything on his plate, and had second helpings. He had some political business to attend to at the House before he travelled up to Cheshire and so he bade them farewell, letting them know he'd be driving north on the following day and would meet them at the airport, since it would be quicker and more comfortable for Rayne and Xav to fly up when they were ready.

After Dominic had gone Rayne helped Xavier to pack, and opened the case he had brought back from Manchester to empty it and throw in some fresh clothing. The handful of garments that came out of the case were shoved hastily into the laundry basket but not before they caught Xav's sharp eyes. He said nothing at the time but whilst Rayne was on the phone to Matty later, he slipped into the bathroom and investigated in more detail.

It felt a little bit wrong to be doing this but he was curious about what he'd thought he'd seen, and also the weirdly surreptitious way Rayne had tried to smuggle the clothing into the basket and out of sight.




London Loves Ch. 07



Shoved down under the dark jeans and crumpled shirt Rayne had travelled up in, was a pair of sheer black stockings and a black silk, bias-cut dress that draped over his hands like something living. Xavier's heart almost stopped as he retrieved them, then found lying beneath the dress a small, black and green lace basque top and thong.

He blinked, not sure what he was looking at. What did it mean? Did Rayne have a girlfriend on the side? Were these her things? And why bring them back with him? It made no sense.

Xavier was just about to slip the dress back into the hamper, which he almost didn't want to do just because it seemed like a crime to crumple the delicate fabric like that, when he heard Rayne's chill voice behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Xavier jumped, then winced and turned to see his lover standing in the doorway, his expression just about as flinty as his voice had been. Well, there was no use lying when you were caught bang to rights, was there?

"Um...snooping?" Xavier answered with a sheepish look and a little shrug. "Sorry..." He looked down helplessly, embarrassed at being caught. "You have a girlfriend?" he asked softly, fingering the silky fabric of the dress lightly.

Rayne opened his mouth and closed it again, taking a quick breath and a moment to collect his thoughts. He had no idea how Xavier would react to the truth, but was it better or worse than the idea of him seeing another woman? That was impossible to call. Xav knew he fucked other men and didn't have a problem with it. Why not women?

It was, however, enough of a hesitation to make Xavier question any answer he might come up with. Rayne was caught between the proverbial rock and a very hard place.

"You got me," he sighed, holding up his hands in surrender. "I guess I can't hide anything from you, huh?"

Xavier gave him an impossible to read look, and then he let the soft material slip from his fingers back into the hamper. He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing on his lover. "Does she know about me?"

"You didn't come up," Rayne responded a bit too quickly, then bit his lip as if conscious of how that sounded.

"Uh-huh. Figures," Xavier said, his voice still deceptively soft.

"I don't see what you're getting upset about." His mate was a little bit defensive now.

Xavier chuckled humourlessly. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you lied about what you were going to Manchester for, or at least lied about why you wanted to go alone. Maybe because I've been someone's dirty little secret before and I didn't much like it then either."

Rayne's pale eyes moved to the hamper briefly and he licked his lips, clearly nervous with the situation but he leaned in the doorway and forced a shake of his head.

"I didn't lie about why I had to go to Manchester," he said in a firmer tone. "That was the truth. I didn't go up there deliberately to see someone else. And I've had other guys whilst we've been together, you didn't give me the whole Inquisition about Matt, or Aldo. I don't see why this is such a problem, Xavier."

Xavier set him with a hard stare. "Come on, Rayne. Fucking is just fucking. You never rubbed my nose in it, which I appreciate, but you never tried to hide when you were fucking someone else either. This..." He pointed an angry finger down at the clothes basket. "...you were trying to hide. Which makes me wonder why. I don't care if you want the occasional piece of pussy, but if you're hiding it maybe she's more than just a casual fuck, huh?"

"I'm not hiding anything, Xav!" Rayne protested, pushing away from the doorway and coming to him at once, his hands held out in supplication. "I swear to you, it was a mistake. I was in a rush to get back here to you, I must have picked up her stuff and shoved it in the bag with mine. That's all. I'll get it cleaned and send it back."

He bit down on that too late. It opened too many extra cans of worms. Unlife made you stronger in many respects but if you couldn't lie for shit to start off with, it wasn't going to make you any better at it.

"So, she's not just a random hook up? You know where she lives?" Xavier said atonally. He was trying not to lose his temper but he was getting angrier by the moment thinking of the way he'd so complacently let Rayne go to Manchester alone, because he'd said he needed the space, and how badly he'd just wanted to comfort him. Seemed Rayne had found all the comfort he needed in some woman's arms.

"Well... yeah." Rayne dropped his hands to his sides and turned away, wondering how he could possibly have made this worse. He could not look Xavier in the eye and lie to him like this. But he had no idea how to tell him the truth without feeling utterly ridiculous.

The evasive gesture and reluctance emanating from Rayne only made Xavier more suspicious. After having just found out Rayne had a teenage son he hadn't bothered to tell him about he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps there was a secret wife he was hiding too. Xav reached out and cupped Rayne's chin gently in his hand, turning his face toward him and leaning close enough to almost kiss him. "You're lying, babe...I don't know why, or exactly what about, but you're lying about something. I'm not stupid."

He let him go and let his hand drop heavily then moved around him, floating by in that graceful way he had, even though his ribs were aching again badly now and it was hard to breath around the lump in his throat. His brain was working a million miles a minute putting all sorts of painful scenarios in front him. Maybe this was the real reason Rayne had left him in Italy. Maybe he had forgotten about her when he lost his memory and that was the only reason he'd invited Xav to come home with him. Maybe this was why Rayne couldn't say he loved him, because he loved someone else.

That last thought was like a hot knife twisting in his heart. Could he do this again? Could he be the third, lesser part of a triad? Could he hold his heart out in his hand and accept a pat on the head in return?

Rayne turned to watch him as he slipped by like a sleek little boat putting out to sea. His heart sank and he closed his eyes for a moment, resting his hands against the cool, smooth glass of the tub, wishing it was ripped and jagged so that he could draw his wrists along the edges and watch the blood well up and slide down those cold, green flanks. 'Idiot! Idiot! Fucking.Stupid. Fucking Idiot!' He forced his head back up, made himself say something before Xavier walked out of the door.

"You know... you do know, don't you? That you're the most important person in my life right now?" he said, feeling his pulse quicken almost painfully at that admission. It felt... needy, too raw, too exposed. And, on the heels of such a monumental lie, so blatantly false! Even though it was the truest thing he'd said in years.

Xavier had reached the doorway and he paused there as Rayne spoke. He was still angry, and if he was honest he was also very hurt. Was he hurt enough to walk out on Rayne though? Over a suspicion? His mind was preying on some of his worst fears, and even though Xav knew Rayne was lying about something to do with that dress, he didn't know if any of those suspicions were true.

Of all the things Rayne could have said at that moment, for once he got very lucky. He didn't know it but he couldn't have chosen words that would have made more of an impact on Xavier. That was really all he'd ever wanted, to be important to Rayne. He didn't need to have Rayne's exclusive attention, he didn't need flowery declarations, but knowing that at the end of the day (or fling!) that his lover wanted to be with him more than anyone else was the one thing that meant a great deal to him.

Xav looked back over his shoulder now hesitantly. "I am?" he asked in such a small quietly surprised voice it was almost childlike.

Rayne half turned almost mirroring his gesture, feeling a mixture of relief and surprise at that question and the tone of it. He truly did not deserve this boy but he wanted to be able to hold Xavier in his arms so badly right now.

"Yeah," he said quietly, no embroidery this time. Nothing that would mess things up. "Yeah, you are. And I'm a fuckwit, and I don't know why you're still here, but... I'm glad. Okay?"

Xavier turned fully around and came back to him slowly. He slid his arms around Rayne's waist and pressed his lips to his in a sweet kiss that grew in length and heat, his hands creeping up Rayne's back until they were pressed between his shoulder blades, holding tight, and their tongues were passionately entwined. When they finally broke the lip lock Xav was a little breathless and his eyes were dark with desire.

"Don't lie to me again, sweetheart. You suck at it," he advised and kissed him again.

Rayne's tongue slid seductively across Xavier's lower lip, trailing into the corner of his lover's mouth as he broke the kiss.

"I'll suck at anything you want me to right now," he promised huskily.

Xavier's smile was full of promise as well as he pulled Rayne by the hand through into the bedroom. Clothes were quickly shed and they settled down onto the bed together, although once Xavier was naked it was a reminder he was still injured and they had to take it easy.

His dick didn't seem to be in anyway considerate of the rest of his body, he was already hard and hot for his lover.

Rayne moved over him tenderly, clearly appreciative of just how much energy Dominic's pampering had given his young lover. He was relieved on many levels that the argument had not spilled over into a full scale confessional though. Xavier was not well enough for a fight, for a start, but in truth Rayne did not want to fight with him. He had genuinely forgotten about the black dress in his luggage until he came to unpack. And that brought back the deep and abiding sadness of the last forty eight hours he spent in Manchester.

He was glad that Dave had turned up at the apartment, even though he had been ungrateful at the time. It had been a comfort to know that he was not alone, and also that his former lover's partner had been thinking of him. Dave and his boyfriend Bernard had been good to Rayne in the past and it was a consolation to know that they were still looking out for him.

Xavier knew and understood, without being told, that sometimes Ray needed to be sexually submissive. It had taken Rayne far longer to come to terms with that himself than it took Xavier to comprehend it. But he was not sure how the younger man would react to the kind of relationship he had explored with Kevan. With Kev he had delved deeper into his psyche than at any time since his early twenties. There was too much of that year in Manchester that he was not ready to talk about yet.

Easier to lose himself in his lover's arms and enjoy the moment. Even if that had been how he hid himself from the truth for so long.

Rayne took his time, kissing Xavier all over, letting his lips stroke tenderly over the bright blooms on his mate's normally glowing, golden skin and delving more passionately into the unbruised regions. His fingers curled around Xavier's straining shaft and worked him almost delicately. He knew from painful experience how bad a serious kick in the groin could feel, even a few days after the event. But Xav was hard and more than just willing.

Crazy kid! Rayne thought with a smile.

Xavier rolled his hips lightly into Rayne's touch, enjoying the feel of his cool fingers wrapped around his shaft slipping smoothly up and down his skin. His own hands wandered restlessly over Rayne's body and down to his sex, slipping around him in tandem with his strokes. He kissed into the crook of Rayne's throat and sucked there gently.

Rayne knelt over him, careful not to put too much weight onto Xavier's battered body but letting the blond lip and stroke him because it felt impossibly good. He rested his upper body weight on his right hand and worked Xavier's hard on deftly with the left whilst kneeling astride his mate's thighs.

"Jesus, I wanna fuck you!" he exhaled, his voice heavy with longing.

"I want you to fuck me too," Xavier whispered back. He was trying to figure out how would be the most comfortable way. Since lifting his legs up around Rayne's waist was going make him work his abdominals too much he decided turning over would be best and he rolled carefully between Rayne's thighs, at least the smooth curves of his peachy cheeks were unbruised.

"Ahhh, my fuckin' angel," Rayne breathed, ever so lightly moving his nude body against Xavier's back so that he could kneel astride his lover's slender hips, stroking his needy cock between those sleek, ripe peaches.

He levered himself down slowly on his elbows and kissed Xavier's shoulders and the back of his neck hungrily. The boy's slim back was mottled with angry bruises too. The bastards must have rolled him to the ground then taken turns kicking him from all angles and Rayne seethed at the thought of it. Tonight when Xavier was sleeping, he decided, he was going to go and pay his illegitimate son a little visit. If Clint wouldn't tell him voluntarily who had done this, he was going to extract the information forcibly. A beating like this could not be allowed to go unpunished.

Rayne was trying to shield the anger he was feeling from Xavier though, and kept his kisses light and tender all the way down the younger man's spine until he could skate the tip of his tongue seductively around the tight little button of Xavier's gorgeous arse.

Xavier pulled in a shuddering breath as he felt Rayne's tongue lap at his sensitive ring. He never realized how difficult it was to keep still in the midst of a passionate romp. Even when he was restrained he moved within the bonds. As long as he kept his movement slow and not too exaggerated though he wasn't in too much pain, not enough to want to stop anyway. He squirmed slightly, pushing his hard cock into the mattress under him as Rayne kissed and licked him, making him moan with pleasure.

"Mmmmhhh, you taste so good, sweetheart," Rayne purred, blowing softly on the wetness of his lover's twitching ring and watching it jump and pulse eagerly, a little smile pulling at his lips. "Need to make you a little bit wetter though if I'm not gonna hurt you too much."

He knelt up and pulled a couple of pillows over, easing Xavier back on his knees just enough to layer the lovely, soft, plump pillows beneath his crotch and the work of modern art that was currently his belly. Letting Xav settle back down on them with a soft moan of pleasure, Rayne leaned over to the side of the bed and retrieved a little jar of aromatic lubricant from the drawer of his bedside cabinet.

Dipping two fingers into the scented salve, he got them good and slippery before rubbing the gel slowly over Xavier's cute little pucker. Pressing his middle finger down firmly, he held his hand in place until it sank inside him easily.

"Mmm-uh..." Xav purred under the deft stroke of his lover's fingers inside him. The slippery lube was cool against his skin at first but just about the time he detected the faint scent of mint his skin began to heat. The warmth spread everywhere Rayne touched, setting his sensitive nerve endings alight. "Uhhh...oh fuck..." he whimpered, circling his hips to push back on those invading digits as Rayne stretched and lubed him. "Uh, that's...that's...uhhh..." Xav groaned wordlessly. He wasn't thinking about his bruises at all any more.

"That's the way," Rayne crooned huskily, driving slow gentle fingers into him over and over as he stroked the seductively scented lubricant up and down his shaft with his free hand, loving the tingle that it sowed beneath the fine, silken skin of his erect phallus.

Keeping up the slow pulsing rhythm, he deftly eased his cock head against Xavier's flexing entrance and exchanged fingers for dick so smoothly that his softly moaning lover barely flinched. It felt so good to sink the urgently pulsing head into him though.

Xavier sighed silkily and lifted his hips higher, arching into Rayne's slow thrust. He spread his thighs a little more, widening Rayne's as well since he was riding astride him still. His fingers curled into the sheets as he rocked slightly, his tight sheath gripping the thick member sliding slowly into him. "God, that feels so good..." he murmured enthusiastically.

A low, lusty groan escaped Rayne's throat as he prowled forward, bracing his hands in the bedclothes to either side of Xavier's shoulders and rocking himself back and forth above his eager lover. Each movement of his body propelled him a little deeper into Xavier and he caught his breath as he felt the hot, wet sheath of his mate's body grip him and pull him fiercely in.

The urge to just sink down on Xav, holding him and bucking against him the way they normally coupled, was frustrating and at the same time exciting. They were both holding back but it still felt amazing just being inside Xavier after days of abstinence.

The soft hollow of Rayne's pelvis fitted perfectly against the curve of Xavier's backside, pushing into the firm mounds of his ass as they moved together. They often started out slow and built in speed and intensity but this time, out of necessity, they kept to the slower more careful pace. It didn't matter to Xavier, the slow and steady thrust of Rayne's cock inside him and the feel of the vampire's cool thighs caressing his were sensually erotic. Any way was good when Rayne was involved.

Slipping a hand beneath him he caressed along his own rock hard shaft, moving in slow undulations that impaled him on Rayne's dick on the backstroke and into pushed him into that curled fist as he thrust forward again. He kept his grip light though, and his strokes easy, and that had nothing at all to do with having gotten kicked in the balls. Rayne often made him wait for it, especially when he was hungry and wanted to swallow his cum. Xav never felt deprived though, quite the opposite, it was a major turn on to get to the edge and have to hold back.

"Mmmhhh..." Rayne exhaled along the line of his nape as he rocked himself slowly in and out, balanced on his knees and the heels of his hands. "You feel fantastic, sweetheart. So smooth and so fuckin' hot! That is just... a-fuckin'-mazing!"

It was too. Xavier's body was snug against his own, his firm buttocks rubbing and swaying a little more urgently in the smooth hollows of his sensitive groin, their lean thighs creating a seductive frottage as he eased back and forth above the sexy blond. Every little grip and twitch of Xavier's hot, slippery channel shivered up the shaft of his cock like sonar to his balls, bringing him steadily closer and closer. He could feel his head throbbing with need deep inside the boy, releasing a slow stream of precum that only served to make Xavier feel wetter and sexier.

"Uhhhh... Jesus fuckin' Christ! I love this!" the vampire growled eagerly.

Xavier's breathing had deepened, a light sheen of moisture on his skin. He purred his agreement with Rayne. "Yeah...oh, fuck yeah...so fuckin good..." His own cock was hot and slippery in his hand as they surged together and he was getting there now, the low tightening buzz building in him with each stroke of Rayne's long, fleshy bone deep inside.

A soft urgent keen rose from his throat, but this time Rayne didn't whisper for him to try and hold it, instead he nuzzled into the crook of his throat and lipped at the marks on his neck, humming there encouragingly. That was all the push Xav needed and his body flexed and shivered under Rayne once, and then once more before his breath hitched in his throat and the coil inside sprung free to release an ecstatic orgasm.

"Uuuuhhh!! Uuhhh! Ohmifuckingod!" he moaned as he spilled into the soft pillows cradling him below.




London Loves Ch. 07



"Ohyeah! Ohyeahyeahyeah!" Rayne sighed against his neck, letting the quickening pulse and clench around his eager sex milk him hard. It took every ounce of will that he had not to sink down on top of Xavier as the climax built and built and finally burst out of him.

Biting down on the two little marks, he used the taste of Xavier's hot blood to focus him as he shuddered above the younger man, enjoying the pleasure of his lover's orgasm from within and without. He was sharing Xavier's pleasure through the blood even as he filled the beautiful young man with his own love and lust, coming down onto his elbows and knees, bracing himself over Xavier's cruelly battered body.

He did not feed. As soon as he could control his own breathing he lapped tenderly at the bites, healing them as he rocked himself slowly out of Xav's delicious passage.

Panting and nearly dizzy with pleasure Xav still whimpered longingly as Rayne withdrew both his teeth and his cock. He felt both incredibly contented and at the same time wished Rayne wouldn't have stopped so soon. It had been far too long since Rayne had feed deeply from him, and although Xavier understood why, he longed for that sinking drowning intimate connection. He also knew that if he hadn't been in such bad shape Rayne probably would have fed from him longer. Ah well, patience never had been his strong point.

He rolled to his back carefully as Rayne shifted off him, a drowsy contented smile on his face. He just lay there peacefully, not feeling like moving. It wasn't long though before the aches of his exertions settled into a dull throbbing in every muscle. With less reluctance this time he took one of the painkillers and let Rayne tuck the duvet around him, curling up blissfully with his lover until sleep tugged him down.

Rayne lay snuggled against him for a long time afterwards. He felt such a heavy sense of contentment lying here with his arms around Xavier, listening to him breathing and inhaling the sweet, hot, sensual aroma of his naked body.

I wish I could tell you, he thought dejectedly. I wish to god I could tell you the truth, but I don't always get it myself. You've been so good to me, Xavier. And good FOR me as well. And I know you've been through some shit and you've seen just about everything... I wish I could tell you and know that you wouldn't laugh at me. Everything would be okay then. I could let it all go.

He cuddled up close until he was sure that Xavier was sound asleep, then tenderly kissed the mussed golden nest of his hair and tucked him in a little tighter.

Rayne showered and dressed, pulling on neutral, tight, dark jeans and a fitted top then sliding a lightweight hooded cardigan over it and a mid-length jacket. There were pockets in the jacket for money and his phone and a knife, even though he did not need weapons. Sometimes the currency of a blade was more valid than the baring of teeth.

He bent over Xav and kissed the boy's hair again, smiling as his lover wriggled and moaned sleepily in response then settled into a deeper layer of dreams. He would be safe behind the wards that protected the apartment and Rayne felt only the reluctance of a thwarted lover as he slipped silently out into the night in search of his prey.

It was cold outside, the sharper edges of autumn crisping the nighttime air and drawing little clouds of breath from passers by. Rayne ignored them, he was focussed and quiet inside as he walked the darkened streets, enjoying the relative stillness of London at night. He felt his way, but followed the information he had been given as well. Xavier had talked to him of the day he spent with Clint before he was attacked and related what he remembered, that Clint had taken him to places where Rayne had once lived.

It took about three quarters of an hour to walk up to Kilburn and he wandered the old familiar streets there for about an hour more before he sensed it. He had been walking in circles deliberately and the traces were definitely following his own. The boy was stalking him, for sure.

Rayne doubled back and pulled into a deeply recessed doorway, lighting a cigarette and waiting. He was far enough off the street to be invisible and sure enough a dark shadow hurried past moments later, then came back more slowly, less certainly than before. The vampire pinched out his smoke and pushed away from the wall, making himself still and silent as Clint moved into the shadows, briefly blocking out the street beyond.

He moved fast then, a hand reaching for the boy's throat, slamming him back against the reinforced glass of the shop window. The whole unit shuddered and Clint made a strangled, frightened sound as he thrashed and kicked, trying to get free. Rayne's fingers loosened and he let the boy down to his feet but didn't release him.

"You and me, we need to have a little talk," he said huskily.

"I didn't hurt him!" Clint protested at once. "I dunno what that lanky shite, Matt's been telling you but I never touched him, on my life! I went back to look for him and I found him like that, on the floor. He'd have died if I hadn't gone back for him."

"And why did you go back for him then? Conscience pinching you was it?" Rayne gripped him fiercely under the chin and shook him like a dog shaking a rat.

"Nnnnn..." Clint threw his head from side to side desperately. "Please...! Lemme go... please! Don't kill me. Xav told me... he told me to be careful. I know now... I know what you are."

The vampire let go of him as if he was suddenly too hot and Clint staggered back against the glass wall, putting a hand to his throat and gasping for breath. He did not try to run though. Perhaps it was beyond him, but Rayne did not think so.

"What did he tell you?" he asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"He..." Clint swallowed. "He told me that if I met anyone else that felt the way you did, I was s'posed to run like fuck. Just get the fuck away."

Rayne blinked at him, trying to see past the plain facts of that admission. He kept his tone neutral as he asked; "What am I then, kiddo? C'mon, you're the fuckin' expert here. What is it you're meant to be running away from?"

Clint was still panting rapidly but he breathed deep enough to whisper; "You're a Vampire. You drank my blood. You let me stab you but there's no scar on you. You're not human."

Now Rayne sank back against the opposite window, just staring at his living shadow as he weighed up his options. Dominic had once warned him that it might come to this. His half-vampire son would inevitably work out the truth; would come to understand what it was that drew him to his father like a magnet draws a pin. He had hoped that it would take Clint longer, that's all.

"So what does that make you, huh?" he asked softly, shaking his head.

"I..." Clint swallowed again, looking suddenly very small, very young. "I dunno."

"Why did you go after Xavier the other night?" Rayne quizzed him, still leaning back against the window, a paler shade in the deep shadows. "Why not leave him if you just wanted to punish me?"

"I didn't set him up! I swear on my life," Clint protested, more vehemently. "I like him, Ray. He's all right."

"Why go after him then?" The vampire was still curious.

"He... he left his phone," Clint said warily, perhaps sensing that it wouldn't do him any good to tell the whole truth. "I found it after he'd gone and ran after him to give it back. Ask him. He'll tell you it's true. I was following his traces the way I follow you. I can feel him in my head the same way, but he's not like you. I don't know how, but I can just feel him. And I could feel that he was in trouble. I started to run but I couldn't find him at first. Then I saw these guys walk out of a side street, one of them was wearing his jacket. I didn't take them on, they'd 'ave pasted me. But when they'd gone I went up the street and I found him. I helped him to get home and I waited til Matt came with the key then I cleared off. I know that gobshite doesn't like me."

"You've not exactly given him any reason to like you, Clint," Rayne reminded him tersely.

"He's like you. He's one of them," the boy announced, narrowing his eyes.

Rayne contemplated his next response.

"Yeah," he sighed at last. "He's a vampire. I made him that way."

"But I'm not and Xavier's not," Clint reasoned.

"No. It doesn't work like that." Rayne pushed himself upright and Clint backed self-consciously towards the street, putting distance between them. "I'm not going to touch you. I probably couldn't Turn you, but you've got some of my DNA so you're half vamp already. You've probably figured you're hard to hurt and you know that you see and feel stuff other guys can't. That's because of what you are."

"What about Xav?" Clint wanted to know. "He's not your kid. But he heals good. I've seen blokes die after getting a kicking like that. He made me walk him home. I wanted him to let me ring for an ambulance but he wouldn't."

Rayne felt a little spike of pain inside at the thought of Xavier struggling against the pain, still probably bleeding inside, but desperate to get back to the apartment and just rest; too scared to go to hospital. He bent his head letting his long, dark forelock hide the expression on his face for a moment. When he looked up Clint was watching him warily.

"No, he's not a vampire either," he said huskily. "It's something to do with the bites I've given him. It makes him... stronger I guess."

"And he can feel other vamps, like I do," Clint said seriously. He hesitated. "You believe me, don't you? I wouldn't hurt him. I never meant him to get hurt. I figured he'd stay the night up at the State with us but he wanted to get back."

"You're squatting at the old picture house?" Rayne asked, his lips quirking slightly at the thought of it.

"Yeah." Clint nodded, slightly wary now. He'd not meant to give away his location but it was done now. "Is he okay? Xavier, I mean?"

"Took you long enough to ask," Rayne said a little bit sharply, but when Clint's eyes widened he sighed and nodded his head. "He's going to be okay, yeah. He's pretty sore right now, but he'll live. I suppose I ought to thank you for that."

Clint's face almost cracked a smile so he quickly added; "Of course, if he'd not been trailed all the way up to bloody Kilburn and left to walk home on his own in the dark he'd not be black and blue and living on fuckin' painkillers."

"I'm sorry," the boy choked at once. "I'm really, really sorry. Tell him... please. Tell him I was asking about him. Some of the guys from the State want to know when he's gonna come back and show them more dance moves."

Rayne shook his head slowly. In spite of his anger and his concern, the thought of Xavier mixing it with a bunch of dossers who wanted to know how he worked the moves he did on stage amused him.

"Would you recognise the blokes that you saw come out of the street afterwards if you saw them again?" he asked, determined not to lose sight of the reasons for coming out here tonight.

"I dunno, it was dark," Clint said awkwardly. "I sort of remember how they felt though. I think I'd know the one that took his jacket, he had a kind of shark-face. I didn't like the vibe he was giving off much."

Rayne moved smoothly towards him, coming level with his son as they reached the street. Clint still backed away, his eyes nervous and mistrustful. He touched his throat again, defensively.

"If you see them again, ring me, or come and find me," Rayne told him. "You know how to get hold of me?"

"I can come to the house?" Clint asked speculatively.

"Don't push your luck." Rayne laughed, his tone slightly harsher. "Do you need anything?"

Clint shrugged, a universal gesture of teenage dismissal. He shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his baggy coat. Rayne hesitated for a second then dipped into his breast pocket and pulled out a couple of fairly high denomination notes. He held them out and Clint looked at them as if he'd served the boy an eviction notice.

"Well... if you don't need it..." the vampire sighed, making a move to put them back.

Clint's hand flashed from his coat and snatched the money before it disappeared again. He rammed it back down into his own pocket determinedly, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"You're welcome!" Rayne said sarcastically, when it was clear that no form of appreciation was going to be forthcoming. He turned on his heel and walked back down the High Road the way he had come.

Clint watched him until he was out of sight then sat down heavily on the pavement outside the shop doorway, his limbs still shaking furiously for a long while after Rayne Wylde had disappeared.

~*~

The painkillers had him doped pretty good and Xavier slept deeply and thankfully without any nightmares. He only stirred slightly when Rayne's cool body slipped back into bed beside him and he settled back down without waking. He radiated heat like a little furnace with his lover wrapped lightly around him.

When he woke up the next morning he stretched sleepily and noticed he was slightly less stiff and sore then he had been the day before. Although 'slightly less' than terrible pain meant he still ached from head to toe and was not moving too fast.  

Rayne wasn't in bed with him so he got up and went to take a shower, stopping to look in the mirror on the way. The bruises were still a dark purple-black in the centres but when he studied them closely he saw the very edges were beginning to get a feathery lighter look to them. That was pretty amazing really. It'd only been two days and Xav knew from experience that bruises like these usually got worse for a few days before they started getting any better. These looked like he'd maybe been wearing them a week already!

Dominic's herbs must have really worked, he thought. His ribs still ached like a bitch though and he carefully got into the shower.

When he got back out he wrapped a towel around his waist and wandered toward the heavenly smell of fresh brewed coffee drifting through the apartment. His lover was in the kitchen when Xavier found him, as was Matty Greening, but the younger vampire was mutedly polite this morning. He wore as serious an expression as Xav had ever seen on his sharp, piercing modified features. Matt was inhaling the steam from a mug of black coffee and Rayne poured another for Xavier without being asked. He was perched on the edge of the kitchen counter like a teenager, bare feet swinging lightly.

"You look better than the last time I clocked you," Matty commented, flashing a fanged grin at Xav.

Xav took the mug from Rayne gratefully, kissing his cheek lightly before going for the cream and sugar. He gave Matty a slightly lopsided grin as he slid onto a bar stool. The last time he'd wandered into the kitchen in nothing but a towel to find Matt Greening in there, Rayne's ex hadn't been nearly as pleasant. Xav sipped almost delicately at the coffee before he answered, "I feel a bit better."

Actually he still felt like he'd been hit by a truck and was a little fuzzy headed from the trace of narcotic still in his system.

"What time is it? When do we have to go?" Xav asked, taking a deeper sip of coffee.

"There's no rush, we can go whenever you're comfortable. If we fly up today I need to confirm the seats by mid-day though," Rayne said levelly, stroking his hair.

"So how long are you gonna be up there?" Matty wanted to know.

His Sire shrugged one shoulder casually. "Not sure, until Lady W gets sick of us I guess. When he was trying to teach me to use protection spells I was up and down from there all the time."

"We were on tour as well, though," Matt reminded him, as much for Xavier's benefit. He winked at the young mortal. "Imagine that? On the fuckin' road for three months with a neurotic baby vampire! How much fuckin' fun was that!"

Matty laughed and shook his ragged blond dreads incredulously at the memory.

Xavier did try and imagine it and had to shake his own head. Thinking of how it felt when he was being bombarded by everyone else's emotions and then thinking what it would be like to then be dropped into a concert setting, not only that but having to be on stage and perform? Holy shit, he didn't think he could've done it. He would've gone totally batshit.

Staring contemplatively into his mug he was reminded keenly of his own problems right now with control and keeping people out of his head, whether they were trying to get in or not. Dominic had suspected that if there was distance between him and Rayne that he might have more trouble, and he'd been right. While Rayne had been in Manchester Xav could hardly walk down the street without his mood shifting with each person he passed. He couldn't always be tied to Rayne's side (as appealing as that sounded) and unless he wanted to become a recluse he needed to get a handle on this.

"I think we should go today." Xavier said, a hint of determination in his tone. "Picking up everyone else's emotional shit every time I go out the door is making me crazy. I mean, it's gotten better since Italy... but when you were gone it was a lot harder to block things out. I wanna figure out why and Dom seems pretty sure he can help."

"He's a good teacher," Matty said cheerfully. "Nice house as well. Mental as anything, but he's fairly harmless."

"It's his taste in sidekicks that I always question," Rayne commented in a rather more sour tone.

"Awrr..." Matt chuckled at him and winked at Xavier over his mug. "Gabe's a pussycat! He's gorgeous, Ray's just jealous."

"All I'm saying is, if you're gonna have your host's lapdog try to hump your fuckin' leg you don't want him to be six foot plus with fangs that could rip the throat out of a rhino!" Rayne argued.

"He's cute though," Matty said, still grinning at Rayne's obvious agitation. "And he understands the wizardy stuff. Sometimes he explains it better too."

"He's got a magic wand to die for!" Rayne mimicked Matty's coy tone nastily and made kissy faces at him.

Matt calmly flicked him the bird in response. "Like I said; jealous!"

Xavier long lashes were at half mast as he looked from one to the other off them. Privately he thought Matty was being foolish if he thought Dominic was harmless, but he wasn't going to enlighten him. Besides, something more important had grabbed his attention. "What're you talking about?"

Both Rayne and Matt looked at him but it was Matt that finally spoke up. "Didn't anyone tell you DW's lover is a werewolf?"

Xav blinked slowly at him. "A... like, a real werewolf?" Xav asked slowly, not sure if they were teasing him.

"Would there be any point in pretending to be a werewolf?" Rayne asked, almost rhetorically.

"What other kind of werewolf is there?" Matty grinned. "Course he's real, sugar tits. Are you scared now?"

Xav gave him a narrow look. "No, I'm not scared," he answered flatly.

Rayne stretched out one foot and gave his Fledge a little shove that almost knocked him off the chair. "Okay, stop fucking about with him now."

Matt sulked for a millisecond, then looked slyly at Xavier. "He's hung like a werebull!"

"I said, stop it!" Rayne threw a teaspoon at him which clipped the side of Matt's head and made him yelp.

Xav couldn't help the little smile that curled his lips but he hid it behind his mug as he took another sip of his coffee. He supposed he should be irritated that yet again he'd been left in the dark about something kind of important, but at least he'd found out this time before he'd really stepped in it so he wasn't too worked up. He glanced at Rayne speculatively now though, and it didn't take much to guess with all the innuendo and Rayne's desire to shut Matty up that he'd probably fucked this guy...er, werewolf.




London Loves Ch. 07



Xavier didn't need to ask. The look he gave Rayne said he knew, now Rayne looked uncomfortable but Xav softened his expression into a smile. His cup empty he got up to rinse it in the sink. His towel had slipped down a bit so that it was clinging rather precariously to his narrow hips, the barest touch threatening to drop it entirely, and giving his boyfriend and Matt a tantalising view of his sleek backside despite the discolouration of the bruises there.

"So, is there anything else I should know?" Xav asked while he washed the cup. "Is there werewolf etiquette like vampire etiquette? You know, like no jokes about crotch sniffing, or something?"

"He's a mutt," Rayne said darkly. "They don't have etiquette. Throw him a fuckin' stick and he'll be happy."

"Sit on his fuckin' stick and he'll be happier!" Matty giggled.

This time Rayne gave him no warning but he did kick the chair out from under the younger vampire as he hopped down from the counter to fetch his mobile and ring the airport. He leaned up against Xavier whilst he was waiting for the call to connect, gently divesting the boy of his towel and stroking a cool hand up and down his belly, into his groin. The touch was light but made painful muscles dance involuntarily under his fingers.

Xavier swayed back into Rayne, a soft moan on his lips as his fingers caressed him. He turned in his lover's embrace, snaking his own arms around him and nipping lightly at the side of his throat. Xav's eyes glinted playfully at Rayne as the call connected and he started to talk. Xav skated his hand down his boyfriend's belly and crotch, grinning slightly as he fondled him through his jeans. He didn't think whoever was on the other end would be as appreciative as Dominic had been of Rayne's distraction on the phone though.

Rayne closed his eyes, biting his lips over a low moan as he listened to the operator and managed to answer her questions as neutrally as possible. Just occasionally his words trailed off into a little sigh as he and Xavier caressed one another. Even Matty was chuckling softly into his hand as he watched the performance.

Xav licked the curve of Rayne's ear as he eased down his zipper and slid his hand inside. He grinned impishly as Rayne stumbled over a word and closed his eyes. Curling his fingers very lightly around his shaft Xav slowly jacked him until Rayne was stiff and throbbing in his hand. Rayne seemed to be listening to something that the operator was saying on the other end of the line for he made small, affirmative noises in between moving the phone away from his face to breathe a little harder.

"Uhuhh... Mmmm... yeah... thr-three-thirty... fine... yeah... j-just two... uhuhhhh... that's right... right... yeah... mmmhhh, that's good..."

His eyes opened and he looked straight at Xavier as he said this last part, licking his lips hungrily. His eyes glittered with mischief and no small amount of lust.

"Ohh yeah, that's really good!" he panted appreciatively.

Matty, who was still sitting on the floor was killing himself all over again trying not to laugh out loud.

Still grinning Xavier leaned closer as if he were going to kiss Rayne but detoured at the last moment to nibble along his jaw. A moment later he had the button on Rayne's jeans popped and was slipping carefully down to his knees, tugging them halfway down his thighs as he went. He gave Rayne's hips a little push, backing him against the cupboard before he wrapped his hand more firmly around his cock and took him into the heat of his mouth.

"Uhhh..." Rayne's voice quivered on the edge of a response and he put his hand over the phone and groaned desperately. His fingers tapped Xavier's shoulder, then pointed down in the direction his jeans had already gone. "Wuhh... wallet!" he panted.

Xav ran a hand down his leg without even lifting up off him and retrieved the requested item from his pocket, passing it back up with a grin that stretched his lips teasingly around Rayne's shaft. Matt was snorting into his hand as he rolled around on the floor watching this, his skinny sides shaking furiously.

With the phone propped between his cheek and his shoulder, Rayne juggled his credit card out of the wallet deftly and squinted at the number. It took him three attempts to read it out. Xavier's mouth felt so good around his cock by now that he was tempted to just pretend he'd lost his connection.

Xavier continued his oral assault, skilfully working his lips wetly over Rayne's straining shaft while his lover tried to get all the information out over the phone. He had no idea whether he managed to get everything sorted or not by the time he hung up and he didn't care, Xav was too busy gently sucking first one smooth nut and then the other while he stroked up and down on his shaft.

Rayne dropped the phone and his wallet lightly onto the counter beside him and forced the fingers of both hands through Xavier's blond curls.

"You are evil!" he exhaled huskily, gazing down at him with eyes gone dark with lust. "You will pay for that!"

His fingers laced at the nape of Xavier's neck and he guided his lover's lips to the head of his straining erection and began to thrust slow and hard between them, pushing against the roof of his mouth.

Xavier looked up at him, batting his eyelashes coyly as he wriggled his tongue on the underside of Rayne's cock head. His eyes slipped closed as he opened wider and relaxed his jaw. Rayne pushed deeper and Xav moaned a soft hum of pleasure around him, tightening his lips around his shaft.

"That's more like it," Rayne crooned happily. "Ohhhh yeah! Suck that for me, sweetheart. Suck me off, you little fuckin' tease!"

His eyes moved beyond the top of his lover's head towards Matt, who was still sprawled on the floor against the cupboard doors. His Fledge had one hand down the front of his pants, tugging eagerly on his cock as he watched the naked mortal kneel and take Rayne in his mouth so sweetly. Rayne's eyes widened but the smile on his lips was almost feral as he glanced down to where Xavier's firm, golden cheeks swayed restlessly from side to side. Even on his knees, giving head, he could not sit still.

Matty's grin had fangs as he knelt up and unbuttoned his fly, releasing his long, curving, multiple-pierced cock. He crawled slowly towards them now, his dark, hungry gaze fixed on Xavier's pert arse.

Xav was so focused he didn't notice Matt moving until he felt cool hands caress lightly over his hips. He didn't exactly pause what he was doing but there was a small hesitation on his forward glide. He didn't make any protest though. He was not exactly in the best of shape for an energetic threesome, but his hard cock didn't seem aware of this.

Matt bent his head, spitting on the pulsing crown of his cut dick and stroking the wetness slowly between Xav's cheeks. His lips wandered slowly over the younger man's neck, grazing his skin ever so gently with his sharp little fangs.

Rayne leaned against the counter, arching his back and thrusting faster in his lover's mouth but he growled; "Easy, Matthew! Don't 'urt him or I will make you suffer, babe."

"Promises, promises!" Matty crooned, spooning up against Xav from behind and rubbing himself eagerly between the blond youth's slender thighs. The studded ring in the head of his prick nudged Xavier's balls urgently and he licked the blond's naked back as his long, honey-coloured dreadlocks tickled Xavier's shoulders and arms.

Xav might have given the vampire a warning to take it easy as well but Rayne had his mouth a bit too occupied for that and the fingers laced behind his head did not want to let him come up. That was all right with him though, giving head always got him so hot. Especially like this, where it was easy for him to take his lover right down to the base, which he did now with a purr of pleasure in his throat.

Xav's smaller frame fit nicely into the arch of Matt's body, the feel the vampire's lips and soft hair tickling along his skin made Xav shiver and he swayed his pert little ass seductively against his crotch.

If there was one thing Matty understood, it was pain; how to cause it and how to avoid it too. From a personal point of view, he loved a little bit of hurt with the hotness, but Xavier really was beat up and it was only the fact that he could feel Rayne's recent session with the boy that assured him it would be okay. His tongue lapped sweetly down Xavier's naked back making him wriggle as hard as he dared to. Gently he kissed and licked at the tight pucker of flesh between the mortal's cheeks. Such a sexy little bud, it was! Matty licked his finger and eased it in, pumping the boy's hole slowly and spitting a slow river of drool over the flexing ring until he felt that Rayne's adorable mate was ready for a second finger.

Rayne was looking intently into Xavier's eyes as the blond sucked and gagged on him, determined not to let up unless he absolutely had to breathe. Matt's fangs were out and his hunger was contagious but Rayne kept it under control, moving slower in his lover's mouth as he watched Matty stroking a handful of saliva and pre-cum up and down his slick, studded shaft. He was ready to come but knew that Xavier would probably beat him to it, especially when that long, curving, studded tool slipped into him and began to stroke his prostate hard.

If he could not take his lover's blood he at least wanted to have his lips around Xavier's cock when that moment arrived, and if that meant holding off on his own climax for a few minutes it would be worth the wait.

Xavier slowed down on Rayne as he felt his lover ease back some. He didn't let him go entirely though, still caressing him with his mouth slowly as Matty stretched and readied him. He wriggled a little more eagerly, desire warring with the need to go slow and easy. His mouth watered with the salty taste of his mate's precum on his tongue and his fingers flexed where they held on lightly to Rayne's thighs.

The soft little hums and purrs of pleasure he gave grew deeper as he felt the pierced head of Matt's cock push against his ring and pop inside. His eyes closed and his thighs spread further almost automatically. His own erection curved lightly up his flat belly, clear drops of precum glistening at his slit and sliding down slowly. Matt sunk in a bit deeper and Xav's groan reverberated through Rayne's shaft as he hungrily went down on him.

Matty rocked forward, crouching astride Xavier as Rayne whispered; "Bring him up for me, sweetheart."

He needed no further instruction. For years Matty had been closely attuned to his Sire's needs, even before he was Turned he had always done his best to give Rayne what he most deeply desired and now it was almost second nature for him. His arms folded possessively around Xavier's body, not pulling him tight but enfolding him closely so that when he began to rise from a crouch, with his cock buried inside the delicious young man, Xavier had to come with him.

It would have hurt to try and stay on his knees. It hurt a little to rise but he was supported all the way by Matt's arms and his deceptively slender body. The blond maned vampire was stronger than he looked. His hand slid up Xavier's chest to his neck and throat, pulling the young mortal back into his arms as he slowly stood upright, with Xav still impaled on his erect dick.

Rayne's fingers released Xavier's hair and in spite of his best attempts to keep sucking, Xav was gently pulled off his lover's cock. At the same time Rayne sank to his knees and it all made sense. Ray nuzzled softly into Xavier's crotch and kissed the mottled skin there, his lips no more than a whisper against the silky flesh. Behind Xavier, Matt began to thrust steadily, letting him feel each slow, invasive stroke of his pierced cock shaft.

The whole manoeuvre was achieved smoothly, gracefully, almost effortlessly, which Xavier could well appreciate in his battered state. The arm that slid around him and up his chest remained firmly in place, as did the long fingers circling his throat. Although Matty didn't apply much pressure, that hold sent ripples of excitement shuddering through Xav in ways he wouldn't have cared to explain, but it was clear enough to both vampires how turned on he was. He was panting slightly and his eyes were huge and dark with desire as he wriggled between them.

Xav leaned forward, bracing his hands on the counter for balance and rolling his hips fluidly to impale himself harder on Matt's thrusting cock. The little metal balls of his ladder were doing incredible things to his sensitive ring and, inch by inch, to the quivering cum button deep inside him.

"Uhhh! Yes-s-s-s..." he breathed. "Just like that..." He squeezed the muscles inside on the backstroke, milking Matty's long member as he tumbled deeper into the pleasure zone.

Matt uttered a low, gasping, growling sound that was something less than human. He rolled with the motion of Xavier's hips, pushing smoothly into him as Xavier came back to meet him. His breath was as cool as a draught from the grave on the blond man's neck and his fangs scraped the skin there once more but did not bite.

Rayne's tongue caressed the underbelly of Xavier's prominent shaft, lashing intimately up and down the throbbing vein that ran from his lover's aching balls to the swollen, leaking head of his delicious prick. He kissed his lover's cock with a passion to match Xav's own, working the tip of his wriggling tongue upward slowly until it was teasing the slit in the plump, purple glans and lapping up the salty spill that wept from the single eye.

"Reach up," he breathed huskily. "Put your hands at the back of Matt's head and keep them there. Give yourself to us. Let us do whatever we want with you."

Xavier's head suddenly swam with a dizzy rush at his lover's words and his moan was more like a whimper of need. He did as Rayne told him, reaching up slowly and stretching himself carefully to lace his fingers behind Matt's neck. His body arced lightly, curved against Matt's front. He may have been badly bruised and sore but his lean dancer's body was still strong and fluidly graceful. His head turned to one side, rubbing his cheek almost cat like on the taller man shoulder and unconsciously elongating the slender column of his throat right under the vampire's nose.

"Fuckin' fang-teaser!" Matty panted, driving into him slow and hard.

Rayne chuckled softly, with his mouth full, cupping Xavier in one cool, long-fingered hand and caressing his balls very carefully.

Xavier's thighs quivered as the low vibration coupled with the smooth caress of Rayne's tongue stud on the sensitive underside of his cock head drove him up a few notches. He balanced between the two men easily as they moved together, Matty sinking into him over and over and Rayne getting down to serious business sucking his throbbing cock. He let the flow of their rhythm take over, crooning his pleasure in soft little mewls as they fucked him with a slow simmering passion. He pulsed between Rayne's soft lips and Matty's throbbing tool, his breath quickening as he climbed higher and higher.

"Ohhhh...uhh, I'm gonna cum!" he got out breathlessly a second before the explosion rocked him.

Rayne nodded down on him, swallowing his enthusiastic ejaculation deep. His breath was fast and needy in Xavier's bucking crotch as he lifted his head, a fierce smile parting his cum-glossed lips. Their eyes met for a moment, all alive with passion and pleasure.

"Uhhh... yessss!" Matty hissed ecstatically as he fucked a few good blasts of his own into the tight vacuum of Xavier's twitching chute.

As he pulled his leaking prick slowly out of the blond boy's arse, Rayne pounced on the other vampire and put him on the floor. Xavier only had a moment to wonder if he felt slighted before he understood his lover's reasoning. Rayne was fired up and normally that wouldn't be a problem between them but today he was still concerned about hurting Xav. And so it was Matty who bore the brunt of his savage hunger.

Rayne had him pinned down in a flash and was up him almost immediately. Matt screamed like a drama queen as his Sire hammered him fast and deep, his eyes closed tightly as he bucked the last of his frustration into Matt's more than willing arsehole. The groan Rayne's climax tore from his throat was low and animalistic as he sank against Matt's arching back, but it was Xavier that he pulled in for a long slow kiss once he could breathe again.

A confusing wash of emotions swirled around inside Xav as he returned Rayne's sweet kisses with a tender fire. Although he understood the reason, he was still envious of the unrestrained passion Rayne just spent in Matty and at the same time it had felt a bit 'off' watching them and knowing that Rayne was using his ex as a fill in for himself right now. Xav knew Matt liked the rough handling but he didn't seem to mind being used like that either. The vampire definitely had a happy, sated, glow about him which only made it seem weirder to Xav and he had an inkling now of why Rayne and Matty weren't together anymore.

Rayne broke off the kiss, gently bumping their noses together for a moment or two before leaning back with a satisfied sigh. Xavier impulsively leaned toward Matt and took his chin in his hand, giving him a sweet and hot kiss, if briefer than the one he'd shared with Rayne. After all, he'd sucked Matty off, been bitten by him, and let him fuck him, but in all that he hadn't yet kissed him.

