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Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 01

By: SadieRose



A Rayne Wylde & Xavier Gavrilov story)
by Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn
© 2008/9

Reach Out For The Sunrise has vampires, and other supernatural goings on. It also features a heck of a lot of M/M sex so if neither of those things float your boat, go read something else and don't complain to me about it. 

This story has been a long time germinating. We wrote the seed of it last year after having so much fun together collaborating on Dark Paths. Reach Out... is the sequel to that story arc so it's advisable to read Dark Paths first though we have tried to recap as much as is decently possible without ruining the flow of the story. It also follows on from A Boy Who Came In From The Cold and features many of the characters from that tale, twenty years on, including Aldo who has been a favourite with quite a few readers. 

Anyway, we hope that you enjoy this new, sun-drenched, Neapolitan storyline. 

All ideas and characters remain the intellectual property of Sadie Rose & Bellora Quinn. 

"I Kissed A Girl" is not ours, it is borrowed with thanks from the original writers Katy Perry, Max Martin, Dr. Luke & Cathy Dennis. 

Enjoy 

CHAPTER ONE

A NEW MORNING

Xavier stretched out lazily, the crisp, white sheets rustling around him as he yawned and opened his eyes. It was the crack of noon, according to the clock on the wall, and he could see another beautiful, sunny day out through the open balcony doors of Aldo di Bocaccio's spacious Neapolitan villa. The sea breeze drifting in kept the room cool and made the gauzy curtains around the French windows billow like restless sails on a galleon. It was good to be here; quiet and serene, finally. During the last couple of weeks Xavier had mainly been relaxing and healing. The vampire-inflicted bruises on his lean body had all faded and he'd spent a lot of time just soaking up the Italian sunshine. Now he was all golden skin and blond curls once more, against the pristine white of the sheets. 

Rayne was already up and gone. His vampire lover didn't seem to want a separate room like he had in San Francisco. Maybe it was just that he now knew Xavier wouldn't freak waking up to a cool, apparently lifeless body lying next to him in bed. Rayne had been fairly protective of Xavier since their arrival. Not that he really needed to be here, but there was a subtle undercurrent from him of something almost territorial when they were in the company of others. 

For himself, Xavier didn't mind. 

After everything that had gone down in San Francisco he sort of needed a break. He was more than happy to have only Rayne in his bed. Or on the floor... in the shower... on the beach... in the stairwell, or... Xavier grinned and slid a searching hand down the front of his body, wishing wholeheartedly that Rayne was still here to help him out. 

But Rayne still did whatever (or whoever) he wanted, and that was fine with Xav too. They had a good understanding of each other. Xavier stretched once more and pushed himself up from the bed. He walked out onto the balcony for a few minutes, closing his eyes and letting the sultry breeze blow around his naked body. Then he went back inside and headed toward the bathroom to wash and get dressed. 

The days had flown by since their arrival at Capodichino, jet-lagged and exhausted, in the small hours, to be met by a small cavalcade of vehicles. Squeezed into a convoy of 4x4s they were whistled away through the outskirts of Naples as the sun rose slowly over the mountains behind them. Xavier slept with his head on Rayne's shoulder and missed the sight of the slowly smouldering Vesuvius as they passed around the foot of the notorious volcano en route to his friend Aldo's spacious villa on the Neapolitan coast. 

He was not to be denied, however. The terraces of Aldo's house had stunning views across the bay and the young American's face was a picture when he'd stepped out onto that balcony for the first time, refreshed by several hours' sleep, to find most of their party already chilling out, mainly nude, by the pool. Rayne had not missed the way his young mate's eyes travelled over their handsome, well-muscled Italian host. Xavier had only seen Aldo briefly through the fog of sleep, wrapped in bulky clothes against the pre-dawn chill. 

Aldo Bocaccio was looking pretty hot for a guy in his forties. His trim, toned body was richly tanned, as ever. He had a sunburst tattoo on his upper left bicep and a nautical star on his abdomen, beneath his navel. Thick black hair was trimmed close to the nape of his neck but left longer and looser on top so that it tumbled into his smouldering mahogany eyes. The rest of his body was perfectly smooth. Aldo no longer used his stage name, di Boccato (a pun on the Italian word for Mouthful), although he still appeared in the occasional porn movie, usually at the behest of his old friend the movie director, Patrick McNamara. The teasing nickname still applied, mind you, even at rest Aldo's long brown cock was a mouth-watering eight inches plus. Roused and ready for action it could stretch by at least a quarter of that length.

These days, of course, Aldo was better known in Italy as a racing driver. Along with the silver BMW X5, and an immaculate black Porsche Cayenne, he had a blood red 4.3 litre Ferrari F430 Spider parked on the driveway of his villa. The Spider had Rayne's aristocratic English friend, Lord Dominic Warren, drooling with envy even before they set foot in the house. Dom was passionate about cars and practically had to be dragged away from the gleaming V8. Aldo soothed him with the promise of a spin in the beautiful convertible before they went home.

So it was that Xavier's gaze was only torn away from the gorgeous Italian standing stark naked in front of him when Aldo moved to dive into the pool and left his view across the glistening, sunlit bay unobstructed. Xav's baby blue eyes widened at the sight of the enormous, smoking mountain looming over the bay of Naples and the distant, sprawling city wrapped around its foot. 


That view had not grown old no matter how many times Xavier saw it, and he had spent a lot of time out on the patio. The pool terrace was where he found his new friends this morning (or was it afternoon?) stretched out in the sun like huge lazy cats. Conversely, considering his former occupation as an exotic dancer, Xavier was usually the only one wandering around with any kind of clothing on. It wasn't a totally self-conscious thing, he'd never been uncomfortable or shy nude, usually the opposite, in fact. 

Rayne was stretched out on a lounger on the sunlit patio, head back, eyes closed, enjoying this rare opportunity to do nothing but let the sunlight kiss every inch of flesh, unimpeded by the encumbrance of clothing. It was a myth that Vampires shrank from the sunlight. Rayne loved to feel warm, as did his imposing Sire, Jabez Everman. The Everman had been born and raised in Ancient Egypt and to him everywhere was cold, even Naples in the height of summer! In spite of which the vampire Ancient had flown back to London, pleading the demands of his many business interests. That was a shame, Xav would have liked the chance to see the Everman in little more than shorts and a towel.

He bent to kiss Rayne's cheek and got a lazy smile in return but the gorgeous little English vampire hardly stirred. Xavier settled on the chaise next to him. He had just gotten up though, and wasn't really interested in napping in the sun right now, pleasant as it was. Looking around for something to do, he spotted Rayne's mp3 player on the little side table and picked it up. Xavier wasn't really that hopeful, Rayne had different taste as far as music went. What he sang and what he listened to weren't necessarily in the same ball-park. Xavier had already listened to a few of his playlists with a raised brow and no comment. 

He put the little ear buds in and started scrolling through the last stuff Rayne had been listening to. Some punk, completely un-danceable; some pseudo-punk, a little better as far as the beat went, but still nothing he could move to; some 80's pop, Xavier shook his head. How could his lover be so damned sexy on stage, produce such intensely grinding rhythms and listen to such crap? He chuckled inwardly at the thought. The title of the last track on the list got his attention and he hit play out of curiosity. 

Mousse T and The Dandy Warhols' "Horny as a Dandy". It was still pop-trash, but he had to grin at the lyrics. By the time it got to the chorus he was laughing. He looked over and Rayne was watching him through half open eyes, one brow arched slightly. For some reason that struck Xavier as even funnier and he laughed harder. 

Rayne wrinkled his nose sleepily and closed his eyes again. 

"If you like that you should check out what Lady Warren's plugged in to!" the vampire muttered, nodding across the pool to where the ageing gay lothario was shamelessly checking out all the rippling flesh in Aldo's pool from his own lounger.


Still grinning Xavier set the mp3 player down and went over to Dominic. Sitting down on the edge of his sun-bed he asked him what he was listening to. Dominic handed over the headphones, but Xav thought he sensed a hint of reluctance from the older man. He put them on and tuned in for a minute, his lips starting to twitch, and then he laughed out loud. Dom Warren gave him the look he usually got on his face right before he was about to call Xavier a cheeky impudent pup and reached for the player but Xavier snatched it up and moved swiftly out of reach. 

"Xavier, give it back." Dominic said, a warning note in his voice.

Laughing hard enough now that he had drawn everyone's attention, Xav shook his head and went to the little alcove that held the bar and also the sound system. He slid the player into the port and the imperious tones of Katy Perry came through the speakers around the pool. 

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it...

Dominic looked a little pink but Xavier was unrepentant. It was just too damn funny for the aristocrat, who Xavier doubted had even a single drop of heterosexual blood in him, to be listening to this song. Lord Warren scowled at Xavier who grinned back shamelessly. 

"Hey, at least this has a beat you can move to!" he said encouragingly, and proceeded to do just that, making his way seductively back over to Dom. His usual, casual shuffle disappeared as he executed a slow glide, the movements fluid as water, the sway in his hips theatrically exaggerated. 

His lean, straight body held no hit of feminine curves, but he had such a pretty-boy face. The way he tucked one arm up behind his head, made his steps slide into line, one in front of the other, and he rolled his hips and body coquettishly, purposely mimicking a feminine rolling gate, that gave him a bit of the illusion he wanted. 

Soft skin, red lips, so kissable

Hard to resist so touchable

To good to deny it

He batted long silky lashes at Dominic and then dissolved into laughter again. 

Lord Warren was trying to look stern but a little smile kept twitching at his lips as he crooked his finger at Xavier, beckoning him closer. Aldo and Chavez had heaved themselves onto the edge of the pool to watch Xav's performance, and the others alerted by the sudden blast of music were now observing with some amusement. 

"Come over here, Tinkerbell," Dominic ordered mock-seriously. 


Xavier did a graceful little half pirouette, which ended with him dropping over the side of the lounger into Dom's lap. "You rang?"

The older man smirked and towed the boy fully into his lap via the waistband of his shorts then slapped his arse with a ringing crack that prompted a chorus of sympathetic "oooh!"s from the assembled audience. 

"You are such a bad boy!" he declared solemnly. "I suppose I can count myself lucky that I wasn't listening to Britney, huh?"


Xavier had flinched in surprise put didn't pull away. The look he gave Dom was somewhere between feigned shock and a slow simmer. 

"Well, Britney would be about your speed," he said with a cocky grin.

That got him another hard swat and Xavier arched slightly, trying not to squirm. Xavier rolled his hips, lifting his butt enticingly. 

"You can give me a spanking but I'm not calling you daddy!" He laughed.

The warmth of the older man's hand remained where it had landed for a few moments then a slow smile spread across Dominic Warren's still-handsome face. Xavier felt his palm slide slowly up his back and down again, fingers slipping beneath the waistband of his snug swimsuit to stealthily caress the smooth, tingling globes beneath. 

"Such a wicked boy!" Dominic reiterated almost affectionately. "It's such a pity I can't stay out here longer."


Xavier shifted around and sat up. "Why? Where are you going?"

Dominic bestowed another fond smile upon him and caressed his cheek tenderly. 

"I'm afraid England calls me. It's been wonderful to spend so much time out here with you delicious boys, but I have to fly home tomorrow or the my High Priestess, the saintly Geraldine will give me absolute hell!" 

It was a timely reminder that Lord Warren was also a practising witch, the High Priest of a coven of some repute back in England. It was a part of the reason for his being here, having come out to San Francisco to help them deal with a coterie of malicious vampires and travelled on to Italy in their company. This fey, elderly Englishman was more than met the eye. He leaned forward to kiss Xavier on the nose and pushed the boy gently off his lap. At the same time Rayne made a move, rolling smoothly to his feet and sauntering sleepily across the terrace, running his fingers through Xavier's hair as he passed Lord Warren. 


Xavier felt the pull, like a tug on an invisible leash, and he got up to follow Rayne, admiring the sleek naked backside in front of him as he did. 

"We should go out tonight then," he suggested. "There's gotta be something to do in this burg, right?" 

"We're heading into Sorrento, Aldo knows a guy who runs a club there," Rayne said casually, without looking back. He could feel that Xavier had followed him even without turning to check. The boy's heat was like a small inferno all down his naked back. He was hungry to just sink into that delicious fire. 

Out on the terrace however, the other guys all exchanged glances; some with a private smile, some with a bemused shake of the head. 

"How does he do it?" Dominic chuckled and settled back down on his lounger to complete his all over tan.

Xavier brightened at the news that they were going out. He had been fairly content to just hang out, relax, and soak up the peace and quiet along with the sun, but over the last few days he'd been feeling increasingly restless. As they passed under the archway leading to the cool interior of the villa he reached out to let his fingers trace down the smooth curve of Rayne's spine. His hand came to rest in the little hollow at the small of his lover's back as he drew up beside him and leaned in to kiss the nape of his neck.

Rayne turned at once, pulling him into the shadows of a cool, white alcove and lifting his face for a more intimate kiss. Some of the sun's heat lingered in the touch of his fingers and his lips as they pressed softly onto Xavier's mouth, parting in quiet submission to the younger man's wordless enquiry. Rayne was normally so cold. He raised his slender arms and looped them around Xav's neck, leaning his lithe, nude body into the American boy's welcoming embrace. 

Since their arrival, rest and regular feeding had restored some of the old mischief to Rayne Wylde's features and he practically shimmered with health this afternoon. Most of the silver acquired during his captivity by the Frisco vamps had faded from his dark hair, although the odd rogue strand remained, stubbornly. There was even a subtle glow to his skin, which surprised Xavier. He had not figured that vampires could tan.

Xav slid his arms around Rayne's waist, his hands wandering over flawlessly smooth skin. Flattening his palms he slid them down over the curve of his boyfriend's silky cheeks, cupping and kneading the firm globes. Rayne responded by pushing him against the back wall of the alcove and thrusting a searching, studded tongue into his mouth. For some reason it reminded Xavier of their brief, interrupted coupling in the chapel at San Francisco International airport on the way out here; how hot and impatient they'd been for each other then. They were still hot and impatient; they'd only just made it inside the doors, out of sight but still within earshot. 

Xavier lifted his lips from Rayne's with a small breathless chuckle. 

"You want to go get more comfortable, or you want me right here?" He grinned, happy either way.

By way of a response, Rayne let his lips wander down Xavier's neck, into the dip between his collarbones and tenderly kissed the rippling, golden expanse of his sleek, tanned torso. He lipped and licked at Xav's stiffening nipples, catching the firm buds of flesh teasingly between his small, sharp teeth and tugging gently. His hands glided down the younger man's naked back, snaking around his flanks and letting his fingers hook into the waistband of Xavier's brief swimsuit. 

Slowly he pulled downward until the flexible fabric met the resistance of his lover's stiffening cock. Rayne's hands fanned out around the boy's firm, sexy little buns. He squeezed hard, feeling Xavier buck against him in response. 

"Didn't think he'd slapped you that hard!" he chuckled, enjoying the heat of his mate's briskly-spanked behind in his hands.

"Hard enough to sting for a bit," Xav panted, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts and tugging them down further. "Wanna kiss it an' make it better?" he asked playfully.

"Why do I get the feeling I've been set up by the pair of you?" Rayne murmured against his breastbone, but from the look on the singer's face he wasn't too heartbroken about that!

Slowly he kissed a meandering route down over Xavier's deliciously sculpted abdominals. His fingers snaked around the prominent tepee in his lover's re-adjusted swimwear, tugging the fine material down so firmly that it hugged every ridge and curve of Xavier's beautiful cock. Rayne went to his knees smoothly and buried his face in the boy's crotch. Then he nuzzled him hungrily. 

"You feel so fuckin' hot,! he whispered, his lips touching Xav through the straining lycra. "I just wanna take you in my mouth..." his lips roamed slowly up towards the tip of that throbbing shaft; "...take you in my mouth and eat you all up." 

His green eyes were huge and feral as he stared up at Xav like a penitent before the altar. As he had done so many times on stage, with a mic in his hand instead of a young man's erect cock, he slowly stroked the swollen head in a slow circle against his parted lips. His breath blew quick and hot around it, moistening the thin material so that it clung even more suggestively.

Xavier buried his fingers in the cool dark silk of Rayne's hair. He let out a little mewl of pleasure at the soft torment. Eyes grown dark with desire, he resisted the urge to tug his lover closer. He behaved, he was patient, though sometimes he was sure Rayne just wanted to hear him beg. Strong fingers pulled down hard on the flexing material, dragging his cock head with it. Deliberately slow, Rayne kissed his way down that golden trail from his navel to the very root of his manhood. He pressed his face against the younger man's hot skin and closely trimmed pubes, breathing in his delicious scent as he lapped greedily around the base of Xav's cock, which was pulsing and struggling to get upright again, trapped in the net of his own Speedo. 


Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 01



Gently the little vampire ran the tips of two fingers down the smooth, golden valley between his lover's cheeks, exposed now by the lowering of his very brief bathing suit. Xavier tried to stay still, but he couldn't help the little roll of his hips. Rayne's lips and tongue felt warm on him but the hand stroking over his backside was a little cooler as it passed over the globes of his freshly spanked behind. He quivered as Rayne's fingers slid down the crack of his ass and his lips hovered enticingly over his straining cock. 

"Mmmmhhh... Rayne... please..."

"Enjoying being a little tease out there, were you?" his lover whispered around the head of his cock. The words vibrated softly there, quivering through every sinew and fibre and making him jolt eagerly. He closed his mouth on Xavier's swollen tip and drew his lips back slowly, letting it slip wetly between them. His fingers pressed harder, seeking admission between the dancer's sexy buttocks. Xavier sucked in a little breath at the feel of those soft lips engulfing him. 

"Was I teasing?" He was trying for feigned innocence, but it came out too breathless. The pad of Rayne's fingertip circled gently around the rim of his little puckered hole and Xavier groaned. "Mmmmuuuahhhh..." 

Deftly, Rayne tugged the front of his Speedo forward and down, exposing Xavier as he lowered the tiny garment to the floor. His tongue swirled up the underside of his mate's defiantly upright cock and he murmured; "Those old men out there might not be capable of rising to it, but I know a tease when I see one. And believe me, I'm gonna punish you properly, sweetheart!"


"If the punishment is sucking my cock, you can punish me all day long," Xavier said with a grin and wrapped his hand around the base of his erection to guide it along Rayne's lush lips. His tone was still playful and cocky but the expression on Xavier's face had changed subtly. Rayne had definitely pushed some buttons and turned him on like crazy. 

The lithe Englishman rested both hands on his hips and rose slowly to his feet. His arms moved up around Xavier's neck again, pulling those enticing lips onto his own and kissing him greedily. Xav was a little taller and Rayne had to draw him down slightly to force his studded tongue into his lover's mouth, still deliciously briny from its contact with his cock. 

"Turn around," he said quietly, but firmly, into the chasm between Xavier's jaws.

Xavier complied, turning and resting his hands and chest on the cool mosaic tiled wall. He stood with his feet slightly parted, presenting a nice clean line from shoulders, down the 'v' of his back to his narrow waist and the swell of his buttocks, to smooth, lean, muscled legs. He looked over one shoulder at Rayne and wiggled his butt enticingly. 

Rayne took his time admiring the view, an appreciative smile curving his cherubic mouth. He sucked on his middle finger suggestively and moved closer, touching his soft lips to the nape of Xavier's neck, nuzzling gently into his hair as his cold, wet fingertip slipped between the boy's proffered cheeks and tenderly caressed his perfect, pink, pucker. He pressed gently on the tight little 'o' of muscle that was the gateway to so much joy. 

"I love it when you play 'ard to get!" he whispered sarcastically.

"First I'm a tease, now I'm too easy... keep complaining and your gonna hurt my feelings." Xavier said with a pretend pout. 

"I'd rather hurt somethin' else!" Rayne growled huskily just behind the curve of his ear. 

He pressed himself firmly up against Xavier's waiting body, curling himself around the younger man so that they fitted together perfectly. His cock arced up between Xavier's thighs, rubbing suggestively along his perineum until the swollen, sensitive head bumped up against the backs of his balls.

"ooo... hurt me, honey!" Xavier purred and wriggled against him.

Rayne said nothing, but he smiled like the Cheshire Cat as he leaned back and lined himself up with that twinkling pink star that led him into so much sinful pleasure. His fingers and thumb worked the head of his sex firmly into the tightness of Xavier's sexy arse and then he let his hands slide seductively out to grip the boy's hips. 

"Mmmmm.... I love this view," he growled softly as his fingers squeezed on his lover's pelvic bone, pulling him steadily backwards.


"Uuuhhhhggg!" Xavier's groan echoed off the tiles, a mix of pleasure and pain. Rayne gave him no time to adjust and Xav huffed out a hard breath as he was impaled completely, grateful that they'd spent most of last night fucking and he wasn't totally tight and dry. 

"Jesusfuckin'christ... uuh, fuck..." he panted as Rayne eased about halfway out then rammed it back in again hard. He felt the heat of his lover's satisfied chuckle run along the line of his collarbone. Rayne began to stroke more urgently inside him, rocking himself vigorously up against Xav's quivering body as he filled the boy over and over. His hands crept stealthily up Xavier's bared chest now, clawing at him gently as he thrust. 

"Aaaahhhhhh... so goo-ood!" Rayne exhaled, pressing his open mouth against the curve of his mate's neck as they fucked.


Xavier spread his legs a little further, his groans becoming needy whimpers and then pleasure-soaked moans as his body slowly became more accustomed to the invasion. He picked up Rayne's rhythm as he relaxed, rolling his hips to meet the inward thrusts. The air that had seemed balmy before was now close and hot. Small beads of sweat formed to roll down the centre of his spine. Rayne's lips caressed over the bite mark on his neck, turning him on like an electric circuit had been made between them. 

Xav reached a hand down to stroke his own very hard cock, rubbing the slippery pre-cum over the smooth head. 

"uhh, yeah... fuck me baby...oohh..." he crooned a stream of pleasure and encouragement. He flexed and gripped Rayne tight, or relaxed as he slid back on his pole, milking that lovely cock pounding inside him.

His lover moved with him. It seemed as natural as seeing to adjust to each of Xavier's movements, driving deeper and harder. Rayne let himself go, swallowed up by the powerful attachment he still shared with Xavier. His tongue caressed that sensitive spot on his mate's sweat damp neck and he lapped up each jewel that spilled down from his blond hair greedily. 

Rayne's skilful fingers moved to Xavier's lovely cock, displacing his own and sliding rhythmically up and down the throbbing shaft as he bucked fiercely, just a couple of times more, ready to explode into the younger man at any moment. The other hand cupped the blond boy's balls, milking them hard as he bottomed out in his mate's tight channel and groaned with unfettered ecstasy at the overwhelming sensation of being swallowed whole by him. Rayne felt as if he could easily melt into Xavier and be consumed by the liquid heat of his grinding loins.

"mm-uh... fuck...!" Xavier's head tipped back to Rayne's shoulder. He could feel the way Rayne's body tightened. Every sound he made, every move, told Xav that he was very close; right on the edge. "ahhh...I'm cumming..." he got out, in a husky murmur, as the first powerful wave slammed into him. 

Rayne was virtually climbing up him as he felt the orgasm burst and bloom from his frantically thrusting groin. He was still fisting Xavier hard as he bit down on the blond's neck, feeling his fangs extend into yielding flesh and hard-straining muscle. The horny vampire let his lover's hot blood squirt into his mouth even as he felt the first spurts of cum erupt from the boy's pulsing cock, all over his industrious hand.

"Ahhhghrrr!!" Xavier cried out, his teeth coming together with a click and his breath huffing out in sharp pants. The hard pulses of his orgasm were suddenly drawn out into longer waves as Rayne's small, sharp teeth sank into him. He didn't know how one little vampire could give so much pleasure. His orgasms had never been as intense or lasted as long as they did when he was with Rayne. 

This particular one had him seeing black spots behind his eyes and he leaned his forehead against the cool tile. His legs quivered and if he hadn't locked his knees they wouldn't have held him up.

His lover surged into him more slowly now, licking his neck with long, satisfied strokes of his tongue. Momentarily he was still inside Xav, just clinging to him, enjoying the heat of his virile young body; the pounding of his heart and the delicious pulse of his hot blood. Now he rocked gently against the blond lad, braced astride him, virtually pushed up onto his toes in order to keep his dominant position straddling his mate. 

"You are so fuckin' delicious!" he growled huskily into Xavier's ear. 

Xavier turned his head a little further so he could catch Rayne's lips with his. 

"That was amazing," he murmured into the soft kiss and gave him a lazy smile that promised more of the same. Movement caught Xavier's eye though, someone else coming in from the terrace. 

Rayne moved back off him almost too casually, sliding out of Xav smoothly and pushing a lazy hand through his dark hair that was still damp from the pool. He murmured; "I could kill for a smoke now."


Xavier pulled a face. "Those things will kill you," he said. 

Their little joke. Cigarettes wouldn't kill Rayne, of course, but Xav had to say something about it anyway. Even when Xavier had fed his system with all sorts of illicit substances, he hadn't been a smoker. He couldn't stand the smell, or the taste. Xav turned around, just a little disappointed. He'd been hoping for a second bout. 

He looked up as their host sauntered casually into the hallway, pushing his expensive looking shades up into his neatly cropped, ink-black hair. Xav had no idea if he dyed it but Aldo looked pretty good for a guy in his forties. He had not lost his physique by swapping porn for motor-racing, that was for sure. Every muscle of his torso and abdomen was perfectly sculpted and tanned. Even the one that hung suggestively between his legs, whilst not as large as the freakishly huge porn director PJ McNamara's or even their pornstar friend Clay's lovely black cock, was still breathtaking.

"Hey honey, what you hiding in here for?" Aldo drawled lazily, his accent tilted somewhere between the Adriatic and New York. He bent his head to kiss the back of Rayne's neck then spotted Xav in the shadows looking indisputably well-fucked and just a shade irritated. "Am I interrupting something?"

Xav wasn't fooled a bit by that innocent sounding question. They hadn't exactly been quiet, Aldo knew what he'd find them up to in here. He supposed that the handsome Italian was hoping to snag Rayne away for a little tryst himself, or perhaps was hoping to join them. Although Aldo had totally respected Xav's boundaries since he'd come here, hollow eyed and looking pretty battered, bruised and ill-used. In general he'd been polite to Xavier but the American youth did notice slight hints of tension in their handsome, amiable host. It wasn't to hard for Xav to guess that, whatever history there was between him and Rayne, their visit had rekindled some kind of flame in Aldo and he probably would have preferred it if Rayne Wylde had shown up on his door step without Xavier in tow. 

Xavier was perfectly willing to share, he'd never been a very possessive lover. What bothered him were the subtle hints of smugness whenever Rayne disappeared with Aldo for a while, or like now, when he hoped take Rayne's attention. Xavier didn't think Aldo even knew he was doing it, the guy was genuinely a nice person, which was why Xav had been able to ignore the few times he'd felt like this. That, and Xavier just wasn't very good at dominance-related games. Maybe if he let some of his walls down a bit, Aldo might stop seeing him subconsciously as a threat. After all, other than this mysterious little thing going on with Rayne, Xavier did like the man. 

He leaned his shoulders back against the wall in a deliberately casual pose, his features smoothing into a soft smile. "It's okay, you can interrupt." 

"That's cool then," Aldo winked at him. His fingers were still playing distractedly with Rayne's hair and he half turned now and touched his mouth to the singer's lips. 

They kissed for a moment or so but then, to Xavier's surprise and no little pleasure, the singer pushed him gently away. Aldo looked surprised too, and maybe a tiny bit hurt but Rayne just murmured; "I really, really do want a ciggie, sweetheart. Look after Xav for me, he'll only get disgusted about my bad habits again."

"I like your bad habits," Aldo chuckled. "They're all a part of you, Wylde. You wouldn't be the guy you are without them, I guess." 

Xavier rolled his eyes, but Aldo was looking at Rayne so he didn't see it. 


Rayne ignored the comment completely. He leaned across the alcove to cup the back of Xavier's head, pulling the younger man's lips to his own for a slightly longer and sweeter kiss. 

"Play nice," he whispered into the blond's open mouth, touching the upturned tip of his nose to Xavier's gently. "He's a sweet guy, really." 

That told him that Rayne was utterly aware of his own reservations about Aldo. Xavier just smiled, for once not giving away what he was thinking. 

"Go smoke your lungs out," he said, and got a little chuckle from Rayne before the vampire slipped off to find his cancer sticks. 

Xavier watched that slender body walking away for a moment then turned his intensely blue eyes to Aldo. They were close enough that a slight sway of his body made them brush lightly against each other. "You like him a lot, don't you." 

Aldo's dark, dark chocolate stare grew briefly serious as he contemplated Xavier's question. To the younger man's surprise his answer was not completely frivolous. 

"He's a total pain but, yeah, I gotta admit there is something about him. I have known him for many years and he never changes... well no, not true, I guess he has mellowed a little. One time he would never have let one person get so close. You understand?" The Italian smiled then, an expression that lifted and altered his whole face. "You like him very much too, Signor Gavrilov?"


"We have a kind of... connection." Xavier said. Which was only kind of an answer. Xavier knew there were several people, in this house alone, that loved Rayne. The singer was affectionate enough with them, but he played it pretty cool. Whatever he felt, if anything, Rayne didn't let show. Not a whole lot anyway. 

Xav did not try to figure out what Rayne felt for him. They certainly matched up well physically, their appetites were well-mated. They had a weird empathic connection, which seemed to be working somewhat both ways now since Dominic had been teaching Xav a little bit of meditation and control, but when Xav tried to see a little deeper...feel what the vampire might feel for him, he got shut out. So he didn't press it any further. 

What did he feel for Rayne? He wasn't all that sure. Before they left San Francisco he would have affectionately said he was a great fuck buddy. He had expected Rayne to leave. He had expected to go back to his normal life after their little affair ended. Now... well, for one thing, he didn't exactly have a normal life to go back to but even if he did, if Rayne dumped him it was gonna hurt. He was pretty sure somewhere along the line he'd fallen in love, which was a stupid dumb ass thing to do. Mostly because he was sure that love was not reciprocated. 

He didn't want to think about it. Better to find a distraction... He moved a little closer, the artless brush against Aldo's nude body a little less casual this time. His hands drifted up that smooth tanned chest and he looked up at the handsome ex-porn actor in a clear invitation. 

The Italian's smile broadened; and he had a fabulous smile to begin with. Sunlight and shadows danced in his eyes as he looked from Xavier's face to his wandering hands and back again. 

"I think that he will need to watch out for you," Aldo chuckled, letting his own hands slide around Xavier's lean hips, the long fingers playing a private tune against his skin. "You are more... what do the English say? More savvy than many of the kids who chase after him. You are a different breed, yes?"


Xavier flashed a smile at the unintended choice of words. 

"I didn't chase after him," he said with a wink. Well, maybe a little bit, when they'd gotten into trouble. And he couldn't just leave Rayne to the mercies of Cole Lagrado and his cruel servants, could he?

His hands now slid up to those broad shoulders, the line of their bodies as close as they could be without actually pressing together. "Are you gonna kiss me, or what?"

Aldo's expression was a little too knowing but he said nothing, only tilted his head and leaned into Xavier, slowly pressing him back against the rear wall of the alcove before covering the blond boy's lips very softly and firmly with his own. His powerful hands caressed the younger man more urgently, sliding up over the sweat-slick heat of his bared flesh as he made the most of Xavier's tempting proximity.

He was quite a delicious kisser, not letting Xav come up for air for several minutes.


Xavier's fingers rested lightly on the back of Aldo's neck. He opened his eyes as he broke the kiss, his pretty baby blues dilated with desire. He let one hand trail back down Aldo's chest, his lips following the path of his fingertips. The slow glide of his lips paused over the smooth skin of his nipple to tease the tip of his tongue over it, the trail of his fingers continuing to trace downward over nicely packed abs. When they reached his hip Aldo caught his wrist, surprising him. He looked up and Aldo slowly lifted his arm until he had Xavier's wrist pressed to the wall just above his head. 

It wasn't a tight hold, but it was very deliberate. Xavier could feel his pulse beat harder, his breath come a little faster, and he instantly came fully erect. He had just enough presence of mind to wonder if Aldo had known which buttons to push to get him really hot, or if he'd just made a lucky guess. At the moment he was having trouble not drooling on himself.

"Mmm... I like it that you are not shy," Aldo murmured against the curve of his earlobe. 

He caught Xavier's free hand and gently pushed it back up towards the wall on the other side of the younger man's head. Then he began to kiss Xav hungrily on his neck and throat, lips caressing the sensitive skin around his adam's apple, tongue sliding down into the hollow between his collar bones. 

The Italian moved closer to him again, letting his rising sex brush against Xavier's erection as he kissed him like a starving man.


Xavier's eyes slid closed again, a soft purr in his throat as Aldo kissed there. His lips brushed over where Rayne had bitten him and the purr turned into a moan. Aldo had his upper body pinned to the wall, but his lower half reacted automatically. His hips pushed forward in a slow grind and he brought one leg up around Aldo's hip with all the flexibility his lithe dancer's body had to offer. 

"Mmm.... you want me between your thighs?" Aldo growled quietly against the curve of his neck. 

He let his body undulate slowly so that his cock head eased beneath Xavier's balls, bringing his hands down so that they were level with the blond lad's shoulders. As Xav's leg snaked over his hip Aldo writhed up against the younger man's surging torso and abdomen, releasing Xavier's wrists so that his hands could move right down to the boy's bare ass.

Xavier deftly lifted his other leg as Aldo's hands slid down to grip his cheeks, crossing his calves behind the other man's back. His arms wrapped around Aldo's neck simultaneously and he rolled his body sinuously, the wet tip of his cock head rubbing along those powerfully muscled abs. That felt good and Xavier bent his head to kiss and nibble along the lobe of Aldo's ear.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 01



Aldo leaned into him, the glossy head of his long, beautiful cock finding Xavier's recently vacated, and very receptive passage with the precision of a guided missile. His strong arms pulled the younger man firmly against him as he steadily thrust his rigid tool into the yielding wetness of the boy's chute. If he had doubted for one moment that Rayne had already taken him, the evidence wiped those doubts from his mind. Aldo grinned more broadly as he took advantage of his friend's thoughtful preparation. 

"Mmmmm... you just can't get enough, can you?" he growled huskily into Xavier's mouth, seconds before he kissed the blond again.


Xavier could only groan in response, the feel of that big tool sliding into him was like being impaled on a spike. Aldo was not the only one glad for sloppy seconds. Taking that big cock dry would have been murder. As it was Xav squirmed and moaned through the first few urgent thrusts until he got used to the stretch and burn, and then he could relax a little more. By this time, Aldo was almost all the way in him.

His back pressed up against the wall gave Aldo the leverage he needed. Xav pivoted his hips to meet each thrust, his legs wrapped around the strong body holding him in place. He liked the way Aldo kissed; he was a big fan of a great tongue and returned the enthusiastic forays into his mouth with enthusiasm. 

"And I thought you didn't like me!" Xavier teased breathlessly between hot kisses. 

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Aldo's lips hovered over his mouth as he pulled Xavier more tightly around him, rocking steadily into him, and riding the wave of the younger man's undulating body. "Sweet God, you feel good!"


Xavier agreed with a lusty groan. It felt damn good, the way the older man's cock slid in and out of his body. He kept one arm around Aldo's neck and let the other slip down to stroke the shaft standing straight up from his own crotch. 

"Mmmmm-yeah... that feels so good!" he panted hotly along the curve of Aldo's ear. "Gimme that big cock, babe."

Aldo seemed in no way hesitant to give him exactly what he craved. The Italian was bucking almost savagely between his thighs now, groaning with uninhibited pleasure as he pressed deeper and harder into Xavier's arse. They were both so caught up in their own desires that neither saw or heard the small, silent figure that came back into the house from the terrace, his much needed nicotine fix assuaged. 

Rayne leaned against the wall on the edge of the alcove and watched with a curious little smile as Aldo and Xavier fucked like animals in the shadows.


Xavier's stomach muscles tightened, his fingers moving light and quick over his hard shaft. He was only a few strokes away from coming when he felt Rayne's presence. He opened his eyes and saw his lover over Aldo's shoulder, watching them fuck, one hand playing lazily up and down his stiffening shaft. Xavier's spine arched and his fingers tightened on the back of Aldo's neck and around his own throbbing cock as the orgasm slammed into him. 

"Uuuuuuhh! Fuck! Oh, fuck...mmmhh..." His eyes half-closed but they stayed on Rayne as he shot his load with Aldo's dick thrusting fiercely in his ass. 

The little vampire's smile broadened and grew fangs as he watched his beautiful, naked lover climaxing uncontrollably. He lingered just a little longer, his eyes swallowing up the scene as Aldo responded to the delicious shudders of release tightening and vibrating through his mate's undulating body. The powerful Italian pulled Xav close, the muscles of his perfect, golden arse clenching and swelling rapidly as he neared his peak. Growling his satisfaction and thrusting his magnificent cock forcefully into Xavier he pinned the sexy blond dancer to the wall as he burst within the tight, rippling sheath that gripped him. 

Rayne shook his head a little. Then, to Xavier's surprise, he turned and vanished. 

Xavier's forehead came down to rest on Aldo's shoulder for a few moments while he caught his breath. Eventually, Aldo withdrew and Xavier eased his legs down, hips aching from the exertion of the fast, hard fuck. He gave Aldo a sated little smile and kissed him lightly. 

With a sigh Xav looked down at himself, covered in a light sheen of sweat and sticky with semen. He ran his fingers experimentally through the spill on his belly then lifted them to his lips and licked them with sultry look at Aldo. "I need to go take a shower." 

"Go for a swim instead, the pool is right there," Aldo gestured out towards the terrace with a challenging grin. 

Xavier looked like he was about to say he'd rather not when, still grinning, Aldo snagged him around the waist and lifted him over his shoulder like a rolled sleeping bag. 

"Come on, you need to get rid of your tan lines," he joked and turned with Xav across his shoulder to walk back out onto the patio. "You want to have a little white ass your whole life?"

Xavier chuckled and made a few half-hearted protests that he didn't want to be dumped in the pool. It was all just teasing and horseplay, but as they walked through the patio doors toward the rippling water the thought crossed Xav's mind that Aldo hadn't seen Rayne watching them, and that carrying him naked and obviously well-fucked out where everyone could see might just be for Rayne's benefit. He didn't have much time to think about that though as he was tossed squirming into the pool. 

Dominic applauded and issued a lusty wolf whistle, which would have seemed out of character had the others not known him better. Clay was whooping delightedly as Xav hit the water, showering those closest to the edge with a fine spray. 

"That's it, man! Cool the hot-stuff off!" he hollered. 

Rayne had been sitting on the edge of the deep end, letting his legs hang down into the water and he uttered a soft, vicious laugh as Aldo upended his lover. When Xavier surfaced, shaking the crystalline droplets out of his hair and eyes the vampire was still watching him with that same unreadable look as he had worn in the house on his pale, solemn face. 

Now Aldo executed a perfect dive from the lip of the pool, barely breaking the surface as he plunged in after his victim. A hand grabbed Xavier's ankle as he trod water, still catching his breath, and pulled him under playfully. 


Xavier hadn't really gotten a good breath before he was tugged down. It was okay, he knew, but a momentary thread of panic zipped through him when he couldn't immediately surface. He was a good swimmer but the feeling of being held under caused an instinctive reaction that was hard to ignore. 

When Aldo let go of his ankle, Xavier pushed off the floor of the pool and came up spluttering. He wiped the water quickly out of his eyes and took a deep gulp of air, wary of being pulled under again, but Aldo had to come up for air too. Xav sent a big splash of water his way that hit him as soon as he broke the surface. That gave him just enough distraction to shoot away like the proverbial minnow being chased by a shark. 

He got his hands on the lip of the pool before Aldo caught up to him, grabbed him around the waist and dunked him under a couple more times for good measure. 

"Okay! Okay! I give. Stop trying to drown me!" Xavier protested with a helpless chuckle.

They were down towards the deeper end of the pool now and Aldo backed off, but still lurked around the perimeter with a menacing grin. On the edge, Rayne had drawn his feet up and was sitting with his knees hugged tight to his chest as he watched them play. He still didn't react though, only his eyes moved, following them both now. The smile was gone; he was chewing his lower lip almost thoughtfully. A small trickle of blood ran down his chin from one side of his mouth but he hardly seemed to notice. 

Xavier set his hands on the pool edge, pushed up out of the water with a little half turn, and settled on the edge. Okay, he'd let Aldo fuck him, let him parade him out here naked to prove it, let him half drown him to prove that he was the bigger, stronger, more dominant male. All of which Aldo probably didn't even know he was doing. Xavier had not considered it in a calculated way, but when he thought about it, it seemed that way. He was hoping now that the atmosphere might be a little less tense between them. Of course, it could always have the opposite effect. 

He stood, water sliding from his smooth sun-kissed skin as he walked over to where Rayne sat and settled next to him. He reached with his thumb to gently wipe away the little smear of blood. 

"You nicked yourself," he murmured. 

Rayne took his hand and gently sucked the blood from the pad of his thumb before pushing his hand away. Not roughly, but in a firm, not now kind of way. He was still staring out at the water making Xavier wonder if he'd even been looking at them all that time, or just staring into space. 


Xavier didn't just take a hint, he felt what Rayne wanted, as if he'd built a stone fortress around himself, shut the gates and barricaded them. Someone else might have asked what was wrong, or pushed him back, but Xav knew that would just annoy him. He also knew a brush off when he got one. He got up without another word and wandered back into the house. 

Aldo on the other hand, couldn't feel Rayne in his head the way that Xav did. At least not until the moment that he popped up out of the water at the little vampire's feet and grabbed him by the ankles, trying to tug him into the pool. 

Xavier heard the screams through two walls.

He winced, and part of him wanted to just keep going but the other part wanted to know what the problem was. Well, he'd never been one to lay low and keep his head down much. Xav paused just inside the double doors and turned back around to see if this was just playing around or if things were going to get ugly. 

The peaceful atmosphere around the pool had fermented into chaos in just a few moments. Aldo was clinging to the side with blood pouring from his nose and Chavez was crouched by him, apparently keeping him above water. PJ and Dominic were both with Rayne, and it was not clear if they were trying to restrain him or if he was fending them off. 

At last the little vampire writhed free of them both and stormed back towards the house muttering; "Well he fucking asked for it!"

He almost collided with Xavier in the shady porch that led back into the hallway. Rayne was still wearing sunglasses but the younger man knew his night sight was good enough to compensate. At the last moment he physically flinched away from contact and broke into a run, heading back towards the bedroom they shared.

Xavier stood there, looking between the scene outside and the way Rayne had gone. He bit his lip with indecision, not wanting to move in either direction really. 

Clay came in a moment later, shaking his head. He looked a little surprised to see Xav still standing there. "You gonna go talk to him, or what?" 

"He doesn't want me around right now." Xavier answered. 

Clay snorted. "And you always do what you're told?" 

Xavier arched a brow and made a gesture out toward the pool. "I've sorta got incentive not to bug him if he wants to be left alone, don't you think?" 

Clay shook his head and continued on into the house. Xavier sighed and went inside as well, but turned down the hall toward the bedrooms. He found Rayne sitting on the edge of the bed and he closed the door quietly behind him feeling uncertain. For the first time it occurred to him that Rayne might be pissed at him for fucking Aldo. He hadn't really thought that Rayne would be. He didn't seem to have a problem sharing Xav with Clay or Chavez, and he'd rather suggestively told Aldo to look after him... maybe they'd both read the signals wrong. 