"Awww, you all right, Lover?" the lanky blond vampire purred happily at him. "That was a blast, by the way."

"Don't get used to it," Rayne warned him, levering himself to his feet and buttoning his fly. His fingers tugged on Matty's dreadlocks and the younger vamp looked up at him with a fanged grin.

"Killjoy!"

"That's me," Rayne nodded, reaching down to help Xavier to his feet. "Now fuck off. We've got a plane to catch or hadn't you noticed?"

Matt bounced to his feet and made himself decent with a little sigh.

"Have fun with the big bad wolf," he teased, winking at Xav.

Xavier just shook his head, a small grin tugging at one corner of his mouth. The other man just didn't know when to quit! Picking up the towel he'd been briefly wearing he dropped it over his shoulder and headed back out of the kitchen. "See you later," he said before disappearing to get cleaned up and maybe lay back down for a little while before they had to leave.

When Xavier came out of the en suite, his mate had already cleaned up in the other bathroom and changed into a pair of dark, fitted suit pants and a tailored, dark green shirt. He was sitting on the chest at the foot of the bed, his dark hair slicked back from his face, playing with one of his rings. Xavier had noticed it before but at the time it hadn't registered as anything significant. The platinum band had a lot of very tiny, very twinkly little stones set in a line around it. His instincts said diamonds, which made it a special piece of bling already. The position on the third finger of his left hand already had his mind working overtime, especially in light of his discovery of the dress yesterday.

Rayne took it off when he came out of the bathroom but he slipped it over the index finger of the other hand and carried on playing with it distractedly.

"Taxi's coming in three quarters of an hour," the vampire said, looking up at him with a fond little smile.

Xavier nodded and quietly went about getting dressed, aiming for comfort. He'd already thrown the necessaries for the trip into a bag and now he pulled on a pair of dark trousers in a soft clingy material and a loose silk shirt in dark red. Then he sat down next to Rayne and kissed his cheek.

"That's really nice." He commented neutrally on the ring, trying his hardest to keep his emotions clamped down and not do anything stupid, like demand to know if he was actually married to the mysterious woman in Manchester.




London Loves Ch. 07



His lover leaned against him, holding up the finger with the ring perched just above his middle knuckle, studying it for a moment. He turned his head and touched his lips to Xavier's mouth softly then, just rubbing noses with him, looking at him with such bewilderment that Xav briefly worried his memory had gone again.

Then the shutters were down. Not like he had been in Italy, not screening Xavier out completely, but he turned back with a businesslike, unhappy smile and closed his fingers, moving to his feet, pushing things into bags and pockets. When he straightened from his task again, the ring was no longer on his finger and the matter had been dismissed, just like that.

"You look gorgeous in that," he said tenderly. "Are you ready? The cab will be here soon."

"Yeah, I'm ready." Xav answered quietly. He managed a smile for Rayne but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He had hoped Rayne might open up to him a little bit, but he supposed he wasn't ready. Xav was good about knowing when he should and shouldn't push, now wasn't the time to push, so he let it be.

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN

LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2012



London Loves Ch. 08



© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2012

Apologies for the long hiatus between the last chapter and this one; I was caught up in the complexities of moving house and it's taken me a little while to get my mojo back. All thanks go to Bellora Quinn for knowing just how to motivate me and how to be patient when the motivation wasn't there. This chapter goes out to her and of course to you, our dear reader, for your endless patience and enthusiasm.

Enjoy.

The cab ride to the airport and shuffling through the boarding process was a bit of a hassle and took far longer than either Rayne or Xavier had patience for. Xav had dug out a pair of sunglasses before they left the apartment that didn't really do much to hide his battered condition. Rayne too kept his shades on throughout the checking procedure but the three young women on the desk still briefly huddled and exchanged whispers after he had shown them his boarding card, and they attracted more than a few passing glances as they made their way down to the gate.

Although the flight itself was little more than half an hour, by the time they were on the ground again Xavier was already tired and hurting and they still needed to push through the Manchester evening rush hour. Rayne was solicitous of his lover, refusing to let Xavier carry any but the lightest of bags as he hurtled their baggage trolley through the EU channel and out into the arrivals hall. He kept an arm around Xavier's shoulders though and asked him frequently if he was okay.

Outside the air was cooler but no less smoggy than London and Rayne parked Xav on a bench with the bags and kissed him on the forehead before zipping off to find the cab he had booked back in the Capital. Which was also an excuse to grab a cigarette and calm his own frayed nerves. Rayne was better on planes than Dominic Warren but he still did not enjoy the process.

The pick-up area was drab and dirty, and totally chaotic. Xavier had never really felt anxious in London, apart from the night when he was attacked, but the atmosphere here was high in tension. A few businessmen shoved their way irritably through a throng of harried looking travellers, many with screaming children in tow. There were young men lounging around, drinking from cans of cut-price pilsner, throwing empty fast food cartons at one another and shouting. A huge party of large and definitely under-dressed women with pink, sore-looking arms and legs, jostled for a minibus and an argument broke out between two of them and the driver who accused them of being drunk and refused to let them on board.

Maybe it was just their way and not intended to be threatening but Xavier felt uncomfortable. Coupled with that, he was hurting so badly now that he was only taking short, shallow breaths to keep from letting his ribs expand too much, and his head ached too. He wanted a drink, and to lie down for a while in the quiet darkness and was massively relieved when Rayne came jogging back to him, crooking his finger and grabbing the handle of the cart.

"Fucking mental!" he shouted, to be heard over the sudden rumble of a souped up exhaust system on a beaten up looking VW Golf. "C'mon! Let's get out of here, yeah?"

A dark saloon car had pulled up on the inside of the turning circle, unable to get into the taxi rank for the bawling women and the rhythmically pulsating Golf. A lean, indo-gangetic man with a slim moustache jumped out of the car and helped to throw their bags into the boot as if he had no desire to stay here longer than necessary.

Xavier couldn't blame him.

And then they were cocooned in the back of the car and pulling away, the noise and the smell of engine fuel and dodgy take-aways left behind. Rayne snuggled up to him and pulled him close, kissing his hair.

"You all right, sweetheart?" he asked again, voice husky from the nicotine smoke. "Not far to go now."

"I'm ok," Xavier answered woodenly, as if it were a rehearsed line. He was holding his side though, and he'd lost all colour in his face as he continued to breathe shallowly and not move too much.

Before they even got out of the city the cab ride was turning into an ordeal for him. Every stop, every minor lurch, made him wince. It wasn't long before he was gritting his teeth, a focused stare on his face, and his thoughts were almost wholly on the pain pills in his bag.

I should have taken a couple before we left... No, I can live without them.

Back and forth went the inner argument.

"Xav..."

"What!" Xavier snapped.

His expression crumpled as soon as the sharp word was out of his mouth and he was immediately contrite in the face of his lover's startled look. Rayne was only worried about him, he knew, even through the hurting.

"I'm sorry..." he said with a little sigh and bit his bottom lip. "I'm sorry."

Between the shooting pains and the bedlam going on in his head from soaking up all the random chaos of emotions at the airport he was holding his shit together by only a thin thread. Rayne looked at him with eyes gone almost black, the green melted dark like moonlit leaves, edged with frost. His expression was the only thing which softened the impact of that gaze. There was nothing but love and concern in those shadowy eyes.

"If you say the word, I'm turning this cab around and taking you to A&E, sweetheart. You do not look well, and you do not feel well," he said quietly. "If you didn't reckon you were up to this you should have said something this morning. It would have been okay. We could have stalled for a few days. I'm just... I don't want you backsliding on me now, Xav. Not here." There was the edge of a plea in his voice but he swallowed it down. "It's not so far now to Dominic's place. Gabe's a Healer and a good one, whatever else he might be. He can help, but if you want a proper Doctor, I get that too. I know you don't like hospitals but I don't want you to be in more pain than you need be."

"I can make it. I'll be okay," Xavier said more softly, his voice a little breathy as he tried to get a handle on the pain. There was underlying steel in those softly spoken words that rarely showed in the easy going young man. He slipped his hand into Rayne's though, curling trembling fingers lightly around his.

"I felt better this morning. I didn't realise how much the trip would take out of me," Xav explained, still in that soft voice. "It's just pain, it'll go away."

Rayne did not exactly look happy but he said no more. Xavier did his best to try and get comfortable, first leaning back, then putting his head on Rayne's shoulder and finally he ended up curling up on the seat using Rayne's thigh for a pillow. He didn't sleep, but he closed his eyes and concentrated on just taking one slow breath at a time. Rayne's cool fingers stroked through his hair gently and that more than anything helped.

He must have dozed a little because the next thing he knew he was blinking his eyes open as they were winding up a crunching gravel drive. It was starting to get dark outside the car.

"Where are we?" he asked in a husky voice.

"We're nearly there, sweetheart." Rayne bent over him and whispered the words tenderly into his ear.

The taxi driver was complaining in an undertone; "Ruddy hell, mate. How long is your pal's driveway anyhow?"

Then the car peeled out of the shadows of the tree lined avenue and turned a corner, coming over a low rise. Xavier sat up in time to see that below them, set against the last light of the day and bathed in luminescence by strategically poised spotlights, was a building that could only really be described as a castle. The word, 'house' didn't do it justice. It had a turret for starters, and the stonework was golden in the lamplight. More light glowed warmly from the arched windows that would not have looked out of place in a country church.

It took Xavier a moment to connect that what he was seeing was indeed their destination, "Are you kidding me? Dom really lives in a castle?"

As they pulled up on a wide, gravelled turning circle, in front of a short flight of steps, leading up to the broad, arched front door, even the cabbie sounded impressed. He murmured; "Now that's worth the trip out here!"

As they climbed out of the car and he got their bags from the back, Rayne made sure that the trip out there had definitely been worth his while, giving him enough of a tip to put a smile back on his face for the rest of the night. As their driver got back into the car and started the engine, the front door slid open, silhouetting a tall figure darkly against the golden light from the hallway beyond.

The vampire hesitated for a moment, looking up at the man standing in the doorway. He was even taller than Dominic, and lean in spite of his broad shoulders, with a cascade of long, black hair that tumbled down his back, past his waist. Dark eyes surveyed them quietly out of an angular, handsome face that split suddenly in a smile that - even if Xavier hadn't been listening to Matty's talk earlier - he would have thought of as 'wolfish'.

"Dom told you we were coming, yeah?" Rayne said to him uncertainly.

"'s right," the fellow on the doorstep nodded, looking from the vampire to his companion at once. "The chavvi's hurting. You wanna get 'im inside, 'fore he falls down."

It wasn't a question.

Xavier, despite the considerable pain he was in, had been unobtrusively checking him out. He was curious for several reasons. One, this was Dominic's live-in and that was interesting enough by itself, two he was a werewolf and that was even more interesting, and three he was gorgeous.

He followed Rayne slowly up the steps, feeling a hundred years old but determinedly walking on his own. Even though their host seemed friendly enough Xav felt an odd mix of defensive anxiety churning inside him as he looked at the other man. It took him a second to realize it wasn't his own emotion, he was picking up on it from Rayne, but that didn't clear his confusion. Until he hit on an idea. He knew vampires were extraordinarily strong from personal experience but, were werewolves stronger? It would maybe explain both Rayne's hint of anxiety and Matty's apparent enthusiasm. He filed the idea away, meaning to ask Rayne about it later.

As they approached the threshold Rayne entered without pause, confirming that he had indeed been a guest here before, but Xavier hesitated just under the arched doorway. He looked to one side and slowly up as if simply admiring the shape of the archway as he walked through it, but he had actually caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. It was a bit of shimmering just on the periphery of his vision, like a migraine without the nausea, and he felt an odd, not-quite-physical tingle along his skin as he entered. He dismissed it almost without a thought as some of Dominic's 'hocus-pocus' stuff. What he didn't realise was how unusual it was for a mortal, especially an untrained mortal, to have noticed the ward at all. He also didn't realise that, had he had any bad intentions toward those inside, his passage through that doorway would have been far less pleasant.

Even if he had realised any of those things he was not in any condition to overly contemplate them. His vision was starting to get a little grey around the edges and it had nothing to do with anything magical. He looked as pale as ashes and had to reach out and grab for Rayne's arm when he just about tripped over his own feet.

The vampire turned but their host was faster. He was to the left and slightly behind Xavier having stopped to secure the door after they came through. As the young man's knees turned to water he ducked and swept Xav up in his arms as easily as lifting a rolled duvet.

"Gotcha babes," he said in a mellow tone, exuding quiet confidence that wrapped Xavier like a warm blanket. "Don't you worry. Everything's gonna be fine now."

A little colour crept into Xavier's cheeks other than the dark purple on the one side. He'd managed to hold it together all the way out here, only to walk through the door and nearly fall on his face.

" 'm okay..." he murmured. "Sorry. You can put me down. I can walk." He protested in vain , all of his contentions were blithely ignored.

"Tell you whatnot," the tall, handsome, sun-bronzed fellow suggested, looking him boldly in the eye as he carried him through the hall like a new bride. "Why don't I just take you through to the library and pop you down somewhere a bit more comfortable than the hall runner? Then you can get your land legs back nice an' slow, like."

His gaze, up close, was the colour of wet slate; a dark, shimmering grey, just a little lighter than his pupils. There were flecks of silver and gold in the irises, like a dog's eyes. Gold loop earrings glinted all down the curves of his ears through the coal black fall of his hair. Two symmetrical white streaks ran through the ebony from his temples. His broad, generous mouth smiled easily but like Matty's smile, it had elongated canines that glistened wetly in the muted golden glow of the hall lights.

He wore a white shirt of some heavy cloth, open to the sternum, exposing a multitude of chains and pendants on cords around his neck. It also exposed the thick black hair of his chest, which was straight and smooth like a hound's pelt, right up to his collarbones. The hair looked soft enough to stroke.

"Yeah," Rayne interjected, recovering some of his equilibrium. He had looked slightly stunned when Xav nearly went down but now he was reassured that his lover was still conscious and stubbornly refusing to admit he was sick, he was able to be sarcastic. "Cos Gabe likes to curl up on the mat by the door of an evening. You don't wanna cramp his style, sweetheart."

Xavier, still embarrassed at nearly passing out in the foyer and having to be carried like some fainting débutante, shut his mouth and just looked at Rayne, not knowing what to say to that comment. Apparently no answer was required of him either as Gabe was already moving towards an internal doorway off the main hall with an insouciance that suggested it was not the first time he had been on the receiving end of Rayne's tongue.

Xav was set down carefully on one of a pair of long, sleek leather loungers set either side of a low rectangular table topped with a sheet of smoky glass. Even huddled up inside the pain Xavier couldn't help looking around with wide eyes. The room was like a cross between a modern art gallery and a late Victorian library. Pale maple cabinets and bookshelves lined the walls from the parquet floor, twenty feet up to the elaborate ceilings. Two tall candles stood in shielded sconces on the mantelpiece of a stone hearth that looked big enough to cook a cow. A whole one! More candles burned in the hollow of the fireplace, to either side of which stood a white marble statuette of three lily flowers.

There was a reading table under a lamp shaped like a bell-flower, the pale wood sloping upward and an adjustable chair set before it. Like the shelves it was delicately carved in curling patterns and letters. In one corner near the foot of a winding spiral staircase leading up to a balcony with more shelves, up above the windows, a lectern, such as one might find in a church, held a heavy volume bound in purple velvet and marked with a jewelled band of emerald satin. Nothing in the room seemed out of place though.

Xavier felt a bit like he'd been transported to a movie set.

Although there was no fire, the room was comfortably warm. The tall windows beyond the staircase were screened with internal wooden shutters and all the light came from the lamps and the candles.

"I take it her ladyship's been held up?" Rayne said, heading for one of the cabinets, which unfolded to reveal a mirror-backed bar.

"She's on her way, you've probably beat her by a few hours." Gabriel sat down on the opposite sofa to the one Xavier was lying on. Though he answered Rayne's question his eyes never moved from Xav.

Rayne poured himself a shot of vodka and looked over at his lover more solicitously. "Do you want a drink?"

"I'd rather have a couple pain pills," Xavier answered hoarsely, which told Rayne exactly how badly off he was right now, if he was asking for the painkillers rather than trying to tough it out.

Gabriel moved over to the edge of the lounger beside him with a lupine grin.

"I'll get you something better than that," he promised, cupping Xavier's face gently in a warm hand.

Xavier did not pull away, just looked at him with a slightly unfocused and wary stare. He was not sure what the other man was offering but his mind immediately jumped on what it wanted most. The thing he knew would erase all pain and let him fall into a blissful sleep. He hardly ever had those thoughts anymore, but when they hit it was like a wave that could bring him to his knees crying and nothing but a will of pure steel could bring him back from giving in to the seductive lure.

His mouth went suddenly dry and he swallowed as those odd slate gray eyes looked back into his own. He could not force words out of his mouth because he was afraid what he would hear himself saying.

Gabriel must have saw that hint of fear because his grin softened and became more reassuring. "You know I'm a healer, yeah? I can help you feel better, if you'll let me."

A small quiver went through Xavier but he wasn't sure if it was relief or disappointment as he realised Gabriel was not offering any sort of illicit drugs to ease the pain.

"Now, the energy I'm gonna give you will go where it's needed, but it works best if I know where you're hurtin' the most." Gabriel said, still holding Xavier's chin gently and looking into those big blue eyes filled with pain and fear.

Through that gentle touch, Xavier realised he was sharing some of his host's feelings and emotions, the way he did with Rayne through the bond. Gabriel must have a powerful aura because the senses Xav was reading in him were so clear. Even battered and bruised Gabe could see he was proper pretty under the purplish swelling on his cheek and jaw. Xavier almost blushed again at the realisation that the wolf was discreetly checking him out.

He looked very vulnerable and the wolf could have slotted him into the category of easy prey, but Gabriel was not a mindless beast and neither was his wolf. Gabriel the man often took his time to make up his mind about a person, but Gabe the wolf usually made up his mind much faster, and his wolf was already feeling protective of the boy, despite the smell of blood and death on him. All of this Xavier picked up in a flash from just a few seconds' contact with his skin. When Gabriel moved his hand away he felt empty and light headed for a moment.

"I-I just want...want to be able to breathe for a few minutes without it feeling like there's a knife in my side," he answered now, as candidly as possible.

"Take your shirt off," Gabriel said without a pause.

There was not a hint of suggestiveness in that command. When Xavier faltered all the same, he tempered that instruction; "I just wanna see how bad the damage is. Someone gave you a good thrashin', hmm?"

Xavier needed to sit up to take the shirt off, which he did while pulling the small buttons free. The dark red silk slipped off his shoulders and pooled around his hips and he moved his arm back a bit so the vivid black and purple bruises that were heavier on his right side were exposed. He'd gotten used to the appearance of the injuries but they still looked bad.

"I got jumped," Xavier explained distractedly. "I wasn't about to take on all three of them but I got chased down a blind alley. I almost made it over the fence but I wasn't fast enough."

"Cowardly bastards!" Gabe remarked grimly. His eyes wandered over the patchwork of bruises critically. Then he knelt by the lounger and glanced up at Xavier. "Do you mind if I touch? I'll try not to hurt you, mate."




London Loves Ch. 08



Xav was surprised he asked first, and he didn't miss the fact that he said only that he would try not to hurt him. He realised he must have his defences way up and he tried to relax a little, giving Gabe a small nod to go ahead. Rayne gave the other man a look that said if he did hurt Xav he was going to get his head ripped off. Gabriel cheerfully ignored it.

His long, sun-browned fingers were very warm after the cool vampiric touch Xavier was used to feeling on his skin. Gabriel closed his eyes as he pressed lightly on his patient's flat stomach and the swell of his ribcage. Then he laid his hand there flat. Xavier could feel a tingling warmth spread through his skin from the places where Gabe's hands moved over him.

After several minutes Xav relaxed even more, sagging back on the couch as the tension eased. It was not like movie magic, where all of a sudden he was all better, but he did feel something. The pain was lessening and he could draw breath a little easier now. Gabriel's hand on his skin felt so warm it was like having a heating pad held there. The tall stranger opened his eyes at last and a smile tugged at his mouth as he looked at Xavier very directly.

"Take your pants off," he said, without any hesitation.

Xavier moved his hand toward the button on his trousers.

Rayne was on his feet at once, eyes blazing. "Stop that!"

Xavier started, a little stunned to realise he'd been doing as he was told automatically. He was also surprised that it took a bit of effort for him to tear his eyes away from Gabriel's. He blinked in confusion, thinking for a moment that Gabe had used some kind of mind tricks, like vampires used, but almost as quickly dismissed the idea. It hadn't felt the same as when a vampire got into his head. No, this was something else, something he was far more familiar with actually. Dominance, plain and simple. Gabriel expected to be obeyed when he issued a command, and Xav had followed it without even thinking.

Looking back up at Gabriel he arched one slim brow, lightly teasing him; "I'm here five whole minutes and already you wanna get in my pants?"

Gabe winked at him as he eased up to sit on the edge of the lounger, his hand wandering to Rayne's arm, stroking soothingly up and down from the vampire's skinny wrist, though he did not take his eyes off Xavier. Rayne shook him off with a little snort of disgust and folded his arms across his chest.

"Now, you're the one that intro-dee-uced that idea," Gabriel remarked playfully. "I was just wonderin' how far down those bruises went and if you're still peein' red?"

Xav dropped his eyes again, wondering how Gabe knew about that. He was also wondering why Rayne was suddenly so hostile. He didn't think Gabriel was seriously flirting, and he did feel a little better but his lover had been on the defensive since they arrived here.

"Um, I guess, yeah." Xavier answered reluctantly. He didn't like admitting how hurt he really was. That was stupid though, they had come here in part for Gabe to help heal him, and he probably needed to know how badly he was injured if he was going to be able to do that.

Gabriel glanced once at Rayne, who was still bristling and hovering protectively over his mate, then looked back at Xavier.

"I take it the doc you saw wasn't worried about your kidney?" he asked in a tone that suggested he thought just the opposite.

Xav's shoulders lifted slightly in a little shrug. "Yeah, I guess he was. They didn't want to let me leave the hospital but I didn't want to stay."

All three were silent for a moment. Rayne looked like he was going through some sort of inner war in which he wanted to protect his mate from the very same person that could help him. Gabe's face remained serene except for the slight downward draw of his brows which gave away his worry. At last Xav came to a decision and with a small sigh he popped the button of his fly and carefully shifted so he could slide the snug fitting trousers down, letting Gabriel see that the bruises did indeed travel past the waistband. He rolled onto his less injured side when Gabe made a little motion with his hand, facing the back of the couch and exposing his backside and the concentration of mottled bruising in the small of his back where he'd been punched and kicked repeatedly.

Gabriel's hands moved gently over him once more. Ignoring the way Rayne glowered at him he laid one hand low on Xavier's back and eased the other down between his thighs. Under other circumstances it might have been a sensual experience but here it was simply fraught with tension. Even so, Xavier felt that sizzle of energy more purposefully as Gabriel cupped his balls, handling him like he was a piece of fine china.

Despite the tension in the room Gabriel's hands were just as soothing as they had been on his ribs and Xavier felt his muscles start to relax under the spreading warmth that emanated from them. He closed his eyes, moaning softly. It was not an entirely erotic sensation, it wasn't pleasure he was feeling, but relief. The stabbing pain of his ribs had seemed more immediate than the deep ache lower down but now that the ache in his loins was easing off it was almost enough to make him weep.

"Should 'ave brought him 'ere sooner," Gabriel said quietly.

Xav glanced over his shoulder to see that Gabriel's eyes had shifted to Rayne's tense, angry face. His lover bristled with defensive rage.

"He was too fuckin' ill to move sooner," Rayne said testily.

Xavier wasn't sure why Rayne was so pissed off, but it obviously had something to do with Gabriel. The man hadn't hurt him, his soothing hands actually felt good, so Xav was confused by Rayne's reaction.

"I was, I could hardly get out of bed yesterday," he added in Rayne's defence. "I thought I was better this morning, but the trip took more out of me than I thought it would." He paused, looking over at Rayne and noticing he was struggling not to bare his fangs in a little snarl. He still wasn't sure what had his lover so wound up but it was making him anxious.

"I think I'll be okay now," he said gently disengaging Gabriel's hands from him, then gingerly straightening and pulling his clothes back on. "Thanks, I don't think I even need a pill."

Rayne could feel Xavier's rising confusion and anxiety. Even though he knew the healing Gabriel was doing would be good for Xavier he couldn't suppress the possessive desire to get his mate away from the mutt and he felt clouded, as he always did coming here. The magic was a part of it but Gabriel Arden made his hackles rise and though he tried to shield it down he could not help the automatic hostility that surged in him whenever he was near to the wolf. He found himself bristling like a little cat, forced to defend his territory. Which was ridiculous because Gabe was a great big teddy bear of a guy most of the time. Just, when the moon waxed full, he let his wolf have its head and then there was no stopping him, vampire or not.

Rayne's lips drew back from a fanged snarl now and Gabriel backed off at once, although there was no fear in his eyes just a steady, calculating look.

"Easy, tiger," he said quietly, holding his hands up. "No need to get stroppy, mate."

"I'm not your mate," Rayne told him in a voice that felt short of air. "I'm gonna take Xav up and get him in a hot bath and put him to bed, yeah?"

"Whatever you think, Dead Boy." Gabe's smile was a little tight as he rose to his feet. "It's nice to be meeting you, Xavier. Hope you sleep well."

"Thanks," Xavier murmured. His eyes kept darting towards Rayne as if he wanted to ask what was wrong with him but he didn't say another word.

Xav got up, noticing as he did that he was moving and breathing a little easier now. He had a feeling he'd be moving a lot better if he'd let Gabriel finish what he'd been doing. Rayne helped him up the stairs and only then did Xavier ask in a low voice; "Are you alright?"

Rayne's mouth found his and kissed him hungrily.

"I am now," he said, with a bitter little smile. "I don't get off on him groping you like that when you only just fell through the door." He looked down with a sudden boyish stubbornness that made his lover think of Clint. "And I didn't like the way you looked at him, either."

Xavier just stared at him incredulously for a moment. Rayne had shared him over coffee with his ex-boyfriend this morning and he was jealous now? Over a curious look?

"You are a total nut case, you know that?" he said affectionately and returned his kiss. "I wasn't looking at him," he said. "I mean, yeah I looked at him but not like a look-look, just a look."

Rayne eyed him speculatively but didn't argue the point. He took Xavier's hand and led him into the comfortable bedroom just off the imposing staircase from the hall, which was where he normally crashed when he stayed with Dominic. The colour-scheme was neutral; soft creams and shades of green with lots of older bedroom furniture in dark, polished wood. A big, sash window, with dark verdant velvet drapes that hung to the sage coloured carpet, looked out over the woodlands and gardens. It had a low, deep, cushion-strewn window seat.

The wooden-framed bed was big enough for three, with lots of plump pillows and a kingsize duvet in soft, crisp, egyptian cotton. A small door to the left led into a little en-suite bathroom, tiled from floor to ceiling in the same cool, mint green as the bedcovers.

Rayne sat his lover down gently on the edge of the bed and sat beside him, taking both of his hands possessively.

"I know what Matty said this morning," he murmured softly. "And I know Dominic loves the crazy mutt, but he's... it's difficult, Xavier. He is not like us. Vampires, yeah, we're technically passed and dead and gone but we used to be human. Most of us remember what that was like. Gabriel was never human, Xav. He was born half animal, and he'll die that way. And it freaks me out a little bit. I'm sorry if that upsets you but I can't help the way he makes me feel. Maybe I shouldn't have dragged you up here, we could have found a healer in London if you didn't want the white coats fussing over you."

Xavier's thumb caressed softly over the back of Rayne's hand circling over the top of each knuckle in turn. "He didn't hurt me, Rayne, and I do actually feel a bit better now. I mean, I don't blame you for being a little freaked out, if that's how you feel about him then...well, that's just how you feel. It doesn't upset me." He kissed him lightly, touching the tip of his nose to Rayne's. "Just relax, babe. I'll be okay. Didn't you say something about a bath?" he asked, changing the subject. "Want to climb in with me?"

The little vampire smiled rather more easily at that invitation. It did not take them long to spill out of their travelling clothes and into the deep, hot, foaming water. Some thoughtful soul had left herbs and bath salts on the lip of the tub which filled their nostrils with delicious scent and also soothed some of the pain from Xavier's bruised muscles.

Rayne sank down beneath the surface with Xavier astride him, then came back up again, shaking the water from his inky hair like a dog. His hands curled gently around Xavier's slim hips, caressing him with a care for his injuries. The hot water felt wonderful after the tension of their journey.

"God, this makes it all worthwhile," the vampire groaned contentedly.

Xavier smiled at him and turned slowly so he was sitting between Rayne's spread legs and leaning back against him. He felt drowsy now that the fraught atmosphere of the day had been dispersed and the heat of the water and Rayne's limbs were wrapped around him. He was happy to just lay here and float, gently stroking his hands up and down his lover's splayed thighs.

Rayne kissed his wet hair and slipped a gentle hand beneath his chin to keep his head above water as they soaked in peaceful silence. He was aroused, as he always got in such close proximity to his naked lover, but conscious of Xavier's exhaustion, rubbing himself slowly and steadily between his mate's hot, wet cheeks.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered huskily. "I'm sorry I've behaved like a complete wanker the last few days. It's not your fault."

Xav turned his head so he could kiss Rayne's lips. Ray returned the kiss tenderly, making him smile as their lips parted.

"What do you mean? You've been fine," he said, a sleepy timbre to his voice. He lifted one hand to stroke Rayne's cheek and smiled at him. "I'm the one that's sorry, for making you worry and putting you through all this trouble."

"You're no trouble," Rayne assured him in a mellow tone. "Okay, if you are, you always make up for it."

He kissed Xavier on the nose and cuddled close to him. Even with the proximity of Gabriel Arden, there was something about Dominic's house that made him relax and he was suddenly happier that they had decided to come here. The distance from London gave him some peace of mind, that they were not going to be disturbed. This far from home they could put the worries of the real world aside for a few days. It was what they both needed right now, even if a resident werewolf was the price they had to pay for that freedom.

Xavier's hand slid down his cheek to cup his chin lightly and he kissed him again, long and slow this time. He was still sore and his eyes were heavy but he felt himself stir anyway, his perpetually horny body having not yet caught on to the idea that it would probably be better to rest.

"Mmmm... you are very fuckable, right now," Rayne whispered teasingly into his mouth as they broke the kiss again. "Very inconsiderate of you to get crocked so that I can't make you scream with pleasure all night."

"I don't scream," Xav protested with a lopsided grin.

"I beg to differ," Rayne chuckled in his ear. He rubbed himself lazily against Xavier, loving the way that the water and his lover's hot, naked body caressed his sensitive cock in different ways. "Even when it's not hurting, you can make me half deaf by the time you've come. But you are hurt, and tired... though you're still totally gorgeous for all that."

He licked Xavier's neck and nibbled seductively at his earlobe whilst his fingers pinched and teased his mate's erect nipples. Xavier gave a small sigh, his skin tightening and tingling wherever Rayne touched him. He wriggled his hips, his squirming body teasing Rayne's cock where it lay along the crease of his sexy arse. The edge of his teeth skimmed over Xavier's sleek, wet skin and he tweaked his nipple more tightly. Xav arched into his touch with a little gasp that inflamed his loins.

"Mmm... you are turning me on like crazy..." Xav exhaled.

"You don't know how happy that makes me," Rayne purred, nuzzling him seductively. His hand slid between Xavier's thighs, caressing the stiffening cock that was rising along his belly. "Do you want to stay in the water and turn into a screwed prune or should we go to bed, do you think?"

Xav's amusement at the 'screwed prune' comment sounded suspiciously like a giggle. That made him even hotter.

"C'mon, lets get out."

Xav stood carefully, the water sheeting down his body as he rose, and grabbed the fluffy towels on the bar, handing one to Rayne. They dried off as they headed toward the bed. The clean herbal scent of the bath water clung faintly to their skin and mingled with the crisp clean cotton of the sheets as they pulled back the duvet and fell into the firm yet yielding embrace of the mattress together. Neither was in a hurry, a comfortable languid sensuality enveloping them both as their lips met and they caressed and stroked one another.The vampire sprawled on his back and Xavier's fingers slid into Rayne's damp hair as he leaned over him, kissing slowly, with a simmering passion.

"You are so hot, you know that?" he murmured as his lips trailed along his lover's jaw. "I'm so glad you found me."

Rayne breathed in the delicious, sweet, slightly herbal scent of him, face buried in Xavier's tousled curls.

"No regrets then?" he whispered, running his fingers gradually up and down his lover's naked back as they lay, sandwiched together in their comfortable nest, like a proper pair of lovebirds.

Xavier's low chuckle tickled along the side of Rayne's throat where he nuzzled him.

"Lots of them, but not a single one about you."

Rayne's hand had crept up his back and over his shoulder to trace along his jawline and Xav caught one finger as it came close to his lips and drew it into his mouth. Closing his eyes he swirled his tongue around and sucked on the digit suggestively. Rayne rolled him over gently onto his back and worked his fingers in and out of Xavier's mouth as he kissed and licked a slow, wet trail down his lover's chest, swiping his tongue in a smooth line over one pert nipple then flicking the tip against the stiff little bud with a grin. Xav was so warm and he smelled so scrumptious, a sultry mixture of bathtub herbs and spices blending with his natural vanilla pheromones.

"I am so glad," he purred. "You're making my mouth water, sweetheart. I wanna swallow you whole."

Rayne realised with an odd little aftershock that he meant it, too. Years of seduction made the right words trip easily off his tongue but they were rarely accompanied by genuine, lasting feelings. Xavier had been with him now, on and off, for over two months. And it still felt great.

'Must be getting soft in your old age!' his conscience niggled.

Xavier pulled slowly off Rayne's fingers before the vampire got too much farther down his body.

"Swing around so I can have a taste of you too," he invited and smiled when Rayne shifted obligingly.

Xav nuzzled into Rayne's hip and had just licked a wet line inward toward his goal when there was a light knock on the bedroom door. He stopped rather reluctantly, his weary sigh a balmy breeze over Rayne's balls that made his lover squirm with frustration.

"Fuck off, we don't need any!" Rayne exhaled forcefully, resting his head against Xavier's warm, silky thigh with a groan of need.

"What do you think I am, room service?" a familiar, amused and rather cultured voice remarked and the door opened a crack. "Are you decent?"

"Take a guess!" the vampire suggested irritably.

Xavier lifted his head enough to prop his chin on Rayne's hip, looking over the top of him. He had to grin at the way that Rayne's answer did not deter Dominic from poking his head around the door anyway. Warm light spilled in from the hallway beyond their friend and bathed the two nude entwined bodies on the bed in shades of gold and amber.

"Hi Dom," Xav greeted him, a mite less surlier than Rayne had. He felt too mellow to get irritated right now, still a little buzzed from whatever it was that Gabriel had done to him, and a nice warm bath, and the slow seductive heat Rayne had been building in him.

"Hello darling," Dominic said warmly, ever the genial host; "Did you eat yet?"

Xavier's small smile turned rather more lecherous. "I was about to."

Dominic held his hands up but he was smiling as he murmured; "I see you've made yourselves at home. I'll leave you to it. Gabe is making supper though, so when you've eaten, if you'd still like to eat...?"

"I thought you weren't coming back until late," Rayne sighed, rolling to face the door, one hand still caressing Xavier's lean flank.

"I decided it was intolerable of me to invite you to my house then be an absent host. What can I say?" Lord Warren leaned in the doorway beaming at them. "You do look so pretty curled up there like naughty kittens."

"I love you, but... fuck off, Dom," the vampire said amiably.

"You're such a charmer!"

"I mean it now." Rayne curled back around Xavier and began to kiss and lick his naked belly.

The door closed on Dominic's chuckle and Xavier happily sank back down, his fingers wasting no time in curling around Rayne's cock and stroking him gently while his lips and tongue teased over the plump crown. His long pink tongue licked a circle around him and flicked back and forth over the slit. His own cock hadn't wilted a bit from their interruption.




London Loves Ch. 08



Rayne whined with pleasure and a long shudder of hunger coursed through him as he took Xavier's hot, firm nuts in his mouth, sucking slow and hard on his sac, his breath a small inferno in his lover's slowly thrusting groin. The wet fingers that had been sliding in and out of Xavier's mouth moments ago now rubbed in determined circles around his fluttering ring.

"Jesus, I want to fuck you so hard!" Rayne panted, with his mouth full.

Xavier responded with a low groan and slid his top leg up so his knee was bent and pointing at the ceiling to give Rayne better access. His warm wet mouth plunged down on Rayne's prick as he fondled his lover's heavy balls. Slowly his hips rolled as Rayne pressed gentle fingers more firmly against him and he shivered and groaned again as they pushed past the resistance of his ring, easing inside. His lean hips rocked with those thrusting fingers, the tight sheath of his anus sucking at them greedily.

As Rayne's tongue skated up the column of his hard cock, he pressed his fingers in further, feeling for that sweet spot deep inside his mate. Many men would have felt embarrassed at the idea of fucking so wantonly in a friend's house but he was not so easily cowed. Xavier looked and smelled and felt so beautiful this evening that he could not think of anything else but being close to him, rubbing and touching him, sinking deep inside him.

And he knew Dominic would not mind. The horny old goat was probably getting off on the idea of it!

In fact, the husky, tenor cry that came echoing back to them minutes later from somewhere else in the cavernous house, told him that Lord Warren was more than happy to have his two young companions screwing like crazy under his roof. And that consequently he had wasted no time getting his randy, horse-hung boyfriend naked and inside him.

Rayne groaned with delight and swallowed Xavier's cock head, nodding down on it slow and enjoying the plump, meaty mouthful before he let it stroke against the roof of his mouth, pressing deeper into him. Fiercely he pumped his fingers in and out of Xavier's searingly moist channel. Thrusting eagerly between the blond boy's lips he edged higher, aided by the lusty screams and grunts coming from somewhere below them - clearly their hosts hadn't even bothered to come up to bed - as Gabe Arden fucked the living daylights out of his recently absent mate.

He was not sure whether he pitied Lord Warren or envied him. It was about three days off the full moon and Gabriel was always bigger and more muscular in every respect when it was his time of the month. Insatiable too; Rayne did not have to wonder how it would feel. He shivered at the memory of Gabe's long, thick bone inside him, pumping him savagely.

Xav wasn't sure if it was the shiver or something else but he sensed the shift in Rayne's mood. Since they had slipped into the bath together they had been rather relaxed and languid but now he felt the sexual tension was suddenly heightened. Rayne's cock seemed to stiffen even more between his lips and Xav nodded down on him eagerly, alternating between long smooth strokes and shorter intense sucking motions that made his lover groan and sent pleasant shivers down his own hard shaft.

A little growl of need bubbled up in Rayne's throat and he pulled off Xavier's cock. He grinned at the way Xav moaned with longing as he disengaged. His lover's big blue eyes looked dark with desire, his lips slick with spit and precum, and still parted and gasping like he was angry with Rayne for taking away his lolly.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm gonna give you what you want," he promised as he nested the pillows and eased his beautiful lover down firmly but gently on them, belly first, his buttocks raised temptingly, so that Rayne could mount the younger man.

Xav did not resist, rolling over onto his stomach carefully, his hips already squirming and wriggling against the soft pillows whilst Rayne reached over to the bedside table.

There was lube in the side drawer, and sex toys, Rayne noted with a smile. Trust Dominic to know his guests wouldn't be offended by finding them there. Selecting a bottle he poured a good glug of scented oil between his mate's perky cheeks, rubbing it slowly into that seductive dimple with his fingers then slicking it eagerly over his proud swollen dick.

Xavier hollowed his back, lifting his hips and pushing down onto Rayne's invading fingers invitingly. He stretched his arms out above his head, still moving slowly and carefully, although he wasn't in any pain. Whether it was Gabriel's healing touch or his own release of sexual endorphins he was actually feeling good, and very, very horny.

"Mmmmm-uuhhh, I want you so much," he murmured huskily. Rayne was only too happy to oblige and moments later Xav felt the slippery head of his cock rubbing against his ring. He spread his legs wider, pushing back impatiently, wanting him inside.

In deference to his injuries they had been taking it slow and easy and, while that had been sweeter than words could say, Xavier had caught some of his lover's swiftly rising passion and wanted to get fucked hard now, wanted it as much as Rayne wanted to give it to him. He rolled back slightly on his knees as Rayne slid forward, pushing into the tight constriction of his passage.

"Uhhhh! Yeah... oh baby that feels s-o-o-o good!" Xav crooned as he was breached and he felt Rayne's hands slide over his hips and flanks.

Rayne coiled around him, burying his face in the sweet, damp softness of Xavier's hair as he bucked his hips slow and steady, the lubricant easing him in smoothly with every thrust. He ran his hands down his lover's thighs, as they were less bruised than his torso and midriff, rocking his body against Xavier's back and buttocks whilst he punched deeper.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he growled, aware of how tightly Xav had been shielding against him since he had been beaten. Sometimes the defences slipped and he got a blast of the unbearable pain and self-deprecation that his beautiful mate had been struggling with. The last thing he wanted was to inadvertently make things worse.

"You're not hurting me," Xav assured him a little breathlessly as they moved together. Xavier could have been in agony and he wouldn't have uttered a peep that might have made Rayne stop. He'd waited too long and he'd wanted him like this too much to let a little thing like pain get in the way. Ray was not hurting him though, not in a serious way, there was so much pleasure coursing through him that it offset any discomfort. All he was thinking about was the way Rayne was bucking into him, the caress of the hands that stroked his hips and thighs, the sweet vibration of his low growl at the nape of his neck.

"It feels fucking fantastic!" he moaned. He wanted to get his knees under him more but the posture probably would have hurt. Right now, with his head turned to one side and his shoulders down, hips lifted and supported by the pillows he was quite comfortable. Although, comfort wasn't exactly his top priority at the moment.

"Uuuuuhhhh, babe, that's it...that feels sooo...mmm-uhhh...do me harder!"

Rayne was still hesitant but he had not missed the look in Xavier's baby blue eyes this morning when he peeled off and fucked Matt instead. Rayne could tell him all he liked that he'd have preferred to have been riding Xav but... yeah, actions spoke louder than words in that instance. And Xavier had hated it.

"Christ, you are so fucking good," he rumbled hungrily, quickening his stroke. His hands slid to Xavier's restless hips and he gripped as tightly as he dared, driving into his mate hard and fast, giving in to his own need. "Ohh-hhhh... yessss! Fuck, yes!"

"Mmm, yeah! Fuck me Ray!" Xav agreed breathlessly, pushing back to meet those eager thrusts. He looked back over his shoulder, his lips parted and his eyes glazed with heat. "Uhhhh, yeah! I love...uhh, when you...uhh, fuck me... like this!" he panted , groaning with each hard downstroke inside him.

Rayne was loving it too. His soul thrilled to the animal instinct Xavier's body woke in him. The eyes that stared back at Xav were a fierce, hot, lemon and lime fire, thickly framed with black lashes, the pupils huge and dark with lust. His lips parted around a fanged gasp of ecstasy and he bent his head, touching his mouth to the nape of Xavier's neck as they surged together like a rolling wave meeting the golden sands of the shore. Rayne's body coursed and broke on him, over and over, pushing deeper and faster. The groans that spilled from his throat were low and earthy though.

"OhhhhfuckOhhhhfuckOhhhhhhfuckin'hellineedyou!"

Xav's hands fisted tightly in the sheets, his body moving with Rayne's in perfect rhythm, his slightly higher-pitched keening cries of pleasure a counterpoint to Rayne's low husky groans. The feel of his lover's cock sawing in and out, over and over, like a mechanical piston drove all thought of anything else completely from his head. The way his thighs slapped up against him with each powerful thrust of that hard tool made his head spin with lust.

They pulled apart and slammed together in a frenzy of unleashed desire and that kind of unrestrained coupling, after a period of enforced abstinence, always provoked the deepest most satisfying responses from Xavier. His lithe body was buzzing from the core of him outward, ready to burst any second. He could feel that Rayne, pressed so close to him, curling tightly around him as if he could burrow into Xavier's skin and be one with him that way, was equally close. His lover was beyond words now, just uttering soft, breathless sounds that rushed and echoed in his ear like the crash of a peaking wave in a deserted cavern, moaning in time with his thrusts, and then Xavier was suddenly there and he couldn't hold back the jets of pearly cum that spurted from him or the throaty ecstatic cries that rolled up from his chest.

Rayne was with him, barely seconds behind, erupting into the impossible tightness of his body with a yelp of pure astonishment. The sound ripped out of him like a high note torn from the page of a symphony and he slumped, panting furiously, against Xavier's hot, sweat soaked, nakedness. His cock was twitching and leaking inside his lover's hot passage as if it had a life of its own.

A floor below them, Dominic screamed, with either an empathic moment of intense lust or the pain of having his body ripped apart by Gabriel's cock. It was hard to tell. Only the long, low satisfied moans of his partner suggested that it might be the former and not the latter.

"Uhhhh, fuck!" Rayne panted, curling around Xav on the bed, when stillness and silence finally reclaimed the house, holding him close. "That... ahhh Jesus! You are so precious!"

He kissed his mate gratefully and tenderly on the shoulders and neck.

Xav had collapsed onto the mounded pillows and he smiled now although his eyes stayed closed. He didn't think he could make himself move if the house were on fire. He felt every sore place acutely, but it was a good kind of sore, a satisfied, just-got-my-brains-fucked-out kind of sore. He lay, with Rayne nuzzling at him, and sighed contentedly.

Rayne was still in him and they wriggled and thrust together in small lazy circling motions that sent little aftershocks of pleasure through them both. Xav finally opened his eyes and twisted a bit to kiss Rayne but a twinge in his side warned him not to bend like that just yet. Rayne stopped moving at once, as if he'd sensed that little stab of pain.

"Let me roll over." Xav whispered, pushing down the frustration with his own limitations right now. Rayne eased off, slipping out reluctantly and Xav turned, but he didn't let Rayne get far, pulling him back over on top of him and kissing him hungrily.

Rayne responded enthusiastically, balanced on his elbows and knees so that he could still rub up against Xavier's sweat-slick nakedness and stroke his hands possessively over that delicious body as they kissed, but without the fear of crushing or hurting him. His hungry mouth possessed Xavier's, covering his soft lips so that he could force his searching tongue between them, feeling the wetness of his lover's tongue responding in the same fashion. His cock rose bolt upright in reaction to this sensual re-engagement, eager to wriggle back into the warm, cum soaked cavern it had just been forced to vacate.

As if reading all this through the medium of their conjoined lips, Xavier very kindly reached down with one cooperative hand and guided that primed, fleshy missile to its target between his open thighs. Rayne groaned with muffled pleasure as he felt his lover's eager fingers on his equally lusty cock, and the groan became a growl as he was steered unerringly back to the site of his recent ecstatic release and the tight collar of Xavier's sphincter slid welcomingly over the head of his throbbing bone, sucking him willingly back into that lush, hot sheath of living flesh.

Although he knew it had only been a few days since they were last able to fuck like this, it still felt almost like a lifetime. He had not realised just how much he would miss their regular, urgent couplings until Xav's injury deprived them of that sweet, rough method of mutual release. This delicious friction was pure heaven for him after the sorrow, stress and anxiety of the last few days.

"Uhhhh... shit! Yessss!" he exhaled between his boyfriend's soft, spit-wet lips as he obligingly thrust himself deeper into Xavier's sweltering , satisfying body. In this position he could look into Xavier's wide, trusting eyes, gone twilight blue with passion, as he was entering him and watch the emotion write itself across his expressive face whilst he bucked his hips and buried his pulsing prick to the hilt inside him. "That feels so fuckin 'good. I love fucking you hard this way!"

Xav smiled against his lips, kissing him again as he caressed slowly up and down Rayne's flexing back. The fingers of one hand combed through the silk of his inky hair and the other slid down to knead one pert cheek, liking the feel of the muscle there bunching under his hand each time Rayne drove into him.

He wondered briefly if Rayne realised this little quirk he had... but dismissed it as probably an unconscious thing. While he was always a passionate lover it seemed like whenever Xav cast an interested eye in another man's direction Rayne had to fuck him so thoroughly it was hard to move the next day. Not that Xavier was complaining! He wondered though if it was jealousy, or if it turned his lover on, and then decided he didn't care.

Going slowly Xavier lifted his legs, and when that didn't cause any twinges of pain he wrapped them around the backs of Rayne's thighs, flexing and grinding his hips down to meet his thrusts. He closed his eyes then, just letting the rhythm take him and getting caught up in the pleasure, his arms and his body tightening around Rayne.

"Mmmm-uhhh, so good!" He agreed as Rayne's lips skated down his cheek and the sensitive skin of his throat. He tipped his head back on the pillow as a powerful surge went through him, a little gasp leaving his lips and his hips circling harder in response.

Rayne felt the bob of his Adam's apple as Xavier gasped then swallowed hard beneath the caress of his lips. He was trying not to bite but his fangs were so fiercely extended now that it was hard to kiss him without risking a little nick to his soft skin. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feel of having Xavier moving like that underneath him again, on the feeling of his cock, sliding like it was made of oiled silk, in and out of the lush, temperate caress of Xavier's beautiful body. When did he get this lucky? How the hell had it happened that he was with this gorgeous, wonderful creature, that seemed to want to be with him just as much. He couldn't quite believe his good fortune.

As Xav writhed and surged on him, driving him half crazy with desire, he let his hands slide up his lover's back, hooking his fingers over his narrow shoulders and using the leverage to pull himself in deeper and harder. He just wanted to satisfy Xavier, to have him feel as good as Rayne was feeling right at this moment.

"Mmmhhh... tell me if it hurts," he panted, still cautious, even though his mind was fogged with lust now.

Xav's arms and legs tightened around him as if he was afraid Rayne would slow or stop out of fear of hurting him.

"N-uh...no, you're not," Xav panted back. "Don't stop!"

A slow spear of heat drove up through Rayne's gut at that breathless entreaty. He gripped harder and began a steady circling, grinding motion with his lean hips that buried him in Xavier until their bodies were touching from their thighs right up to the place where his lips were pressed to Xav's throat. He could feel the thrumming of his mate's rapid heartbeat on his tongue and wrapped around his thrusting cock. It was pure bliss.

On occasion Xav could come without even touching his cock, but on the second or third go round it usually took a little more for him to get off. Right now though the way Rayne's hard dick was butting against his sweet spot repeatedly and the gentle friction of the silky skin of his belly brushing the underside of his shaft was going to be enough. Way more than enough actually.

He squeezed his eyes shut and stopped breathing in the few seconds before it hit him, and then it was like all his joints came unhinged and he was filled up with liquid warmth all at the same time. While no orgasm was a bad orgasm in his opinion, certain ones felt just on a whole other level, and this was one of those times. It robbed him of his strength and all but a few breathless gasps as he spurted hard between their shifting bodies.

Rayne felt Xav tighten up hard around him as he began to come and he stilled inside his mate with an effort at making him hold off for just a little longer, but when that failed and his stomach and chest were slithering, slick with Xavier's spill against his lover's torso, he abandoned all caution and rolled them both over so that he could thrust into Xavier hard from beneath, without worrying about sinking onto him and crushing his poor, wounded body.

"Jesus... that feels good!" he growled huskily, his hands tight on Xav's lean thighs as he bucked rapidly between them.

Xav's body canted forward slightly, his hands resting on the mattress just above Rayne's shoulders, his face still slack and eyes dazed with that ultimate pleasure as he panted hard.

"Oh, fuck, that was amazing!" he groaned as he bounced with every kick of Rayne's slim hips arrowing up between his thighs. He bit back more words that wanted to spill out, not about to make the same mistake twice and contented himself with watching Rayne's beautiful face and slender body contorting under him as he drove hard for his own sweet release.

That was not long in coming. Rayne stared up intently into the darkening blue of his lover's unfocused gaze, adoring every aspect of him, from the rumpled cascade of his untrimmed, sweat and bathtub dampened hair, to his angelic face and the lean, glistening beauty of that slender body crouched astride his own. He braced his heels in the bedcovers and drove upward until each stroke was driving a lustful groan from between his gritted teeth. The tips of his fangs pricked at his lower gum and drew blood but he was not even distracted by that. Finally, blissfully, he felt his abdominal muscles contract and spill fire through his clenching, rolling belly, as he reached nirvana deep inside his precious Xavier.

"Uhhh... Christ! That feels so... so amazing!" he panted when he was finally able to speak again.

Xavier folded down over him in a hot, panting heap, unable to do more than grin dazedly and snuggle up to his lover in a haze of lovely bliss.




London Loves Ch. 08



When he finally did risk moving, every bruise felt like a fresh ache, but he would have done it again without a moment's hesitation. A lazy, very happy smiled touched his lips as he looked at his beautiful lover and kissed him tenderly. He could have easily just closed his eyes and gone to sleep but his stomach chose that moment to remind him he hadn't eaten since that morning with a low rumble.

"I wonder what Dom's got in the fridge...?"

Rayne grinned at him and waved a hand in surrender. He knew that by rights he ought to feel hungry too. He hadn't fed in nearly twenty four hours but it didn't seem to matter for the moment.

"If there is no food in this house I will suck Gabe Arden's dick," he declared, pushing himself to a sitting position. The bed was impossibly comfortable and it was a wrench to get up again, but Xav was going to need food to keep his strength up if they were to have a repeat of this evening's satisfying lovemaking any time soon.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

LONDON LOVES...?

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2013



London Loves Ch. 09



© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2013

Apologies for the hold up with London Loves... I've had a short, real life related break recently and editing has been on the back burner but hopefully now we can get the story back online and finish this arc for you all. Thanks as ever to all who have written and supported us throughout the series.

The same warnings apply. London Loves contains scenes of m/m physicality and supernatural elements. Please do not reproduce the chapters elsewhere without permission, it does us no favours no matter what you might think and it's bloody rude of you. Thank you.

* Darkness had swallowed the extensive gardens beyond their bedroom window. Downstairs it had gone quiet and a little push outward through his shields told Rayne that Lord Warren was in that same quiet, contented, post-prandial state as Xavier. He relayed that to his lover, snuggled up comfortably in his arms. Rayne's impulses were singing though. He felt that he could run on the adrenaline of their union for days.

Their hosts were absent from the kitchen when they finally tiptoed down there, but dinner had not yet been put away and was still keeping warm in the enormous oven. Rayne moved to get the plates and cutlery out then blinked briefly, a gesture that Xav was quickly coming to recognise as a sign that he was struggling to recall something at the edge of his still hazy memories. He hesitated only for a second or two though, then opened the correct cupboard and retrieved a couple of dishes and some silverware from the drawer for Xavier.

Xavier sank gratefully into a chair and inhaled the food as it was dished up in front of him. Later, he would not remember much of dinner, other than it tasted delicious and he had practically floated through the mechanics of putting away the meal. Rayne hovered over him like a broody hen while he ate, watching him shovel it away with an expression of mild incredulity and as soon as he was finished he shepherded him back upstairs and into bed. Xav did not mind, accepting the concern with an indulgent good humour.

Almost as soon as his head touched the pillow Xavier fell into an exhausted sleep. He had forgotten all about taking a painkiller before bed, but even so he slept like a stone, deep and dreamless, for a change. It was a little spooky actually, usually even in his sleep he was aware on some level of Rayne beside him, or felt it when he got up, even if he didn't actually wake himself. This was more like going a long way under water, completely shutting down. He supposed he had never realised how lightly he'd trained himself to sleep before.

Xav had no idea what time it was when he finally woke but they had not closed the long curtains so he could see that it was bright daylight outside and Rayne wasn't in the room with him. He got up, stretching and yawning, and headed to the bathroom. His reflection caught his attention and he stopped cold in front of the mirror before moving slowly closer for a better look.

Yesterday he'd awoken to find that his bruises were starting to fade ever so slightly around the edges, as if they were about a week old instead of only a couple of days. This morning the bruise on his cheek, which had been a lovely shade of aubergine the day before, was now merely a sickly greenish yellow, as were all but the deepest bruises decorating his torso, and even those were definitely fainter.

Moving away from the mirror he went to piss and noticed that his stream was a clear yellow, no longer tinged a muddy red. He went back to the sink and washed his hands and face, looking again in the mirror in disbelief. It was just bizarre. It should have taken a couple of weeks at least before he was so far healed. It was impossible that the bruises had faded this much overnight!

He was definitely spooked now. Having a boyfriend that was a vampire and witnessing first-hand various paranormal occurrences in the presence of Dominic, Xav had begun to accept that there were things that went on that most people never even realised and never would acknowledge as real. It had been disturbingly easy for him to accept that there actually were such things as vampires and that magic was tangible, if somewhat fickle. He had no choice but to accept them as genuine when they were right there in front of his face. So much so that he'd pretty much taken on board without question the fact that werewolves existed, on Matt Greening's say so alone.

This, however, was different. This was his own body doing something he knew was impossible. It hit him all at once then. He shouldn't have been able to get up off the street and crawl home, even with Clint's help. He'd taken beatings before but this one had been so vicious it should, by rights, have killed him. At the very least he ought to still be in the hospital, not standing in front of a mirror looking like it had been weeks and not mere days since his attackers kicked seven shades of shit out of him.

He could chalk it up to Gabriel's intervention last night, and maybe the Healer's touch had a good deal to do with it, but that wasn't the whole picture. The healing process had begun pretty much right away, as soon as he was left for dead in that gutter. Which meant it was something he was doing to himself, something he could never have done before. The idea that he was somehow changed had him pretty freaked out.

Rayne chose that moment to nudge the door open as it was already slightly ajar and Xav practically spun around, his expression bewildered and fearful, his blue eyes wide.

"Look at this!" he said, smoothing his hand over his cheek and across his abdomen. His tone said he wasn't sure if he should laugh or be afraid. "Look at how much these are faded. This is like..." He shook his head uncertainly, not wanting to say the word; magic. Even if that was what this felt like.

Rayne moved towards him, looking gorgeous in a snug fitting, open necked grey top and tight black pants. His fierce green eyes moved up and down Xavier's body, taking in the extent of his healing. Then he cupped his lover's face in both hands and kissed him almost savagely on the mouth, something that he would not even have considered a mere twenty four hours previously, for fear of hurting his lover.

"Amazing," he exhaled as their lips parted wetly. Xavier was not sure if he meant the healing, the kiss, or both. "You're evolving into a superior life-form. We need to run this one past her ladyship, I reckon."

Xav just looked at him with that same bewildered half-afraid expression, Rayne's comment having done nothing to calm him down.

"Maybe it's just what Gabe did to me," he said hopefully, although even to his own ears it sounded like he was in denial. Rayne must have thought so too because he said nothing, looking at him with the same cool almost speculative expression. Xavier couldn't stand still under his gaze any longer and pulled away in search of something to wear, the wave of barely repressed panic following after him like a clingy wraith.

Rayne crossed his arms and leaned casually in the doorway as he watched Xavier dump half the contents of his bag onto the floor and sort haphazardly through his belongings with far more vigour and ease of movement than he'd shown in the last couple of days. He wondered if the younger man even noticed.

"Take it easy, sweetheart. It's nothing to get yourself worked up over. There are definite benefits to being stronger and healing faster, yeah?"

Xavier looked up at him, his eyes still wide and worried. He didn't know how to reply to that though and he finally just shook his head.

"I suppose so," he murmured, pulling on a pair of comfortably faded jeans and a tee shirt so tight it moulded itself to his body like a second skin. It was a less formal outfit than he'd worn yesterday but even in such casual garb he managed to look mouthwatering. "What time is it?" he asked, guessing it must have been close to noon by the amount of light outside. "Is Dom up?"

"Dorothy's been up since before the sun was!" Rayne chortled. "Insane, if you ask me!"

Xavier slid back into Rayne's arms again and he returned his kiss properly now that he'd had a few moments to let the sudden grip of panic subside. It felt reassuring somehow, even though he still wasn't entirely satisfied by any of the explanations for his sudden rapid regeneration.

"You look yummy today," he said, nuzzling Rayne's ear briefly.

"So do you, but you looked better before you got dressed." Rayne turned his head so that his lips brushed against Xavier's wantonly. In a confidential tone he murmured; "You know... I reckon breakfast was eaten ages ago. And it's overrated really..."

Xav chuckled softly, kissing a slow line down the side of Rayne's throat, not at all opposed to getting undressed again if that's what he wanted. "Well, we could stay here and eat each other instead..." he suggested, his hands gliding down Rayne's back and over the curve of his ass.

"Mmmm... don't tempt me like that," Rayne growled low in his throat. He had missed the pleasures of their rough, urgent matings whilst Xav was laid up. Long fingers curled around the firmness of Xavier's cheeks in turn and he pulled his mate close enough that he could rub the whole length of his body against Xav whilst kissing him all the way down to his tonsils.

They had been wrapped around one another that way for a few minutes when Gabriel, leaning unobserved in the bedroom doorway cleared his throat quietly. Rayne jumped like he had been shot.

"Jesus Christ! Don't fuckin' creep up on me like that!" the vampire barked at him, looking mortally embarrassed though it was more at being taken by surprise than anything else. He hated the way that the tall, lanky were could just seem to 'appear' without him being aware of it at all. Only vampires and ghosts should be able to move like that!

Xavier was surprised too, although not for precisely the same reason as Rayne. He'd never seen anyone able to sneak up on his vampire lover before, although given how spiky Rayne was around the werewolf Xav wisely did not point this out now. Rayne had pulled away so quickly that he had accidentally caught Xavier's bottom lip with one razor sharp fang and Xav licked the tiny nick while his mate fumed at Gabriel, so irate that he was even able to overlook the scent of blood.

Once again the tall, handsome werewolf seemed completely unphased by Rayne's rebuke, in fact he didn't even acknowledge it, other than to grin at his vampire guest for a moment before turning his attention to Xavier.

"You look much better."

"Um, yeah," Xav said, rubbing a hand almost self consciously over his cheek. "It's a lot better, actually. Whatever you did really worked."

"I didn't do much," Gabriel said in such a way that it gave the impression he wasn't just being modest. He looked back at Rayne then. "Dominic wants to know if you're coming out anytime soon or if you're keeping Xavier locked in this room except for meals?"

"Yeah, I was kind of considering that," Rayne said airily. He winked at Xav though.

"Only, there's sausages and all sorts of stuff on the griddle down in the kitchen," Gabriel added persuasively.

Despite having eaten a fairly large meal right before going to bed Xavier felt his stomach tighten at the mention of food and suddenly he was starving. Not wanting to appear like he was taking Gabriel's side, he chose a more neutral way to derail the discussion.

"We wanted to talk to Dominic anyway," said Xavier.

He kissed the corner of Rayne's mouth and Rayne, somewhat reluctantly, followed him out the door. He fired a back off look at Gabriel on the way out though.

The handsome Were just grinned at him infuriatingly.

In the bright light of day, and with his head considerably clearer than it had been the night before, Xavier took more note of the large comfortable kitchen they entered. It was bigger than most bedsit apartments Xavier had lived in, and fitted out in pale wood and chrome. The worktops were a dark, grey granite polished to a lovely shine and the floors were terracotta brick, with rush mats to protect bare feet from the cold.Two picture windows let in the sunlight from the orangery beyond the glass panelled double door. Before them, a huge wooden table inhabited the dining kitchen space, with easily enough room to seat ten or thirteen people though only six chairs were currently set out.

It was empty at the moment but the smell of food filled up the room, a lovely rich, compelling scent made up of chops and sausages, fried onions and mushrooms, fresh baked bread and good, strong coffee.

The pang of hunger Xav had felt when Gabriel mentioned food tripled as the aroma hit him and his mouth filled with saliva. He usually had a good appetite but now he was positively ravenous, like he hadn't eaten for days. The unexpected hunger didn't worry him though, he was used to feeling hungry. Fortunately Gabriel didn't stand on ceremony and sat him down with a plate stacked with enough food for three people. Xav wasted no time digging in, enjoying the rich fare with obvious relish, and a lot of happy moans and finger licking.

Whilst watching Xavier eat was almost a sensual experience in itself, Rayne was usually indifferent to his eating habits. More often than not he was impatiently waiting for him to finish, but he watched Xav now with that same speculative expression he'd had on his face when Xav had showed him how much he had healed in one night.

When a vampire was injured their body automatically diverted a large portion of energy toward healing. If the injury was bad enough, that energy diversion cost the vampire in strength and blood, they got weaker and hungrier until they could feed. Apparently Xav needed to refuel as well to renew the energy expended on healing so quickly.

Watching him eat made Rayne feel hungry but it also left him feeling more than a little bit queasy. His stomach for actual food had never been strong but he ate so infrequently of late that he could not even recall the last time. He pushed himself to his feet now and kissed Xav just above his temple before murmuring something about going out to have a smoke.

He slipped out through the sliding glass doors into the orangery, a long, single storey glass structure that abutted the back of the house and was filled with fragrant hothouse plants and assorted greenery under a low, transparent roof that spilled in light and warmth. There was a path that curved through the plants and led away to his left and right. On the right another door let out into the garden. Along the way Ray saw Dominic with his feet tucked up under him on a comfortable sofa, reading.

Dominic glanced up at him as he passed and murmured; "Want some company?"

He waved his lighter and Rayne nodded wearily.

In the kitchen, Gabriel ladled up third helpings and watched approvingly as Xavier tucked it away.

"You got an appetite on you, I'll say that," he remarked cheerfully, sitting down to help his newest guest out, even though he and Dom had already eaten a hearty breakfast and had elevenses. "Not like most vamp bait. Wasted, sorry little things they are, the most of 'em."

Xavier lifted his eyes and smiled with ill concealed perturbation at Gabriel. "Don't call me that. I'm not 'vamp bait'. And don't call me a 'feeder' either, like I'm a fuckin' happy meal or something." He popped another bite in his mouth and chewed.

"Okay, if it rubs on a nerve, I won't do," Gabriel said pacifically, snaring a plump ham and turkey sausage and taking a large, appreciative bite. "But technologically it's true. You feed 'im, and not just on blood, so you wanna keep your strength up."

Xav's eyes narrowed a bit but he didn't argue the point further. "What do you mean, not just on blood?" Xav asked instead, setting down his fork after having finally hit bottom on packing away his breakfast.

"You know what I mean," Gabriel replied darkly. "You can feel it, even if you tell yourself it's all right. They pull on your life force cos they 'aven't got none to call their own. Maybe they don't mean to, but they can't 'elp it, see. You're like... a great big glowing ball of energy to them. They can't stop themselves pulling a little bit into them everytime they touch you. Makes 'em feel better. More alive."

He stopped talking because the look on Xavier's face was... somewhere between fearful and angry denial.

When Xav spoke though his tone was cool and unruffled. "You know, you sound an awful lot like someone trying to talk someone else out of a relationship they don't approve of."

"If you made a choice, you made a choice," Gabe Arden responded with a shrug. "Do I approve of it? No, but I don't have no right to tell you not to do it. That's not my job. I just looks after folks. You feel better this mornin', right?"

"Yeah, I do." Xavier admitted. "That's what I wanted to talk to Dom about actually. It should have taken a couple weeks before I was this far healed. I wanted to know if... if it was just what you did. Rayne doesn't think so."

Gabriel shook his head slowly, his expression thoughtful.

"Way I sees it, your body wanted to help me. Sometimes, a body fights the energies that want to heal it. Yours just lapped 'em up and asked for more. You're young and fit, that would be part of it, but even so, some of those bruises should have hung around for weeks. You're already losing 'em," he said with a little smile of admiration. "If I could heal another body's injuries that well I'd be pleased with myself."

Xav fell quiet as he thought about that. He wasn't as freaked out as he'd been a little while ago, but he wasn't okay with this idea either. Yeah, it would be nice not to have to suffer through a few weeks of recovery but he couldn't help wondering what other things might change in him.

In an abrupt shift he looked up at Gabe again. "Why don't you like Rayne?"

One of Gabriel's dark eyebrows twitched upward at that but otherwise his expression stayed neutral. In a quiet voice he answered; "I don't dislike him, Xavier. I dislike what he is. The Mulo aren't like us, no matter how much they might try to be. I think he's dangerous to have around."

Xav propped his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, giving Gabriel a steady look. "And having a werewolf around is perfectly safe, right?"

"Totally!" Gabriel didn't miss a beat. "Better'n a guard dog any day. We don't shed, we pick up after us selves and we do the washing up as well if you tickle our bellies nice enough.

"Oh... and we ain't walkin' dead, neither," he added almost as an afterthought.

"Uh-huh, and you ain't human either," Xav countered, his tone still mild.

"I'm mortal an' I'm warm-blooded an' more than half-human," Gabe said defensively.

Perversely Xav felt amused that he'd managed to ruffle the other man a bit. "Are you stronger than a vampire?"

"I can take any fuckin' Mulo that wants to mix it with me. Wylde included!" His smile flashed a lot of strong, ivory teeth. It was a feral expression though; part display, part warning.

Xav flashed him a smile right back, a much sweeter smile, and completely unrepentant. "Mm, if that's true, that makes you dangerous to have around too," he said quietly.

"If you wanna believe it, angel," Gabriel assured him with a wink. "True, I'm not a pussy cat. But I'm a lover, not a fighter."

From the doorway into the kitchen Rayne cleared his throat making them both jump. "You make any more moves like that on my boyfriend and I will rip your throat out."

Xav looked over his shoulder at Rayne and smiled. Ordinarily excessive displays of propriety annoyed him but for some reason the possessiveness coming from Rayne just made him feel like melting into a puddle. His expression when he looked at Rayne could have set tinder alight it was so hot. He figured he had better try and smooth things over though before they got out of hand.




London Loves Ch. 09



"It's okay babe, I was just asking his opinion on things."

"Yeah? Well if you want an opinion I'd ask anyone else before you ask the family dog." Rayne looked ice-daggers at Gabriel.

Gabe Arden met his glare and held it, unruffled by the little vampire's hostility. He turned at last and winked at Xavier. "See? He knows I've got 'im over a log."

"In your fuckin' dreams, wolf boy!" Rayne snorted derisively.

"You asked him how he got those pretty scars on his chest yet?" Gabe asked Xavier amiably, ignoring the death-glare he was getting from the doorway.

"I know where he got them," Xavier said, sobering at once and not liking the direction of the conversation at all.

"Where he got them, but do you know how? Or should I say, from what?" Gabriel prodded him with a knowing expression on his handsome face.

Xav's lips parted as he took a small breath to answer, and then he closed his mouth and frowned. Gabriel looked far too smug, and as Xav thought about it he realised he didn't actually know how Rayne had gotten the scars on his chest.

He knew he had come back with them from Paris, knew he'd gone to a BDSM club, and knew he'd been staked, but they had not discussed the particulars of what had happened to him in that club before things had gone so horribly wrong. He knew where and when, but not how Rayne had come by those scars.

A memory surfaced now of being down on the beach with Rayne, when those scars were newer and considerably more visible and they'd just made love and Rayne had bitten him and got a rush of his memory back...and after Xav had asked him if he remembered how he'd got the scars, who had done it. Rayne had told him, in an odd tone, that the person that had put them there had been a real animal.

Xavier hadn't thought anything more of it at the time, mostly because he'd been so pissed off that someone had hurt Rayne like that, even if he had asked for it. He'd thought it was just a euphemism. Now he suddenly saw those scars in a new light, something he'd seen all along but hadn't really figured out. They ran parallel down his ribcage, like claws had raked him from behind.

Xav put it together now, but it was a little late because it was easy enough for Gabe to see that Xav hadn't known until just that moment that some type of large Were had put those scars on his lover's chest. Xav's lips pressed together and he looked down, angry now but not really clear about what or who was making him so enraged.

"Ohhh, you had to push that didn't you?" Rayne's eyes narrowed viciously and he turned on his heel and stalked out, back into the garden room, shoving past Dominic who had been following him into the house.

"What in the world was all that about?" Lord Warren asked, looking at Rayne's retreating back with a frown.

Xavier ran an irritated hand through his tousled curls and stood, although for a moment he wasn't sure which direction he wanted to go, and then he headed toward where Rayne had just stalked out.

Dominic touched his shoulder supportively but did not try to pull him back.

"What did you do?" he demanded of Gabriel though.

Xavier left them to argue about it. Rayne could move fast when he was in a foul temper and his lover was quickly learning not to let him stew over things for too long. The vampire had not gone far in any case. Lord Warren had a little patio out on the terrace beyond the sunroom. It was private and quiet there, ringed with stepped flower beds and paved in small white pebbles with a large five-pointed star picked out in darker stones against the white. Rayne was sitting on the stone rim of one of the beds, glaring out into space morosely.

Xav slowed as he approached, uncertainty gripping him. The flash of anger he'd felt had already faded, it wasn't like Xav had ever brought up or asked about what had happened to Rayne in Paris since the one brief conversation they'd had at Aldo's. In truth he supposed he hadn't wanted to know all the details. So he could hardly blame Rayne now for having yet another thing he hadn't been told about sprung on him. He slipped down lightly next to Rayne on the stone seat like a leaf that had floated down from overhead, and put his arm around him.

"You know, I never heard you tell anyone I was your boyfriend before," he teased lightly.

Rayne's head turned and pale eyes surveyed him mutely for a little while. Some of the anger in him subsided at Xavier's touch however. It was as if they balanced one another out. He could rouse Xavier to fiery turbulence and Xav was able to soothe even his most violent moods. Not even Simon, who had known Rayne better than anyone, could do that for him.

"It's not like we're written in stone or anything, is it?" Rayne shrugged a little but he smiled awkwardly. "I guess I'm still getting used to the feeling of it. But you've been hanging around like a rash for a few months now so..."

The vampire ducked as Xav swatted at him.

"Geez, first big and furry in there says I'm not much more than a blood McNugget and now I'm a skin infection. I feel so loved."

Rayne bristled again and Xav kissed him quick before he could get off on a tangent. "You shouldn't let him get under your skin, babe. I know a bigot when I hear one."

Rayne looked a little surprised at that harsh appraisal and Xav shrugged. "He might be a nice guy, I suppose he'd have to be if Dom keeps him around, but he really don't like vampires." He turned his head slightly as he looked at Rayne. "He thinks you're dangerous, and maybe you are sometimes, but I've known a lot of evil people and you're not evil. You've treated me better than a lot of human beings have, so I don't think you should be judged just cos you're a vampire."

Rayne managed a small, rather sad smile. "You're in a fairly tiny minority there, sweetheart."

He reached out to stroke his cool fingertips gently down the blond boy's cheek then tilted his head to kiss Xav almost gratefully. As their lips parted he whispered; "Even Dom wants you to be able to protect yourself from me, and he's the biggest vampire junkie I know."

Xavier had to wonder how much friction that caused between Dom and his lover, seeing as how Gabriel was pretty open about how he felt towards vampires. That was not his business though.

"An' how does he think I'm gonna do that?" Xav asked, although he seemed much more interested at the moment in Rayne's tempting mouth, dragging the very tip of his tongue slowly across the soft fullness of his lover's bottom lip.

"You're better off asking him that question," Rayne murmured, enjoying the way that Xavier's nose touched against his as their tongues sparred loosely in one another's mouths. "He's the sexpert."

"What does that have to do with it?" Xav asked, still brushing his lips lightly back and forth over Rayne's.

Rayne took a deep breath. There were several ways of answering that question but the easiest most understandable way was also the most direct. "He wants to use sex magic to fix what's wrong with your shielding."

Xav pulled back a bit and looked at Rayne as if he wasn't sure if he believed him or not.

"What?"

"It's a tantric thing... He's been fiddling about for years with using sex to raise spell energy." The vampire grinned at his lover's baffled expression.

Xav frowned while he rolled that around for a moment. He started to get pissed that Dom went and talked to Rayne about it before he'd talked to him, but he let it go because Dom was just being practical.

"So...uh, who's gonna be...involved?"

"Don't worry, he's not roping in the whole of his Coven to do this. It's something that he and Gabe play around with. I don't think his High Priestess is terribly keen on the idea from what he tells me," he laughed softly. "I've only met Geraldine once but she seems quite straight laced. Not how you'd picture a witch priestess at all! No, I reckon it'll just be me and you ultimately, though he and Gabriel are going to have to show us the ropes, I'd imagine."

For the first time, Rayne actually looked less than happy and Xavier thought he could imagine the reason why. It was tall and furry and it didn't like vampires much. Xav was quiet for a moment.

"Isn't there some other way to do this?" he asked. Not that he minded so much, as long as Rayne was with him, but he could tell his lover wasn't happy and that made him nervous too.

"Yeah, there's other ways to raise energy, but..."

"But?"

"They take time and training to be effective. You've gotta practice, and it could take a while before you're good enough to raise enough energy to make the spell work."

Xav chewed on that for a second. "So why is this any different?"

Rayne quirked a grin at him. "Dom's already seen and felt the energy we've raised with sex. He thinks you're a natural for it."

Xav snorted and laughed. "All right, whatever. If this will work I'd rather try now than wait. When are we gonna do this?"

"I'm not gonna rush you, sweetheart," Rayne murmured, kissing his nose. "As soon as you feel well enough we can start to talk about it. Dominic's got a few days up here before he has to go back to London and I don't want you taking on anything you're not ready for."

For the moment, all he really wanted was to take Xavier back to bed and make love to him for the rest of the day. It was procrastination, he knew, but surely another day wouldn't make much difference. His fingers wandered lazily through Xavier's pale golden curls as their lips met once more in a slow dance.

Xav was more than happy to let go of serious thoughts for a while and sink into the embers Rayne was stirring up. He slipped his arms around his lover's waist and returned Rayne's slow warm kiss with a fierce passion hot enough to burn the place down around them. He had no idea where the sudden intensity came from but all at once he wanted his horny mate naked and writhing with him, like now!

Rayne was certainly not unwilling to accommodate him. Within moments he was on his back in the flower bed, sprawled under Xavier on a scented lawn of thyme and camomile as fondling hands slid into clothing and quickly began to peel it off.

Shirts and pants were scattered wherever they happened to fall. Xavier's hungry mouth barely left Rayne's until he reached a point of aroused confusion because he didn't know what he wanted more, to be inside Rayne or to have his lover filling him up. His rampant cock finally made the decision for him and he hooked his arms under Rayne's knees, lifting them up as his wet cock head nudged between his cheeks. His tongue licked a wet path down Rayne's neck and chest all the way to one taut nipple and he sucked it into his mouth sharply as he pushed up with his hips, breaching Rayne's tight entrance. He moaned appreciatively as his teeth scraped over the sensitive bud in his mouth.

Rayne was certainly not making any effort to resist him. Intriguingly, since returning to London, the vampire had been rather more prone to delicious submission when they were locked around one another. Xavier knew he loved to top and he was good at it, but without warning he could switch and he never failed to give of himself completely once he chose to yield.

Strong fingers clawed down Xav's naked back as he pulled on Rayne's ultra sensitive nipples and thrust deep and hard inside him. A long, low, shuddering growl escaped the vampire's throat as he braced his heels in the hollow of his lover's spine, writhing under him like a hooked eel, pulling Xavier into him fiercely.

The scent of their naked, horny bodies and the lush fragrance of the herbs that ground against their skin as they fucked, rose like some elemental incense around them. Rayne yelped with pleasure as he felt Xav stroke urgently into his core, nudging his buttons with every thrust.

Xavier was losing himself quickly, dropping into the pleasure of his lover's restless body. The feel of Rayne's snug channel around his throbbing prick, strong, slim fingers clutching his shoulders, and heels digging into his back to urge him on, all sent a firestorm whirling through him. He braced his hands just under Rayne's knees, pushing his legs up higher and bending him almost double as he spread his own thighs a little wider and drove down into him with each pump of his lean hips.

He absolutely adored having a lover that was just as flexible as he was. They moved so well together, each complementing the other's rhythm stroke for stroke and thrust for thrust. Even with nothing more than just their naked bodies wrapped around each other Xavier often reached levels of pleasure he could only get to via the stimulus of bondage, or other means, with previous lovers.

He hissed in a breath through his teeth now as the scent of the herbs and their own heat perfumed the air around them, nipping and sucking and teasing at Rayne's nipples as his hips pounded out a fast paced tempo. Rayne's slender arms snaked up around his neck and towed him closer until their lips clashed and merged in a hungry, groaning kiss that would have melted raw iron. Xav pulsed faster and Rayne whined desperately for him, so aroused that his shaft was constantly wet with a slick of cum that pooled slowly in the hollows of his groin and on his heaving belly.

"Ohhh jesus! Harder!" Rayne keened in an urgent tone. "Fuck me hard. Please Xav, don't stop!"

Xav gave him exactly what he asked for, bucking into him fierce and fast while one hand reached down to wrap around his cock and stroke him in time with their rhythm. His breath was moist and hot where he kissed the curve of Rayne's neck.

"Fuck! You feel so fuckin good!" he panted. His thumb rubbed in the slippery spill leaking from Rayne's velvety glans and he pressed small circles on the sensitive underside as he alternated his strokes.

Rayne threw his head back, his breath coming fast and hard as Xavier rubbed him inside and out. The tendrils of ecstatic electricity were snaking wildly through his body in time with the vigorous stimulus that his stunning mate was inflicting. Little panting, whining sounds trickled from his throat as he arced violently under his lover. Steadily the noises rose to a sequence of full-throated cries as he felt the hot surge of supreme pleasure rising in his throbbing balls.

"OhhhOhhhOhhhhhjesus! Fucking... y-y-y-yyeeeessssss!" he keened on a sharp, whistling note as a fierce jet of cum erupted from his straining cockhead, bathing Xavier's belly in a slick of wet silk.

Xav held on, riding out the pulsing waves of his ecstatic lover's orgasm until he'd milked every last drop from Rayne's twitching balls. Only then did he let go the thin thread holding him back and felt the starburst come over him like a supernova.

"Oh, babe...oh, fff-f-fuck yeah!" His arms wrapped around Rayne tightly and he bucked a few more fierce thrusts as deep as he could go, splashing his insides with his hot climax. He collapsed on top of him, chest heaving and heart pounding even as his limbs went weak with spent pleasure.

As Rayne's arms curled up around him, pulling him close for an intensely grateful kiss, a husky, richly accented voice chuckled; "Bugger me! Dom didn' warn me there'd be live porn!"

They both sat up a little too quickly. Gabriel was sitting on one of the window ledges in the orangery looking down on their nest in the shrubbery. The handsome Roma had a perfect view from up there. When he knelt up to get a better look at the outrage on Rayne's face, the tent in his jeans suggested that he had certainly been enjoying the free show. Xavier figured that Matty had not been wrong about Gabriel's manhood. Judging by that bulge Dominic's boyfriend was incredibly well-hung. In fact, his tight jeans barely constrained him, the head of that big cock was threatening to force its way out over his waistband.

"Fuck you!" the vampire hissed, visibly uncomfortable under Gabriel's hungry stare.

"In your dreams, dead boy!" the Were laughed mockingly.

In the normal scheme of things, Xavier wasn't particularly fussed about being caught with his pants down, literally or metaphorically. That was one more thing he and Rayne had in common, they both liked the little thrill of risk from fucking in public places. However, it was so quiet and private out here that he hadn't thought anyone would poke their nose in on them and Rayne's automatically defensive response to Gabriel telegraphed through him like he was a lightening rod for his lover's mood.

Even so, Xav gave off a perfectly cool vibe while Gabriel taunted and Rayne bristled. He was used to people watching him, he took his clothes off for a living after all, so he was not actually embarrassed to be caught naked and fucking. Although if he'd had the choice he wouldn't have wanted to be spied on in quite so intimate a moment with Rayne. One dark blond brow arched as he looked up at Gabriel casually.

"Well Dom didn't warn us about peeping toms, or in this case voyeuristic werewolves! Hope you enjoyed yourself," he said dryly as he handed Rayne his jeans.

"Ve-ery nice," Gabriel said, lazily stroking his hard-on through his pants as he watched the two young men down below. "You're gonna have to learn a bit of self-control for the rite, though. Raisin' energy's about more than just a quick hard bang. Pleasin' as that is."

"What the fuck are you on about?" Rayne asked irritably, wriggling himself rapidly into his tight black trousers and buttoning the fly. "I thought having sex was the whole point of the thing."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Gabe acknowledged, grinning at them. "But you work up a lot more energy if you can keep it rollin', if you know what I mean." He winked at Xavier, who was still wearing little more than a sheen of sweat and his lover's spunk.

Xav's ire was starting to be piqued but he held Gabriel's gaze steadily. He was getting tired of the way the Were took every opportunity to try and yank Rayne's chain, and he hadn't asked for a critique!

"My control is just fine when I want it to be," Xav said, picking up his own jeans and sliding smoothly into them.

Gabriel's gaze slid towards Rayne who bristled again.

"What?" the little vampire demanded, his tone growing sharper. "WHAT?"

"Nothin'," Gabe said innocently, and ducked back inside before Rayne could get even more annoyed.

"Is he implying that I can't turn the taps off, or something?" Rayne fumed irritably.

"Maybe," Xavier said, no longer sounding so unruffled himself. "Or maybe that we have no control when it comes to each other." His lips twitched after a moment though when he looked at Rayne. "Guess that's just the truth though," he admitted as his eyes caressed over Rayne's half clad body and he kissed him again.

A shadow drifted over them and Rayne looked up with an awkward half smile as Dominic appeared at the top of the steps leading down into their sheltered arbour. The older man had his hands on his slim hips. His expression tried for stern but failed absolutely and an answering smile pulled at his lips as he surveyed them.

"Mizz Wylde, I'll thank you not to fuck your cherubic consort in my herb beds, if you please. There are plenty of places for you to find a little privacy without destroying my plants!" he intoned.

"Sorry," Rayne said, managing to sound not a bit contrite. "We smell fabulous though."

"Good enough to eat, I'm sure," Lord Warren concurred with a nod of his head. His eyes roamed over Xavier speculatively. "You're quite an accomplished Top my dear. I'm pleasantly surprised."

There were very few things that could actually make Xav blush anymore but for some reason Dominic's comment put spots of colour in his cheeks. He cleared his throat softly.

"Um, sorry about the plants," he offered, sounding considerably more sincere than Rayne had managed to be.




London Loves Ch. 09



They wandered back up to the house and Xav realised that between breakfast, Gabriel and Rayne he hadn't even said good morning to his host yet. He grinned sheepishly as they drew level with Dominic but before he could say anything the older man took his chin between his fingers and tipped his head slightly. Examining the light olive coloured bruise on his cheekbone he remarked on the same thing that Xav had noticed this morning.

"That looks much better."

"I feel much better," Xav said. "I'm healing fast," he added unnecessarily, a hint of bewilderment in his voice.

"Hmmm, so I see," Dominic Warren examined him close enough to almost bring more colour to the younger man's face. His interest was so plainly unsexual however that he recovered more quickly this time.

"It's weird, isn't it? I mean, how could I be healing this quickly?" asked Xavier, the underlying anxiety plain to hear, despite how cool he was trying to sound.

"My own experience with vampire bites was similar." Dominic reassured him. "Without the blood that Cameron shared with me I would not be here today. It extends beyond healing though. Between Gabriel and Jabez Everman I have a health regime that most women would kill for."

It was true. Xavier wasn't sure of Lord Warren's exact age but he was over sixty and he had the smooth unlined skin and firm toned body of a man less than two thirds of his age. There was brightness in his eyes that gave him even more of a youthful spark. If that was down to vampire bites... well!

"Does he need magic then?" Rayne had shrugged into his shirt on the way back up to the house although it was still open and fluttering loosely around his slim frame as they walked slowly up the steps together. "Are my bites enough?"

"If you bite him again this moon he will be as you are," Lord Warren reminded him. "Vampire marks fade, just as ordinary wounds do. It takes a little longer but their power wanes like a phone left uncharged. With magic he can recharge if he is alone, or if you cannot bite him. Call it a fall-back position, if you like."

"I thought this...whatever this thing is we're doing...was just to keep me from picking up on what everyone around me is feeling," said Xavier. He managed to keep his voice even but his tension level was on the rise again. He did not want to be different. It was a little sad that someone so young could be so jaded already but Xavier couldn't help being wary. In his experience everything good had a price, and he had to wonder what being a little better than just human was going to cost him.

"That is mostly what the spell is for," Dominic said. "However, while the rite I have in mind will help you with this problem there is still much more you could learn, before other problems come up."

Xav didn't say anything and Dominic added gently; "There is no reason to be afraid, Xavier."

"I'm not afraid," he denied automatically.

"But you are sceptical, wary even," Lord Warren leaned back in the doorway of the glass-roofed winter garden surveying him with a serious smile. "Xavier, I will not force you to do this. If you don't want it, then I will not make you do it. But I do think that it is a good idea to know how to protect yourself. One day, maybe, you will get homesick and want to go back to Frisco. But wherever you go, you are marked now, and other vampires will know that. It will draw them to you, precious boy. A strong shield is an invaluable weapon. And knowing how to raise the energy to create such a weapon is knowledge that will stand you in good stead."

Xavier opened his mouth to say something but the older man held up a finger for silence.

"Darling, I chose this method purely because you are comfortable with your sexuality. I know for a fact that you raise remarkable levels of energy when you are sexually charged. If I could teach you how to use those energies to protect yourself and I did nothing then I would feel that somehow I had failed you."

He lowered his hands and looked Xavier squarely in the eye. "I do not like to fail."

There was a tense moment of silence and then Xavier chuckled.

"Yeah, and you're not real thrilled when you don't get your way either," he said with a little grin for Dominic. "I guess I'll have to trust you on this, won't I?"

Their host flashed a radiant smile at him. "I'm glad you trust me. I practise a faith based on love and trust. But if at any point you want to stop then you only have to say the word."

"You're the ultimate dirty old man, do you know that?" Rayne laughed at his friend. "That's the tag-line to every underhanded seduction in history."

Dominic looked offended. "Darling, that's a terrible thing to say! When have I ever put you under pressure?"

"All the fucking time!" Rayne teased him. "Every time I come here you devise a new plan to get into my pants and chalk it up to 'protection' you desperate vampire junky!"

"You're not helping, Raymonde," the older man advised him solemnly. "I'm trying to explain a very serious matter here and you're just taking the rip, child. Keep this up and I will have to seriously think about putting you over my knee."

The smile twitched his oh-so solemn face briefly out of line as he said the last part though. Rayne cackled wickedly at him.

"In your fucking dreams! What's the game plan, Professor Dumbledick?"

Dom ignored the nickname and shook his head with a little sigh. "Let's see how much of a smart-arse you are when I really put you under pressure shall we? Do you know how much energy you waste through ejaculation?"

He licked his finger and stroked it down Xavier's bared belly, tonguing the sticky residue off the tip with a little smile.

Xavier watched him with amusement, privately thinking Rayne wasn't really that far off the mark calling Dominic a dirty old man, but not in a predatory way. Dom liked to flirt and he liked to tease but for all the time they'd spent together Xav had not once landed in Dominic's bed. Of course, Xavier's hands had been rather full while they were in Italy.

"That's kinda the point, Dom," Xavier said, trying not to snicker. "If I didn't wanna come I wouldn't be fucking in the bushes!" he said baldly.

"You miss my point entirely, darling. If you don't spill when you come, then the energy doubles back, that's the theory behind the tantra. Have you ever managed to come without ejaculating? I don't mean just holding back until you can't hold back any more." Lord Warren smiled at the look of slowly dawning comprehension on his young guest's face.

"I dunno...maybe once." Xavier said, shifting awkwardly. He wasn't uncomfortable discussing sex exactly but the time he was remembering had involved heavy bondage in a basement dungeon while being fucked front and back over a padded spanking bench. He'd been warned not to come but he'd got too close to stop it and at the last second he'd sort of squeezed down on everything inside and he'd felt the orgasm but didn't shoot.

"Do you think you could do it again?" Dominic's expression was tempered with concern.

He had seen perhaps a little flicker of something dark in Xavier's face when he told the boy what he wanted of him. Rayne felt it more intensely. He moved against Xavier at once, sliding his arms around his mate protectively.

"You don't have to," he whispered with his lips touching Xav's ear.

Xav turned his head and gave Rayne a reassuring look, feeling steadier just from the simple touch of his hand on his back. He brushed a sweet kiss across his lips and then looked at Dominic.

"I think I can do that again, maybe," he said softly and looked once more at Rayne, a hard to read expression on his face, almost shy but with a definite hint of excitement too. "If you tell me not to come... when I'm close, then I won't."

"That's not exactly what I mean," Dominic said in a careful voice. "I want you to come, I just don't want you to shoot. It can feel quite exquisite, once you get used to the technique."

"That's almost impossible," Rayne countered defiantly. "Not without a cock wand, or something in."

This was getting vaguely embarrassing and Xavier could feel the colour staining his cheeks again as his cock stirred.

"No, I get what you meant Dom, and yeah, it's hard but it can be done," he said quietly to Rayne. He had to consciously tell himself not to squirm because this conversation was getting him kind of hot. "When...when I did it that once before, I was with someone that told me not to come, but I was right on edge and I couldn't stop...so I just...I dunno, pulled it inside. It's hard to explain. I came but didn't shoot, like you said. I don't know if I could do it any other way, without someone else, um, you know, being dominant," Xav finished awkwardly.

"There are no rules that say you have to do it on your own," Dominic told him with a knowing wink. "If you need to be topped then... that can be arranged. I always find that it works best for me that way."

He pushed himself up from the doorway and turned gracefully to go back inside. Rayne was staring at his back, eyes quite wide.

"Jesus. H. Christ." He intoned the words very slowly and precisely. "Did he just say what I thought he said? He wants us to fuck but not..." The vampire made a vaguely explosive gesture with both hands, then shook his head warily.

"Uh-huh," Xav answered. He bumped Rayne's hip with his own lightly. "We could go practice," he teased, kissing Rayne's cheek.

"Practice makes perfect!" Dominic's voice sang out from somewhere deep within the covered garden walkway, hidden by the foliage of his tender exotics.

Rayne shrugged graciously. "I guess there's no harm in that." His expression grew more mischievous. "You wanna practise in bed or... umm... out in the open?"

He cast a glance back outside where the late summer sunlight was shimmering on the extensive greenery of the Warren Place estate. There was an awful lot of 'out in the open' to practise in. Xavier followed Rayne's gaze as if actually noticing there was an outside for the first time.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested.

It was still warm out but it was late in the season, that in between time where summer was really over but fall hadn't yet got a good grip. You never knew when a nice day might turn nasty. After making a short run back upstairs for Xav to get something a little heavier to wear over his tee shirt they headed out.

Beyond the private patio there were walled gardens with pristine lawns and trimmed archways of hedges and scented roses. A greenhouse ran the whole length of one wall, packed with all kinds of flora in various states of growth. Through an arch in the high wall a gravel path ran down into proper woodland, the golden light dappled by high, rustling leaves overhead. The house was invisible from here; they might have been in the midst of the wilderness. Even the traffic noise, what little there was, was inaudible over the creak of branches and the shiver of summer foliage.

To Xavier this much private land was almost inconceivable. He was definitely a city boy, but that didn't mean he wasn't enjoying himself. It was good to stretch his legs a bit, breath fresh air. Yesterday he wouldn't have believed it was possible for him to take a long hike through the woods but he was in virtually no pain now. It was a nice companionable walk, neither of them feeling the need to fill the space with idle chatter and the quiet between them was comfortable.

Rayne's fingers curled through Xavier's as they walked and from time to time he slowed and turned his head, touching his lips to his lover's mouth, seeking a kiss. As little as twelve months ago he would never have dreamt that something as simple as this would bring him so much pleasure. After a while he stepped off the path, leading Xavier deeper into the woodland, where the lush grasses tugged at their legs. A few minutes' walk found them surrounded by tall poplars and shady chestnut trees, on the edge of a shallow valley, cut by a wandering stream.