"Hey... you uh... you pissed at me?" 

Rayne's head came up and for a moment he just looked at Xavier as if he wondered what the younger man was doing there. The shades were off and for the first time Xav saw the shimmer of emotion in his eyes before he looked down and away again, rebuilding the walls. 

"I'm..." he mumbled, shaking his head. "No... I'm not... No..."

He glanced up again, seeming to come back to his senses a little and suddenly conscious of the fact that Xav was hanging back, wary of getting too close. 

"Fuck!" he exhaled softly and vehemently, and dropped his head into his hands again.

Xav silently crossed the room. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Rayne and put his hand lightly on his back. "So what's wrong? What'd you clock Aldo for?"

The singer kept his face in his hands but he muttered; "He crossed a line. And it's my fault because I let him do it. Jesus... why did I agree to come here?"

He moved as if he would shrug Xav off him again but didn't have the energy. Instead he flopped down on the bed, lying on his side and cradled his head in the crook of one arm. "Why am I still such a fucking idiot around him?"


Xavier's hand hovered near his shoulder and then drew back. He wanted to wrap his arms around Rayne and hold him, but he was giving off such a strong vibe of stay-the-fuck-away that it was almost like he was physically holding Xav at arms length. Oh, to hell with it! If Rayne shoved him away he'd back off. Xavier lay down next to him and slipped his arms around from behind, pressing his cheek just behind his neck. 

Feeling dense because he still didn't get exactly what his lover was so upset about he said, "I'm sorry Rayne, I woulda kept my distance if I knew it would bother you. I just wanted to... kinda mellow things out. Be nice to him." 

He winced at his own words. God, that sounded fucked up. 

"I'm not mad at you," his mate said quietly. "I'm mad at myself. I can't go off on one because you let him fuck you. Not when I've been with him myself more than once since we got here. And I know you know it, so don't even try to pretend."

He didn't turn around though, just lay still with Xav wrapped around him, a warm and comfortable presence against his naked back. After a short time his hands moved to Xavier's hands on his chest and cold fingers closed around them, holding tight.

"I don't deserve this," he whispered at last. "I don't deserve you."


"Rayne, you're making me feel like an idiot here. You didn't do anything wrong. What have you got to be mad at yourself for? I didn't ask you not to fuck anyone else. I wouldn't ask you for that." 

He lifted his head a little so he could peer at Rayne, over his shoulder. "What? So you're mad because you gave him the opportunity to fuck me and he took it? I could've said no. He didn't force me..." 

Rayne already knew that though, so Xavier was just as confused. 

"Would you stop being so goddamn cryptic and just tell me what the hell is going on?"

His slender English lover half-turned, so that he was almost on his back, almost lying in Xavier's arms. His eyes were huge, a kind of melting green around the enormous dark pupils and when his lips parted the delicate curl of his extended fangs was all too visible. It was not a snarl though, not a warning. Instead there was a kind of helplessness to his expression. He looked almost... scared.

"I'm not mad that he fucked you. It was good for both of you, I could see that," Rayne hissed softly. "I'm not blind! It doesn't matter, Xav. It just..." He shook his head again and lay back, closing his eyes. "I shouldn't have come here with you. It leaves me... wanting something that I can't have. That's what made me angry, sweetheart. It wasn't what you did, okay?"


It was as if saying the words loosened Rayne's hold on the walls he'd put up, or maybe he'd just gotten tired of keeping people out, but Xavier could suddenly feel him again; that subtle tickle in his head that was uniquely Rayne. He'd gotten rather used to it being there since before they left San Francisco and when Rayne did shut him out he felt a little cold inside. His emotions were running high though, and they were not happy. 

Xavier put his head down on his mate's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him again. The confusion went away. No, Rayne couldn't have normal, not long-term anyway. But he could have sort of normal, for a little while. 

"You can have me," he said softly, and immediately wanted to call the words back. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, it was too close to saying... something else. 

Rayne tilted his head and touched his lips to Xavier's forehead tenderly.

"Ah sweetheart, I wish that was true," he murmured into his mate's soft, damp, blond hair. "And even if I could have you for just a little while..." he broke off, sighing quietly. "Shit... seeing you with Aldo just made me realise what it is that I can't have, I guess."

Xavier fell quiet, soaking up Rayne's melancholy mood like a sponge and retreating behind his own emotional walls. It was nothing he hadn't expected, but it still hurt to offer his heart and be turned down. No matter how gently. 

Obviously what Rayne wanted wasn't him, so it must be Aldo he wanted. Why he couldn't have him wasn't exactly clear, their sexy Italian host practically salivated on himself when Rayne was around. There must be some reason though... and it suddenly occurred to Xavier that maybe it was him that was the impediment. Maybe Rayne felt like he was stuck looking out for him and just hadn't found a way to get him out of his hair yet. 

Feeling a bit like he'd been sucker punched Xavier got up. He needed a distraction in the worst way. As much as it hurt to back off he wasn't going to cling to Rayne like a needy kid and try and hold him down to something he never wanted to begin with. He remembered that Dominic was leaving and he started rummaging around for clothes. 

"We still going out tonight, or what?" he asked with far less enthusiasm then he'd had just a short time ago.

"Guess so," Rayne mused, still sprawled on the bed like a broken doll. "Since Her Ladyship's gotta go back to the Big House tomorrow, I guess we ought to give the old queen a good send off."

He rubbed his face wearily and pushed himself into a sitting position wearing nothing but a wan smile; "D'you reckon I should go apologise to Aldo? I think I kicked him pretty hard and he wasn't expecting it. Don't want him sulking all night, do we?"


"You probably should." Xavier agreed neutrally. 

Rayne ran a caressing hand through his damp hair on his way to the door. Xavier waited until he'd gone out and closed it again before he covered his face with his hands. God, he wanted a drink. Actually he wanted something more, but he pushed that craving away. He was going to go out, get trashed, dance his ass off, and have fun. He was not going to mope, feel sorry for himself, pine after Rayne, and most certainly he wasn't going to cry about it.

He took a deep breath and continued looking for what he wanted to wear tonight, shovelling all of his unsettling thoughts aside. He wasn't given to prolonged bouts of self-pity or jealousy, he could shut it off for a few hours anyway. Alcohol would be a big help.

Rayne was still rather sullen as he made his way down the corridor to Aldo's room. The door was ajar and he could already hear voices from inside. Which meant that Aldo wasn't alone; brilliant! Rayne had never been the best when it came to gracious apologies, and an audience was just going to make things worse. 

Not entirely to the Vampire's surprise, it was PJ who was in there with their Italian host. However he was not alone, Dominic was perched on the edge of the bed, gently pinching Aldo's prominent nose between his fingers and applying a bag of ice in an effort to stop the bleeding. PJ McNamara got up as soon as Rayne entered the room and stepped between them to diffuse further violence. There was an expression of profound disappointment on his ruggedly handsome face. Rayne felt about six years old.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 01



"I just wanna talk to him, okay?" the little vampire said wearily. "I'm not gonna hurt him."

"You already did that," PJ pointed out unnecessarily.

"I know. I didn't mean to." Rayne held his hands up. "Will you lot give us a minute? Please?"

Paddy McNamara turned his head to look a question in Aldo's direction but the Italian just waved him towards the door with a grunt. Lord Warren rose to his feet slowly as Rayne approached but to his surprise the older man said nothing. He too looked rather sorrowful though, and shook his head quietly.

When the door had closed behind them, Rayne sat down on the bed beside Aldo and reached out tentatively, noting how the normally composed Italian flinched slightly from his touch. 

"I'm sorry," he said automatically. "I guess I don't know my own strength!"

"I thought you normally stuck to doing guys emotional damage," Aldo said, his voice gruff and slightly constricted as if he was suffering from a bad bout of flu. "Didn't realise you'd graduated to physical violence. Should I warn the boy?"

Rayne stopped short of actually touching his face and let his hands fall back into his lap. 

"Xavier's not a child, and I've never done anything deliberately to hurt him. I never would," he answered defensively. 

"But I'm fair game, huh?" Aldo forced a smile that didn't quite reach his sad brown eyes. "I should be used to it by now, is that the way you figure it?"

"Owch!" Rayne shook his head. "I guess I asked for that."

"Are you gonna tell me why?" his old friend asked solemnly. 

"Do you care why?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt any more to know. Or would it?" Aldo set the ice pack aside. The bleeding from his nostrils had slowed to a crawl now but his poor nose was in quite a state, swollen and red where Rayne's heel had impacted with it. 

"Is it broken?" Rayne asked, not trying to hide the shock in his eyes, or the slight extension of his fangs at the scent of hot Latin blood. 

"Dominique does not think so." Aldo touched it tentatively and winced. "It burns like Hades though."

"I am so sorry," Rayne declared earnestly. "Christ! I really didn't mean to hurt you like that. I just lashed out, I wasn't thinking; just reacting."

"I don't know why you believe I should be so surprised by that?" Aldo said levelly. 

"You know me pretty well," Rayne said with a shrug.

"That is not true," his friend countered sadly. "I wonder if you ever let anyone know you completely, Rayne Wylde."

"You know as much as anyone, maybe more than most," the singer told him somewhat evasively. "You know how my head works."

"I can guess at some of it," Aldo managed a warmer smile. "So let me guess what was running through your thoughts just before you tried to kick off my head. I figure you saw me with the boy, no?"

Rayne tried not to smile but his lips were already twitching. 

"Most people would wait for me to bring that up then try to deny it," he observed casually. 

"And what would be the point in that?" Aldo retaliated at once. "I fucked him, and you know it. And now I know that you know it. And now you have kicked in my handsome face for it, are we even again?"

The vampire laughed quietly, shaking his head. 

"I didn't kick you because you fucked Xavier," he said at last. "Though it would have been polite to ask first, I suppose."

"Then why?" Aldo moved a little closer to him. "He is a good boy, by the way; a sensible boy. He knows that I fuck you. I could see it in his eyes as he pulled me close. I think to myself, this one has a strong will; it is what Rayne needs and I know that he thinks the same. And Xavier thinks to himself that what you can have, he can also have. He was not shy about what he wanted from me."

"I noticed." Rayne's smile thinned for just a moment but he was not angry, just thoughtful. Aldo's words had struck a chord. He had not previously considered that maybe Xavier's competitive streak had pushed him into Aldo's arms; that maybe he had gone with the Italian stallion to make a point. "Aldo, it wasn't that. I don't mind that you fucked him. In fact it makes it easier in a sense that you fancy him, and he gets off on being with you."

"Ahahh..." Aldo shook his head then remembered just too late that it would hurt. He groaned slightly and held up a warning finger instead. "No-no-no! Don't you start that again! I was just beginning to wonder, do you think that this boy is the one and..."

"It's nothing like that," Rayne interrupted automatically, but he too had been wondering. The bond that he had unwittingly forged with Xavier through his bites was like nothing he had ever known before. His closest emotional ties had always been to those who were somehow inaccessible to him; to Simon who had been kept at arms' length to preserve their friendship and Skye, his sister. Paddy and Aldo had both come dangerously close to breaching his boundaries in the past but he had never let down the walls with them as he did sometimes with Xav. 

"Aldo, I... I can't... there's never going to be the one!" he said ominously.

Rayne wriggled his fingers like horns to emphasise the final words and looked away, unable to bear the expression of bewildered tenderness on his friend's handsome, though battered, face. To his dismay, Aldo's arms slid around him and the other man pulled himself closer. 

"You are too exacting, my friend. You will wind up alone; old and embittered if you cannot lower your standards," he murmured sadly into Rayne's ear. 

"You're forgetting something. I can't technically grow old!" Rayne flashed back a bit too testily. Aldo let him go and he craved the warmth of his friend's strong arms at once. "And that's gonna be a problem isn't it? Sooner or later, people will start to notice. The One will start to notice, no matter how much he, or she, cares. There will always be that fundamental difference, the fact that sooner or later, they're going to die and I'm not gonna look a day older than I did the moment we met."

He turned his head when Aldo did not respond right away. The other man was watching him sadly and possessively, he thought. 

"Stop it!" Rayne warned him. "Don't look at me like that. I'm getting used to the idea, okay? So long as I don't think about it; so long as I don't let anyone get too close, it'll be fine."

"And you will grow angrier and angrier inside," Aldo murmured sorrowfully. "Watching others who can be in love and hating them for it."

"Christ! That's not true!" Rayne yelled at him. "I don't care, and I never did! You know that! You're supposed to understand me so fucking well, then try and understand that!"

"I know that you lie to yourself, and you always did," Aldo told him, refusing to be cowed by his friend's outburst. "We have always looked out for one another, you and I. And you have always known that you can punch me and you can shout at me as much as you need to but I will always tell you the truth. And that is why you come back here. You need your whipping boy, no?"

Rayne stared at him, distraught. His head shook slowly. 

"No!" he wailed. "That's not why, Aldo."

"Then tell me, because right now you are hard to understand," the Italian demanded, his expression betraying impatience for the first time. "I love you, Rayne. I took a beating for you, and I took lives for your sake when you were not much older than Xavier, and you have always kept my confidence. At first I wondered if it was wise to tell you the truth. You were very young and very much afraid, but you never betrayed me."

The vampire looked down, unable to meet his eyes now. It was true; some twenty years ago the normally peaceable Aldo had given vent to his Italian passion and, so he had claimed, sealed five men in a villa before setting it alight in an act of revenge after Rayne was attacked by them. They had all died horribly, and Rayne had not been sorry. 

He had not even begun to comprehend the depth of Aldo's feelings for him until that day, when the Italian youth admitted his crime and showed no repentance for it. Rayne was not sure that he understood it even now, though he accepted that Aldo loved him and would do anything for him. The knowledge frightened him; he was careful with his emotions around Aldo now, never knowing what remark or reaction might set the other man off. Initially he had also worried that his friend might be jealous of the bond he had with Xav. It was a part of the reason why he shared his body so freely with the handsome Italian when they first arrived. 

Now he merely worried that doing so had set another barrier in the way of his relationship with Xavier. A relationship he was doing his damnedest to deny, to himself and anyone else who was listening.

"I couldn't ever betray you," he promised faithfully. "You know that. I owe you so much."

Aldo took his cold, pale hands in his own long, warm, golden-skinned ones. He drew them to his lips and kissed Rayne's fingers gently. His friend mellowed then, letting cool fingers skate tenderly around the peripheries of Aldo's battered face. He made small, concerned noises at the damage to the older man's once splendid proboscis. When Aldo made no objection he finally leaned closer and touched his lips to the bridge of his companion's nose, kissing and licking the damaged flesh unstintingly. Aldo closed his eyes, simply enjoying the curious, almost fetishist worship of his proud Roman nose. He understood in part what the little vampire was trying to do; that his saliva could heal a flesh wound better than any drug. 

Finally, Rayne sat back, just planting a quiet kiss on the tip. Aldo still looked beaten up but the red-raw soreness was receding already. He leaned across to study himself in the mirror on the wardrobe door. It was little more than a miracle really.

"Does the boy know what you are?" he asked softly, at last. 

"He knows. And he's not a kid, by the way." Rayne kept his hands in Aldo's not even trying to pull away. "He's older than I was when you first fucked the daylights out of me."

"And I am in my forties now, everyone under the age of 25 is a boy to me!" Aldo laughed, with genuine warmth and affection. "May I ask you a question?"

"You've had your fill, but I guess I'm your guest so I can't stop you," Rayne said grudgingly.

"If he asked it, would you make him as you are? If he was The One?" 

When Rayne lifted his head to look at him almost angrily, he added; "You would not grow old alone then."

The vampire made a small, dismissive noise in the back of his throat, half laugh, half sneeze. He finally drew his hands out of the protective clasp of Aldo's and moved to his feet. 

"You ask that as if it was something simple," he said without inflection. 

"And is it not?" Aldo queried mildly. 

"And maybe he theoretically loves me today and maybe, theoretically, I love him. But what about in a year? Ten years? A hundred?" Rayne held out his hands to infinity. "What if he comes to despise me for it, to resent me for it? What if we wind up like Jabez and Kal, hunting and hurting and hating each other for centuries? I loathe this thing that I am, Aldo! Can't you see that? I hate it with a passion! If I could die tomorrow, I would walk into the arms of death with a smile on my face. And you ask me, could I do this to another man? Well you have your answer!"

Rayne turned his back and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He did not want to think about the matter any more. It had already been too much in his mind to start with. His feet kept him moving out across the terrace into the darkness, until he had gone all the way down the four hundred steps to the cove below. He kept walking across the yielding sand, eventually feeling the surf lap at his ankles and feet. Even then he did not stop and the waves surged restlessly around his calves, then his thighs. Rayne pushed against the tide until the water came up to his armpits then at last he came to a halt, tilting his head back and letting the sea play over his scalp and the nape of his neck, cooling the fires of his temper, soothing his pain as it always did.

Some twenty plus years ago, a much younger, more idealistic Aldo had pulled his unconscious body from the waves of this self-same sea and called him back from the arms of death. Aldo, who loved him so much that he had killed for Rayne and would do it again in a heartbeat. Most people spent their lives yearning for such a love. Rayne Wylde had spent his on the run from it.

Tonight however, he turned and walked back to shore of his own free will. His rage was cooling slowly. The sea would not have him this night

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE © Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn

END OF PART ONE.



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 02



© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2009 

Thanks to the usual suspects for lovely comments and for taking the trouble to cast your vote. As ever it's much appreciated, and it's good to be back. 

Time to move things along a little, though. The boys are up for a night on the town but mix these guys with alcohol and adrenaline and anything could happen. Hold on for the ride. 

To new readers, I will say again, this story is heavy on M/M pairings and the central character is a vampire. If that's not your scene, we'll say goodbye right now. To everyone else, enjoy…

…THE NIGHTLIFE

Xavier had taken a shower and was spruced up and almost dressed when Rayne came back to their room. The singer was dripping wet, as if he'd just been thrown in the pool, and barely looked at his mate en route to the en-suite bathroom. The hiss of the shower started up and he heard Rayne humming Nirvana's 'Lithium' slightly off key over the sound of the vigorous spray.

"Guess they're all made up," Xavier murmured under his breath and left the room. 

Everyone seemed to be off somewhere, probably getting ready to go hit the town. Xav wandered out onto the patio, peaceful now that it was empty. He crossed to the far wall and stood, hipshot, looking out over a breathtaking view. The sun was just a sliver of rosy gold left on the horizon and shimmering in the waves. 

A low whistle came from behind him. "Looking good, hot stuff." 

Xavier turned his head, putting a smile on as he did so. Barclay Johnson Francis, one of the most famously well-endowed US gay porn stars of recent years, was tonight resplendent in a shimmering, translucent, cap-sleeved white shirt that was open to the bottom of his breast bone and hugged his muscular black frame very attractively. His pants were similarly fitted to his powerful thighs and calves and he wore black boots with a small heel and tapered toe beneath them. The blond crew-cut he had favoured for the past few years had been recently replenished and gleamed in the twilight and the customary 'Bling' was restricted this evening to a couple of hefty signet rings, a pair of gold curb-chains at his throat and left wrist, and a raft of diamond studs in the shells of his ears. 

"Hey…" Xavier took a second to give the older man the once over. "Not too shabby yourself." He grinned approvingly. "Is PJ coming out with us?"

"Hey... try to stop him!" Clay laughed, his voice a good-humoured boom that seemed to echo off the surface of the gently rippling pool. "That old boy loves a good party! And you are a sight for sore eyes, young man. C'mere and give me a hug."

Xavier walked over to slide into Clay's arms but instead of his usual wiggle and playful flirting he just put his head on the bigger man's shoulder for a moment and clung to him like he might blow away if he did not hold on. Clay picked up on Xavier's mood right away and ran a soothing hand over the fitted silk shirt he wore. Uncharacteristically, Xav had gone with black, black and more black tonight. Black shirt, snug black pants - in a buttery Italian leather - and elegant black shoes. The monotone looked striking against his sun streaked blond hair and gold hued skin, but Clay thought now that he might have picked the outfit to match his humour. 

He was about to ask if Xavier was alright when young Chavez, PJ's chef and wing-man, came out onto the terrace looking hotter than a five hour nude shoot. The Mexican lad's long black hair was tied in a cascading tail from the crown of his head and he wore tight white jeans and a mesh vest in electric blue that brought out the blue-black sheen of his ponytail. Xavier moved out of the embrace to greet his young friend affectionately. Moments later they were joined by Lord Dominic Warren and Patrick -PJ - McNamara, the handsome Irish American porn director who was not just Clay's employer but one of his best buddies too. PJ had been a serious stud muffin in his day, and though he was in his sixties now and there was more than a handful of silver hairs streaking his long, autumnal mane, the body under his crisp, blue-steel suit was still fairly trim. The twinkle in his blue-grey eyes remained eternally youthful and mischievous. Xavier had warmed to him straight away and he could see how fond the older man was of Rayne, which warmed his heart towards PJ as well.

Lord Warren who, at six foot one, was almost as tall as PJ though not as broad in the shoulder and chest as the former weight-lifter, still looked good beside him. He and PJ were a similar age and after some initial wariness, had clicked pretty quickly, though Dominic still managed to get a little fan-girlish around McNamara when he was not watching himself. It was plain from the look in his eyes when he turned to Paddy that he shamelessly idolised the man responsible for some of his favourite jack-off movies, but on a more serious level, they had bonded due to PJ's HIV status. Lord Warren was on the board of a major AIDs Trust back in the UK and was internationally acclaimed for his funding and hardline support of continued research into the causes of the virus.

This evening Dom was fresh as a daisy in a beautiful peacock blue suit that was tailored to his tall slim figure, and a matching silk shirt, worn open to his sternum, showing off the glorious golden tan that a couple of weeks basking on Aldo's patio had earned him. His silver and gold curls were an immaculate halo around his impish face and he wore a little diamond stud in one ear.

Aldo came out almost last, showing the evidence of Lord Warren's almost professional make-up skills, since Xav had to look pretty hard to see the evidence of what Rayne had done to his handsome face. Their Italian host wore his jet black hair slicked back from his high forehead and looked incredibly sexy in tight black slacks and a skinny-fit black mesh tee-shirt under a pristine white jacket. 

Rayne slipped onto the patio on his heels, a dark shadow as usual, in tight, boot-cut, black velvet pants and a three-quarter length velvet jacket with a fitted waist and big silver and emerald buttons. It was only up close and under the right lights that Xavier realised the suit was actually darkest green and not black at all. His shirt was bottle green gauze, practically see through and his black chelsea boots were polished to a high shine. Celtic silverwork shimmered on his long pale fingers and at his throat and silver hoops graced his ears. 

He paused in the archway to light a cigarette and when he lifted his head to shake his silky black hair back from his face, Xav could see that he too was wearing a little make up; a shimmer of something silvery on his lips and eyelids; a stroke of kohl around those dramatic green eyes. Xavier was hot for the singer most of the time but tonight he could see why Rayne Wylde was still attractive to generations of music fans all around the world. Even in this kind of company, he was almost effortlessly beautiful.

There was no time to talk. Pretty soon the cars were ready and they headed out to Sorrento to give Dom a proper send off. 

The club was a definite hot spot, already crowded, but Aldo had booked ahead and they did not have to wait to get in. A tall, handsome Italian youth in a see through vest and snug, white pants showed them to their table in a booth set up above the dancefloor, took their individual drinks orders and came back moments later with a huge pewter tray laden with glasses and bottles.

The music was already thumping and there were people gyrating fiercely on the floor down below. Xavier was already bouncing, itching to go, hardly able to sit still. He managed to wait just long enough to do about four quick shots in a row and then he was ready to hit the floor. He kissed Rayne's cheek but the singer did not seem interested in leaving their little group yet, immersed in a half-bellowed conversation with Aldo and PJ, so Xav slid off on his own. 

The floor was crowded, but not jam packed. Still enough room to move. Xavier skirted the edge toward the bar first and did another couple of shots before wading into the mix. 

On the raised platform where their table was sited, Chavez was already on his feet and Clay slapped the handsome Mexican lad's arse lightly as he followed him down to the floor. The tall, muscular black cast a questioning look across the table at Rayne before he made his move though. Rayne Wylde waved him away, not needing words. They would not have been heard over the thumping beat of the music anyway. He knew that he ought to just get out there and dance. The energy expended would channel off some of his frustration but he was not in the mood for any of this. It had been wrong to come here, he knew it now. Wrong even to come to Naples at all. He should have just gone straight home and let the guys look after Xavier, who would undoubtedly still have had a good time without him.

The boy looked blissfully happy out there on the floor, his lean body bucking and swaying to the music like it was his lifeblood. He was so good to watch, so full of life that the vampire was uncharacteristically jealous, wishing that he could be so young and so carefree again.

Dom tapped his arm lightly and nodded towards the floor where the younger men were now gyrating energetically, trying to out-do one another. 

"C'mon... let's show them we're not past it!" the older man called to him with a cajoling smile.

"In a minute," Rayne yelled back at him to be heard above the din. "You go!"

Lord Warren needed no more encouragement. In spite of the fact that he was dressed in the outfit of a man a good thirty years his junior, it looked great on him. He shed his jacket and towed Paddy down to dance with him, making no secret of the fact that he was absolutely in awe of the huge, former porn star; even draping himself all over the other man to the amusement of their friends. PJ bore it all in good humour, hugging him back and moving with impressive rhythm and grace for a man of his size.

Aldo and Rayne remained at opposite corners of the long table, one pretending to be absorbed in his drink, the other watching the dancefloor. Rayne threw back the vodka shot and moved to his feet at last, and the tall Italian rose with him, determined to confront him. 

"Don't spoil this," Aldo warned seriously, bending his head to look into Rayne's emotionless, green eyes. 

The singer reached up and put his arms around Aldo's neck, pressing his mouth wordlessly to the other man's lips and kissing him for a long, slow time. He was not even sure why he did it, only that it stopped Aldo talking. Rayne vaguely recalled that the first time they had ever fucked it had been for a similar reason. When Aldo talked he got too close to things that Rayne preferred not to think about. 

As their lips parted he playfully asked; "You dancing?"

"You asking?" Aldo teased, a light in his dark eyes that had not been there moments before. 

"Move your arse!" the singer told him and his mood lifted as they followed the others down to the floor, which was now getting very crowded.

There was one universal truth of any dance floor, of any club, anywhere in the world. The girls loved the guys that could dance. This was apparent within moments of Xav moving out into the crowd. Instead of the typical guy that just found someone to rub up on, Xavier actually danced, and just as well as anyone that could be found in the hottest new music promos. 

There was definitely some heat on the floor. The place was burning up, and Xavier got busy fanning the flames. Moving in his own little sphere of sexually charged rhythm he quickly caught the attention of a knot of girls that had been dancing together. They turned to look, and a few more people noticed him and made space to watch. He kept it up for a few minutes, but he was not here to entertain, he was here to get drunk and have fun. 

The few minutes in the spotlight had the desired effect though. When Xav moved out of the little circle of admirers and over to the bar he could not possibly drink all the liquor bought for him. 

The music pulsed, the shots kept flowing, and there was no shortage of beautiful girls and boys here. It was perfect, exactly what Xavier needed to forget he was bummed that Rayne clearly did not want him, bummed that Dom was leaving, and had no idea what he was going to do or where he would go when this all ended. 

He drank and danced and every once in a while he caught a glimpses of Rayne or one of the other guys. It looked like they were having fun. Then he lost track of them for a bit. 

The alcohol he'd consumed was buzzing in his head nicely. The music thumped in his veins. The beautiful girl in front of him was all smiles for him as they danced in the press of bodies. Arms slid around him from behind, large hands settling on the sway of his hips. Xav turned his head and it was no one he knew, but that did not stop the guy from pressing his lips to his and pulling him back against his groin. 

Xavier moved with him for half a beat and then pulled away, or tried to. The guy was not really keen on letting go, but when Xavier turned his head away from the next attempted kiss and pushed at him he finally got the message and released him, looking more then a little put out. 

Xavier melted into the crowd and soon found himself with another little group, a few of whom, to his delight, spoke English. Not that you could really have a conversation above the music, but it was nice to hear a few shouted words he understood. He scanned the writhing bodies occasionally for his companions but he did not see anyone he recognised. Xavier shrugged, unconcerned, and figured he catch up with them sooner or later. 

At some point, and he was never quite sure how, a few of the guys he'd been dancing with got him up on a table. And since he was feeling hot anyway he turned a slow circle, undulating his body as he unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide from his shoulders amid a riot of whistles and shouts. At once, some cock in a suit made him get down. By then Xavier was so hammered he couldn't have cared less. 

He wove his way unsteadily to the restroom with the shirt still hanging from his wrists. Of course, while he was only intent on innocently emptying his bladder, it looked like a blatant invitation to a few of the guys that had had their eye on him. 

The bathroom was as crowded as expected, with a typical amount of illicit activity going on. Xavier avoided the stall area instinctively and fumbled open his fly at the first available urinal. The guy behind him did not even try to be casual about leaning up close and looking over his shoulder. Xavier just shook his head and finished pissing. When the guy tried to stop him from zipping back up though Xav pushed his hands away. 

"Not interested," he slurred as he pulled away. 

The guy just smiled, undaunted. He was kind of good looking actually. Short-cropped dark hair and light brown eyes, very decent build with square broad shoulders. He had a tan that could rival Aldo's but he was not quite as handsome as their Italian host slightly younger, his features a bit coarser. He did not seem to mind Xavier's rebuff though, as he flashed a cellophane of coke at him in an open invitation. 

If it had been a bit earlier in the evening Xavier probably would have turned him down flat but he'd been steadily drinking since they arrived and by now he was a bit less inhibited about taking candy from strangers. They moved over by the sinks and his Italian friend cut out two fat lines for him, which he snorted efficiently. The extra fine crystals burned for half a second and then numbed his sinus cavities before the bitter taste even settled on the back of his tongue. Within moments it hit the base of his cranium like a sledgehammer. 

"Whoa!" Xavier breathed. 

The guy smiled at him, extra white teeth gleaming as he nodded. 

"Is good, yes?" The first bit of English he'd spoken. 

"Yeah!" Fuck yeah, very good. Damn near pure. 

The Italian moved up closer to Xav, putting his hand up on the wall behind his head and leaning in to kiss him. Xavier let him do that, but when an over-familiar hand slid down between his legs he turned his head away and grabbed at his wrist. 

"I'm not gonna fuck you for a couple lines buddy," he said derisively. 

His companion seemed undeterred by Xavier's reluctance to party. In fact, after a few lines of fairly excellent coke he wasn't put off by much. The door in and out of the men's' room was swinging pretty constantly as guys came in and out to use the bank of urinals or the stalls. Some just needed to pee, others were here to chat, or maybe get a little more intimate. That certainly seemed to be what Xav's new friend had in mind. 

The door opened again and the sounds of the club filtered through, lingering for a little longer than normal as if someone was lingering in the doorway. Then the pulse of the music and the chatter of the dancefloor crowd muted again. Someone moved up to one of the urinals close to where Xav and his new friend were entangled and as the handsome Italian tried for a little more intimacy than Xavier was happy with, the newcomer turned and put a hand on his upper arm firmly. 

"He said he's not interested," Chavez warned the guy, looking him in the eye with a quiet malevolence that carried more weight than his slender frame. "Now back off!"

The guy turned hostile eyes on Chavez and brushed his hand off his arm angrily. "Not your business." 

Xavier, trashed as he was, sensed the imminent possibility of violence, and decided to disabuse the little shit of who business belonged where. He slid an arm behind Chavez's back as he slunk away from the wall and curled around him. 

"Hi sweetheart." He planted a kiss just behind the handsome Mexican lad's ear. 

The Italian looked from Chavez to Xavier, now doubly unhappy that the pretty boy he'd been wooing had slipped away from him. He leered at Chavez then his gaze flickered back to Xav, who seemed rather cozy with the newcomer, and a dim bulb seemed to light. 

"Your Boyfriend?" 

Xavier grinned at him over Chavez's shoulder. "Yes. Now get lost." 

Looking immensely frustrated and put out, the guy turned and stalked away. Xav chuckled warmly, his arm looped loosely around Chavez's waist as the comely Mexican youth turned his head to frown at him. 

"I could'a handled him, but thanks."

Chavez still looked serious though. His dark eyes glittered with an angry energy as he said; "Not coked out of your tiny mind, you couldn't. I thought you said you were clean, back in Frisco."

He hadn't pulled away from Xavier but he still looked angry. 

Xavier shrugged one slim shoulder. "It was just a one time deal. We've been here, how long? Doing nothing but lazing around the pool. If I had a problem you would'a noticed by now, don't you think?" He kissed his cheek again, almost consolingly. "C'mon. Lets go back out and have some fun."

Chavez turned his head slightly as Xav's soft lips grazed his cheek so that the comment was practically whispered into his mouth. He still looked very serious but there was a warmth in his dark eyes too, that said he wasn't desperately pissed off. 

His hand gently stroked down Xavier's side as they stood impossibly close in the men's room. A half step moved him near enough that their bodies had contact from hip to thigh. Even so he seemed to hesitate about taking things further. Xav didn't seem to mind the close contact though. A slight sway of his body brought their lips together in a soft kiss. 

This hadn't been exactly what Xav meant when he'd invited Chavez to go have some fun, but he flowed along with it, his arms sliding up his back as the kiss deepened. The Hispanic youth seemed surprised initially, but not entirely reluctant to take things further. His arms moved around Xavier possessively and he pressed his lips more hungrily against the pretty dancer's soft, warm mouth. He was not sure if it was the coke making him so bold but Xav didn't seem at all unwilling to party with him tonight. Chavez smiled appreciatively and began to kiss his neck and the sensitive lobe of his left ear.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 02



Someone bumped into them and they came apart a bit. Xavier let his arms drop distractedly, but he took Chavez's hand and pulled him along, leading him out of the men's room with a tug and a grin. Darkness, strobing lights, and pounding music greeted them on the other side of the door. Xavier didn't let go of Chavez's hand, leading him into the throng of writhing bodies on the dance floor. 

If Chavez was disappointed by the change of scenery he didn't let it show. Or at least, Xavier didn't notice. That could also have had something to do with the fantastic high he had going on, but he figured Chavez couldn't be that upset since he stayed and danced with him. Although, with this many people packed around them it was less dancing than a frantic press of bodies turning and undulating together. 

Back out on the floor, Chavez maintained a casual contact with Xav. A little frown had flickered across his brow as Xavier pulled free of the deliciously unexpected embrace in the men's room but he kept his fingers laced through Xavier's now, determined not to lose him as they headed back out onto the floor. The pounding beat lifted his mood again and before too long they were both bouncing and writhing energetically to the music, caught in the spill of bodies around them. From time to time the surge of the crowd pushed them together more intimately and Chavez did not waste the opportunity to run his hands seductively all over Xav's lean, lithe body. 

He was hard and hungry for the blond youth now, searching for a way to lead him off towards the chill-out area so that they could maybe carry on making out.

Xavier was not ready to sit still by a long shot, but after a while he let Chavez lead him off. They passed the table they'd originally started out at, which was still empty despite the number of people that had since crowded into the club. The rooms beyond the tables were pretty full too. In one of the less crowed spaces they happened to find PJ and Dominic, getting cozy on a soft, green leather sofa. 

Xav bounded over enthusiastically. The music was slightly more muted here and Xav slid next to Dom on the oversize couch while they chatted. He couldn't sit still though and his energy seemed to be contagious. He flirted shamelessly with Dominic and even performed a farewell lap dance for him, much to the delight of various spectators not to mention Lord Warren himself. It was all a great deal of fun. 

Dominic made a great show of running his hands over Xav's body, the grin on his face was open and infectious though. He was happy to let the handsome youngster tease him but adult enough not to let the game go too far. As Xavier leaned forward so that they were almost close enough to kiss, Lord Warren called out; "I see you're having a good time, but where's your dark shadow? I thought Rayne was with you two."

At the same time it occurred to them both that Aldo was nowhere to be seen either.

Xavier's expression did not change, although his eyes grew a bit more closed off then they usually were. 

"Not my night to watch him, I guess," he said. "I'm gonna go get something to drink." 

"You need cash, chico?" Chavez asked. 

Xavier chuckled. "Don't worry about it." 

He stood up and wobbled slightly. Dominic caught his wrist gently.

"You think you should slow down a bit?" the older man suggested with a little smile.

"I haven't fallen on my face yet, so, no." Xav winked at him. "I'm fine, Dom."

"You wanna get some fresh air tho?" Chavez looked more intently at him, though he did not quite reach out to stop Xav. "Just for a little while, huh?" 

He smiled hopefully, like a child cajoling his parents for an extra half-hour of play before he had to come in for the evening. "It's a beautiful night, chicolito."

"Alright." Xavier said, though he sounded less indulgent than resigned. He didn't really care how beautiful the night was. He was already mostly trashed and just wanted to continued drinking until he reached the point of numbness where he could shut down for a while. 

Chavez seemed completely undeterred by any hint of reluctance and swiftly steered him out from the swirl of the club onto the balcony. As they walked some of Xavier's impatience faded. The cool sea breeze blew into his open shirt and cooled him down. The throb of music was even more muted out here. Even tanked as he was Xav picked up on the laid back romantic atmosphere. This was the perfect spot to bring someone if you were hoping to get into their pants, full of convenient little niches and shadows. 

Xav wondered again where Rayne was… He stopped close to the balustrade and looked over, surprised at the sheer drop on the other side. The sea rolled and crashed restlessly on the beach down below. Turning, he put his hands up on the edge and pushed himself up to take a seat. 

"Okay, you were right. It is beautiful out here," he admitted.

"It sure is," Chavez remarked with a grin, though he was not looking at the sea. He only had eyes for Xav.

Gentle hands ran slowly up Xavier's slim thighs now, massaging the taut muscles steadily as Chavez moved between his legs. He leaned forward, touching his mouth softly to Xavier's, kissing him tenderly.

Xavier brought his arms up to Chavez's shoulders, returning his searching kiss with a hint of warmth that swiftly grew in heat. When Chavez came in closer yet Xav's long legs lifted and crossed behind his back, his fingers sliding into his thick tail of black hair. Some distant part of him said he maybe shouldn't do this, but it was quickly silenced by the sea of alcohol and cocaine fueled horniness that made him drive his tongue into Chavez's mouth with a soft moan.

"Oh boy, chico! You are so-ooo hot!" Chavez laughed appreciatively as he rubbed his bulging groin urgently between Xavier's thighs, feeling how eager the blond youth was for him in return. "I wanna do some seriously bad shit with you, man!"

"Oh yeah?" Xavier murmured against his skin, kissing a hot line down the side of his friend's throat. "What kind of bad shit, huh?" he asked with a suggestive gleam in his eyes. 

Chavez gave a little tug on his hips, pulling him off his perch until Xavier stood, pressed tight to him. 

"Come over here with me and let me show you, chico." he murmured back, pulling him into a shadowed little nook. 

They wrapped around each other again for another passionate kiss while their hands wandered over each other. Xavier tugged the buttons free on Chavez's pants and slid his hand inside, cupping and stroking him deftly while he kissed the sexy latino's mouth hot enough to melt him where he stood. Chavez had his back leaned up against the wall behind them and Xav sunk down in front of him like he just couldn't wait any longer. He pulled the front of his pants open further, letting Chavez's heavy shaft spring forward to his waiting lips. Xav made a little mewl of greedy pleasure as he licked his wet tongue over the silky head and opened wide to take him in. 

"Uhhh... chicolito!" Chavez hissed softly, shaking his head slowly from side to side as he forced trembling fingers through Xavier's golden curls, thrusting lazily into the delicious heat of the young American's mouth. "You do that so good! Slow down... just for a second, huh... I'm gonna blow!"

Xavier slid his lips down his shaft seductively despite his warning, just because he could, and then came up off him. With a lazy grin he looked up at his friend. 

"That's the idea, isn't it?" he asked in low husky murmur, kissing and licking across the tip of Chavez's straining cock.

"Ahhh... not so fast, chico," Chavez panted, half laughing at the wicked look on Xavier's face. "I wanna savour this. You are good though, baby. That feels so... mmmm!"

Privately, Chavez thought that it was little wonder Wylde always looked so damned smug when he had Xav in his bed. And then he wondered what in hell was going on with those two, because Xavier was not looking quite so dewy eyed when the limey fucker's name was mentioned tonight. 

Not that he was complaining about that. 

Xavier stroked him slowly, his fingers gliding over his turgid shaft while he let him cool down a bit. He kissed the wing of his hipbone, then just under his navel, working his way back up to his lips.

"You wanna top or bottom tonight, sweetheart?" he whispered as he nudged Chavez's lips with his own, remembering that the lithe Mexican youth was as flexible as he was about give and take. 

Chavez pressed back against him hungrily, his hands sliding possessively over Xavier's hips and ass, lips working hard on his open mouth. He ran one hand down into the back of Xav's snug pants, exploring his ass enthusiastically as they kissed.

"Whatever you're up for, chico. You are on fire tonight," he panted appreciatively.

Xavier dipped two fingers into the front pocket of Chavez's pants, snagging the little packet he knew he would find there. He slid his hands up Chavez's torso and tapped the edge of the condom wrapper against his chest. "Put it on me."

Dark, Hispanic eyes widened at the husky request but Chavez's smile did not falter by one single watt as he took the little foil square from his mischievous mate. He touched his lips to Xavier's again and ripped open the packet hungrily, as Xavier unbuttoned his fly. Chavez dropped to one knee in front of him, breathing in the heat of his groin, applying his lips and tongue to Xav's straining sex as he gently stroked the slippery wetness of the rubber down onto his lover's twitching cock. 

Taking Xavier's smooth, hot, heavy balls in his mouth he sucked on them slowly as his fingers touched base around the rubber restraining ring. 

Xavier exhaled, heat and desire colliding in his middle as Chavez fondled and stroked him. He didn't wait too long though before he coaxed him back up. The look on his handsome face was smoldering as he grabbed the hem of Chavez's shirt and peeled it off him then turned him around. His hands caressed down Chavez's sides and danced over his hips, pushing his snug pants down to the top of his thighs. 

Xav moved up close behind him, pressing his bare chest to the smoothly tanned back in front of him and rubbing the length of his cock in the cleft of his cheeks. He kissed and nibbled along the line of muscle that ran from shoulder to neck as he ground slowly against him, hands sliding down his belly to curl around the hard shaft jutting straight from Chavez's body. 

Xavier's teeth grazed the lobe of his ear and nipped lightly as he rubbed insistently against his mate, pushing more firmly between the globes of his ass until the head of his cock was pressed to the little star between. A smooth roll of his hips and he pushed past the tight ring, a hard groan rising from them both as he did. 

Chavez made a sound like a wounded animal as Xavier rode into him, pulsing against him, their lean bodies becoming one in the shadows. He half twisted, turning his head so that their lips could graze, huffing his hot breath into Xavier's open mouth as he bucked his hips back to meet the thrust of his mate's crotch. His firm, golden cheeks nestled into the hollow of Xavier's groin and Chavez uttered a long, low moan of need and pleasure. The sensation of being stretched and filled by Xavier's rigid cock sent little shivers of ecstasy rippling through him like windblown eddies on a tide of pure lust. 