He turned now, pushing his mate back gently against the broad trunk of a horse chestnut and kissing him more passionately, overwhelmed by the intimacy of such an expansive setting and overcome by the tempting beauty of Xavier's eager face and hot young body.

Xav twined his arms loosely around Rayne's neck as they kissed, both the location and their earlier coupling putting him in a mellow easy mood. Rayne's hand moved under his tee shirt, gliding over his warm skin and Xav swayed lightly with his touch, moving like one of the saplings bending in the breeze.

He smiled at Rayne as they broke off the kiss for a moment, foreheads touching and noses rubbing. He suddenly grinned; "We had to walk out to the middle of nowhere to get to do this without your ex or Dom's pet wolf trying to horn in."

Rayne's eyes were as green as the sunlit leaves as he looked up playfully at his mate. His tongue flickered between Xavier's lips as he whispered; "There must be easier ways to get some peace and quiet, huh? Maybe we should run away? Or just stay out here in the woods. We can hunt and make shelters and fuck all the time to keep warm."

The hand beneath his tee shirt stroked slowly up and down Xavier's torso, caressing the warm, sweat damp skin. Rayne's fingers splayed over his belly and down over the front of his jeans, fondling him steadily as they sank into a deep, hungry kiss once more.

"Mmm...ok...yeah...sounds perfect," Xav breathed between kisses, his sex rising under Rayne's caressing hand. His own hand slid up into Rayne's hair, his fingers sinking into the silky darkness while the other moved down to stroke slowly over his back and the firm curve of his ass while they tongue kissed.

Though he had said it in jest, right now the idea of just slipping quietly under the radar and disappearing with Xavier sounded like total perfection to Rayne. The events of the last year and a half had left him feeling jaded and drained in more than just body. Until this summer he had been seriously considering ways to end his life.

Xavier understood the darkness in his soul. Whether or not he guessed at the seriousness of Rayne's intentions when he vanished in Paris that time, the younger man would, he sensed, have understood why he needed to do such a terrible thing. No one else in his life, not even Dominic, who had seen some dark places in his time, would even try to comprehend his reasons for seeking death at another's hands.

Rayne buried his face in the curve of his lover's neck and drew him so close that he almost felt that he could sink into Xavier and possess him completely. The silk of his hair was scented still with the sweet, herbal shampoo from their bath the night before and the smell of crushed herbs from their earlier, vigorous coupling. By rights Xav should be exhausted; too wrung out to even walk all the way out here, but he seemed as energised as Rayne by the change of scenery. A sudden realisation hit Rayne that from this moment on everything could change.

It was true. Everything could change. He only had to say the right words.

So why couldn't he say them?

Xavier was pliant in Rayne's arms but held him tight just the same, feeling a rush of... something, coming from his lover, despite Rayne trying to shield it. The sensation was sweet and painful and it brought a shimmer to Xavier's eyes and a tightness in his throat as he buried his own face into the hollow of Rayne's shoulder. They stood there like that for a long time, simply clinging to one another like lost children and neither knowing exactly why or where the fierce wave of emotion had come from.

At last, Rayne pulled away with a little sigh, but his fingers laced through Xavier's again, tugging his lover along with him. He stumbled backward through the long, shimmering grasses and sank to the ground, towing Xav towards him with a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

"You make me feel alive," he said huskily, drawing his mate's hands to his mouth and kissing the backs of them. "I don't quite understand what it is that you do to me, but I feel more alive right now than I've felt for years. It's like you've... you've given me back something that I'd lost. And I never even realised it wasn't there until you gave it back to me. Am I making any sense?"

"No, but that's okay." Xav said, smiling down at Rayne. "If I make you happy, I'm glad." He leaned in to kiss him, slow and sweet, tasting his lips as if savouring him for the first time.

He wasn't sure what had brought on this sudden moment of tenderness in Rayne, but he didn't want to waste it.

As they kissed softly Xavier could feel the tumult of Rayne's emotions, both the sweet heart-swelling tenderness, and the shadow of fearful resistance, and he thought that if Rayne could not admit to those tender feelings out loud, if he could not bring himself to say those three little words, it was all right. Xavier did not need to hear them spoken when he heard it in the way he told him he was the most important person in his life, when he said he made him feel alive. He felt it when Rayne came home immediately because he'd been hurt, and every time they twined passionately around one another.

Rayne's eyes shimmered with that sunlit woodland green as their lips parted and his smile had fangs as he looked up into Xavier's heartbreakingly clear blue gaze. They were earth and sky brought together in that one short, sweet moment.

Then he whispered; "So, you wanna get dirty, yeah?"

Xavier dissolved into a fit of giggles and answered that fanged smile with a lecherous grin of his own.

"Always!"

He sat up astride Rayne's hips and crossed his arms, grabbing the bottom edge of his shirt to peel it slowly off and toss it aside. Shoes and pants were quickly discarded by them both as well and they once again were writhing naked together in the late afternoon sunshine.

Slowly Rayne pulled Xavier down into his arms and snaked butterfly kisses all over his lean, beautiful body. The light here was so perfect, so clear and luminous that Xav's golden skin almost glowed with energy. Even not quite fully healed he shimmered with it as if the power that dwelt within the Warren Place estate was rising up through him. That was the only explanation for it. Every time Rayne came here he felt the Goddess energies that Dominic spoke of resonating beneath his skin. Though he had never been religious, he came as close to conversion here as he had in his whole life. When he was by the sea he felt it call to him too, but had always believed that it was due to growing up on the shore.

It was the same here though; he felt the song of the earth when he was in this place, so far from the noise and grime of civilisation. He could think and feel when he was here. Was that why he was so sensitive to how Xavier made him feel too?

His lover's skin was like warm silk under his hands and lips. Rayne pressed his face to the softness of Xavier's belly, thinking how easy it would be to bite, to rip, to sink into his body and consume him utterly. At the same time he knew that he would not. He was hungry, a reality that had been pushed to the back of his mind by his concern over Xavier's health, but he would not drain his lover. His own needs could wait.

Well, some of them!

Rayne's studded tongue found the blood-swollen head of Xavier's cock, where it nodded against his belly and he licked a slow, wet line down the curve of that delicious muscle, right to the base where his balls throbbed with pleasure.

Whereas Xav had pounced on Rayne earlier with a needy wild desire, now he was lazily relaxed, although no less aroused. He lay back in the tall grass, stretching his arms up over his head and letting his thighs fall loosely apart as he looked down the line of his body with a heated smile for Rayne, watching the way that his tongue laved over his cock. His glittering eyes half-closed and he bit his bottom lip lightly as his lover licked over the smooth skin of his sac, nudging and tugging at the orbs within. He brought one bare foot up to caress softly along Rayne's side, thoroughly enjoying his attention.




London Loves Ch. 09



"Mmm... Tasty boy," Rayne purred, lips parting to wrap softly around one pulsing sphere, drawing it into his mouth so that it strained against it's mooring to Xavier's naked body.

He let it pop softly free and enclosed its partner, sucking on him tenderly as his hands caressed the sleek warmth of his lover's languidly parted thighs. Rayne lifted off him and moved around so that he was curled head to tail with Xavier, taking the plump bulb of his cock head hungrily into his mouth again and running his tongue slowly over it, feeling it twitch and lurch between his lips.

Xav happily curled into the sixty-nine, humming his pleasure as he slid one arm between Rayne's legs and swirled his tongue around his lover's sex. He took him into his hot wet mouth and eagerly gulped him down. His hand caressed and kneaded Rayne's perfect little ass while his lips slowly slipped up and down on him.

For a little while they moved in tandem, both nodding down and pulling up together, the mirrored movements sending sparks all through them. Then they switched to alternating, Xavier plunging down on Rayne's thick shaft as the vampire drew back with suction hard enough to make Xavier's eyes roll back. Xavier's fingers tightened on Rayne's beautiful ass and he pulled him in as he went down on him, his own hips rolling in tight little circles that pushed him into the delightfully wet mouth sucking him.

Rayne's finger circled his entrance but did not delve deeper for the time being. He was content to apply firm but gentle suction to different sections of Xavier's powerful shaft, occasionally causing the blonde to thrust eagerly into his mouth when the pleasure got too much for him. Rayne eased back then, taking a breath as Xavier's lips or his caressing tongue did ingenious work on his own aching rod. He was edging up slowly and loving every moment of their mutual appreciation.

All the while the soft summer breeze and dappled sunlight played over their nude bodies as they writhed in the silken greenery like a pair of naughty dryads in some erotic depiction of medieval England. He wanted it to go on for eternity.

Xavier upped the ante first, pulling off of Rayne's pulsing shaft and sliding his tongue down behind his balls and into the valley of his cheeks. His hand curled around Rayne's cock and stroked slowly while his tongue circled and dipped into the musky flavour of his ass.

The slow ride up was tantalising and he was enjoying every moment but the lazy sensual way they'd begun was slowly evaporating under the heat building inside Xav. Rayne sensed it in him too and for the first time he hesitated, lifting his head to look back over the long, golden line of Xavier's hip and his lean torso.

"Ummm... you've done this before?" he ventured, huskily. "How...? I mean... no one's ever asked me not to before. I can stop, but..."

His pale face was mildly confused, as it had been back on the patio when Dominic first expounded on what he wanted them to do. The very idea of it seemed impossible to him.

Xavier kissed the top of Rayne's thigh and gave a breathless little laugh. "I'm hardly an expert. I did it once, by accident, and I'm not even sure how," he said, nuzzling softly at Rayne's hip. He thought about it again as he slowly caressed Rayne's legs and torso, letting them both cool down just a little. He knew what Rayne meant, he could usually stop the rise of an orgasm if he wanted to prolong what he was doing, they both could, but that wasn't the same thing.

"You know what it feels like if you're peeing and you stop before you're done? If you tighten that muscle up right at the moment you start to cum, I think that's what keeps you from shooting."

"Shit! That's me cooked then!" Rayne nibbled tenderly along Xavier's thigh. "I'm hopeless when it comes to stopping. Once I get going... well, you get the picture! I always thought the whole point was to jizz. Why the fuck are all my friends total screwballs?"

Xav laughed again and kissed his way lightly up Rayne's body. "Don't worry about it, if you start thinking too much we'll never get there anyway," he said, grinning at the way Rayne looked so flummoxed.

He pushed his lover back gently and moved over him, straddling his hips and leaning down for a long slow kiss to take his mind off what they were trying to do. They would either get it or not but Xav wasn't going to stress about it, not when he had much more pleasurable things to do!

Speaking of which... Xavier rolled his hips, grinding against Rayne's erection and then smiled down at him, still moving and lightly rubbing their cocks together. "If you come all over the place it's not like I'm gonna run back and tell Dom."

"I should hope not!" Rayne laughed breathlessly loving the feel of Xavier's body surging against him. "If you keep doing that, I'm gonna come like a fuckin' waterfall!"

He pulled Xavier down into his arms and pressed his mouth to the younger man's lips hungrily. For the second time in as many hours he was naked underneath his sexy mate. This was getting to be something of a habit but for the time being Rayne, at least, was not complaining.

Xavier certainly wasn't either. As they kissed again it was like they started over, a slow build up of sensual pleasure in every kiss and touch and stroke. Xav would have been happy to let it just go on and on, but eventually he got to the point where the teasing was getting too much to take and he couldn't wait any more.

They were locked in a tongue tangling kiss, Rayne's long fingers cupping and caressing Xavier's ass while they rubbed and leaked all over each other. Xavier curled his hips forward more, making Rayne's cock run up along the cleft of his cheeks, a low needy sounding whine in his throat.

"Christ! I dunno if I can do this!" Rayne keened, rubbing full length along his body, wrapping himself around Xavier like his life (or unlife) depended on it. "It's just... it's natural to wanna let it go, yeah?"

He turned his head slowly, pressing his lips to the line of his lover's collarbone as they contorted. Xav had one hand curved around the side of Rayne's neck, his fingers splayed along the base of his skull and up into his hair as he nuzzled the other side of his throat.

"I don't fuckin' care what Dom wants us to do any more, I just want you to fuck me!" he panted.

Rayne really didn't need the incentive but he rolled hard as Xavier's words quivered across his skin, practically slamming his mate into the lush mattress of greenery beneath them. He felt Xav's lean thighs part around him as he wriggled into position, the head of his needy cock butting urgently against the hot, yielding point of entry.

"The magic words," he chuckled huskily, thrusting his hips forward with a little groan of delight.

"Uhh-hhhhhh!" Xav exhaled, his head tipping back and body arching with pleasure-pain as Rayne breached him. They had played for so long and he was so turned on he wasn't sure how much longer he could go. One thing he was certain of though, it felt absolutely divine to finally have his lover inside him.

Xav snaked his arms around Rayne's shoulders as he pushed a little deeper. Rayne leaned in and Xavier opened his eyes, their faces were very close, mouths open slightly, breathing each other in as Rayne sank deeper yet.

"Ohh yes-s-s-s-s! God, I want you so much..." he whimpered, their lips almost touching.

Rayne's mouth took possession of his own as they became a creature of one purpose, the supreme cause of getting off! Every little lick of grass on bare skin; every whisper of warm, late summer air took them higher. Rayne pulled Xavier to him and thrust urgently against him, so glad that he could finally make love to his beautiful mate with the passion that he deserved. Though it had been less than a week of abstinence it felt like a lifetime when he cast his mind back to the way they had coupled when he first brought Xavier back to England.

For a little while he was able to forget his problems; Clint, Kevan, everything that had been troubling his mind recently. No one had ever been able to wipe him clean like that before. Xavier was a force of nature. Maybe even completely unnatural.

But then of course, so was Rayne Wylde.

"I dunno what you do to me," he panted, as he drove himself hard between Xavier's thighs. "But I'm glad you do it."

Xavier made a breathless sound, moving with Rayne's every hard stroke inside him. "I know what you do to me..." he gasped. "...and I love it!" He groaned again as Rayne plunged deep and hard. His warm hand caressed over the sleek muscles of his lover's back, his legs hooked around the back of Rayne's thighs, his body flexing and urging him on with every thrust.

His own hard cock rubbed against Rayne's belly and he was nearly delirious with the climbing pleasure. He felt the tingling buzz tightening in his balls, the pressure growing down deep as Rayne's cock head butted repeatedly against his gland. He knew he was gonna blow any second, and even in this passionate state of ecstasy he did think briefly on what they had started out trying to do. He squeezed down for a moment, his mind and body at odds with what it wanted to do before his body won out and he let go, his whole body clenching and writhing under Rayne as he burst.

"Ohhh... ohhh... oooohhhhhh!!" His husky cries rose an octave as he came uncontrollably, his crème jetting in several pearly ropes up his chest and belly.

Rayne was handling the steady pressure climbing in his balls although only a very small portion of his brain was actually trying to figure out how to accomplish their challenge. Xavier's explosion threw all of that out the window and he practically fell into the seething grip of his lover's pulsating colon, shooting a surge of pleasure into him that he would not have thought possible after their earlier coupling in the shrubbery.

"Ohhhhh....fuckinfuckinfuckinyeahhhhh!" he keened, his body shuddering furiously as he collapsed into Xavier's trembling arms.

Xav lay panting, clinging to him in a sweat soaked boneless heap. When his galloping heart finally started to slow slightly and he regained most of his motor skills he opened his eyes and grinned.

"I've never been so relieved to fail." He laughed softly, utterly happy, completely sated, and totally unconcerned they hadn't been able to perform Dominic's little trick, yet.

"It can't be done," Rayne huffed contentedly, licking his partner's sweat-slick neck. "He's winding us up. He just wants us to shag ourselves to a standstill trying. It wouldn't surprise me if he was up a tree somewhere with a pair of high powered binoculars, watching!"

"Yeah, well..." Xavier lifted one arm with some effort, extending his middle finger and raising his voice a bit. "If anyone is watching...fuck off and leave us alone!" he laughed.

"I can't quite get my head around this," Rayne sighed happily. "Dom reckons we're raising energy but it feels like it's the other way around. If I wasn't undead, I'd be totally fucked by now!"

He laughed wickedly.

Xav had dropped his arm to the side and lay sprawled under Rayne contentedly. He looked a little startled though when Rayne said this. It was still bizarre to him that yesterday he'd been hurting so bad he could hardly make it in the door after their trip and today he felt fine. Better than fine, he felt fantastic, like he had a total body buzz!

He shook his head slightly. "I don't know what Dom's talking about half the time, Ray. But, something is going on. Every time we fuck I feel better." He finally grinned a little. "I mean, better than usual. Which isn't a bad thing."

He looked up at Rayne, who had pushed himself up on his arms and was looking down at him.

"What?" he asked, taking in Rayne's suddenly blank expression. Rayne touched his face, his fingers tracing lightly over his cheek.

"That bruise has faded even more," he answered. In fact it was almost gone.

Xav shook his head again, not really wanting to think too much about it. It still scared him to think about what was happening to him. "How weird is it to be able to fuck yourself better, huh?"

"If we could sell the formula we'd be rich!" Rayne chuckled, but there was a dark edge to his humour. He was clearly still thinking about this. "We're making our own medicine," he mused. "Our inbuilt elixir of life. I don't want to even start believing that can be possible. It's crazy, Xav. Weird enough that the bites can give you vampire-style healing powers, but they're acting like a kind of amplifier. That's something I don't even think Lady Warren's ever considered."

Still gazing up at Rayne Xav's expression turned serious for a moment too. "Yeah, Dom always makes it seem like everything is perfectly normal and expected, but I saw how close he looked at me earlier. He didn't expect me to be healing that quickly, despite him saying how the bites he got did things to him too."

"So if he's right and we can create even more energy by somehow managing this impossible trick he's decided we should try out..." Rayne shook his head at the potential and rolled off his lover, flopping down in the long grass and staring up thoughtfully into the verdant canopy overhead. "Sky's the limit, innit?"

Xavier's tension level rose and he sat up. "Listen, I just want to...to fix what's wrong with me, okay? So I don't feel like a schizo off his meds when I'm in a crowded room. I dunno if I want to mess around with a buncha metaphysical crap, Rayne."

Huge green eyes blinked back up at him, clearly taken aback by this sudden outburst. Rayne recovered fast though. He shrugged his shoulders slightly, stroking a hand ever so gently up Xavier's forearm in response.

"Then... we won't. If that's what you want," he said levelly. "You heard what Dom said, he's not going to make you do any of this and I'm certainly not. And we don't have to be in crowds if you don't want to." He sat up slowly and reached out to cup his lover's flushed and anxious face in one hand. Softly he touched his lips to Xavier's quivering lips. "We don't have to do anything, sweetheart. Okay?"

Xavier was still tense for a moment, as if he didn't quite believe it was that simple, that Rayne wasn't going to push him into anything. It took him a few seconds to accept it and then he turned his face into the curve of Rayne's hand and let himself be soothed.

"I-I didn't mean that I don't want to try it at all..." he said, softer this time. "I just want to be careful." He kissed the edge of Rayne's palm, wondering if he knew how much it meant to him, how different it was for him, to be given the choice. Every other person he'd ever had a relationship with had pushed him in one way or another, either cajoling him or forcing him into situations he didn't want. He almost didn't know how to react when he was allowed to make up his own mind.

"We've got plenty of time," Rayne reassured him quietly. He tilted his head to kiss Xavier's lips more intimately. Somehow the setting demanded tenderness and he sensed that Xavier was anxious but could not quite reach what it was that made him feel that way. He understood not having a choice though. For so long it had been his own lot. If being with Kevan had taught him one thing it was that he was not so far removed after all from the fragile boy he had been when he was Xavier's age. "You can think about it. If you wanna talk about anything... you know... you can do that as well."

He stroked his fingers through the wayward blond curls on his lover's head, loving the way the sunlight danced on them, picking out the gold. How many times had he believed that this time he'd maybe found the one? None of them made him feel the way he felt when he looked at Xavier; like he wanted to please the boy and protect him, to do whatever he needed to make him smile. The tremor in his breast was almost painful.

Rayne was scared, but he would not have admitted that to anyone. Now he understood; knew the reasons why he had run away to Paris. The pieces were slotting back into place and if he had not felt such a fiercely possessive flame in his breast he would have sunk into quiet despair at the realisation. He was a coward and he always would be.

Perhaps picking up on Rayne's mood, despite his trying to shield him from it, Xavier leaned closer and caught his lips again in another tender kiss that was no less intense for it's sweetness. Earlier Rayne had joked about just staying out here, but right then Xav wished more than anything that they really could. The quiet peace that settled over him whenever Rayne wrapped him in his arms was something new too and he didn't want to give it up.

"Don't be afraid, Rayne," he murmured ever so softly along the shell of his ear.

"I'm all right," Rayne lied grimly. "I'm just worried about you. I want you to be okay. Why do crowds freak you out, anyway?" he asked, to divert the subject away from his own inadequacies. "I'd have thought, given your previous employment... well..."

His words tailed off in the face of Xavier's expression. His lover was not fooled at all by the diversion, but he went along with it because Rayne seemed to need a bit of breathing space.

"They never did before," he answered. "But now if I go out and you're not there it feels like I'm going crazy. Like everyone is screaming at me, only they're just being normal and I'm the only one that can hear it. No, not just hear it...feel it. I'm doing fine and then all of a sudden I feel frustrated as I walk by the lady that just dumped her groceries while she's trying to pick up her car keys, and then a couple seconds later I'm totally pissed off as I go by the couple arguing, and then I'm confused as I go by the guy that looks lost, and then horny as I go by the guy trying to chat up some girl... although admittedly that could just be me, " he finished, shaking his head. "It's exhausting, and it's scary, not knowing if what I'm thinking and feeling are what's in my own head or just there because I'm standing next to someone having a bad day."

He fell quiet, sitting comfortably naked in the slowly fading afternoon sunshine. For the first time he really thought about this problem he was having with being so overly sensitive, and when exactly it had started. It was hard for him to pinpoint it because he'd been so hurt and despondent when Rayne left him and then he'd gotten angry but didn't have any time to deal with that anger because Rayne had come back to him basically in pieces. His emotions had been on such a roller coaster anyway that it was hard to decipher what had been his and what he'd been soaking up from others.

When he really started tracking it down though he all of a sudden knew when it had happened, when something had changed in him. That moment he'd shot up in bed screaming because he'd felt like he'd just had his heart ripped out of his chest and he had known without any doubt at all that something horrible had just happened to Rayne. That was it.

His eyes came up to meet Rayne's once more and he took a breath and then another as some pieces started falling into place. He licked his suddenly dry lips, not knowing if he could explain what he was thinking now or not. He was going to give it a shot though.

"You and Dom have both said you think I had, like, some kinda natural empathy, right? Before I even met you; and I can buy that because I've always been good at getting a line on people right from go, you know?" He paused for a second, gathering the rest of his thoughts. "So, when you marked me, that first time, it linked me up with you. I could just sort of feel you in my head... know if you were okay or whatever, and it made that empathy a little stronger."

He paused again, chewing thoughtfully on his bottom lip. "When you left and went to Paris I kept trying to feel you... kept trying to feel that connection, and then something ripped into it and..." He had to stop for a second and took a deep breath before he could continue. "I couldn't let go. I wouldn't let go! I just grabbed onto that link that was hooking us together and held on no matter what."




London Loves Ch. 09



He stopped again and rubbed at one temple, getting frustrated because he didn't know if he had the right words to try and explain. "You were always in my thoughts, but keeping that up, keeping that hold on the link...it was like throwing the door wide open, dropping all the shields and filters and everything just to hang on, and now I think maybe doing that, keeping that up for so long, got the damn door stuck open. Jesus, I sound as bad as Dominic!" He barked an uneasy laugh. "That's what I think happened though. I got everything stuck wide open and can't shut anything out cause I did more than I was really capable of doing."

"You can close yourself off again," Rayne told him quietly. He had been absorbing all of this in silence, never really taking his eyes off Xavier's anxious face. It was easy here, he felt so still, so untroubled. And he knew that it was easier for Xav too, but at the airport he had felt the disturbance in his lover's mind and though he was able to shut things out better than Xavier did, he still could not close the door on his lover's emotions. If he did not get a handle on it, then he would pull them both down.

"When Dominic started to teach me how to lock down he said that I needed a place to run to. You need to build a safe place inside. It sounds a bit loopy, I know, but you build this place and you visualise it. It can be somewhere you've known, somewhere that you felt secure. You have to see it really strongly in your mind and you have to put yourself there and close all the windows and doors, if there are any, so it's just you and the place and nothing else can get in. It isn't easy to do. I practically went crazy just trying to get my head around it. But when you do, it works."

He kissed Xavier's forehead again, still running his hands all over his lover's beautiful body, trying to share some of the stillness that being here brought him.

Xavier sighed and relaxed into Rayne's gentle caresses. "So, if all I got to do is visualise this place, how come Dom says we need to do this ritual?"

"The ritual is to help you put power into it, to make it permanent, so you don't have to actually stop and concentrate and build power every time you need to shield. You'll just think of the place and all you'll have to do is step into it."

Xavier had a little frown on his face but he nodded solemnly.

As the sun started to sink a little lower the air began to get cooler and they decided they'd better get dressed and head back, although both were more than a shade reluctant to leave the sheltered little place where they'd spent their sensual afternoon.

END OF CHAPTER NINE

LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2013



London Loves Ch. 10



© Sadie Rose Bermingham and Bellora Quinn 2013

Finally here is chapter the tenth. I know... I know... it's been ages. Sadie has been unwell so the last few chapters will either come all together or sometime before the end of the century, who knows. Anyway... thanks to everyone that's patiently, or not so patiently waited. Hope you enjoy it.

The usual warnings apply. London Loves...? is a tale of the supernatural, so anything could happen, and occasionally does. It also has lots of yummy boys getting it on with one another so if that makes you sick, go read something else and don't give us grief about it, we aren't touched by your sensitive nature or inability to follow simple instruction!. Finally, to anyone that reproduces this nonsense anywhere on any other site, or even on this one, you are scum and we are not above hexing, so you should hopefully soon develop nasty swellings on your most intimate regions, which will amuse us no end.

Shazaam!

*

By the time they'd trudged all the way back to the house it was getting dark and Xav was glad he'd grabbed a jacket before they'd left to explore the woods. Rayne seemed untroubled by the chill in the air, and strolled along with bared arms and the wind stirring his dark hair so that it swirled like a pall of smoke. He had reached down to curl his fingers through Xavier's as they walked, and from time to time he stopped in his tracks to turn and kiss his mate, unable to get enough of the pleasure of being alone with him, though he knew it could not last.

"Awrr... cute!" a rich Cornish burr drifted down to their ears as they approached the steps leading up to the rear of the sprawling mansion. Gabriel was perched on the wall, smoking a roll up and making gagging noises at them.

Rayne flicked the bird at the cheerful gypsy Were and shook his head. "Haven't you got a bone to dig up or something?"

Gabriel just laughed wickedly at him.

Xavier noticed something more than Gabriel's teasing. The shifter was wearing a lightweight jacket and boots. Not so unusual maybe, except Xav tended to notice little things, such as how people dressed. Gabriel hadn't been wearing shoes yesterday, or this morning around the house and there was only a slight chill in the air, even now. It certainly was not cold enough to need warmer clothes on inside. Xavier tilted his head as he looked up at the wolf.

"Have a nice walk?" he asked, not bothering to hide the suspicious tone.

Gabriel's smile widened a little bit, looking very white and toothy in the shadows, although he said nothing. If he was embarrassed about being caught out, it didn't show.

Xavier snorted; "Geez, you could at least have the decency to pretend you weren't spying again!"

"I wasn't," Gabriel said. "Not fer long anyway. Her Ladyship was getting a bit worried when it started getting dark. I was just making sure you two hadn't got lost."

"Uh-huh," Xav responded cynically. "Or maybe, you were hoping to see something more than just the two of us walking back. Perv!" The merest hint of a grin curved his lips with his accusation.

If he was feeling mellow enough to be light hearted about it, sadly his lover was not.

"If I catch you with your nose where it shouldn't be, I will rip the fucker off!" Rayne advised the Were coolly.

"Gotta catch me first," Gabriel told him, completely unfazed by this threat. "And I'd not put money on it!"

Rayne bristled. "Don't be so sure."

Gabriel's stance changed too, becoming slightly more menacing. "Anytime you wanna go, Deadboy."

"Stop it!" Xavier threw his hands up, eyes screwed shut with frustration. "Will you two just... Stop. Doing. That? It feels like I'm in a goddamn pressure cooker!"

For a moment the preternatural pair suspended hostilities, utterly taken aback by Xavier's interruption. Gabriel adopted an expression of studied contrition. Rayne reached out to put a hand on his lover's arm.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. He just riles me, that's all," he apologised, knowing as he said it that he was an idiot. Xavier had just explained to him how he was open to other people's unwanted hopes and fears and random stray emotions, here he was making it ten times worse.

"We get off on dissin' each other," Gabriel said cheekily. "It gives Deadboy there a proper boner, don't it?"

Rayne glared at him with a fire in his emerald eyes that could have melted the Eiffel Tower. But he kept his mouth shut.

Xavier sighed, rubbing his temple with one hand. He had not exaggerated. Listening to them sniping at one another was bad enough. Feeling their naked antagonism and barely repressed tension was seriously grating on his nerves.

"You two are like fuckin' kids on a playground, running up and pulling each other's pigtails." he muttered as he headed inside. He almost hoped they would just fuck and get it over with so maybe they could relax.

Rayne followed him in and Gabriel was right behind him after he snuffed the embers of his smoke.

Inside Xavier was assailed at once by two things that helped to bring his tension levels down a degree or three; an absolutely mouthwatering smell wafting from the kitchen, and some pop trash turned up loud on the sound system coming from the same direction. Xavier drifted that way as if pulled by a lure. He stopped in the doorway for a moment, a grin quirking his lips as he watched their host shimmying around the kitchen stirring various pots and pans on the stovetop to the tune of Lady Gaga's 'Love Game'.

His mood shifted again as he absorbed some of Dom's happy good-humour and he snickered and shook his head as the older man unselfconsciously sang along with the refrain, "...lets have some fun, this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." Xav could just imagine whose disco stick Dom wanted to ride.

This time he didn't mind so much the way his emotions changed as he was pulled in by their host's playful mood. He glided into the kitchen pulling off his hooded sweatshirt, swaying and undulating to the music and laughing as Dominic licked his lips at him from behind the rising steam. Xav camped it up, dancing across the kitchen and somehow managing to look both comedic and sexy as hell at the same time. Then he hopped up on the countertop, crossed one knee over the other and made a show of inhaling the delicious aromas Dom was stirring up from his pots.

"Hiya, what's cookin?"

"There you are, darling!" Dominic passed him a long handled spoon containing a mouthful that was richly, darkly, sinfully sweet and side-stepped neatly to the stove, ducking down to check on something that was bubbling away there like a proper witch's cauldron. "I knew your radar wouldn't let you miss dinner. You two have been working up a decent appetite, I trust?"

He glanced up and winked at Xavier knowingly. Beyond them, Rayne and Gabriel circled the long dining table and settled at opposite ends of it, trying very hard to be good but still managing to bristle at one another.

Xavier licked the spoon Dominic handed him and mmmmm-ed appreciatively. He managed to sound sexual without even trying too hard. Gabriel didn't say a word but the glance he cast in Xavier's direction was as hot as the items bubbling on the burner. The object of his attention, who had been trying to ignore the occupants of the table, missed the glance but looked over at them anyway because the tension level had suddenly ratcheted up by about ten notches over there. He slid down from the counter and moved to go sit next to Rayne, but as he did so he noticed something he had missed when he first saw Gabriel in the gathering gloom outside.

"You look different," Xav blurted out as he dropped into the chair next to Rayne, his expression slightly puzzled as he tried to put his finger on just what exactly it was that had changed about him. He couldn't settle on one thing; Gabe's features were slightly sharper, his eyes somehow more 'set' in his face, his strong jaw a little more defined. The overall effect did not deter from his handsomeness one bit, but it gave him a more predatory appearance that unsettled Xavier.

"It's her time of the month," Rayne snickered bitterly. "Bitch could do with a shave if you ask me!"

"Girls!" Dominic warned them in a low tone, though Gabriel did not rise to the bait. He just smiled wolfishly at Xavier.

Xav was not sure if Dominic was including him in that warning tone too, but he looked up apologetically anyway.

"I, um...didn't mean anything by it."

"No offence taken," Gabriel said affably, although he made sure the comment was directed at Xavier and didn't necessarily include Rayne.

When Xavier looked at him again though, he got caught by his eyes, lost for a moment in all the little shades and flecks of silver and grey. It was sort of like a vampire trick, but not quite the same, he didn't feel the sort of pressure on his mind that he'd known when Jabez had forced him, or Elian had invaded his memories. Still, when he suddenly pulled his gaze away he was flustered and usually when Xavier was flustered things came out of his mouth that he wouldn't normally say out loud. He looked back up and met Gabriel's eyes steadily without letting the wolf draw him in this time, just to prove he could.

"So, Rayne said you were born a werewolf, not like in the movies where someone gets attacked and turns into one. When you were little did you change into a puppy?"

Rayne cackled and slapped a hand over his mouth when Dominic gave him another 'warning' look. Gabriel Arden leaned back in his seat though and said; "Come sit on my knee and I'll tell you all about it."

The look in his eyes was keen and serious, all the playfulness dropped for a moment. Nor was it an entirely suggestive remark. He kept his eyes on Xavier the whole time, refusing to be distracted by the background sniping. Xavier's upper body tilted toward him ever so slightly but he was almost unaware of it, as if he was being tugged very gently by an invisible thread. He suddenly shook his head as if throwing it off and his eyes narrowed on Gabriel.

"Knock it off!" Xavier growled.

"Knock what off?" Gabriel asked mildly.

"Whatever you're doing..."

"You know what it is, even if you won't say it." Gabriel smiled at him. "You felt the wards yesterday when you came in, you shrugged me off just now. You feel magic even if you're afraid of it."

Xav rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't try and pull that shit."

Gabriel made a little gesture with his hand. "I was just testing you a bit."

"Well, don't," Xav warned him again.

"Come over here and sit on my knee, and I won't pull no tricks this time," the wolf invited again.

Xavier drummed his fingers once on the table, looking at Gabriel shrewdly. Rayne hadn't said anything, and out of the corner of his eye Xav saw he'd taken up a casual, almost bored pose, though no one in the room was fooled by that for a moment. When his lover was looking less than interested you could practically put money on the fact that he was coiled and ready to pounce. With a little sigh, Xav got up and moved over to Dominic's handsome boyfriend and perched lightly on his thigh, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Now Rayne stiffened slightly, his attitude a little sharper and his mood definitely darker. It was Dominic who moved to quiet him though, melting into place at his back and running long strong fingers over the tight muscles in the vampire's slim shoulders as Gabe Arden surveyed Xavier appreciatively, without laying a hand on him.

"That's better," the Were grinned. "You're a saucy little thing, aren't you? You like a bit of non-human kink, huh? Just like Her Ladyship..." and he nodded towards Dom Warren with a salacious smile. "I can handle that."

Xavier smiled back at him, his eyes taking on a sultry cast that any number of men at the clubs he'd worked in the past would have recognised just before they'd emptied their wallets for him. Not being in the game anymore didn't mean he had forgotten how to hustle when he wanted something.

"Just because I like Rayne's fangs as much as his cock, it doesn't give you a leg up with me, honey," he purred sweetly.

Gabriel laughed; a rich, deep, masculine growl of genuine amusement.

"Oh I like you, babes!" he commented straight off. "Definitely no shy little wallflower, you! I'll tell you straight, sweetness. I don't need no leg up. I can make my way with my own natural attributions, an' you know what they are already don't you, my little tease?"

He leaned forward touching the tip of his sun-tanned nose to Xavier's and looking him in the eye with that unblinking dark-silver gaze. Rayne let out a little hiss of warning through clenched fangs and Dominic's hands tightened on his shoulders again.

"Shhh darling, it's all right," he whispered, reading Xavier well, even as his undead lover focused all his wrath on Gabe. "Calm down. They know what they're playing at here."

Xav leaned back a little, even as he said it, and put his hand on Gabriel's chest to gently push him back and get some space.

"I know plenty of hung studs babe, and that don't turn my head none either." Xavier switched on a dazzling smile for the Were though and leaned in close again. "You know what would really turn me on?" he asked in a seductive husk, wriggling just a bit in his lap, his lips close enough that Gabe could feel the warmth of his breath on his own lips (well, if he was going to be called a tease he could at least play the part!). "Be nice to my boyfriend!" He said each word clearly and leaned back again, crossing his arms and giving the wolf a challenging look.

Gabe's lips twitched as he tried to stay serious. His gaze wandered briefly to Rayne Wylde and there was heat in his dark eyes as he murmured; "I could be plenty nice to him, but he don't like it like that. Mizz Deadboy prefers it nasty, don'tcha babes? Rough and very, very nasty!"

He uttered a little growl as he said it and Rayne made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sneeze.

"In your dreams, furball!"

"I know I'm in yours," Gabriel told him with a grin. "The ones where you wake up screamin' and not in a bad way."

"Leave it, Gabriel!" Dominic said, in a tone of voice that he rarely used. It had a cold, sharp edge and his lover sat back with a humourless smile.

Rayne's breathing had quickened and he shrugged Dominic off now and moved to his feet. Xavier moved to his feet as well, suddenly feeling the lash of Rayne's turbulent emotions as his lover let his grip on them slip for just a moment. Turning to face him quickly, Xav reached out, not with his hands or his body but something deep inside. It snaked around Rayne and held him there, calling him back even before he fled.

Xav's brows were pinched slightly with confusion as he took in Rayne's expression. He could feel that his lover was angry, furious even, but also he was quite anxious and... something else, something harder to define. Like a mix of shame and arousal.

"He's not just teasing, is he?" Xavier asked in a whisper, watching the look that was in his lover's wide, green eyes. Rayne's pupils were wide and dark, lips parted wetly as his tongue darted across them again.

"You dream about him?" Xav asked softly, feeling like he was being pummeled by the heightened emotions rolling off of Rayne, and confused because Rayne acted like he couldn't stand the werewolf.

Rayne shivered fiercely. "Not him, exactly."

Xavier's lips started to form another question but before he could ask who it was exactly that Rayne dreamed about, the answer clicked in place and he suddenly knew why he was feeling Rayne's chaotic swirl of emotions, and why his lover was trying to hide them. In an intuitive leap he figured that if it wasn't Gabriel that put that guilty arousal on Rayne's face then it must be someone like Gabriel.

Xav's eyes dropped to the line of skin showing down the middle of Rayne's unbuttoned shirt and although the faint tracery of scars was hidden, he could see them clearly enough in his mind's eye. Scars made by some kind of Were. Scars that Gabriel had deliberately brought to his attention earlier and that Rayne deliberately hadn't talked about. Xav had thought he wasn't saying anything about how he came by those scars because it was too painful for him to talk about, but he wondered now if it was more than just the pain that had kept his lover's mouth shut.

Xavier blinked twice, rapidly, as he tried to sort out how he felt about Rayne dreaming about the guy that put those scars there, and not in a bad way... He remembered again, their brief conversation on the beach outside Aldo's villa, Rayne talking about the 'animal' that had ripped into him, how Rayne's voice had not been frightened or angry, but shivery with excitement and arousal. He'd put it down to the vampire being confused and still trying to remember what had happened to him, but now Xav was looking at it in a different light. His lover had even defended the guy, Henning, when Xav had gotten pissed off about him hurting Rayne.

Xav dragged his eyes back up and they locked with Rayne's for a moment. As hard as the other man was trying to hide it Xav could see through the anger and anxiety to that hint of arousal. Xavier had known that Rayne went to the club in Paris wanting to work out his frustration and sorrow with pain, he understood that. What he hadn't known was that the man he'd chosen to dish it out was not just an animal in the figurative sense, nor had he realised how much Rayne had gotten off on submitting to a powerful, brutal creature that could top him properly.

His expression suddenly closed down and this time it was Xavier that turned on his heel and stalked out. His temper simmered just under a boil as he stormed down the hall toward the staircase. He wasn't even sure why he was so pissed off.

No, that wasn't right. He knew, he just didn't want to admit it. He was pissed because Gabriel had suddenly made him feel inadequate. If what Rayne really wanted was someone that could overpower and dominate him, Xavier wasn't it. Not only that but, yet again, Rayne had shut him out about something serious.

How was it that Gabriel should know what Rayne dreamed about, what he really wanted, but Rayne wouldn't give Xavier the first clue? About anything! Rayne said he was important to him, and yet he told him nothing! He hadn't told him about Matt, he hadn't told him about Clint, he hadn't told him about the girlfriend or wife or whatever the hell she was in Manchester. Now he was finding out that Rayne would rather have a strong dominant partner in bed, in the most humiliating way possible. Why didn't he just tell him if that was what he really wanted? Why did he have to let him find out like this?

I wish you were my equal, Xavier, but you're not...

Those words still haunted him, and maybe now he knew a bit more about what lay behind them. Xav could never physically overpower him, so he went to someone else, someone who could, someone who Rayne didn't have to worry about hurting if he got a little careless. Why would he bring Xav here, why would he say Xavier was important to him if he wasn't what he wanted? The one area where he thought they were most suited, where nothing ever went wrong between them, was sex. Now he felt like Rayne hadn't even been honest with him about that.

Xavier had been trying to give him his space, trying to not push him, but if he asked anything at all about his life Rayne brushed him off and changed the subject. Empathy was one thing, but other than the emotions they shared while they were fucking each other's brains out Rayne shut him out of every other area of his life, and now even in that one safe haven he found secrets.




London Loves Ch. 10



All of this went through Xavier's head in a rising tide of temper until he reached the bedroom they'd slept in last night and slammed the door behind him.

Rayne watched him go, frozen by his anger and disbelief, his pale gaze fixed on the doorway into the hall until they all heard the bedroom door slam upstairs. Then the little vampire rounded fearlessly on Gabriel.

"Thank you!" he growled sarcastically. "Thanks for that, Gabe! You've got a really, fucking, great big mouth, do you know that? I know you've no time for me, but that was below the fuckin' belt!"

"True though," Gabriel Arden said, unapologetically.

"Gabe!" Dominic warned him. "Shut up now."

Briefly the mortified vampire looked from the mortal to his wolf with blatant disgust in his eyes, then he stalked out of the kitchen. He broke into a run as he reached the hallway, following Xavier's angry traces up the stairs and down the long, illuminated landing until he reached the implacable barrier of their bedroom door. Coming to a halt there he lifted his hand to knock but let it fall again. In truth he hadn't expected Xav to fly off the handle like that. His lover knew that there were other men in his life and he had always been pretty cool about it before. Did it make that much of a difference to him that this time it wasn't, strictly speaking, a man? Or was it something else that was bothering him?

He sagged heavily against the door and sank down to the ground outside, feeling his spirits plummet. Just an hour ago he thought that he had finally discovered how to be happy. Now he was not so sure that he wanted to go through all the highs and lows of a committed relationship again. The deep wound left by Kevan's murder still ached and he was not ready to face up to that level of loss again. Not yet.

He leaned his cheek against the warm, unvarnished wood of the door and quietly called; "Xavier? Are you pissed off with me? Can we talk about this?"

Xavier yanked the door open so fast that Rayne almost fell inside.

"Why do I always have to find out everything about you second hand?" he demanded. "You get off on letting other people humiliate me with how much I don't know about you, or what? I've never expected you to spill your guts and tell me every little thing that's ever happened to you, Rayne. I get the whole 'trust issues' thing, but if you're gonna keep shutting me out of the rest of your life, don't tell me things like I'm important to you or that you trust me, okay? If you don't trust me enough to tell me anything about yourself, then... fine!"

"I'm not deliberately shutting you out, Xavier," Rayne said atonally, gripping the doorframe with both hands and leaning into it, but coming no closer. He could feel how hurt, and furious, and desperately confused his lover was and he knew that was probably, no... scrap that... it was absolutely his fault. But he couldn't figure out how he was supposed to make it better.

"Really? It sure seems that way to me!" Xavier shook his head, trying to calm down but the anger and hurt inside just kept bleeding and he couldn't seem to shut his mouth now. "The first person you called when we got to London was your ex, only you didn't tell me who he was, or that he still had a key to your place, or that he's also a vampire, oh, and that you're still fucking him. I think I handled that pretty fucking well. Then, you forget to tell me, oh by the way, the emo brat on the front step, he's my kid. Okay, fine, I rolled with that surprise too. I accept that maybe you just didn't have time to let me in on that one before you went to Manchester.

"Speaking of which, do you know how fucking hard it was to sit back and let you go deal with the things you had to deal with up there, all alone, when I wanted to be there for you? But I guess you didn't need me there when you had your girlfriend or wife or whatever the fuck she is to console you, huh?" Xav said bitterly. "Now I get to find out from a virtual stranger about your fetish for big and furry, and even though it's not as big a fucking deal as Gabriel hoped it would be, I'm sure, it would have been nice to hear it from you before we came out here. I'm not exactly the judgmental type when it comes to personal kinks, you know.

"Not one of those things would have pissed me off, Rayne. Not the ex, not the kid, not the woman, and not that you apparently prefer someone bigger and stronger in bed. The only thing that pisses me off is, you think you gotta hide it all from me."

Rayne opened his mouth a couple of times to try and get a word in edgeways during that tirade but Xavier was too fast for him. The accusations flew like daggers and by the time his mate stopped for breath the vampire in him was beginning to see red again. He could just about get his head around Gabriel's taunting, because the furball didn't know any better, but to get it in the neck from Xav as well was just a bit much.

He leaned into the doorway, bracing his hands against it, gripping tight because he wanted to punch something right now and that would not be a good move. All the feelings of tranquility from earlier in the afternoon had deserted him in the face of Xavier's burgeoning rage. And yes, maybe he was right that Rayne didn't tell him everything, but there were some things that you couldn't just come out and say, not even to someone you thought you might have started to trust with your heart.

"First off, I don't have a fetish for 'big and furry' as you put it. That's all in Gabe Arden's warped head," he snapped back tersely. "Thanks for taking his opinion as fucking gospel on that one. That really makes my day. And secondly; I don't have a fucking girlfriend! I haven't had a girlfriend since..." He raised his hands then let them fall helplessly, shaking with a sense of righteous anger that had no place to go. "I can't remember when, not for a long time. And even if I had, it's actually none of your fucking business, Xavier. What's done and in the past is just that, it's done. It has no bearing on what I do or feel now, don't you understand that? So if I decide I want to share my fucking burden with you, you'll know about it! If I decide! Why is it so important to you to know every damned, sordid detail of my fucking life anyway? I just don't get that. You just can't keep your nose out of anyone else's business, can you? If you're not cosying up to Clint or gossiping like a teenager with Lady Warren you're getting UC&P with that fuckin' mongrel down there and it makes me sick!"

Rayne caught his breath, knowing as he did so that he'd said far too much and already wishing he could rewind and edit himself before the shit hit the fan. He felt himself falling like a fragile glass dropped from the lip of a high table. He saw it in slow motion, that interminable tumble from grace, seeming to take forever to hit the floor and shatter into a thousand pieces. He wanted to catch it, to stop it happening but he knew it was much too late. Instead he turned away, biting down on his lips so that he would not have to see the train-wreck of his life smash into the buffers again.

Xavier stood there like he'd been slapped, despite Rayne having controlled that urge at least. He was still hot though, Rayne yanking out all the flaws in his reasoning not having helped ease his temper any. The hell of it was, Rayne was at least half right. Xavier didn't have any right to expect him to share any details of his life. He'd made it very clear that just because he'd invited him home it didn't mean anything more than that he liked having him convenient. Their lives were still separate, and he hadn't made him any promises.

"I didn't ask for every detail!" Xavier shot back, although it was lacking some of the venom he'd been feeling a moment before. "I just thought... I just want... to be part of your life, too," he finished, much more quietly than he'd begun, the terrible hurt he felt was seeping through the angry words now. He hated the way that sounded, so needy and helpless, and Rayne already thought he was that. He figured that he'd gone and done it again, pushed too hard, asked for too much. Why couldn't he ever learn?

If Rayne was like a precariously balanced glass ready to fall off the ledge, then for Xav that ledge was crumbling out from under him.

Rayne felt the accusation like a barb in his flesh and he actually winced at the cruelty of it. Until that moment it had never truly occurred to him that Xavier might feel left out in any way. He accepted that he was not used to sharing his space long term with someone else but he'd not really figured that he was isolating Xavier to that extent so his reaction was maybe a little harsher than Xav deserved.

"You aren't a part of my fuckin' life?" he snapped, shaking his head incredulously. "What the fuck d'you think this is all about, huh? Why are we here if you're not a part of my life? What the fuck reason would I have for spending my weekend hanging out with that mangy furball downstairs if I didn't fuckin' well have to? Well?"

He slapped his hands against the doorframe again, pulling himself up short once more, holding back the impulse to strike out because, god damn it, he wasn't so much mad at Xavier as he was with himself. When they came back from Italy he'd just about convinced himself that he could be with Xav; that they could be a proper couple and it would all be fine because they were good together and all that shit, but now he was beginning to figure that he'd been kidding himself all along. The reason he was alone was because he fucked up every relationship he touched. It had been true before he fled to America and it was still true now.

Damn it all to fucking hell!

Xav didn't have an answer for that, other than the obvious one, but he still clung defensively to his anger because now he felt stupid on top of everything.

"So you're telling me Gabe's wrong? You don't really want someone that can overpower you, do that to you..." he said, waving a hand at the faint tracery of scars on Rayne's chest as proof enough that Rayne did in fact want just that. Xav's expression hardened against the pain that wanted out at the thought that he was going to lose Rayne because he couldn't be what he really wanted. "Am I just an experiment for you? Or is it just you felt sorry for me?"

"Why the fuck should I feel sorry for you?" Rayne wanted to know, neatly sidestepping the issue of what he did or did not want in bed for the time being. His memories of the night that he earned those scars was still hazy and for now he resisted anything that would bring them back into sharper focus. Being around Gabriel Arden brought up the physical recollection of rough, warm fur against his naked back and thighs though. It made him shiver with a primal need that also left him feeling slightly nauseous. What the hell was he? When Xavier had come home with him he'd almost allowed himself to feel normal in the younger man's company but now he was less certain.

Xavier took an involuntary step back as Rayne moved closer to shout at him without having seemed to notice.

"Why should I feel sorry for you?" The vampire asked again. "You clearly don't need my help. I mean you're doing fine on your own, aren't you? Just fuckin' peachy!"

They squared off for a moment then, each bristling with their own private anger and hurt.

Xav dropped his eyes first. His heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of his ribs and there was a tight painful knot lodged in his throat.

"Are you married, Ray? Is that what the ring and the dress are? Why you keep so many secrets?" he asked in a whisper husky with emotion.

Rayne blinked at him for a second or two, not comprehending this at all. Generally they younger man was pretty good at working him out but sometimes, just sometimes, Xavier surprised him by getting him so wrong that he questioned himself. This was one of those times.

Married? He was sure he would have remembered that. No, that was not it at all. Focus!

"Xavier..." he exhaled, all the fight temporarily stunned out of him. "I'm... No, I'm not married. No woman is crazy enough to take that on. Um... Kevan my ex, had the ring made for me. A kind of... well... y'know. What do people give one another rings for? He wanted people to know I was with him."

Xavier's eyes came up again slowly, cautiously tasting the truth of those words. He looked so wary, like he was expecting Rayne to say or do something cruel, or tell him he'd had enough and was going. Rayne's genuine surprise took the wind right out of his sails and just like that the anger was gone, if not the hurt and the fear.

His unguarded expression in that instant spoke volumes about where all this was really coming from. He loved Rayne fiercely, he would do anything for him, and the fear of losing him was a wound far more tender than any of the fading bruises those thugs had left him with. Gabriel may have only been trying to yank Rayne's chain, but he'd inadvertently tapped right on Xavier's worst insecurity. He rarely let it show but somewhere in the back of his head was always the worry that he wouldn't be enough for Rayne, that maybe Rayne didn't really want him so close, but didn't know how to tell him to go. He bit his lip now as the anger flowing out of him left him feeling foolish and weak and he was wondering why he'd gotten so angry to begin with.

"Ray... I'm sorry," he said, reaching for him hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I'm a total idiot. I don't even know why I got so wound up... over nothing."

Rayne stiffened but at the same time that little shiver ran through him, the pleasure of having Xavier so warm, so close. His eyes closed tight and he fought it but he could not pull away. The perverse edge in him that always wanted to fight was being held in check by the long suppressed side of his nature that was still just a child, simply wanting to be held and told that he was brilliant, sparkling, worthy of love.

He lowered his head and in a low tone muttered; "You don't... you really don't need to know about any of that shit. That's all it is. Me and my shit, not important. Not really. After all the grief I give you, if you'd rather be with Gabe I'd understand. He thinks he's a funny guy. He's probably not so fucked up if you can get over the dog-breath."

He looked up quizzically at Xavier, a half smile twisting his lips awkwardly. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

Xavier took a breath and sighed.

"Maybe I did." He lifted a hesitant hand, brushing the backs of his fingers lightly over Rayne's shoulder. "I don't know what got into me, getting so worked up like that..." He leaned a little closer since Rayne hadn't pulled away from him and kissed the soft skin just below his ear. "...and you already know who I want to be with."

When Rayne turned to face him in the soft golden light of the hallway he looked almost ghostly, his skin so pale that it was practically translucent. His ice green eyes were rimmed with a hungry redness and the trickle of moisture already aspirating on his lower lip where he had bitten himself was little more than a whisper of pink, more colour than there was elsewhere in his face.

"I guess I just don't quite understand why," he responded hoarsely. "When we were in Italy, you told me that I said you weren't good enough to be with me. But I think that was wrong. Xavier, I don't deserve to be with you. I've never been good enough for you and I don't think I ever will be. And it hurts when you believe stuff about me that isn't true, because I always expect you to know what's right about me and what isn't. I convinced myself that you knew me better than I knew myself. And that was wrong, I shouldn't have presumed like that, just because I wanted it to be true."

Rayne lowered his head again with a little sigh, hands hanging limply at his sides, almost too dejected and exhausted to move. The argument had taken the last of his will and he just wanted to lie down and not get up for a long, long time.

Xav sighed again softly and cursed himself for letting his temper run away with him and ruining what had been such a sweet afternoon. He pulled Rayne into his arms though, and closed the door, pulling him over to the bed so they could sit down and talk more reasonably.

"Babe, it's not like I just swallowed some bit of trash talk I heard on the street. You were sitting right there and you didn't say it was bullshit, not in a serious way. You didn't deny it earlier when he said something about your scars either. I don't see what the big deal is anyway, it's not like I believed anything bad about you. If he'd said you were a child molester or something and I bought that shit I could see you getting pissed, but you're the one that thinks of yourself as bad, not me. And you were the one that told me you had a girlfriend," he reminded him.

Rayne actually had the grace to look sheepish at the reminder that he'd personally instigated that little white lie. He knew that he should never make things up, he was notoriously bad at fabricating the truth and invariably those he lied to saw right through him straight away. Having filed the lie away in his head he promptly forgot all about it, but Xavier forgot nothing. He ought to remember that in future.

If they had a future after this.

The vampire lowered his head again, feeling instantly gloomy. During the afternoon as they rolled around in the sunlight together it had seemed such a good idea to come here, and now he was having second thoughts. All this peace and tranquility was giving Xavier the space to think things over and the more he found out, surely, the less enamoured he was going to become of the human train-wreck sitting next to him.

Not even human, his conscience reminded him and he groaned softly at the sudden impossibility of their relationship.

"I was just trying to behave when he started that about the scars," he said carefully. "Dom was sitting behind me all the time and I could feel how his hands got tight on my shoulders every sniping remark Gabriel threw at me, like it was some kind of test. Put up with his shit and win a prize! Jesus! I love Dominic to bits but I can't for the life of me get what he sees in that hairball!"

Now that Xavier's simmering temper had abated, he watched his beautiful lover as he spoke and was able to see and hear more clearly what Rayne so often did. He'd neatly sidestepped actually giving any information while at the same time deflecting the conversation in a different direction. Xav should have recognised it sooner since it was so much a habit of his own that he hardly ever thought about it anymore. He wondered if Rayne even realised he was doing it, and figured probably not.

"Rayne..." Xav paused for a second, obviously picking his words as carefully as Rayne was now. "You are confusing the fuck out of me." He sighed and wiped a tired hand over his eyes. "Okay, I'm gonna tell you what I saw and heard and if you tell me I'm wrong or that you just want me to drop it I will, I promise."

He lifted his hands and slid them into Rayne's shirt, the warmth of them almost shocking against Rayne's cool skin. His fingers pulled down in a light caress over the tracery of scars on his ribcage and down his sides. "You never talk about this, about what happened, and I left it alone because I know you don't want to talk about it, but when Gabe hinted they were made by something other than a human you didn't deny it, you got pissed and stormed out, like it was the truth only you didn't want it brought up. Then he hinted you like werewolves or something like that and... I saw the look on your face Rayne. You weren't just behaving for Dominic. I know that look. I felt what you were feeling, and it wasn't all just angry denial. You felt guilty, and a little turned on. I wouldn't have taken Gabe's word on what he'd said if I hadn't saw that look, felt how you felt, or heard how you said you didn't dream about him exactly.




London Loves Ch. 10



"Then we come up here and you act like I betrayed you for putting two and two together and guessing maybe you do like werewolf sex. If you don't then fine, I'll take your word for it. I just want you to know it wasn't Gabriel that I was believing, it was what I saw in you."

He paused again for a second, looking into Rayne's eyes, which were wide and apprehensive but he didn't reply so Xavier went on.

"When you were unpacking your stuff and tried to hide that dress and panties and things...I shouldn't have snooped and I'm sorry. I've got no right to pry like that. I don't know why you lied and said they belonged to a girlfriend, but I knew you were lying. When you said you don't have a girlfriend just now, even if you did scream it at me, that felt like the truth. So..." He shrugged, letting that line of reasoning go without saying. If the stuff didn't belong to someone else, it had to belong to Rayne.

A couple of minutes ago Rayne had been despondent that he'd been wrong about Xavier knowing what was right about him and what wasn't. He hadn't been wrong. The problem wasn't that Xavier didn't know him, the problem was that he saw through to the truth even when Rayne didn't want him to; even when he was lying to himself.

As Rayne listened to his lover's words, he felt each point drop inside him like a heavy stone tossed into a deep hole; the bottomless chasm of his life so far. He weighed up his options with a leaden heart now. If he told Xavier to back off, he was pretty sure the boy would. He was also sure that his mate would simmer over it for as long as it took him to get pissed off and leave.

And he also knew that he did not want Xavier to do that last thing. If he and Xav went their separate ways, for any reason, he did not want it to be over this, and he could not bear for it to happen right now. Rayne was used to being alone, but he was not sure that he was strong enough to be completely alone just at this moment. Sometimes he just needed someone warm and rational beside him, someone to hold onto. And Xavier was already much more than just that.

"I guess I don't need to tell you that I have trouble expressing myself," he began, awkwardly.

Xavier managed a wan smile in acknowledgement of that. He wondered silently just how it was that someone who could put so much feeling into a simple song lyric, then sing it out loud in front of thousands of strangers, had such trouble admitting to himself how he was feeling, let alone confessing it to others.

"I'm not perfect," Rayne croaked huskily, fighting the constriction in his throat as he picked over the choice of words. "Fuck it, I'm not even sane most of the time! I'm cranky and unpredictable and fucked up and I do really stupid things because... sometimes I can't feel anything and it's not just me shutting things out. I get this vast sense of just how far I am from being properly human, properly alive and I need to feel alive, and real. And I need to feel... loved, but it makes me sick just how much I sometimes need that, so I compensate by letting people love me then pushing them away as hard as I can before I hurt them or... or they hurt me. And that's just the way I am, nothing to do with the vamp thing, I don't know how to be any other way."

He flopped back on the bed staring up at the ceiling as if there were answers written there. "I went through a phase where I thought, for a little while, that I needed to be in charge. I'd spent so long on my back for guys that meant nothing to me. So all my lovers were sub kids, a lot younger than me usually, pretty and inexperienced so they wouldn't give me grief and we'd look good if some twat from the Sun snapped us falling out of a nightclub together, totally wasted. And it worked for a bit, but I started to feel like, like I wasn't really in control. And then I had this blazing row with a friend, someone whose point of view I actually respected. And he told me that I was turning into some kind of coke fuelled monster; that people were actually shit scared of me. So I ripped him off a strip and we didn't talk for a long time, which I totally regret. And during that period I... I kind of backed up... I turned everything in my life upside down. I OD-ed on heroin. It was an accident!"

Rayne looked quickly at Xavier so that he would know that this was the truth. "I've never been suicidal. My mum topped herself, I know how it fucks up the people they leave behind. But I wasn't right in the head and Kris, who owns our record label, he threw me straight in rehab after the hospital let me out. And I just... I don't know how to explain it... I had this kind of weird epiphany while I was lying on the floor covered in my own puke and wishing I'd died.

"When they let me out I still wanted to get wasted but..." He stopped and held up his hand, turning it so that the scars he usually tried to hide under his long sleeves caught the light; a shimmering patchwork of slim, pale stripes and little round burn marks like a dysfunctional noughts and crosses competition had been fought out on the patchwork of his arms and hands. "I used to do this when I was a kid, to remind myself to feel again."

He felt silent, his eyes wandering over the marks on his arm as if he could recall the origin of each and every one. When he did not say anything more, Xavier wondered if he had actually called a halt on the proceedings. He did not interrupt though or say anything stupid like he knew where he was coming from, although he did understand, probably better than most. He'd let Rayne tell it at his own pace if he wanted to.

He slid down next to Rayne and curled to his side, a solid, comforting warmth as Rayne silently examined the scars on his arms. Xavier knew exactly why he did it without him having to explain. He had never self-mutilated, but he'd found other ways to either let out the pain or escape the numbness it caused. He did not like to think about the things he had done.

He kissed Rayne's temple softly, just to let him know he was still there, and maybe pull him up a bit from ghosts of the past. When he didn't respond Xavier caught his hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his fingertips. "You still like pretty young subs that make you look good." He winked at him.

"You're not always my sub," Rayne reminded him atonally, still examining his forearm thoughtfully. His head turned so that he could look into Xavier's eyes now, his expression wary. "Do I... do you ever feel that I bullied you into doing things?" he asked tentatively.

Xavier propped his head on his arm, looking at Rayne with a small smile. "I look younger than I am, remember? I'm not one of those inexperienced kids. If you push me too hard on something I do push back." His smile widened a little at Rayne's expression. "You can get a little high handed sometimes, but I don't let you bully me. If I felt like that I wouldn't be here right now."

Rayne half turned, lying on his side, one hand propped beneath his chin as he studied his mate; so smart and so beautiful. He wanted more than anything just to kiss Xavier and make him forget about all of this. And therein was the danger.

He knew that he could do it. One kiss, and a little bit of psychological pressure and Xavier would do what he wanted. Unless the bites Rayne had given him put him beyond that, and he really did not want to try it out. Jabez could wipe a person's memory faster than they could breathe and he did so without any hesitation, without morals almost.

That set him apart from his rebellious Fledgling, already.

"You're not some wet-behind the ears kid, Xav. I know you can stand up for yourself, that's why I'm here, lying beside you. But I... I know that I forced people to make difficult decisions sometimes in the past. And I worry that I've done the same thing to you, given you no real choices. Everything I've done since I came out of rehab, I've questioned somehow. And the more I ask myself questions, the less I like the answers."

Xavier looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again. "Rayne, I don't know what things you're questioning, but...you haven't pushed me into anything. I wanted to be here with you. I still want to be here with you. Even if I get frustrated and blow off some steam, it doesn't mean I'm calling it quits, ok? If you mean you're questioning other things...well, if you want to tell me about it I'll tell you what I think." He held up a hand. "I'm just offering to listen, I'm not pumping you for information... just so you know."

Rayne curled around him, pulling him close and just enjoying the warmth of his body, even if his lover was being doubly careful with him since their brief, fierce slanging match. That in itself was wrong. He could remember being fourteen years old, wary of every word that he said around Brian, careful not to upset his uncle too much because that upset his mum and it all came back down on his head sooner or later.

"You've seen inside me a bit," he ventured tentatively. "You know that I... there are places... places in my past that I still can't go. After I lost my memory those places were locked away from me. But when I went to Manchester something opened a door in my head and I saw something that I wasn't ready to see. And I think that my ex possibly manipulated that a little bit. Not in a malicious way, but to get what he wanted. And the thing that freaked me out about it was that I never saw him doing it. I think I felt a little bit out of step with him sometimes but I never realised what it was that he was doing to me.

"And the thing is..." Rayne held up his hand again and Xavier realised for the first time that it wasn't the scars he was looking at but the dark, platinum and diamond band that had appeared on his finger before they came up here. It glistened in the soft light from the bedside lamp. "I really was starting to believe that I was in love with him. And now I wonder. I actually wonder if I even knew what love was."

Xavier kissed his cheek very softly and slowly stroked his fingers through his silken hair, holding him gently. "I can't say if you did, or didn't Ray... but I do know that just because you love someone doesn't make them automatically perfect. Maybe he wasn't the best for you, but he couldn't have been all bad or you wouldn't have felt like you did, right?"

He was thinking back now to the ghosts of his own past relationships, especially Josh. If ever there had been someone totally wrong for him Josh had been it. He'd lied to him, cheated on him, hooked him on smack, hit him and sold him for drug money...and Xav had been hopelessly in love with him. It might have been a sick and wrong kind of love, but it didn't make it less real.

"I hate feeling manipulated," Rayne responded, a hard little edge creeping into his words now. "Perhaps it's just my conditioning but I feel cheated somehow, like he was subtly making me into something that I wasn't, to suit himself and I just fell for it because I needed it. I needed what he gave me back, that sense of being in control. I needed somebody to be strong for me. There," he said, looking down at Xavier grimly. "Now you know something I'd never admit to anyone. Sometimes I just... I just want to be looked after. Kevan brought out the child in me. I stopped being a child when I was about ten, when my mum and dad split up. And I never admitted it, but it was hard for me."

Xavier looked at him solemnly, his big blue eyes blinking once, slowly.

"That's... that's just unspeakable. My image of you is totally blown. I can't believe you'd ever actually need someone to look after you sometimes." He saw dark storm clouds gathering in Rayne's eyes and quickly cut off and wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close before he could move away. "Babe...everyone wants to feel looked after sometimes, `There's nothing wrong with that, it's no crime. Life dumped a lot of shit on you, if you weren't as strong as you are you wouldn't have survived at all. It doesn't mean you're not strong either, just because you let someone help carry the load once in a while."

He cuddled up close, wrapping his warmth around Rayne like a blanket. That felt so good that for a little while neither of them much wanted to speak or do anything but snuggle up to one another. Xavier could gradually feel Rayne beginning to relax and calm down again. After a short time he went on.

"Kevan manipulating you and you letting him, whether either one of you realised you were doing it... that's not exactly healthy but it's not so unusual either. Why do you think he was playing mind games though? What was he making you do?"

"Ummm..." Rayne said uncertainly. The little light flickered behind his eyes; the one that flashed whenever he was trying to decide how best to avoid answering a difficult question. "It's kind of... sensitive."

Xavier held his wary gaze, looking at him patiently. He wasn't angry or upset that Rayne didn't want to tell him, but he couldn't help being curious. What could he think was so bad? As Xavier looked at him he realised something else, if he'd had more blood in him Rayne would be blushing. So far the things he'd tried to hide from Xav had been because he thought they made him bad, or weak, this he was actually embarrassed about.

A little frown appeared between Xavier's eyes. What had this guy made Rayne do that he was so ashamed of? He was struggling between wanting to know and being afraid to push Rayne on it. He had felt sorry for the man when he heard how he died, but now he wasn't so sure.

"What did he make you do?" he asked again and then bit his lip as if trying to bite back the words that were already out. He couldn't help it; couldn't stop the rise of indignant anger on his lover's behalf as he started to imagine all kinds of perverted things Rayne might have been forced into.

Rayne shook his head. "You'll laugh at me. And I don't think I can stand that, just now. It's so stupid that... I don't even know how I let him talk me into it in the first place, Xavier. I must have been out of my mind. And we did kinkier things, it's just..." He managed a half laugh and hugged Xav to show that he didn't mind him being curious but he wasn't sure how to answer the question. "This really got to me, for some reason."

The crease in Xavier's brow smoothed a bit but he still looked perplexed and a little anxious.

"I wouldn't laugh at you. I don't care what it is, I wouldn't laugh," he said. "You don't have to tell me if it's that hard, but...now I'm worried I might hit a nerve accidentally, if I don't know... since it bothered you so much."

"You can be very manipulative when it suits you, Mizz Gavrilov? Did anyone ever tell you that?" Rayne's nose settled against the tip of Xavier's and he ran his hands slowly up and down his lover's torso, relaxing slightly now that he sensed Xav wasn't going to lose it with him again. It bugged him a little bit still that he felt that way, but not so much as it once might have. "You won't be happy until I have no secrets, will you?"

"I prefer to think I'm focused rather than manipulative," he replied. "For example, I'm not easily led away from things in a conversation, like you keep trying to do." He winked at him.

"I dunno why I put up with you really," Rayne lied, kissing his way along Xavier's jawbone to the lobe of his ear and sucking lightly on it as his fingers wormed under the younger man's shirt. "You're nothing but trouble, and you're always digging for something. Honestly!"

A slow smile curled Xavier's lips as Rayne's hands started to drift and he breathed kisses across his skin. He relaxed and enjoyed the sweetness for a few moments, letting Rayne be lulled by his passive acceptance. When Rayne's lips found his own for a more heated kiss Xavier sunk into it with a soft moan and pushed on his shoulders gently until he lay back and Xavier slid a leg over to straddle him.

Still plying him with warm kisses Xavier slid his hands over Rayne's arms, bringing them up above his head, and then grinned down at him. They both knew there was no way Xav could really pin him but his grin said he wasn't serious anyway.

"Now, tell me all your secrets or I vill be forced to torture you!" he demanded in a very comical German accent. When Rayne just arched a brow at him Xav attacked, diving in to tickle him until he got him to laugh.

Rayne laughed huskily, and the curl of his lips exposed the extension of his tidy little fangs but the glint in his eye was more mischievous than malicious. He pushed against Xavier's hands but not hard enough to dislodge his lover. Instead his hips rose and fell restlessly between Xav's thighs.

"I'll never surrender. You can do what you want to me!" he flashed back in a slightly hysterical falsetto. "Please!" he added, with a cheeky wink.

Xav dissolved into laughter and curled forward to claim his lips in a hungry kiss while he pushed Rayne's shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. "Resistance is futile... I vill have to ravish you now!" He giggled while he tugged at the rest of his clothes.

"Oh God! Not that! I can resist anything but that!" Rayne wriggled out of his shirt sleeves and his hands got to work helping Xavier to peel down as their mouths did silent battle save for the occasional low moan of appreciation.

How they had gone from a tender intimate intensely gratifying afternoon, to screaming at each other, to rolling around like a couple of playful naked otters was beyond Xavier. All he knew was that he was infinitely grateful that that his short burst of hot temper had not cause any lasting damage.

It did not take them long to get naked, although it took a little longer for Xav to cover Rayne with kisses and let his clever tongue tease them both into a state or eager readiness. He spread Rayne's legs and settled between, sliding down to treat his lover to a long, slow, wet, mind melting blow job.

When he had reduced Rayne to a writhing, panting, puddle of need he pulled off of him and moved back up, smiling seductively down at him as he kissed him soundly. He rolled his hips, rubbing his dripping cock against Rayne's hard shaft.

"Are you ready to tell me all your secrets now, beautiful?" he murmured, a soft chuckle humming in the back of his throat.

Rayne leaned back beneath him, writhing up against him playfully, his hands still eternally restless, roaming up and down Xavier's delicious body. He loved to fuck but even he was amazed how incessant they had been together since he came back from Manchester.

"Mmmmhhhhh..." he sighed, pretending to think about it. "You're getting me there. Making me so hot!"

Xavier was kissing and nuzzling along his throat and he nipped him there just a little harder than he usually would have. He was fiercely turned on by their bit of playing too and flashed him a grin. "I just love a challenge! I will wear you down, sweetheart..." he promised, and without warning flipped Rayne over.

Instead of pouncing on him though he smoothed his hands up Rayne's sleek back and let them glide up and down for a while, his thumbs occasionally kneading small circles into tight muscles. He leaned down to pepper his shoulders with little kisses when he reached for the lube, and a wicked little smile curled the corners of his mouth as he pulled out the toy in the drawer as well. Quite an impressive sized vibrator!

"Jesus!" Rayne whispered, a little squeak in the end of his voice and he tried to wriggle around for a better look. "I know Her Ladyship likes 'em hung but that's... that's enough to make even my eyes water!"

He was incredibly hard now, his body still tingling pleasurably from the rough frottage of Xavier's nude body on his own. The look of daring in his lover's big blue eyes was almost enough to make him drool, and not just from his mouth.




London Loves Ch. 10



Xavier looked at him with half closed sexy eyes and lifted the dildo to his lips, flicking and circling his tongue around the bulbous end while he eased two lubricated fingers between Rayne's checks and into his tight little hole.

"You can still save yourself if you want to missy." He grinned and winked at Rayne.

"Cheeky pup! I could wipe the floor with you if I wanted to, just remember that," Rayne blew him a kiss. "Besides, I got something much tastier down here for you to lick on."

He waggled his stiffening dick teasingly and wriggled back against the feel of Xavier's slippery fingers inside him. A little gasping sigh escaped his parted lips.

"Mmmm... not ready to talk yet I see," Xavier said, still grinning at him as he smoothly pumped his fingers inside Rayne. "Never fear, I will make you spill your secrets yet!" He chuckled wickedly as he stroked and rotated his fingertips over the small, smooth, hot spot inside his lover. Kissing and licking and nibbling along Rayne's back, he worked more lube into him and stretched him open. Now he squeezed some more lube into his other hand and stroked the slippery stuff over Rayne's already wet cock head, working him from both sides in a steadily climbing rhythm. He wanted him nice and hot for this!

When he felt the time was ripe he picked up the vibrator again and pressed the smooth rubbery end to Rayne's slick opening. His other hand kept jacking his cock slowly as his firm steady pressure pushed the phallus into his rectum.

"Uuuuhhhh! Son of a Bitch!" Rayne yelped as he felt it stretch him hard and slumped into the rumpled bedclothes, huffing like an exhausted dog. The stretch and burn was painful, but in a good way. Sometimes he almost understood what it was that Matty enjoyed about pain. Sometimes! "You... huhhuhhuh... you won't break me... huhhuh... break me so easily, Gavrilov!"

His fingers clenched in the crisp material and he whined urgently.

Xav paused only to add a little more of the lubricating gel onto the dildo before he worked a few more inches into Rayne. His own cock stood up against his belly flagpole straight and weeping with anticipation. He was so fucking turned on it was making him a little dizzy and he stroked a hand up and down his dick while he got even more of the toy inside Rayne.

He pulled back a little and pushed more, fucking him with it slowly until he'd gotten him to take it all. He was beside Rayne now and scooting up on his knees toward his shoulder, fingers twining gently in his hair and pulling his face around into his lap while he twisted the end of the vibe to turn it on.

Rayne was keening long and low in his throat as he writhed against the duvet, making hungry little animal noises as he was filled up but offering no resistance to the vigorous penetration. When Xavier pulled on his hair he turned his face willingly towards his lover and curled around him, sinking onto his side as he kissed and licked the underside of Xavier's cock, easing his wriggling tongue slowly up and down the heat of that delicious shaft.

He made a noise like metal under pressure, a low, straining, whining sound that vibrated through his tongue stud and quivered in the Xavier's throbbing flesh. Xav's fingers tightened slightly in Rayne's hair as his lips quivered over his excited shaft.

"Ohhh... suck me sweetheart," he breathed and pulled in a shuddering breath as Rayne's lips parted around his head. He rewarded him immediately by pumping the long humming vibrator vigorously in and out of his chute.

Rayne's slender body quivered like a plucked string. He undulated slowly around Xavier's knees and swallowed him deep without a second's hesitation, full, wet lips drawing sweetly on his sex. Long lashes fanned his alabaster cheeks and when they flickered back they framed a gaze that was pure emerald, the wide, dark pupils bleeding into the lush, organic green of his irises.

Xavier flexed his hips, bucking slowly between Rayne's lips, his own gaze slightly luminous as he stared into his lover's eyes. His breath came a bit faster as Rayne nodded down on him.

"Uuuhhh uhhh... oh god, babe...that's so-o-o good," he whispered tumultuously.

After a few minutes he was getting close and he didn't want to come this way. He tugged back on Rayne's hair, pulling him off his cock with a wet pop, then nudged Rayne's shoulder, pushing him onto his back with the vibe still buried deep and climbed up on him. Angling his lover's cock upward slightly he sat down on him so quick it stole his breath.

"Jeee-sus!" Rayne exhaled at the sharp tug of Xavier's tight ring sliding down over him. It pulled on the slick flesh of his erection in ways that brought tears to his eyes, Undead or not, and his head sank back against the softness of the quilt beneath him as he veiled that shimmering stare behind near translucent lids. Urgently he bucked and writhed between his lover's thighs, adjusting to the heat and the snug grip of his passage, coupled with the incessant hum of the dildo buried deep in his overstimulated body.

Xav began to move, circling his hips slowly at first, only coming up the slightest bit before grinding into Rayne's groin. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth as his thighs flexed tight on Rayne's sides and he picked up the pace, riding him harder.

"Aahhh-hahh... sweet Christ!" Rayne sucked in a shuddering breath and his hands gripped Xavier's slender legs almost painfully tight as he quivered inside the younger man, his loins on fire. The vigorous pulsing deep in his colon was driving him crazy with lust but whenever he tried to buck his legs turned to jelly. "Jesus! It's been years since... ahhh... since I felt this... ohhhhh... ohh god... this turned on!"

Xav smiled at him, his lean body undulating over him in rippling waves that took them both higher and higher. He leaned in and kissed Rayne long and hard, assailing him with another layer of sensation before his lips moved on to kiss and suck at his ear lobe and the side of his throat. His lips pressed into Rayne's skin, muffling his little moans and words of encouragement.

"Mmm... you taste so goo-mmuah... love the way you fee-uuahh... gonna make me come... I lo-muah you, so much..."

Rayne's fingertips skated smoothly to the curve of Xavier's hip and traced a line inward to the base of his swollen cock. He curled his long cool fingers around the shaft and tugged on the soft, flexible covering of skin, gently milking his lover. Laying the underside of Xavier's erection against his undulating belly he stroked his hand up and down the upper-side so that it was rolled back and forth across his bared stomach leaving a fine trail of pearly stickiness there.

For once he was beyond words, just reduced to a low, frantic chorus of sexually charged mewing sounds as the unremitting pulse in his colon stirred the rising explosion in his balls, edging him higher and higher until he could not hold it any more.

"UuuuhhhhhAOOOWWWWW!" he yowled, his hips arcing upward, pushing deep into the lush, wet suction of Xavier's passage. "Y-Y-Y-Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhh!"

Xavier had been holding on to the precipice by his fingernails and the moment Rayne went over he tumbled after him. His whole body shuddered as Rayne slammed into him, the kind of white hot orgasm that flashed red behind his closed eyelids and made him lose every bit of control until the spasms of pleasure coursing through him finally started to subside. Then they both lay limply in a panting, sweaty tangle of limbs.

Xavier finally moved only because he needed to turn off and gently extract the vibe from Rayne's twitching colon. His lover barely stirred and Xavier took the opportunity pull him into his embrace, holding him close and whispering kisses over his damp skin while his hands stroked him soothingly. When Rayne opened his eyes again Xav kissed the tip of his nose.

"Tell me your secret now, or I'll do it again!" He winked at him to let him know he was only half-teasing.

"Uhhh... I can't even remember my own name after that!" Rayne groaned huskily.

He did, however, remember that he was hungry and now that Xavier seemed to be recovering from his own injuries it seemed less imprudent to allow himself a little nip. His lips were soft and chill on the younger man's blood-suffused skin as he let his fangs extend and just punctured Xav's neck very lightly. The taste that filled his mouth was pure heaven and he kissed his lover harder, just beneath his earlobe as he sucked on the small, double bite wound.

Xavier's eyes slid closed and his breath caught in his throat. He melted under Rayne as a sweet lassitude spread through him, like the pleasant buzz after fabulous sex only magnified times ten. It felt like it had been ages since Rayne had taken any blood from him.

"Aaa-hhhuh..." The little mewl of pleasure that came from him was almost sexual except he just spent himself utterly in that regard.

In spite of his hunger Rayne held back. One small bite and once it healed, he told himself strictly, no more. Even so, he lingered over the sweet sharp buzz of Xavier's blood, licking gently at the marks until they were all but gone. He could still taste his mate, warm and delicious on his tongue but he already felt stronger for feeding. Now he curled around Xavier, still lapping at his skin and kissing him gratefully.

"You are so good to me," he whispered huskily. "It feels so good being this close to you, gorgeous. There is no-one else. Do you believe me when I say that? I might fuck people but I don't need anyone the way that I need you. Is that enough?"

Xavier gave him a soft, sweet kiss, his eyes half closed and sleepy looking. He practically radiated with contented bliss and he nodded rather than trust himself to speak right then. It would do for now, but he was determined that he was still going to get to the bottom of this mystery with the dress.

He would have liked to just stay there in bed with Rayne wrapped around him and drift off to sleep, but two things eventually made him get up. Rayne wasn't the only one that was hungry, and he needed to go apologise to Dominic.

He went to the bathroom first and washed up a little before sliding into a comfortable pair of track pants and a tee shirt. Rayne hadn't moved yet and lay in the centre of the bed with the duvet pulled up around him, although his eyes shone in the darkened room, a contented look on his face as well. Xav bent to kiss him again, stroking his fingers over the curve of his jaw for a moment.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat. I won't be long," he promised and kissed him lightly again before slipping out the door and making his tentative way back down the stairs.

*

END OF CHAPTER TEN

LONDON LOVES...?

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2013



London Loves Ch. 11



(c) Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2013 





Xavier found Dominic still in the kitchen, although Gabriel wasn't around. The remnants of dinner smelled absolutely wonderful and Xav concentrated on trying to not let his belly growl. He gave his friend a sheepish little smile. 

"Dom...I'm sorry I stormed off like that."

Lord Warren swept a gentle hand around the back of his neck and pulled his head in, kissing him softly on the brow.

"What's done is done," he said pragmatically. "Though I cannot say with my hand on my heart that I was not a little irate about it, the moment has passed. Did you two patch it up?"

He steered Xavier to the table as he was speaking and sat him down in front of a large hollow bottomed plate, more like a shallow soup dish, and a set of pricey looking silver cutlery that was as heavy as it looked. There was still a very tempting aroma wafting from the covered pan on the stove although the dishes waiting for the large stone sink by the window suggested that his hosts had already eaten. Xavier sat, feeling like a contrite six-year-old for pissing Dominic off. 

"Um, yeah," he answered as little flashes of just how well they had made up zipped through his head and made him smile. "I really am sorry Dom. I don't know why I got so mad."

"Hmm, let me guess," Dominic mused, filling his bowl with a delicious smelling helping of meaty stew and cutting him a handful of slices of fresh bread to help mop it up. He put the pan on the cast iron trivet at the head of the table and sat down opposite Xav with his chin on the backs of his hands, contemplating the younger man with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Perhaps a certain Mr. Vampire seems to take you for granted a little too much? Could that be part of it? I've already chastised Gabriel Arden for his part in the charade, by the way. And I'm not angry with you. It's not fair that you were caught in the inevitable crossfire between Gabe and Rayne. Gabriel can't help himself. Rayne..."

Dominic hesitated for a moment then shook his head. "I'm just not sure."

Xavier looked at his plate for a moment, a little frown creasing his brow. "I don't know that he takes me for granted so much. He just... has a shit load of boundaries. It just got to me to have it pointed out to me again how much he doesn't tell me." And it had hurt, a lot, to feel so marginalized. Xav spooned up a huge mouthful of the stew, he really was hungry, especially after such an energetic day. He shook his head slightly as he chewed and swallowed. "I told them earlier they were like two kids on a playground running up and pulling each other's pigtails."

"That's just what they're like!" Dominic chuckled. "And we all know why boys and girls do that, don't we? They can play the 'I'm not even going to stoop to his level' card as much as they like but they don't fool me. And I'm pretty sure they don't pull the wool over your eyes either." 

He smiled conspiratorially at Xavier, but it was not an entirely happy smile. Xav was quiet again for a few moments. He was wondering about Dominic's unhappy look. Maybe Dom wasn't as cool with sharing his boyfriend as he'd seemed. Xav cleared his throat after eating another bite. 

"Does that bother you?" he asked, a little hesitantly.

Lord Warren sighed and pushed a long-fingered, sun-tanned hand through his halo of silver and gold curls. He was a handsome man, who definitely did not look his age, but the tell-tale anxiety was there in his face. Gabriel was a natural flirt, in that they were well matched, but he was also a good 30 years Dominic's junior, by Xavier's reckoning.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt," he responded diplomatically. "And when those two 'play' believe me, more than just fur flies!"

Now Xavier's expression turned very thoughtful indeed, but he let the subject go because it seemed to be making Dominic unhappy. He concentrated on eating instead and it was perhaps a good thing they'd stopped talking about that particular subject because it was about then that Gabriel wandered back in from outside.

Xavier was not quite sure what to say to him. He'd apologised to Dominic because he'd felt bad after Dom had gone to the trouble to invite them here and cook and everything, but he wasn't sure how he felt about Gabriel right now.

Dominic moved to his feet and rattled a few pans in the sink, but Gabriel took a place at the table, not quite facing Xavier but close enough that the younger man could meet his eye without cricking his neck if he chose to.

"You all right, mate?" he asked in a sober tone. "I didn't mean fer you to get all riled about what I said. I was just pokin' a bit of fun at him, I never thought like how it might hurt you. But it weren't meant, honest. Sorry."

Dominic glanced over his shoulder at the gangling Roma with a brief expression of surprise. He turned away to hide it just as quickly though.

Xavier leveled a look at Gabriel and there was no mistaking that he was silently weighing the sincerity of that apology. That single glance took some of the youth off him for a moment and gave a brief glimpse of the jaded, wary young man behind his normal carefree facade. Then he offered a little half smile and shrugged, and all seemed right again. 

"S'okay," he said by way of accepting the apology for what it was. "So, you never did answer if you changed into a puppy when you were little."

Gabe cracked a tiny smile too and shook his head.

"Sorry to disappoint you, I was a hairy baby, but I didn't start feelin' the urge to shift until I was a bit older." He looked at Xavier with puppy-dog eyes though. "What a night that was!"

Xavier seemed unusually interested, or maybe not so unusual. After all, how often did one get to meet a werewolf? His curiosity was killing him. "Did you know what was going to happen? I mean, did you know you were a werewolf already or was that when you found out? How long does it take to shift? Does it hurt? Do you mind my asking? Can I see you do it?"

Dominic managed a slightly longer look over his shoulder, he was trying not to laugh this time. There was something so childlike about Xavier's enthusiasm. Most adults recoiled with horror at the idea of anything remotely out of the ordinary. Mind you, the boy had been sharing his body with a vampire for the past couple of months!

Gabe chuckled too, relaxing as he figured Xav clearly wasn't all that mad at him.

"Nosy, aren't you?" he remarked, winking to show the younger man he wasn't offended. "I kind of knew I was different, I got two were uncles and my grandfather on me da's side is a shifter too. The family was expectin' one of us to have the curse an' I was the lucky pup!" He grinned at Xavier now. "I was born with hair all over my body but it dropped off when I was about 6 months old. I didn't shift for the first time till I was near' thirteen though. I was a late starter, my kin had been expectin' it for about 18 months. For a couple of moons before, I got the wanderlust, real bad. Bad even for one of the people, an' we're always on the move. I just wanted to be off, explorin', finding wild places where there was no folk. At finish my gramps took me off wanderin' over the moors and sleepin' under the stars. When the moon finally came full, he shifted to 'is wolf form and so did I. Bein' up close with him when it happened must of triggered me off.

"We ran together and he showed me how to hunt that first night. The shift hurt pretty bad when it was happenin', but weres heal fast in shifted form so it didn't hurt for long once my wolf was out. And Gramps stayed with me the whole time so I wasn't really scared."

"Liar," Dominic teased. "You told me once that you screamed like a baby the whole time and he was mortally ashamed of you!"

Gabriel flipped him the bird and pulled a face. "Who's side are you on? That was pretty low, Lady W."

Xavier grinned. He had listened intently to everything Gabe said, while still managing to put away most of the food in front of him. 

"Do you remember everything when you shift back?" He asked this question slightly more cautiously.

"Course I do," Gabe's broad grin returned and he winked at Xavier again. "The wolf is me and I am the wolf. Wolf memories are hard to describe though. When I'm shifted I sense things very different to what I do in this shape. The wolf scents and it tastes, it hears everything, the wolf don't think in words, Xavier. It thinks in smell-o-vision!" The curl of his lips was almost lascivious now. 

Xavier finished off the stew and he cocked his head slightly. Gabe's senses might be sharper in his wolf form, but Xav was willing to bet they weren't exactly at ordinary human level in his current form either. It made him wonder what he must smell like to him right now to put that look on his face, like he wanted to eat him up. 

"Do you shift right into a wolf, or do you have a form in between?" he asked to distract himself from the idea that Gabriel might be able to smell what he and Rayne had just been up to, and also thinking of things he'd seen in movies.

Gabriel leaned back comfortably in his seat as Dominic returned to the table and poured more wine for the three of them. Lord Warren leaned over to kiss his younger lover affectionately and Gabe reached up and stroked his hair before they drew apart again. There was a tenderness in his dark eyes, that Xavier had not seen before, when he returned his attention their guest.

"When the moon's not quite full I can do a kind of semi-shift. I'm still mostly human but the wolf genes run stronger in me, I'm taller and lots stronger when it happens."

"His libido is pretty high as well," Dom grinned wickedly and reached for his glass.

Gabriel shook his head but he was chuckling quietly again. "I can control how and when that happens too," he explained. "But with the full shift, when the moon comes proper full I have to turn, no fighting it. I don't have no human control over what happens then neither."

"He can make a total shift without the moon being full," Dominic added, sipping his wine. "It's harder to do the further he is from the moon's zenith but it can be done."

Xavier fell quiet as he took in all the information he'd been given. He got the feeling that Gabriel probably didn't answer these kinds of questions for many people. He was still more than a little fascinated, although his questions seemed to have run out for the time being. All except one, which he hesitated in asking again because he thought it might be rude.

He fidgeted around in his seat for a little while before he just had to spit it out. "So...when you shift, can I watch you do it?"

Gabe glanced at Dominic who was smiling knowingly into his wineglass.

"Fearless, ain't 'e?" the were remarked.

"Well, he's one of ours, of course he is," Lord Warren observed, diverting his smile onto Xavier.

Gabriel cleared his throat.

"I'm not shiftin' into a cuddly puppy dog, no matter what shit Wylde feeds you," he said plainly. "When I shift, I'm a bloody great big wolf, with a wolf's appetite, d'you understand?"

"Gabriel usually goes somewhere out of the way to make the shift," Dominic added, rather more diplomatically. "He's aware that his Wolf can be quite... alarming for the uninitiated."

"Wolves don't usually attack humans, though, unless they're defending themselves or starving, right? I just figured since you said you can control it..." Xavier said reasonably. "But if you don't want me to see it's ok," he added, managing not to sound too disappointed but wanting to talk Gabe into letting him see a werewolf shift just the same.

"I'm a human being who just 'appens to be a were. I'm not a freak show, Xavier." Gabriel said it quietly enough but there was a small edge of bitterness in his tone, the first he'd heard from the normally amiable Roma.

"Shhhh..." Dominic put a hand on the back of his, his expression both protective and conciliatory. "He doesn't mean it in cruelty, he's just fascinated, darling."

"I didn't mean to make it sound like that." Xavier agreed softly, wincing a bit. He'd just gotten a wave of something more than the merest prickle of irritation Gabe's tone suggested. That was definitely a sore spot with him, if the emotions that just rubbed him raw were any indication.

"He knows that, darling," Dominic said reassuringly because Gabriel was still brooding, even though he forced a reluctant half smile.

He had the kind of face that misery sat ill at ease upon. His smile when it happened was such a natural thing that it seemed wrong to see him look unhappy. Dominic too was troubled by it and cupped his face to plant a gentle kiss on his lips.

"The moon will be full in a few days," he said softly. "You feel it in your blood don't you, my love?"

Gabriel nodded gravely. Then he looked at Xavier with a little more frankness.

"I'm not offended, babe. Just... I get kind of... edgy when the moon's close. Like I need to burn off energy."

"It makes him amazing in bed," Dominic laughed huskily.

"I'm always amazing in bed, babe," Gabriel countered, the smile returning to his lips at that remark.

Xav relaxed again as Dominic easily soothed nerves and smoothed things over. It also helped that their gentle banter was generating a little glow of happy, loving warmth off both of them. Xavier smiled again too, although his thoughts naturally drifted toward Rayne when he thought of amazing in bed, especially after their most recent round of lovemaking. His expression softened and took on a slightly sultry cast that made what he was thinking about as transparent as glass.

Gabriel's smile quickened a little more. There was an indecent glint in his dark eyes too, which took in Xavier as well as his lover.

"Is Deadboy gonna sulk upstairs all night now he's got what he was after?" he asked, letting Xavier know that not only had he guessed what was on his mind but Gabe knew that Xav had let Rayne feed from him tonight as well.

"He's not sulking," Xav said, just a hint defensively. Rayne didn't need defending of course, but Xavier couldn't help being protective of him. He smiled again though and put on a very innocent expression as he added, "I think he's just wore the fuck out."

"Funny that, cos you don't look too worn out?" Gabriel winked at him. "Look like you could go a good few rounds more, in truth!"

Xav chuckled and shook his head. "You don't give up easy, do you."

"I haven't even started yet!" Gabriel assured him.

"Well, you better give it a rest. I don't think Rayne likes you flirting with me all that much."

"Why d'you think I do it?" Gabriel winked at him again. "That and you're proper tasty lookin', by the by!"

"Gabe!" Dominic warned with a shake of his head.

"Well, it's true." The were pouted slightly, waiting for his mate to crack a reluctant smile. "And since I've done his boyfriend, it seems only fair."

Dominic's eyes had begun to narrow but either Gabriel wasn't about to take the hint or he said it deliberately. Xavier was pretty sure it was the latter. He folded his arms on the edge of the table and the little smile that had been tugging one corner of his mouth looked more like a smirk now.

"You keep doing that, saying shit you think might shock me. Are you trying to cause trouble between him an' me? Or do you just think I'm stupid and need to be enlightened 'bout what I've got myself into? Or maybe you think it's a game, huh? See if you can fuck me so you can rub Rayne's nose in it?" Xavier's eyes glinted across the table at him and although he was keeping a cool head now his hot temper probably wouldn't need a whole lot of pushing to lash out, werewolf or not.

Gabriel, to his credit, did not flinch in the face of Xavier's heated response. He sat back with a little nod of his head and murmured; "So you reckon the only reason I'd want to do you would be to get Wylde's back up? Int'resting." He chuckled quietly to himself. "Not that it ain't intricately satisfying to get Deadboy's prickles ruffled once in a while. But I'd have a go even if you wasn't with anyone at all. I acksherly jus' reckoned it would be fun."

Xavier's expression didn't waver as he hid the bit of confusion and doubt Gabriel stirred. He was good at keeping the mask of easy going self confidence in place. He'd learned young that if you showed doubt or fear it meant you risked exposure, risked looking like prey, and when you were on your own that was a very dangerous thing to do.

"Why do you like picking on Rayne so much? You afraid of him or what?" Xavier's redirection was not as smooth as usual, but he didn't really care just then. If Gabe wanted to play armchair psychologist he could have some of it back.