"Oh chico that feels good!" he growled. 

Xavier kissed him, pushing deeper inside and uttering a needy little growl of his own. 

"So good…" he agreed breathlessly. One hand stole up Chavez's chest to his shoulder, gripping him there and pulling him back as his hips shoved forward and his fist stroked slowly over his hard Mexican prick. "So damn good…" 

Chavez leaned forward, curving his body over the balcony rail, gripping it tightly as he pushed back to meet Xav's thrusts. The sounds he uttered were caught part way between a moan and a sigh, his cock leaking wetness into Xavier's pumping hand with each stroke inside him. 

"Ahhh... harder baby! Harder!" he grunted eagerly.

Xavier was only too eager to comply with his request, the fluid roll of his hips becoming more aggressive as he buried himself over and over in that tight, heated sheath. He bucked into Chavez in a swirl of drunken abandon, his body covering the sexy man under him with youthful vigor. 

"Mmm, Valentino…" he purred silkily over his mate's ear. "You are sexy as hell..."

"Uhhh... yeah! And you are so-o-o-oo good at this!" his lover growled breathlessly, writhing under him and urging him on with that hot body. "Aaaiii… Xav... I'm so close..."

Xavier's teeth grazed over the skin of his shoulder, sucking at the warm skin and giving little love bites as he drove into him harder and faster. His fist pumped his friend's hard leaking prick, thumb caressing over the slippery plum of his head and rubbing urgently over the most sensitive parts. He could feel the tightening of muscles behind his groin, his hot breath bathing Chavez's skin as his stomach muscles clenched. 

"Ohh! I'm gonna cum…Gonna cum so fuckin' hard!" he moaned, nipping at the back of Chavez's neck.

"Cum with me, chico... ohhh... feels so... so..." Chavez twisted in his embrace, reaching back and pulling Xavier's mouth down to his as they coupled urgently against the wall. He cried out helplessly into Xavier's open mouth as his cock lurched and he spurted in his mate's rapidly wanking hand. 

Xavier seized his lips in a fierce kiss as he felt Chavez clench around him at the first hot spurt in his stroking fist. 

"Aaaarrrh! Ffffff-uck!" he growled into his partner's mouth, shoving his swelling cock in deep and holding there as his spunk pumped over and over into the sheath of the condom. 

Xav panted like a winded racehorse, dropping his forehead to rest on Chavez's shoulder for a few moments before he slowly withdrew. His lover half turned in his arms, pulling him close in a fierce hug and kissing him roughly on the mouth, lingering over the clash of lips as the breath tore raggedly from his heaving chest. Sweat glistened like tiny jewels on his forehead and cheeks and in his damp, dark hair.

"Oh man..." he panted at last. "Oh man... that was..." 

But he could not find the breath enough to elucidate. 

Xavier returned his kisses tenderly, feeling mellow with post orgasmic bliss and a good body buzz going on. He stripped the condom off and dropped it discreetly in a potted plant that looked like it was there for just that purpose. Then he pulled his pants back up. 

Chavez was adjusting his clothes as well and Xav slipped an arm around his waist when he'd zipped up, pulling him companionably close as they resumed their little stroll along the enormous balcony on slightly wobbly legs. 

~*~

The club was built on a series of terraces, running down into a deep bay with the sea lapping at its toes. Running on adrenaline, Rayne had been dancing like a man trying to forget himself for most of the evening, but now he found that his feet carried him out here, to the quieter balconies. Couples were already drawing together out here, wrapped in each others' arms as they tumbled into the shadows. Rayne was still half-dancing, as he moved across to the stone balustrade and leaned against it, listening to the shush of the waves down below vying with the dull thump of the bassline from inside the club. The sea breeze was balmy and gentle, not cold but, pleasantly, several degrees cooler than it had been indoors. He could feel his pulse, drumming insistently under his skin, keeping time with the music, with his tapping feet. 

He felt Aldo's presence before he heard or saw the Italian. Moments before his friend's warm hands came to rest on his slim shoulders, he sensed the closeness of them but he did not turn. Not right away. 

"Had enough?" Aldo murmured, lowering his head to touch soft lips to his right ear so that Rayne shivered from the words that he felt as well as heard. 

"Just pacing myself." the little vampire exhaled quietly, staring out into the darkness of the bay as he let Aldo's hands wander down his silk-clad arms until the other man's fingers were entwined with his own on the stone cap of the balcony wall.

"You look so beautiful tonight," Aldo breathed into his ear. "I have to keep asking myself each time we meet how is it possible that you keep on getting more and more beautiful?"

"I've got good genes," Rayne laughed huskily. He leaned back into the older man's gentle embrace, not exactly reluctant to let those powerful, sun-gilt arms fold around him tenderly. 

"Did you feed here tonight?" Aldo asked him, still rubbing his face affectionately in Rayne's fine, black hair. 

"Well, it would be rude to refuse when I had so many offers." The vampire smiled as he rested his head on Aldo's shoulder, letting his hands slide up to cover the other man's wandering fingers as they began to unbutton his shirt. "And what about you? You've not been short of advances either?"

"I've had my eye on someone all night," Aldo purred, resisting Rayne's brief attempt to control his hands. "Just waiting for the right moment."

"Like this one, you mean?" Rayne tilted his head so that his hair spilled across his friend's shoulder and he was able to look up into the Italian's dark, serious eyes. "So... what are you doing out here with me then?"

"Caro," Aldo sighed, and touched his warm, soft lips gently to Rayne's cooler ones. "I cannot wait much longer. Tonight..." 

He kissed Rayne again, more intimately, letting his lips linger over the slow, sensuous, delicious contact. His smaller mate lifted his arms and stroked his hands over the nape of Aldo's neck, pulling him down more deeply into the kiss. He turned then, snaking into the Italian's possessive embrace, his arms around the other man's neck, joined at the mouth and all points south to his hips and thighs with him, rubbing himself languidly against Aldo. The heat of his friend's magnificent body was almost enough to intoxicate him. Blood thrummed through his veins like a cascade down a mountainside. 

"Tonight...?" Rayne panted into his mouth as their lips parted momentarily. 

Then Aldo plunged into him again, almost pulling the delicate shirt from his shoulders in his desire to dive deeper. His tongue lashed ravenously between Rayne's parted lips and a low moan of longing rose in his chest as he ran a searching hand up under the half-open shirt, caressing his lover's belly and smooth, pale chest. 

"You know as well as I," he gasped at last as they both came up for air together. Aldo's hands were in constant motion, exploring Rayne's bared torso as the beautiful, slender Englishman hung around his neck, looking up at him with those wide, jewel-bright, unblinking eyes. The pupils of those eyes were wide and dark, filled with hunger. His pouting lips glistened wetly in the moonlight. 

"Tell me," he said imperiously. 

"I have no need to tell you," Aldo growled, his own dark eyes alive with the heat of his lust. "You know it. You have always known it, since we first were together. You and I, we are good for one another, si?"

"You've always had the hots for me, you mean?" Rayne's fingers curled into his lover's sweat-damp mahogany mane and he pulled Aldo down slowly until their faces touched and he was able to nuzzle gently against the prow of the other man's strong, Roman nose. His lips moved softly against Aldo's, not kissing him but speaking quietly. "You've never been able to keep your hands off me, have you?"

"Does it still surprise you?" Aldo snatched a brief kiss, his eyes half closed. "When you were a child I could understand it. Less so now."

"I was never a child," Rayne told him seriously. 

"No... you were certainly nothing like those other boys, that summer in France." Aldo shook his head, rubbing noses fondly with him, immune to the pain. "You were like a spell of winter in a land of eternal summer."




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 02



"You what?" Rayne laughed huskily, snuggling into his arms and letting Aldo hold him closer. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"You were cold, like a sudden sharp frost. So hard to touch and be close to. Then when the sun came out and you began to thaw, you were a river in full torrent, impossible to control but so exciting to ride." Aldo began to kiss his neck and throat tenderly. 

"That is just... so much bollocks!" Rayne snickered, shaking his head but making no effort to pull away. The touch of Aldo's lips beneath the line of his jaw felt impossibly good. 

"It is the truth. It is how you felt to me," Aldo rumbled hungrily in his ear. His hands roamed lower, sliding into the yielding waistline of Rayne's dark, skintight pants. "It is how you feel tonight. Ready to cut loose and flow. I want to ride the rapids with you, Rayne Wylde. I want to ride that river hard, all the way back to its source. Every time I see you, I want it more."

Rayne looked up at him, suddenly solemn as a child. 

"You mean that, don't you?" he whispered, visibly astonished. "Jesus! You really still have feeling for me? After all this time? After everything I did?"

"Are you telling me that you did not know?" Aldo made no attempt to pull away from him but he straightened slightly, gazing down into the other man's wide eyes. His fingers still tugged and caressed at Rayne's lean hips, pulling him close enough to feel that he was bone-hard inside his designer pants. 

"I... I guess... I kind of know that you like me," Rayne stumbled over the words, uncharacteristically robbed of wit or cynicism. He was used to Aldo teasing him, but Aldo serious was a different matter. "I mean... you wouldn't put up with me, keepin' on turning up like a dodgy fiver, if you didn't... but..."

Aldo silenced the rest of his protest with another kiss. 

"Shhhhh..." he whispered into Rayne's mouth as they twisted around one another like vines again, kissing more urgently. Rayne was almost climbing up him now as their mouths locked on to one another and they got lost in a tangle of limbs and tongues.   Rayne's head was spinning. He had not felt like this since he was little more than a kid. When he first met Aldo in the South of France during that brief, passionate summer, he had not understood his feelings for the handsome Italian. And he had been further confused by the emotions that Paddy McNamara roused in him. These two men, and Ant who had taken him to Agde and introduced him to them, were all catalysts in the saga of his emotional development. And he had pushed all three of them away, bewildered and frightened by the intensity of the emotion they aroused in him.

Now he was more than twice the age he had been in France and he was not prepared to run from his feelings this time. But even so they were no less startling. 

As they kissed, he remembered so many things. He recalled how Aldo had looked at him that day when they made love on a back street in Agde's medieval town. The gorgeous European porn star had been on the verge of pouring out his heart and Rayne suddenly realised with a cold water shock that he had stamped all over the other man's gentle heart, not ever guessing that Aldo could have such tender feelings for someone like him.

Aldo had taken a beating that summer which scarred him for life, in order to punish men who had hurt Rayne, and - selfish bastard that he was - he had not even thanked the man for it. He had let Aldo walk away and did not even try to stop him. He had actually believed back then that he would never see the man again but they met accidentally, in Paris, just a few years later. It had been a shock to see him again, and even more of a surprise to learn that Aldo had forgiven him. That he did not even consider he had anything to forgive. Maybe he should have known then what Aldo's feelings were for him but Rayne had still been in denial.

He felt a sudden cold lump rise in his throat and he was suddenly struggling to get free of his friend's passionate embrace. 

Rayne still could not figure out why the hell Aldo even wanted to be in the same building as him, let alone feel such an uncontrollable desire. The tears rose to the back of his throat and he fought harder against Aldo's hands, trying to prise himself free. He had not wept in an age and he would not let the other man see him do it. 

The nightmare of the past few weeks in Frisco was still a nail through his heart. And beyond that, all the darkness, all the losses rose up against him now, reminding him again why it was that he did not give in to love. For a few blissful moments he could pretend that it was all fine, but then the reality came back to slap him in the face. And that harsh truth was, as he had told the man earlier this evening, he was not human and not remotely worthy of any of these people; of Paddy, of sweet, lovely Xav, and certainly not of Aldo. 

He wrenched himself free, unable to look up, to see the expression of stunned disbelief on Aldo's face as he tried in vain to catch hold of Rayne's hands again. Then the little vampire turned and fled, stumbling blindly down the helter-skelter steps from terrace to terrace; a river returning to the sea, just as he always had. 

~*~

Xavier stopped when he spotted Rayne and Aldo. Who wouldn't stare for a moment or two at least at the gorgeous spectacle of those two wrapped around each other? Then his brain finally caught up with what his eyes were looking at and his bright smile faded. He quickly turned around, heading back the direction they'd come before they noticed him and Chavez, not that they were likely to notice anyone, as into each other as they were. Chavez turned with him, not saying a word. 

Xav tried tramping down on the ridiculous surge of jealousy. It wasn't like he didn't know Rayne was fucking Aldo, and Rayne had seen him this afternoon doing a whole lot more than just kissing Aldo. He'd known it since they got here and it was no big deal. Except, now he knew Rayne wanted something more with their sexy Italian host, and seeing them together like that reminded him that whatever Rayne and Xav had going, it was only temporary. 

It was more then just seeing them kissing and making out. Xav could feel them, feel something passionate and tender and intense, something more than just raw lust. He hurried back inside, wanting the loud music, the lights, the laughing, dancing people, and a few more shots to drive out his angry, jealous thoughts. 

Chavez kept pace with Xav as he headed indoors and caught his arm before they stepped back out into the noise and chaos of the dancefloor. 

"Hey... are you okay?" he asked solicitously. "You know... I thought you'd figured out what he was like by now."

Xav snorted and rolled his eyes. 

"I don't care if he's fucking Aldo," he said curtly. Besides, he couldn't say much right about now about who was fucking who, could he? "I just didn't want to disturb them," he lied convincingly, or so he hoped. He really didn't want to try and explain that the jolt he'd felt seeing Rayne and Aldo together had nothing to do with anything they were physically doing. "Would you have wanted him sticking his nose in our business, if he'd come up on us?" he asked sensibly.

"He'd have stuck his frickin' nose in whether I wanted him to or not!" Chavez remarked a little more tersely than he had intended. "Wylde is a selfish little fuck and the sooner you figure that out the better it'll be for you."

He pushed past Xavier onto the dancefloor and was soon gyrating energetically and a little angrily to the thumping bassline. 

Xav shook his head, wondering what the fuck was up with him. Fuck it! He headed in the opposite direction toward the bar. After a few more drinks he waded back into the crowd. This time he found a pretty dark haired girl to dance with. She was a petite little thing with long mahogany locks and dark soulful eyes and she pressed her soft curves up to him, pretty much shutting down what little brain function he had left. 

Her slender arms were twined around his neck as they moved together. He was thinking about seeing if maybe she wanted to take a walk out on the terrace when she closed the distance between their lips in a heated kiss. His hands slid down to cup the most perfect little ass when a much larger hand landed on his shoulder and he was abruptly separated from his sexy little dance partner. 

Xavier stood back, feeling shades of drunken déjà vu. He watched bemused, as a rapid fire exchange took place in Italian between his would be blow job… er, girl, his mind corrected… and the small mountain of muscle that was apparently protecting her oral virtue. The mountain grabbed her arm as started to lead her away. 

"Shit." Xavier muttered, knowing he was probably about to get his ass kicked. "Hey!" he yelled above the music, grabbing the arm that he was steering the girl with. "I don't think she wants to go with you." 

The guy turned and glared at him, shrugging Xavier's hand off. Xavier was pretty sure he was about to swing at him but it was the girl's turn to do some arm-snatching. Xav didn't understand a word she said but he heard the placating tone. Instead of getting a punch in the face, the guy shoved him away as if he was beyond worthless. 

If he'd been slightly less drunk that would probably have been the end of it, but the shove pissed Xavier off. 

The guy wore a look of disbelief and Xav couldn't really blame him, he didn't know what stupidity propelled him to jump right back in the guy's face either. One second he was stumbling back and the next he was jumping forward and punching in guy in the nose. A second after that he was watching a fist come at him that looked like a truck coming down a tunnel. Probably the only thing that saved him from the guy wiping the floor with his face, was the quick reaction of the crowd around them. 

There were suddenly people with their arms wrapped around his and quite a few more tugging the other guy away. The whole thing only took a few seconds and then they were separated. Xavier was already thinking about seeing if he could find that girl again, just to tweak the bully's nose, when another hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Clay, shaking his head and rolling dark, silver-grey eyes at him. 

"What the hell are you doing?" his buddy asked incredulously.

Xavier smiled, forgetting all about long dark hair and soft titties. "Getting drunk. Having fun. What are you doing?" 

The big guy scowled at him, an expression that seemed totally out of place on his handsome face. 

"Well I was trying to have a good time, but now it seems I'm babysitting!" he rumbled irritably. "Quit the Rambo act, Xav. It don't suit ya!"

Xavier looked about ready to retort, something he'd probably regret, and then shut his mouth, seeming to deflate a little bit. His eyes slid away from Clay and he looked about as forlorn as a kicked puppy. Great. He was batting a thousand here, managing to annoy just about everyone. He pushed a hand back through his hair and blew out a breath. 

"Sorry, I'll chill out. Promise." 

Clay's hard-man face softened too at the sudden unhappy shadow behind Xavier's normally sparkling baby-blues. He put an arm around the younger man and called to be heard over the music; "I'm not tryin' to crash your party, angel. I just don't wanna see you get yourself hurt. Maybe we should cool it for tonight, huh? Head back to the ranch?"

Xavier shrugged his shoulders. 

"If you want to," he said, apparently back to his usual, easy going self. 

Clay steered him toward where he'd last seen PJ and Dominic, his own good humor restored now that Xav wasn't being a pain in the ass. 

"You had to pick a fight with the biggest bruiser you could find?" He chuckled. 

"Me? I didn't start it." Xav protested. "Did you see that girl though? She was pretty hot!" 

"Girl? What girl?" Clay laughed at the look on Xavier's face to show that he was teasing. "Can't say I've ever paid much attention in THAT class. If you say she was hot I'll take your word for it. Now her guy... HE was hot!"

"Well go distract him with that big fat cock of yours for about ten minutes while I go chat up his girlfriend again!" Xavier laughed and Clay echoed it, tussling his blond curls. 

They found PJ and Dominic back at the table. Aldo had joined them, looking a bit pensive, though Rayne was not with him. The trio were clearly ready to call it a night as well. 

"I'll go round up Chavez and Wylde." Clay said. 

"I can find Rayne." Xavier offered. 

"You, stay put." Clay warned. 

Xavier rolled his eyes. "Geez, what do ya think I'm gonna go do?" 

"Baby, you don't even have to look for trouble, it just finds you. Stay here or I'll nail your ass to the bench," Clay said, leveling a finger at him. 

Xavier batted his eyelashes at him. "I bet you say that to all the boys." 

Aldo laid a hand on Clay's arm. "I'll go look for Ray, I think I know which way he was headed. You find Chavez, yeah?"

As Barclay turned away into the heaving crowds at the edge of the dancefloor, the Italian lifted his eyes, conscious that Xavier was staring at him. Given how friendly the younger man had been earlier in the day, he was practically bristling now. Aldo frowned slightly. 

"You okay?"

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic." Xavier said mildly, only letting a slightly cynical edge come through. He moved off to sit with Dominic and PJ, taking up the spot Aldo had just vacated. There was a bottle of Stolichnaya on the table, which he helped himself to, slouching down on the seat comfortably. 

Aldo hesitated for a moment, on the brink between leaving to help search and finding out what was wrong. It was plain enough that something was off between him and Xavier and he had an idea what that might be, but not how to solve the problem. 

"Look..." he ventured, in an attempt to stop Xavier crippling his liver with the Stolly. "I don't know what's bugging you but... Do you want to come with me?"

Xav thought, it was probably an extremely bad idea to go anywhere with Aldo right now. "Didn't you hear the warden? I gotta stay here and try not to make friends with any serial killers, or burn the place down, or something. I'm sure you can find him on your own." 

Aldo fired an enquiring look at PJ who just shrugged his shoulders, no clearer about the source of Xavier's ire than the Italian.

"It's been a long day for all of us," PJ said amiably. "Might be quicker if you go alone."

"Sure," Aldo managed a smile for his old friend but as he glanced at Xav the worry was plain in his eyes.

Xavier's expression was perfectly neutral as Aldo finally turned and walked away. The thought crossed his mind that he could probably slip away to men's and see if he could find another friend with candy, but Clay would probably get pissed if he got back here with Chavez and he was off somewhere. 

"You didn't have a good night?" PJ asked him. 

Xavier looked up, a little smile touching his lips for the older man. "What makes you say that?" 

"You don't look happy." 

"I danced my ass off, got drunk, got fucked, and got in a fight. Sounds like the perfect night to me." Xavier laughed. "Don't worry PJ, I'm fine." 

"Can't help worrying about you, it's my role in life now," Paddy said tenderly. "Can't do anything else for you boys, much as I'd love to, so..." He shrugged his shoulders with a little sigh. "What you gotta remember is that there's precious little in this world that I haven't seen... or even tried out. And I can see something's buggin' you. Did you and Ray have a fight?"

Xavier leaned forward, chin propped on his hand and gave him a soulful look. "No, and since I can't make you stop worrying, I hope you won't get offended when I tell you to mind your own fuckin' business." 

"Since I can see by the state of your pupils that you're pretty wrecked, I'm gonna ignore that," PJ told him steadily, looking into his wide, blue eyes. The pale irises were like miniature suns in eclipse. "How's about we take a little walk outside, get you some air while we wait for the cab, huh?"

Xavier got a chuckle out of that, thinking he'd heard that before. They got up though and walked out, a minor miracle in itself that Xav not only managed it under his own power but actually made a drunken stagger look more like a rolling glide. 

Outside they could still hear the thumping beat and Xavier suddenly remembered, "Hey, you didn't dance with me tonight." 

Paddy laughed huskily, sliding an arm around him. 

"I'm sorry baby. D'you want me to make it up to you now?" he asked playfully as they stepped down into the foyer together. 

Couples were schmoozing cozily up against the walls and in alcoves, blissfully unaware of anyone wandering by. A massive cut crystal chandelier chinked and jingled softly, shuddering under the weight of the pounding bassline from up above.

Xavier turned, sliding easily into his arms. He ignored the pounding beat and the shuddering grind that went with it and pulled him into something a bit more stately, proving that he really could do more than just gyrate and shake it on a stage, although he did let PJ lead after a few steps. He had to smile and he laughed as they waltzed their way across the foyer.

Dominic had come down whilst they were dancing and he chuckled now, arm in arm with Chavez and a young man he had apparently buttonholed between here and the bar. 

"What a lovely mover! Mr Gavrilov, you can obviously work the ballroom numbers just as smoothly as the sexy ones!" he called out. "That's very neat footwork."

Another guy was coming down the stairs behind him, the handsome Italian who had given Xav the cocaine in the men's room. He murmured something under his breath at the sight of the blond boy and Dominic looked quizzically at him.

"I beg your pardon?" 

In English the younger man repeated; "He knows how to tease, but he don't put out. You understand? He is... cockteaser?"

Chavez confronted the guy at once, bristling visibly. 

"Just because he got too much taste to suck your dick, don't make my friend no cockteaser!" he growled. "Now tell my friends that you are one sorry piece of shit, then fuck off!"

The handsome young Italian sneered at him, dark eyes flicking contemptuously over Chavez. "Chiedere scusa. If he fucked all the ones he enticed tonight he not a tease but a puttana." 

Chavez shook himself free of Dominic's gently restraining hand and turned to glare at the taller, brawnier Italian. 

"Cierra su boca, yo ha oído que su madre la toma encima del culo!" he spat in his own tongue. 

Perhaps it made enough sense to the hostile Neapolitan because the guy punched him before he could lift his hands to block and he rolled down the last few steps to the floor with a husky curse. 

"Oh now... there's no need for that!" Dominic protested, rushing down to help Chavez sit up. "Are you all right, darling? I really don't think you should have said that about his mother."

Dom could see that Paddy and Xav were already on their way over and the last thing he wanted on his final night in Italy was to see his friends embroiled in a fight. Chavez spat a little blood and glowered at the handsome native. 

"Cono!" he muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you fucker!" Xavier snarled, somehow managing to avoid Paddy's grasp as he rushed forward. 

Dominic was quicker and grabbed Xavier around the waist before he could reach the other man. The Italian descended the two steps that brought him to the foyer. Xavier struggled hard enough that Dominic had to lift him up. Xavier saw his opportunity and brought both legs up, kicking the other man hard in the gut with both heels. He stumbled back, clutching his middle as the breath whooshed out of him. There was murder in his furious gaze when he looked up at Xavier. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 02



He looked as if he might have liked to retaliate but just then PJ moved into his line of sight, coming between him and the still struggling and cussing Xavier. He might not have been a young man any more but he was still quite an imposing figure, easily a physical match for their aggressor. Paddy said something to the Italian boy, so quietly that no one else could hear it. The local youth seemed to bristle at him for a moment, but then a couple of his friends came down and he let it go, turning to greet them as if nothing had happened and striding off.

Dominic finally lowered and released Xavier, although he didn't quite let go of the younger man's arm.

"What did you tell him?" Chavez wanted to know, impressed by the reaction.

PJ grinned; "Just that, if he didn't want to carry his balls home in a bag, it would make sense to walk away. Clearly he's a man of impeccable logic."

"He's a fucking twat is what he is!" Xavier opinioned with a little snort. He took a look at Chavez's split lip and shook his head. "Why'd you say anything to him anyway." 

"He called you…" 

"I know what he called me." Xavier interrupted. "Who cares what that asshole says." He clicked his tongue at the state of his friend's face but made a fuss of him in any case. 

~*~

Rayne stopped running when he ran out of road. The beach at the foot of the cascade of stone steps leading down from the nightclub terrace was little more than a few square meters of shale and coarse, volcanic sand. It glistened darkly in the moonlight and crunched beneath his slowing feet as he stumbled to the water's edge, staring at the wavelets rolling gently to the shore as if he wondered why he was here again. 

Why was it that his emotional escapes always led him back to the sea? 

It was hardly for the solitude. He was aware of people in the shadows all around him, necking and coupling in niches on the steps en route and making out in a variety of configurations down among the rocky outcrops of the bay. One pair were even sprawled shamelessly on the uneven sand, barely clad, as they lunged and ground at one another, groaning as if they were in pain. 

He lifted a hand to his forehead and pushed the lank, black hair back from his eyes, shaking his head incredulously. What the hell was he doing here? The sensible thing to do would be to go back to the villa and pack his stuff, get ready to leave with Warren in the morning. The frustration and anger of his friends was something he could cope with. Their need was not. But hiding down here on the beach would not make the conundrum any easier to solve. 

Even so, he let his legs fold slowly under him and sank down to sit on a mound of shale, hugging his knees to his chest and scooping up pebbles to skim against the waves whilst he collected his thoughts. Where the situation with Xavier was headed was anyone's guess. He knew that the boy liked him well enough and there was the little problem of that bond from his bites, something that he could not take back even if he had wanted to. 

If he just left now, would Xav gradually come to forget about him? Could he go back to the life he had known? Would he even choose to do that? And if he stayed here, what would happen to him? 

Of course, Aldo would not see him on the streets, nor would Paddy. Rayne trusted them both to take care of the boy but it was unfair of him to expect that of them. He was not a child that they should be constantly having to clear up the debris of his ruinous relationships. And then there was that little business with Aldo himself...

Rayne clasped his hands to the sides of his head and bent his face down into the shadows, elbows on his knees, slowly rocking back and forth until the pulse between his temples slowed and steadied. He could hear the quiet splash of his tears on the shingle between the soft breaths of the restless sea. It took every last ounce of will to cry soundlessly, not to give in to the howl of frustration building up in his chest. 

All these years... He could not quite get his head around it, but all these years since they had parted in Agde, Aldo had been thinking of him and wondering what might have been if either of them had been braver. He could not get the memory of his friend's younger face out of his head, the look in his eyes as they sat talking on Rayne's bed that night, after Aldo had gone to have it out with Christophe. On that night, the bully and his evil friends had stripped and beaten the brave young Italian then kicked him out on the street, laughing. Afterwards Aldo had returned with a canister of petrol and burned their villa to the ground in retaliation, having first nailed shut the doors and windows to make sure that no one could escape.

Rayne had been twenty years old then, Aldo only twenty four. They had been children, little more than kids and yet Aldo had done that for him; he had killed five men in an act of vengeance for what they had previously done to Rayne. And Rayne had pushed him away, shaken by the enormity of his confession, unable to face it. He had kept Aldo's secret all this time, but he was never able to confront the other man again without thinking of it. Because to confront it would mean asking himself why a man would do such a thing. And he knew the answer all too well. 

The truth was cold and hard and simple. He had turned the gentle, happy-go-lucky Aldo into a cold blooded killer, without the aid of fangs or immortality. It was impossible to imagine what he was capable of inflicting on his friends these days. He did not even want to consider it. The idea that his sweet, funny, passionate Xavier could be similarly dragged into the darkness out of misguided love for him did not bear thinking about. Xav had already tried to kill a vampire for him, back in San Francisco, putting all thoughts of his own safety out of his head to try and save Rayne. The thought of what might have happened if Elian had recovered faster that night, or been less merciful, just left him feeling cold to his marrow. 

This was it then. This was his life. He had seen what would happen if he let even strong and well-adjusted people fall in love with him. He was darkness now, death stalked him every day, and there was no escaping that, no point in trying to pretend that he was something else. Someone safe and gentle and ordinary. That person had never existed. 

Footsteps crunched on the shale close behind him, coming nearer as he sat alone in the darkness, wrapped in shadows. At once he sat a little straighter, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands and sniffing back the tears. His arms folded around his knees and his chin came to rest upon them, pale eyes staring blankly out over the bobbing, silver-tipped waves. 

"You look like you could use some company," a familiar dark-chocolate voice remarked quietly, and Clay lowered his powerful bulk down onto the sand beside the small, shivering vampire. 

"You've got me confused with someone else," Rayne said atonally, unable to meet his eyes. He just stared ahead determinedly. 

"I'm not so sure," his friend responded, picking out a nicely formed pebble and flicking it lightly towards the tumbling surf. It cleared the spill of foam and skipped lightly off the surface of the sea, once, twice, three times before dipping under the surface and returning to it's watery resting place. "It looks kind'a lonesome down here to me. I'd have thought you'd be getting it on with one of these cute little club-bunnies at the very least by now."

"I've already eaten," Rayne flashed back, lowering his head again to rest his brow on the backs of his hands. 

"We're gonna head for home pretty soon," Clay told him bluntly. "You coming with us?"

"Did anybody miss me?" Rayne asked in a muffled tone, without looking up. 

"Did you expect someone to?" his companion flashed back quick as a shot. 

A shrug was his only reaction. Clay heaved a sigh and shook his head. 

"What's going on, Ray? Can you tell me why your pretty little boyfriend is in a fine old temper, biting the heads off of everyone up there and you're down here on the beach playing Greta Garbo?" he persisted. 

"I dunno," Rayne lifted his head again, turning to glance at Clay warily. "He's upset?"

"Something's rattled his cage, for sure," Clay rumbled, his tone softening at the look on Rayne's ashen face. His eyes were still red-rimmed and glassy. Clay hesitated, then leaned closer and put an arm around his shoulders. "What's wrong, baby? Why's Aldo sitting up there looking like his world's come to an end? Has that got something to do with Xav's tantrum?"

Rayne half-turned, looking back up toward the steps almost anxiously, then returning his gaze to Clay's quiet, curious face. He bit down on his lips until he drew blood then shook his head. 

"I can't come back with you," he said at last. "I always manage to screw things up and I can't... I can't watch it happen again. I should just go..."

He was shaking and Clay pulled him closer, resisting all of Rayne's half-hearted attempts to wriggle free. As he wrapped his strong, warm arms around the little vampire, hugging him like a child, Rayne broke and wept disconsolately. 

"I can't be what they want..." he wailed, the tears spilling down his cheeks again. "I can never be what they want, it's all to late. I'll... it'll ruin them and I can't let that happen."

"Baby, you can't control everything," Clay soothed, touching his lips to Rayne's hair and rocking him steadily. "No one expects you to."

"That's not the point. I'm scared..." he sobbed. "I'm scared, Clay. It never goes right... and people get hurt. I just don't want it to happen any more. I'd rather be dead than let that happen."

"And who's gonna help them if you die?" his friend wanted to know, his tone very serious. 

"Maybe they won't need help if I'm not around. Maybe they can be normal and happy if I just give them the chance."

"Maybe they won't be so happy without you," Clay suggested, his fingers running tenderly through Rayne's dark hair. "Baby, you're tired and emotional and you're still running from that shit back in Frisco. Come home and get some rest. Let those boys spoil you and sweat the serious shit in the daylight. It might not look so dark by then."

Rayne looked up at him, sniffing back the tears again. For a moment he debated telling Clay the whole story, telling him what had happened in Agde after he was kidnapped and raped. He knew that the other man would not go to the police. Aldo was a friend and Clay wouldn't do something like that to him. But it might make him see the truth. 

"If you don't love them, then you should tell them so," Barclay said reasonably. 

"I guess..." Rayne croaked, hardly able to speak at all by now. "But what if...?" 

He faltered and looked down awkwardly, lost for words. 

"What if you DO love them? Well, then I guess you should tell them that too," the big fellow chuckled with a little shake of his head. 

"And then I have to choose." Rayne forced a humourless laugh. 

"Not necessarily." Clay released his shoulders and pushed himself to his feet holding out a hand. "C'mon, up you get. We're going home, baby. I can think of better ways to get myself a damp ass!"

Rayne looked up at him with a mixture of fondness and sorrow. He held out his small, cold hand wordlessly though and let Clay pull him to his feet. In companionable silence they climbed back up to the terrace where Aldo was waiting, an anxious expression on his handsome face. 

"Are you okay?" he mouthed as Rayne walked slowly towards him. 

The little vampire nodded briefly. He forced a wan smile and Aldo's arms were around him then, holding him again. This time he did not push the other man away. 

~*~

Xavier very solicitously talked one of the females exiting the club out of some clean tissues she had in her purse and dabbed at the blood on Chavez's mouth. 

"You need some ice on that. Want me to go get some?" 

"No." Dominic, PJ, and Chavez all said as one. 

Xavier blinked. "Jeez, I'm not that fricking badly off. I could get some ice without any trouble," he said defensively. 

"You've already been in two scraps tonight." PJ said. "No need to take any chances." 

"I didn't start either one." Xav retorted. "I wouldn't have gone after that guy if he hadn't punched Chavez."

"No shit!" Chavez tried to laugh but it came out kind of strangled. "That asshole was throwing some warped bullshit about you, chico. No one would blame you for wanting to kick his ass."

He did not try to stop Xav from mopping his face though, even if it must have hurt something bad.

"Eh, it's only words." Xavier shrugged it off. He finished wiping at Chavez's face and looked up the steps, wondering what was keeping the others.

Even as he did so, Clay came barreling through the double doors and down the lavish stairwell with a look of horror on his face. 

"What's going on?" he demanded, taking in the sight of Chavez still sprawled on the floor and Xavier wiping blood of him.

Moments later Aldo and Rayne appeared in the doorway behind him. The vampire looked a little bit pale but he let go of Aldo's arm and took the stairs two at a time nonetheless.

"It wasn't me this time, I swear!" Xavier said defensively, taking in Clay's irritated expression. 

"Some asshole was talkin' shit about Xav," Chavez offered while Clay helped him up. 

"So you figured you'd play the hero, huh?" Barclay put his fingers and thumb beneath Chavez's chin, tilting his head upward and peering into his eyes. "That's gonna be a pretty shiner in the morning."

Rayne had reached them as Clay worried over the Hispanic youth but his concern was quite plainly directed elsewhere. 

"Are you okay?" he asked Xavier tentatively. 

"I'm fine. Not a scratch," Xavier said, spreading his arms a bit and striking a pose to show there was no harm done. He gave Rayne a little smile and leaned in to give him a kiss, slipping his arms around him. He'd meant to give Rayne his space tonight, but was surprised to find he'd missed him. 

The little vamp looked surprised but not unpleasantly so. He ran his hands searchingly over Xavier's lean hips, tugging him a little closer there as their lips touched. There was a still a red tinge to his eyelids, all the more striking against the paleness of his skin and he was incredibly cold as if he had been dragged from the bottom of the sea.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," he murmured as they broke the kiss, but not the hold.

Xavier lifted one shoulder in a little shrug.

"No… wasn't trying to." He moved in closer yet, his arms circling Rayne as his lips brushed the edge of his ear. "You're cold…want me to warm you up?" 

Rayne half-turned in his arms, his eyes travelling beyond Xavier's tousled blond hair and finding Aldo who was watching him almost ruefully from the bottom of the stairs. He thought of what Clay had said, down on the beach and smiled helplessly. 

"Yeah... that would feel really good right now," he whispered into the younger man's golden curls as Aldo shrugged and moved to help Clay with Chavez.

Dominic called to them from where the cabs were waiting. It was clearly time to go. 

"REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE"

END OF CHAPTER TWO

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2009 



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 03



© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2009 

*

Welcome dear readers to Chapter three of our tasty vampire tale. Thanks for the lovely comments already bestowed on chapters one and two. We hope that you enjoy the latest unfurling of our ongoing story. 

As ever, I will warn those unfamiliar with our work that this tale is heavy on M/M pairings and vampirism. We like dark psychosis and inexplicable behaviour so if you don't like to think outside the box, go find your stroke fodder elsewhere. 

To the rest of you. Imbibe. Enjoy. Steal at your soul's immortal peril!

xxx.S&B

CHAPTER THREE

SAME MOON

When they got back to the villa Rayne said he was going to smoke. Xavier headed to the bedroom. The ride home had only given time for the last few shots of vodka he'd drowned to catch up to him. He left his clothes scattered across the floor and fell into the bed.

When someone clambered in behind him and quickly snuggled up he figured Rayne had changed his mind, until he registered that his companion was already quite toasty warm. And clearly ready for some action too. Xav rolled to his back, looking up into dark eyes. 

"Wha' you doing?" he asked in a sleepy slightly slurred voice. 

Chavez brought a hand up, cupped Xavier's cheek and kissed his soft lips.

"You look lonely in this big bed. I thought I'd keep you company," he whispered suggestively. 

"That's…uh, nice…but, I don't think Ray's gonna want to share the bed, you know?" 

"He stays in Aldo's bed sometimes. I saw them out by the pool just now. I think Aldo will do him hard tonight." 

Xavier didn't say anything, but his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them again he cleared his throat. 

"Maybe you should sleep in your own bed tonight, Chavez," he said, his words a little husky and thick.

Chavez covered his reaction quickly but not fast enough. The hurt glinted for a few moments longer in his dark eyes, then his expression hardened. 

"You know... I just didn't want you to be alone," he murmured, leaning across Xavier to steal a kiss. "You don't know how it is with those two."

It took a second or two before Xavier turned his head, breaking off the kiss. He wanted to move away but was finding it difficult to think much less move. 

"I know how it is," he said. "Whatever Rayne and I got is temporary, he's never said otherwise. I don't need you to remind me."

His bedmate mellowed again, curling around him a bit more, reluctant to let him stop there. 

"Well then," he whispered in a fairly reasonable tone. "If you know how it is then why'd you have a problem with me being here? Unless... you just don't fancy me?" 

Chavez pouted a little and gave Xav his best come back to bed smile.

"I didn't say I didn't like you, Valentino." Xavier sighed, wishing he could shake off the liquor for just a few minutes so he could think straight and not fuck things up. But he had a feeling he was going to anyway. "I just… don't think it's a good idea for you to be here right now." 

"If it scares you that much, what he's gonna think, then what does that say about how he is around you?" Chavez sat back, giving him some space. He could see that Xavier wasn't going to be persuaded easily, though the admission that Xav did at least like him brought a little smile to his face. "He don't give a fuck about anyone's feelings, chico. Why should you be so worried about his?"

Xavier's eyes glittered darkly in the light filtering through the open window. 

"I just do, okay." He rolled over onto his side and curled into a ball, pulling the cover up over his shoulder. "Just leave me alone." He sounded petulant and he didn't fucking care, he just wanted Chavez to quit pestering him about Rayne already.

Chavez shrugged unhappily and heaved himself up with a shake of his head. 

"You made your bed," he sighed and wandered back towards the door wondering idly if Dom and that little blond he'd brought home wanted to play. He stopped in the doorway and looked back though. Xavier looked so sad huddled up there all alone. "You sure you don't want me to hang on, just in case...?" he asked optimistically. 

Xavier didn't turn or say anything, he just shook his head.

~*~

Rayne managed to relax a little once they were back at the villa and he was able to retreat to the moonlit peace of the pool terrace and light up. He was conscious that he smoked less when he was around Xavier and the guys, they were such a health-conscious bunch it drove him crazy sometimes. Even though he knew that he was getting no physical effects from the nicotine rush, either good or bad, the psychological craving was harder to shake off. Somehow he just felt more at ease when he was able to light a cigarette and suck down the rush of heat, holding it for a while in his lungs, letting it swirl in his blood. He didn't care if it was a bad habit, it was his habit and he was going to indulge it for a few moments now. 

His ears picked up the light brush of unshod feet on the tiles and the soft splash of something substantial lancing smoothly into the water behind him. He turned and leaned on the balcony rail, sucking on the filter of his ciggie and watching the lean, dark shadow pass across the shimmering blooms of the pool lights, deep under the surface. It traversed the entire length of the pool without coming up for air, only breaking the surface as it touched the side beneath Rayne's feet. Aldo's dark head erupted from the lightly rippling, clear, blue water and he shook the droplets out of his hair like a shaggy dog, gulping down a breath of air and then another. 

"Thanks for that!" Rayne said sarcastically when he judged that the Italian could hear him. He was eyeing the splashes on his boots and trouser legs with mild disgust. 

"Come in," Aldo coaxed with a smile. "Play with me."

"Go and play with yourself!" The vampire smiled back though, shaking his head. "Should you swim when you've been drinking all night?"

"It will clear my head." Aldo leaned on the edge of the pool, his bronzed arms looking almost black in the moonlight. The whiteness of his grin was nearly a match for the crescent of lunar brilliance up above. "And it feels good to fuck in the water, no?"

Rayne shrugged, unable to argue with that. He took another pull on the slender wand of tobacco between his fingers and breathed a plume of smoke into the sky. 

"I'd love to, but I'm on a promise."

For a moment they were silent, just staring at one another fondly. Aldo forced a short, awkward laugh. 

"What did Barclay say to you, down on the beach?" he asked at last. 

"If you'd had the balls to come down yourself, you'd know," Rayne answered a touch too sharply. 

"I did not think that you wanted to see me." Aldo sighed and rested his head in his folded arms, the water splashing gently around him as he drifted at the edge of the pool, kicking out lazily. The moonlight gilded his sculpted thighs and his naked back and firm, high buttocks. He was a truly beautiful sight. 

When the vampire did not bother to qualify that statement either way, he looked up again. 

"I did not mean to hurt you," he implored quietly. "I thought that you knew how my feelings lay."

Rayne sucked the last dregs of life out of his smoke and stubbed it out viciously in the flower bed on the ledge behind him. He crouched down now, by the lip of the pool and trailed his long fingers through the water. 

"You didn't hurt me," he said without looking at the other man. "It's not like that. You just made me consider stuff that I wasn't ready to think about. And I didn't like any of the ideas that I was having."

"I can see that you would rather be with the boy," Aldo told him bravely. 

"No you can't," Rayne said with a shake of his head. "Aldo, I don't know what I want. Or rather... I know what I want but I don't know that I can have it. It's not just about whether I'd rather be with you or Xavier, even though that's a bastard of a choice to have to make." 

He sighed and leaned back against the wall, sinking into a sitting position there and running a hand through his hair. 