"I can always get a rise out of 'im, that's why," Gabriel's grin restored itself to default mode on his face. "No point in pokin' a sore if it don't bleed. And Mr Deadboy likes to try an' convince people that he's above stuff like emotions and whatnot. He don't feel nothin', he's had it soooo hard! Well if that's right a little bit of teasin' shouldn' get to 'im so bad, should it?"

"Your problem," Dominic pointed out to his lover, "is that you can't see a hornet's nest without trying to poke it with a stick. Given that you're supposed to be a pacifist, that's a bit two-faced really, darling."

Xav shook his head slightly. 

"Pacifist or not, you like picking on him. There's only two reasons to pick on someone. You're either afraid of him or you got a crush on him," Xavier remarked with a sage grin that said without words which he'd put his money on.

"No were of the Arden line is afeared of any vampire!" Gabriel declared with a disgusted snarl. "They're all disgusting pond slime at the end of the day, cold as fish and tight-arsed as bankers, but scary? Huh!"

Xavier blinked and he would have sworn on anything that Gabriel actually got a little bigger right before his eyes. His posture had taken on a more aggressive tilt, the snarl in his voice wasn't entirely human sounding. Xav figured he should have been intimidated as fuck, but all he could think was he had poked a raw nerve there! The only problem was that Gabe hit him with enough emotional backlash it almost knocked him out of his seat. Xavier kept his cool though. 

"Well, then I guess you must have a crush on him after all," he said perfectly deadpan.

"Christ, save me from that!"

Rayne was so tightly shut down that the first any of them knew of his presence were those five, low husky words, spoken from the shadows of the hallway, just beyond the kitchen door. He moved into the light, still more wraith than tangible being and Gabriel physically bristled.

Dominic moved to his feet smoothly, coming towards him. "They're only teasing one another, darling."

Xavier didn't turn to face Rayne. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but he was afraid just then to take his eyes off Gabriel Arden, for even a moment. He hadn't consciously set out to push the other man's buttons, but he couldn't in all honesty say he was unhappy he'd scored a few points back for a change. Xav wasn't vindictive by nature but it was a relief not to be the one being prodded to annoyance.

"You know..." Xavier said, the kid in him unable to leave well enough alone. "It sounds an awful lot to me like you're trying to convince yourself how much you don't like him."

Rayne caught one of Dominic's hands and drew it to his mouth kissing it as he swayed almost drunkenly into the kitchen, stripped to the waist, the top button of his tight, dark jeans still undone. He stroked one cool-fingered hand slowly down the side of Xavier's neck, caressing the dimple marks left by his fangs.

"The only thing Gabriel Hardon doesn't like is that us deadboys pull all the hotties. The pretty twinks can't get enough of us. Even Lady W loves to feel sharp teeth in her flesh. Isn't that right sweetheart?" He looked across at Dominic with a lazy little smile.




London Loves Ch. 11



"Don't cause trouble, Ray. Not tonight," the older man implored him in a low tone.

"Don't worry, babe," Gabe growled. "If he starts something I'll finish it for him."

"You wish." Rayne said the two small words in a coldly malevolent tone. His smile had fangs. "I'm stronger than last time, Gabriel. This time it'll be a straight fight. And you won't find me such a pushover."

The tension level in the room suddenly leaped so high Xavier felt it wrap around him like a living thing, making him wince and choking off his air as he was caught between the two of them. He didn't dare say anything now for fear the slightest provocation would set that tension off like a powder keg.

Dominic was less restrained. He caught Rayne's hand in both of his, bringing the vampire around to face him.

"Please!" he repeated earnestly. "I have a ritual in five days and I really need my wing-man. In one piece."

Rayne's pale eyes travelled over his face slowly, as if he could memorise Dominic that way. He smiled at last, a quiet little twitch of the lips that acknowledged his friend's desires.

"Don't worry, we'll be on our best behaviour," he murmured at last. His gaze travelled to the dark, hostile eyes of the watchful Roma and he added; "Won't we, sweetheart?"

Gabriel got to his feet and walked out through the darkened winter garden in stony silence. In his wake, Rayne seemed to deflate slightly as if some tension flowed out of his body with the were's departure. He turned back to Xavier and offered a humourless smile.

"See, I can play nice."

Xavier let out a shaky breath he hadn't even known he was holding and slumped in his chair. He wasn't sure what had just happened exactly, but he'd sensed something and it left him feeling drained and achingly tired now. He looked up at Rayne with confused and worried eyes.

"How long you been there?" Xav asked as it occurred to him to wonder how much of their conversation Rayne had overheard.

"Why? You got a guilty conscience?" Rayne bent and kissed the top of his head to show that he wasn't entirely serious. He still looked tired though, as if the show of power had taken more out of him than he would admit to. "Really, I only just came down."

He glanced at Dominic; "Is Gabe genuinely that screwed up about me being here? We'll go back to London if we're fucking with your chi, Dom."

"You're a good boy, Ray," Dominic cupped his face and kissed him softly on his cool, smooth forehead. "And I wouldn't dream of being such a terrible host. It's just the full moon. He's always spiky around about this time of the month. And he'll get it out of his system, the usual way."

Lord Warren smiled grimly at them. Rayne made a noise somewhere between a snort and a sigh. "I'm stepping on his Alpha Male toes. Shit! Dunno why I can't just roll over and beg for him, heh! It would make life a lot easier. Not like I'm insecure about myself, is it?"

He winked at Xavier rather more playfully, still glowing from their unbelievable session earlier. Xav was looking very sated and pleased with himself as well. Some of the worry left his eyes and he reached a hand up to gently tug Rayne down into his lap for a snuggle.

"I hope you guys can get it out of your systems soon," Xavier chuckled darkly. "Preferably before you both start pee-ing on my leg to mark your territory or something!"

"No worries," Rayne perched on his knee with a more purposeful grin. "You're my bitch, sunshine!"

He snatched a quick kiss. Xavier poked him in the ribs. 

"Mm, I'll try an' remember that next time I'm making you scream and moan," he grinned.

Rayne shivered with pleasure but he glanced across at Dominic as he laughed; "You see what I have to put up with. You give them an inch..."

Lord Warren perched on a chair at one corner of the table, looking across at them with a fond, tolerant smile.

"Time was that you wouldn't give a single millimetre," he remarked. "I like the new, improved version. Xavier, I think you're good for him."

"Shhh, Dom!" Xav said in mock alarm. "You'll totally ruin my plans for domestication."

"Domestication? Christ!" Rayne murmured. "I've got Arden trying to rape me, or eat me, and Sunshine here trying to tame me like a fuckin' guinea pig. I can't win, can I?"

"No, you can't. So you might as well save yourself some trouble and just give in to me. I promise you won't regret a minute," Xavier said, placing a warm kiss at the nape of Rayne's neck.

Watching the pair of them snuggling like kittens created a sensation of warm and fuzzy well-being somewhere in the depths of their host's kind heart. Dominic Warren had watched over Rayne for more than fifteen years, since he was first Turned, and came to the High Priest in despair, looking for a way to end his existence.

Since that time he had seen Rayne grow in strength and self-belief but he had never quite lost the niggling worry that one day someone would bring him news of the vampire's True Death. The self-destructive streak in him was very stubborn, but Dominic believed that he had seen a mellowing in Rayne since he met Xavier. Maybe, finally, this time someone had come into his life who could make a difference.

"Xavier, darling, how do you do it?" he sighed, resting his chin in the cup of one hand as he observed them dreamily. "Rayne never listens to anyone. He's famous for it. How do you make him do that?"

Xavier had his arms wrapped loosely around Rayne's waist and his cheek rested on his shoulder blade. It was a frivolous question but Xavier's tone was on the serious side when he answered, "I don't make him do anything, Dom."

It was maybe more of an answer than Xavier realised. The joking about domestication aside, he didn't try to make Rayne do anything. He didn't want to box him in, chain him, change him, make him into something else, as so many people that entered into relationships did with their partner. Rayne made him happy, made him crazy, pissed him off no end at times, and for all that he loved Rayne the way he was, even when he wanted to tear his hair out with frustration.

Maybe it was just that they understood each other. Their pasts were so eerily similar in many regards. Whatever it was, Xavier had never known anyone that made him feel quite the way that Rayne did.

"I'm not that different, Dom." Rayne Wylde glanced speculatively at his friend. He trusted Dominic not to feed him bullshit. The old queen teased him endlessly but he always told it straight when it was important. "Am I?"

Lord Warren nodded his head slowly. "I can see it. Gabriel can see it. You're no angel, I doubt that will ever happen. But you've got a mellow side that I've never seen before."

"It's always been there," the singer protested, looking a little bit awkward now. "Maybe you just weren't looking so hard."

"Even your aura is less spiky," Dominic said with a smile.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Rayne snuggled into Xavier's arms enjoying the warmth and even enjoying the banter to a degree. He did feel at ease with Xavier, it was true. But had it changed him so much that other people noticed it? That was a conundrum for sure. He glanced at Xav curiously now. "What about you? Do you think I'm different?"

Xavier smiled at him and lifted one shoulder in a little shrug. "Maybe a little bit, but I don't think it has much to do with me," he said. 

Rayne had died after all, like for real died, crossed into some place not in this world and then found his way back. That had to change a person.

"Hmmm..." Rayne looked thoughtful now. His gaze had moved into that faraway place that it sometimes went and his eyes darkened slightly as if the observation provoked a memory he was not prepared to face. "I guess if the change is an improvement I can learn to live with that."

Dominic deftly moved the subject on to waters less deep and the three of them spent the rest of the evening chatting amiably. Gabriel did not return, and that both relieved and bothered Xavier. The relief was for obvious reasons, but it did make him feel bad that they seemed to have chased him away. Dominic didn't seem overly concerned though and they talked and drank wine until Xavier started yawning and Rayne took him back upstairs to bed; this time to sleep.



Xavier slipped down into dreams quite easily once they were back under the light, fluffy duvet on their wide, comfortable mattress. The day had genuinely worn him out and he still was not fully healed after his ordeal in London. His vampire lover lay curled around him for over an hour, listening to the gentle sounds of his breathing and enjoying the steady pulse of his heartbeat. He smelled too enticing though. If Rayne had less willpower it would have been all too easy to bite him again and drink his fill. He held back.

At around two thirty in the morning, he extricated himself gently and pulled on his jeans and a loose, zip-up top, then padded downstairs to the winter garden for a smoke. The house was quiet and in total darkness but Rayne did not need the lights on to see his surroundings. The external doors were closed but not locked and he let himself out into the moonlight.

Dominic had not been wrong earlier, the moon was almost full and he bathed in the cool, silver blanket of light, almost bright enough that even a mortal would be able to find his way easily. What a mortal would not see was the aura trail of a frustrated werewolf, dark and slippery as blood, as it wound across the silvered gardens below and disappeared through the gateway they had followed into the woods this afternoon. Rayne contemplated it in grim silence, then stubbed out his cigarette and followed it beyond the garden wall and away beneath the canopy of the densely growing trees.

His pulse was racing as he felt the darkness wrap around him once more, the moonlight reduced to mere razor shell strips of illumination as it lanced down through the leaves and branches overhead. His adrenaline too was high, though not out of fear. The time had long since passed when he feared what a were could do to him, certainly this were. No, his blood ran fast in his veins out of a feeling of delicious anticipation.

"Where are you, Mr Wolf?" he crooned low, as he prowled the woodland pathways, breathing in the cold, loamy scent of the wilderness and the hot, rank traces of flesh, fur and lupine sweat. "I know you're close. Why don't you show yourself? Scared I'll pull your tail?"

He drew to a halt in a small clearing near to the brook where he and Xavier had left the path yesterday. Now he unzipped his hooded jacket and slid it off, arching his back, letting the moonlight throw silver stripes across his bared torso and the faint, white scars that webbed his flesh there. His fingers moved to the buttons of his jeans and as they did, he heard a rustling and a soft crack somewhere just behind his left ear.

Rayne turned at once and his sharp eyes caught the blur of darker shadow as it moved through the very edge of the tree line, vanishing behind a bank of scrub set away from the trail. His breathing quickened automatically and his pupils widened and darkened hungrily. Without looking down he unfastened one button, whispering; "Come on then. Show Xavier he was right. Come and get what we both know you want, Wolfie. Then maybe we can settle down and stop being so fuckin' snippy with one another, yeah?"

When there was no response from the bushes where the shadow lurked, Rayne drew an impatient breath and stepped closer. His fingers worked on the second button as he reached the border of the trail and edged closer to the undergrowth. Then he stopped.

It was quiet; much too quiet, as if even the trees were holding their breath. He had a fleeting sensation of something moving, but not beyond the bushes. Moving behind him!

This time he did not even manage to turn before the full force of the black wolf struck into him from the other side of the trail.

"How the fu...?" Rayne managed to yelp, and then it slammed into his back and the pair of them tumbled headlong into the undergrowth, rolling and snarling as they went down in a tangle of flailing limbs and broken twigs.

Rayne threw himself into the roll. The undergrowth whipped across his back and sides like a cat-o-nine-tails but he pushed the sharp burn of pain down as he turned under his assailant, fangs extended in a defensive snarl. Gabe growled back in his face as he slammed the little vampire down on his back in the shrubbery and came in for a bite. Rayne's knee jerked up hard and fast between his legs and Gabriel took evasive action.

Rayne was impressed. He was a fast mover. Any mere mortal would have been curled around his nuts by now but Gabe was up and off him, panting and snarling. Though he still moved like a human, the were was all dark fur and flashing fangs. His eyes glistened like wet coal in the darkness as he came in again, slightly to the side, curving like a sliced shot, aiming for the throat. The vampire rolled hard and he slammed down on bare earth with a grunted curse. They came up on all fours simultaneously, Gabriel shaking his heavy, white-streaked, sable mane. Rayne's eyes gleamed ice-green in the moonlight.

"Too slow!" he hissed furiously.

Gabriel's taloned paw slapped him across the face from out of nowhere and put him on the floor. The werewolf cracked a lupine grin, tongue lolling.

"Too fuckin' clever by 'alf!"

Rayne tried to roll out of trouble again but the blow to the head disoriented him. It took fractionally longer to spot and right himself. A mortal would be comatose and bleeding from the ears but he did at least manage to stagger to his hands and knees before Gabriel barged into him and hurled him down on his back again. This time manacles of muscle and claw curled around his wrists, pinning him to the ground. The werewolf crouched over him, huffing rapidly as he stared down on his captive.

"I let you 'ave that one," Rayne told him, meeting that colourless glare with a bone-freezing glower of his own.

"Get out of it then." Gabriel laughed coarsely. "I'm gonna have you, Wylde. I'm gonna make you howl like a bitch tonight."

"I didn't howl for you last time," Rayne reminded him tersely. "What's so different now?"

Gabe's head came down and he swiped his rough, searching tongue slowly up his captive's bared chest, then licked his neck almost playfully, like a pet dog.

"Stop that!" Rayne struggled with him but his lack of a good feed was counting in his opponent's favour tonight. He knew that Gabriel was a match for him physically. He had more height and a longer reach, and he was not quite so hungry. The were could at least enjoy ordinary food. "I'm not... Christ, Gabriel! Stop fucking licking me, will you!"

"Admit you want me and I'll stop," Gabe rumbled softly.

Rayne's eyes widened in a defensive glare. "You fuckwit!"

"I weren't sure last time. It weren't like you could get yerself out of it," the were pointed out. "Those tricksy bastards 'ad us by the short and curlies. We was stuck in that well and there wasn't no way out. And you was a lot weaker than you are tonight. Which leads me to think that maybe if you didn't want it, you could have thrown me off by now."

Rayne shuddered at the memory. Last time he had taken a break at Dominic's place he'd been drawn into some business that his host's coven had been pursuing. People with preternatural gifts, people like himself and... yes... like Gabriel had been disappearing. And the pair of them had almost been caught in the trap. Except that when their captors lured them into the same trap, via different entrances, they hoped the vampire and the werewolf would fight to the death for their entertainment.

What actually happened on the night of the full moon was almost certainly not what they had expected.

"I let you do that to me because the other option was getting my fucking head ripped off," Rayne hissed at him vehemently.

"But you liked it," Gabriel grinned down on him infuriatingly.

"No... I think you'll find the word you're looking for is... tolerated!" Rayne scowled back at the were, still fighting the powerful talons that held him pinned by the wrists to the dirt beneath his naked back.

"So that's why you shot your load for me, more than once?" Gabriel teased, licking him more slowly, drawing the rough surface of his tongue in an incessant line up the vampire's heaving sternum and across his left collarbone to his exposed neck.

Rayne bucked and struggled under him, conscious of the tingle of heat low down in his loins, stirred up now by the memories and Gabriel's persistent tongue.

"Cut. It. Out!" he yelped. "Like I... ahhh... Jesus! Like I had any other choice when you'd been boning my arse for about twelve hours! You think my prostate has a mind of its own, huh?"

"I know it does!" his assailant chuckled. "Ahhh, Wylde. You can pretend all you like that you didn't want it, but these tell a different story."

He let go of Rayne's wrists so fast that the vampire took a moment to acknowledge that he was loose. By that time, Gabriel was running the backs of his claws slowly over the moonlit, silver scars on his heaving flanks. Rayne's eyes travelled down to the physical evidence of that night spent under Henning Szarbo in his SM club in Paris, then back up to Gabriel's pensive stare, faster than a mortal could blink.

"That... that was different," he faltered.

"Yep. It was. Because you asked for this," Gabriel acknowledged.

"You fucker! Did Dominic tell you?" Rayne's hands slapped up against Gabriel's thickly furred chest and he shoved the wolf back from him a couple of inches.

"He told me enough. Told me that you were almost dead in a were bar in France and the bloke what did it to you said you never asked him to stop." Gabriel's eyes turned a shade darker, virtually black against the pale moonlight. "Even I'd not stoop so low, Wylde. I don't like your kind, but I'm not into vampire snuff."

"Henning didn't kill me," Rayne said atonally, his long pale fingers curling in the dense black fur of his opponent's chest. "We fucked, and he set his claws in me and made me bleed but yeah, I asked for that. I didn't ask him to end it for me and he wasn't the one that staked me."

Gabe looked at the scars again, shaking his head.

"What the fuck was he? Tiger? Some massive fucker!" he exclaimed incredulously.

"He was... don't laugh at this... he was a bear," Rayne said in a neutral tone still.

Gabe kept his face straight but he murmured; "Stands to figure!"

"Shut up!"

"So you had the urge to bottom and you needed some fucker that could top you proper," Gabe summarised neatly. "Time was that you'd never even think of not being on top, Wylde. What's going on in your pretty dead head?"

"Leave it!" Rayne warned him, though he accepted that he was in no shape or position to make demands of any kind right now.

"Uh-huh," Gabriel shook his head. "Not gonna leave it now. You've brought me too far, Wylde. Why you givin' it up when you'd never let no one so much as slip you a finger before?"

"You don't know anything about me so stop trying to pretend you do," Rayne managed to wriggle out from under him this time.

Gabriel let him get halfway back to the path before he pounced and dragged the small, cold, scentless creature back under him, falling onto Rayne with a crunch that might have meant permanently broken ribs for anyone human. Rayne made a small, involuntary noise, but he didn't protest. The were moved his hot, furry body slowly against his naked back, growling low in his throat at the sensations aroused by having Rayne half naked under him.

"Tell me what you want," he rumbled hungrily.

"You know what I want." Rayne closed his eyes. His body was overwhelmed by the soft, thick fur that surged against his skin. He soaked up the heat of Gabriel's body and inhaled the powerful, musk scent of horny wolf that emanated from his captor's slowly bucking groin. "Just... do it, will you!"




London Loves Ch. 11



"Not yet... I wanna hear it from you, Wylde. Tell me what you want," Gabriel hunched over him and surged against him full length, like a great, furry wave of darkness. Rayne wriggled into the thick pelt and whimpered huskily at the feel of it, hot and alive against his skin.

"Fuck you!" he gasped, as furious with his own treacherous body as he was with Gabriel Arden.

"Uh-huh... not what I wanna hear, Wylde. You come down here of your own will, and you was shuckin' your clothes like you wanted to wear some wolf fur, just a few minutes back." Gabe's tongue traced the undulating line of his backbone, all the way up into Rayne's dark, silky hair. "Get those pants down, deadboy! Undo that last button and I'll do the rest. You know you want me to."

Rayne huffed restlessly. He felt the animal hunger ranging under his skin, making his fingers twitch towards the silver buttons of his fly. Now, lying here under Gabriel Arden he felt the last, missing pieces of the jigsaw of memories slot into place. It had felt good under Xavier this afternoon but he had been aware that submitting to his sexy mate opened a door in his subconscious that had not been there before. Now he knew where that door led.

He reached down and popped the final button of his flyer, sliding the tight black denim down off his skinny hips. Thick, warm fur engulfed his naked buttocks, brushing up against his skin, caressing the backs of his thighs. And a long, searingly hot wolf-cock jutted up hungrily between his legs, pulsing and rubbing on his scrotum and balls. Rayne felt his own prick answer it, stiffening away from his naked body as he reveled in the power and potential dominance of his mate.

"Tell me what you want," Gabe Arden growled again in a low, guttural tone. "Tell me and I'll do it."

Rayne closed his eyes. He swallowed the bitter taste of bile and rubbed himself keenly back up against Gabriel's surging body.

"Fuck me," he said hungrily. "Mount me and fuck me, Gabe. I'm your bitch tonight."

"Oh yeah, that's more like it," Gabriel made a rumbling sound somewhere between a tiger's purr and a motorbike being started. His fingers, that were almost human, closed around Rayne's upper arms, drawing them back. His nails were more like animal talons and they bit into the soft white skin mercilessly as he pulled Rayne to his knees and lined up the head of the long, bone-cored shaft of his lupine cock against the soft, pink pucker of Rayne's exposed arsehole.

The vampire struggled instinctively as he was pulled back slowly onto Gabriel's thick, curved shaft. He ground his teeth furiously as that long, hard, animal cock bucked into him. Extended fangs sank into his lower jaw, drawing blood. The wolf was holding his arms and he could taste the spill of his own blood, dripping onto the dead leaves beneath him as Gabriel rode him vigorously in the woods. Soft fur caressed his bare back and buttocks and the contrastingly unyielding shaft between his cheeks pumped and stretched him hard, quickly lighting a fire under his sweet spot.

Rayne shivered with loose-limbed pleasure as Gabriel urgently stroked into him, fucking the tension out of his body hard and fast, the way he liked it. He could feel the wolf's hot breath on the nape of his neck and strong fingers that were not quite taloned wolf pads on his upper arms, digging into the soft flesh and firm muscle below. Gabriel scrabbled to his feet, squatting over the vampire as he held Rayne's upper body down hard with his hands and rutted savagely with him.

Rayne's fingernails dug into the loose soil and decomposing leaf matter beneath him as he searched for something to hold onto, something to stop Gabriel forcing him across the clearing and out onto the path with every thrust. He could feel the cool, clean-smelling earth on his face and chest as powerfully as the hot, rank, furry scent of horny wolf on his back. Above all of that he inhaled the smell of blood, not just of his own but of Gabriel Arden's pounding life force and the blood of whatever small beast he had hunted and killed earlier in the night. The blood was still matted in the fur of his semi-shifted body, reminding his mate that he was not all human.

The cock sliding roughly inside him was certainly not human. It felt more like an expensive dildo, firm and unbending inside him, but sheathed in velvet soft skin that moved with the sensitive muscles of his rectum, slipping and stroking over his clenching innards until he could not fight the low moan that rose in his throat. Each solid stroke drove a growl of need out of him, making him grip and writhe around the long, curving shaft in his anus.

Lust raked his belly and loins like hot claws as he bucked into each cock-thrust, letting Gabriel bury that bone in him all the way to his heavy, hairy balls. The were's big bollocks slapped against his own as he fucked Rayne harder and faster, panting with wolfish enthusiasm astride the smaller creature.

"You are one damned fine bitch," Gabriel grunted approvingly. "Just like I remember it, babe."

"Shut up!" Rayne hissed through clenched teeth. His fangs were pressing painfully into his lower jaw now but he refused to open his mouth. If he did, then he would almost certainly scream and he wasn't about to give Gabe Arden the satisfaction.

"To late to have second thoughts, deadboy," his mate chuckled huskily. "I'm nearly there now. No point playin' 'ard to get. We both know how much you're likin' this."

"Jesus! I preferred the bear, they don't talk as much!" Rayne panted, writhing against the shifting loam and leaf-bed as Gabriel too adjusted his stroke and position.

He slowed, pulling back a little and panting rapidly, letting Rayne know that he was genuinely close. In full wolf form he would not have stopped until his knot swelled inside the little vampire and his seed began to flow. Semi-shifted, he still had that thread of human consciousness that told him it would be more fun to prolong the act.

"And I forgot, you don' like to talk do you, Wylde? Don' like getting things off of your chest the usual way. You prefer to spill your guts for real." Gabriel hunkered down over him and let go of his mate's slender arms. He licked at the blood he had spilled, unafraid of tasting Rayne. The vampire had not fed properly in days. He was below full strength and his blood was little more than water even having sipped from Xavier in bed this evening.

Now Gabriel's claws were tickling across the vampire's heaving belly again, stroking over the scars on his soft, pale skin. Rayne tried to push them away but Gabe was faster, grabbing his skinny wrists and pushing them up above his head. He pinned Rayne's hands with one of his own then returned the other to the soft belly flesh, caressing more insistently. In this position he could feel the wet head of Rayne's erect dick nodding against the backs of his fingers.

"You wanna fight me still? I can feel it in you, bloody mental you are!" Gabe panted in his ear. He pushed one hard talon fiercely into Rayne's belly and the vampire's lithe body gripped his dick hard.

Rayne uttered a series of short, strangled noises as he bucked his hips hard against Gabriel's slowly thrusting groin. The claw slid out of his flesh and blood flowed thinly over the were's groping fingers.

"Tell me why you like it," Gabriel breathed. "I know why I like it. I'm the hunter, you're the prey, yeah? But what do you get out of this?"

"You're the analyst, the Healer, the... what the fuck do you call it?" Rayne spat at him vehemently. "You tell me! Shrink my head. I know that gets you hot!"

"Chovihano," Gabriel breathed along the curve of his neck. "Patrinyengo. I am Healer and weaver of spells. And, yeah, I know. You been putting scars in your flesh long before you was Turned. Letting out the blood to take the pressure out of your brain, just like the doctors of old used to leech their patients, yeah? It feels good, don't it? Being in control, makin' your own pain, not lettin' someone else do it for you?"

"Get off me!" Rayne planted his hands flat to the floor and pushed back hard. He almost managed to dislodge the powerful Roma were but Gabriel's hands were on his hips before he could scrabble clear, pulling him back.

"Not yet," he growled in a low, smoky tone. "Not yet. I'm not done with you my little wolf bitch."

"No!" Rayne threw himself down and twisted violently under Gabriel, fighting the wolf's superior reach and weight with all his strength as something dark and sinuous and malevolent began to coil and stretch in his brain, unfolding slowly, revealing its dark heart. He felt Gabe's long, curving rod rake around inside him and cried out involuntarily.

Gabriel's growl deepened and he shifted around to stop his cock being twisted half off inside Rayne then pinned the vampire to the floor and pushed deep into him again, burying himself inside as his captive thrashed and struggled under him. Rayne was half turned about, he had one knee over Gabriel's shoulder, the other hooked around his thrusting hips as he was slammed onto his back on the forest floor again. The were fucked him hard, one hand pressing down on his belly, the other keeping the raised leg from lashing out at his head.

Rayne went for his face, clawing at him like a cat and this time Gabriel lost his temper. Both hands moved to the vampire's slender thighs, wrenching them wide and he loomed over Rayne, backhanding him into the dirt. His teeth rattled in his head as the werewolf's fist connected with his skull and Rayne greyed out for a moment under him.

"Please!" he whined frantically as he passed out.

When he came to his senses everything was quiet, but Gabriel was still kneeling over him, head down, blood flowing from the gashes Rayne had put in his face and chest. His sides were heaving as he controlled his Wolf with a supreme effort. The vampire could feel the thickness of his cock-knot inside his own ring, holding Gabriel Arden in him like a mating dog on a bitch.

"Uhhhh... fuck! No!" he groaned despondently.

Gabriel's head lifted and he exhaled a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd hurt you!"

"You fuckin' did!" Rayne touched the side of his face which was still hot with the pain of Gabe's knuckles and the backs of his claws. He supposed he was fortunate that Gabriel hadn't lashed out at him open palmed. That might have cost him an eye.

"I'm sorry," the were told him contritely. "But you hurt me first."

"I don't have the energy to argue about this," Rayne grumbled. "Just get off me, will you."

"I can't," Gabriel panted. "Not till I've done cumming and my knot goes down."

"Ohh Jesus!" Rayne shook his head but that wasn't a good idea. He was still seeing stars for several seconds afterwards. "Smacking me into the floor made you come?"

"Nope," Gabriel forced a pained grin. "You buckin' and fightin' like a little wildcat underneath me made me come. Fuck it, Wylde, that felt amazing!"

Rayne shivered and Gabriel was immediately more careful of him. He eased the vampire's knees together, moving them back towards his chest so that he could slowly turn with Rayne until the trembling little creature was lying on his side and Gabe was able to spoon up against his back.

"Is that better?" he asked, sliding his arms around Rayne's quivering body.

"No." Rayne said in a small, fragile voice.

"Why did you come for this if you didn't want me to do it?" Gabe asked him, nuzzling his cold, white shoulder gently.

"I... I dunno," the vampire whispered.

"You're the only one that does know," Gabriel countered solemnly. "I can have a guess if you want."

When his belligerent, shuddering mate said nothing, the were kissed his shoulder softly. His clawed hands moved very gently up and down the lean, cold line of Rayne's waist.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" he growled huskily. "Even knowin' what you are I can't fight that. There is somethin' irresponsibly sexy about you, Wylde. Somethin' that draws me to fuck the breath out of you."

Rayne closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat. He gasped softly at the feel of Gabriel stroking slowly in him again, only moving less than an inch within him, locked into his body by the thickness of that cock-knot behind his straining ring. He wanted to slash at his own flesh and cut Gabriel out of him. But simultaneously he wanted to feel the were's powerful, hairy body over his again, pumping him hard until he could not breathe.

"You like being with someone stronger don't you? You can shuck off the responsibility then. Pretend it was someone else's choice?" Gabriel hazarded. "Are you gonna tell Dom that I raped you?"

Rayne shook his head at once.

"Good." Gabriel nuzzled the back of his neck. He rubbed himself full length against Rayne, enjoying the way that the little vampire returned the movement, squirming in his arms and pushing his silky white arse into his thrusting crotch. "By the horned God you're hot for it, aren't you?"

"I just needed... I needed to fuck without feeling anything," Rayne said in a trembling voice. "I needed to feel empty."

"Why?" Gabe breathed in his ear. "Because of him... your ex? Or because of what that fucker did to you when you was a kid?"

Rayne stiffened in his arms and struggled again. In that moment another memory wrenched free of the dark cloud wrapped around his past. He felt it crawl over his skin like an army of malevolent ants; the touch of unwelcome hands under his clothes; a hatefully familiar voice telling him so blandly that he could whine all he liked but no one would ever believe it; that this... fucking, was all he would ever be good for.

And god, you're good, Ray. Feels so good like this! 

He shut his eyes tightly, pushing it away from him with all his inner strength, though he knew in that moment that he would never be strong enough. The last memories were clicking down, sliding into place like knives between his ribs. 

As he quivered, Gabe wrapped around him like a furry blanket and stilled him with his whole body.

"Ssshhhhhhhh," he exhaled slowly.

"Dom 'told' you?" Rayne hissed incredulously. "He told you I was abused? He swore to me that he'd never tell anyone!"

"And you asked a lot of him, expecting him to carry a secret like that on his own," Gabriel rebuked him. "Dom's a good man but he's not strong. He feels too much for a man. The Goddess flows through him and he has her mercy and her sympathy but not her strength. Your secret was eating him up and so I made him share it. I've known for a long time."

"When we... when we were in the trap... did you know then?" Rayne half-turned in his arms, looking at Gabriel searchingly.

Gabe nodded his head once, his eyebrows coming together slightly. He saw the flash of anger in Rayne's pale eyes and his grip tightened on the vampire's lean body once more.

"You fucking treacherous bastard! You knew I'd been raped and you... you did that to me!"

"I knew you could take it, Wylde. I'd never have tried otherwise," Gabriel said softly. "Maybe my Wolf wouldn't have been strong enough to kill you but I didn't wanna take that chance and fight you instead. Dom would have had me skinned. And you liked it, don't lie to me. I could feel how much you were likin' it when we practiced. And how much you like this, now."

His hand stroked Rayne's belly again and slid down to the stiffness of his dick, rubbing the swollen flesh against the cold, silken skin of his stomach as he humped against Rayne's tight arse. The little vampire said nothing. He could not speak. The words were like stones in his gullet and he thought that he would be sick if he had to try and talk.

Gabriel's cock in his passage was a hot, soothing pleasure on the other hand. It was like having a fire-brand slipped into his arse, only the fire was liquid and it moved against his muscles and his skin feeling sinfully good inside him. As he rubbed himself on Gabriel's powerful body, the Wolf began to ease him up onto his knees again.

Rayne did not fight it this time. He let Gabe mount and ride him, stroking against him as he straddled the were's lean, hairy thighs. The vampire whimpered softly as he felt Gabriel thicken and burst in him, filling him with a slow, creamy heat. The whimpers rose to a low moan in his chest as he rode on the hot spike in his passage, driving it deeper as he felt the hard knot begin to melt, releasing him.

Gabriel's fingers moved to his cock, stroking rapidly just beneath the throbbing head as he growled his pleasure, seeding his naked mate copiously. Rayne shuddered as the thrusting in his narrow channel edged him up fast and hard. He mewed with need as the cum spurted from his cockhead and Gabriel's hot, panting breath poured over his neck and chest. The wolf eased back, slipping out of him easily and letting him go.

Rayne crawled away from him but only as far as the edge of the path, flopping down on his belly there and huffing quietly. He was sore and stretched inside but tingling with warmth as well. Gabriel sprawled on the ground, head cradled in his arms, watching the vampire warily.

"You awright?" he asked at last.

"No." Rayne curled up, wrapping his arms around his head, trying to shut everything out.

"You didn't remember, did you? Before tonight and my dick inside you, you didn't remember your uncle had raped you when you was a kid?" Gabriel shook his head, furious with himself for being so insensitive. Because when they had been caught in the trap together, Rayne had known about Dominic telling him. It had been another gap in his memories until tonight. "I'm sorry, Wylde."

But Rayne was gone. When he looked up the vampire wasn't there, he'd gone without a sound. His clothing was still spilled on the ground and Gabriel gathered it up and limped wearily back towards the house, hoping that would be where Rayne fled to.



Xavier slept like a stone, just like he had on their first night in Dominic Warren's home. All the energy they built throughout the day seemed to go right into speeding along his healing, and something about that knocked him out better than the pills the doc had given him. It wasn't until sometime in the morning that the dreams snuck up on him.

He was in a moonlit wood, standing in a small clearing. The trees swayed and sighed around him and he saw a man removing his clothes and then he recognised Gabriel Arden. The were turned suddenly, alarm on his handsome face. A face that looked several years younger than the Gabriel Xav knew.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here!" the wolf snarled at him.

"I-I...I'm sorry..." Xavier stammered. He couldn't take his eyes off Gabriel though. Something was happening, his body was changing, growing larger, and he suddenly threw his head back with a sound somewhere between a scream of pain and a fearsome howl. Xavier stumbled back several steps as flesh and muscles rippled, skin darkened and fur grew. He stood transfixed until the transformation was nearly complete, only it wasn't a wolf or a man in front of him but something in between, and it scared the shit out of him.

Xavier turned and ran. He somehow knew he shouldn't, that this was the worst thing he could do, but he couldn't help it. He ran and ran and he could hear the wolf-man behind him giving chase... and then the forest was gone and he was running through the London streets and he found himself at the back door of the old theatre Clint had taken him to. He pushed inside, heart still hammering and shaking from head to toe. The theatre halls stretched out and twisted and turned, maze like until he felt completely lost. He started to hear voices somewhere ahead, low whispering furtive voices and he slowly followed them.

After what seemed like forever wandering in the maze he came to a door and opened it. He was immediately grabbed and dragged inside. Hard hands shoved him down onto the concrete floor. The harsh smell of fuel and oil hit him, disorientating him. He could see Clint sitting on a table and the boy seemed scared shitless. He was biting his lip and he looked so much like a young version of his father it almost broke Xavier's heart.




London Loves Ch. 11



"Let me go!" Xavier yelled, struggling with the larger man holding him down as panic shot through him in icy spears. He realised then that it was the same man he saw in his other dreams, the one on the street that Clint had mockingly warned him about; the one in the alley that took the place of the real thugs that had jumped him; the one in half a dozen less formed dreams he'd experienced. Now the shadow had caught him and Xavier was so scared he started to scream.

The man held him down tightly, a gruff merciless laughter filling his ears as he bound his wrists with rope that bit into his skin.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Xavier yelled as he was yanked up on his feet and his arms were pulled up tight over his head. He could barely touch the floor on tiptoe now. Clint was still sitting on the table, his eyes wide and terrified, a helpless whimper coming from his lips. Laying next to him was a needle and syringe.

Xavier began to kick and struggle, panic gripping him. He felt his bladder let go in abject terror. 

"NO! NO! Let me go!" he screamed and thrashed around in his dream...

...and in his sleep, until he finally managed to twist himself out of the nightmare and into the waking world. He had kicked the duvet off and he lay in the centre of the bed in a tangle of sheets. Xav was shaking like a leaf, cold sweat trickled down his spine, and he tasted bitter bile at the back of his throat. Desperately, he struggled out of bed and raced to the bathroom knowing he was going to puke. Fortunately he made it to the toilet and heaved up what little was left in his stomach.

It was about then that he realised he had woken up alone. He was relieved Rayne had already gotten up. The nightmare had left him shaken and he still felt traces of fear. The sky outside the bathroom window was a uniform pearl grey, a clear, crisp, dawn light that cast no shadows.

Xavier went to the sink and washed his face, noticing as he did that most of his bruises were virtually gone. Other than a bit of an ache still along his side where the ribs had been broken he couldn't tell by looking in the mirror that anything bad had happened to him. He was not as shocked or scared by the revelation today as he had been the day before, either.

Wearily, he got into the shower, hoping to revive himself and wash away the dredges of the nightmare, but the feel of it lingered even as he toweled off and dressed.

Heading downstairs he felt as grey as the day outside, quiet and subdued. The house seemed to agree with him, for it was quiet and subdued as well. Dominic was not in the kitchen this morning nor were there the usual attendant delicious smells. That was okay though, Xav didn't think he could eat today.

There was no sign of Rayne or Gabriel either, and that worried him slightly. He hoped nothing had happened. As he wandered through the house in search of signs of life he heard music playing softly. Not Dominic's normal sugary pop stuff either; Tchaikovsky, if he was not mistaken, and he knew he wasn't.

The music led him to the library, only it was empty of occupants. Xavier walked over to the full length windows and looked out on the overcast day, wondering if it was going to rain or just stay like this. With a sigh, he dropped into a chair and listened for a while, but he wasn't soothed. He still felt disturbed and a little queasy from his dream.

Finally Xav got up. He had to do something other than sit there and think. Cautiously at first, he moved around the room, stretching a little, working on pivots and balance points, just letting the simple graceful movement of his body distract him from his thoughts. Resting his fingertips on the back of the couch he used it as an impromptu barre and began a series of plies, eleves and battements. 

Leaning over the balcony railing on the almost hidden mezzanine level of the high-ceilinged room, Dominic watched the young man exercising gracefully below, his movements tailored beautifully to the gentle roll of the music. At last, when Xavier was not executing a pose that might see him fall over if startled, he cleared his throat and applauded softly.

"I didn't know you were trained in ballet, Mr Gavrilov. You are full of surprises," he called down. "Do you like The Sleeping Beauty then?"

Xavier stopped what he was doing almost guiltily, as if he'd been caught in some illicit act. He looked up at Dominic and seemed relieved to see he was alone up there. 

"Umm, yeah," he answered awkwardly.

Dominic smiled at him and made an inviting gesture. Xavier made his way up the spiral stair in the corner of the library and over to Dom, who ignored his apparent discomfort. "Did you ever think about dancing with a company?"

Xav smiled sheepishly back at him. "It's pretty hard to get in with a ballet company, Dom. It's very competitive. You have to be more than just good at dancing, you have to make it your life."

Dominic didn't say anything, just looked at him expectantly, as if he saw this for the excuse it was. Xavier fidgeted under his gaze for a moment. 

"C'mon Dom. If I was like six foot maybe I could get an audition, but at five-eight I'm not tall enough for most of the required male parts."

"In classical troupes perhaps," Lord Warren smiled at him genially, gesturing towards one of the comfortable recliners he had on the balcony. "But there are plenty of modern ballet ensembles nowadays that would snap you up, I'm sure. You danced for a living in Frisco, didn't you? Was it such a large step to being part of a recognised dance troupe?"

Xav dropped gracelessly into the chair with a little huff of laughter, the movement at odds with the way he usually moved. "Stripping is not the same as ballet. I couldn't very well do both and I made a lot of money doing what I was doing, Dom," he answered and gave a casual shrug, wanting to change the subject. "Do you know where Rayne is?" 

"I'm not sure..." Dominic reached for the glass of minted tea by his side and pretended engrossment. He was no better at lying than Rayne, so at least they had something in common. Xavier wasn't a mind reader though, or maybe he just wasn't expecting Dominic to lie to him. 

"Oh..." He gave Dominic an odd look. "...are you all right?" 

"Mm-hm," Dominic murmured, still twirling the long handled silver spoon idly in his tea.

Xav frowned at him. "Dom...is there something wrong?" 

He was starting to get worried now. Dominic definitely looked cornered. He shook his head quickly, his moss-green eyes widening over the lip of his glass.

"No... there's nothing to worry about, absolutely nothing..." His words trailed off in the face of Xavier's sceptical stare. "Ermmm... well... he may still be down by the bathing pool. Gabriel said something about him probably needing to feel clean."

Xavier's gaze narrowed on Dominic. 

"And why would he feel like that?" he asked with quiet suspicion.

"I... I have no idea," Dominic lied, bald-faced. He looked unhappy about the deception though, and anxious too.

Xav snorted and shook his head. "God Dominic, you're an even worse liar than Rayne!" 

He sat there for a moment, trying to decide if he was angry or not. Mostly he felt tired, although that was probably still left over from the nightmare. 

"Well, I guess they got it out of their system," he sighed at last.

"I'm not so sure," Dominic murmured with a little sigh. "Gabe could barely speak. He just sloped off upstairs to the bedroom and threw himself in the shower. He's been sleeping it off since." He hesitated then added; "There was a lot of blood on him. Whatever happened, it wasn't 'kiss and make up'."

Xavier gave him a level stare. "I didn't say it was kiss and make up. I said they got it out of their system, or I hope so at least. Fighting or fucking, either way."

Xavier wasn't as alarmed as he might have been. After all, Gabriel was in one piece and he wouldn't have really hurt Rayne, and Xav knew how fast he healed. Then again, he remembered, wounds inflicted by a were didn't heal so fast. Maybe he should be worried. 

"I'm gonna go find him," he said, getting up.

Dominic sighed wearily and set his glass down on the table.

"Be careful," he advised at last. "I can't stop you but bear in mind that if he's chosen to lick his wounds down there, out of the way, maybe he doesn't want to be found just yet. I say it as a friend, and as someone with plenty of experience of vampire moods, not to piss on your party darling. Now give this old woman a hug before you go."

Xavier gave him a hug and kissed his cheek before heading out of the library at a trot. He went upstairs again to grab a sweatshirt against the chilly day but once he was there he slowed down a bit. He didn't think he should just sit here and wait for Rayne to come back, but giving him a little more time probably wouldn't hurt.

Instead of heading immediately out the door he turned the other direction and headed toward Dominic and Gabriel's bedroom. He wasn't sure which door it was, so he walked silently, hoping he'd hear a snore or the deep even breathing of sleep, something to tell him which one to try first. He didn't hear anything at all, but he needn't have worried, a tingle of energy through his fingers as he stretched them towards one of the doors told him straight away which the right room was.

He put his hand on the door handle and paused, debating if he should knock, which would only be polite. Then again, waking Gabe up wasn't terribly courteous either. In any case, Xav wasn't in a sensitive frame of mind right now. He turned the handle and let himself in as silently as he could.

Inside the bedroom heavy drapes had been drawn over the windows blocking most of the wan light outside. Gabriel lay on his front, sprawled across the huge four poster bed with a pillow clutched under his head and nothing but a sheet pulled up to his waist. He had his back to Xavier and his dark hair tumbled down his naked back like a waterfall.

Xavier moved around the end of the bed on cat quiet feet. He hadn't made a sound but as he drew up to the edge of the bed Gabriel's eyes opened, glinting through a tangle of black and white-streaked hair and a low rumble began deep in his throat, somewhere between a tiger's purr and the growl of a wolf. Xavier stood his ground though. 

"What happened? What did you do to Rayne?" he demanded quietly.

The growl died in Gabe Arden's throat and he rolled slowly onto one side, the sheet almost falling down from his hips, and propped himself on one arm to push the cascade of his mane out of his face with the other hand. The cheek it had covered was still scarred raw as if something, or someone, had clawed frantically at his face during the night. He had been lying on a towel which was also dotted with blood from his chest and belly. The damage there was harder to see because Gabe was still pretty hairy, even in human form.

It must have hurt too. He was moving slowly and stiffly. His voice was a deep, lupine rumble that Xavier felt in his chest.

"I didn't do anything he didn't want," the were said, equally quietly. "We're honours even, I'm thinkin'."

Xavier stood there, jaw tight and body tense, obviously fuming but he couldn't have explained at what exactly. He wasn't normally one to start a fight but right then he could have cheerfully beat the shit out of Gabe Arden, and for no good reason at all. That he couldn't do it just pissed him off even more.

He made a sound, half angry and half disgusted and turned to go but Gabe snatched his wrist before he took more than a single step. Xavier immediately twisted and yanked his arm away so violently Gabriel had to let go or hurt him.

"You didn't have to do whatever he asked you know!" he snarled at the other man, knowing even as he said it that it was a ridiculous statement and he was taking his anger out on Gabe when it didn't really belong there.

"He didn' have to come lookin' for it, Xavier," Gabriel pointed out reasonably enough. "But he still did. Don't take umbrage with me, babes. Wylde can look after himself."

Xavier glared at him a moment more, trying to get a rein on his seething temper. He drew in a deep breath through quivering nostrils and another before he trusted himself to speak. "Yeah? Well, the last time he 'looked after himself' by searching out a were, someone put a stake in him, and I felt it almost like it happened to me." 

Gabriel went very still and quiet as he let Xavier pour out his anger. He almost seemed to vanish from the younger man's internal radar. When Xav was done dressing him down, he said; "No one's gonna do that to him here, babe. The estate is warded, nothing gets in that we don't know about, 'kay?" 

No, it was not okay, but Xav felt a small bit of the anger drain off of him anyway and he could think clearly again. "Is he okay?"

"Wylde might be sore for a couple of days but he's not gonna die. On my life!"

Xavier's shoulders slumped as if the anger had been the only thing holding him up. He sighed; "I'm gonna go find him." 

Gabe sank back down on the bed too, like a big, hairy dog, panting softly in pain. "You mind him, he's remembering stuff hard and fast and he's in a bitch of a mood. I thought the moon took me funny!"

Xav nodded once and moved to leave. He stopped at the door though and looked back to see Gabe watching him go. "Guess you couldn't take him as easy as you thought you could, huh?" He winked at him and closed the door quickly before Gabriel could comment.

Once outside though, Xavier took his time. For one thing he didn't really know where he was headed, and for another he needed some time to calm himself. He still didn't understand entirely why he was so upset, although he was more worried now than angry. As he walked through the fallen leaves he tried to let his mind just drift, not actively looking for Rayne but letting his feet carry him along.



The first pearly grey hints of daylight were seeping into the eastern sky when Rayne finally stopped stumbling, naked, through the woods and forced himself to walk more slowly. Gabriel had not given chase but he was not fool enough to believe that this was because the Romany Healer had quit stalking him. Gabe was nothing if not persistent. He was not in pursuit though. The forest was silent, beyond the usual sounds of rustling leaves and small, scurrying animals. Rayne stopped and sat down on a fallen trunk, examining the soles of his feet, which were cut to ribbons. His heart was still thumping.

In the quiet of the morning, his memories began to drop into place like the tumblers on a lock, one slotting in neatly behind the next. And with each piece his heart grew darker. Gradually he began to shake again, feeling every muscle, every nerve seize frantically as he remembered. His head sank into his hands and he sobbed like a child then, thrown back into the nightmare, the puzzle that had plagued him ever since he knelt by Kevan's grave in Manchester, wondering why it felt wrong, troubled by the darkness that interrupted his grief.

Now he understood why Xavier brought him such joy. He had sensed mirrors of his own internal chaos in the younger man. And Xavier did not bring those same demands to the table that he had from other lovers. With every mate he had ever taken there was a pattern, either one pattern or the other. He was the supplicant, bent to the will of a man he wanted to please, as he had been with Brian as a boy, as he had been more or less with Kevan. Or he was the bully, subjugating a younger, more unworldly mate, the way he had with Danny and with Matt.

No one had ever come to him as an equal before. No one had ever been with him who could stand up to him yet not overwhelm him completely. He was not sure what to do with the knowledge.

When his tears finally dried, he pushed himself to his feet and carried on walking. The woods gave way to a sprawling orchard of apple and pear trees, planted with delicious randomness and spreading out onto a rolling lawn that led in turn to the curve of the bathing pool, a lake in effect, that cupped the eastern edge of the Warren estate. There was a boat house there, a little pagoda of hand-carved wood like an elven grotto among the apple trees, and a long wooden pier reaching out into the deeper water.

He walked out onto the rough boards and watched the sun rise with tears shimmering in his eyes. Then, as the water turned gold he lifted his hands and dove into the heart of it, feeling the shimmering chill of the lake engulf him. It turned to dark crystal as he plunged into its depths, astoundingly clear, but deep and black beneath the lilies. Rayne swam hard, fighting the ache in his muscles, then pushed for the surface and broke into the pearly golden light of morning, shaking the water from his hair and disturbing the veil of mist that covered the pool.

Dominic had found him there when he passed that way on his morning run but did not disturb him. Rayne was lying on his back on the very end of the pier, soaking up the sunlight. His aura was peaceful, but sad. Gabriel had already limped home by then and Lord Warren knew the tale. He wanted more than anything to ask what had happened but he kept his peace. He felt guilty enough for the way the truth had come out. Rayne would come to find him if and when he was ready to talk.

And that was where Xavier found his lover, still lying on his back on the end of the long wooden jetty, with one knee drawn up, the other leg outstretched, a hand draped across his belly and its mate dangling limply down towards the water below. His dark hair spilled over the weather-bleached wood and his eyes were closed. As Xavier came closer he could see that there was a dark mottled bruise on one side of his face that almost enclosed his left eye. And there was blood between the fingers of the hand that lay on his stomach.

Hot anger bubbled up in Xavier once more, but this time he knew its source. Even knowing full well Rayne had gone looking for a fight and more, even knowing Gabriel had probably been the one to come out the worse for wear, he was still immensely angry to see Rayne had been hurt. The anger was like a sun flare though, quick and hot and then gone. It had to be gone, because Rayne needed him to be cool headed right now.

He knew that Rayne was aware he was there, although he did not turn his head or stir at all. It was disturbing to see him look so lifeless in this peaceful idyllic setting. If he hadn't known better he would be more than a little panicked. Rayne had to be freezing as well as hurt and it was all Xav could do to keep from scooping him up to hold him like a child. That would probably not be received well.

He came to a stop beside his lover and lowered himself on his haunches, hesitating for a moment before he touched him, a gentle brush of fingers along his shoulder. 

"Rayne..." he called him softly.

Rayne's eyes opened briefly, the green faded almost to a pale gold next to the huge darkness of his pupils. They were red-rimmed and sorrowful in the brief instant before his lashes flickered over them and he turned his head away with a little sigh.

"I'm sorry."

The sadness washed over Xavier, nearly choking him and he dropped his caution in favour of his concern. Going down on one knee he unzipped his sweatshirt, slipped it off, and pulled Rayne into his arms, wrapping the garment around him. 

"Don't say that. You don't have anything to be sorry for," he said, shocked at how chilled Rayne was in his arms.

"You don't need to do that," Rayne mumbled, sleepy with the cold. "I'm not gonna get any warmer."

He did not fight Xavier's attempts to wrap him up though. The boy was so warm, even without his sweater on. And the lovely familiar heat and scent of him folded around Rayne with the borrowed garment. It filled him with so many conflicting emotions that he did not know whether to laugh or cry. In the end he did both, to his embarrassment, breaking down in Xavier's arms with a choking sob.




London Loves Ch. 11



Xav pulled him close, his arms wrapping tight around Rayne's body. 

"Shhh..." he whispered soothingly and kissed his hair. His hands moved in slow caresses over Rayne's skin as he held him and let him sob. He wished more than anything that he could fix what was wrong, slay the demons plaguing his love, but of course he couldn't do either for him. He could be here though, he could hold him and be the strong one for a while.

When Rayne's sobs finally died to a few shuddering hiccups Xavier wiped the tears from his cheeks with gentle fingers. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

For a moment the vampire just shuddered in his embrace, huffing softly, his pale face wet with spilled tears. There was something akin to fear in his eyes, which was a revelation and a shock for Xavier. He had seen his lover angry, and despondent before but never afraid.

"I remembered something," he said at last, in a small, broken voice. "I remembered something that I'd rather stayed forgotten."

Xavier kissed his temple very softly, his hands still moving in slow soothing circles on Rayne's back. 

"You can talk to me about it if you want to, sweetheart, but I'm not going to make you," he said. He knew when it was okay to push, and when it wasn't.

Rayne shook his head slowly. He reached for one of Xavier's hands but then held back at the last moment from taking it.

"I think that if I look too closely at it right now I'm either gonna be sick or I'm going to have to rip someone's head off," he said, gaining a little control of his speech now that he was slowly drawing warmth from the young man beside him. "Jesus Xavier, how could I have been so fuckin' naive? I feel as if... as if Gabriel drew a curtain back for me and it showed me a whole other side of myself. A person I hadn't even realised I could be. And now I just wish..." he stopped and swallowed hard, lowering his head so that his dark, wet hair spilled around his face like so many sodden reeds. "I wish I'd never found it out. I wish I could have gone on being that person that you rescued and brought back from Naples. I wish I could just wipe it out of my head completely. Forever!"

Xavier's fingers closed around Rayne's hand. He sat there for a long quiet moment before he spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"Part of you wanted to know, Rayne. Part of you wanted to remember it all. You've been seeking people out, putting the pieces back together since Paris. Just like you sought me out," he said and paused to take a breath. He couldn't seem to block other people's emotions from seeping into his conscious right now, but he could still lock down his own fairly well when he applied himself, and right now he had everything locked up tight and hidden as deep as he could go.

He was terribly afraid, both for his lover and for what this revelation might do. He had told Aldo that it wasn't fair to keep the truth from Rayne; that he needed to have his memories and be whole again. He still believed that, yet he couldn't help wondering if, now that the vampire had all those memories in place, he would push him away again. If that was the price he had to pay for sticking by Rayne until he was well and whole again, then he must bear it, and he had known it might come to that when he had come to London with him. It would probably break his heart beyond repair this time, but he had promised Rayne he would be there for him.

Rayne looked at him earnestly now.

"Is that what I was running away from when I went missing in Paris?" he pondered aloud. "All this time, ever since it happened, I've been taking a conscious step away from it? I don't know, it's still like a blur in my mind. Like looking through a steamy window. I can't deal with this now. All I know is that I was so happy, and now..."

He tried to curl up and bury himself in his arms, rocking steadily back and forth as he struggled with the truth of who and what he was. Xavier let him shift but didn't let him go entirely, still keeping his arms around him gently.

"Ray...does it really make that much difference? Weren't you the one saying just last night that the past is the past and it doesn't matter? Why should knowing everything about what happened to you destroy all the happiness you've found now?" He paused when Rayne wouldn't look at him and continued. "I'm still here, it doesn't make any difference to me, I'm not going anywhere."

Rayne looked up at him then, a kind of childlike bewilderment in his big green eyes. He caught his breath for a second, blinking at the younger man like a small, damp owl.

"You mean that?" he whispered, as if he didn't quite dare believe it. "Xavier, I'm not... Jesus! You're a bright, gorgeous, sorted kid and you've got everything ahead of you and you've no idea how badly fucked up I can get. I don't want to drag you down into that. But no one ever..."

Rayne stopped and caught his breath on another little sob as he reached an internal decision, to tell the truth, finally, for better or for worse. "You know what was the worst thing? The most horrible thing of all, even more horrible than being lied to and used and... fucked... and treated like a fucking toy by someone that should have looked after me?" He swallowed hard, wrestling down the tears and shaking his head angrily. "Afterwards... it went to court, and I had to stand up in front of my family and in front of complete strangers and tell them all the disgusting things that my own uncle made me do. And he sat there smiling, the cunt! But that wasn't the worst thing. After they'd sent him down and I went home it was like... what the fuck am I meant to do now? No one ever told me what would happen next or how I was meant to deal with it, Xavier. And the worst thing... the very worst thing, even worse than my mum being not there, almost... my own dad couldn't look at me. He couldn't look me in the eye and he wouldn't touch me at all. And I just... I just wanted him to hold me and tell me it was... it was... going to be all right!"

He buried his face in his hands and the tears came again, spilling through his long, cold fingers like rain.

Xavier was very, very glad he had already clamped down so hard on his own emotions. As it was he had a hard time swallowing around the tight knot in his throat and felt a cold lead ball churning sickeningly in his stomach as Rayne revealed this dark secret. He held Rayne and rocked him gently and murmured soothing things into his damp hair and skin as he broke down and cried again.

Black and evil things from his own past tried to claw their way up and he resolutely held them down because he didn't think he could deal with that and comfort his lover. When Rayne's tears slowed again and he had his head resting on Xavier's shoulder and Xav was literally holding him in his lap he finally thought he could speak again, although his voice came out raw and hoarse.

"You know..." He had to clear his throat before he could go on. "You know...after my mom died, when I got a little older, and I wasn't so scared any more, I thought about going back and telling someone about what my mom's boyfriend had done to me. I'm glad I didn't have to go through facing him in a courtroom though. That must have been so hard for you."

He lifted Rayne's chin with the edge of his finger and kissed him lightly. "I wish I could go back in time and hold you then, Rayne, and tell you it will be all right. I can't go back, but I can do it now."

Rayne gazed into his eyes like a drowning man, filled with a last dying hope. He leaned into Xavier's warmth gratefully.

"Please..." he whispered. "Oh... please!"

Xav wrapped his arms tightly around Rayne's shuddering body, closing his eyes tight against the sting of tears in his own eyes as Rayne buried his face into his shoulder and soaked his tee shirt with his tears. 

"Shhhhh...shhhh....Ray, it's gonna be alright. I promise you it's going to be all right," he murmured huskily over and over as he held him and rocked him gently. "He's long gone and he won't ever hurt you again," Xav told him, kissing the top of his damp hair, running his hands soothingly over his back. "I love you Rayne. No matter what happened before, none of it matters, and none of it was your fault."

Rayne curled into his arms, still dazed and weak from the unanticipated flood of emotion. In over twenty years he had never let down his barriers like this and he was still slightly scared that it was the wrong thing to have done. Xavier was bold and brave but was he really up to this? Could he really take everything that Rayne was on board and soak it up?

But when he considered the other option, which was to close the walls around himself again, and maybe this time lose him forever... He did not think that he was ready to do that. Right now he could not move forward without Xavier by his side.

Tomorrow was another day, but today he would take things one breath at a time.

"You are unbelievable, do you know that?" he whispered softly into the warm skin at the curve of Xavier's shoulder and neck.

Xav shook his head slightly. He didn't think he was anything special. "Are you ready to go back to the house sweetheart? I could probably carry you but more than likely I'd trip over some goddamn tree root and drop us both on our asses."

"My hero!" Rayne laughed weakly at that and shook his head. "I can walk. I'm gonna need to feed really soon though. I feel totally shit!"

"You didn't take much from me last night." Xavier said. "You could take a bite from me now, if you wanted."

"You're still recovering, sweetheart." Rayne slid one arm through Xavier's and levered himself to his feet, swaying slightly. "I need a serious feed, and I don't want to take that much from you. I think you need it more than I do right now."

He leaned into Xav though and touched his cold lips softly to his lover's. Xavier brought his hand up and slid his fingers around to the back of Rayne's neck, taking a moment to kiss him properly before they started to walk up the dock and back to the house.



LONDON LOVES...?
END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN
(c) Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2013
Unauthorised reproduction of this work is not permitted in any format. 



London Loves Ch. 12



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2013

Apologies are due again for the long delay in posting Chapter 12. Bereavement and a wedding and some long overdue medication intervened but finally, at last, here she blows.

It's all starting to kick off up in the woods with Dom and Gabe. The usual warnings apply; if you don't like stories with a supernatural bent, don't read it. If you don't like vampires and werewolves and magic (oh my!), don't read it. If you don't like boy on boy action, don't read it. If you read it and find that you don't like it, it's not our problem, go and read something else. If you read it and find that you do like it, that's cool.

That said... enjoy.

They walked slowly through the woods, Rayne wearing nothing but Xav's sweatshirt and Xavier wishing he'd known Rayne didn't have even shoes on so he could have brought him his clothes. When they walked up through the back garden towards the house he could almost find the humour in how their roles were exactly opposite to how they had been when they first arrived, with Rayne none too steady on his feet and Xavier searingly overprotective and ready to rip anyone's head off that looked crosswise at him.

Dominic was watching out for them and as they wandered through the walled garden hand in hand, almost like a same-sex take on the legend of Eden, he came hurrying out with a long housecoat and wrapped it around Rayne's shoulders, practically drowning him in the sumptuous material.

"It's pretty, your Ladyship, but it doesn't go with my shoes," Rayne deadpanned. "And I'm not cold, really. I've got Xav to keep me warm."

Dominic looked from one to the other and beamed like a wicked cherub.

"You look way too pleased with yourself, Dom," Xavier observed.

"Young love always warms my old heart," their amiable host said without his smile fading one iota. He wriggled between them and slung one arm around both their shoulders as they wandered back towards the house. "There's nothing like it, Xavier. Love is a champion restorative, I promise you."

"...says the man who's never been in a steady relationship for more than fifteen minutes!" Rayne teased him.

Dominic made a rude noise through his nostrils.

"Steady relationships are for people with mortgages and hernias, doddering through life doing things they hate," he pointed out. "I'm talking about passion that could burn down a building; joy enough to light up the planet. You don't get that out of 'steady relationships'!"

Xavier was watching Dominic with wary curiosity.

"What? You don't believe me?" Dominic asked.

"No, it's not that. I'm just waiting for you to bust into song or something and go skipping through the daisies."

Dominic gave him a warning stare and Xav grinned back at him. "You do look a bit like Julie Andrews, you know."

"Cheeky pup! Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" Dominic released them and performed an airy pirouette on the lawn. He came to a halt with his arms flung wide and laughed enthusiastically. "Wylde I can just about believe that of, but you are too young to be so jaded, Mr. Gavrilov. And I see just a little gleam of that magic in your eyes. What have you two been up to down by the lake to give you both such a delicious aura?"

"None of your business." Xavier said, shaking his head at Dominic and chuckling. "Just what kind of herbage are you growin' out here anyway? And why haven't you been sharing?"

"You never asked, sweetie," Dominic chuckled, blowing him a kiss. "I didn't think you smoked."

He turned back towards the house but winked at Rayne as he did so. "Someone's hungry I think."

Rayne, in turn, glanced at Xavier, then reached out to tow him closer.

"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly. "Do you trust me never to intentionally hurt you?"

Xavier's expression instantly became serious, and wary. Questions like that, especially out of the blue, usually meant something unpleasant was about to happen. He swallowed and nodded though. "Of course I do."

Rayne's lips caressed his cheek and slid to his earlobe then his neck, kissing and then nipping lightly at him. He took no more than a taste of Xavier, even less than the previous night but his mouth lingered there, moving sweetly, soaking up the warmth of Xavier's skin as his hands caressed his lover's body.

"You mean more than I can say in words, Xavier," he whispered softly. "And you taste so good, better than anything. I can't wait for you to be well again."

Xavier shivered under Rayne's hands as a warm streak of arousal flowed into him. "Mmm, neither can I..." He whispered back. "I'm almost all better now..." He said, although it was meant to inform rather than truly tempt. He knew Rayne needed a good feed right now, and he knew he wouldn't take it from him.

It struck him then, what he'd missed, and he could have slapped his own forehead for the moment of 'duh!' that hit him. That's why Dominic was prancing around like a stoned out fairy. He was about to get some fang! For a half second the darker side of him whispered that wasn't that just oh-so-convenient that Dom had invited them out here where there really wasn't a whole lot of accessible feeders and Xav was too weak to lose much blood.

It lasted only a moment though, because he knew Dominic had been genuinely concerned for him when he'd asked them to come here.

Rayne drew back and Xavier looked into his nearly colourless hungry eyes. He kissed his lips softly and tipped his head ever so slightly toward the direction Dominic had taken. "You need to feed, and get warm."

"Can't keep dinner waiting, it'll go cold," Rayne remarked with a knowing smirk. "Nothing worse!"

He kissed Xavier again, more tenderly, then touched a hand to his cheek as he turned to follow Lord Warren, whispering; "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Xavier murmured once Rayne had disappeared in the direction Dominic had gone.

When Rayne reached the kitchen Dominic hopped up shamelessly onto the big table and tilted his head rather coquettishly at the vampire. Rayne rolled his eyes.

"You are mental, Warren," he said. "You want me to perform blood-sucking ravishment on the fuckin' table?"

"Ravishment!" Dom grinned at him. "I like the sound of that. Are you going to ravish me, Mr Vampire?"

He unfastened his shirt with a playful smile and leaned back, artlessly revealing what was still quite a decent body. Rayne took three strides that brought him between the older man's legs and he leaned over Lord Warren, shoving him back down on the table with one hand in the middle of his bared chest, then bent over him, still loosely clad in the long velvet housecoat like some degenerate 1920s version of Count Dracula. He bared his fangs and hissed theatrically.

Dominic sniggered, which totally spoiled the effect.

Xavier had come in quietly and he moved around to one side of the table as they were playing like they were in some camp teen romance. He bent to lean across, elbows resting just above Dominic's head, and his chin propped on his hands as he looked down at him benevolently. "He likes it better if you at least play hard to get." He told him with a wink and a grin.

"Hey-lp!" Dominic squeaked like Penelope Pitstop. "Hey-lp! It's the Hooded Claw!"

Rayne cackled enthusiastically, throwing the collar of the long, lightweight coat up over his head and springing up onto the table as light as a cat, one knee between his luncheon voucher's parted thighs, the other coming up and over his left leg to half straddle him, pinning him down on the table with both hands gripping his shoulders.

"It's payback time, Pipsqueak!" the vampire chuckled. "I'll take my quarter in the red-stuff, shall I?"

He and Dom vanished beneath the fluttering gown as Rayne dropped onto the older man like a hawk stooping on a rodent. From under the bucking lurching pall of velvet Lord Warren exclaimed, in a muffled tone; "Oh! Sweet Lady, that's... Ohhhh!"

Moments later, Rayne made a sound deep in his chest that was almost sensual, and Dominic echoed it, gasping softly. His left hand was stretched out beyond the hem of the long coat and it grasped at the lip of the table now, the knuckles turning white. His right knee, the one that Rayne was not astride, came up slowly, its bare foot trailing along the warm, polished wood, then sliding alongside Rayne's naked thigh, stroking up and down it encouragingly.

The vampire gulped quietly and moaned again, with definite pleasure this time.

This close to the pair of them Xavier could not help but be sucked into their growing sensuality. He had forgotten for a moment that he couldn't block it and the ribbon of desire that had floated through him when Rayne nicked him a minute ago stirred restlessly inside. Something was odd though, something not right... and then Xavier realised what was different.

He was used to being on the receiving end of Rayne's bite, but he was more plugged into Rayne's head right now rather than Dominic's. He was getting more of how it felt from his lover's point of view, and he was having a hard time not completely sinking into the delicious warmth. His eyes half closed and he trailed his fingers in a light caress from Dominic's white knuckled grip up his bare arm.

Dominic groaned huskily and the foot that was sliding up Rayne's leg eased over the curve of his hip, pushing the coat back and exposing the silken lines of his thigh and his arse. Rayne knelt back for a moment, shaking off the discarded coat completely, his lips parted around a fanged and bloody smile. Under him, Dominic's back arched as he pushed his hips up from the table, grinding against the vampire hungrily. His moss coloured eyes were closed but his mouth was still open and gasping as the blood ran down his neck from a much less restrained bite.

Rayne's gaze was molten green, the pupils huge and dark, giving him a distracted and slightly deranged look. He leaned forward and touched his bloody lips to Xavier's mouth in a brief, passionate kiss, then eased down over his friend's proffered neck again, tendrils of sleek, ebony hair screening the carnage. Dominic made a small, huffing sound, almost trying to mount the lean, nude vampire that straddled him. He clenched his teeth then cried out unrestrainedly as Rayne bit down again, sucking hungrily on the open vein.

Xavier felt like a shock of heat throbbed through him and went straight to his groin as Rayne bit their friend again. He couldn't have said what part of this little tableau turned him on the most. One thing he did know, Rayne wasn't trying to keep anything from him, it was almost like he was sharing the experience with him, sharing Dominic with him, in a way that couldn't be easily explained. The desire was still there, the heat of arousal gripping him, but something else too. A heady rush of power.

Rayne was holding himself above Dominic and Xavier eased a hand between them, his fingers splaying over Dom's bared chest and teasing over the peaked buds of his nipples. His face was turned toward Xavier while Rayne fed from his neck and Xavier leaned in to kiss his parted lips very softly.

"Oh... Darling," Dominic whispered huskily into the echoing space between them. "It's just so... ohhh..."

He shuddered with pleasure as Rayne slid a hand down between them now, rubbing and caressing over the bulge in the snug-fitting crotch of his tight jeans. Rayne too was magnificently hard, the head of his dick nudging the backs of Xavier's wandering fingers, so lush and wet. The vampire moaned ecstatically, his tongue swiping Dominic's neck as he lapped up every drop that he could from the bite wound before it began to heal. His deft fingers moved lower as he knelt back, unfastening Dom's fly, popping the little silver button and working the zipper down quickly so that his friend's stiffening cock could escape the constraints of the denim. It was long and slender like its owner, poking up easily past his navel.

"Aaahhhh... yessss!" Dominic crooned eagerly as the vampire began to fist it gently in one hand. "Oh Ray, please!"

Xavier's hand slid down the warm skin of Dominic's chest and stomach to join Rayne's. He curled his fingers around the smooth domed head of his cock as Rayne's fist slid down his shaft to the root. They stroked in tandem up and down, Rayne still lapping at Dominic's neck and Xavier recapturing his lips for a longer deeper kiss.

Rayne licked his lips, his eyes still heavy and dark with sensual pleasure as he watched Xavier kissing and stroking Dom just as eagerly as he had been doing. Dominic's eyes were closed and he was almost purring with delight, weak from the vigorous exsanguination but still lusty enough to respond to their lips and hands.

Rayne touched his lips to Xavier's ear whispering; "Suck him. I wanna watch. Suck his dick and let him suck you. He's really good, I promise."

Xavier didn't even need to think about it. He was hot and horny and willing to do whatever Rayne wanted. It was a good thing the table was made of heavy dark oak because it's sturdiness was the furthest thing from his mind as he slid down beside Dominic on its surface.

Rayne moved back and Xav licked a wet trail down Dom's sternum. His soft plush lips closed delicately around the silken head of the other man's cock, surrounding Dominic in warm wet heat as Rayne's hand inched further down, ahead of Xavier's sucking mouth, almost like he was feeding him Dominic's dick.

"Uhhh... that's the way!" Rayne breathed, his fingers trickling lower to cup Dominic's balls as he felt the warmth of Xavier's breath against his wrist.

Turning onto his side to lie head to tail with the younger man, Lord Warren unzipped him with a surprisingly steady hand and swallowed the head of Xavier's stiffening cock unhesitatingly. His tongue caressed the curving underside of the blond's shaft as he nodded down on it slowly. Kneeling at the small of the older fellow's back, Rayne's lips curved in a delighted, fanged smile as his pale eyes observed them both keenly. He lay down along the line of Dominic's naked back and licked delicately between his shoulder blades as he began to finger the writhing aristocrat slowly, easing two thrusting digits into his clenching arse as Xavier suckled on his eager cock.

Xavier had seen Dominic naked more than a few times, and Dominic had certainly not been shy about taking voyeuristic pleasure watching or listening to Xav and Rayne's passionate tumbles, but they'd never taken it beyond that before. It didn't feel strange to Xavier though. It felt as natural as breathing to slide his lips around Dom's turgid cock.

His own insatiable prick swiftly swelled as he was engulfed in the wetness of Dom's mouth. His hips swayed slightly, pushing deeper into that wonderful moist heat and he moaned softly as he took Dominic down further as well. He nodded deeper until the plump head slipped past the constriction of his throat and pulled back out again, almost to the tip, before plunging in once more. He kept to that pace for a little while, long, slow, deep strokes that soaked Dominic's shaft in saliva and his own pre-cum and elicited a soft, sensual pleasure.

Dominic was weaving his own net of delights over Xav and he was more than happy to fall into it, moving his hips in small circles as Dom sucked him. As the pleasure started to grow Xav switched technique, making his strokes shorter and faster, lips and tongue exploring all his most sensitive places, edging him up.

"Mmmm... you wicked old queen!" Rayne chuckled in his ear as his fingers frigged deeper and harder, making Dominic wriggle and moan like a cheap whore. "You do like that, don't you, sweetheart?"

Dom nodded enthusiastically on Xavier's pulsing shaft, letting the movement tug his lips smoothly up and down the hard shank of the younger man's eager cock. He eased a hand between Xav's buttocks, tugging the back of his jeans down firmly to expose him, and stroked his fingertips seductively up and down the smooth crevice between those silky peaches.

He mumbled a muffled response that could well have been "delicious!"

Xavier mimicked Dominic's movement, sliding a hand between his thighs and over the curve of his ass. Rayne already had two fingers buried deep but that didn't stop Xavier from adding a digit, pushing inside smoothly with Rayne's next thrust. All the while he kept up a steady nodding suction designed to melt his friend into a puddle.

Dominic was going into overdrive, his breath coming hard and fast over Xavier's balls now as he bucked on their invasive fingers, still delirious from the draining Rayne had just given his jugular.

The vampire moved up over him, nipping him again now as they pushed his buttons, sending him up on a sexual skyrocket that coaxed little growls and whimpers from his throat simultaneously. Dom's caressing fingers began to thrust into Xavier almost of their own volition.

Xavier's swivelling hips bucked a little harder, pushing his stiff pole into Dominic's receptive mouth as those long slender probes invaded him. His own little mewls of pleasure vibrated around the rampant cock jutting down his throat. Xav matched the thrust of Rayne's fingers, working them deeper and harder until Rayne slowed and then he pulled gently one way while Xav pulled the other, stretching Dom open even further.

"Cut him loose, I'm going in!" Rayne purred against the sanguine wetness of Dominic's neck. He had slowly extricated his fingers and was rubbing the head of his cock gently over the inviting little hole they had helped to create, tensing to push himself deep inside.

Dominic mewed weakly, a little sound caught trembling, between joy and anticipation. His lips pulled seductively on Xavier's erection, and his tongue was still lashing steadily against the underside of that lovely mouthful of cock. Xav's hand drew back as Rayne slid in. He cupped Dominic's balls and rolled them gently in his palm as Rayne's slow thrust pushed Dom deeper into his mouth. He relaxed his jaw and his throat, letting the plump cock head slip easily back and forth past the tight ring of his throat.

His body was buzzing now, suffused with sensations. A long heavy cock fucking his throat, the press of searching fingers pulsing inside him, the delicious wet suction on his throbbing prick. His breath huffed hotly through his nose and his abdominals tightened and quivered as he edged closer. God, he wanted it; was so hot for it. His fingers tightened and kneaded Dominic's thigh muscles as he went down with a single-mindedness that shut out everything else but the need to come.

Dominic almost mirrored him, whining softly as Rayne stroked into him, bucking back and forth frantically between the vampire's pulsing prick in his passage, vigorously stimulating his prostate, and the hot wet mouth and rhythmically constricting throat muscles that milked his sex. His fingers caressed the sweet spot deep inside Xavier with infinite tenderness.

At the same time, Rayne's thrusting cock-head pounded on his fuck button until he could not take any more. It was as if the vampire's fangs and his pumping phallus formed a circuit of sexual energy within Lord Dominic Warren. That energy reached its peak in him now. With a little, gasping scream that was almost feminine in timbre but no less powerful, he let the two beautiful boys tilt him into the sensual abyss, shooting hard and fast into Xavier's mouth.

Xav purred as the slightly sweet salt spilled over his tongue. He swallowed greedily, his own bucking hips carrying him up and up into a dizzying vortex of sinful pleasure. His mouth pulled off Dominic with a wet slurp after the last jet and he gasped for breath, a sharp cry on his lips as he tipped over and came in a flood of bone-melting heat as well.





London Loves Ch. 12



Dominic was crooning ecstatically, drowning in a sea of velvet cream. Mere moments after Xavier's heart-stopping climax, Rayne bucked into him fiercely, biting down on his shoulder as he burst deep inside the older man. The three of them melted slowly into a puddle of wordless, post orgasmic goo on the surface of the dining table.

From the doorway, where he had been observing quietly for about a minute, Gabriel Arden murmured; "We gotta eat off that tomorrow!"

Xavier didn't even lift his head to give his muffled reply, "You're welcome to lick it clean if you want."

Rayne lifted his head, only bristling slightly, he hadn't the fire in him for more. But Gabriel smoothed it over. He bent over the head of the table and kissed Dominic sweetly on the mouth, sliding his tongue between his mate's lips, lapping the nectar that Xavier had spilled there.

"You're a bad girl," he whispered huskily.

"You love it though, don't you?" Dom purred at him with a lazy smile.

Kneeling up now, Rayne eased out of him and his hands went right away to Xavier's hair and his body, still thrumming with the satisfaction of a good blow-job. Rayne kissed him long and slow, loving the soft, wet heat of his lover's cum-sticky mouth on his own. Xavier melted into the kiss, lifting his arms to loop them around Rayne's neck. He was still tangled up with his jeans halfway down his thighs but that didn't stop Rayne from pulling him closer so they curled around each other.

Xav hadn't even caught his breath yet but the way Rayne kissed him and the sensual stroke of his hands over his skin had him thinking he might not want to pull his pants up just yet after all. His cock twitched with interest as Rayne's tongue undulated against his own in a deeply passionate kiss.

"You are insatiable!" Rayne whispered, and not in a way that left him thinking that this was any kind of criticism.

"I just have a healthy appetite." Xavier said, grinning at him and kissing his lips more softly. "If I wear you out though, I may need to check into sexaholics anonymous!"

"I just never had anyone that could keep up with me before," Rayne grinned back at him wickedly. "Not even before I was Turned!"

Xav slid his fingers into Rayne's hair and pulled him in for another long slow kiss and for a moment it was like the rest of the world dropped away and it was only the two of them. The heat between them rolled up in waves and the sexual energy was almost a palpable thing.

Rayne wished he could believe that it would last, that they could always be like this. In that moment he was really, truly happy; happier than he had been in years. It came down to the delicate balance again, Xavier never pushed him too hard but at the same time he was not afraid to stand up for himself. At the moment their world was on fire with sensual passion but what if that could not last? He knew well enough that the initial spark rarely kept burning beyond the first few months of such an intense affair. But did he and Xavier have that compatibility out of bed that would keep the flame alive for longer?

Whilst they were in Italy, his old friend, Aldo, had suggested that Xavier was a potential soulmate. He had seen that spark between them before Rayne was really, properly aware of it himself. Now, lying curled around Xav on Dominic's kitchen table, looking into his mischievous blue eyes, Rayne thought he saw what Aldo had noticed weeks before. Xavier was always full of life, but there was an intensity to him when they were together like this. It was power and it was passion, but most of all it was a deep seam of 'Xavier-ness' that made him feel like a teenager again. Like this beautiful blond boy was the most important thing in his world.

"What have you done to me?" he whispered, huskily, touching his lips to that succulent mouth once more.

At the other end of the table, Gabriel nudged Dom and nodded towards the entwined pair with a knowing smile. Lord Warren grinned appreciatively, but Rayne saw none of it, his eyes were filled with Xavier.

Xav brushed Rayne's hair out of his eyes and kissed the tip of his nose. As far as Xavier was concerned he hadn't done anything exceptional, except love him. He noticed that Rayne looked better now that he'd fed properly. His eyes weren't as pale and his skin didn't look so chalk white and drawn.

"Even though I think we make a fabulous centrepiece, you think maybe we should get off the table?"

"Heh... c'mon," Rayne sat up and swung his legs down, turning to hold out his hand to Xavier as he hopped down.

Gabe drew himself up at the same time. He kissed Dominic's knuckles briefly then said; "If you ladies will excuse me, the sooner I get out and shifted, the faster I can heal these stripes Mizz Wylde put in me."

Xav pulled his jeans up when his feet were on the floor, although he'd lost track of his shirt somewhere. Then he spotted it under the table and snagged it.

"So, um, where do you go to shift?" he asked Gabe, as transparent as glass.

"You don't give up, do you?" Gabriel chuckled, shaking his rumpled mane.

"Once he's got his teeth in he doesn't let go," Rayne commented grimly.

The were reached out a hand and tousled Xavier's curls as if he was a child. "I go where no one's likely to get hurt, babes."

"Come on, you can't tell me that if..." Xav thought for a second and then gestured to Dom. "...that if Dominic told you he could sprout wings and fly, that you wouldn't want to see it?"

"'s diff'rent," Gabriel said with a little smile. "Lady Warren's seen me shift. We don't have no secrets."

"Not any more," Dominic said pointedly, but he smiled as he said it to show that it wasn't meant as a jibe.

"D'you normally watch lover boy feed?" Gabriel asked, nodding towards Rayne.

"I've watched him plenty times," Xavier countered. "He doesn't mind."

"Bet you've never seen 'im shape shift, 'ave you?" Gabe laughed and Rayne glared at him darkly for it.

Xavier was scowling too, but for a different reason. He was remembering something and it wasn't at all a pleasant memory; when Steffen dragged him off into the woods back in Frisco, and he had him pinned down on the ground... The vampire had been laughing cruelly in his ear as he raped him, his face was pushed down in the leaves and dirt and Xav thought he saw a bird; an enormous white owl. And then he thought the shock must have been making him hallucinate because a moment later Yannis was standing there and Steffen went lunging after him.

Maybe he hadn't been seeing things after all if what Gabriel seemed to be suggesting was true. Could vampires shift their forms?

Some of the energy went out of Xavier and the shadows that gathered in his eyes were like watching an eclipse come over the sun. He turned away, no longer so interested in Gabriel. He wasn't exactly upset though, not like he had been the night before when Gabriel had prodded him about Rayne hiding things from him.

He looked at Rayne curiously, and judging by the way he was bristling he guessed that it was indeed true, he could shape shift, like some of the legends said. He looked back at Gabe defensively. "Maybe he's got a reason he didn't want to."

"Yeah!" Gabriel laughed huskily. "Like, p'raps that turnin' into a little scrawny bird's not quite as impressive as shiftin' into a wolf."

Rayne went for him, without a second's warning and the two mortals in the room were not fast enough to intercept. The vampire slammed into Gabe and they bowled across the kitchen in a whirlwind of teeth and claws, crashing up against the cabinets as Dominic threw things at them and yelled for them to stop it.

"Please!" Lord Warren shouted over the snarling chaos in his beautiful kitchen. "Don't do this! Gabriel... make this stop! Rayne... please don't kill him. Please!"

The sudden fear in his eyes told Xavier that this last was a very real possibility. There was already blood on the floor tiles as the pair of them fought it out. Gabriel was on his back and Rayne was at his throat but the wolf lashed out with fists and feet and his attacker was thrown against the opposite wall for his pains. Now Rayne rolled groggily to his knees and Gabriel managed to get halfway sitting before he sagged back down again, growling softly.

The little vampire looked dazed though, too hurt and confused to fight. He blinked owlishly at Xavier, shaking his head.

"I wanted to come for you," he slurred, still not quite focussed. "Xav I really tried, but I wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough. He's right. I wish I could... I wish I was better..."

He folded and wrapped his arms around his head, groaning low in his throat at the knowledge that he'd somehow let his lover down.

Xavier was already moving toward Rayne as he spoke and dropped down beside him to wrap his arms around him and hold him protectively.

"Shhh...none of that," Xav murmured in a soft whisper by his ear. "You came for me when it mattered, Rayne. You did everything you could to get me free, when you could have gotten on a plane and forgotten I existed." He stopped talking but pushed how he felt, as if Rayne could absorb it through the touch of their skin pressed together. There was nothing but love and understanding in him. There was no way he could not understand.

Xavier had been at the mercy of Steffen, who had been forced to hold his sadistic pleasures in check slightly with Xavier or risk damaging him beyond repair, and yet he had still been cruelly brutal. Rayne, knowing full well the type of treatment he could expect, had willingly taken Xavier's place in captivity to set him free, and with Rayne there had been no reason for Steffen to hold back. They had beaten and tortured him repeatedly and starved him so he could not heal and went nearly mad with it. Even at his weakest though Rayne had not turned on Xav, he had done everything in his power to keep him safe at very real risk to himself. In Xavier's eyes Rayne had far from let him down. On the contrary, he had done everything that was necessary to keep him alive.

Xavier kissed the back of Rayne's neck and smoothed his hand over his hair soothingly before he slowly unfolded from him and stood.

Gabriel was still in a defensive posture, fresh blood marking him. He could not have known what memories he would stir in Xav with his careless teasing, he could not have known how hot a button he was pushing, in either of them. He could not have known... and Xavier didn't give a flying fuck about that. The look he shot Gabriel was pure fury before he jabbed a hard fist right at the bigger man's jaw.

Gabe didn't flinch from the blow, but he caught Xavier's fist before he could land a second one.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Yeah, I guess I deserved that. I dunno quite what's goin' on with you two but I won't poke at him no more if you don' want me to. But you leave the shiftin' thing, okay? If I want you to see me shift, you will. End of."

He put Xavier down almost gently and touched a tentative hand to the gashes in his neck and shoulder. Honours were definitely even on the battle scars.

"Fine," Xavier said shortly as the were turned away, heading for the door that led out into the orangery.

Xavier waited until he was gone before he moved an inch and as soon as he slipped out the door he silently began to pick up the pieces in the room, righting a tipped over chair and grabbing a broom to sweep up the shards of a broken plate.

It was Dominic who stopped him. The older man looked shaken and upset by what had happened but he took the brush firmly from Xavier's hand and nodded towards Rayne now.

"Look after him," he said tenderly. "He needs you more than a few broken plates. I'll sort out the mess."

Rayne was still huddled on the ground with his head resting on his knees and his arms wrapped around them. Xavier went to him and gently coaxed him up after a few minutes. He took him upstairs and closed the door to their room, feeling what Rayne most needed right now was some privacy and a bit of sanctuary.

"Are you okay?" he asked now that they were alone. He got a wordless nod and Xavier didn't see any fresh wounds on him. "Why did you go after him like that?"

"I wanted to kill the mutt," Rayne said sullenly, curling up on the bed like a child. "He can't leave it alone, can he? Always having a jibe; poking at open sores like a son of a mangy cunt! I dunno what Dom sees in the bastard."

"Honestly, right now, I don't either." Xavier said, sliding onto the bed behind Rayne. He curled around his backside, spooning up to him and wrapping his warmth around him despite the sullen hostility his mate radiated.

"Maybe we should just go home." Xav suggested in a soft tone. "It seems every time either of us has any interaction with Gabriel it ends bad. I don't want to keep getting Dom upset."

"You need Dominic's help, Xavier."

"I can figure out how to deal with it on my own. I'd have to anyway if Dominic wasn't around."

Rayne was quiet for a moment or so. At last he murmured; "You've seen those people wandering around on the streets, not knowing who they are or what's going on around them? Or sitting somewhere rocking and talking to themselves? Most of those people just lost their mind on drugs or abuse or some other mental problem. Some of them though...some of them have something like what you got, and they can't handle the constant barrage of shit coming at them. It overwhelms them and drives them right outta their head. I don't want that to happen to you, Xav."

Now it was Xavier's turn to be quiet for a few moments as that sobering thought settled on him. Would he go nuts if he couldn't get a handle on this empathy thing? It wasn't so far fetched. He'd already felt like he was gonna go crazy with it a few times. Feeling what everyone else around him felt, picking up all their joy or anger or sorrow or disgust or whatever the fuck they were going through at that moment, made him feel totally out of control. Like he just wanted to hold his head and scream.

Being with Rayne helped, like having a buffer, but the farther away Rayne was the less it worked. He had to get a handle on this, and Dominic was his best bet.

Xavier sighed, his breath stirring the dark fronds of Rayne's hair across the back of his neck. "Okay, I guess we should stay. I'm a lot better now though, I feel stronger. Maybe we should do this ritual or whatever tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's the full moon." Rayne looked at him as if he was out of his mind.

Xav sighed again. "Ok, day after tomorrow."

"If we've not both gone crazy in the next 24 hours," Rayne mused, turning to plant a kiss on his nose as they snuggled closer. "Sometimes I wonder if that's his game plan. Make us crazy enough to try and kill him. He's a mental case, Xavier. And it's not just the moon that makes him loopy, I'm sure."

Xav brushed Rayne's lips with his own, a small smile tugging the corners of his mouth. "We could just hide in here for two days. I'm sure we could find something to keep us occupied."

He grinned and nuzzled at the nape of Rayne's neck, recapturing some of their earlier tenderness. Rayne's fanged smile said he wasn't entirely opposed to that idea, although for the moment they both seemed contented to lay there and snuggle.

After a little while Xavier remembered what had sent them retreating up here to begin with. "Can you really shapeshift?"

"Umm..." Rayne said, somewhat evasively. "Kind of."

He looked rather put out that Xavier had remembered to ask about it but was also stoically refusing to lie, in view of their earlier dispute about secrets and untruths. All his optimistic hopes that this week would be a relaxing break for the pair of them were beginning to dwindle to nothing.

"I'm not very good," he admitted when Xavier's curious expression refused to go away.

Half a dozen questions clamoured around in his head but Xavier reined back his curiosity because he could tell Rayne wasn't comfortable.

"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," he said, laying his head back down on the pillow.

"Vampires don't have to shift, it's not like with Were-Mutt downstairs," his mate said dismissively. "Some of them like doing it. Some of them make a pretty big thing about it, like an ego trip, y'know? Woo!! Look at me, I'm a fuckin' leopard! Well whaddaya know?"

He lay back, shaking his head disdainfully.

Xavier made sure he didn't so much as twitch a smile at that disgruntled comment, but it was pretty easy for him to read that his lover's disdain came, at least partly, because he couldn't in fact turn himself into a leopard. He figured it was okay to ask a few questions now, since Rayne didn't seem to mind talking about it. Propping his head up on one hand he lay on his side next to his still naked lover.

"Can you change into more than one thing then? Does it hurt?"

Rayne studied him with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, and yes," he murmured at last, rather guardedly. "It's... it's horrible. Hard to describe. Like turning yourself inside out. But that's not the worst bit. You see, you use up a lot of energy shifting. And it's shifting back that's the hard bit. It's so easy to get... to get stuck."

He winced painfully.

Xavier's eyes widened, his expression changing from curious to vaguely horrified. As much as he would like to see this transformation for himself he didn't want Rayne to do anything that was going to hurt, or worse, be permanent.

"Oh..." he said, not quite managing to hide his disappointment. "I was gonna ask if I could see you do it, but never mind that. Not if it hurts, and not if you could get stuck! I rather like you the way you are."

He smiled reassuringly but Rayne curled in on himself, actually a little deflated by Xavier's protective insistence that it didn't matter when he knew for a fact that it did.

"Ask Jabez to show you some time," he said in a monotone. "He loves showing off. And he's good at it. I must be a disappointment to him as well."

He wriggled onto his side and buried his face in the cool clean softness of the pillow, closing his eyes. Xavier put his hand on Rayne's shoulder and pulled him back over at once. He caught his lover's chin in his hand and made Rayne look at him.

"Don't do that. Don't put words in my mouth. I never said I was disappointed in you. I never even thought it. I was disappointed that it hurt to shift, because that would make me pretty much an asshole to ask you to do something that I knew was gonna hurt you just to satisfy my curiosity, wouldn't it? And speaking of... don't confuse my being curious about something with being impressed. I'm not that shallow, and it's pretty fuckin' insulting for you to think so. I'm not that easy to impress, and that you were still able to impress me never had anything to do with any vampire ability."

Rayne was just looking at him in speechless bewilderment and Xavier took advantage of it to lean in and kiss him, smoothing one thumb over his cheek tenderly. When he pulled back again he looked at Rayne steadily. Part of the reason they got on so well was that Xavier had almost a gift for knowing when not to push Rayne, but the opposite of that gift was knowing when it was okay to push, and more importantly knowing when he needed to push.

His lover had bristled slightly at the sudden offensive, but his feathers settled now and he leaned back against the pillows looking suddenly rather coy again once Xavier had broken the kiss and mellowed with him. It still confused Rayne that Xav was able to make him feel like this, but an awful lot of things about Xavier confused him so that was nothing new.

Xavier gave him a hesitant smile now. "So, you just had a good feed. You didn't say you couldn't do it, only that it was hard. Do you want to show me?"




London Loves Ch. 12



"Umm... I guess it's kind of embarrassing too," he said warily. "I... er... I don't turn into anything fancy or scary like Jabez does. It's not even particularly useful. Do you still want me to do it?"

Xav nodded thoughtfully. Part of him wanted to say no, simply because he didn't want Rayne to do anything that was going to hurt him, but in this case a little physical pain might be better than the wound to Rayne's pride if Xavier backed off now. "I'd like to see it, yeah."

Rayne gave him a practically unreadable look. It was not exactly hostile but there was a level of grace under pressure there that would have been funny under most circumstances.

"Open the window," Rayne said atonally, rolling to the edge of the bed and sliding off onto the floor.

Xavier hopped down and went to the window at once, putting it on the latch but Rayne gestured to him to open it wider.

"Does this smell bad?" his lover asked.

"No but I get jittery in enclosed spaces once I've shifted," Rayne explained. "It makes me feel better if there's an escape route."

He crouched down on the floor as Xavier pushed the window wide, and closed his eyes. For a moment or so nothing happened and the younger man was about to make a wisecrack when he felt it, like something pulling at his chest from the inside. His knees turned weak. At the same time Rayne went down on both knees and made a little huffing noise, a small, frightened noise. He shuddered and his hands moved out to either side as if he was balancing on a wire.

"God! No..." Rayne said softly, a word that began as a human voice and ended in a croak like a branch snapping.

He seemed to fall, his dark hair flying, then whipping around his face in a wild wind that only he could feel. His body thrashed on the floor then seemed to snap in on itself like a cellophane wrapper thrown onto a fire. It happened so fast that Xavier opened his mouth to yell then closed it again in amazement.

He felt slightly nauseous but that was probably nothing compared to what Rayne was feeling.