"Clay said 'why couldn't I be with both of you?' if you must know," he added at last, laughing humourlessly. 

"That could be... fun," Aldo conceded, a wry smile twisting his lips. "So why can't you?"

"If it was just sex, it wouldn't be a problem," Rayne told him frankly. 

"But it's not?" his friend was smiling more broadly now. 

"You know it's not," Rayne said, a little warning frown creasing his brow.

"I don't know anything where your head is concerned," Aldo responded, pushing himself away from the side and kicking back towards him again restlessly. "Sometimes I think that maybe you have feelings for me and then you go and smash my heart against the rocks and I think, perhaps not!"

"I was an idiot back in Agde," Rayne confessed, letting his head fall into his hands ruefully. "Just a kid, scared of everything. I didn't even trust how you felt about me."

"But now...?" Aldo prompted with a winning smile.

"Now I just know you're a big lug with an ego to match your dick, so it don't matter, does it?" Rayne baited him. 

"You only say this because you cannot wait to feel my big dick inside you." Aldo placed his hands flat on the sides of the pool and pushed up, rising from the water like a sea god, his sleek, naked body glistening as the fluid ran down over every curve and ripple, showing off his powerful muscles. One muscle in particular was straining to show itself off to its best effect. 

"Poser!" Rayne said, rolling his eyes and reaching for another cigarette. As he lit it, the golden glow of the flame from his lighter illuminated the sharp, gaunt lines of his beautiful face briefly, then plunged him back into shadows. 

Aldo half turned, sitting on the lip of the pool, moonbathing contentedly as his feet swung back and forth in the water. He was impossibly handsome, Rayne had to admit. Rugged, sexy and affectionate. Every gay guy's dream! 

"Why are you still single?" he wanted to know. 

"Because I wait for the love of my life to say 'yes'!" Aldo teased, blowing him a kiss.

"Because no one could love you as much as you do," Rayne pointed out cruelly. 

"When a man lives alone he can chose who he wishes to be with, no?" Aldo said, rather more solemnly. 

"Not always," Rayne flashed back. 

"True, but there is less... restriction."

His lean, English companion nodded slowly. "Yeah... I guess so."

"This is not why you live alone?" Aldo wanted to know. 

"I... I never found anyone I liked enough to share my space with," Rayne lied. 

"No one will tolerate your filthy habits?" Aldo teased. 

"I guess not." He blew a streamer of smoke into the Italian's face and Aldo waved it away, cursing softly in his own tongue.

For a moment they looked seriously at one another. Then Aldo murmured; "The boy would, if you would let him."

"Leave it!" Rayne shook his head in admonishment. 

"I would."

Aldo looked up at him with a sad smile as Rayne pushed himself to his feet and stubbed out his second cigarette emphatically. Long fingers trailed through the Italian's wet black hair as Rayne passed him on his way back to the house. 

"I know you would," he whispered sadly. 

~*~

Rayne came to bed about half an hour after Xavier, having shed his clothes onto the floor and showered briefly. The blond was curled up on the bed, too wrecked to even get under the covers, although he had stumbled out of his clothes, for which his mate was quietly grateful.

Rayne snuggled up to the smooth, golden line of his naked back and touched his lips to the nape of Xavier's neck. 

"You are so fuckin' beautiful, you know that?" he whispered softly there, unsure if the boy was asleep or just pretending. "Fifteen different flavours of trouble, but you aren't half gorgeous for all that!"

Xavier had been sleeping, but he woke as soon as Rayne touched him. He stretched lazily as Rayne murmured along his neck. There was nothing like falling asleep drunk and waking up still drunk. 

He turned in Rayne's arms and pressed close, nuzzling up under his chin with little kisses. 

"I thought you weren't coming to bed," he murmured as he traced his fingers down Rayne's chest and over his hip. His lips curled in a little smile in the darkness. "But I'm glad you did." 

Rayne's lips sought out his and as they touched he whispered; "And here I was thinking you fancied a certain Latino chef tonight! You are one naughty little bitch, aren't you? What should I do to punish you, hmm?"

Xavier could already feel from the growing pressure between his legs that Rayne wasn't terribly upset about Chavez. Although how he knew he'd been with Chavez tonight he wasn't exactly sure, and Rayne didn't enlighten him that he could actually smell faint traces of him on Xav's skin as well as sense what his lover had been up too. 

His tongue dipped and swirled between Xavier's parted lips, tasting the sharp afterburn of neat alcohol that still lingered in his mouth. Inspired, he kissed Xav's hot cheek and let his lips trail down over the line of the younger man's jaw to his neck, touching and sucking gently just beneath his earlobe as his hands caressed the blond boy's lean, warm, naked body.

Xavier's chuckle sounded suspiciously like a giggle. 

"Mmm…punish me, babe!" His hand drifted between Rayne's legs to stroke his rising erection and Xavier let out a heated little moan. "Spank me, whip me, tie me up… whatever you want," he whispered as he rolled the side of his thumb over the head of Rayne's cock. 

"Tease!" Rayne panted hungrily, his breath stolen for a moment by the touch of his lover's hand. "God! You're on fire!"

He kissed the seductive heat of his drunken mate's sweat-damp skin, letting his fangs extend, taking a gentle little bite. Not too much, Xav was still so drunk that it could well affect him too and he didn't want that. Not right now with the lad looking so hot and luscious and downright fuckable.

Xavier gasped, his whole body shivering as Rayne nipped him. He slid his leg forward between Rayne's until he was riding his thigh. Everything always seemed magnified when Rayne bit him, everything more intense. The buzzed feeling was no different; his head spun with a rush of pleasure and for a moment he was sure he was going to pass out. Then he felt Rayne pull back, his wet tongue licking over the nip he'd made. Xavier moaned, his cock throbbing with need. 

"I wasn't teasing," he murmured. 

A strange look flickered across Rayne's face and was gone just as quickly. 

"You want me to spank you?" he queried huskily.

"I like it sometimes." Xavier murmured back. 

"But if I get rough with you there's a chance it might hurt you. Really hurt you, I mean." Rayne's lips were touching the shell of his ear, breathing the words there hungrily. 

This close to him, his body pressed so tightly to his own, it was not hard to tell how much the idea excited Rayne. He was holding back on it though, keeping himself on a tight leash. 

"Just don't get carried away." Xavier said, as if it were as simple as that., and it was really. Rayne was always careful, when he drank from him, not to take too much. He trusted the vampire's self control. 

"And don't use a belt," he added. He rolled to his front, the line of his body still pressed to Rayne and his backside presenting a tempting target. 

"You are serious aren't you?" Rayne's cool hand caressed the proffered left cheek in quiet wonderment. 

Many years ago when he was first sleeping with Matty, that one had enjoyed the rough stuff. They improvised all kinds of bondage games, using towels, belts and luggage straps among other unexpected forms of restraint, graduating to handcuffs once they could afford it. Matt had loved being cuffed, and he didn't even mind the bite of Rayne's studded belt across his arse, but Rayne personally had never been into it all that much. He did it because it made Matt happy. 

Xavier lay with his arms stretched above him and his head resting on them. He turned to look up at his lover from where he lay. 

"You don't have to, if you don't want," he said softly, although the way Rayne's soft hand caressed over his upturned cheek had him tingling with anticipation. 

Rayne drew his palm slowly down the curve of Xavier's gorgeous little bum, letting his fingers trail lightly there, then lifted it abruptly, pulling back. 

"No... I don't have to," he repeated, a slight smile tugging at his lips as he watched Xavier's expression. His hand was still raised; hovering; ready.

Xavier stopped breathing, his breath caught as he waited for the fall of Rayne's hand. Now who's being a tease? he thought, but didn't say aloud. 

Rayne knelt back, waiting. His hands came down to his lean, naked thighs and he waited silently for the moment when Xavier exhaled, letting his body relax. He was poised for the slight sneer of disappointment when the blond realised that he would not be baited. 

Then, faster than the snaking fall of a bullwhip, his hand flashed out and down, cracking soundly across Xavier's upraised buttocks. He felt the tingle in his fingertips and palm from the brief, violent moment of contact and sat back on his heels again, laughing breathlessly at the indignant look on his lover's beautiful face. 

Xavier pushed himself up and snagged Rayne around the waist, pulling him under his body. He was acutely aware that Rayne let him do it, but it was still fun to pin him and attack his mouth with hungry kisses. 

"Now, now..." the little Vampire breathed, when he had brief command of his lips again. "That's not very submissive, is it?"

His fingers curled around Xavier's wrists and he tangled his left leg with Xav's right and rolled hard, coming up on top of him again, holding his lover's hands flat to the mattress above his head. Rayne's mouth fastened on his throat but he was kissing Xav steadily there, not biting. It was tempting. He knew from just the briefest tastes of his mate's blood, earlier, that Xavier had ingested cocaine at the club tonight. The dwindling buzz in his veins recalled his own mortal habits and he longed to get high, though he knew it was impossible.

Xav's lithe body undulated slowly under Rayne, his hips pushing up to rub his erection against Rayne's cock. Rayne's hands wrapped around his wrists and his body pinning him down pushed his buttons like crazy. He moaned softly as Rayne's lips caressed his throat. 

"So… huh… does that mean I can be as bad as I want, an' all I'll get is one little smack on the ass?" he asked with a grin. 

Rayne's lips stroked possessively over the swell of his adam's apple, kissing hungrily along the line of his jaw, back to the sensitive curl of his earlobe and he whispered; "Does that mean you're angling for more than a little smack on the ass?" 

He mimicked Xav's tone with cutting accuracy. A wriggle of his hips moved them within the boundary of his lover's slim thighs and he began to undulate steadily there, coming up on his knees and using them to spread Xavier's legs.

His hands kept the younger man's arms pinned and he bent his head now to touch his mouth to Xavier's breastbone, gently sucking on the moist heat of his skin and running the silver tongue stud slowly up and down the narrow plane between his ribs.

Xav moved his foot to the back of Rayne's calf and drew his toes slowly up the back of his leg. 

"Yeah…" he breathed. "I like it rough, sometimes." He hummed urgently as Rayne flicked the little stud over his sensitive nipple. 

Rayne caught the nipple between his teeth, tugging and worrying on it until he drew a droplet of blood. His ebony forelock draped like a skein of silk over the younger man's bare skin. Xavier tried to stay still. He made it for a few moments and then started to squirm. Rayne's grip tightened slightly, keeping him pinned while he continued to suck and nip at him until Xav was gritting his teeth and thrashing his head from side to side. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 03



When the Vampire lifted his head to look up at him his gaze was almost luminous in the darkness of the room and his smile had definite fangs. 

Xavier panted, a soft groan escaping his lips. His cock lay rock hard on his belly. His was not the only one. He could feel Rayne beginning to probe at him more urgently, needing to be in him. His lover's fingers were almost painfully tight around his wrists as Rayne's pelvis ground urgently against his own and the Vampire thrust hard at him until he hit the right spot and felt Xavier yield at last.

With a little growl of pleasure he sank into the wriggling blond, lowering his lips and sharp little teeth to the other nipple as his cock pulsed deeper and slower.

Xavier hissed in a breath as Rayne entered him and then bit his bottom lip. If he'd been stone sober and Rayne nailed him like that he would have yelped loud enough to wake the house. As it was he only groaned deep in his chest and bent his knees further when Rayne sank deeper, riding a sweet edge between pleasure and pain. 

Rayne going to work on his other nipple had him writhing within moments. The bit of struggling and not being able to break Rayne's hold had him nearly as turned on as his thick cock sliding into him. 

For himself, Rayne could literally taste the sharp edges of his lover's pain. To his surprise it had the most incredible effect on his erection. Every thrust sent shivers through him that were not all his own. Slowly he lowered his arms so that Xav's hands were drawn out to either side and he lay sprawled on the bed beneath his mate, panting rapidly as Rayne bucked into him over and over. 

The Vampire licked his torso stealthily; his tongue running in long strokes from the curve of his ribcage inward, brushing over the boy's erect nipples, tasting the iron tang of spilt blood. 

"Ohh…that's so good." Xav purred as Rayne pinned him and licked him and fucked him hard. "…sooo good, mmm…" He lifted his legs higher so he was bent nearly double and wrapped them around Rayne. His head pressed back into the mattress as he arched his neck. With his arms spread wide, his legs hiked high, and his throat so deliciously exposed it was the ultimate position of surrender. 

"Mmmhh…fuck me Rayne! Fuck me harder," he panted and Rayne was all too willing to comply. The vampire pounded into him vigorously, panting and murmuring encouragement himself. 

Xavier shivered as cool lips sucked at his tenderized nipple again. He was breathing hard, both loving and hating his nipples being teased so roughly. He tossed his head from side to side, thrashing under Rayne's body until it got to the point of being unbearable. 

"Stop! Stop!" he cried breathlessly. "Ohhhh…god-oh god uhhhh!" 

Xavier came in hard, searing bursts, all the sweeter for the unexpected suddenness of it. 

Rayne shuddered at the violent spasms running through his lover's body. He had been able to control his own explosion up to that point, but now he released Xavier's hands and forced his long fingers through the boy's blond hair, tugging his head back to bite deep and hard at his throat. Feeding ravenously, he bucked and burst within his ecstatically writhing lover. His hips jerked once; twice and then he was still, sprawled between Xavier's loose-limbed thighs, letting the tremors race through him like the aftershocks of a massive quake. 

The taste of Xavier's blood, still heavily laced with alcohol and coke, filled his mouth and drowned his senses. The world could happily end like this, he thought fleetingly. But thoughts were few and far between. He was prey to his body's most primal needs, still astounded that the novelty of having Xavier as a lover had not worn off yet. And delighted by it. 

Rayne drank deeply from him and Xavier's head swam dizzily. He always thought when Rayne bit him it was like being drunk on him, like he was drowning, and now it was doubly so. He was so languid, so relaxed, floating… he wavered, on the verge of passing out. The only sounds were his own heartbeat, their labored breathing, and the occasional wet sound as Rayne swallowed his blood. 

The connection between them, the blood bond, was especially intense whenever there was an exchange of fluids going on. Tonight Xavier's blood was hot and rich and bittersweet. Rayne felt him falling inward and pulled back, lifting his mouth from the boy's neck. Xavier's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow but even. He murmured but didn't stir when Rayne touched his face. He'd taken more from the blond than he usually did, but his heartbeat was still steady and strong. The heady mix of vodka and narcotics in his blood probably had more to do with his current state. 

Rayne shifted slightly. Xavier groaned, his head rolling to one side, and he sighed contentedly. "I love you, Rayne." 

For a long moment, Rayne rested on his elbows and knees, staring down at the impossible angel in his bed. He had raised his hand to put it over Xavier's mouth as he began to speak but, he wasn't sure if it was the aftermath of incredible sex or the alcohol he had sucked from Xav's system, he was too slow to seal the words inside. 

They burned at his heart like ice and he felt suddenly sick with shock, as light headed as Xavier. A raft of arguments spilled into his brain. 

He's wrecked! He's exhausted! He doesn't know what he's saying... just let it go. Let it go! He'll have forgotten in the morning. He doesn't mean it like that... he doesn't mean it!

The Vampire rolled off him and flopped down bonelessly onto the bed beside him. He usually felt a flush of heat after such an intense session as this but right now he was cold; a chill that he could feel right down to his bones. It was a chill that was born out of fear and dread and the memories that sometimes still clawed their way up from the dark places in his mind when he was rising out of a deep, dreamless sleep. He closed his eyes, trying to shut them out. 

"Go to sleep," he forced himself to say. "Just go to sleep, Xav." 

Even in his inebriated state Xavier felt the coldness of those words dropping on him like stones. His eyes flickered to Rayne's face in profile against the wan light coming in from the window. His eyes were closed and his face set in hard lines, refusing to look at him. Slowly Xav turned on his side away from him, the self-reproach already starting in his head. It had been moment of weakness, a moment of drunken stupidity. Xavier knew better than to let those fatal words slide past his lips, even in this state he knew better. Not because he knew Rayne wouldn't return the sentiment, but because he knew, he knew, it would drive him away faster than anything. Xavier knew the type too well.

There was nothing he could do about it now. He could hardly move, much less form coherent sentences. Maybe if he did as Rayne said and went to sleep they could just pretend he hadn't said it. 

Xavier curled into a ball much the same as Rayne had found him, only he was colder now, and he felt like a door had been closed, slammed firmly in his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will himself to sleep, but the recriminations danced around in his head with gleeful sarcasm. Hadn't Rayne just told him he didn't want him? He hadn't said it in so many bald words but Xav was smart enough to read between the lines. He'd made it very clear he didn't want any ties holding him down, didn't want anything but a casual bedmate. Xav knew it and had accepted it, and now he'd gone and humiliated himself by letting his feelings show. When would he learn? 

He was a frickin' stripper the singer had picked up at a club for Chris'sake! A stone around his neck! Good to fuck, but people like Rayne Wylde didn't fall in love with fuck-ups like him. The only reason he was still around was because Rayne hadn't been able to figure out a way to dump him off somewhere without him getting killed. Xavier knew this. He knew it, goddamn it. 

Big, stupid, drunk mouth! 

Xav bit his lips and forced the anger and humiliation down until he simply felt numb. 

Rayne did not sleep but he managed to reach a still place where the nightmares were kept at bay but beyond that he did not dare to go. The booze in his system was partly keeping him awake but it was more than just the unaccustomed sense of being drunk. Lying on his back he stared up through the darkness, his pale gaze seeing things that were not there. Seeing futures and shreds of the past. 

He saw Mum, and Simon. Both lost to him now. Both had loved him unquestioningly but it had been a transient love, something he could not rely on. When he thought of his childhood now it was as if he contemplated an imaginary world, an invention he had come up with as a kid. It seemed so alien and so far away that he could barely believe it had ever been his. 

Then there was little Danny who had trusted him, back in London, believing he would be safe with Rayne because he was a Good Vampire. What a ridiculous thought; as if he could keep anything or anyone safe from harm! Trouble stalked Rayne Wylde, and the more people understood that the safer they would be. Even brave-hearted Matt who had been determined to breach his defenses had been pushed away in the end. He was safer that way, Rayne knew it in his heart.

He felt Xav turn, curling up with his back to him, pretending to sleep but equally unable to switch off. The boy's feelings of embarrassment and rejection were so acute that he wanted nothing more than to roll over and put his arms around him as he would have done if they were any ordinary couple. It was crazy; they had just fucked one another like their lives depended on it. Sex with Xavier was out of this world, almost unlike anything he had ever known. Usually he kept the barriers up with a sex mate but with Xav there was no point. At times he almost felt himself merge with the younger man, even before they came together physically.

It had been stupid to come here. He should have let PJ and Clay take care of the boy and got out before it came to this. But now it was too late. He was already hooked on the sweet spell in Xavier's blood and the boy was growing more and more dependent on that rush he got from being bitten. Even the impulsive Lord Warren, who was addicted to vampire bites, as the innumerable traces of past trysts etched on his lean body would testify, knew when to back off and take it easy. With Xavier it had been too much, too fast. And he had known it, but somehow he couldn't stop himself. 

He had seen the looks Dominic gave him and he knew their meaning well enough. Let him rest. Let someone else feed you. Break the loop while you still can. It was common sense. He would make Xav ill if they carried on this way. Tonight he had gone too far and they both knew it. How long before he lost himself in Xavier and just kept feeding until the boy was nothing more than a physical memory, a few strands of DNA in his own system?

And what would he do then, deprived of his fix? What if nothing else could sate him the way Xavier did? It was one of the cardinal rules of his creed; never take from the same vein under the same moon. All his life rules had been there to be broken but he saw the deadly reasoning behind this one. Now that he had not just broken but utterly decimated it. 

~*~

Sleep did pull Xav down some time during the night, although it was restless and filled with strange disturbing dreams. When he woke it was still fairly early. Unusual for him but then he hadn't slept well. Rayne was gone. For once Xav didn't feel like wandering out to find him. He didn't even feel like getting out of bed. Eventually though, he dragged himself up and went into the bathroom to piss and wash his face. 

In the mirror his eyes were red rimmed and looked empty. He looked away from his reflection and went back out to pull some clothes on. He was definitely moving a little slow today. T-shirt, jeans, that was good enough. He went right to the kitchen. No coffee today; he wanted orange juice, like a gallon of it. 

No one was in the kitchen. Still too early after last night, he figured. He poured himself a big glass of OJ, drank half and refilled it. Instead of heading out to the patio he moved through the house and out the front to sit in one of the lawn chairs on the shaded side of the house. Not as pretty a view, but he just wanted to be alone right now. He felt like shit and wished in the worst way he could go back and undo some of last night. Since he couldn't go back, he could only go forward though, and it was time to start thinking about where he was going. It had been so nice to avoid it for a while, so nice to just relax; be happy; have some fun. 

He sighed. Time to get back to the fucked up business that was his life. He was almost certain that if Rayne didn't outright dump him today, at the very least things would change. He would put distance between them, one way or another. Xav could feel it already, he was keeping himself very closed, wherever he was. It hurt, to know it was going to come to an end. It hurt bad, but to have ever expected anything different had been monumentally stupid. 

He drank more orange juice and put his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. He needed a plan, and he needed some money. 

"Hey Gorgeous, you okay?" a familiar, warm Irish burr interrupted his thoughts. 

Paddy was swathed in his knee-length white robe and wore his reading spectacles perched like antennae on the top of his sleep-mussed nest of hair, but his steely blue eyes missed nothing. He came and sat down beside Xav, without waiting for an invite. A large, warm hand came to rest on the back of the younger man's neck, massaging gently there. 

"You're up and about early after all that exertion last night," he remarked with a smile that said he had a fair idea what Xavier and Rayne had been up to, and totally approved of it. 

Xav tried for a smile but it fell a little flat. 

"Yeah. I'm okay," he answered, his voice just slightly thick. He chewed his bottom lip for a second. He was not given to spontaneous sharing or confidences. He had learned very early that it was usually best to keep your mouth shut and not trust in anyone. But… god, he needed someone to talk to. 

If he was back home it would have been different. He knew how to take care of himself. Here… well even if the language thing wasn't an issue he couldn't just go out and get a job. 

"Just… trying to figure things out," he said. "I did a stupid thing last night… so, I think… I better start making some plans." 

Even that was probably more the he should say, but he was tired so maybe he could be forgiven.

"Is that so?" Paddy's hand slid across his shoulders and a warm arm moved around him, not in a predatory way though. The older man gave him a one-armed hug. His expression was concerned and almost protective. "Lots of guys get wasted and do stupid things. And in any case, you two sounded like you'd more than made it up when we got back here." He smiled almost awkwardly. "Forgive me, but my room is only across the hall. I wasn't listening on purpose. But it made me happy in any case."

He should just go with that. Paddy gave him the perfect out, he didn't have to say any more. Just yeah, yeah you're right and then he could figure the rest out on his own. He wavered, wiping a hand over his face with a sad, resigned sigh. Just let it go, no need to make a complete ass of himself. 

"I told him I loved him." Oh Jesus, could he not keep his fuckin' mouth closed? What the hell was wrong with him? "He told me to… He just said, go to sleep." 

And he might as well have kicked Xavier in the balls while he was at it. 

Paddy looked wryly at him, a half smile on his face still. 

"And do you?" he asked in a practical tone that completely skated around the issue of how Rayne had reacted, and how this would affect their relationship for the time being.

Xavier finally lifted his head and looked at PJ. 

"Does it really matter?" he asked, for once not flippant; his tone far too resigned for that. Some of the tension seemed to drain out of him though and he leaned back in the chair letting PJ's arm settle more comfortingly around his hunched shoulders. "I'm not a total idiot PJ," he said softly. "I know we're never going to, like, set up house together or something. I didn't want to…you know, freak him out. Or make it hard or awkward when he leaves."

"Well then!" PJ sighed deeply. "It seems to me that you're a well-adjusted and eminently sensible young man under that glossy veneer, and Mizz Wylde is lucky to have fallen for you and not some total airhead who'd make a scene and lose him faster than this." The older man snapped his fingers demonstratively. "But it also appears to me that you've fallen a lot deeper and harder than you were planning, even if you don't admit it yourself."

He hesitated for a moment, looking down into Xavier's crestfallen face. 

"This is the part where you tell me I'm a silly, interfering old man and I don't know shit about you, by the way," he prompted with a little smile.

"You're not a silly old man." Xavier said dryly. "But you are interfering, and you don't know shit about me," he deadpanned. 

PJ chuckled and Xav managed a small smile for him. "I've gotta make some cash anyway, can't keep mooching off you guys."

"You know we've no objection to taking care of you," his companion reassured him quickly. "I mean, we did kind'a haul your ass out here in the first place. Even if it was to make sure that you didn't get hurt."

Xav tried not to automatically bristle. PJ wasn't trying to buy him, he didn't mean any harm, he had never been anything but kind to him. 

"Thanks PJ," he said. "But, you know, I'm used to taking care of myself. And you really don't need another house boy, huh." He smiled. 

The older man gave him a look that was almost startled. He recovered quickly though and there was still a twinkle in his eyes as he gazed at Xavier thoughtfully. 

"You know... you are so like Ray when he was about your age," he said at last. "I don't mean, looks wise, obviously. But... just the way you are. You're a savvy kid, Xavier. So was he, to survive some of the shit he went through. But you can't always do it on your own. I'm not asking you to work for me, just like I wasn't asking him all those years before. And he turned me down flat as well, before you ask! It's a big house, Xav. There's plenty of space if that's what you need. Call it a refuge, somewhere to hang your hat for a while. And if you do need to make money, then I know people in the industry. People who need dancers, performers. You can still do it on your terms, baby boy."

Xavier's smile became a little less forced around the edges. "Well, I'm not above using your connections."

"Well I'm mighty glad to hear that, honey," PJ laughed out loud. "Otherwise what would be the point in having them?"

Feeling a little better about things Xav followed PJ back inside. He had a bit of a headache starting and told PJ he was going to take a shower, which he did, and then ate a few aspirin. The house was still feeling a bit too empty when he came back out. Clay and Chavez were still sleeping off hangovers and apparently Rayne had gone off somewhere at the first crack of daylight with Aldo and Dominic, playing with Aldo's pretty sports car. 

Xavier took advantage of having the patio all to himself to work on his tan. He was feeling kind of lazy and not all that great anyway. Just laying around sounded good. He stripped, pulled out one of the chaises and, almost as soon as he lay down, was asleep in the warm morning sun. 

~*~

It was still early, well before dawn when Dominic wandered out with a coffee onto the verandah to find Rayne perched on the edge of a lounger there, naked and dripping wet from the pool, staring out into space in the general direction of the quietly smoking volcano across the vast blue bay. He wandered over quietly and sat down opposite the little vampire. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 03



"What's wrong?"

"Why does anything have to be wrong?" Rayne asked huskily, blinking out of a daydream to look defensively at him. "And what the fuck is it with you, waking up at the crack of dawn, anyway? You were on the lash all night. Can't you sleep in like a sane man?"

Lord Warren smiled at this small, deflective outburst. He was more than used to them from Rayne by now. 

"I'm going home this evening. But first, Signora Bocaccio is taking me out for a spin behind the wheel of that very pretty little Ferrari. She figures, and I concur, that the roads will be quieter the earlier we go. You can come along, if you really want to."

Rayne did not look at him but he murmured; "Where are you going?"

"Just for a little run," Dom smiled and sipped his coffee. "Herculaneum is across the bay, under the volcano. I thought it would be fun to take a look before the tourists get there."

"How long will it take?" Rayne asked him, brightening a little at the prospect of a distraction. 

His companion surveyed the distant, smouldering peak shrewdly and gave it some thought. 

"With me behind the wheel, without traffic, I'd say about fifteen and half minutes!"

In the end it took nearer to half an hour but Rayne still felt mildly sick when the sleek two-seater sports car pulled to a standstill in a deserted Neapolitan car park and he all but fell off Aldo's lap, out onto the tarmac. It was still only around 4.45 in the morning and there was a stillness in the air even this close to the edge of Naples. Rayne Wylde had not been the worse for drink in several years and to be driven on hairpin bends with a hangover at more than 100mph was a little more than even he could stomach this early in the day. 

Whilst Dom enthused to Aldo about the handling of the F430 and they talked the indecipherable language of torque and brake horsepower. Rayne wandered around what looked like a warehouse car-park and got his land legs back. After a little while the mortal pair followed him. 

"It is a beautiful morning, no?" Aldo swept an arm around him and Rayne tried not to be too irritable. "You were up late last night giving the boy some sweet love, huh?"

"Yeah."

"So why you not still snuggled up his sweet ass?" Aldo kissed the back of his neck.

"Fuck off!" Rayne pushed him away, with a tolerant half-smile. "He's got the mother of all hangovers. I figure he needs some P&Q."

They had been ambling after Lord Warren towards a section of lop-sided fencing at the edge of the road. Rayne looked seriously at him now. "Can we get in this early?" he asked sceptically.

"If we walk around the perimeter this way, yes I think we may still get into the old city before the gates open and tourists come," Aldo mused. "When we were children sometimes we would come here to play, there was not so much tourism then of course. This is what you want, si?" He asked this question of Dominic who had his palmtop out and was consulting it now with the distracted air of a nutty professor.

"That's the ticket," the older man murmured, with a little nod. "There's been speculation by a couple of my Covenors for years that there are weak spots in the Veil at sites like Herculaneum. How often does a girl get the chance to check out something like that without being over-run by Japanese tourists all taking pictures?" 

He looked up with a boyish grin. Rayne squinted at him in the morning sunlight, wondering why he did not have the decency to be hung over like everyone else. Then he turned to survey the not terribly substantial gate and the empty, insignificant looking portacabin that housed the ticket booth. 

Aldo stepped up to it, wriggling the chain and padlock on the gate. 

"è bloccato," he murmured. "It was never so when we were small. Perhaps we climb over a wall, no?"

"Get out the way you lump," Dominic nudged him aside with a sigh. "Don't they teach you anything practical in porn star school?"

He pulled a key-ring from his jacket pocket and selected a long, narrow object like a large, bent paperclip, apparently at random. After a few moments of wriggling the object in the heavy padlock and swearing under his breath, it clicked open softly. Aldo looked impressed. 

"I bet you didn't learn that reading 'Cosmo'!" Rayne snickered. "You overlooked something though."

Dominic stared enquiringly at him and the little vampire lifted his eyes towards the security camera above their heads. 

"Oh that!" Dom huffed impatiently. "I glitched that before we even started on the lock."

"Glitched it how, exactly?" Rayne asked as they slipped through the gate and pulled it to, draping the chain through it and clicking the padlock shut so that it still looked inviolate. 

"Same spell that I use for traffic cameras," Dominic explained airily. "What's the use in being a Third Level Wiccan Adept if you can't occasionally do something useful with it?"

Aldo was looking at the older man rather oddly. 

"You placed a spell upon the camera?" he queried carefully.

"Uh-huh." Dominic nodded to him. 

"You show me how to do this?" 

Dom smiled beatifically. "Darling, if you ever have a couple of years spare, come and visit me in England and I'll see what I can do," he chuckled.

"What if we need to get out in a hurry?" Rayne asked warily.

"We've come to check the atmospherics, darling, not raise the dead!" Dominic exclaimed with a shake of his head. "You are very jumpy this morning. When they open the gates for the normal tourists we just walk out like we're supposed to."

"For a Peer of the Realm you don't exactly set a good example," Rayne told him with a dry little laugh.

~~~

The sun was casting long shadows along the narrow streets of the ruined town when they walked slowly down the long ramp leading to what had once been the harbour front. It was still euphemistically titled so though the sea was now almost half a mile away and modern buildings surrounded the ongoing excavation of the ancient town of Herculaneum. 

"Fuck!" Rayne breathed, gazing up at the vast rock walls all around them as they journeyed lower. "How long did it take them to blast a hole big enough to build a city in? And why not just build it up there?" He pointed towards the top of the red-walled cliffs.

"Stupid boy!" Dominic laughed fondly. "They didn't dig a hole to build it. The archeologists dug the hole to get it out again. This whole area has been buried countless times by eruptions since Herculaneum was a thriving port. It was under the rock for centuries."

"And it survived?" Rayne was incredulous. "Those houses over there look like... well, they could have been empty for what… a couple of decades maybe? How come they're not just crushed or burned down?"

"The pyroclastic surge that buried Herculaneum was like..." Dominic hesitated, considering his words. "It was like treacle, I suppose. Lots and lots of very hot treacle, moving very fast. It rolled down the hill, roasted the inhabitants to death and filled up their houses like little treacle pots, from the bottom to the top. Then it just rolled on over them and covered it all up until you couldn't even tell there had been a town here at all. When it all cooled and set, the houses were preserved in it like flies in amber."

Rayne blinked at him. He was feeling rather sick again and wishing he hadn't asked. 

"Treacle?" he echoed numbly, his head full of images he would rather not be thinking of, most of them involving melting flesh. 

"More or less," Dominic answered cheerfully and wandered ahead, whistling to himself as he peered into the empty buildings. "Didn't they teach you anything at school?"

Aldo flashed a mischievous look at Rayne and the vampire rolled his eyes as they followed Dominic deeper into the deserted city. From time to time the elderly mage stopped and checked his little Palmtop, then swung off onto a different side street. The other two wandered after him, somewhat warily. It was quiet here, even though the modern town was slowly coming to life up above them and the echoes of doors slamming, car engines turning over and voices raised in greeting sometimes filtered down to them. It was also rather spooky. The hair at the back of Rayne's neck was prickling but that could just have been the lurking thought of hundreds of sweet-roasted ghosts watching them. 

Even Aldo seemed uneasy and very little fazed the tall Italian.

"Here," Dominic said at last, coming to a halt in front of a tall, red-walled house that might have still been inhabited, it was in such good condition. 

Rayne could feel his skin prickle as they passed through the shadows of a hallway into a long corridor with rooms running off it. Dominic was still peering at his little gadget and murmuring to himself, occasionally glancing up at mosaics on the walls or sculptures in the numerous niches and alcoves, and making small noises of appraisal. 

"What does this do?" Aldo asked, gesturing to the handheld device curiously. 

"Well, primarily it's a mobile phone and palmtop computer," Dom explained cheerfully. "At the moment it's showing me a plan of the city, so we don't get lost, and identifying the suggested hotspots. It also has a built in thermometer and barometer so it's checking for rises and drops in the temperature and the atmospheric pressure."

"So we'll know if it's gonna rain," the vampire added in a mocking undertone. 

Dominic fired a narrow-eyed look at him. "You know as well as I do that breaches in the Veil are often accompanied by profound shifts in temperature not explained by any logical occurrence," he reminded his companion. "Stop taking the piss."

"Sorry," Rayne said with a grin. "This place is setting my teeth on edge a bit."

Aldo slid closer to the little vampire. 

"This, I do not like," he said in a quiet voice. "It feels as if we trespass here, no?"

"That's just what it feels like," Rayne agreed. "Like someone does not want us here."

"I told you not to take the piss," Dominic accused and stalked off, still frowning studiously at his phone. He changed the application and began taking pictures.

A broad archway at the end of the corridor led out into a long rectangular garden area with a sunken pool, empty of water now. There were plants and even some grass in need of mowing. It might have been sleeping, not deserted for hundreds of years. The sunshine made Rayne feel more at ease though. He was unhappy in the shadows of the house. It felt as if he was being watched there. 

"Dom," he said in a low tone. "This wasn't a good idea. Let's just go, shall we. There's nothing to see. No one lives here, it's obvious."

When he turned to look for his friends he found himself alone. For a second it was as if he looked at two different scenes, similar but slightly awry. There were flowers in the garden and he could hear music and the sound of water playing in the long pool. He heard his mother laughing and then the sound of a man's voice; not his father's voice. The laughter took on a strange, breathless quality. He crept closer, seeing the spill of her dark hair through the leaves, pressing through the undergrowth, driven by a childlike curiosity. And then, suddenly, it was as if he was a child again, making himself small, determined not to be heard. Through the shrubbery he saw her sprawled on a cushioned dais, but the filmy gown she wore was like nothing he had ever seen her wear in life. It was roughly tugged asunder and a man he recognised now with a shiver of horror was moving urgently between her thighs. Her hands caressed him, nails painted red as blood.

A shadow moved over the sun and he looked up, startled. It went darker then, as a rough hand gripped his arm. He tried to cry out as a man, who's face was that of his uncle Brian, the man who had abused him as a boy, dragged him into the darkness and pinned him to the ground, ripping at his shift. Brian wore a brief toga and nothing else. He had been dressed in a similar garment to Brian's, or he was until it was torn from him and his legs wrenched apart. 

He lifted his head, scenting the heat on the air as he breathed in. The atmosphere was choking, like breathing ash. It was snowing! He brushed a pale flake from his bare arm and it disintegrated, crumbling to the earth. Others descended, the pall growing thicker. As he watched, fascinated, he became slowly aware of a low, rumbling sound. It was like listening to someone trying to open an ill-fitting door in the next room; a slow, grinding, rattling noise. The very walls of the house were groaning. Lurching over him, Brian was groaning too, his hot, hairy body bucking hard between Rayne's legs.

And then there was screaming, not groaning. They were thrust aside, caught in a stampede of frantic humanity. People were running for their very lives. He looked up and saw Brian's anger turn to alarm, and then to sheer terror. Rayne closed his eyes tightly and kept them closed. He did not want to see anything that could put such dread into Brian's eyes. And then the dark was everywhere and heat swallowed them up, rising to an inferno around him, swallowing light and sound, and then there was nothing. 

~~

He swam slowly back to his senses in the car park, lying on the ground beside the Ferrari. Dominic was trying to trickle water into his mouth and he choked and spat it out. It tasted of ashes. 

"Lady! Bless you!" Lord Warren exclaimed, his hands very soft and warm on Rayne's face. "What happened, darling?"

"Aldo?" Rayne coughed weakly, struggling to sit up. 

"Here, caro," the huge Italian said at once, bending over him and helping him to rise. 

"What happened?" Dominic demanded. "One moment you were being sarcastic, then you just went down. We thought you'd been shot or something."

"You were standing, staring as if you saw something we did not see," Aldo told him. "Then it is as if you are attacked by bees, yes. You slap and struggle with nothing, then you fall. Boom!" He clapped his hands together. "We could not wake you."

Rayne shook his head. Had it been a dream? There were still fragments in his mind, it had seemed so real. Brian in a toga; his mother, alive, out there. But transplanted to another time, another place. And the shadows, and the falling ashes. 

"I was there," he said incredulously. "I was in the city as the ash shut out the sun. I saw the darkness come."

He saw Aldo and Dominic exchange a look that seemed to doubt his sanity. Rayne put his head in his hands. He still felt drunk, and slightly disorientated. 

"Take me home," he murmured, closing his eyes again. 

~*~

Xavier woke in darkness. He came awake almost instantly, his blood pumping in fear, searching out the source of the sound that had jarred him awake. A crash from somewhere in the apartment. He listened. He heard his mom's voice, she was yelling, crying. The bastard boyfriend was yelling too. He held his breath and listened. Sometimes they just yelled for a while and then it got quiet. Sometimes the yelling got worse. This time it got worse. 

Stealthily he got up and went to the door of his room, opened it a crack to look out down the hall and into the living room. The yelling had escalated to throwing things. An ashtray shattered against the wall. The bastard boyfriend had a fistful of his mom's hair and was screaming in her face. He hit her and Xavier exploded out of his room. 

He jumped on the bastard boyfriend and pummeled him as hard as his seven year old fists could, a wordless scream of rage issuing from his throat. He didn't remember being thrown off, just what it felt like as his back slammed onto the floor, the breath whooshing from his lungs, the fist that came down and struck him. 

The dream shifted, and he was no longer in the apartment where he had grown up. He was in a… village? Nowhere he had ever been before, yet it felt familiar. Stone buildings, narrow streets. He was looking up, and he was terrified. Something bad was happening. Something terrible was coming. The heat… so hot… he was running through the narrow streets looking for his mother, people running, screaming… where was she? 

He twitched in his sleep but did not wake. The warm morning sun caressing his backside.

It took his sleeping brain a few minutes to process the fact that the sun was not the only source of warmth caressing his arse. A gentle hand was stroking his exposed skin, taking its time as it wandered over the dips and curves of his sleek behind. 

His eyes opened and for a second he was still in the panic of his dream, heat and ash and screams all around him. Then he recognized where he was, and the hand stroking softly over his flanks. He shifted on the chaise so he could look up at Rayne, a little smile on his lips, his long lashes blinking sleepily. 

"Good morning." 

"Awright, Sweetheart?" the singer purred huskily. He looked tired, and unusually pale in the bright morning sunlight. His hand continued it's gentle passage up and down Xavier's flank. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Xavier stretched his lean body, feeling his back pop. 

"Mmmph… yeah! I was dreaming... Weird dream…" he said blinking slowly, still coming awake really. He yawned. "Something about running through streets, and it was so hot, but it was snowing."

For a moment Rayne just stared at him, blinking owlishly; his pale eyes shimmering with the reflected light from the pool. His hand stopped moving and came to rest on his lover's hip. Even though that side of him had been partly in the shade his skin was just as hot here as it felt on the sun-kissed parts of him. 

"Snowing?" he repeated quietly, as if this triggered off a strange chain reaction in his head. 

Which in fact it did. For a couple of seconds he was sprawled on his back again, head turned towards the light, watching the mysterious grey flakes land on the exposed skin of his arm. He shuddered violently, muttering; "Too much to drink!"

Xavier gave a soft chuckle. 

"Maybe," he said, thinking Rayne was talking about him.

Rayne looked at him again, coming back from whatever inner landscape he'd been looking at. "I came out to tell you breakfast is on the table." 

Xav lifted his shoulder in a lazy shrug. "Not really hungry." 

Which was weird. He was always hungry. 

His companion's eyes narrowed speculatively. In the short time he'd known Xavier he had never known the boy to pass up an offer of food; not even when he was recovering from the kidnap and assault by Steffen in San Francisco. 

"You okay?" he asked warily. 

"I'm fine." Xav answered with a little grin. "Just not hungry." He rolled to his back and laced his fingers behind his head in a comfortable pose. "Where'd you guys go?"

Rayne's eyes wandered slowly up his body from his shapely thighs to his big baby blues. He shrugged one shoulder. 

"Just out for a... a ride."

He shivered involuntarily, his hand moving to Xavier's thigh again, craving his warmth. 

As Rayne's cool fingers trailed lightly up his leg Xavier's cock twitched and thickened. Xav had to grin. It was ridiculous how Rayne could just touch him and he was hot and ready for him. 

"If you're not hungry," Rayne whispered, letting the backs of his fingers move lightly up the underside of Xavier's stiffening sex; "you don't mind if I eat, do you?"

Without waiting for a response, he bent his head and let the tip of his tongue follow the path his fingers had just taken. 

"I don't mind…" Xavier murmured, and shivered with pleasure as the tip of Rayne's wet tongue caressed over him. The little metal ball in his tongue pressed into the sensitive spot just under his glans and he let out a soft sigh. It took only that much and he was fully erect, his sex laying like an exclamation mark pointed at his navel. Rayne's soft lips parted around him and Xav's eyes slid shut, a soft purr humming in his throat. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 03



"Fuck, even your cock's on fire!" Rayne whispered around the exposed head between his lips. His tongue teased it's way to the tip of Xavier's dick, wriggling the stud playfully in his leaking slit as he bent over the younger man. "Unbelievable!"

Xavier's only reply was a soft groan and a roll of his slim hips. He spread his legs slightly, giving Rayne more room to caress between his thighs and fondle his balls. He brought one hand down to stroke along Rayne's shoulder and the back of his neck as he took him in his mouth again. His lips parted with a needy little whimper, "Ahh… Rayne…that feels sooo good."

At once the singer moved between his thighs, gently but firmly parting them. His mouth opened wider, swallowing the hard, hot, sweetness that was Xavier's dick. And he was hot. Rayne felt the heat of him inside as if he had swallowed a salami fresh from the oven. His lips slid back to the tip of Xavier's sex again, reluctant to release him all the same. 

Rayne closed his fingers around Xavier's cock, rubbing him urgently from the balls up to just beneath his glossy head. He lapped at the serpent's single eye, preoccupied with getting his lover off and enjoying the appetizer that would yield.

Xavier's toes curled and he bent his knees slightly, the little roll and flex of his hips becoming short thrusts as Rayne fisted him skillfully and lashed his tongue back and forth over his cock head. The faster he stroked the more urgent Xav became, the need to cum pounding in his veins and throbbing behind his crotch. 

"Mmm…mm...mm…uhhhh, god!" His head tipped back as a sweet hot flood erupted from his balls.

Rayne opened his mouth, catching the delicious burst of hot semen and rolling it around on his tongue for a moment before gulping it down. He experienced a brief flare of heat inside and the memories flickered through his head again, only this time he saw a different scene; a wrecked living room; a pretty young woman lying dead on the floor, blood running from her mouth and nose as he shook her, trying to wake her.

"Fuck!" he exhaled with a shake of his head that cleared the nightmare. "What was that?"

Xavier, still half dazed from that wonderfully intense orgasm, reached over and stroked Rayne's back soothingly. "I got more of that, if you liked it."

His mate tilted his head back, touching his lips quickly to Xav's. 

"I didn't mean the spunk," he laughed weakly. "I thought… I thought I… Never mind." 

As he pushed himself back up to sit on the edge of the lounger beside Xavier the blond boy slid warm, sun-gold arms around him and pulled him close again. He kissed Rayne's nose playfully. 

"So… we're okay, yeah?" he whispered almost shyly.

"Maybe." Rayne still looked rather sad, but he turned in Xavier's arms and reached for him all the same, touching his lips softly to the blond's mouth. "You know you don't have anything to worry about don't you? I think it's just this place. This morning was too weird."

Xavier wanted to laugh, but didn't. He had lots to worry about, but… he'd land on his feet somehow. His fingers brushed the soft fall of inky black hair out of Rayne's eyes while his other hand slowly caressed him. 

"Why, what happened?" he asked, still curious about his trip this morning, and what was weird about it.

Rayne's lips moved soundlessly against his own. For a little while he just lay back in Xavier's arms as if he would happily never move again.

"It's... nothing," he murmured at last. "Just stupid stuff. Just me being..." He closed his mouth and his eyes as if something hurt. At last he whispered; "Just don't worry. You'll be okay. I promise."

That sounded an awful lot like a prelude to goodbye. The tug of pain thinking of it was all the more sharp and bitter without the alcohol from the night before dulling it. He could almost feel his love pulling away from him, getting ready to tell him it was time for him to go.

"Rayne…" His name was just a soft husk on Xavier's lips, his fingers traced feather light along his jaw. What was there to say though? Please don't leave me! It wouldn't do any good. 

Rayne had picked him up for night, had seemed not to mind that Xav hung out for a week instead, and he had then put his ass on the line for Xavier out of guilt, or maybe responsibility for drawing the attention of some very bad people to him. He supposed there was a bit of genuine affection in there somewhere too… just not enough for Rayne to love him. Bitterly he figured that he should know better by now than to let himself care about anyone. 

He wanted to ask if Rayne was leaving with Dominic, but the thought of him being gone that quick left him feeling queasy. The sun beating down on them was suddenly uncomfortably hot. He closed his eyes as a trickle of sweat rolled down from his temple. 

"…I don't feel good."

His lover's awkwardness shifted slightly and crossed over into concern. He rose to his feet, taking Xavier's hands in his. 

"Maybe we should get you to bed then? How about a quick shower, try and cool you down. You do feel really hot, sweetheart."

In truth the idea of leaving had crossed through Rayne's mind. It would make things easier if he just went back to England. He knew that Paddy and Aldo would look after Xavier and the young man might even be happy with them. They were warm and human and they knew how to party, all of which could help to take Xav's mind off the events of the past few weeks. It worried him that Xavier might have figured that out and was playing a game to try and delay the inevitable. 

He could, of course, get the boy off to sleep and still just go. It might be better for both of them in the long run. But he had been abandoned by enough people in his life to know how much it hurt; waking up to the reality of being an irrelevance to someone was horrible. And he didn't feel that way about Xavier, which made it worse. 

Xavier nodded now and let himself be pulled to his feet and drawn inside. The slightly queasy feeling stayed with him, and he began to wonder if maybe he was feeling some delayed after effects of the night before? It usually didn't work like that though. If he was gonna get sick from drinking too much it would have been last night, or when he first woke up, not catching up to him well after he was stone cold sober. And Rayne was right, he was hot. Maybe he was coming down with something. 

Rayne got him into the shower, adjusting the temperature to just-slightly warm. It felt like ice water to Xavier and he turned the hot tap up a little more as he stood shivering under the spray. 

"You're running a fever, sweetheart." Rayne said, concern in his tone as he watched the steam roll up from the water. 

"It's too cold." Xavier said. It was hot enough to turn his skin pink, but it still felt cold to him. He reached out to turn the hot tap all the way. Rayne stretched a hand into the cubical and turned it back down before it scalded him. Xavier shied away from the cooler water automatically and his skin broke out in goosebumps. 

"Okay, this isn't working." He turned off the water and got out. On autopilot he dried off, still feeling kind of listless and unwell. "I'm just gonna go lie down." 

He fell into bed; tossing restlessly, unable to decide if he was too hot or too cold now. He thought maybe he should get up again, go try eating something, even though he still wasn't hungry. Before he acted on it though he fell into a light sleep. 

Rayne sat with him for a little while after he slipped back down into sleep. Then, feeling helpless, he wandered back out to the terrace again and watched his friends tuck into a breakfast that would have made him physically sick if he'd had to eat any of it himself.

"Where's Xav?" Aldo asked, in between mouthfuls. "Not like him to miss a fry up!"

"He's a bit under the weather," Rayne said, staring out at the pool. 

"Uh?"

Dominic murmured an approximate translation to him and the jovial Italian sobered. 

"Anything we can do?"

"Yeah. Look after him, will you?" The singer got to his feet again, having made up his mind at last, and wandered back into the bedroom.

He bent over the bed, kissing Xavier's blond curls and the heat rising up from his feverish body was almost hot enough to toast marshmallows. He didn't want to hurt the boy, but it would be better this way. Aldo followed him in, looking curious. 

"You going somewhere?" the Italian murmured softly so as not to wake the sleeping Xavier. 

"Yeah. Back home. I should have done this from the start. I'm gonna go back with Dom," Rayne said quietly. 

"And the kid?" Aldo came to him, resting his large, warm hands on the back of Rayne's shoulders. 

"We're not married, Aldo. He can do whatever he wants. I'm not his keeper."

"He loves you," Aldo whispered in his ear. 

"No he doesn't! He doesn't even know what the word means!" Rayne bit the inside of his mouth, angry for saying it, for putting it like that. 

In his head Xavier was still writhing beneath him. I love you, Rayne! echoing hollowly in his ears. 

"You are a cruel man," Aldo berated him softly. 

"No I'm not. I'm a sensible one. Actually, scratch that, I'm not even a man, am I?" He turned around to face the taller fellow. "I'm a monster, Aldo. We're supposed to be cruel. It's our raisin eater."

Aldo looked quizzically at him for a moment. 

"Raison d'etre?" he hazarded. 

"Whatever!" Rayne waved a hand at him and pulled away. He opened drawers and started to take out his clothes. "I should go."

Xavier turned restlessly on the mattress. In his head he was running down a narrow street, the heat and the panic were choking thick. He wasn't a boy looking for his mother anymore. He was a young man and he held the hand of the girl he had just married a few days before. The heat was near, searing hot, overwhelming them. Finally he realized it was too late and in desperation he pressed her to the wall of a house and tried to shield her with his own body. Wide green eyes looked up into his own, blank with terror, and then they were gone. 

The dream shifted and flickered through images he didn't really understand, but they were all over-laid with that same sense of fear and heat and loss. He was so hot! He tossed and turned in his sleep, moaning softly. 

Rayne came back to him, setting the arm full of clothes down and stroking the boy's hair almost instinctively. The wave of heat hit him like molten lava and knocked him off his feet. He had a brief impression of strong, capable arms around him and a sense of terror that he could almost taste, and then there was just the heat, sucking at his breath and skin, tugging the flesh from his bones. 

He screamed as he hit the floor and lost consciousness for the second time that morning. Aldo ran to him at once, staring from Rayne to the restless Xavier and back. 

The scream yanked Xavier up from the nightmare and he sat up, panting hard, sweat tricking from his temples and down his back. He looked down at himself like he was surprised to find himself unhurt. It took his brain a moment or two to engage and take in the scene around him. Aldo knelt on the floor beside the bed next to Rayne, who was curled into a tight ball. The drawers of the bureau were hanging half open and clothes were scattered over the other half of the bed. 

Xav felt confused and scared still and he looked back down where Aldo was cradling Rayne carefully, he seemed to be coming around. Rayne's eyes blinked open and locked with his and in that unguarded few seconds Xavier knew without him saying a word that Rayne had been planning on leaving before he woke again. Heat flashed over him, hotter than the fever that seemed to be on a slow simmer in his blood. He tore his eyes away and got up, wordlessly pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt though he felt too hot for clothes. 

"Don't let me keep you," he muttered angrily, furious that Rayne had been planning to leave him like that. He slammed the bedroom door behind him hard enough to rattle in its heavy frame. 

Rayne was fighting nausea again. His head dropped into his hands and he shuddered in Aldo's arms. When he looked up the Italian was looking from his face to the door and back like he didn't know which direction to run. 

"Aren't you gonna...?" he prompted, looking towards the door again. 

"No." Rayne put his head back in his hands and resisted the urge to be physically sick. His head was spinning and his heart racing the way they had in Herculaneum before he blacked out. But they were here, in Aldo's villa. It was safe here, wasn't it? The vampire sat up straighter, rubbing his face with one hand.

"But Xavier… he's..." Aldo shrugged awkwardly. 

"Not my problem." The singer felt as if a clawed hand raked his insides even as he said the words but he could not take them back. "I'm not running an orphanage, Aldo. I'm not on this earth to adopt waifs and strays, no matter how fuckin' cute they are. Okay?"

The claw inside pulled at his guts and he struggled not to vomit. Rayne curled up again, wishing he could shut this feeling off.

"Uh-huh," Aldo nodded as he forced his head up again, glaring at the handsome Italian. "You're pushing him away, just like you do to all of us sooner or later."

"Good! You understand, you tell him." Rayne struggled to his feet and pulled his bag down from one of the cabinets. He began to throw his gear in there randomly, not caring if it got creased or not. 

"He came here for you, not one of us," Aldo said rationally, not fazed by his anger in the slightest. "Tell him why, at least. Don't let him feel the way..."

He stopped and Rayne looked up from the bag, eyes blazing. Jesus, he felt like shit. He wished Aldo would stop interfering. 

"Feel what way? You're not making any sense, Bocaccio."

Aldo stared back at him solemnly. 

"He has not hurt you. He only wants to be with you. Why are you hurting him like this?"

"Because I don't want him to follow me," Rayne rammed the last few scattered items in the bag and wrestled the zipper shut. "It's for his own good."

"So you always say," Aldo muttered, shaking his head. "You know what, Wylde. I think it is for your good and no one else's. And not even that. If you were happy..."

"Shut up!" Rayne pointed a shaking finger at him. "I don't want to hear this. Just shut it, will you!"

"Go tell him why and I will stop lecturing you." 

They faced off for a moment like hostile tom-cats. Then Rayne swore under his breath and turned his back. He stormed out like a small thundercloud before a strong gale and the door slammed a second time in his wake. 

*

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

END OF CHAPTER THREE

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2009



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 04



© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2009 

"Our fond wishes and thanks to everyone who's stuck with us this far into our long, and ever winding story. You keep us going with your lovely comments and kind words. And so without further ado, the festive season is upon us, that time of indulgence and rampant consumer excess, so what better antidote than a little slice of melodrama and despondency courtesy of ours truly. On the house, no really… it's our pleasure! 

Chapter Four is the start of our traditional dark arc, so if it's escapism from the enforced jollity of the season that you really crave, then look no further. For those who like their reading lighter and more frivolous at this time of year, perhaps you should try another story and come back to us in January! If not, don't say you weren't warned. 

Reach Out for the Sunrise contains non-sanitised vampirism and scenes of a homosexual nature involving hot (and often temperamental) young men. And sometimes 'not-so-young' men! If that's not your bag, then don't read it. 

Best wishes for the season to you all. xx Sadie & Bellora"

CHAPTER FOUR

DIVIDED

Xav stormed down the hall and though the kitchen, not even seeing the surprised faces that looked after him, and slammed out of the house. Rayne wanted to leave him…well fine! He didn't have to sneak off and drop him like a goddamn abandoned puppy though. He could just fuck off! 

 As Xavier stalked across the courtyard from the house towards the road he heard two pairs of footsteps set out in rapid pursuit. He only got as far as the elaborate fountain in the middle of the turning circle before a surprisingly strong hand caught his elbow, pulling him around. Dominic's moss-green eyes narrowed as the older man read his face and the hostile, injured shades of his aura. 

 "Wait! Where are you going?" he demanded.  At his shoulder, Chavez hovered, looking anxious and determined but saying nothing. He moved around though to stand between Xav and the front gate. 

Xavier didn't even notice Chavez, his attention focused narrowly on the hand restraining him. He was furious, for no good reason really other than that it was better than crying. 

"Wherever the fuck I wanna go!" he growled at Dominic and shook his hand off. "And you're not my fuckin' keeper!" 

The urge to hit the older man was so strong he almost did it. Only by the thinnest thread of will did he turn on his heel and stalk toward the gate instead. He felt like the top of his head was going to come off, he was so pissed off. And it was fucking hot out here. The thin t-shirt he'd put on was already sticking to his skin as sweat trickled down his back. 

"Move!" he snarled at Chavez, who was still blocking the way to the gate.

"No, man! I'm not letting you walk out of here, the mood you're in," the handsome Mexican boy stated holding his hands out determinedly as if he would catch Xavier up in a broad embrace. "Anything could happen to you."  "Calm down, Xav," Dominic told him more firmly. "You're overwrought and you're running a sky-high fever. Valentino is right. If you collapse out there we might never find you. Please come back inside."  The last was requested more gently.

"Christ! I'm not a fuckin kid! I'm capable of going for a walk by myself!" He brought his arm up to wipe the sweat from his forehead and suddenly felt dizzy. "I'm fine," he insisted, though even he knew that wasn't exactly true. The bright sunshine overhead felt like it was roasting his brain. He felt Dom's hand on his shoulder. 

"Come back inside, Xavier," Dom coaxed, his tone soothing and the touch of his hand firm but as comforting as he could make it. 

Xavier stiffened, wanting to pull out of his grasp again, but he could see they weren't going to give up and he sighed and let himself be turned back around. He did not want to go inside so Rayne could dump him. He didn't want to hear the excuses and placating lies.

Under the cool white vaults of Aldo's breakfast terrace PJ and Clay were both waiting anxiously as Dominic walked back in with him. When Rayne slammed out of the bedroom and the sound of his heels clicked ferociously down the hallway towards them both men winced in spite of their greater physical bulk. Almost instinctively, Chavez put a protective arm around Xavier and Dominic half-turned, keeping himself rather bravely between the boy and Rayne Wylde.   "I don't know what's happened, Ray," he said holding up his hands, palms outward, in an attempt to deflect some of the little vampire's anger. "But can both of you just calm down for a little while. I don't have long but I don't want to go and leave the situation between you like this."  Rayne clicked to a halt, inches from him and glowered up at him like a recalcitrant child.   "This has nothing to do with you, Dom. Stay out of it. I want to talk to him," he said, crooking his forefinger around the taller man in Xavier's general direction. 

Xavier shrugged off Chavez's arm and stepped around Dom. "What makes you think I wanna talk to you?" he asked in a deceptively mild tone. He came around until he was nearly toe to toe with Rayne. "What makes you think I wanna hear some lame excuse about how you have to go?" He gave a dry chuckle, his expression as closed off and as jaded as anyone there had seen it. "You think you're so special? You're not. You've had enough now, so go. I won't get in your way. But stop trying to palm me off on your friends. I can take care of myself!"

In the moment of absolute, breathless silence behind his words Rayne looked briefly as though he might have swallowed his own tongue. His gaze travelled like emerald flames up and down the young man standing before (and slightly over) him. The look on his pale face was almost unreadable.  "I don't even know why I'm doing this. I don't actually have to explain myself to you," he spat at last, turning on his heel and stalking back towards the bedroom. "I should have left you with Lagrado!" his voice echoed along the passage. "I'm sure you were taking care of yourself magnificently without me! Steffen seemed to fuckin' well think so!"

There were any number of scathing things Xavier could have shouted after him, but all the energy seemed to drain out of him and there was nothing but a hollow place left. Rayne was leaving him and nothing he did or said would change it. He'd known it was temporary from the start. It wasn't Rayne's fault he was fuckin' idiot enough to hope for more. He wished Ray had left him with Cole Lagrado. 

"Xav…" Dominic reached a hand for him and Xavier moved away. 

"Just leave me alone," he muttered and turned to walk down the opposite corridor to the one Rayne had taken. 

Aldo, who had come out of the bedroom as Rayne stormed back towards him, now rather boldly caught the small Englishman's shoulders in both hands. To his surprise Rayne didn't fight him, but he did fold into his friend's arms and buried his face against Aldo's chest.   "I know!" he exhaled, and drew in a vast, sobbing breath. "I'm sorry!"  "Don't tell me, tell him," Aldo said impassively, though he did stroke Rayne's hair.  "He doesn't want to hear it, you heard him."  "He wants to hear something," Aldo corrected him. "Not that you've wasted your time on him. You did not mean that? Tell me you did not mean it!  Rayne shook his head.   "I just got angry. I get confused, Aldo. When I'm with him it feels right, but I can't stay with him." He lifted his head, and there was a red gleam to his pale eyes. "He's going to get hurt if he stays with me."  "Maybe he doesn't mind that so long as he can be with you," his friend murmured. "He is correct, he is no longer a child, even if we see him perhaps that way because he is so much younger. You cannot always protect the ones you love, does it mean that you should not love them?"   "Who says I love him?" Rayne asked defensively.   "Love has many pathways and takes many shapes," Aldo said with a dry smile.   "I thought you were a petrolhead not a fuckin' philosopher." The Vampire sighed again, heavily.   "Are you bored with him?" the other man demanded, looking solemnly into his eyes.   Rayne bit down on his lips for a moment, fighting the smart answer that rose to them. He shook his head at last. "No. How could I be?"  "Well then." Aldo stepped aside and turned giving him a little push in the direction Xavier had gone.   "Bastardo!" Rayne exhaled under his breath.   "True, but never without good cause!" Aldo chirruped more cheerfully.

Xavier flopped down on a couch in one of the farthest recesses of the house. It was slightly cooler in here but it still felt stifling to Xav. He wished Aldo had a walk in freezer, he'd gladly curl up in a meat locker. Instead he made do with the couch. Clutching one of the little pillows tight to his chest he lay down and put his back to the room. He was not going to cry. As soon as Dom and Rayne left he'd ask PJ if he'd send him back to San Francisco. That was where he belonged, that was what he knew. He'd go back to work and if Elian Iannopoulos ran into him some night on the street and bled him dry he wouldn't fucking care. 

He heard someone come into the room and stiffened but didn't turn. Why couldn't they just leave him the fuck alone? 

Chavez sat down on the edge of the couch, ignoring the fact that Xavier obviously didn't want the company. "Hey, Chico," he murmured softly, putting his hand on Xavier's shoulder. 

Xavier closed his eyes. "He should have left me there," he said tonelessly. 

Chavez carried on gently stroking his back and arm, refusing to be dissuaded by Xavier's determination to be alone.   "And if it had been the other way around and you could have helped him, would you have left him?" he asked in a quiet voice. "Truly?"  The Mexican's dark eyes lifted to the doorway when he saw movement there and his gaze narrowed slightly as it met Rayne's acid glare. He refused to budge though and continued his gentle massage of Xavier's neck as if nothing had happened.

"No." Xavier answered with a small sigh. 

"You mean what you said? You want him to go?" 

Xavier was quiet for several moments then finally answered; "I was just making it easy for him, Chavez. He can leave with a clear conscience now, and I'll go back to 'cisco where I belong." 

Chavez glared at the vampire and for a moment Rayne bent his head, his eyes closed. He remained in the doorway listening to Xavier's words, then moved towards them almost silently on the balls of his booted feet. Chavez fired a look at him that was less than welcoming but the singer ignored it. He removed the younger man's hand from Xavier's neck and rested his own there, almost possessively.

Xavier stiffened slightly but did not turn.  Out! Rayne mouthed at Chavez, nodding towards the doorway.   The Latino youth looked as if he might argue but there was something in the unblinking stare that fixed him; something that warned him it might be safer to be elsewhere.  "Chico," he murmured to Xav. "You know that whatever you decide, you can still come to us if you need help. You are one of us. Sabe?"

Xavier finally turned, his expression somewhere between resigned and just plain sad. "No, I'm not. I can't just hang out forever. They're not gonna want to keep me around anymore than he does."

"Any time you need us. We'd be better for you than him!" Chavez promised, still glaring coldly at Rayne. The Latino had risen to his feet but still seemed reluctant to leave. He muttered something in Spanish that sounded less than complimentary.  "Get out!" Rayne snapped at him at once. The singer's hand was resting on Xavier's arm, and through the contact Xav was getting a whole mess of emotions; anger, bewilderment and no small amount of anxiety.  Chavez opened his mouth to argue and the snarl Rayne turned on him had fangs.   "OUT!" he growled and Chavez fled, casting a final, apologetic glance at Xavier before he scurried for the door like a kicked dog.

There was a long pause between them where neither man moved or spoke. Finally Xavier said; "You're going to miss your train." His voice was soft and husky with emotion. 

Rayne's eyes came up to meet his at last and Xavier could only hold his gaze for a moment or two before he had to look away. "You were right, Rayne. You don't owe me an explanation. You don't owe me anything. It was fun while it lasted, right?" 

Rayne said nothing but his long fingers glided up from Xavier's shoulder, along the line of his slim neck, brushing the sensitive spot where he always bled his lover. Xav was on fire, and not in the usual, good way. The vampire's long hand cupped his face and Rayne leaned into him, tilting his head as he felt the quickening of Xavier's breath on his skin.  His lips brushed against Xavier's lips, lightly, tentatively. Countless bright flashes of imagery filled him; images of their bodies entwined, lips touching, stroking fingers, urgently thrusting cocks. Rayne caught his breath, shaken and overwhelmed by the effect the boy always had on him. He was not even sure that he could explain it; all that he was feeling. 

Xavier tried to lie passively still, but he couldn't help returning the brush of lips and tender sweet kisses. Even whilst, in his head, he was begging Rayne with words he would not burden him with…don't do this, don't leave, don't say goodbye. He lifted his hands to Rayne's cheeks, his fingers caressing lightly. The small hurt voice in his head demanded to know why. Why do you have to leave? Why am I not good enough for you to keep? Why can't you love me? 

He closed his eyes and stomped down on that wounded plaintive wail that wanted out. When he opened them again he said; "It's okay, Rayne. I'll be fine." 

The words sounded hollow even to his own ears but it was the best he could manage. 

"I know you will." Rayne shifted beside him and lay down with Xavier on the sofa so that he could slide his arms more easily around the younger man. "You're the most fuckin' independent person I've ever met. I know you'll be okay. I wouldn't do this if I didn't believe it."  He pressed his lips more firmly to his lover's mouth, kissing him harder and deeper this time. Xavier's arms slid up around Rayne's neck, his fingers sliding up the back of his skull into his hair as the sweet kiss turned more passionate. His ego insisted this was not good, that he shouldn't settle for a farewell fuck. He was helpless to resist though, when Rayne touched him like this. He told his ego to shut the fuck up and kissed him as if his life depended on it.

The singer moved over him, joined to him at the hips and lips, breathing him in, rocking against his pelvis steadily through their clothes. His hands were cold as they slid down his flanks and glided beneath the sweat-damp t-shirt that clung limply to Xavier's molten heat.   "Jesus!" he whispered into the blond's open mouth. "I think you're sickening for something, sweetheart. Even in here you're burning up."

"I feel okay." Xavier murmured back, nudging his lips gently. His fingers brushed under Rayne's shirt as well, his body felt so cool against his hot hands. He pulled a little sound from Rayne's throat as he kissed him hard and his hand scorched up his torso to lay like a brand against Rayne's ribs just over his heart. He could feel it beat under his palm. Sometimes, especially when he slept, it didn't beat at all, but right now it seemed to respond to his touch; thumping behind the wall of Rayne's chest as if it wanted to get closer to his heat. 

The little vampire curled around him, towing him into a tight embrace. Usually Rayne experienced a kind of low-level background interference whenever he was this intimate with Xavier. The boy's thoughts only really intruded when he was completely open; taken by surprise, or coming hard whilst they fucked. But he was generally conscious of the kid all the time. Right now all he was getting was 'the wall'.   He knew Dominic had been teaching Xavier to shield and block, but could only guess at what the boy was trying to shut away from him right now.  "Xav," he whispered huskily into his lover's ear; "I said some really... low, shitty things to you before. I don't know what... why... My head's just not been straight since Frisco. I just wanna tell you that I never wanted to hurt you. And I am a total fuckwit, I know it! I am so sorry. You are right not to want me around, sweetheart."

God! Why is he doing this? Xav thought desperately. Cool disdain he could deal with, or an angry tirade, or even indifference, but this gentle concern was wearing him down. He was trying so damn hard not to let Rayne in his head, not to let him know what he felt. His forehead was resting on Rayne's shoulder and he made a soft low sound in his throat that could have been a moan of pleasure except it was filled with anguish. 

"I don't want you to go," he tried to bite back the words but it was too late. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Rayne. I didn't mean to…" he whispered. "I know you don't love me, you never let me think otherwise. It's not your fault I'm an idiot." 

"I don't think that," Rayne said at once. "I never thought that of you, Xav. You're an angel, and you're smart and beautiful. And I was the one that uprooted you and dragged you out here without even asking if it was what you wanted. So it serves me right if that comes back to bite me in the arse, don't it?"   He rolled back a little so that he could look Xavier in the eye, still running his hands over the boy's hot, sweat-damp flesh. His mouth always watered slightly when they were this close. The temptation wasn't getting any easier to resist. The old adage was not true in this case; familiarity bred a kind of ravenous hunger in him that would not go away. And with every bite it got stronger.   "I don't want to hurt you," he told the beautiful little blond again, all the while speared by that look of absolutely naked pain and longing. "And I'm scared that if I stay with you... I don't know what will happen to us. I was never good at self-control when I was mortal. It's worse now, because I AM dangerous, no matter what anyone thinks. You ask Dominic if you don't believe me. He knows about vamps. He knows what we're like."  He closed his eyes, unable to bear watching the clear blue jewels that glistened back at him as they filled with tears.

Xavier sighed wearily, the little jewel drops finally spilling down his hot cheeks. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't know how careful you are?" he asked in a gentle voice. "I'm not that stupid. You keep thinking that I'm just blindly going along with everything, but I haven't been that blind in… well, ever." He paused for a moment. "You didn't 'all of a sudden' get afraid you'd hurt me, Rayne. You've been afraid all this time, and you've been so careful. What changed was I told you I loved you, and now you want to run away. What else am I supposed to think but you don't want me the same way?" 

"It's not a good idea," Rayne said atonally, without looking up at him. "You know, there are so many guys out there that would be better for you. Safer for you." He sank down on the broad sofa cushions beside Xav, rolling onto his back and staring up helplessly at the slowly rotating fan suspended from the crisp white ceiling. "I'm used to thinking on my feet, Xav, because there are times when I have to. I'm not sure I can do that for two. Yeah, you scared me. I'll admit it. I'm not used to being half of a couple. I've been on my own for a long time." He caught his breath and turned his head to look at the younger man earnestly. "It's not that I don't care, sweetheart. Please believe me when I say that."




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 04



Xavier swiped away the tears and pulled back with an angry sigh. "Why are you doing this, Rayne? I gave you the easy out, and you wouldn't take it. I tell you I want you to stay and you won't do that either. You care. Fine. I believe you. It doesn't mean shit though, does it? You can care for your dog and in the end it's just something you have to take care of, right? So, I'm too much work? Thanks, I feel so much better now." 

Rayne actually flinched at that. He opened his mouth to say No, but Xavier's hand moved to cover his lips at once. Xav sighed again, this time more tired than angry. "Any way you want to spin it, it comes down to the same thing. You'd rather hurt me now so you can protect your conscience and tell yourself later that you did the right thing." He sat up and moved away. He couldn't take any more of this, it just hurt too damn much. "I want to be with you Rayne. Either you want to be with me, or you don't. I can't make up your mind for you."

Rayne sat up with him, almost mirroring his movement. For an instant his expression hardened and then he looked away again.   "Of course I want to be with you! I'd be crazy not to want to be with you!" he yelped in agitated response. "But I've got to look at the bigger picture, Xavier! That's my responsibility, whether I like it or not! Christ! Sometimes I wish that when they Turned me Jabez and Zelarin had just created another soulless bloodsucker. Life would be a lot fucking easier without a conscience!"  He spun away, stumbling to his feet and shaking his head, but he did not head for the door.

Xavier suddenly felt bereft looking at the straight angry line of Rayne's back. The fever wracking him seemed to switch from hot to cold and he shivered, teeth chattering as he fought a sudden chill. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them, putting his head down and trying to hold back. He didn't know what else to say. What else could he say? Everyone they knew seemed to think this was either for the best or at least inevitable. 

Rayne had himself convinced that he would some day lose it and hurt him, or kill him, or get him killed. Xavier knew he wouldn't, but saying so wouldn't make him change his mind. If Rayne loved him he would stay with him despite the risks. His lover didn't feel that way though and, no matter how much he said he cared, he clearly didn't think Xavier was worth trying for. Xav didn't want to shed tears, he felt like an idiot, didn't want Rayne to think he was trying to manipulate him, but he couldn't stop it no matter how hard he tried to choke back the sobs.

Rayne closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head again.   "Please don't do that," he implored quietly. "I don't think I can stand to hear you cry. You're better than this, Xavier, and I'm not worth it."  He turned slowly, a determined set to his jaw.

Xav tried hard to pull it back. This wasn't supposed to happen until after Rayne left. He kept his forehead pressed to his knees and his arms locked around his legs in a tight ball as he tried to swallow down the huge knot of pain. It reminded him quite sharply and unexpectedly of times he'd spent alone in dark places being as silent as he could so no one would hear him crying. 

Even now, when Rayne was dumping him, he was still trying to please him. The thought made him feel even more pathetic. He bit down on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood, the sharpness of the hurt letting him get a little bit of control back, but he didn't think he could look at Rayne yet. 

The implacable little English vampire sat down beside him on the edge of the sofa, bending his head to peer at Xavier helplessly. He still looked slightly irritable, but was resisting the urge to storm out and slam doors again. He probably knew what kind of a reception he would get from the others, who were inevitably lurking outside, listening to the argument.   "It doesn't get me hot, you know - seeing you in tears," Rayne suggested, rather less sympathetically. "Not your best tactic, sweetheart."  His mouth watered as if he'd tasted blood and yet they weren't even touching. Rayne lifted his hand, rubbing the back of it across his wet lips. Then he girded himself and reached out, resting the palm on the back of Xavier's neck, still amazed at how the kid's pale golden skin was burning to the touch. 

Xavier finally lifted his head, this time to glare at Rayne. It was one thing to dump him, it was another to mock him about it! 

"What the hell do you want from me, Rayne?" His voice was husky with tears. "I told you I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. You want my understanding? You want me to be fuckin' happy for you? You want me to see how responsible you're being? Well you're not. That's just an excuse. You're running away because you can't handle it, because you're afraid, because whatever it is you feel for me isn't enough to make you even want to try. I know you wouldn't hurt me..." 

Except to rip my fuckin' worthless heart out, of course. 

"Is that what you want?" this time the answering smile was fanged, the vampire's short temper piqued again. "You wanna take the rough with the smooth, huh? Show me what a martyr you are! Come on then, Xavier, you want to be with me so much! You wanna know what the fuck you've landed?"   Rayne's hand landed on his sternum, pushing him back against the sofa cushions a little too deliberately. The shove had enough force in it to make Xav catch his breath. The anger seemed to ignite in him, licking over his skin like flames. 

"That isn't what I meant!" he retorted hotly, pissed now that Rayne was taking this track with him. He tried to sit up again but Rayne kept him down with a hand on his chest. 

A little hiss of humourless laughter escaped through Rayne's clenched teeth as he rolled to his knees, moving over the younger man. 

"What did you mean then?" he laughed harshly, crouching over Xavier and pinning him almost effortlessly. The long, curved dog-teeth exposed by his laughter glinted wetly in the half-light of the room. "You thought maybe you could do what no one else has managed to in nearly forty years? Tame me? Gentle me? Drown me in love so that I never get that urge to rip out anyone's throat ever again?" 

Well yeah, that was kinda what Xavier had been thinking. Something along those lines anyway. At least, he thought Rayne would care about him enough to never hurt him like that. The look he gave the vampire said as much.  Rayne shook his head slowly. "Christ Xavier! You have no idea how much I would love to be the creature you wish I was!"

Xav shook his head that Rayne couldn't see the contradictions. He said he was a heartless, uncontrollable monster, and that's why he had to go. If Rayne believed his own line of rhetoric why would it really matter if he killed him? He couldn't be both. He couldn't be some remorseless beast and be so concerned about Xavier's welfare. It didn't work that way, and Xav refused to believe he was wrong about that. 

He kept his mouth shut and everything else tightly shuttered behind a solid wall of anger. If Rayne wanted to prove something to himself, fine. There wasn't much he could do about it. He didn't have to go along with it placidly though and he bucked and struggled under the vampire while Rayne chuckled and kept him pinned. 

Rayne's hands wrenched at the pliable material of Xavier's shirt, shoving it roughly up, almost to his collarbones, exposing the rippled line of the blond's lean, toned body beneath. The singer's head dipped towards his chest and Xav felt sharp teeth catch at his exposed nipples, biting and tugging roughly on them as Rayne's dark spill of hair tickled his bare flesh. For the moment the vampire was playing with him, but whenever he looked up through the tangles of his hair, seeking Xavier's face, there was a fierce light in his liquid green eyes that was definitely inhuman. He used hands and legs to keep his mate pinned down and though Xav did not get the same feel of enjoyment at the struggle from him that he had sensed from Steffen, he could tell that his urgent efforts to free himself did not displease Rayne Wylde. 