On the bedroom floor in front of him, a mid-sized bird-like creature flapped and shrieked, struggling to get its wings and legs sorted out and get to its feet. It was black and white, with a long, black beak and tail and bright, green-rimmed ebony eyes. As Xavier made a move toward it, its wings thrashed again and it found its orientation and took off, hurtling across the room, practically bouncing off the ceiling in its haste to get to the sky. It came to rest on top of the wardrobe where it chattered anxiously and settled its wings.

A fierce little magpie, with big green eyes.

Xavier stared up at it and slowly his initial shock turned to delighted wonder.

"Wow!" he breathed, keeping his tone soft and gentle so he didn't startled the bird.

The bright-eyed magpie looked down at him quizzically and turned its head nearly on one side. Xavier grinned, still feeling a bit tingly along his skin, though he wasn't sure if it was from the residual power that the change expended or from the novelty. He stayed still for a moment, and then lifted his hand slowly.

"Can you come closer, please?" he asked and the bird flipped his wings and turned his head again, as if debating. He ignored Xav's request, instead lifting a wing and preening his feathers. Xav couldn't help chuckling. "Contrary even in this form, huh? C'mon... I just want to see your pretty feathers closer," he cajoled.

The magpie looked at him again, fluffed up for a moment as if impatient and then spread his wings, gliding down to Xav's upraised hand. Sharp nails bit into his skin a little, but Xavier didn't care. He was utterly enchanted, and it showed in his expression as he examined the beautiful glossy black feathers, sharp little beak, and intensely bright eyes.

"You look amazing!" he said, again keeping his voice pitched soft despite his enthusiasm.

The little bird stared back at him with some impertinence then stretched out its neck and quick as a flash pecked his nose. It's wings flashed and it was off, darting across the bedroom towards the window ledge and chattering noisily as it went. The chatter amused Xav because it sounded remarkably like bitching. He followed over to the window, still moving slowly. Even though he knew it was Rayne in there somewhere the little creature still seemed... birdlike; kind of nervous and twitchy.

Only now did he think to wonder about his own reaction during the transformation. It had felt weird and his stomach was still a little queasy, and why was it that he'd felt anything at all? He hadn't expected that, but it must be something to do with the blood bond they shared.

His magpie lover hopped across the window ledge, stopping to peck at a little jewelled horse icon that sat on the sill. It hopped onto the horse's crest and tapped at a shiny stone in one of its eye sockets, prising at it with its beak, then, as Xavier drew closer, it flapped its wings and hopped across to the hanging latch of the window. Unsteadily it perched there, wings still spread, its crest feathers silvered by the moonlight outside.

Its head tilted again and it looked up at the moon and made a little "Yak!" noise, clicking its beak excitedly. Then its piebald wings spread wide and it jumped and was gone, fluttering into the darkness and chattering noisily as it went.

Xav's heart just about stopped and he leaned out the window quickly.

"Rayne!" he called out, but the magpie was already out of sight. "Shit!" he swore heatedly, worried now. Not that Rayne couldn't take care of himself, but still... it was hard for him not to be protective.

As he called out again into the gathering gloom there was a little tap at the door. Dominic put his head in without waiting for a response. He was wrapped in the dressing gown he had lent Rayne earlier and looked paler than normal, though perhaps that was unsurprising.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, quickly noting Xavier and the open window and the lack of recalcitrant vampire and putting the figures together with some alacrity.

"He flew out the window!" Xavier said, clearly alarmed. He bit his bottom lip, looking for all the world like an anxious child that had just let the family pet escape to parts unknown. "I goaded him into shifting and he did and then he took off and what if he gets stuck like that? It'd be all my fault!"

Dominic's lips framed the words in silence as if he was testing their veracity for himself.

"He flew out the window?" he repeated at last, aloud and then the final part of what Xav had been trying to tell him seemed to sink in. "He took a bird form for you? What on earth did you promise him to make him do that?"

Lord Warren had come over to the open window now and peered out with a grimace into the darkness. He murmured; "Well... vampires can see in the dark so I suppose he should be okay."

Xavier didn't seem any less anxious and hovered by the open window. "He's a bird, Dom... What if a cat gets him? What if he forgets who he is and doesn't come back?"

"Darling, he's not a bird, he's a vampire," Dominic said in a very calm tone that was at complete odds with the look in his eyes as he scanned the darkening emptiness beyond the window. "If something hurts him his body will try to change back. They have a kind of default setting, its what stops them ageing or changing. He'd have to be completely cut in two for something to kill him."

He seemed to sense that this logic was not helping. The flaws in it were a little bit too glaring. Small birds being quite easy to damage, for a start. There were a lot of reasons why most birds didn't fly at night, all of them good, practical ones. Xavier visibly paled, not at all reassured.

"Shit... I should have never asked him to shift," he said miserably. There was nothing he could do about it now though. He sunk down on the low padded bench under the window, determined to wait there for Rayne until he decided to come back.

Dominic sat across from him and patted his hand.

"That's the one low point of being with a Shifter," he sighed. "There's this whole other side of them that you just can't share. A life they live that you can't influence no matter how much you might want to try. When Gabriel shifts he is a wolf. And I can't make him sit, or stay, or do anything really. Just worry that he'll get himself into a fight, or get shot or a myriad other things. Think yourself lucky, at least Rayne would rather not do it, and he doesn't have to."

Xavier couldn't think of himself as lucky at that moment no matter what Dominic said, but he wasn't rude enough to say so when it was obvious that Dominic did have more to worry about. They sat together for several long minutes in silence and finally Dominic sighed. "He might be gone for a while Xavier, there is no point sitting up waiting."

He said it reasonably and reached to close the window.

"No, leave it open, Dom. Please?"

"The temperature has already dropped with the sun, Darling. It won't do you any good to sit here freezing."

Xav got up and pulled the duvet off the bed, pulling it around his shoulders before he stubbornly sat back down by the window. Dominic just shook his head and sighed, recognising that stubborn streak because he had seen it all too often in Rayne. He stood up and kissed the top of Xavier's head.

"Alright. If it makes you feel better go ahead and shiver," he said mildly, and left Xav to his vigil.

Xavier pulled his feet up beside him and got as comfortable as he could. He knew he was being ridiculous. Rayne would probably shift back somewhere and stroll through the door in a few hours. Knowing it was ridiculous didn't make any difference though, he sat there and waited faithfully, all the while torturing himself with guilt and worry.

An hour passed, and then another, and even cold and cramped Xavier's head began to nod a bit. Sleep tugged at him and he put his head down on the sill, intending just to rest his eyes for a moment.

The shift always disoriented Rayne at first. It was as if his brain capacity was somehow condensed along with his body and it took him a little while to start thinking coherently again once his body had remembered how to be a bird. The first time he attempted it Jabez had laughed for days. And his Sire never laughed out loud.

Rayne had been so confused and enervated by that first shift that he could not even stand up and just lay on the ground fluttering in a rather pathetic fashion until his Sire took pity on him and entered him to force a shift back to his own form.

Now he was at least able to manage the transformations on his own, but it was horrible and he hated doing it. He felt too uncomfortable out of his own skin, and terribly vulnerable as well. In view of which he was currently perched on the branch of a tree, wondering what in hell had persuaded him that it was a sound idea to jump out of the window. Once he was airborne however, a new set of instincts took over.

The one good thing about the shift was flying. It amazed him every time that he was even able to do it without making a complete idiot of himself. And the feel of the air currents sliding through his flight feathers was such a rush. Of course his current viewpoint was much simpler than all that; his impulses restricted to the very basics of thought; Up, Down, Food, Predators. not even the words, just a sense of what these things were. It was all so very primitive that when he shifted back he found it hard to talk. But the images in his mind were astounding in their clarity and the weight of emotion they left him with. It was like being on drugs, but so very much better.

Which was another good reason not to do it really.

Rayne knew he was an addict, there was no getting away from it. Even though he could not ingest narcotics any more he still felt the craving from time to time. But it did not stop with drugs. He was addicted to cigarettes and rough sex, and the sensation of taking to the air. Even though he hated transformation he loved the feeling of flying, it just felt so good. One day, he sometimes thought, he would just take to the air and keep on flying and flying, higher and higher and further out until his heart burst and he could not physically go on.

He had no idea what would happen then. Jabez believed that, like the weres, if he was fatally injured, his body would shift back to human form instinctively. Rayne was not so sure. The shift back was hard and it took a lot of life force. Oddly enough, it was easier for a larger creature to shift back to human form because the animal's life energies were bigger than the human energies. He had not yet mustered the strength to shift to any form larger than a medium sized crow though and could not imagine how much blood he would need to drink to become an eagle.

His wings carried him out over the woods, circling in the darkness, unafraid of the night. Bats dodged deftly around him and once he flinched as a larger darker shadow swooped over him, a mature barn owl, curious but not hungry enough to attack him.

The house was mostly in darkness beneath him when he came back in towards it at last, with no idea of how long he had been on the wing. His small body longed for rest though and he fluttered down onto the cross beam of a section of garden trellis, hung with climbing roses and wisteria. As he sat there, tilting his head, listening to the night sounds of bugs and rodents and the things that eat them, a sound echoed through the woods that made him shiver, even in bird form.

The long, low, ululating howl of a hunting wolf.

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of Xavier's stomach as he dropped through the air in free fall...and then he was suddenly jerked to a stop, his arms tied above his head as he hung in a dark room that smelled slightly oily, and over the top of that the sweetish smell of heroin being cooked. He blinked rapidly, trying to see into the darkness. A soft sound drew his attention, and a low red glow caught his eye as someone drew on the end of a cigarette and made it flare brighter for a moment. He could not see the face behind that red glow but he was instantly afraid.

"Let me go..." he demanded, only his voice came out a hoarse broken whisper.

The hot end of the cigarette came a little closer and the man smoking it took it from between his lips and blew a streamer of smoke into his face. He lifted his hand toward Xav, black shadow on black shadow, and Xavier was so frightened of his touch that there was an immediate and insistent urge to release his bladder. He struggled against the rope holding him and small whimpers came from his throat like a scared animal. After a moment the man withdrew his hand and Xavier stilled. Somewhere in the dark he heard muffled sobs and somehow knew they belonged to Clint. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper, and rough hands were tugging at his own pants.

"No... no, don't... please... stop..."

Pain seared into Xavier and he jerked in his sleep, a terrified and pain filled scream on his lips. His waking was so violent he fell off the window seat onto the floor, frantically clawing off the duvet he was tangled in.

"Xavier? Are you alright?"

Dominic was suddenly above him but Xavier was still half in and half out of the nightmare and he couldn't speak, the only thing coming out of him were little whimpers of fear.

"Shhh..." Lord Warren whispered. "It's just a dream, Xavier. Come on, let's get you into bed, it's late. I'll leave the window open so he can fly back in if he wants to but you need to get some proper sleep."

He hesitated slightly as he steered the still semi-coherent young man back towards the bed and got him lying down. "Do you want me to stay with you until he gets back? Sometimes it's more... comfortable. I know, I hate sleeping alone."

Xavier knew then that Gabriel was probably on the prowl somewhere out in the woods and was not sure if that was more or less comforting a thought. He just nodded his head though to let Dominic know it was okay for him to stay. He was not sure anything that came out of his mouth at the moment would make any sense. Dom arranged the covers on the bed and slid in next to him.

"Bright Lady, you're ice cold!" Dominic said, pulling the duvet up more firmly around his young friend.

Xavier still hadn't spoken. He felt exhausted, but he didn't think sleep was going to come to him again anytime soon. He lay there in the darkened room staring up at the ceiling for a long time, thinking.

He'd had nightmares before, some really horrible ones, but none had ever been like these. His night terrors had always felt... dreamlike. Almost as if he knew he was dreaming while he was having them. These felt so real, like he was actually there. That was another thing. Usually if he had a dream, especially a bad one, it was something from his past, something he remembered. These were mixed up bits of things that had happened, and things that hadn't happened. More than that, there was a common thread that linked them and that bothered him the most; the faceless man that scared the shit out of him, the drugs, and Clinton.

"Dom?" he whispered, barely audible just in case Dominic was sleeping.

"Mm?" came a sleepy reply.

"I keep having these nightmares... ever since we got to London. They're all a little different, but the same guy is in them. I don't know who he is, but..." Xav trailed off. Now that he'd said it out loud it sounded stupid, like he was just being a scared kid. "Never mind," he muttered softly.

Dominic's arms came around him, but gently now; a quiet, fraternal cuddling that was meant to reassure.

"It could just be insecurity manifesting itself through your dreams," he murmured softly. "You don't see his face, this man?"

Xavier shook his head miserably.

"Well, it's fairly safe to assume that you're not dreaming about someone from your past," Lord Warren said thoughtfully. "Am I to take it that you feel that you're in danger from him? Or does he actually harm you?"

Xavier licked his lips, feeling nervous for some reason. Then he seemed to come to some kind of internal decision and started to tell Dom about the vague dreams he'd been having and the clearer ones he remembered. The one where Clint had warned him someone was coming for him and he'd been afraid even though he couldn't see the man's face, and he'd given Xav a vial. And then running down the same alley he'd been attacked in, only he was running from this man, who grabbed him and slammed him down on the pavement. He'd woken up then but not before he'd seen the syringe in the man's hand. And then there was the one where he'd seen Gabriel shift and how the setting had morphed into the movie theatre where Clinton and his friends hung out, and the man were there too and again there was a needle and syringe on the table waiting. And now finally this last one with the cigarette in the darkness... and the smell of heroin in the air.

All of the dreams had this man whom he was very afraid of in them, and all of them had involved heroin. Even in this last one, he'd smelled it even if he hadn't seen it.

"I don't know why I'm dreaming about this shit," Xavier said unhappily.

Dominic was a long, warm presence against his back, peaceful and slightly comforting as he murmured; "Are you afraid of being tempted back into that lifestyle?"

Tellingly, he did not ask about any of Xavier's previous habits, or ask the usual hysterical questions such as 'are you clean?' Dominic took the confession in his stride, like any priest worth his salt.

"Always, Dom." Xavier said so softly it was almost a whisper.. "Always. I've been afraid of backsliding since I stopped. I don't know why I'd be dreaming about it now though. I haven't been thinking about it... I haven't been tempted to go looking." He sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face. "It's probably nothing, Dom. It's just dreams, it don't mean anything."




London Loves Ch. 12



He was quiet for a moment and then turned his head slightly to look at Dominic. "You think you could put some kind of spell on me so I wouldn't dream any more?"

Dominic kissed his hair gently.

"I could do that, dearheart, but I don't think it would be beneficial," he said ruefully. "You know that people take sleeping pills to shut out the mental interference that stops them sleeping but it doesn't make it go away. A spell would be just the same. It would mask the problem. And you don't even know what the problem is yet, so that could be dangerous."

Xav didn't argue with him. Maybe because he saw the logic in it, or maybe just because he was too tired to argue.

They both fell quiet and after a while began to doze. Xavier's rest was fitful though. Every time he began to settle into a deeper sleep he pulled himself back up. Even his subconscious didn't seem to want to take the chance on another disturbing nightmare. He knew his restlessness was going to keep Dominic from getting any real sleep, and Dominic needed the rest after Rayne had feed so deeply from him.

Xavier tried not to be too envious about that. After a few more moments he slid very carefully from the bed so as not to disturb Dominic and padded barefoot out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen intending on getting a drink.

Once his thirst was slacked he didn't really want to go back to bed and try to lie still. Instead he slipped out the doors leading into the back garden. It was getting a lot colder at night, it seemed. It was chilly enough to put goosebumps on his bare arms and make his teeth chatter, but the cold air cleared his head as he looked up into the star strewn sky with an almost full moon hanging over head. He'd never really paid attention to the moon before.

A distant howl reminded him that for some people the phase of the moon was more important than the numbered days on a calendar.

"You'll catch your death sitting out here."

The quiet voice was unexpected yet so familiar that Xavier only jumped a little. Rayne was lying on a little hand carved bench in the shrubbery, completely hidden until he spoke and his lover's eyes focused more sharply on the milk white skin lit in spots by the moonlight filtering through the fronds of angelica.

Xavier's expression showed his relief at seeing his lover back and unharmed, but only for a quick moment before he covered it with a more casual smile.

"You could have tried a little harder to dissuade me from making you shift, you know." Xav said as he moved to sit on the bench beside Rayne.

The vampire gave him such a narrow look Xav held up his hands, grinning. "Just kidding!" He chuckled, and bent to brush a kiss across his lips. "Did you know I would feel it? Made me so queasy I thought I was gonna toss my cookies for a minute. I'm glad you don't have to shift if you don't want to."

"So after all that pushing you'd really rather I hadn't, is that what you're saying?" Rayne rolled his eyes and sank back down in the shrubs again with a little sigh. "You are something else, Mizz Gee!"

Xav just smiled at him and pulled him into his arms. "I was mostly teasing. Thank you for showing me, and for putting up with me," he said, nuzzling a cold nose under his ear.

"Yeah!" Rayne chuckled, shaking his head. He felt exhausted again, but somehow very happy. Which was weird enough. "Now lets get you inside before you wind up as wolf-bait!"

Xav followed him inside, one chilled hand inside the other's. It was only when they were about halfway up the stairs to the second floor that Xav remembered Dominic.

"Um, we might have to find another bed. Dom is sleeping in ours."

Rayne looked at him with a hard to read expression and Xav shrugged self-consciously. "I had a nightmare and he was keeping me company, but I couldn't get back to sleep and didn't want to keep him up," he explained.

"That's not even an imaginative excuse!" Rayne forced a grin, and shook his head. "Oh well, I guess we'll have to return the favour by sleeping in his bed. I figure it's probably empty right now." He slid his hands down over the curve of Xavier's arse and propelled him further along the densely carpeted corridor. "What were you dreaming about that kept you awake so much? Me, I hope!"

Xav didn't even consider telling him about the nightmares, not right now. He gave Rayne a coy little smile. "I don't need to sleep to be dreaming about you," he chuckled softly as they crossed the threshold into Dom and Gabe's bedroom.

Xavier quickly shed the clothes he was wearing and slid under the covers with Rayne. He wrapped his arms around him and cuddled close. They were both still chilled from being outside, but Xav figured they could warm up pretty quick.

"I'm hungry again now," his mate complained, snuggling into the curve of his neck and burying his cold nose there. "And it's all your fault," he teased, nibbling along the line of Xav's collar bone.

Xav tilted his head slightly so the line of his neck stretched gracefully under the soft touch of Rayne's lips. "Well...its only fair for me to replace your meal, I think." he murmured seductively in Rayne's ear.

"Fuck, you're cold," Rayne whispered breathily in his ear as he snuggled up to Xavier, rolling on top of him and play-biting, without breaking the skin of his neck. He was tired from the shift and had not been feeling especially horny until the moment their bodies rubbed together, when his cock responded automatically to the proximity of Xavier's nakedness. "Not used to that!"

"I'm sure you can warm me up." Xavier murmured, his hands caressing up and down Rayne's back and thighs. He too had been tired and distraught only a few minutes ago but was feeling much better in his lover's embrace. Neither were in any kind of hurry though, and it was relaxing to them both to snuggle into the blankets and enjoy slow kisses and sensual caresses while Xav's body temp came up and he warmed up Rayne as well.

His lover began a slow and thorough exploration of his body as he sprawled in the huge, comfortable kingsize. The sheets smelled sweetly of Jasmine oil and there was a gentle after scent of incense and sex to the room that made it feel quietly seductive. Candles stood on every available surface and Xavier imagined that when they were all lit the atmosphere would be impossibly romantic.

Rayne's rapid breath tickled softly over his skin, followed by the gentle lapping of his rough little tongue and the tug of his moist lips. Cool fingers played seductively up and down his bared thighs.

The covers slid off of them now that things were warming up and Xavier moved with Rayne's touch, rippling under him in slow gentle waves. His fingers caressed along Rayne's shoulders and up the back of his neck into his silky hair. He lifted one knee as Rayne's lips moved lower down his torso, letting his legs fall loosely apart. His back arched slightly and he crooned with pleasure as Rayne's lips slid lower yet.

His lover nuzzled tenderly into the sleek, warm hollows of his hips and his lips lingered on the silky skin that strained and flexed against his touch. Another sigh sent a warm breeze circulating around his balls.

"You do taste good," Rayne purred hungrily.

Xavier grinned at him with half closed sexy eyes. "I bet Dom's got some flavoured stuff in one of these drawers... or do you like plain skin better?"

Rayne grinned up at him, lasciviously.

"Sounds about right. He can't leave anything plain!" he buried his face in the warm hollow of Xavier's left hip and breathed in, deep and slow, taking his time. "You don't half make my mouth water," he exhaled at last, and when he lifted his head to shake back the fall of soft black hair, his smile had definite fangs.

"You don't even know how glad that makes me!" Xav smiled back, his hips wriggling under Rayne's touch. He slid one hand slowly down his own chest while Rayne kissed and lipped lightly at his skin. His hard cock was aching to be touched and he ran his fingers lightly up the underside of his shaft, watching the way Rayne's eyes flicked over there and feeling the air over his skin as he drew in the scent of his arousal. A single clear drop formed at his slit and Xav touched it with the pad of his finger and drew a small circle around the silky soft head of his cock, quivering slightly at the sensation.

Rayne's tongue gently curled around the curve of his ball sac, licking slowly upward. He moved the little stud in steady circles against the yielding skin that cupped his lover's plump, delicious nuts. Smoothly his lips parted around them, drawing tenderly on them, then opening wider to engulf them.

"Mmmmmmm..." he moaned happily, sucking on Xavier's balls like a baby with a massive pacifier. "Mhhh-mmmm!"

Xav's eyes slid closed, a soft sound of pleasure sighing from his lips as Rayne drew on him in a gentle suck. It was both an odd and delightful sensation having his balls sucked, those sensitive orbs being engulfed in warm wet heat.

"Mmmmmm..." Xav echoed Rayne's little purr.

His mate teased him gently, biting down but not hard enough to hurt, just catching one firm orb behind his teeth and pulling ever so lightly. His hands were caressing up and down the backs of Xavier's bare thighs, fingernails tugging down the silky skin, then the pads of his fingers stroking back up to his arse again.

"Ohhh you sexy boy," he whispered as he released the ball between his jaws, letting it pop wetly through his lips.

Xav shivered slightly as the cooler air of the room touched his wet skin.

"It feels so good when you do that," he murmured. He had brought one foot up to the back of Rayne's thigh and caressed there steadily with the arch of his sole.

Rayne's lips stroked slowly now up the length of his straining shaft, his tongue working hard on the underside of his lover's cock. He kissed and nuzzled his way higher, inhaling the hot briny scent of Xavier's precum, mouth watering as he feasted, whispering; "So good... so fuckin' good!"

"Ohhh, baby..." Xav exhaled as Rayne's lips and tongue worked magic on his cock. He sucked in a shuddering breath as those soft lips caressed the underside of his plump head.

Rayne's tongue was circling him steadily now, in no hurry. His lover nodded down over him, sheathing Xavier's cock head with his lips and sucking gently on him. His breath and the softness of his hair were a whispering caress in Xav's slowly heaving groin. The feel of Rayne's mouth closing around him made him moan and spasm, the gentle suction sending shivers up his spine. The plump dome butted up against the roof of his mouth and the little metal stud in his tongue pressed on the sensitive underside.

"Mmm-uhh...oooh, I like that!" Xav crooned.

"I can taste how much you like it," Rayne mused with his mouth full, letting his words vibrate softly down Xavier's shaft. He swallowed hard and nodded lower, practically engulfing Xav to the root and pressing his swollen glans against the back of his throat for a moment.

Xavier's body tensed briefly, his hips lifting ever so slightly to push deeper as Rayne slid down on him, and then relaxing as he pulled back and then repeated again, and again, almost in slow motion. For some reason he felt super sensitive right now, the slow sensual feel of Rayne's mouth on him driving him crazy. His fingers tightened in the sheets as Rayne went down on him again, not quite letting him push into the ring of his throat.

"Uhhhhhhh...." he moaned, the muscles of his belly quivering at the erotic torment.

Rayne showed no signs of needing or wanting to come up off him, which was fine by him. He knew that his lover enjoyed giving head almost as much as he liked to receive it. Certainly the slow caresses of his constantly moving fingers over Xavier's ass and thighs and the quiet little moans and sighs of pleasure seemed to indicate that he was not yet ready to move on. His pale eyes were closed now, the long lashes fanning his milky cheeks giving him an almost sleepy, cherubic countenance as his head rested on Xavier's bare leg.

The slow and tender way he caressed Xavier's cock with his mouth felt wonderful and kept him intensely aroused, but the pace didn't allow him to edge any higher or gallop to the finish. That was okay with Xavier though, he was enjoying every moment. He felt so languid and relaxed, putty in Rayne's hands...

Of course, his patience was helped a great deal by the knowledge that eventually Rayne wouldn't be able to resist sucking the cum from him.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Rayne murmured at last, lifting his head to rest his chin on Xavier's belly as he ran his fingers up and down the wet shaft that slipped out of his mouth. "I could do this all night, but I seriously think I might fall asleep. I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed in bed before."

He smiled up at Xavier impishly.

Xav chuckled. So much for getting what he wanted! He curled a finger at Rayne. "Come here and let me wake you up a little."

Rayne crawled slowly up his body and Xav kissed him when he got to his lips, but encouraged him to keep going until he knelt astride his chest and was at the perfect angle for Xav to return some of the oral favour.

"Ooohhh.... you're good to me!" Rayne exhaled, closing his eyes again and tilting his head back as he rocked his hips, loving the skilful pull of Xavier's mouth on his sensitive shaft. Shifting always took a lot out of him though and he was just about ready to let Xavier do whatever he wanted tonight.

Xavier's head was propped up on the pillows, his hands caressing Rayne's silky thighs and ass. Rayne's hands gripped the iron bed frame above his head for balance and all Xavier had to do was pull his hips gently, tugging him into his open wet mouth.

"Mmmmm..." he hummed around the thick shaft sliding back and forth on his tongue. His hands flexed and kneaded Rayne's sexy little ass, pulling him deeper yet, his mouth gliding up and down in delicious rhythm.

Xav kept to the slow relaxed pace Rayne had initially set, giving back every bit of the sweetly sensual torment. After a while though he could not resist picking up the pace, letting the juicy head of Rayne's cock push into the confines of his throat, his hot breath fanning across his lover's cool skin as his soft lips touched down around his base.

"Uuuhhhyeahhh!" Rayne sighed, circling his hips again, slowly as he felt the head of his tantalisingly hard prick nudge repeatedly against the back of his lover's throat. His fingers gripped tighter on the rail and his lean body undulated like a wave with every nod of Xavier's head. "You are fantastic. So good to me. I wanna make you feel this good, sweetheart."

Xavier eased back and let Rayne's turgid pole slip from between his lips.

"Get some oil out of the drawer," he whispered breathlessly, knowing Dominic would have something slippery handy.

Rayne leaned over and opened the drawer in the bedside table and pulled out a bottle of massage oil that was very lightly scented with a delicate hint of almonds and vanilla, it was almost like uncapping a bottle of Xavier's scent.

Xav took the bottle from him and poured a little into his palm, reaching down to slick his aching cock and then tease his fingers between Rayne's cheeks. The tip of his tongue flicked lightly back and forth over the head of Rayne's dick while he worked the oil into him, and then he eased Rayne's hips back, curling his own upwards until his shaft was sliding between his cheeks, probing at his hole.

The smooth head of his cock pushed delicately at his opening, still in keeping with the slow sensual mood they'd been enjoying. He pushed a little more firmly, letting just the head slip past his lover's tight ring and then pulled back out and popped it in again several times, teasing both of them. He let himself slip a little deeper, and a little more, entering and withdrawing inch by slow inch until he couldn't stand it any more and finally drove his hips up to fully sheath himself in that wonderfully snug channel. Xav's lips closed over Rayne's, kissing him and moaning softly into his mouth as he just held there for a long moment, buried deep, his arms wrapped tightly around Rayne's body.

"Uhhh...that feels amazing," he whispered against Rayne's lips.

Rayne rocked down slowly onto him with a little groan of pleasure. It was so good to feel Xavier sliding into him, filling him up with heat and fabulous friction. His lips found his lover's mouth, kissing him long and hard as he began to ride Xavier eagerly, driving up so that he felt the burn in his thigh muscles echoing the searing heat in in his channel, then sinking down with a little wriggle of his lean hips that impaled him deeply on Xav's beautiful cock.

Xavier's hand caressed the taut muscles of Rayne's thighs and cupped the curve of his ass before sliding up his back and shoulders and following the same path back down. His tongue delved into his mouth in hard succulent kisses and he planted his heels into the mattress to drive up into his lover with each down stroke.

Rayne rolled down onto him, curling around him on the deep, yielding mattress. He returned each kiss with interest, tongue twining with Xavier's as he pushed backwards, thrusting his hips down hard to meet every thrust. His heartbeat warred in his ear with that of his lover and he hungered for the hot pulse of Xav's blood with every stroke that drove up into his body.

They had been playing around for almost an hour and Xav had every intention of drawing out their lovemaking even longer, but his body was singing along now, wanting to push harder and faster and deeper and he couldn't resist. He let himself get swept up in the heated passion of his lover's body, pulsing with his rhythm. His lips sucked at the sensitive skin of Rayne's throat and he moved a hand between them to press his cock against his belly and stroke him.

Rayne was rubbing his face in Xavier's hair and bucking enthusiastically against his stomach as he rolled astride his mate. Little gasping yelps of pleasure escaped his throat as he felt Xav stirring it up inside him.

"Ohhh too good! Too good! Yes!" he whimpered in time with the vigorous thrusts that were pushing him closer and closer to another delicious peak.

He was so wrapped up in Xavier and Xav in him that neither knew they had an audience until the husky Cornish burr mere inches from Rayne's ear rumbled; "Hold him, Xavier. Pinch down on 'im at the base, don' let him shoot. He's that close he'll still come."

Rayne almost jumped off Xavier's dick with shock. He came down on all fours like a startled cat, huffing furiously and glaring at Gabriel.

"You fucker! What the hell are you doing in here?" he hissed.

Gabe shrugged slightly. "'s my bedroom. What you two doin' in 'ere? Apart from the obvious!"

Xavier's whole body shuddered once and he squeezed his eyes closed with a heartfelt groan as his brain tried to re-engage. He had been that close to cumming and his body was still trying to catch up with his brain and figure out why in the hell they had just stopped...

"Jesus...fuck, Gabriel!" he practically snarled, if a breathless gasp could be classified as a snarl.

"Don't stop on my account," Gabriel grinned wolfishly. He was still wet from the shower and clad in little more than a very small towel that more than demonstrated his appreciation for the free show.

"Out! Now!" Rayne barked at him, still shuddering, on the edge, as he eased back down slowly on Xav, feeling his lover sink into him once more. Amazingly Xavier was still hard for him and he could not resist his body's impulse to rock against the younger man, rubbing his throbbing dick and balls steadily on Xavier's bared belly.

"Mmmm... you are gorgeous when you're hot and pissed off!" Gabriel chuckled, flopping down on the bed beside them, blatantly ignoring the order.




London Loves Ch. 12



Xavier bit down on his bottom lip and arched his neck back as Rayne sank on him once more.

"Uhhh...god...Ray..." he whimpered. He couldn't stop, he was too close, and he didn't give a fuck if Gabriel was there. One arm was still wrapped around Rayne's back and his other hand stroked Rayne's prick as his own hips rolled up to thrust into him. They could kill Gabriel later.

Rayne must have shared his need, for he sank onto Xavier as his lover bucked into him, his lips and then his extending fangs fastening onto the softness of Xav's neck. He bit down hard, fucking the soft warm hand that gripped his cock until his milky spill covered Xavier's naked belly and he was shuddering in the younger man's passionate embrace. Rayne kissed and licked Xavier's neck with a long, low moan of ecstasy.

Xav cried out as Rayne bit into him, a hot rush of need exploding through him. His hand unconsciously tightened around the base of Rayne's cock as he slammed up into him hard and fast. His own lips fastened onto the side of Rayne's throat in a sucking kiss, muffling the little moans he made.

The little vampire was gasping hoarsely against his neck now, still thrusting into Xavier's hand as his tongue swiped the boy's bloody throat. He slumped into his lover's arms, shuddering with post orgasmic delight. As they curled around one another, still locked together at the hips and moving sensually, keeping rhythm with one another on the bed, Gabriel stretched out a hand and ran his finger through the trickle of cooling cum that ran down Xavier's side. He put his finger in his mouth and made an appreciative noise.

"Tastes good, for dead spunk," he commented cheerfully. "You're supposed to try and block him before he jacks off though."

Rayne turned his head, so that he was lying flat to Xavier's body with his cheek resting on the blond's bared shoulder; pale, venomous eyes fixed on the shameless were.

"Gabriel... fuck off!" he exhaled languidly. "Go and screw your boyfriend or something!"

"He's asleep," Gabe said stubbornly, showing no sign of shifting from the bed. "You wore 'im out before."

Xav lay catching his breath under Rayne. After that incredible session he wasn't sure he could move if he wanted to. Rayne shifted his hips and Xav groaned softly, his lips pressed into the cool silk of Rayne's hair. He didn't want to get up, but it didn't look like Gabe was going to leave, and it was his bed after all. He sighed, sending a warm breath down the back of Rayne's neck.

"Alright, we'll go."

"We fuckin' won't!" Rayne was standing his ground now. "Your wife is in our bed, Wolfboy. Go lick his balls or something!"

"I'd rather lick yours right now," Gabe grinned at him, completely unfazed. "An' I'm looking in your eyes an' thinkin' you like that idea a lot."

Xav waited half a second for Rayne to protest again, but he didn't respond, which told him well enough that Rayne probably wouldn't mind.

His hands had been stroking soothingly up and down Rayne's back and now he let them glide lower, fanning his fingers over his sexy buns and squeezing slightly as his hips bucked up a little harder, pushing his still sheathed prick deeper inside his lover.

Rayne's eyes slid back to Xavier's luscious, sweat and spunk gilded body and his pupils dilated, gaze simmering lustfully on his beautiful lover. Xavier's silence and his continued thrusting told him without words that his mate had no real problems with Gabriel sharing their bed. Given the teasing exchange over the kitchen table earlier in the day he supposed it should not come as a surprise that Xav was into the idea of fucking Gabe Arden.

He was annoyed by how much the idea of that bugged him though. Xavier had managed to worm under his skin and the boy had got so close to him these past few weeks that the thought of him in another man's arms was actually a little bit worrying. He had not worried about losing someone to another man since he was little more than a teenager himself. The emotion was almost a novelty in itself.

He was so engrossed with this thought that Gabe was able to slide right up to him and began kissing the back of his neck softly.

"Mmmm... you've gotten 'im nice an' warm, Xav," the were murmured appreciatively. "That always 'elps."

Xavier's hands slipped back up Rayne's body and his fingers cupped either side of his face very gently. His summer sky blue eyes looked like dark sapphires as he caught Rayne's gaze. His look asked Rayne without words to trust him, but if Rayne gave him even the slightest indication he was not okay with this situation they could stop.

But Rayne had that look in his eye, the look that said he was a runaway train and things had just got way out of his control. He glanced quickly now from Xavier to Gabriel and back to his lover with pleading eyes. A little hiss of breath revealed fangs but he was not in fight mode.

"Open me," he whispered, looking back at Gabriel again, anxious but also very hungry now. "Make me bleed. I need to feel it."

"I know, babe," Gabe breathed against his skin. "Does Xavier, though? I don't want him coming for me with a knife cos he's got the wrong idea."

"I know what he wants." Xavier said a trifle defensively. He did too, he understood the craving well. He was only sorry he could not give Rayne all that he needed. That didn't mean he would run from it though.

When Rayne's eyes came back to his, the look of frightened need was mellowing slowly. He shook his head as if there were words that he did not know how to say but he could not take his eyes off Xavier. Even when Gabriel pressed up against him, threatening to join the younger man inside him, he did not look away.

"ohhh..." he exhaled softly, "oh, Xav..."

One of Xavier's hands was curled lightly around the back of Rayne's neck, his fingers moving in slow soothing circles there as he held his lover's gaze. The other hand slid back down between them to caress and stroke his erection. Xav felt the nudge and probe of Gabriel's prick at Rayne's backdoor and he pulled back further with his next out stroke, sliding in his own slippery warm spill in Rayne's tight chute. He touched his lips to Rayne's, feather light.

"You want us both, sweetheart?" he whispered into Rayne's open mouth.

"Mm-hmmm..." Rayne moaned a low affirmative, a little shudder running through his slim body at the feel of Xavier's slick heat between his legs and Gabe's powerful, furry warmth at his back. He lifted his chin and closed his eyes but whispered; "Go in slowly, Arden. Your dick's like a horse's shin bone, if you hurt Xav with it I'll pull it off!"

Gabe licked his shoulder and neck playfully. "You're bloody hot when you get all feisty like that, d'you know?"

"And you're randy as a dog in heat. You really will fuck anything won't you?" Rayne hissed through his teeth as Gabe shoved into him whilst he was answering back.

"You said it!" Gabe panted, grinning wolfishly at them both. He gripped Rayne's lean hips in both hands and drew back so that just his head was in the vampire, then stroked it back inside, smooth as velvet.

Xavier's eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the pressure and friction created around his cock.

"Oooohhh! Fuck!" he exhaled as if all the breath were being squeezed out of him. The fingers that had been massaging the back of Rayne's neck slid into his hair and pulled him down, their lips clashing in a hungry kiss. Rayne huffed into his mouth at Gabriel's next hard thrust and Xav wriggled his tongue between his teeth, a small needy moan coming from him as he matched Gabriel's ebb and flow.

Rayne made small, muffled sounds, writhing and squirming astride them both, his hands sliding up Xavier's arms and gripping his shoulders tightly. He whined low in his throat.

"Mmmm... nice!" Gabriel growled in response. "Keep doin' that, Wylde. The vibrations feel so sweet 'round my dick!"

The were crouched over him and thrust again, deeper and harder this time, riding the yielding wetness of Rayne's tight arse. Xavier was bucking up into him from beneath and the vampire's back arched inward as he rode them both, his head coming up from Xavier's mouth so that he could cry out, a wild, helpless, inarticulate noise that seemed torn from his chest.

Xavier might have worried about whether that howl was more pain than pleasure except for the undeniable proof of Rayne's steel hard erection pumping in the closed circle of his fist. His own hot breath bathed Rayne's skin as he panted, his lips moving over the side of his throat to kiss and nip him there. The feeling of being inside him was incredible enough but having another big solid cock working up in there with him was melting his brain with its searing sensation. He knew what Rayne was feeling too, the stretch and burn of being so overwhelmingly filled, although being on this end of things was rather new.

It was harder to move with the weight of both of them on him, although he managed energetically enough. Gabriel had been moving steadily and now he picked up the pace, driving into Rayne harder and faster. The way their dicks rubbed together inside him was making Xav crazy, it was almost as if that hard muscular body would fuck them both into the mattress. Xav moved and rolled with them both, letting the pleasure build. His hand slipped from the back of Rayne's neck to caress along Gabe's shoulder and down his arm, his fingers clinging warmly there as if he were hanging on.

Rayne was huffing rapidly between them, eyes closed, his lean body wriggling as they worked on him. Occasionally a little whining noise escaped him when the feelings inside him got too good. He was not fighting it though, just riding the wave, letting his bedmates steer him where they wanted him.

"Oh yeah!" Gabe growled low as he quickened the pace. "That feels good!"

He leaned over Rayne's undulating body and kissed, then bit his pale, bare shoulder, lips curling back from a set of magnificent ivories that were half human, half lupine. As those long, powerful dog teeth sank into the junction of his neck and his shoulder, Rayne shuddered and moaned ecstatically. His muscles tightened in automatic reflex and Gabe grunted appreciatively, fucking him harder.

The pressure on Xav's cock was almost uncomfortable. Gabe's dick felt like a hard pole sliding against his in the tight confines of his lover's beautiful little ass. It still felt good though, really, really good. And the way Rayne squirmed and moaned for it was so fucking hot.

He watched Gabriel bite into him and shivers crawled up his back as two dark crimson beads welled up and spilled down the ivory skin of Rayne's chest.

The little vampire shuddered hard and his fingers tightened too around Xavier's upper arms, clinging to his his lover, anchoring himself on the beautiful body that bucked beneath him. The groan issuing from his throat rose to a breathless, wordless cry, demanding release. At the same time, nails as hard as ebony spikes erupted steadily from Gabe's fingertips and impaled his skinny hips, sinking into the hollows of his vigorously rocking pelvis until the blood ran from them.

"Huh-huh-huh..." Rayne gasped, making a sound like he was choking as Gabriel shifted behind him, a slow, rhythmic process punctuated by low growls and the popping of stretched muscles and skin. He was still thrusting hard as his half-way form overtook him, drawn by the scent of blood and sex and by Rayne's fierce yelps of arousal.

Blood dripped down from Rayne and splashed like tears onto Xav's chest but he hardly noticed. He was so intently focused on his lover's pleasure he almost missed what was happening to Gabriel, except the vice like clench around his cock became almost too much to bear and drew his attention to the other man.

Having your vampire lover bitten and ripped into by a rutting werewolf shifting his form right on top of you was something of a stretch for the mind to handle. To his credit, Xavier did not scream or completely freak out, and under other circumstances he might have simply watched in fascination. He could not, however, control every primal reaction, and a bright ribbon of fear snaked from the top of his head into his belly.

Had his two lovers been humans neither would have noticed at all, but the faint peppery tang of fear scent seasoned the air already filled with blood and lust. Rayne's restraining grip on Xav's arms only added to his reaction, but Xav wasn't exactly usual in this respect. The hit of fear, the steady flex and thrust of their bodies that felt almost like struggles, tripped something in his head that drove both his terror and his lust spiralling upward.

Rayne's fingers relaxed enough to stroke slowly down Xavier's arms to his hands. Still huffing and moaning softly at each, quickening thrust, he drew his lover's arms up above his head, knowing that Xavier liked to be held down like this during sex. Now he dipped lower, rubbing his upper body sensually against Xav as their lips met in a long, slow kiss.

"You're okay, yeah?" he panted between his mate's soft, wet lips as Gabriel slowed the pace again, grinding deep inside him and making him groan huskily.

"It's all right, babes," Gabe said now, his voice a deeper growl than usual but still inimitably him. "Wylde likes it, and I'm not gonna do nothin' that neither of you don't want. You can tell me to stop any time."

Xav's eyes closed and his expression almost looked like pain, except his lean body writhed under them and his chest heaved with a tumultuous moan of pleasure.

"Uuuhhhh....n-no...don't stop!" he forced out with a breathless groan.

"Rrrrr... good boy!" Gabriel rumbled hungrily. He pushed deep again, making Rayne shudder some more. The vampire was almost flat-out against Xavier's rapidly rising and falling torso. He began to make a desperate little "Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahhh" sound with every thrust, rubbing his leaking dick on Xav's hot, wet belly.

His breath huffed like a desert wind on his lover's neck and he clung to Xavier's hands for dear life.

Xav writhed under them and bucked up inside his lover nearly frantic with need. He loved the way Rayne's cock felt pressing and rubbing on his flexing stomach, although he wished he could feel it pulsing deep inside him.

"Ooohhh, yeah...that's it baby," he crooned in Rayne's ear. "That's it... feels so good! I wanna make you cum."

"Uhh... gonna do that anyway!" Rayne's voice was little more than a husky breath in his ear as they pushed into him hungrily. He quivered again. "So close... so fuckin' close... it feels so good I can't stand it!"

"Yeah," Gabriel growled along the back of his neck, licking Rayne's wounds slowly. "Come for us, Wylde. Let me and the boy feel it."

Rayne made a breathless, yipping sound in the back of his throat as the were's claws gripped his slender hips again, digging deep. His body undulated violently between his two eager mates and he rubbed up harder on Xavier's belly as his cock began to lurch and twitch responsively.

"Uuuhhhhh... Jesus... yeah!" he gasped as his climax erupted wetly over both Xav and himself and his slight frame quivered with ferocious passion. His raw channel gripped and released around the two thrusting organs inside him.

Rayne's hands were still wrapped tight around Xavier's wrists and the weight of his body pressed down on him. The way he moved and yelped as he came all over him was such a turn on, the tight clench around his aching prick had him panting with need.

"Uh-uh-uh yeah!" Xav exhaled as his hips bucked hard and he felt the shuddering release let go behind his balls. He spurted deep inside his lover again.

Gabriel was moments behind him, pulling out before firing a hot wash of pleasure over them both. His jaws sank into the crook of Rayne's neck again as he burst, shaking the little vampire like a dog toy. Rayne screamed, his finger nails clawing weakly down Xavier's forearms as he tried to wriggle free, then suddenly Gabe was up and off him, letting him go as abruptly as he had pounced.

Rayne collapsed, panting and shaking on the bed beside Xavier, making low whimpering sounds that were not words. Gabe bent over him, licking his neck and the vampire tried feebly to push him away.

Xav turned and gathered Rayne close in his arms, despite the fact that a few of the shallow scratches bled. He held his shuddering body close to the warmth of his own as they lay pressed together, not exactly protectively, but soothingly. He kissed his temple and hushed him with quiet little murmurs of understanding.

Rayne curled into the warmth of his embrace with a moan of need, nuzzling his neck and nipping at him hungrily whilst Xavier held him. Gabe flopped down on the edge of the bed, panting rapidly for a little while and watching them as his eyes bled back from silver to their usual dark hematite and his body slowly shifted back to it's mortal form.

"Is he okay?" he asked huskily at last.

"You alright, babe?" Xav whispered into his ear and Rayne nodded his head without lifting it.

Xavier kissed his hair again, running his hands in warm soothing strokes up and down Rayne's back.

"He's okay," he told Gabriel. He felt Rayne lick the tiny drops of blood he'd drawn from his neck and his eyelids fluttered, a dreamy little smile curling his lips and he pushed to make sure Rayne got the feeling of love, understanding, and most importantly acceptance from him. He knew that his lover had been afraid to let him see this side of him, even though they'd talked about it. Talking and experiencing were often two very different things.

Rayne shifted to touch his nose to Xavier's at long last, looking sleepily into his big blue eyes. His mate looked so beautiful, all sweat damp and sexually dishevelled. Good enough to eat.

"You are something else, you know that?" he whispered in quietly awed tones. "Not much fazes you, does it? Or are you just a better actor than I'm giving you credit for?"

Xav gave him a lazy lopsided grin that was boyishly adorable. "I grew up in L.A. babe. No, not much fazes me." He was sleepy now too, but he resisted the idea of settling down to sleep. He would maybe close his eyes and drift for a while, but he didn't want to fall deep enough to dream again.

Rayne moved against him lazily for a little while but it was not sexual this time, just comfort seeking really. He loved the deliciously hot buzz of being close against Xavier's skin.

After a little while Gabe roused and shook himself contentedly then kissed the tops of their heads.

"Cheers ladies," he rumbled in a mellow tone, then slipped off the bed and shambled out to find his sleeping mate.

"Cheeky fuck!" Rayne slurred, utterly exhausted.

Xav kept Rayne close, in the mood for some cuddling and comfort himself. His hands stilled though, and eventually so did Rayne, and for a change the vampire fell asleep first.

Xavier held him for a long time, fighting the pull of his own heavy eyelids. He had noticed something about when Rayne slept that he thought was kind of interesting. If they rolled apart in the night Rayne had the disturbing quality of appearing utterly lifeless, his skin cooled, his heart stopped beating, he didn't even breathe. But if they were touching, no matter how deeply his lover slept, he still breathed and his heart still beat. He wondered if Rayne knew this.

He looked so content in his sleep, and so beautiful. Xav blinked sleepily, his eyes starting to close despite his determination not to let them. He slept, and for a few hours, he did not dream.

He was cold. That was the first thing he noticed. He was cold and naked, laying on a tile floor that at one time had been a pristine crisp white and now was dingy with years of use. An overhead light buzzed faintly with fluorescent glow, making the cold that much more harsh. Small wheels came into focus in front of his eyes, and steel table legs above them. A hospital gurney.