Xavier glared back at him with impotent fury. He couldn't break his hold and they both knew it, which only served to make him angrier. Rayne continued to bite and worry at his sensitive nipples until Xav could barely keep from crying out. He bit his bottom lip to hold it back. Tearing his eyes away and shutting them tightly he felt the inevitable swell of his traitorous cock. 

"Get off me!" he demanded in fierce whisper. 

"Make me!" Rayne nibbled his slow way up the blond boy's heaving chest. His powerful fingers clawed at Xavier's shirt, ripping at the fine material as he licked and bit a slow path, higher and higher, reaching for the softness of his lover's throat. "Make me stop if you want it so badly. If you can stop me, I'll stay." 

Xavier quivered under the not so tender assault of his lips and teeth. How he could be pissed off and turned on at the same time was beyond him. It was one of those things he didn't like to think about. Rayne's lips swept over the bite marks on his neck and Xav tried not to shudder but failed. He was hard as a rock now, and he wasn't sure if he was more pissed at Rayne or himself. 

"Don't!" He meant to snarl it but it came out more like a whimper. 

Rayne lipped almost tenderly at the sensitive points on the curve of his neck, ignoring the frail command. His fingers tightened, ripping open his lover's t-shirt recklessly and his lips curled back as he bit down hard, able to feel that Xavier was hard for it through the material of their pants. He was not alone. Rayne stiffened for him as he tasted the rush of Xav's red-hot blood. 

Xavier gasped at the electric rush. Ohhh sooo gooood… he wanted to melt. Just give up. Surrender. He swallowed hard around the lump that had risen in his throat and closed his eyes. He couldn't let Rayne do it. Not like this. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest, feel his pulse surge into Rayne's mouth and the vampire's lips moving seductively on the skin of his throat as he swallowed. He let his arms and body fall slack. No point fighting. He let the wall of anger inside crumble too, and let his mate feel all the raw, pent-up hurt and aching love he had behind it. 

The blood in Rayne's mouth, in his veins, seared like fire and he drank as if his thirst for the boy could never be quenched. It was like melting into him, feeling a door open in the fabric of everything that was Xavier - not just flesh and bone but blood and spirit, hopes and fears; everything that made him what he was. Rayne bit deep and sank into all of that. For a fleeting instant he saw the source of the fire; the heat that was consuming his lover and he knew that only one thing could cool the flames. 

He had given of his blood just once since being Turned and that was for his ex, Matty, who rarely lost an argument. This was how he had felt back then, seeing the hunger for eternity, for a lifetime of something beyond comprehension in his friend's eyes and spirit. Matty had burned with a need of his own. But Turning Matt Greening had not brought them closer together. Unlife had stripped the blinkers from Matty's eyes and made him into something else. Just as it had for Rayne.

He could not imagine Xavier without that essential spark, that fierce, bright fire that made him human. All that love, that passion that was in him, turned to something cold, calculating and essentially dark. He had known that reckless energy once himself and now it felt as alien to him as something from a dream, or a movie watched long ago and mostly forgotten. Rayne was torn between the hunger to drain Xavier and the furious, envious desire to be him. 

He opened his jaws and flung his head back with a gasp, pulling off Xav, shuddering furiously. The blood seeped in a slow, sinuous trail from the bite marks on his lover's neck, running down over Xavier's shoulder and his beautifully toned breast. The vampire licked his lips ravenously. 

"This might be selfish of me, but I want to see you as my equal, someone who can stand by my side," Rayne panted quietly. "But you're not, Xavier. As much as I might want… even long for that, you're not that creature. And I wonder... if you were the kind of animal I've become, if I would love you half as much as I do."

He sat back, covering his blood-stained mouth and chin with one hand and turning his head away so that he did not have to see the way that his lover bled for him. 

Xavier was sprawled on the couch cushions, boneless, his chest rising and falling as he lay there gasping for air that would not come. His head was spinning in confusing circles and he felt weak as a kitten. Wait… did Rayne just say he loved him? He struggled to shake off the dizziness and sat up, wanting to say something soothing, something that would make everything right, but his head was swimming and he couldn't think how to put two words together. Xavier reached for him. 

"Rayne…" 

Xav blinked twice as the vampire stood abruptly and moved away. Rayne hesitated in the doorway and his voice was husky as he murmured; "One day you'll understand and you'll thank me." 

Then he was gone and everything was spinning too fast. Xavier slid back down against the sofa cushions as spots danced insanely before his eyes. He would not have gone chasing after him, even if he'd been able to. It hurt more then anything to let the vampire go but he knew he had to. If he forced Rayne to stay now, out of pity or some sense of obligation, they would both regret it. 

Suddenly, there were gentle hands on Xavier's face and people were shouting. He could not remember seeing anyone come into the room. Xav thought he could hear Rayne yelling out in the hallway and Aldo shouting back at him, more angry than he had ever believed the handsome, placid Italian could be. And then it all went dark and stayed that way for a long time. 

~*~

Rayne splashed his face in the basin, keeping the bathroom door locked as Dom waited for the cab to arrive. Dominic Warren had been painfully loyal and it was only causing more arguments. He could hear the commotion through the solid pine of the door as he washed Xavier's blood off his face, his appetite gone. 

This had blown everything they had done together in Frisco out of the water. He had never known Aldo to get so angry. The sorrow on Paddy's face was more than he could bear. For years he had been trying to tell them what he was and now they knew it. And it was too much for any of them. 

He could hardly blame them. It was too much for him sometimes. 

He knew that Aldo would have run Dom into Naples to meet his train but he would not take Rayne, and Dominic would not go without him. That had been a part of the argument. Of course the crux of it was what he had done to Xavier. 

He could never take that back. There was no rewind button. In the heat of the moment he had opened himself, just as Xav did for him, and shown his true colours. Inevitably, the boy would hate him for it, just as his friends now did. Even Dominic, gentle Dominic who always tried to understand him, looked at him with disappointment in his moss green eyes. Rayne lifted his head and stared at his gaunt, haunted reflection in the mirror, wishing for once it was true that vampires had no reflective image. He hated the creature staring back at him. If breaking the glass could kill it he would have done so. 

A nervous tap against the door broke his glare and he pulled the plug, letting the blood-red water swirl away. 

"The car's here. I think we should go," Dominic said quietly. He did not need to shout, well aware that Rayne could hear him. "I put your bags in the boot already. Are you coming or not?"

Running a wet hand through his dishevelled hair he walked to the door and turned the lock wordlessly. Pushing past Lord Warren without a word, Rayne strode determinedly down the hallway and out of the house, without looking behind him. He got into the back of the waiting car, eyes set forward, determined not to be unmanned. A few minutes later, Dominic followed, unaccompanied. He jumped into the passenger seat, next to the driver and murmured a husky instruction in Italian. And then it was over and they were pulling away, but still he could not draw a breath. 

Dominic glanced back at him once, meeting his eyes only briefly then looking away as if it hurt to maintain the contact. 

"They called a doctor to him," he said atonally. 

"Good." Rayne could not think straight. What the hell would the doctor think? Called out in the heat of the morning to a boy with his neck punctured, bleeding out, already low on red cells. What would they tell him? Some bizarre accident with the shears!

"I don't understand," Dom said quietly, shaking his head. "What happened?"

"Shut up," Rayne told him coldly. "I don't wanna talk about it, okay? I don't ever want to talk about it."

XAVIER:

Xavier opened his eyes a mere slit and even that felt like he was lifting heavy sandbags. It was dark, he was lying in bed. His sleep-fuddled mind tried to recall how he had got there. A vision of Rayne's red stained mouth swam up out of the depths and he watched as the vampire turned away from him. 

That was right… they had argued, hadn't they? Rayne held him down and bit him, bit him 'til it hurt. They were falling… 

No! That didn't make any sense. Even if they had rolled off the couch, it wouldn't have felt like that; like falling and falling endlessly, that rollercoaster plunge, going on and on. Drowning! He'd been drowning in Rayne since they first met. A confused swirl of images played out in his head, people and places he'd never seen before, things that had happened that he knew hadn't happened to him, but felt so familiar. Fragments. It was all so fleeting, hard to grasp and hold just one thing to look at. He could feel the emotions running through those things better than he could make out details. 

Turbulent emotions; rage, pain, fear… Someone else might well have been overwhelmed, it was a lot to take on board, but Xavier was so intimately familiar with those same emotions they felt almost comfortable. 

He went to wipe his hand over his face and found that it took an enormous amount of effort to lift his arm, like he was dragging it through mud. He groaned, and the sound was loud in his head.

"Mmmmrrrrrppphhh!"

"Hey... slow down," a warm, familiar voice warned, the accent poised somewhere between the Mediterranean and back-street New Jersey. "There's no rush. Just take your time. You've been down for a couple of days so just take it slow, okay?"

Aldo's gentle hand stroked his face and Xav felt warm fingers around his wrist, steadily easing his arm back down onto the bed-covers.

Xavier moaned softly as the world around him took on more solidity. He was so thirsty, his mouth felt like a sandpit and, when he tried to move again, his body ached as if he'd been run over by a bus. God, he felt like shit! 

Aldo's words suddenly sank in. 

"A couple days? Shit!" Xavier's voice sounded like little more then a hoarse caw and he struggled to get up. Aldo immediately grasped his shoulders and gently held him down. He didn't have to try hard; Xavier was finding it difficult to muster the effort to even lift his head. A couple days… 

Without consciously thinking of it he reached out for Rayne through the blood tie. It was something of a shock to find… nothing. Even when Rayne was blocking him out he still felt something; felt 'the wall'. This was different; this was like reaching for someone's hand that was always there and finding it missing; like suddenly finding yourself… cut adrift. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 04



He had not exactly been struggling against Aldo, he didn't have the strength for that, but the tension drained out of him and he slumped back on the pillows. 

"He's gone." 

"Yeah, it's okay baby. You're safe," Aldo murmured, stroking Xavier's sweat damp hair. "Just try and take it easy. Doc reckons you're on the mend now."

A look of confusion passed over Xavier's features and then cleared. He turned his face away and closed his eyes, then thought of something and turned back. "He left with Dom, didn't he? He didn't leave alone? He was… upset."

"He's gone, that's all you need to worry about. He's not gonna give you any more grief." Aldo's tone carried a shadow of hostility for the first time since Xavier had woken up. "You know, I must be losing my edge. If you'd asked me, even a month ago, did I think he was capable of hurting anyone the way he did, I'd have said you were crazy. But now..." he shook his head with a flash of genuine sadness in his dark eyes. "It's probably better that he doesn't come back here."

Xav was not in any shape to argue with him, although he could not help the automatic bristle of defence, and almost as quickly the weight of defeat settling on him. 

"I pushed him to do it, Aldo," he said in a quietly husky tone. "I wouldn't let it be." Although, he was not exactly forgetting that Rayne wouldn't let it be either, he still believed that if he'd done a better job of controlling his emotions Rayne would never have felt so strongly compelled to make a point. Hell, if he'd had better control of his damn mouth they probably would not have had the argument to begin with. 

Thinking about Rayne made that part of him that was connected to the vampire reach out again, and once again there was that feeling of being lost; something missing. It was almost a physical pain and Xavier shuddered with it. 

Aldo was not immune to that and he reached out, putting his arms around the younger man gently. 

"Don't blame yourself, Xavier," he murmured into his guest's soft blond hair. "Rayne's always been good at pushing people away. He's never given a good god-damn about what other people feel, caro. Hell, I reckon he even manages to convince himself that we're the ones deserting him!" He shook his head bitterly. "You should get some rest, sweet-cheeks."

Xav did as he was told; not that he had much choice in the matter. Sleep pulled at him like the heavy weight of an anchor and he sank down willingly enough. He slept the rest of the night and most of the next day as well, but not as peacefully as he had before. His dreams were chaotic and disturbing. He tossed and turned restlessly and the few moments of lucid conversation he'd had with Aldo soon seemed like part of his dreaming. 

RAYNE:

To Dominic's frustration Rayne was not exactly the most communicative travel companion. He bristled with a kind of private rage all the way to the station and vanished outside to smoke from time to time, but never when Dominic needed to light up, so the older man quickly got the picture; that his company was neither needed nor tolerated. 

It was unbearable. He had known Rayne to have black moods before but never in public and never so deep that he could not be pulled back out of them. The singer's best friend, Simon, had been the one to warn him that Rayne could be this way. Simon had known him since they were boys and was the only person Rayne ever seemed to listen to. Dominic wished vehemently that he was here. 

It was almost a relief when the train pulled in and they could get their luggage on board. Dom had sent a lot of his equipment on ahead when they flew back to Italy so he was only towing a medium sized Louis Vuitton suitcase and a shoulder bag. Rayne had less than that. The singer was a past master at travelling light and only had a small holdall and a black messenger bag that seemed to contain everything essential; his cigarettes and lighter, his phone and MP3 player a toothbrush and a razor and a small notepad and pen. His sunglasses lived in the loose, windblown tangle of his hair and his wallet was in the inner breast pocket of his fitted black jacket. They were booked on the sleeper from Milan, where they had to change trains and Dominic had taken care to ensure that they had bunks for the night. With hindsight, this was a relief because all the vampire had done, for over five hours, on the way from Naples to Milano Centrale, was to stare blankly out of the window. Even after it went dark and there was nothing to see, his gaze remained fixed on a point somewhere far beyond the glass. 

The changeover was smooth enough and once on the sleeper, Rayne stowed his bags in an overhead locker in the tiny cabin and climbed up onto the top bunk where he curled up with his earphones in and shut out the world. For a few moments Dom just stared at the implacable line of his back, then shook his head and went down to the dining car to get a stiff whisky and dry. 

~*~ 

Rayne heaved a long sigh once he was alone and the train was in motion. It felt as if a part of him unlocked at last and he was able to breathe and feel again. Not that being able to feel improved his mood right now but his nerves were stretched tight from keeping everything shut down. Briefly when he lowered his defences he could feel Xavier, feel his confusion and the mingled anger and disbelief that still chased around in his mind. He bit down on his lips and closed that part of his soul away again, not ready to face it yet. If he kept reaching back for the boy he would never be able to put that part of his life behind him and move on. 

It was like coming off Heroin, you had to just stop. There was no slipping back for a little restorative. All or nothing! He dug his nails into the palms of his hands and closed his eyes, concentrating on the small pain there until the larger one subsided. It was like the threat of an earthquake, always present under the normal, ordered surface of things. It might lay dormant for years but, one day, it would erupt again if he let it. 

How the hell had he allowed this to happen to him? The one thing he had always guarded so carefully against, and it had crept up on him like a thief and chipped away at his defences until he gave in and let himself fall through and into the sweet warmth of Xavier's arms. The boy had seemed so strong on the surface and yet when you plunged deeper he showed the cracks, the weak seams where his past had broken him and the rents had been slowly mended. And in him Rayne had found a mirror, someone who showed him his reflection - or rather a reflection of the man he would have possibly been if he had ever allowed himself to love. 

Xavier could match his passions, but astoundingly the belief that he could maybe one day be loved had not been beaten out of him. And his willingness to share that love had almost destroyed his mate. 

Rayne curled up tighter, trying not to think. Thinking was just too painful right now. He could not consider anything of importance. The future was a vague, grey blur on the horizon. His life was in shreds again. He had work to be getting on with and business to put in order but he could not contemplate any of that. It felt like a life that belonged to someone else. 

When he left England he had barely known who he was or what he was about. Now he had no idea. When he opened the cupboard door a crack to find out what his emotions and instincts had to say on the subject, he was forced to slam it shut again. It was as if there was a small, scared child hiding in there and whenever he opened the door it wanted to be held and it cried incessantly until he put his hands over his ears actually believing that he could shut it out that way.

~*~ 

When Dominic came back to their sleeper cabin in the small hours of the morning, several large whiskies to the good, he was alarmed to hear a persistent whining sound coming from the darkness of the narrow chamber. He threw the light on and traced the sound to the upper bunk where Rayne was coiled in a tiny, foetal huddle, sobbing and keening ever so softly, as if he were trying to make as little noise as possible. 

Dom climbed up behind him and curled around him wordlessly, holding his desperately unhappy young friend in his arms. He rocked him gently until the fit of weeping subsided. 

"I want to get drunk," Rayne said huskily once he could speak again. His face was deathly pale and the only colour was in the red-rims of his eyes and nostrils where the blood vessels were roused by his outpouring of emotion. Even the livid green irises of his eyes were touched with redness. 

Dominic was shocked. He had never seen Rayne so overwhelmed by grief and he had been through some dark days with the singer. Rayne had a few secrets still, but not many were hidden from Dominic Warren who had practically been a substitute parent to the little vampire for so many years. 

"Is that wise?" Dom asked him solemnly. They were sitting on the lip of the lower bunk together now, Rayne having risen to wash his face and blow his nose. The vampire was hunched over with his slender forearms resting on his thighs. There was a dusting of dried blood on his hands and arms and when Dominic inspected the basin and shaving area he found traces of blood in the sink and on the single razor blade resting between the taps. 

On his companion's flesh there was no trace of the most recent cuts of course. Rayne had healed them almost flawlessly. The old scars remained though, the lines and burns that he had inflicted on his arms as a teenager and a young man. They would never vanish. It worried Dominic because the vampire was capable of healing just about any self inflicted injury. It was hard to know what he was doing to himself sometimes. Lord Warren had rather hoped that the self-abuse was an episode that he had consigned to his past but it seemed that this was just wishful thinking on his part. 

"You're not at your best with alcohol in your system, you know that," he reminded Rayne now. 

"I'm not at my best anyway," Rayne responded atonally. "I just want to get pissed, Dom. Really, really, blindingly arseholed!" 

"Can it wait until we get home?" Dominic pleaded, not keen on the idea of trying to keep him under control on a crowded train. Neither had it escaped him that in order to get so drunk, Rayne would have to find more than one feeder and get them paralytic too. He had visions of them being met at the next stop by armed police and spending the next three days in a European jail cell. 

"I just wanna shut it all out," Rayne groaned and lowered his head into his hands wearily. "I made a right mess of things didn't I?" 

"I still don't understand what happened?" Dominic exhaled, reaching out to lay a careful hand on his shoulder. When that was not repelled violently he began to massage the tight muscles of his companion's back and neck. "I thought the two of you were getting along like a house on fire." 

"We were," Rayne said in a hollow tone, refusing to look at him. He stared at his hands blankly. 

"What went wrong?" Dominic kept on stroking his neck soothingly. 

A small, shrug and a wordless grimace were his only initial response. Rayne shook his head slowly. 

"I should have walked away right at the start," he croaked desolately at last. "You were right. I shouldn't have kept taking from him like that, it was asking for trouble." 

"But now that you've gone and broken all the rules, is it fair to abandon him this way?" Dominic persisted, still bewildered by the turn of events since they had come to Italy. "He needs you now." 

"He'll break the habit," Rayne said almost dismissively. "He's got to. It's the only way out." 

"You believe that?" the older man whispered sadly. 

"I know that." 

Rayne closed his eyes for a moment. He winced again, hurting inside. When his eyes were closed he saw Xavier, lying curled up on the bed, struggling to keep his tears in check. Although he did not know for a fact that the boy was brooding that way, he could feel the pain inside his lover whenever he looked inward. The sense of loneliness was like a hot knife in his chest. 

"And what if he can't?" Dominic asked, a harder edge to his tone. "What if it's one indignity too many? What if he did something terrible? How would you feel then?" 

"He's not gonna do anything like that. Xav's tougher than any of you give him credit for." Rayne looked resentfully at him. "You didn't slit your wrists when your Vampire Dreamboat topped himself, did you?" 

Dominic's hand froze for a moment on the nape of his neck then moved away. For a moment the older man was utterly still; totally silent. Rayne almost wanted to take the words back. Dom had faithfully kept Rayne's secrets and in return for that confidence he had confessed his own lost love for a handsome Scots bloodsucker named Cameron Eldridge, who had been the common law husband of his late High Priestess. Cam had followed his wife to the grave, leaving poor Dominic behind to pick up the pieces. Maybe, like so many of those long since Turned, he had never really understood how much Dominic loved him and relied on him. It felt wrong to throw Cameron's ultimate snub back in Dominic's face now, but Rayne could not take the words back no matter how much he might long to.

"I'm sorry..." he breathed, seeing the sudden parallel with his own story and Xavier's, but Dom was on his feet now, gesturing towards the door. 

"I want to get some sleep," the older man said atonally. "Go and get fucking drunk if that's what you really want. Frankly, darling, I don't see why I should give a damn!" 

The vampire stopped by the door, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to... I'm sorry Dominic. I'm just..." 

"Stupid! That's what you fucking well are! Stupid and arrogant, and completely fucking self centred!" Dominic retaliated, turning on him with more vehemence than Rayne had ever seen in the normally placid and affable man. "When the hell are you gonna stop feeling sorry for yourself, Rayne Wylde and notice that there's a great big fucking world out there that doesn't give a good god-damn! It's there on a plate for you. It always was, but you have to be the beggar at the feast, don't you? That boy has been so fucking brave for you and all the while it's there in his eyes; he's too damned scared to show you how he feels because he knows that if he does he'll lose you. It would serve you right if he went back to Frisco and threw himself on Elian's mercy. And Elian would take him like that!" 

Dominic snapped his fingers under Rayne's nose, making the young vampire step back from him involuntarily. Rayne's pale eyes narrowed angrily though. 

"I'm not like Elian Iannopoulos!" he growled bitterly. "I don't believe that human beings are just fodder; toys for us to play with. I thought that you understood that, of all people!" 

"Oh I understand it." Dominic pointed a quivering finger at him. "You have a soul! You suffer! And we all suffer with you!" He turned away, slumping miserably and sitting down heavily on the edge of the bunk. Rayne came back towards him but he held a hand up, palm facing the vampire, fingers outstretched in a gesture of denial. "No... leave it. Just go. Do whatever it is that you need to do to get him out of your system but don't expect me to be sympathetic, Rayne. I can't do that right now." 

For a moment Rayne was silent, then he grabbed his bags and turned on his heel and the door banged shut behind him. It was the last Dominic was to see of him. Around breakfast time the train pulled into Paris Bercy but there was no trace of the vampire either in their cabin, on the train, or out on the platform. He had taken Lord Warren's advice it seemed, for he was gone like he had never existed.

XAVIER:

The doctor returned to check on Xavier and was puzzled by his condition. The fever had broken some time during the day, and yet he still seemed in the clutches of a raging delirium and, at times, wracked with pain.

Xavier lay on his side huddled in a ball, eyes closed, though he could hear the doctor talking quietly with Aldo. He failed to understand most of what they said, but he was surprised that he picked out a few words and it seemed like he could almost follow some parts of the conversation. Not that he wanted to. He wished they would just leave him alone. He was suffering just fine on his own, thanks. 

He picked up on a word that was too close to its English translation for him not to guess. Narcotici… the doctor was saying to Aldo, with a lift at the end of the sentence that made it sound like a question. 

"Tell him I'm not a junkie, Aldo," Xavier said flatly, his voice still sounding raw. He didn't bother turning or even opening his eyes. "I'm not going through withdrawal." 

There was a pause in the conversation, and then Aldo said something in a soft, low voice. There was a little more to the exchange and then the doctor left. Xavier slipped back down into troubled sleep. 

He dreamed. There was movement, countryside slipping by outside a dark window. He felt a little sick and closed his eyes, resting his forehead on the cool glass. He sighed and opened them again. In the reflection of the glass he saw a ghostly figure standing behind him and with a cold start he realised it was himself, standing in the tatters of a ripped shirt with bright scarlet rivulets of blood running down from the wounds at his throat. His face was tear streaked and heartbroken, but at the same time accusatory. He turned his head quickly away from the window to look behind him and everything was plunged into darkness. 

Xavier startled awake, and bolted upright on the bed, not sure if he'd screamed aloud or only in his head. Panting hard, he was shaking like he'd seen a ghost. When the bedroom door creaked open softly it was Paddy, not Aldo, who came to him, putting strong arms around him at once. 

"It's okay, baby boy. Just a nightmare," he soothed huskily. "C'mon. Lay down 'n let me hold you for a little while, huh?"

Xavier shuddered again, he could feel his own pulse leaping in his throat. As the fear faded the slow thudding of the blood in his veins felt like a dull ache, sending shards of hurt all through him. His breath hitched once and he slumped in PJ's arms, struggling not to give in to the sob that wanted out. He let the older man hold him and was even comforted a little by the hands that smoothed soothingly over his back. 

"I hope he's fuckin' miserable." Xav murmured venomously, neither he nor PJ believing for a moment that he meant it. 

"He deserves it, baby," Paddy murmured, kissing the back of his neck tenderly. "But you don't. What can we do to try and cheer you up, honey? Take your mind off of him?"

He wrapped Xavier in his comforting warmth, snuggling up to the blond affectionately and keeping his hands moving gently over Xav's bare skin. His caresses were careful and neutral though, not the actions of a man looking for sexual intimacy. For a man who had spent his life making highly charged sexual movies, PJ really knew how to touch a body when the intent was simply to console. And for such a big guy, his hands were remarkably gentle.

"Nothing, PJ," Xavier whispered disconsolately. "I'll be fine," he added softly. He'd picked himself up and dusted himself off from far more horrible situations. He might be hurting now, but he would sort it out eventually, he was hard enough inside to know that. Even with a broken heart and missing his lover something terrible he knew he had to get up and get his act together sooner or later. What nagged at him though was the craving. 

He missed Rayne, missed his touch, missed his kisses… missed his bite. He knew something else too, he yearned for Rayne on an emotional level, but his longing for the vampire's bite was both emotional and physical. His body ached, every beat of his heart seemed to throb heavily in his veins. In some of his dreams he begged Rayne to bite him, to please make the pain go away. He had not exactly been truthful when he'd instructed Aldo to tell the doc he was not going through withdrawal. It was just a type of withdrawal he could never have explained. He kept grasping for a connection that wasn't there anymore. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 04



He sniffed and cuddled to PJ's side. Tomorrow he'd get up and start making plans. Tomorrow would be soon enough. Right now he'd settle for letting PJ coddle him. 

"I miss him. I hope he's alright."

Paddy's breath was warm against his scalp, stirring his golden curls gently. 

"Yeah," he murmured huskily. "Me too. But Rayne Wylde can look after himself. You're my biggest worry now, honey."

Xav turned his head to look up at him. "Why? You don't have to worry about me, you know. I mean, I don't want to be anyone's problem to worry about."

"I know, honey." PJ bent his head to kiss the boy's nose tenderly. "But I like to have someone to take care of. It makes me feel useful. And if you're feeling down and scared and you don't know what to do next, then it's good that you have someone to look out for you, isn't it? Isn't that better than being alone after all you've been through? Or are you so determined to be like him that you'll push us all away too?"

He stroked Xavier's hair with gentle fingers and smiled fondly at him.

"I'm not like that!" Xav protested. His expression softened after a moment or two and he added, "It's just, I've been on my own since I was fifteen. I'm used to taking care of myself." He paused again and put his head back down on PJ's chest. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll let you take care of me for a little while."

"Hey," PJ murmured, shaking his head sadly. "Make it all about me, why don'tcha! I know you're a smart guy, Xavier. I know you can look after yourself, but just because we get used to a thing, does that make it good? I took care of myself and my little brother from the age of 12 but it was hard and I was scared and lonely every damned day. I don't wanna rob you of your independence but I think it would be good for you to let yourself be loved a little right now. I'm glad that you're not gonna run, honey."

He snuggled up to Xavier again, holding the blond lad close and kissing his neck and cheek gently.

With that seemingly settled, it wasn't too much longer before Xavier fell back into a deeper sleep. He did seem to rest a little easier with PJ's solid, warm bulk next to him than he had by himself. At least, the dreams he had were not horrible enough to wake him this time.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

To Be Continued…

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2009



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 05



REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

By Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn

© 2010 

Happy New Year, dear readers. We've had a little break, but rest assured we've been busy writing in spite of the brief hiatus in the publication of this story. What are we to do with our traumatic lovers? Both denying the one thing that will bring them happiness. Only time will tell. Read on...

(PS> the usual warnings apply, boys fucking boys, lots of angst and a little bit of bondage. If you don't like it, don't read it. And certainly don't 'ahem' borrow it! That's not polite. Slap)

CHAPTER FIVE

EN PARIS:

Rayne was still seething quietly as he rode the Metro into the 4th arrondissement, heading for a hotel he had used once or twice before when the band were on tour. It was comfortable but low key and the privacy of their guests was always paramount. He needed that right now. 

Maybe it had been a bit cold of him to walk out on Dominic after everything the old man had tried to do for him but he was not in the mood for compromise and last night had pushed him over the edge. Perhaps it was just the proof he had been waiting for that he was not supposed to get involved with mortals. Emotional entanglements spelled trouble no matter how you looked at them. He could not understand why Lord Warren was so hung up on vampires. Couldn't the stupid old bastard see that he was always going to get hurt in the end?

As he walked through the busy streets of St.Paul le Marais, his mind wandered. Before he knew what he was doing he was following a lean, fair-haired youth that turned off into a narrow passageway between the shops and cafes of rue St. Paul. Lean hips swung sexily in tight, dark red jeans, his firm, high buttocks presenting a tempting vision under the hem of the short, black jacket. Rayne's mouth watered and instinct sent him after the young man though the route deviated from his own. They were alone and not overlooked in this shadowy alleyway and it would be so easy... Rayne stopped for a moment and shook his head fiercely. He fought the hunger, only belatedly realising what had sent him this way. 

When the boy reached the end of the passage and stepped out into the sudden startling pool of light he halted briefly too and glanced behind him as if conscious that he was being followed. Rayne stared, abruptly ashamed of himself and angry as well for letting himself get so lost in thought that he obeyed the thirst for blood without question. 

To his surprise the young man came back towards him and Rayne's eyes widened as his quarry approached, not afraid and definitely interested now that he could see his pursuer more clearly. Rayne took a step back, shaking his head again, fighting the hunger with every last ounce of will. It would have been all too easy to take what this boy's open, innocent features offered; all of that and more. But he had no right to it. He no longer deserved any of it. 

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't be here," he muttered, turning at once and running back the way he had come, leaving the boy looking bewildered and bemused.


He holed up in the Hôtel Turenne Le Marais, in a suite on the 4th floor with a balcony where he could smoke without setting off the fire alarms. It still pissed him off that now he was able to inhale nicotine to his heart's content, these days it was considered a step away from child molesting to do so, just about everywhere! Even in France where most people were surgically attached to their cigarette packets, it seemed that the habit was frowned upon. He hung over the balcony railing and watched the traffic and the swirl of humanity down on the street below as he inhaled his way through half the pack of Marlboros he had bought at the station. It was a way of closing down his mind, switching his head into neutral for a while. 

He had already left instructions with the pretty black girl on reception that he was not to be disturbed, at all, for anything. Once done with his nicotine fuelled wind-down, he returned to the bedroom and flopped down on the bed where he closed his eyes and let unconsciousness take him. It was considered dangerous to crash out in a public place. If one of the maids came in and found him there was always the worry that he would be carted off to the morgue before he came round, but right now that was the least of Rayne's concerns. He just wanted to blank the memories out for a little while. Maybe when he came to his senses he would be able to think straight. 

But when he closed his eyes he saw Xavier, still, staring up at him with tearful defiance in his beautiful, open blue gaze. 

Rayne groaned and pushed himself up and off the bed. In the bathroom he hunted out his shaving kit and sank down on the cool white tiles of the floor to extract his trusty razor blade. He emptied the bag onto the floor and sorted the contents into piles to no avail. It was about then that he remembered he had left the blade on the wash stand in their compartment on the train. 

Folding his arms across his knees he let his head drop down onto them with a long, low, desperate groan of frustration. 

The shower was his port of last resort and he stripped quickly, discarding his well-worn clothing on the bathroom floor. He turned the water on full blast sliding his naked body under the curtain of steaming liquid heat and letting it batter on his head and shoulders, blasting some of the tension out of him as it did so. Running soapy hands over his torso and belly he could not fight the powerful memories the action invoked; a physical recall of Xavier's lean, warm, sexy body easing back up against him, his skin and his blood smelling so hot and delicious that his mouth watered. He leaned against the wall of the cubicle with a hungry moan of need and rubbed himself up against the cool, smooth tiles trying to push away the fantasy that haunted him. 

He was so hard. The memory was so close, so real. Xavier was turning in his arms, reaching up for him, tangling around him, their mouths sparring hungrily. His fingers pressed into that enticing heat and he turned his lover to face the wall again, driving into him relentlessly.

Rayne's long fingers closed around his throbbing cock and began to pump vigorously up and down the wet, silken shaft, feeling the loose flesh slide seductively over sensitive muscles and nerves. But it was Xavier who surrounded him, Xavier's hot flesh he drove his fangs into, not the meat of his own cold, scarred forearm, as he teased the explosion from his own swollen glans, blasting the tiles with his creamy spill.

XAVIER:

Xavier woke from a dark dream, with vague suggestions in his head still of unfamiliar twisting, turning, shadowy streets and decided it was finally time to get out of bed. PJ was asleep beside him, a long, warm bulk of comfort, and he carefully slid out without disturbing the older man. It surprised him how weak he still felt. His legs were like shaky stilts that only just carried him into the bathroom. 

A glance in the mirror was another shock. In the last few feverish days he'd dropped a bit of weight and his face was almost gaunt. Dark shadows were smudged under his eyes, and his hair had become an unkempt tangle. He hadn't looked this rough since he finally decided he needed to get off the junk, before it killed him. 

Turning away from his reflection, he went to the shower and adjusted the water temperature to just shy of scalding before stepping under the spray. As he squeezed shampoo into his hair, he ruefully thought that this was probably one of only a handful of showers he'd taken alone since they'd arrived here.

He could almost feel Rayne's cool fingers gliding up his sides; the touch of soft, cold lips at the nape of his neck; the way their bodies slipped together in the soapy wetness... Stop it, he admonished himself firmly. Xavier turned under the spray of deliciously hot water and deliberately shut off his thoughts. 

The shower did revive him a little. He still felt lethargic and weak, but his stomach was rumbling, demanding he find something to fill it. That had to be a good sign. If he'd eaten anything while he was out of it, he didn't really remember. Only a vague flash came to him of a cup with some kind of soup being held to his lips. Dried off, he went back to the bedroom to find some clothes. PJ was missing from the bed and Xavier figured he must have heard him in the shower and gone back to his own room or to use another bathroom. 

After burning up with fever for the last few days, he was actually kind of cold, even though the warmth outside was promising to turn into sweltering heat before the afternoon. Xav didn't have much in the way of clothes with him. They hadn't seemed altogether necessary here when he'd spent so much of his time in a swimsuit, jeans, or nothing. 

He pulled a pair of jeans on and found a single sweater he thought he remembered borrowing from Clay or Aldo one chilly night that hadn't yet found its way back to its owner. Even with the sleeves rolled back he drowned in it, looking like a kid that had raided his dad's wardrobe. But at least he was warm. 

Thus attired, he slipped out and following his nose, made his way to the kitchen, where he could hear the morning stirrings of the household and smell something good being cooked up. A little smile came to his lips at the now familiar domestic scene; PJ and Aldo dividing up the paper, Clay at the coffee pot working on his morning caffeine fix, and Chavez in front of the range working on the griddle. 

"What's cookin'?" he asked the handsome Mexican lad. "I'm starving." 

"Hey!" Chavez almost dropped the flipper in his hurry to throw his arms around Xav. "The real Xavier is back! Muy gracia!"

He planted a big kiss on Xavier's cheek and ushered him to a seat in the sunshine, much to the amusement of the older guys. Clay produced coffee and orange juice and set the mug and the tall, beaded glass in front of him with a smile, as Chavez was reeling off the seemingly endless list of things he could cook for Xav's delectation. 

"Looking good," PJ remarked, smiling warmly at him over the top of his newspaper. "Now the holidays can begin!"

"Are you cold, babe?" Aldo asked playfully, noting the sweater with a grin of his own. He was clad in little more than a short, black and gold sarong and a pair of designer shades, which perched on top of his head, nesting in his immaculate black hair. 

"A little," Xav answered, reaching for the glass of orange juice and feeling a bit self-conscious from all the attention. In what seemed like only moments, Chavez had a pile of food in front of him that he normally would have ploughed through without a second thought, but he found that he wasn't exactly up to his usual gluttonous standard. 

"You want something else instead, chico?" Chavez asked, looking worried. 

Xavier shook his head and held up his hand. "No, everything tastes good. I just can't eat that much right now." 

"You only took a couple bites, you're gonna disappear if you don't eat." 

Xav rolled his eyes but he took another bite to appease the martyred Chavez. He picked up a corner of toast and spread jam on it. 

"I'll gain the weight back, but not in one day, okay?" he said, although his tone was more exasperated than peevish.

"How are you gonna have the energy for fun if you don't eat?" Chavez sat down across the table from him and looked up at him with a puppyish smile. "C'mon, try for me. I'll take it personal if you leave food on your plate."

"Leave him be, chicalito," Paddy murmured low. "He's on vacation, he wants to chill out."

"Do you fancy getting out of the house today or just chilling on the terrace?" Aldo asked Xavier to deflect the possibility of an argument. He had a grin on his face that suggested he had already turned over a few ideas for day trips.

The desire to go sleep in the sun, or even crawl back into bed tugged at Xav and contrariness set in. He licked strawberry jam from his fingertips. "Where do you want to go?" 

"I thought you might like to head into the city, do a little shopping and have some lunch, maybe?" Aldo suggested amiably. He was watching the way that Xavier sucked his fingers though and his eyes said that crawling back into bed was also an option for him. 

"Okay." Xav nodded agreeably, missing the look entirely. 

Either PJ's talk with him the night before had sunk in, or he was just feeling that much better because it was the first time he hadn't bristled at least a little when anyone suggested giving him anything other than the basics of food and shelter. It did not go unnoticed, although no one was unwise enough to darken his mood by pointing it out. 

Within half an hour they were on the road in Aldo's Ferrari with the top down, sun shining and the sea breeze blowing in their hair. Xav was quiet, but Aldo didn't seem to have any trouble filling in the blank spots with idle chatter, mostly about cars. Xav had wondered when they first arrived if his friend wasn't having some kind of identity crisis, given the expensive hunks of metal that populated his front drive. He'd since abandoned that idea after listening to Aldo and Dominic go on for what seemed like hours on end about all things auto-related. He began to realise it wasn't so much that Aldo wanted the flashiest status symbol (not completely anyway) but that he really, really loved the power, speed, and performance of a well made (and expensive) automobile. 

Xavier's indifference was a bit baffling to the Italian, but at least he was smart enough to change the subject when Xav's eyes started glazing over. 

"So you lived in San Francisco your whole life?" The question pulled Xavier out of the semi-trance he was dropping into with all the car talk. 

"Not my whole life, no," he replied, then reminded himself that he could actually offer more information than simply answering a direct question. At least he hadn't evaded it entirely. Old habits died hard though. "I grew up in Long Beach, on the coast by L.A. I moved to San Fran when I was fifteen." 

"On your own?" 

Xavier glanced over at him, wondering if he was just curious or if he was digging for something. "Yeah." 

"I left my family around the same age," Aldo volunteered, shaking his head a little as if the idea of it perplexed him now. "I thought it would be a big adventure. I guess I was right, I just didn't realise how big until later on."

Xavier propped his chin on his hand, resting his elbow of the edge of the door. He hadn't left his family. His mother had died of an overdose and he'd never known his father. He'd run from a foster family, or to be more specific their son, who'd made his young life a misery. He didn't want to go into all that though, so he turned the tables. "Why'd you leave?"

Aldo laughed quietly, an odd little sound that Xavier might have said was nervous if he could imagine that the handsome Italian was prey to such a failing. 

"Ah you know..." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders expressively. "I was the youngest boy in a big, big family. All my brothers, father, uncles were big, strapping men's men, bigger even than me. I knew from being very small that I liked men, and not in the way that my brothers do... you know, to talk of football and women." He laughed again, shaking his head. "I think that my father would not appreciate having a son who has no faith in god and likes to fuck with men, so I ran away from home and I went to Napoli. I figured that there I would become famous, you know, maybe be spotted as a model or a movie star."

He managed another little shake of his head, as if to acknowledge his own naivety. 

"I was little more than a child. You were not so foolish I guess? You seem like a smart guy."

Now Xavier laughed. "I grew up just outside of L.A. Everyone there is waiting for their big break. Everyone you meet has a current head shot and goes to every open casting call and wants to tell you all about the shitty movie they were in as an extra. That's what I was running away from." He was quiet for a moment, tilting his head back on the seat; bright sunshine washing over his upturned face. "I wasn't that smart though. I got in a lot of trouble, did some really stupid things. You get smart quick though, or end up in a box quicker." 

Aldo turned his head and his dark eyes were briefly serious before they returned to the road. 

"Tell me about it," the Italian sighed. "I was snapped up in Napoli by a guy I thought would help me to get famous. Well, he got my face in magazines for sure... but not the kind of glossies I was thinking of, you know? I was lucky, I met a nicer fellow while I was on a shoot that got me away from him. Looked after me. A proper father figure. Without Arturo, I guess I would probably be dead by now. We all make mistakes, Xavier."

He glanced across again, smiling ruefully at his companion.

"Some bigger than others," Xavier added cynically. He wished now that Aldo hadn't asked him about anything. Thinking of that time always made him think of Josh, and how things had been when they first got together. How Josh always made it seem like it was the two of them against the world. Some of it had been good, some of it had been so sweet, and then things had gotten really, really bad. 

He stopped himself before he got any further. Thinking of Josh was never a good thing. Again he turned the questions to Aldo to distract attention from himself. "When did you meet PJ?"

This time the laugh was less self-conscious. Aldo sighed a little and leaned his elbow against the window ledge, steering casually, one-handed as he pushed his wind-blown hair out of his eyes. 

"That was much later," he responded with a smile that said he had never regretted it. "I had been working for Artie, my agent for a couple of years. He was the one who took me to New York. I had never left Italy until then, not even gone more than twenty miles from my home. Arturo took me half way across the world to shoot pictures for a magazine. I met Paddy at the studio and, like, my eyes were nearly falling out my head. He was really famous, you know. Back then he was still appearing in porn movies and everyone knew one thing about him, you know!"

Aldo chuckled at the memory. His expression was boyishly mischievous as he looked across at Xavier.

"Well, yeah. It's kind of hard to miss those big blue eyes of his," Xavier said deadpan.

Aldo chuckled some more, clearly appreciating his companion's dry humour. 

"I played it cool with him, of course," he said airily, swinging the Spider around a hairpin bend with barely a dip on the speedo. Beyond the tarmac line the cliffs dropped away sheer to the rolling blue of the Mediterranean. "I think he was impressed. He sure wanted to see more."

"You've stayed friends a long time though," Xavier observed. "He must have liked more then just your cute ass."

"He liked that plenty!" Aldo laughed wickedly. "Brought tears to my eyes every time! He's more than just a director though, PJ takes an interest in the guys that he likes. I don't mean, like you think I mean either. He's always looked out for me. Even after I pissed him off massively, he still forgave me in the end."

His expression sobered slightly and he tapped on the steering wheel with restless fingers, his dark eyes flickering from the road to Xavier and back again. Xavier knew that sudden closed off look meant he'd stumbled in a direction he hadn't meant to go, and that Aldo was hoping he wouldn't question it, but Xavier was curious. The worst he could do was to tell him to mind his own business. 

"What did you do to piss him off?" He couldn't imagine what the easy going Italian might have done to rile PJ, they both seemed so laid back. 

A little shrug seemed for a moment like it would be his only answer, then Aldo said; "It was a long time ago. I was a little older than you and I... I guess I lost my head someways. We had a disagreement over something that I'd done and he didn't speak to me for a couple of years. That's all. It wasn't like a screaming row, he was cool about it, but he was just like; 'when you've calmed down we'll talk about it' and I guess I wasn't calmed down enough for a long time." 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 05



Xavier nodded, and looked like he was about to ask something more, but stopped before he did. There was a tense set to Aldo's shoulders and the line of his jaw was tighter than it had been. Whatever it was, he really didn't want to talk about it and Xav could understand that very well.

Aldo shook his head, impatient with the slowness of the traffic, and turned off into a quieter side street. They were coming into the city proper now and the roads were all suddenly thronged with cars and bikes and people. Quite a few of them looked more than twice at the Spider, and the two hot guys sitting in it. 

After finding what Aldo considered a secure enough spot to park the car they got out and Xavier followed him down a winding concourse of interesting little shops and vendors selling both quality and dubious items side by side. There was nothing quite as good as having a local to guide you to the best places though. Browsing though a seemingly endless array of items and curios was kind of fun for a while but it wasn't something Xav did often. He wasn't a big collector of shiny fluff or things to feather the nest. Hell, at the moment he didn't even have a nest to feather!

They headed up another street lined with a range of high-end clothing boutiques. Everything from designer suits and perfumes to bags, shoes and jewellery. Xavier perked right up. For someone that made a living taking his clothes off, he had an inordinate amount of interest in finery. He zeroed in on the Armani, Versace, and Gucci stores like a homing pigeon returning to roost. 

His guide seemed to share his enthusiasm. Thus far into his holiday Xavier had only seen Aldo fully dressed twice, not counting today, but his wardrobe certainly wasn't thrift shop chic. Today it was casual, but still somehow well tailored and eye catching, in light shades and cool linens with expensive looking shoes to match. It set off his Mediterranean colouring to perfection, something that Aldo seemed more than aware of. 

Aldo was also fairly well known in Naples, going off the number of people who caught his eye and said hi, asked for photos or an autograph, or called out to him in ribald Italian. Quite a few of them hailed him; "Hey! Danico!" and he smiled at that as if it was an embarrassment, but one that he tolerated nonetheless. 

"Danico?" Xav questioned.

"It's a joke," Aldo said casually, looking as though he would gloss over this too, except he could see the question still lingering in Xavier's big blue eyes. He heaved a sigh and tried to explain. "It is like... uhh... you know, Danica Patrick, she is a beautiful girl racing driver in the USA? And you know the magazines, they like, take her picture in bikinis and shorts and lying on cars like in a porn shoot. When I was first driving I was also still modelling a bit and I was on the covers of magazines, posing with cars and stuff... you know. And other drivers, you know they are jealous because I am a good looking guy and I beat them too much!" He laughed huskily, playing with his car keys in a distracted way that told Xavier straight off that he wasn't as self-assured as he often played it. "So they start to call me 'Danico'... making fun, you know. But then they also figure that I win quite a few races so maybe they don't call me that so much now."

His wide, white grin showed the reason why photographers were still so keen to get him on magazine covers though. Xavier shook his head with a rueful little chuckle. "It's fun to tease the pretty boy until he starts beating the pants off of you. Typical." 

They moved on to another shop. Xav was looking though the racks and Aldo commented on a few things, noting that Xavier wasn't picking anything out. Xav shrugged. He supposed he was still a little reluctant to actually let anyone spend money on him. Aldo finally picked something up that Xav had admired and put back. 

"You want to try it on maybe?" 

Xav took the shirt being held out to him, and that seemed to break a barrier. He soon had an armful of items that either Aldo pushed at him or he selected. At the back of the store was a dressing room area, Xav didn't think twice about Aldo following him back. He had a good eye and Xav was just as happy with some of the things he'd picked out as he was his own choices. He even let himself enjoy the indulgent mood as he changed outfits and showed them off for Aldo's critique. 

His companion affably manoeuvred him into a sleek, body hugging vest shirt and low cut pants in a dark, shimmering material that showed off a considerable amount of tanned, toned waistline. Aldo's smile said that the outfit had quite an effect. 

"Have you ever modelled?" he asked now, sitting back on the bench in the changing cubicles and watching Xav strut his stuff in the clinging garments. "You would be very good, I think."

A funny little look passed over Xavier's features. "Not the kind of modelling that you're gonna find in any magazine that's legal to buy," he admitted. 

He saw Aldo's curious expression in the mirror over his shoulder. Xavier licked his lips and gave a little one shouldered shrug. "I was under age, and they knew it. Looked younger than I was then too. It was geared toward...a particular clientele."

Aldo's smile faded slightly. He shook his head again, murmuring something under his breath in his own tongue then adding; "Perhaps it is not so strange that you should come to us then." 

Xavier didn't comment on that. All this talking today with Aldo had made it suddenly occur to him that in some ways he'd fallen out of the habit of conversation entirely, more than just his usual avoidance of talking about himself. It hadn't been necessary, it hadn't felt necessary, to go though the normal getting-to-know-you phase of a relationship with Rayne. It seemed like the moment Ray bit him, for the first time, in San Francisco, the connection they had was enough to make words almost superfluous. 

Thinking of Rayne, he invariably felt a painful tug of longing. That place inside where he usually felt his lover's presence was like a raw wound every time he touched it. 

"Xavier?" 

He looked up into the mirror again, seeing Aldo, and realised that the Italian had called his name more than once. 

"Sorry," he mumbled, and put on a smile that felt more than a little forced. Xav did it anyway. He turned around and shimmied out of the outfit he had on. 

"Are you okay?" Aldo asked, rather more solicitously. "Not tired, or anything?"

He pressed a smile into service, clearly aware of what might well be on Xavier's mind. 

"Yeah, I'm ok," Xav reassured him. He stood in a very tiny pair of black, micro briefs examining a clingy shirt so deeply green that it was almost black. It would look fantastic with his eyes. He noticed that Aldo's gaze was definitely more fixed on him than the clothing now. A smile, a little more genuine, curled one corner of his mouth. "Why? Are you tired?" 

Aldo's dark eyes roamed contemplatively over the almost unbroken line of Xavier's sculpted body. The small, dark undergarment kind of focussed the eye on a pert part of his delicious anatomy and he pushed away from the wall now, reaching out to touch the delicate fabric of the green shirt. 

"Beautiful," he murmured. "How could I possibly be tired?" 

He was touching the flowing spill of verdant fabric but his eyes were looking anywhere but at the shirt as he spoke. Now the fingers of one hand traced the cloth to its limit and moved steadily beyond the hem and up onto Xavier's lean, tanned forearm, tracing slow circles on his skin.

Xavier watched the caressing hand glide over his skin, a pleasant little prickle of heat spreading there. He looked up and Aldo had leaned close, close enough that he could feel the warmth of him all down his front; close enough that his eyes were automatically drawn to the lush mouth, only inches from his own now. He let his thoughts go to autopilot and leaned into the solid body standing in front of him so enticingly. His hands crept up Aldo's hard packed chest and slid to the back of his neck, drawing him down a little so that he could press his lips with a warm kiss. 

Aldo surrendered to the hot surge of pleasure that rushed his system as Xav pulled him into that kiss. Of course, he wanted to make Xavier feel better and take his mind off missing Rayne but a small, selfish part of him also wanted the gorgeous blond boy to give him some pleasure too. It was certainly no hardship for Aldo, who had grown fond of Xavier over the past few weeks. 

His hands meandered slowly up and down Xavier's naked back as their lips met and merged a little more intensely. The green shirt fell to the floor, unregarded, as Xavier's hands slid around the back of Aldo's neck. The older man's strong arms encircled Xavier's torso, pulling their bodies together firmly. 

Xavier slid his fingers into Aldo's soft dark hair, his tongue doing a slow undulation against the roof of Aldo's mouth as he rubbed against him intimately. He let himself get caught up in the pleasure of the kiss and everything else dropped away. Unconsciously, Xavier slid the tip of his tongue back a bit, looking for a sharply descended dogtooth and only nudging a normal sized one. Almost angrily he pushed back in to tease along Aldo's tongue, his hands sliding down the Italian's strong, broad back and around his waist, to the button of his pants.

Aldo tilted his head so that the contact between their lips was briefly feather-light. He exhaled rapidly, making a small, acquiescent sound in the back of his throat as Xavier's hand touched his stiffening cock through the light summer material of his trousers. Then one hand was in Xavier's hair, tugging the younger man's lips roughly onto his again.

A soft moan rose to Xavier's throat as Aldo's fingers roamed through his hair and that hot tongue stabbed into his mouth. His hand pressed over the thickening bulge in the front of Aldo's trousers, nimble fingers slid the button free and got the zipper down letting the light material cascade down his legs. A little tug pulled his underwear down as well and Xav's hand wrapped gently around the heavy shaft that he'd freed. 

Another little moan lifted from Xavier as his fingers stroked along soft skin. He broke the kiss so he could sink down to his knees, his mouth watering for a taste. The scent of warm flesh and heady male arousal filled his mouth and nose and sent sparks of desire shooting through him. Slowly he kissed and licked his way up Aldo's impressive length, in no particular hurry. His eyes slid closed as his soft mouth caressed over the head of Aldo's magnificent cock and opened to take him inside. 

Aldo let his head fall back and his lips parted around a long, shuddering gasp, exhaled all too quickly as Xavier got to work on him. The caress of the blond man's warm, wet lips on his rising sex sent little tremors of desire quivering through him as his swelling prick responded to the stroke of Xav's gentle tongue and the sweet, seductive suction of his mouth. It took every last ounce of control not to groan aloud as the gorgeous American youth began to give him incredible head.

No wonder Wylde looked so fucking pleased with himself of late, Aldo thought fleetingly. But the thought was quickly driven away by slow, wet heat of Xavier's mouth, sinking down on his shaft, taking him deeper.

The thick cock butting up against the back of his throat muffled the small needy little sounds of pleasure Xavier made. One hand gently rolled and fondled the heavy, hairless balls between Aldo's firm, copper thighs while the other caressed and kneaded one taut cheek of his buttocks. 

Xavier's mouth watered with copious amounts of hot saliva, slicking Aldo up and making it easier to take him. Xav slid his mouth slowly down further, a little at a time, tilting his head back a bit so he could let his well-endowed friend push past the ring of his throat. His eyes were still closed, long lashes dark against his creamy golden cheeks giving him a blissfully angelic look as his soft lips worked all the way down to Aldo's base.

"Fuck! Ohhh fuck, yeah!" Aldo whispered huskily.

The handsome Italian stroked his fingers through Xavier's hair, tugging on it as he rode the blond boy's mouth. He was looking anywhere but at Xavier's cherubic features as he thrust between the boy's soft lips, enjoying the blissful tightness of his throat around that plump, purple cock head. Years of fucking hot young twinks on camera had taught him control but if he looked at Xav now he would come in the younger man's mouth, and he wanted more than that. 

"Ahhhh... caro, that's good!" he exhaled ever so softly. "You are so fuckin' sexy. I wanna fuck your hot little ass hard."

The fierce sparks inside Xav ignited into flames as desire pooled in his middle. He ran a hand down his body to squeeze and rub the erection straining in the confines of his own tiny briefs for a few moments as he continued to nod up and down on Aldo's hard prick. He finally released Aldo with a wet slurp and a panting sigh before he rose to his feet again, sliding the lycra shorts down his narrow hips and shooting Aldo a sultry look as he disrobed completely.

"Oh, you are something else!" Aldo whispered; a huge smile on his face as his hands came to rest on Xavier's slim hips and he turned the blond to face the cubicle wall. 

Going down on one knee behind the younger man he spread Xavier's cheeks with his warm, strong hands and touched his lips and tongue into the deep cleft between them. Slowly he drew a long, wet line almost from Xavier's balls to the base of his spine with the tip of his searching tongue. Xavier spread his legs accommodatingly, trying to keep his soft groan of pleasure as quiet as Aldo had kept his little sighs. Being ill these last few day had put a damper on his libido, but it came back now with a rush of heat and lust. With one arm braced against the wall Xav turned his face to muffle the next little sound of excitement that came to his lips. His other hand slid down his torso to stroke and caress lightly along his aching, hard cock as Aldo's long agile tongue did wonderful things to him. 

That skilful tongue returned to tease the tight pucker of flesh around his asshole and Aldo blew on the damp skin there, making him twitch and flutter with need. He kissed his way slowly up Xavier's spine as he rose, stroking the head of his sex smoothly back and forth over that tremulous orifice. 

Xavier's half lidded eyes watched in the mirror beside them. Aldo's gorgeous body fitted up snugly to his buttocks, the tops of his thighs pressing up along the backs of his own. He had no control over the way his head tilted back on a desperate groan as Aldo slowly pushed the fat head of that long, hard cock past his ring. 

"Uuuhhh Aldo...oh fffuh..." Aldo's hand came up over his mouth, not roughly but tight enough to muffle his enthusiastic response. 

"Shh..." the Italian stud murmured, softly nuzzling under his ear. 

Xavier pulled in a breath through his nose and stood with thighs and belly quivering, biting down on his lips he wriggled backward for a little bit more. Gently Aldo pressed a finger between his lips as he began to rock himself smoothly against Xavier's undulating body. If sinking into the warmth of his mouth had been delicious it was nothing compared to the heat of his sexy little sun-tanned ass. Aldo kissed his neck softly over and over now as he pressed himself deeper. 

"Mmmmm.... so sweet," he breathed into Xavier's ear as he began to buck harder, loving the erotic suction of his mate's lips on his finger mirroring the tight channel that drew on his throbbing cock, and the dangerously public setting for their intimate tryst.

"mmm..." Xav hummed, a little whine of longing in his throat. He closed his eyes and for a disorientating moment he remembered being pressed up against cool tiles with Rayne riding him just like this and how sweet and good it had been when he sank into him and... He opened his eyes again, banishing the memory as he looked in the mirror at the sexy Italian behind him, at the way he flexed his hips and surged deeper until Xavier's eyes were nearly rolling up in his head. He stroked his own cock a little faster and harder as Aldo's pelvis pushed into his cheeks as he bottomed out inside Xav. 

As the memory of cool tiles under his hands slid away a sudden rush of confusing images replaced it, visions and emotions that Xavier knew did not belong to him. He felt the Mediterranean heat, even under the chilled breath of the shop's air-con, and the roughness of a stone wall under his hands. The same mixture of panic and excitement rose in him at being fucked in public, with the fear of being caught and the exhilaration of being with a handsome and well hung lover. Only this was not his memory; the sun was hot beyond the shadowy Mediterranean courtyard where Aldo fucked the living breath out of him. He could hear the faint rumble of traffic beyond the vine-covered wall and the desperate beating of his heart.

Aldo gripped his lean hips and rode him harder now, pushing up into him as if his life depended on merging completely with Xavier's nude body. He pressed his lips to Xav's neck, kissing and half-biting him as he thrust; overpowered by the secrecy and urgency of the experience. 

"I am so close!" he panted urgently in Xavier's ear. "Tell me that you are ready, caro. I wanna come with you."

The dislocated feeling of being two places at once had Xavier's head spinning for a moment. And then all he felt was Aldo's hands on his body, the way he filled him over and over; the tightly coiled feeling behind his cock and deep in his balls that suddenly rose up threatening to unman him. Aldo's hand was still pressed over his mouth and it was a good thing or the whole store would have heard his wild, hungry cries as he shuddered and sprayed his frantic climax against the rough stones of another man's memory.

Aldo slithered around him, wrapping him in the heated embrace of arms and legs, muffling his own growl of joyous release in the curve of Xavier's sweat-slick neck and shoulder. The pull of Xavier's clenching muscles milked and stroked his aching cock and his hips bucked almost involuntarily as he pulled Xav against him, enjoying full body contact with the beautiful, sexy young man in his arms. He moaned long and low as he burst into Xavier like a vibrant fountain, spurting again and again, uncontrollably, within him.

Xavier leaned against the wall, legs splayed, catching his breath. The brief cool touch he thought he felt in his head was as elusive as water slipping though his fingers, and left him feeling empty and aching, just as he had been before it was gone. A swell of emotion came up inside him and he quickly shoved it back down. Rayne had left him, he needed to get over it. And why was he standing there thinking about the lover that didn't want him when Aldo had been so sweetly attentive? There must be something wrong with his fucking head. 

Aldo still nuzzled along his neck, his hands stroking his sides tenderly as he slowly withdrew from him. Xavier turned in his arms and kissed him tender-sweet then buried his face against his chest and held him tight. Aldo did not need to know the reason, for him it was pleasure enough that Xavier was curled around him so lovingly. He had not come out intending to take things this far and so quickly, but if Xavier needed that kind of intimacy then he was more than happy to provide it. 

"That was fantastic," he whispered into Xav's sweat damp, golden curls. "You are so beautiful, caro. So sexy!"

Xavier just clung to him for a few moments more. He felt a little dizzy now and was thinking that maybe today had been a bit too ambitious after all, since he'd only just managed to amble out of bed that morning. Aldo seemed to sense this, or maybe he just noticed how pale Xavier's face was. He solved the problem neatly by helping Xav to get dressed, then told the clerk they'd take everything, whether Xav had tried it on yet or not. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 05



A few minutes later they were out in the late afternoon sunshine. Aldo asked him if he wanted to wait and he'd go get the car but Xav was feeling a little better and said he'd walk, which they did, carrying the bags of clothes between them. They stopped to have lunch at an open-air café, everything easy and relaxed enough as they chatted, although they subconsciously kept the conversation much lighter than they had during the morning drive into town. 

They headed homeward after that, both quiet and contemplative. When they pulled up in front of the villa Xavier nearly stumbled getting out of the car. He was shocked at how much an afternoon of just walking around and shopping had taken out of him, and a little embarrassed because of course it wasn't just that at all. The memory of their urgent coupling in the changing room still made his cheeks feel hot and his knees weak. 

Chavez fussed like an old nursemaid over Xavier when he saw how pale and unsteady he was, and Xav let him fuss because he didn't have the energy to do otherwise. He drew the line at letting anyone carry him to bed though. He was tired, not an invalid. Xav got there under his own steam and fell across the bed gratefully, feeling completely drained. 

As soon as he was down he wished he'd stopped in the kitchen first to get a drink. He was so thirsty. It was nearly maddening...but before he could get back up to fill a glass he was asleep. 

Xavier dreamed; vague flashes of people and streets he didn't know; words he didn't understand. They were all so warm and alive and he wanted them, but he was looking for the right one and... with a cold wash of fear, his subconscious told him he was hunting. The right one was out there, the one that was alone... that one there, the slender, blond boy, weaving unsteadily on his feet, too drunk for his own safety but not drunk enough to block out the fear... He turned away, seeking something else, the fuel for another darker hunger. Tight ropes around his wrists and the burn of a whip or blade across his naked back... Anything to take the need away!

Xavier woke, shuddering and confused, the dream fading from his memory. He was sweating, afraid and aroused, but he didn't think he'd called out aloud in his sleep. Rubbing his hands over his face he sat up and looked out the open window. It was early evening, the sun wasn't down yet. 

Thinking he should take a shower maybe, and go get something to eat, Xavier got up and spotted the shopping bags near the closet. He thought he should probably put the stuff away first and set about doing that. Opening a door to put some things back he found a forgotten bag that had been tossed in and left there. Pulling it out he opened the zipper and sorted through the contents, a bottle of suntan oil, a towel, a few shells, and a half pack of Marlboros. 

He suddenly remembered taking a walk down on the beach with Rayne; a very pleasant afternoon spread out in a secluded little spot on a blanket with the soft sand under them and the sound of the waves rolling in. The ocean made a rhythmic background to their passionate cries and the wet, succulent sounds of their urgent, breathless fucking. His fingers closed over the pack of cigarettes and he turned it in his hand. With no one around to see him he pulled one out and brought it up to his face. The smell of tobacco was kind of sweet and the scent filled his head with a pull of longing for Rayne that was so sharp he let out a soft moan. 

Shaking his head he put the cigarette shakily back in the pack, and rammed the bag into the closet, pushing it to one side to make room. He finished putting his things away in empty silence, shoving the memory out of his head, deliberately blanking out all his thoughts, and when that was done he went to take a shower and grab something to eat. Pining for something he could no longer touch would not put the meat back on his bones. 

PARIS: 

It was dark and late when Rayne finally slipped out of the hotel onto streets that still bustled but with a different clientele to the tourists and trippers of the daylight hours. Moving quietly from one pool of shadow to the next, the vampire investigated the bars and clubs of le Marais. In a dark basement club called Sub Rosa he thought he might have found the distraction he was seeking. A pair of horny leather boys bought him drinks as he perched on a stool at one end of the long, curving bar and chatted him up in a mix of broken English and schoolboy French whilst he tried and failed to get rolling drunk. 

"You look for... rough company, oui?" one of the men asked him, reaching down to grope his arse as his friend watched appreciatively and Rayne made no attempt to brush his hand away. 

They were both in their late thirties or early forties. The one feeling him up was still muscular, almost a six footer, with a shaved head and a little dark beard. The other was smaller, though still taller than Rayne, chubbier but without being grossly obese in his tight black bondage pants and chain mail shirt. He stared with his mouth watering as his companion shamelessly fondled the pretty Englishman. 

"Something like that." Rayne sipped his neat vodka and pulled an appreciative face. 

"You want to be with us both?" the chubby one asked as if he could not quite believe his luck. "A deux? Both fucking you? Bare?"

"Yes." The vampire nodded solemnly. "If you want to."

They looked at one another and from the way their cocks filled their snug leather pants there was no question of that. The bald one waved down the bar tender and asked him for something. The black clad man went to a little key safe behind the counter and returned with a pair of Yale keys. Money changed hands.

"You are clean?" his chubby friend asked Rayne. 

"Yeah, no worries." Rayne flashed a humourless smile and downed his vodka. He let them lead him to a private room off a long, black painted corridor. 

The entrances to the cubicles were like lavatory doors, open at the top and bottom in case anyone needed to break in. Already the sounds of urgent groaning and the wet, slapping noises of rough sex were audible from behind several of them. The bald man opened a door into a small dark square of space about 6' by 6'. There was a single bunk against one wall, with a dark throw and cushions on it. A little cabinet stood beside it with a lamp on the top. Rayne turned it on as Baldy locked the door and Chubby unzipped his pants and his long, thick erection flopped out. 

He was circumcised and pierced, a studded bar punched through his shaft beneath the bulbous head. Rayne opened the drawer beneath the lamp and found lube and restraints, a gag, several whips and paddles and a number of thick, long sex toys. There were instructions in five languages including Arabic and a bucket of disinfectant under the bed to wash the toys after use. Very organised. 

"Strip!" the big bald guy told him now. He had his fly undone and about nine inches of prime meat jutting up, leaking and ready for action. 

Rayne kept his Converses on but wriggled quickly out of the black jeans and simple sleeveless vest that he had donned at the hotel. He was nude beneath and the two men ogled his slender body approvingly. Chubby pulled a set of handcuffs from the drawer and fastened his wrists behind him. Then they pushed him to his knees. A leather collar was buckled around his neck and a leash attached. Baldy blindfolded him then he was tugged around by the leash and his hair so that his face was pressing into one of the men's crotches. The absence of piercing told him it was Baldy's big dick in his face. 

Rayne opened his mouth and began to lick and suck, inhaling the strong, sweaty, masculine heat of his mate's groin. He felt Chubby fastening something around his ankles and his legs were pushed open wide, a spreader eased between them. On his knees with his arse in the air and his lips around a stranger's cock he submitted to the touch of rough, lubed fingers on his ring. 

A hand tangled in his sable hair and his mouth was pushed down hard on the length of chunky cock meat. At the same time, Chubby shoved a couple of slippery fingers into his chute and began to frig and stretch his rectum. Rayne arched his back, pushing his hips towards the thrusting digits in his anus and at the same time the bald man started to fuck his throat hard. 

He lashed his tongue greedily up and down the sweaty length in his mouth as it butted up fiercely against his pharynx. Drool was running from his lips, and salty precum. A steady stream of it trickled from his own cock as he knelt on the floor of the tiny, seedy little cubicle. The wall shuddered violently as a groaning man was banged hard against it in the room next door. From the muffled sound of his moans he was gagged and from time to time his partner spanked him roughly, his grunts echoing dully with each fleshy slap. 

Across the corridor a woman's voice could be heard, crying out, her words dulled by a ball-gag or a thrusting penis between her lips. The guttural, masculine sounds of three or four active males were the compliment to her whimpering yelps. Rayne absorbed it all like background music. He could smell the lush heat of her vagina and her anus, the keen stink of lube and disinfectant, over the body aromas of cum and cunt, sweat and shit.

This was life distilled, he thought humourlessly; the satiation of desire; wet bodies spread for the easement of other, harder bodies. Nothing more, nothing less!

Chubby's fingers withdrew from his arsehole and he heard the rattle of a quick search in the drawer, then the cold wet tip of a thick, five inch glass butt-plug being shoved into his chute. He moaned around the thrusting member in his mouth as he felt the fat plug tug on his ring then pop out and back in again. The chubby one picked up another toy and he cried out harder as the studded paddle slapped his bare backside hard. 

As he was spanked, he felt the pulsing length in his throat swell and burst, pulling back to fill his mouth with sperm. He whined with pleasure as the briny crème overflowed his lips, running down his chin. 

"Swallow it and lick me clean," his partner ordered huskily, pulling out. 

Rayne gulped down the salt heat of his cum, needing no instruction, and his tongue skated hungrily up and down the long, hard shaft, lapping up every drop. He licked and sucked the man's big, shaved balls for good measure. 

"Achhh... he loves eating cum!" Baldy laughed appreciatively. 

"Fuck me!" Rayne panted, nuzzling his crotch blindly, following the hot scent of him. 

"Oh yeah... we'll fuck you hard, don't be afraid," the man chuckled.

Chubby stood up now and came to Rayne's head, taking a handful of the Englishman's hair as he pushed his plump, studded erection into the pretty young man's open mouth. The bald one sat down on the bed with a creak of springs and towed Rayne's arse around so it was between his knees. He paddled the naked English lad hard across the buttocks as his friend started to fuck Rayne in the mouth. When his bum was pink and hot looking he set the paddle down and played with the glass plug, easing it in and out of Rayne's tight hole over and over like he was a doll, something to play with. 

At last he pulled it right out and began to use his fingers instead, shoving two, then three of them in and out, groping around inside. Rayne's face was pressed into the plump belly of his oral sex mate and he was gagging on the fat cock pumping his throat rapidly as he wriggled on those intrusive fingers. His balls were tight and swollen, ready to explode and pump a massive load onto his belly and the cold, stone floor of the cell. When Baldy's fingers withdrew ahead of schedule he whimpered with need, denied his release. 

The big man squeezed a good dollop of lube into his gaping hole and as his partner began to throb in Rayne's mouth and throat, he pushed his hand back up the pretty English boy's arse, fucking him hard with all four fingers. Rayne cried out desperately and was rewarded with a good, hot mouthful of cum. He gulped and sucked like a starving seal pup on the tit as he was almost fingered and fisted back up to his own frantic peak. 

Just as he thought he was about to burst for the second time the big hand pulled out of his clenching chute and he uttered a hoarse, frantic whine of disappointment. 

"Mmmhhhh... such a hot little slut!" the big bald leatherman groaned. "You love taking a good load don't you, salop?"

He nodded his head, still panting from the oral fuck, and was lifted up into the bald man's lap and positioned with his feet on the man's wide spread knees. The leg spreader was still between his ankles. His partner's long, hard cock was well lubricated and poking at his dripping sphincter now.

"Uhhhh... fuck me! Please, put it in me!" Rayne gasped. 

"No fear, petit salop. You gonna get fucked hard," Baldy promised him, shoving his long, thick penis up into the wet, ready cavity he had prepared. 

Rayne bucked eagerly on his cock, his arse rising and falling rapidly as that thick shaft pumped him from below. His eyes still covered he was unable to see Chubby move closer to watch his buddy screwing him. The watcher put more lube on his rising dick and played with it until it was standing up hard. Then he removed the leg-spreader and opened Rayne's thighs wider, positioning his cock head at the well-filled entrance to the young man's tight anus. 

Rayne bucked and struggled as he felt the second tool probing him, trying to gain admission. He cried out, shaking his head as he was slowly entered by another fat, pierced prick, the sensation enhanced deliciously by his lack of vision. Baldy picked up the glass butt plug and pushed it into his open mouth, gagging him with it as he and his friend began to thrust in tandem. The plug wedged behind his teeth so he could not spit it out even if he had wanted to and Rayne thrashed urgently now, his hands pinioned by the tight metal cuffs in the small of his back, his feet pressing hard on Chubby's plump, sweat-slick pectorals. His knees were pushed back to his chest and his dick standing bolt upright against his belly, leaking constantly as their dicks set up an alternating stroking motion in his exposed and stretched hole; one in, one out, tugging his ring in opposing directions as they screwed him harder.

It felt amazing, this robbery of the senses; blind and mute, unable to reach for them or push them away, only capable of inhaling their hot, briny musk and submitting to their manipulation. He subsided into the rhythm of their thrusting hips and rough, groping hands, concentrating on the delicious pressure of their pulsing sex inside him.

Baldy put a hand up to Rayne's throat and began to squeeze, choking him for a few moments as they coupled with him. Even though he didn't need to breathe the sensation was dizzying. Rayne tensed, forcing his heels into Chubby's torso and riding them harder. The shaven headed man under him was balls-deep in his arsehole, grinding his hips steadily against Rayne's bared buttocks and every stroke of Chubby's pierced dick teased his hot spot mercilessly. When Baldy started to strangle him again, Rayne felt the surge building in his tight-swollen nuts and cried out wordlessly around the glass plug. He came hard for them then, semen jetting up like a geyser from his straining cock and spattering his chest and face as he groaned with relief. 

Chubby grunted something in urgent French and gripped Rayne's skinny hips, banging the beautiful, naked Englishman furiously until his own sperm was spurting from the raw, red hole between his cheeks. When he finally pulled his cock out, Baldy eased Rayne down onto the floor and jack-hammered his tight passage until he was teetering on the edge. He rose quickly and pulled out, removing the plug from the younger man's mouth and pushing his dick into its place as he started to spurt. Rayne swallowed every drop. He licked them both clean, gratefully, on his knees and when they finally released his hands and removed the blindfold all three were tingling with the aftermath of their powerful, forbidden lust. 

It should have been enough, Rayne considered later, lying on his bed back in the hotel, still wet from the shower. But it only took the edge off his need, he was far from satisfied. He resisted the yearning to lower his shields for just a moment, to reach out and feel for the link he shared with Xavier. Just a few seconds, to feed that aching emptiness, surely it could do no harm? 

He rolled over and buried his face in the crisp, clean pillows, clenching his hands into fists and fighting it until his bloody tears stained the perfect whiteness of the linen.

To be continued... 

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE – END OF CHAPTER FIVE

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010 



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 06



CHAPTER SIX -- FIND A CURE © Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn

Finally here is chapter six! I know, I know, it's taken ages... we've been working hard. Hope you enjoy it. The dark arc is well under way. The usual terms and conditions apply; there's boy on boy, some shameless bloodletting and gratuitous BDSM. If you're going to be offended then go read something in the romance category.

If you value your reproductive parts don't borrow, alter, reproduce or reinvent our words. When we find you there will be blood!

Have a nice day!

PARIS:

Rayne rolled into the hotel from the yawning maw of a city cab at 4.30am. The polite desk clerk did not even blink at his spunk-stained, dishevelled state and only chewed on his lip a little as the slender Englishman practically fell through the sliding doors into the elevator car and was swallowed up by them. Somehow he found his room, more by internal radar than any kind of recall. The key card was too much of a challenge though and at last he lost patience and kicked the door open with a little snarl, throwing it shut again behind him and hardly caring that the lock was fucked four ways and sideways.

A cold shower brought him back to his senses faster than he wanted and he ran a hot bath, letting his body soak until some of those senses stopped screaming. Immersed completely in water hot enough to scald a brace of cats, he closed his eyes and tried hard not to think. It was like an ordinary human trying to stop breathing though; the moment his gaze was shuttered by quivering lashes, the nightmares began their steady march across the insides of his eyelids.

Huge blue eyes looking up into his own, filled with brave, angry tears.

He pushed the memory away but just as quickly Brian loomed up there, belt in his hand, standing over Rayne at the foot of the bed telling him with a sneer just what he was good for. Twisting free he found himself kneeling in front of a succession of faceless strangers, made to suck them, one after another, and then forced to the ground kicking and fighting uselessly against their hands and their bodies... John Moon's harsh, cawing laughter crackled in his head as he was humiliated for hard cash yet again, the pain and rage melting as the kindly needle slid into his flesh... Then suddenly he was watching a silent cortege, dark mourners against a grey, windswept sky... A plain, blond policewoman looking at him with bland-faced pity as she said over and over; "Your mum is dead, Rayne. Do you understand what I'm saying?" ...ashes strewn on the restless waves, his father trying to weep soundlessly as Rayne stood beside him, too numb with drugs and shock to even grieve.

Simon's pale, gaunt features filled his vision next, the fear and desperation in his best friend's cornflower blue eyes, listening to him begging... "Don't leave me... Please, Ray, I'm scared... I'm so scared!" Holding onto his hand as if it was an anchor, some way of keeping him in this world.

That opened the floodgates and he could hear little Danny screaming as feral vampires tore him to shreds... A blond boy whose name he could not remember, sobbing helplessly beside him as he lay on his back in the sand, torn and bloodied, the sun baking him slowly, longing for death... Jabez wounded almost beyond aid, imploring him without words for his love, for his help even as he reeled away sick to his gut at the sight... The darkness rose up and drowned him and he saw Kevan then, stretching out a gory hand to him, his eyes wide with shock, lips moving without sound as the blood ran down from them.

He came up out of the water like Poseidon, rivulets streaming down from his hair and his eyes, hands covering his face, trying to staunch the painful sobs that shook him from head to toe.

Somehow he managed to drag himself out of the water and flopped onto the tiled floor like a beached fish, gasping and weeping at the hurt that welled up in him. Tonight's rough handling had felt good but it left him with a sour taste in his throat and the iron tang of self-loathing in his belly. And it could not drive out the memories, it just wasn't enough to appease the beast that kept kicking him until he crawled forward to face the past.

Beautiful eyes, the colour of the summer sky in a perfect, golden face; lips so soft touching his own, reaching for him, longing for him. He ached to pull that sunkissed, sinful warmth into his arms, to hold him and let him drive out the darkness even if it was just for one glorious moment.

In despair he stumbled back to the bedroom and dropped down on the huge, comfortable bed like a bag of bones, burying his face in the crumpled duvet. It was deliciously crisp and fresh but he only wanted it to smell of the sweet vanilla warmth of his lover's skin and the almond blossom of his golden curls. He rummaged in the bag he had brought, still lying unpacked on the floor by the broad divan and pulled out the shirt he had been wearing on the day he fled Aldo's house in Vico, pressing it to his nose and curling around it on the bed.

The fragrance was faint, haunting, like a handful of notes only distantly felt, a gossamer thread of memory. It was the briefest hint of him, a microscopic element of Xavier, distilled and diluted until it was barely there but he clung to it and let it quiet his frantic thoughts until finally sweet unconsciousness took him down in a merciful embrace.

NAPOLI:

Not long after that immensely satisfying shopping expedition into the city Aldo informed his guests, over breakfast, that he was planning on inviting some people over for a bit of a gathering. Clay and Chavez seemed especially interested in this announcement and discussions started almost immediately, a positive buzz of excitement taking over the occupants of the sprawling Italian villa at the thought of a party.

Only Xavier was indifferent, but he managed a smile for his new friends. He had not slept well the night before and he'd dreamed again. He seemed to be having more and more of these dreams and they left him feeling increasingly exhausted and disturbed. Despite the anticipation everyone else seemed to be sharing, Xavier would just as soon have made himself scarce, but it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go.

So, he put on a cheerful front and feigned interest as long as he could. They had all been so nice to him and he didn't want to be a wet blanket but it was hard to get in the party mood when his thoughts were so far away. He really wasn't the type to give in to long bouts of brooding depression and he didn't want to seem like an ungrateful child either, but he just wasn't in the mood for anything much. After a polite enough amount of time he said he was feeling tired and escaped to his bedroom, crawling back into bed to curl up and wish he was somewhere else; to wish he could stop thinking about Rayne Wylde.

It was utterly ridiculous. He should not have let Rayne get so far under his skin. He was usually smarter than that, but PJ had been right when he said he thought Xavier had fallen a lot deeper and harder than he had intended. Xavier had told himself all this time, over and over, that it was temporary; not to get too comfortable; don't expect too much, hell, don't expect anything at all! All the while his head was staying smart though, his heart was betraying him like a total motherfucker.

He'd never met anyone he felt such a connection to and he had a feeling that even without the blood bond they would still have shared that connection. It might have taken a bit longer to form but Xavier truly believed he would still feel the same way he did about Rayne, even if he'd met him when he was still human. Despite the tough outer shell Xav had instinctively felt the vulnerability inside Rayne, the fearful lonely place that he kept protected and hidden at all costs. That fragile core called to the place inside him that was just the same and, on some level, he thought that when they were together that place didn't hurt quite as much.

Sighing with frustration Xavier tossed and turned on the bed, trying to find comfort when he knew there was none to be had. He'd acted like a stupid kid, asked for too much, pushed too hard, and Rayne had done exactly what Xavier knew he would. He cut him loose and took off as fast as he could. Rayne had trusted Xavier to know how it was between them, trusted him not go beyond certain boundaries, to not act like a dumb, needy kid, and Xavier had done just that.

Why in the world would Rayne want to tie a stone around his neck? He had been absolutely right to throw it back in his face about how well he was doing taking care of himself. Rayne had his own problems. Why would someone like Rayne want a total fuck up like him hanging around cluttering up his life?

Xavier squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to turn his thoughts off. Rayne wasn't going to come back. Thinking about him wasn't going to change that. Flogging himself over the mistake he'd made wasn't going to change it either. He needed to cut this self-pitying shit out and get over it. With another unhappy sigh he curled into a tighter ball and after a long while he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the guys were doing their own thing, as per usual when time and money were no object and there was only pleasure to concentrate on. Aldo was busy party planning and the Italian's parties were invariably glittering affairs, with faces from the movie industry and right across the spectrum of the sports and entertainment world. Clay was giving him a hand with the logistics and PJ was just chilling, taking advantage of the balmy Mediterranean climate whilst he tossed in suggestions for the guest list and the atmospherics.

Chavez was naturally helping to organise the catering side but busy as he was he had noticed how Xav slipped away to be on his own, and it bothered him. Everyone else seemed content to give their young friend his space and let him do his own thing but Chavez wasn't so sure that was the best strategy for helping the younger man get over his obvious heartbreak. He knew Xav loved to party and he just hadn't been the same since that almighty bust up with Wylde.

Chavez was already promising himself that, if he ever got the chance, he would put a stake in Rayne Wylde and make sure it stayed there. PJ invariably forgave the singer an awful lot of shit because Wylde always made it up to him in bed, which no one else but Mikka was able to do, but Chavez wasn't nearly as forgiving. He suspected that Aldo felt the same way, though the handsome Italian would not speak of Wylde and no one else dared venture his name in Aldo's presence either.

No matter how cool the two of them had tried to play it Chavez had seen what was happening with Xav and Rayne. He had wanted to intervene from the start. In subtle (and not so subtle) ways he had even tried to, but PJ, Aldo and Clay, they'd all told him to keep his nose out of it. They'd all told him to let it play it's course, and they'd all held some romanticised hope that maybe this time, this boy would be the one to settle their friend down and make him happy.

Well it had ended up pretty much how Chavez had thought it would end, but being right was no vindication when he saw how miserable Xavier was. Deciding to use this opportunity to try some cheering up tactics, he left Aldo and Clay taking care of party preparations and wandered casually off in Xavier's wake.

He leaned in the doorway of Xav's bedroom for a long time watching the blond boy toss and turn in his sleep, occasionally huddling up and hugging the rumpled sheets like they were real and warm and human. At last he shrugged off his reservations with his shirt and shorts. The last time he'd invited himself into Xavier's bed he'd been shown the door but he could not walk away now, not when he could feel his friend's loneliness in his heart.

Chavez scrambled across the big, comfortable bed and curled around Xav, warm and naked and easily excited. His arms smoothly encompassed the sexy young American and he cuddled close. If this was as much as he got from Xav tonight he would accept that graciously.

Xavier was hot and slightly moist to touch. He smelled so good though, a mouth-watering mixture of light citric bodywash, aftershave and his natural, masculine pheromones. Chavez buried his face in those soft blond curls and kissed the back of his neck tenderly as he stroked his hands up and down Xavier's belly and chest, loving the feel of soft, hairless skin and firm muscle under his palms and fingers.

Xavier was dreaming again... but it was all distant and indistinct, like he was seeing everything through a pale mist, nothing tangible. And then a sense of sharpness cut through the mist, making the grey world bleed red. He whimpered, smelling blood and sex and leather in the air. All familiar, arousing scents. He was tied tight, the bonds biting cruelly into his skin. He couldn't see anything clearly though. Xav kept trying to shake his head, to clear his thoughts, understand what was being done to him. But it stayed stubbornly out of reach.

The dream shifted then and there were warm arms around him, stroking and holding him, the curve of a body fitted to his... Rayne's cool body, his touch making Xavier's nerves sing, those soft silky lips touching the back of his neck and sending a spike of pleasure through him straight to his cock. He moved, arching his back against the body wrapped around him, a desperate hunger making him moan with wanting.

Slowly his eyes fluttered open, the dream evaporating and he found he was in bed, but not alone.

Chavez felt Xav stiffen slightly as he woke and his hand slid down the blond's belly flat to his skin, caressing into the well of his groin and parting his fingers around the root of the younger man's hard cock. His lips took possession of Xavier's soft, hot skin, kissing hungrily up and down the curve of his slender neck and gently biting his shoulder as he rubbed himself against the naked boy.

Xavier's hips rolled slowly, almost automatically, pushing into the hand wrapped around his cock and pressing back up against the hard bulge rubbing in the cleft of his cheeks. A soft moan escaped him, the dream had left him incredibly horny and he was so hot and ready he almost didn't care who it was snuggling up behind him. As the sleep fog began to clear he realised it was Chavez and although he was a little surprised he wasn't unhappy about it. His hand slid down over the one wrapped around his cock and he felt the subtle tightening in the body behind him, as though Chavez thought Xavier would push him away. He didn't though, his fingers curled lightly over Chavez's own and drifted up and down with them over his throbbing shaft.

Turning his upper body slightly, he leaned his head back and found Chavez's lips, kissing him with a wordless, hungry heat.

Chavez too was surprised but not unpleasantly so and settled into the kiss with more than just a little enthusiasm. As Xavier twisted about in his arms he wrapped himself around the younger man, slowly rubbing his naked body against Xav; writhing up and down eagerly between his thighs and letting his lips slide to Xavier's neck and throat again, kissing him there ravenously. His hand gripped Xav's hard cock and pumped it vigorously, enjoying the little moans of pleasure this elicited from his mate's throat.

Xavier returned the favour, wrapping hot fingers around the eager shaft now stabbing him in the side and stroking up and down the turgid length of him. He still felt a bit floaty, not sleeping, but not totally awake. It was a very relaxed and very horny state of being, and he remembered that Rayne loved to wake him up like this and it was always so damn good when he did...

His other hand slid into Chavez's hair, and his lips and tongue practically devoured the Mexican lad's mouth. His thighs slid apart around him, inviting Chavez between them while he rocked his hips enticingly with the rhythm of his mate's stroking hand.

Chavez rolled onto him, rocking against him more urgently, kissing his slow way down Xavier's restless body. His lips and tongue pressed and flickered seductively over Xav's collar bones then down his glistening, sweat-slick breast bone and out to the stiff little buds of his erect nipples. His fingers tugged on the firmness of Xavier's leaking cock and he bent his head to brush his hot, wet mouth over the swollen bulb of the younger man's straining sex. Chavez licked his cock head seductively all over, drawing it between his lips.

"Uhhhh...ohhh...that's so good." Xavier whispered in a husky murmur, his fingers caressing through Chavez's long dark hair. He bit his bottom lip, resisting the urge to buck hard.

Long, warm fingers swirled slowly down his lean thighs, caressing the backs of his bare legs as Chavez took him deep and let his lips slide wetly back along Xavier's twitching shaft towards the swell of his soft, full dome. He held it in his mouth, teasing with his tongue, letting the tip swirl in and out of Xavier's sensitive slit. His breath was quick and hot around the younger man's clenching balls as he nodded down, swallowing Xavier whole again.

Xavier's fingers tightened in his hair, his hips rolling with languid pleasure. For a half a second he expected to feel the smooth round surface of a tongue stud pushing into him and angrily shoved the thought aside. He was not going to start comparing every guy he fucked to Rayne. And really it wasn't fair at all, because Chavez's wet enveloping heat was sweet enough to make his eyes roll up in his head. In fact, he was good enough that if he kept going at the pace he was he'd have him coming in no time.

"Valentino...s-stop!" Xavier groaned in much the same tone Chavez had used on the balcony of the club when their positions had been reversed, and for the same reason. "Mmm, you're gonna make me cum," Xavier panted, his teeth clenched.

Teasingly, Chavez opened wide, stroking his tongue slowly up the underside of Xav's shaft. He whipped it around the head and flashed a triumphant grin before burying his face between Xavier's parted thighs and enveloping his balls and the sensitive inch of root behind them in slow, wet licks and kisses.

Xav lifted his knees higher, spreading his legs wider and tilting his hips. His fingers massaged along Chavez's scalp now encouragingly. His cock throbbed with need, but he let the pleasure ease back down from the edge while Chavez's slick tongue kept him from coming down too far.

"Mmmmhhhh... you taste good," Chavez mumbled, lapping away happily as his fingers and thumbs parted Xavier's cheeks like two halves of a sweet, fresh melon, so that he could devour the soft flesh between them. His wet, wriggling probe explored Xav's ring making him squirm with delight.

Xavier's throaty moans purred from him as Chavez's stiffened his tongue and pushed inside him. He drew one hand up to stroke gently along his aching cock while he was most thoroughly sucked, nibbled and rimmed with a passion, until he could hardly take any more.

"Uhh... Chavez...fuck me...I need you..." he pleaded.

His mate needed no encouragement, Chavez was hard and horny, his cock already leaking a slow spill of pearly cream as he climbed up Xavier's splayed body again, pinning him to the bed and keeping his legs spread with his own thighs. His hands stroked up Xav's forearms and his fingers closed tight around Xavier's slim wrists. Chavez pressed his mouth back to the blond man's parted lips, letting him taste his own sex as he rubbed that long, Latino cock up and down his slick, wet crevice.

Being pinned down to the bed flipped his switches like crazy and Xav writhed under Chavez's body urgently. Even so, a tiny little niggle in the back of his head forced him to check himself, despite the horny male part screaming at him to just shut his mouth, wrap his legs around his partner and pull him in. He didn't mind, but he didn't want Chavez to have any worries or regrets. "Valentino...condom?"




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 06



Chavez groaned long and low into the crook of his neck. He was rubbing up so close and hot against Xav now and the raw lust was warring in him with the very sensible warning to take precautions.

"Trust me, chico?" he panted breathlessly. "I wanna feel every inch of you inside, baby. And I know you don' ask Aldo to wear 'em."

He rolled back a little, propped on his knuckles, his fingers still wrapped around Xavier's wrists. Dark hair tumbled like midnight creepers around his face and his dark eyes were hot with longing. Xav nodded his head once.

"I'm okay with it... if you are," he breathed, aware suddenly that none of it mattered. If Rayne was not coming back then it did not matter if he fucked one man or a hundred; rubbered up or not. He gave himself a mental slap for the thought but it did not go away.

Chavez exhaled a sigh of longing and relief and rolled his hips forward a little, nudging at him until his slippery head pushed past Xavier's tight ring. In turn, Xav hissed in a little breath, his eyes closing and his head tipping back as the hiss turned into a groan. He swallowed, very conscious despite his closed eyes that Chavez watched him, still holding his wrists pinned to the bed as he purposefully pulsed a little deeper.

"Ahhh..." Chavez exhaled forcefully, rolling his lean hips in smooth waves as he buried his stiff, nut-brown wand all the way inside Xavier's snug, wet channel. He was leaking copiously enough to make the entry easier for both of them and Xav felt him slide his full length in and out a couple of times to get the measure of him, then pump it into his chute more vigorously.

"Madre de Dios!" Chavez panted appreciatively, lowering his mouth to Xav's parted lips again and kissing him long and hard as he bucked between the blond man's wide spread thighs. He bent his knees to get more purchase and Xav brought his legs up to wrap around the backs of his thighs, his body rolling to meet every forward thrust, a huff of breath driven past his lips each time his mate shoved all the way into him. A little keening whine rose in his throat as he started to get close again, his cock dark red and straining against his belly for attention. Xavier lifted his hips higher, skating the underside of his prick along the flat smooth skin of Chavez's belly.

"Almost...Almost..." he gasped. "Ohhh...!"

And then he felt Chavez's lips brush ever so lightly over his neck, touching those two electric points of bright light his vampire lover had left. The sensation robbed him of restraint.

"Uuuggghhh! Uhhhhh... fuck me!" The muscles of his belly tightened as Chavez vigorously pumped into him and his balls clenched and released a hot flood of cum up and over his stomach and chest.

Chavez panted a rapid, rambling litany of sexual prayers in his mother tongue as he felt Xavier careen over the edge and tumble into a thrashing, writhing explosion of sexual ecstasy. His undulating body dragged Chavez down with him and the handsome Mexican youth yelped like a kicked dog as spurt after spurt of hot Latin lust burst from his frantically thrusting cock, surging into Xavier unchecked.  "Joder!" he exhaled forcefully. "So good! So good, baby!"

Xavier murmured something unintelligible, still floating on a nice body buzz of bliss. When Chavez released his grip on his wrists he reached around his neck and pulled him down, wanting to just lay there awhile with his weight on him. His fingertips caressed in small circles over his shoulders as their breathing slowly returned to normal.

Only then did Xav open his eyes with a satisfied little smile and kiss the tip of Chavez's nose.

"See," his Latino mate murmured with a lazy grin. "You keep fighting me only because you know you can't stand how good it will be when you finally let me fuck you."  He pressed his open mouth hungrily to Xavier's hot lips and delivered a long, slow, appreciative kiss, squirming languorously against Xav's sweat and semen-slicked body. The throbbing heat of his prick twitched restlessly between Xavier's legs as they rubbed together.

Xavier gave a little snort. "Don't go getting all cocky now. Just because I let you sneak up on me once doesn't mean it'll happen again."

"No?" Chavez teased, rolling his hips to push deeper inside him again, making Xavier moan and arch under him. "Are you sure, chico?" he whispered against his lips.

"uuuhhh... such unfair tactics!" Xavier breathed on another little moan, his fingers digging into the lean muscles of Chavez's back.

"Hah... just showing you what you been missing all this time," Chavez purred, kissing his neck and throat deliberately slow as he rammed his stiffening bolt home, taking advantage of the natural lube he had just pumped into his delicious bedmate. "You are such a sexy boy! I wanna do you all night, chico."

Xavier responded to that by catching his lips for another long, slow kiss before he tangled one leg around Chavez's and rolled him over, pinning his arms to the bed in a reversal of where they were. With a mischievous little smile he lifted his hips and came down in a slow grind that pushed Chavez balls deep inside him.

The lean, nude Mexican youth threw his head back with a little growl of arousal. His hips bucked automatically, thrusting upward to meet Xavier's grind.  "Oh baby, yeah... like that!" he crooned eagerly.

"Mmm...like that, huh...?"Xavier rolled his body in a graceful undulation, rising and falling steadily on the hard shaft embedded in him. He bent his head to nibble a line of kisses down his throat and chest, taking a nipple in his mouth to tease and suck none too gently. He squeezed and released his inner muscles as he rode Chavez's cock, milking his shaft with each hard thrust his partner gave him.

Chavez shuddered and panted eagerly, loving the little ripples of pleasure that Xavier's skilful movements sent shivering down into the well of his groin with every slow down-stroke. He arched his back, driving up to meet Xav's tight, sexy ass each time the gorgeous blond ground down on him. His hands were sliding rhythmically along Xavier's thighs in time with their thrusting, gripping his hips and pulling himself deeply into his mate whenever their bodies touched.  "Ohhhh... yeah... do I like that!" he growled enthusiastically. Privately he was thinking that Wylde had to be fucking insane to leave the boy behind. He uncharitably hoped that, wherever the temperamental limey bastard had got to, he was fucking miserable. "Xav, you are out of this world, baby!"

Xavier leaned back up, changing the angle a bit so he could go faster and Chavez could get even deeper. His head tipped back on his shoulders, a breathless moan coming from his throat as his hands slid down his body to his own renewed hard-on. He stroked up and down in time with the flex and thrust of Chavez's cock inside him. This time took longer, but was no less intense when he finally felt that sprung coil release behind his pelvis and the hot geyser of cum shoot up from his cock and dribble over his hand.



Chavez cried out huskily as he felt Xav tighten around him. The sight of his lover caressing himself as the milky spill fountained over his pumping fist almost pushed him into a second explosion. When he felt Xavier's muscles relax spasmodically around him, he pulled the blond down into his arms and rolled him onto his side, kissing and licking his erect nipples. Chavez pushed Xav's upper leg back towards his ribcage as he bucked furiously between his splayed thighs, driving himself in harder and faster, gripping the sheets to either side of his mate and holding on as he fucked Xav like his life depended on it.  This time he let himself tip over the edge and the sweet, hard friction between Xavier's submissive body and his pulsing cock-shaft quickly nursed a second flood of hot cream from his balls. As the shivery sensation of orgasmic delirium flooded his limbs Chavez called out his name; "Xavier! Jesus... Xav!" before slumping into Xavier's loose embrace and letting his mate's sexy body milk every last drop of cum out of him. The ecstasy continued to wash over him in hot, caressing waves.

Xavier lay in a sweat and semen soaked heap, his chest rising and falling hard as he caught his breath and floated slowly down from the height of powerful orgasm into sexual lassitude. For a while there he hadn't thought of Rayne at all, hadn't tried to reach out and touch the frayed ends of their blood tie, and it felt good to be held and comforted in Valentino's arms. It didn't make the longing go away, but it helped.

He was even feeling like he should get up, take a shower and get ready for Aldo's party after all.

Even Chavez seemed to sense it. His lips moved to Xavier's ear and he whispered; "I wish we could just stay here all night. That was amazing, chico. You are so sexy!"

Xavier lifted his head to give Chavez a sated appreciative kiss.

"Come on, it would be kind of rude to hole up in here when Aldo's having people over." He patted Chavez's hip encouragingly and got up from the rumpled bed, moving across toward the bathroom.

PARIS:

It was getting late when the vampire rose, dragging his body from the comforting warmth of the bed and prowling to the window, following his instinctive hunger; the pull inside that told him when it was time to feed. He felt sick at the thought of it, nausea rising in his gut for the first time in many years at the prospect of the hunt. His bones felt old and chilled and he just wanted to lie down again, to sleep and not to think. When he started thinking his mind invariably took him back to Naples and the sunlit warmth of Xavier's arms.

"You closed that door," he told himself bitterly. "Your loss. Now deal with it."

On the balcony he lit a cigarette and watched the city sinking into darkness. Lights were twinkling in the shops and bars below and voices drifted up to his jaded ears, mingling with the traffic sounds and distant bursts of music. Soon he would walk among them. Within the hour someone would stumble from a bar or an alleyway, wondering what it was that they just did to leave them feeling so enervated and confused.

And the hunger would stop chewing on his nerves for a little while.

Rayne stubbed out the last dwindling ashes of his smoke and flicked the butt away carelessly. Turning back into the room he grabbed a tee-shirt from his bag and pulled it on, wriggling into his dark, figure hugging jeans and his comfortable hi-tops.

Twenty minutes later he was in a bar, shutting out the screeching of a group of girls doing a karaoke version of the Macarena, complete with dance moves whilst their friends bellowed encouragement from the dancefloor. He downed several vodka shots and moved on, still hunting. The street outside was cool and quiet after the raucous sensory assault of the little club and Rayne walked for a long time with no real direction. He did not even consider the club from the previous evening, it had been diversionary but not what he was really looking for. Nervous married men playing bondage games, not really his style at all.

At the bottom of a winding street that led back down towards the Seine he found a building with boarded, blacked out windows and a single door spilling golden light into the cobbled thoroughfare. By that slice of illumination he read the sign above the door. It was white on black; a rendered image of a long, curving claw and the name of the establishment; la Griffe, depuis 1998.

He studied it for a long moment, feeling the hunger in his belly subside for a little while, then he went inside.

The interior, when his eyes adjusted to the light, did not match the slightly down-at-heel façade of the club. It was painted in cool creams and greens and the desk was all light wood and soft curves. Neither was the girl behind it without curvaceous charms but something in her face did not encourage light-hearted banter.

Her eyes were kitten-green and framed with long, mascara-ed lashes and glistening, emerald shadow. Lips the colour of red wine or drying blood stood out against the paleness of her face powder. Perfectly straight black hair was pulled back from her face in a strict tail that spilled down between her shoulder blades almost to her waist. The short, oriental-style dress she wore was black with white piping in a wet-look material that he wanted to caress. It barely covered the tops of her thighs. He leaned a little farther over the desk establishing that she wore thigh high white PVC boots beneath it.

"Monsieur?" she enquired in a voice a little deeper and richer than he had been expecting. It drew his eyes back to her slightly disdainful expression.

"Evening," he said affably. "Nice boots!"

"English," she sighed, as if she should have expected it.

"No English, huh?" he responded, backing away towards the door with a shake of his head, "oh well..."

"I speak English, Monsieur. You wanted something?" she queried, folding her arms beneath the perky curves of her breasts.

"I was just curious about what you do in here? There's not much in the way of clues on your sign," he explained.

"You were not sent to us?" She looked surprised. "We get few visitors by accident, Monsieur...?"

"Wylde," he volunteered.

"You are Rayne Wylde? The singer?" she enquired, a little more curiosity creeping into her voice. "I thought you were older than this."

"I am," he said cryptically, coming back to the desk. "I'm well preserved."

"Then our services will not be attractive to you," she teased, her eyes running up and down his lean frame appreciatively.

"So you do something pretty destructive in here, interesting!" he grinned, leaning on the desk with his arms folded at the wrist.

She surveyed the scars on his slender forearms and hands with interest. "You do this to yourself?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Do you ever let others harm you?" she asked, resting her scarlet nailed hands on the counter to either side of his own.

"That depends..." he said, smiling up at her as he pushed himself upright again. Now their noses were bare inches apart. "On who... and how?"

And that was how he found himself enrolled in la Griffe, the most exclusive SM club in Northern Europe. Less than thirty minutes later he was naked in a designer dungeon in the tunnels under the Seine. His wrists were strapped and manacled to the wall of a cell, his ankles similarly restrained using loops of iron in the stone floor, whilst a muscular young man in a leather jock strap whipped him without restraint.

Rayne's fingers tightened around the chains fastening his iron cuffs to the stone wall, tugging down hard on them and getting a good feel for how immovable an object they were. The lash of his partner's whip was tightly wound threads of fine wire, like a thick guitar string, but much longer. It flickered across the skin of his bared back like razor blades, drawing blood with the very first stroke. He caught his breath at the sudden sharp, delicious pain, but did not cry out. The slow trickle of blood on his skin made his mouth water.

For over thirty minutes he let the young man beat and abuse him, wrapped up in the heat of his own pain, the deep, throbbing ache of an open cut. His companion did not even flinch when he saw how quickly his client healed. And Rayne realised right then that they knew what he was, and they were not fazed by it.

The whip-hand would give him five strokes then let him mend the damage before asking if he wanted more. This went on until he had taken over fifty lashes. By this time both he and the muscle stud administering his beating were hard and horny. The sweating youth ran an appreciative hand over his flexing, bucking arse now, unfastening his tight black jockstrap with the other hand.

"Magnifique!" he breathed. "You want fuck?"

"Yeah!" Rayne panted, nodding his head fervently. "Please!"

"C'est bien," the boy grunted, spitting on his dick as he eased it between the vampire's blood-streaked cheeks. "C'est tres bien!"

Strong hands gripped his hips and he was impaled roughly. Rayne swung from the cuffs around his wrists, his feet braced more than half a metre apart, and leaned into the wall with a little bark of need. Just a few deep hard strokes buried the powerful young man's long, silken cock inside him and he let himself cry out now as he felt it rake his innards hard and fast. It was like taking a baton of fresh baked bread up the arse. The boy was hung and hot and it did not take him more than a handful of minutes to fuck his shackled mate into a state of frantic arousal.

Straddling him and holding him tightly by the hips he rode his groaning, undead client with unrestrained violence and Rayne loved every second of it. He lost himself in the vigorous, burning thrusts and the pull of the cuffs that would not let him step away or fall to his knees until the act was concluded. Their brief, urgent coupling was sealed with an almost simultaneous spilling of semen that left Rayne moaning wordlessly and his young mate clinging to his naked body and panting hotly and hoarsely against his neck.

The service was not inexpensive, nor was it glamorous, but it certainly scratched an itch inside him.

Rayne took a cab back to the hotel, where the pretty, dusky skinned receptionist was just clocking off for the evening. Adora joined him for a couple of drinks in the hotel bar, and a little later went back up to his room with the beautiful, mischievous Englishman and let him strip her and kiss her all over as she lay on his bed. When his soft, cool lips found her lush, pink pussy and his tongue began to lap restlessly at her in that most secret place, she bucked and wriggled, running her fingers through the silk of his lovely black hair. His hands caressed her curving, ebony thighs and he buried his nose in the hot, seductive mat of her neatly trimmed landing strip, nuzzling the short, black curls and licking her little pink button teasingly.

She sighed with pleasure as he pushed two fingers into her, teasing the wetness out of her as he kissed and suckled on her tingling clit. The contrast between the rich dark flesh of her inner thighs and the hot rosy pink of her glistening pussy delighted him almost as much as her little mewls of arousal when he fucked her with his clever fingers.

"You are so fucking juicy," he whispered huskily in her ear as he scrambled back up between her legs and his hands cupped and slowly fondled her full, mahogany-skinned breasts. The dark peaks of her nipples just begged to be sucked and he took them in his mouth one at a time as he drove his jutting cock slowly into her. She was satisfyingly tight but so wet that he glided in smoothly enough, loving the grip and tug of her delicious pussy around his throbbing shaft.

She murmured hungry endearments to him in broken French and English now, lifting her legs to wrap those hot, black thighs around him, pulling him in deep; naked save for her high heels and jewellery. Rayne was certainly not reluctant to give her what she wanted but he too was hungry and for more than just her sweet cunt.

Quickly he rocked himself into a steady rhythm inside her, loving the way her wet sex sucked on him on every back stroke and yielded so smoothly when he pushed himself back inside her. His lips drew on her erect nipples, his tongue tickling the glistening, dark peaks as she undulated beneath him. Seductively his hands caressed her narrow waist, feeling how it enhanced the swell of her firm, plump breasts and curving hips and thighs. Her skin was the colour of rain-soaked earth, a proper Gaian maiden, and he lost himself in her for the second time that night.

Adora cried out as she felt his sharp little fangs sink into the yielding flesh of her naked breast, but she did not struggle. His urgently stroking shaft inside her was driving her hard towards her first climax and she did not fight it. His head came up, lips parted around a blood-stained gasp as he felt her climax hard for him. A few more thrusts and he burst deep inside her, shooting his liquid heat into her loins, his lips and tongue working greedily on her soft, warm, delicious tits.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 06



When he slipped out of her, she coaxed him onto his back and kissed her way down, taking him in her mouth and nursing him back to full hardness with her lips and her warm, skilful hands. Rayne groaned with desire at the soft, sweet suction of her mouth on his curving shaft. His fingers caressed the nape of her neck as she nodded over him, her straightened hair finally falling loose from the jewelled pin holding it up at the back of her head. That dark cloud of hair tumbled down around her shoulders as she knelt up and slid one sweat-slick thigh astride him, mounting him for a second journey to glory.

"You are really awesome, do you know that?" he whispered as she slowly eased her weeping labia down over the crown of his straining cock shaft and he felt himself plunged into her lush, boiling depths once more.

His hands crept up to her breasts as she rolled her hips, riding him hard. Rayne bucked upward into her, a low, ragged cry escaping him as he answered her passionate need with his own, filling her and thrusting like an animal inside her. Adora bent over him her mouth coming down to join with his and they rolled across the bed over and over, first her on top then him, fighting one another then taking it in turn to submit.

He took from her neck the second time he bled her and this time she did not cry out, but clung to him hard as he bucked between her thighs. The explosion when it came was long and slow and they were both exhausted by it, sinking into the warmth of a sweaty embrace. She slept at last in his arms and he curled around her, drifting in and out of awareness. When she woke and slid out of his bed just before dawn he pretended sleep but the bed was colder without the furnace of her body there.

And alone his thoughts crept back, guiltily to Xavier once more. He did not understand how he could care for the boy and do the things he had just done with others. But whenever he was alone it was Xav that he longed for. Like the blood hunger, that need would not go away.

NAPOLI:

A few people, Aldo had said. Right!

This was a little more than just a few, Xavier thought. A glance around the patio and he noted two things right away. First off, there wasn't a female in sight. Secondly, there were probably a dozen or so older well-dressed or semi-dressed men here and double that amount of mostly-not-dressed younger studs lounging in or around the pool. Nice scenery at least, Xav thought with a small smile. He was decidedly over-clad himself in his jeans and tank but that was fine with him.

He spotted PJ and Clay at the patio table, both with some kind of frozen fruity drink planted in front of them and rather more serious looking shot glasses in hand. He headed over that way and slid down into PJ's lap, giving his cheek a friendly kiss.

"You're looking remarkably pleased with yourself, young man!" Paddy remarked with a grin as he returned the kiss and swatted Xavier's ass playfully. "It looks good on you, by the way. Lifts my old heart to see it."

Xavier refrained from any innuendo, but he didn't really have to say anything at all. If his smile said he was pleased with himself, Chavez's expression was downright smug.

"I thought Aldo said a few people?" he mentioned, deftly changing the subject. "Half of Europe is here!"

PJ shrugged easily. "He knows a lot of people."

Xav gave a little nod. "I'm gonna get something from the bar. Be right back."

He bumped into their effusive host along the way. Aldo di Bocaccio was talking with some guy in a pink polo, khakis, expensive shades and a smile so brilliantly white it was almost hard to look at.

Aldo dropped an arm casually around Xavier's shoulders and Xav let himself be drawn to his side, his smile a little knowing and somewhat sultry.

"Well, well... is this why we haven't seen much of you lately?" the guy Aldo had been talking to purred, his calculating gaze easing up and down Xav's body unhurriedly.

"You could say that." Aldo said with a grin and introduced Xavier to one of the continent's most notoriously provocative fashion photographers of the last twenty years, Marco Decellio. Only not in quite so many words.

"Xavier Gavrilov, meet an old friend of mine. Marco, this is Xav."

Marco didn't waste any time with chit-chat. He levelled a finger at Xavier, almost pointing it right in his face like a loaded gun. "You... I'm in love already. Can you come to my studio? Tomorrow?"

Xavier arched a brow, a closed cynical look edging around his eyes. "Right. I'm gonna go get a drink, 'k?"

He slipped out from under Aldo's arm and didn't give a backward glance, leaving Aldo chuckling and his guest looking astonished.

"He thinks you're joking, or more probably that you're just hitting on him," Aldo explained.

Xavier, for his part, had no idea of the reputation of the man he had just snubbed. Fortunately for the younger man Marco was quite serious and now also rather more determined to get him. And Marco's weren't the only set of eyes to watch him as he made his way over to the bar, fixed his own drink and then returned to chat with PJ McNamara and Barclay Johnson Francis. Not five minutes went by before there were no more empty seats around the large stone table where the two gay porn supremos and their gorgeous young protégé were sitting. Xav chalked the attention up to being a new face, and to the novelty of clothes. There was more flesh on display here than on South Beach!

Xavier kicked back and watched the random milling and mingling; the horsing around in the pool; people talking and laughing and fielding out who might be interested in some action. He was quiet though, and pretty much stayed out of it. For as long as he was sitting between PJ and Clay no one really bothered him.

That was, until Marco decided on another foray, and he was bald-faced enough not to care who Xavier had selected as his bodyguards. Nudging a half-cut club-bunny off the bench opposite Xavier, he settled in for the evening.

"Aldo says you are from San Francisco?"

"Uh-huh," Xav acknowledged without really looking his way.

"And, he says you were an entertainer there; a dancer?"

One corner of Xavier's mouth curled slightly; "Is that what Aldo says?"

"More or less." Marco smiled, undeterred by Xavier's cool attitude. "So, will you dance for us tonight?"

Xavier stirred the ice cubes in his glass around with the little straw, taking his sweet time.

"Nope. I'm not on the clock right now."

"Huh?"

"I'm on vacation. A holiday. Not working."

The photographer was undeterred by this declaration.

"Come on! Will you make an exception for me?" he coaxed.

Xavier shook his head. "Look, I'm not in the mood."

Marco wheedled at him a little more, but stopped when he sensed that either Xavier was going to get up and leave or one of his friends was going to make him stop pestering. McNamara was laid back enough but Clay was eyeing him with definite hostility now. Marco switched the subject to other things for a little while, talking shamelessly about himself, and his work, and the names and careers he'd made. He had not given up on the idea of a dance though, and he pushed so hard that he was starting to redefine persistent in Xavier's book.

Marco Decellio was obviously not someone who was used to hearing the word no. The more Xav put him off the more he cajoled. Xavier's expression was slowly slipping from mild indifference toward open annoyance.

Marco finally abandoned charm in favour of a completely different tack. He pulled his wallet from the pocket of his chinos and extracted several large-denomination bills, which he held out like a votive offering.

"Will this change your mind? One dance, that's all."

Xavier looked at the loosely held wad of cash, and although he still didn't have the exchange rate totally down he knew enough to figure that the amount in the photographer's hand was a lot more than he usually made in a weekend at the club. He raised his eyes slowly, as if it took a lot of effort to lift those long silky lashes. For a second he locked eyes with Marco, then reached out with thumb and forefinger and plucked the cash like it was something slightly soiled. His expression immediately changed though, a smile that was all business coming to curve his full lips and his eyes promising things that he had no intention of delivering. If Marco wanted to be the pigeon this badly, Xav was more than willing to play him.

Without a word the younger man got up from the table now and walked over to the sound system. Whatever Aldo had on for background music wasn't going to cut it. He fiddled around until he came up with one of his own playlists. Chris Brown's 'Kiss Kiss' was a switch from what Xav had been thinking of as an Italian soft porn soundtrack that had been playing, but it was one of his favourite routines.

He'd gotten paid quite a bit, so he didn't begrudge Marco a good show, despite being pestered into it. He started to move, slowly making his way back toward the table while keeping step with the music. The choreography was excellent, each movement crisp and clean as he danced his way back over to where the eager photographer was sitting. Marco stared at him greedily every step of the way. By the time he made it across the patio he had quite an interested audience, and that was only the warm up!

The big stone table would work just right as an impromptu stage, and Xavier stepped up onto it as Lil' Wayne's 'Lollipop' came on. This one had a slower beat, and a lot more innuendo for him to play with. Xav's body rolled in slow undulations as hands crept up his chest under the tank top he wore and pulled it off. He dropped it in Marco's lap and got down to business as the photographer brazenly pressed the material to his face, inhaling his scent with a lustful smile. The fluid movement of Xavier's half-clad body was both graceful and sexy as hell in the way he slid his hands over his skin, ground and popped his hips with the beat, and swayed that adorable little ass practically in Marco's face.

There were a lot of catcalls and whistles going on, but Xav was used to that on the stage and it didn't mean much in any language. Halfway through the song he dropped his jeans and kicked them off smoothly. That earned him a wave of more appreciative laughter, applause, and whistles of encouragement as he danced in just his boots and a tiny pair of tight black briefs.

His lithe body still had a light, golden, all-over tan, and even though he hadn't quite put back all of the weight he'd lost when he'd been ill, his lean musculature was outlined perfectly with each flex and roll. He showed it off now, dropping to his knees in front of Marco, spreading his thighs and running his hands up the insides of them to his crotch, letting his head sink back between his shoulders as he pantomimed ecstasy.

He brought his hands up further, running over the smooth planes of his abs and chest all the way up to the back of his neck and stretching his arms over his head as he swayed in place.

He shifted then, bringing his legs forward and sliding down off the table and into Marco's lap to straddle his hips and grind against him. Almost immediately he had to grab Marco's wrists and pull his hands away from groping his ass. He set them on the arms of the chair, wagging an admonishing finger under his nose before he continued the lap dance. He was so used to patrons knowing the 'no touching' rule in the club that he'd forgotten for a second that there wasn't a bouncer waiting to toss this guy out on his head if he got too grabby.

Marco was a good boy after the warning though, and Xavier finished the song unmolested. He got up, leaving Marco with considerably less room in his chinos than before he had begun and moved back over to the seat by PJ that he had vacated earlier. The ageing porn star slid an arm around his shoulders and gave him a congratulatory hug.

For a few moments Marco just sat there stunned. At last he leaned forward, arms resting on the table, expression intent.

"I'm impressed! And, I repeat my offer. I want you to come to come to my studio tomorrow, I'll send someone to pick you up."

Xav gave his head a little shake; "So, how many times a day do people usually tell you you're a pushy bastard?"

Marco waved a dismissive hand.

"The car will be here for you at six. The light is best in the morning and I want to get some natural shots first."

Now Xavier snorted; "Are you deaf or mental? First, I haven't said yes. Second, I'm not getting up at six in the fuckin' morning, and last, you haven't offered me anything yet. I really don't give a shit what you want."

Xav picked up his glass, saw it was only ice, and got up to fetch a refill without another word, his pert ass swaying nonchalently all the way to the bar.

Marco's face was a picture of surprise, but also sheer determination.

"Impertinent little shit, isn't he?" he muttered under his breath.

Aldo, sitting on the edge of the seated area beside him, sipped his wine and murmured; "He knows his worth, Marc. And he doesn't need your patronage. You've seen him in action, you know he's good."  PJ, who had seen and heard the exchange after Xavier's routine and now moved across to sit beside Marco added; "And he's not over estimating himself in any way, I promise you."  He smiled as he saw from Marco's expression that the Italian photographer knew who he was. Marco regarded PJ with a judicial eye.

"Of that I've no doubt, Mr. McNamara."

"PJ... please," the director insisted, extending a hand which Marco shook warily.

"I have dozens of requests every day from kids begging me to look at their portfolios," he explained now. "All of them wanting me to make them the next 'It' boy or girl. Most of them don't even warrant the cost of the postage. If that boy turns out even half as photogenic as I think he will, he'd be worth more than half the models in this country. But, if he doesn't let me take his goddamn picture he's just another out of work prima donna, no?"

"But if you missed out on the chance to break him, and someone else stole your thunder...?" PJ sipped his drink with an innocent smile. "How bad would you feel? He's a beautiful kid, Marco. Yeah he's got attitude but someone is gonna go that extra mile for him. And the light in the evening here is..."  He shrugged expansively. The other side of Marco, Aldo kissed his fingertips and blew gently on them in a universal gesture of appreciation. Marco looked back at PJ shrewdly, not unaware of what he was doing.

"Someone else, huh? Someone like you maybe?" He glanced over to Xavier and back at PJ with a grin. "Is he gonna be in your films? And, where can I get a preview?"

PJ did not meet his eyes.  "That depends on what you're offering in return." He was watching Xavier sashay back from the bar with a fond, possessive smile.

Marco had been half-joking, but the prospect of actually getting that preview had crystallised his attention. "What do you want?"

Silver blue eyes, sharp as polished steel met his own shrewdly. PJ murmured; "The boy has talent. He's a looker, for sure, but he's got the confidence to make it on any catwalk you wanna put him on. Just treat him well, that's all I want of you. I could give him work but I'm not sure that what I do is what he wants to do. And I'm not gonna exploit him. Just make sure that you don't either, or I'll find out about it."  His tone hardened just a little on that last sentence. Aldo gave his friend a look but it was ignored. PJ just smiled beatifically at Marco. Two men of the world, doing a little business over a friendly drink.

Before Marco had a chance to respond to PJ, Xavier dropped back down in his seat across from them. Marco could have told the director he had every intention of treating the kid well, but first he need to get past that attitude. He was so used to models, looking to make it big, throwing themselves at him, that he'd forgotten what it was like to be snubbed. He'd also not taken into account that Xavier wasn't in the business, wasn't looking for work, and probably couldn't care less about getting his face (or ass) in some glossy spread. What he did seem to care about Marco had already hit on though.

"So, Xavier. How much is your time worth?"

Xavier just laughed and shook his head. "You don't give up, do you? That's not how it works though. You put something on the table first."

Now it was Marco's turn to laugh. Ok, the kid wasn't a dummy. He wasn't going to undercut himself by throwing out a number before Marco did. The photographer gave him a figure and surprisingly his next starlet did not come back with something ridiculous as he'd half expected but a reasonable counter. Aldo was right, he knew his market value, and he wasn't afraid to ask for it. Marco had a few demands of his own though, since he was paying top dollar.

"You will be ready at six, I don't care how fuckin' late you party tonight, and you're mine for the weekend. You're going to work your ass off for me at those rates, young man, and I don't want to hear any bitching!"

Xavier gave a graceful little shrug. "You're the boss." He took a drink and locked eyes with Marco again. "But not until six tomorrow, so fuck off tonight. Go cruise someone else, I'm not going to fuck you."

Marco's eyes widened so far they were in danger of popping out of his head. Then he threw back his head and laughed. Still chuckling to himself he picked up his drink and without another word he wandered away to where some more accommodating young men were lounging naked by the pool.

PJ shook his head, laughing softly and appreciatively. It seemed like only a couple of years ago that he'd had Rayne standing off with him in just the same way, throwing that studied arrogance back at him; the defence mechanisms that had worked for him in the past. He and Xav were so alike that it sometimes made him catch his breath to see it. Neither boy was going to let him help them, but it didn't stop him trying.

"Looks like you brokered yourself a good deal there, baby," he remarked, lifting a glass to the young American with a wry smile.

"The night is young," Aldo added with a grin. "How much better can things get?"

Xav touched his glass to PJ's and they both drank to that. He had no intention of getting as annihilated as he had the other night at the club though. He'd made the deal with Marco and he'd stick to it, although he hadn't seen six am in a very long time.

To be continued...

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

End of Chapter Six - © Bellora Quinn & Sadie Rose Bermingham 2009



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 07



© BELLORA QUINN & SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM 2010

More apologies for the delay, again... I know, I know! We edit too slowly but we're both in full time employment and it's hard sometimes to find the space to just sit down and work on (in)decent smut.

There is a warning of consenting sexual violence with this chapter. If you don't like it, please don't read it and then complain. The BDSM arc within Sunrise concludes here but it will NOT be the final chapter of the story. I estimate another three chapters, roughly in line with Dark Paths. The end of Seven may come as a shock to some readers, so please fasten your seatbelts and make sure you are sitting comfortably before you begin.

Enjoy your flight (of fantasy).

xxx.Sadie & Bellora

CHAPTER SEVEN -- BEFORE THE DAWN

NAPLES - XAVIER:

After Xavier's performance and subsequent deal with Marco the party seemed to amp up, although Xav was even less inclined to stay and join in the fun. He sat quietly by Clay and PJ, drinking and watching the antics going on around them. There seemed to be a lot of showing off and Xavier couldn't help noticing several young men vying for Aldo's attention. Clay did not lack for admirers either and was soon engaged in conversation with a few boys.

Xavier was calculating how long he would have to stay before he could make polite excuses and retreat to his bedroom. At least he had Marco to thank for a ready-made excuse. He actually did have to get up early.

PJ leaned close to him. "Although you look lovely on my arm you don't have to sit here and keep an old man company, Xavier," he murmured softly.

"I like sitting with you," his young companion said determinedly, but PJ was not to be deterred.

"Why don't you go have some fun? Introduce yourself to some of these young studs Aldo has invited, hmm? You've got them all stirred up and now you're hiding behind me. People will start to talk," he said with a teasing smile.

Xav gave him a warm smile back. "Let them talk."

After a moment his smile faded a bit and he looked away, seeing the concern in PJ's eyes that the older man was trying not to show. Chavez came up behind him then and slid his arms around his neck, pushing his hands down his bared chest and leaning in to kiss the corner of his jaw.

"Come and dance with me?" he coaxed in a whisper just below Xav's ear.

Xavier stifled a sigh. He wasn't in the mood for this. Not at all. Nonetheless he let the other man pull him up from the chair, because for some reason he didn't want to disappoint Chavez. Besides, working up a sweat would keep him from sitting there and getting drunk, and it made PJ brighten up some.

Chavez started to bounce to the beat and Xavier moved with him. Maybe getting lost in the music would be a good thing. He could close his eyes and let it flow over him and pretend he didn't hurt for a while.

It didn't take long before they were joined by more sleek, tanned, muscular bodies moving to the beat. Xavier tried to ignore the people around him, he gave off a definite vibe of 'leave-me-alone' and yet he almost immediately was surrounded by a little cluster of young men, dancing and flirting and try to get his attention. If anything his standoffish attitude was even more of a lure.

One guy in particular was being more persistant than the rest and he introduced himself as Palo. He spoke English with a heavy Italian accent that Xavier had to listen to hard in order to understand, but he still managed to convey his admiration for Xav's dancing (among other things).

Xavier was polite, although he tried moving away a couple times, but Palo wasn't easily put off. He kept putting himself in Xavier's path and trying to talk to him. He must have sensed Xavier was getting annoyed because he finally got desprate enough to try a new tactic, although Xavier wasn't really all that pleased with this one either.

"Hey, you teach me some moves, eh?" Palo asked. "Show me how you dance like that? How you move is like, ah... sometimes a girl, sometimes a boy?"

Chavez, who was dancing right behind Xav at the time, snickered at this observation and Xav made a face and elbowed him in the ribs. Maybe it was that knowing snicker, but for whatever reason Xavier agreed to show Palo a few steps. It was actually pretty astute of Palo to pick up on the way Xav danced. He did combine a certain feminine quality while still retaining a masculine strength to his dancing. It was deliberate, part of the way he interpreted the music, and he liked playing with androgyny. It wasn't easy to make it look good either. Females could do choreography meant for male dancers and still make it look ultra feminine. Males doing the flip of that more often then not had a hard time pulling it off without looking totally sissified.

With a little shrug Xav agreed to an impromptu lesson. "You want to learn choreography or you just wanna look good in the club?"

"Sì." Palo responed.

Xavier chuckled at last. "Okay. First things first, you gotta learn the difference between boys and girls." This made Palo laugh and Xavier echoed it but pressed his point. "If you want to make something look masculine you have to end the movement sort of abruptly. Pop your hips rather than roll them. Like this."

He demonstrated the difference with a hard little kick of his pelvis.

"Also, keep your arm movement at or below the shoulder." He took a couple steps, popping his hips and keeping the movement of his arms crisp and sharp. It was a simple combination that was used in a lot of hip-hop choreography.

"Now, if you want a more feminine look you can do almost the same thing but smoother. Roll your hips and make your arms flow from one movement to the next." Xavier said, demonstrating the difference by doing the same combination only with a body roll that brought the arms up all the way over his head and looked more like something a middle eastern belly dancer would do.

Palo was smiling and nodding, although Xav wasn't sure how much of this he was absorbing and how much he was just enjoying the show.

"Either way you have to remember to isolate each movement. Don't let it get sloppy." Xavier moved again, seemlessly gliding with the beat of the music, showing how it looked when each part of his body stayed in perfect control, from the way his chest popped first before moving lower to roll his belly and continue the movement through the swivel of his hips. It was very professional looking and particularly erotic when slowed down.

Xavier happened to know the choreography for the song that was playing, and he taught Palo a few simple steps, or what he thought would be simple. The guy didn't have two left feet, but he had probably never really thought about remembering steps to a song before. He encouraged Palo to try a few times and then after watching for a moment or two stepped behind him and put his hands on his hips.

"You're thinking too much. Close your eyes." He waited a second. "Ok, now listen for the base notes in the song."

He gave a little push on Palo's hips and got him through the moves, this time perfectly. Palo was happy with his accomplishment and Xavier laughed good naturedly, clapping his hands for him and dancing along. He was actually starting to relax a little, having some fun and getting into the feel of the casual atmosphere.

Then, the song changed, and so did Xavier's entire countenance. Someone had scrolled through some of the playlists and probably very innocently picked one called 'Backroom Sets'. Dark Paths seeped out of the speakers, with all the seduction the Whipsnade track had originally held for Xavier. It wrapped around him like a strangling vine that had suddenly grown thorns and he abruptly stopped dancing. Pain and anger mixed inside him in equal measure as Rayne's voice began to sing the opening lines. Xavier stood there, ignoring Palo's questioning look. He didn't know what to do. He would feel stupid if he went over to the sound system and changed the track, and worse than stupid if he ran into the house to go bury his head under his pillows like he wanted to. Palo called his name and Xavier turned and quickly walked away.

PARIS - RAYNE:

By the time of his third visit to la Griffe, Rayne knew the routines of the club by rote. The owner was a werebear, a massive Finn named Henning Szarbo who tolerated vampire clients although he made it plain that he had no love for them. The girl on reception was his mate, though she was a wildcat not a bear, quite literally at certain times of the month! Her name was Carmine and she was just as fond of dealing out pain as the muscular boy who had been his initial scourge; which he discovered on his second trip to the club.

On the second night he had been loosely restrained in one of the male-rape cells. They stripped, blindfolded and collared him, fastening the collar with iron rings to a pair of iron loops in the concrete floor. His wrists were pulled between his legs and manacled with iron cuffs to opposing ankles so that he could not rise. The brace-gag was put in his mouth to keep his jaws open and his fangs away from vulnerable flesh whilst he was throat fucked by a German leather stud who went by the name of Carlsen. Rayne did not fight the restraints at any stage, giving himself up to the hot, mortal cock in his mouth. Carlsen was horse hung and wasted no energy on words as he bucked his sweaty crotch frantically in the vampire's face.

When his mouth was running with cum, Carmine was let loose on him. She had lost her mother and two brothers to a vampire attack in Heidelberg when she was just fourteen. This was explained to him, in breathless tones, as she flogged his naked back with a length of flexible steel cable. Her anger was only let loose between bouts of controlled violence. When she was not beating him she stalked about the cell in her high-heeled, blood-spattered, white, PVC boots and ranted at him about how much she loathed vampires. But whilst she was thrashing him, a steely, ice-cold control came over her as if she worked to a script, perfectly choreographed.

Afterwards the German male fucked him vigorously up the arse whilst she watched without visible emotion. The raking sensation of his ten inch prick drove his client into a steady sexual frenzy. Shamelessly, Rayne came like a fountain for him.

Tonight he checked in and let himself be led down to the private chambers, undressed and washed and buckled into the restraints on the rotating X-frame in the Punishment Room as his clothing was folded and put away carefully in one of the lockers. Since feeding from Adora a couple of nights ago he had not allowed himself to be tempted by mortals again. She had been sweet and beautiful in his bed, a balm to his frayed nerves, but the taste of her blood was a raw and bitter memory in the back of his throat now and he felt that old sense of nausea at the thought of consuming more.

When Henning Szarbo, who would be his scourge, entered the chamber wearing leather pants so fine and tight that they looked as if they had been sprayed onto his skin, Rayne was a little surprised, but interested nonetheless. He had been worked over professionally thus far but tonight he would experience the hand of a master, and a powerful Shape-shifter at that. Carmine fastened the cushioned straps around his wrists and ankles and locked the metal bracelets tightly around them. Rayne pulled against them half-heartedly as she put the head collar on him and bolted it in place, then crouched to manoeuvre his cock and balls through the ring in the centre of the X, positioned perfectly to hold him in place. He winced as she tightened the ring a little harder than necessary. She knew that as a vampire he could not be physically damaged but maybe she wanted to test the theory out for herself.

If she wanted tears, she would be disappointed. He gritted his teeth and managed not to moan out loud. It would be difficult to get fully hard with the ring locked tight but he was willing to give it a go.

When she reached for the jaw brace, Henning shook his head though. Rayne exhaled a little sigh of relief. He could tolerate having his mouth forced open but the plates stopped his fangs extending fully and that was painful once he became fiercely aroused.

"Monsieur Wylde is not foolish," Henning rumbled now, waving the young werecat, in her short, tight, black latex dress, back towards the door of the chamber. "He will not bite me if he knows what is good for him."

It was a warning, but it sounded almost like a threat. Rayne was prepared to heed it, he did not want to cross the Finn. Human sadists were one thing, but a man who was half-bear and trained in the application of pain was not someone to trifle with. Henning was barefoot tonight. He wore a pair of criss-crossed, studded belts loose on his hips. A black collar and gauntlets running from wrist to elbow matched the belts. Henning's muscular torso must have been oiled with the whole bottle to gleam the way it did. Even the pelt of fair hair on his chest and belly glinted with jewels of oil. His head hair was shaved to within a centimetre of his skull though, and his little pointed beard was trimmed immaculately. Blue eyes like chips of ice glinted knowingly in the craggy face that looked down at Rayne.

The vampire managed a weak, half-smile and let his head drop as far as the collar would allow it to go. Which was not far at all.

He heard the sound of Carlsen's booted feet stomping in from the hallway as Carmine clicked out curtly. The hirsute, burly German was wearing a short black biker jacket tonight and black denim cut-offs that barely reached mid-thigh. They showed off his dark, well-defined leg muscles and the sculpted perfection of his abs and pecs. His black, buckled boots were stack heeled and covered in ornate chrome-work. Under different circumstances Rayne would have been impressed.

Carlsen saw his look and flashed a humourless grin that was almost feral enough to belong to a non-human.

"Good to kick a man in the balls with!" he acknowledged coldly.

The vampire already knew that Carlsen had a passion for inflicting pain. And he was very, very good at it. What the muscular German could do with just his hands and dick surpassed the mindless violence of the street a thousand times. Last night he had only been raped by the man, but Carlsen knew just how to walk that line between ecstasy and agony. He knew how to make it hurt but still force a man to come hard for him. Rayne was not unhappy to see him walk into the cell this evening.

"What's the game tonight then?" Carlsen asked his boss now.

Henning's smile held no humour. He was staring contemplatively at their 'victim' as he selected the toys he would use on the vampire.

"Break him," he rumbled, and Rayne heard his knuckles crack as he flexed hands that were already sporting ursine talons.

"Toll!" Carlsen exclaimed delightedly. "Let's crack on then. Are you ready little blood-drinker? Are you ready to have your skin flayed and your ass busted open?"

"Bring it on," Rayne told him laconically, with a tilt of his head.

Henning gripped the X-frame, which pivoted on a central axle between a pair of rigid upright posts. Once Rayne was strapped into the fixed wrist and ankle restraints the frame could be turned through 360 degrees and locked in any position required. The huge blond were-bear spun the frame a couple of times to disorient his client, then locked it on the perpendicular, with Rayne's head upward, his slim body leaning forward into the frame, arms and legs braced apart.

"Tonight is about our pleasure," he growled softly, moving between the Englishman's slender thighs and laying his clawed hands on Rayne's bare arse. "You consented to be ours. Are you content that the rules remain the same as before?"

"Uh-huh," Rayne nodded, very conscious of the heat emanating from those big, powerful hands.

"You will not give us a safe word?" This was clearly troubling Henning, it had caused arguments from the first night. He told the vampire that he had never punished a client who did not make use of the safe word at some point in the proceedings.

"I don't need it," Rayne Wylde said atonally, as he had on the previous two nights that he had visited them.

His money was as good as any other man's, but still Rayne knew that Henning did not like the situation. He did not like what Rayne was and he did not like disruption of his well-ordered system. Most of the treatments on offer here had been tried out and tested thoroughly before they were used on paying customers. Even the more extreme tortures were road-trialed first. But what they were doing here was freestyling. The vampire was baiting them to see how far they would go and Henning was aware that he was doing it. And curious about his reasons though he would not ask for an explanation.

The were had vast reserves of self-control, but his human colleague did not. Rayne guessed that Henning was privately concerned he would wind Carlsen up to do something drastic. And he was right to be worried. Rayne felt a little twinge of guilt, Henning Szarbo was not a bad guy, for a were. If anything bad happened it would be his reputation on the line, but that was not Rayne Wylde's problem right now.

Getting the last twelve months out of his system was.

"You are hungry," Henning said, low, for his ears only. His fingers contracted on Rayne's arse cheeks and the long, pointed black claws pierced soft, white skin, sinking deeper. He let his lips brush the nape of the vampire's slim, white neck. "Your skin is cold and pale. Do you not wish to feed before we bleed you?"

"Is this place a restaurant now?" Rayne asked, a little bit breathlessly. He was wriggling his hips, but not too much because of the way that the fixed cock ring pulled on his genitals. The slow penetration of Henning's talons felt cold and clean like cutting himself did. He focussed on the way that the bear's hard, curved claws sank into his flesh and let it shut out everything else. It felt so good that he wanted to cry for the relief of it.

"As you wish," Henning Szarbo sighed, shaking his head. "But you will bleed for us tonight, vampire."

"I'm going to pierce your milky skin, little blood-drinker," Carlsen chuckled like a malevolent demon. His olive dark complexion was certainly devilish, and the tight, wet curls of his black hair danced around those swarthy features as he got to work in front of Rayne with a number of fine, steel skewers.

Rayne watched the muscular German intently as he used the sharp little rods to puncture the skin of his client's bared chest, threading the skewer through the soft flesh like a needle through silk. The bite of these little metal pins was a small pain compared to the tug of Henning's claws but it sent little shivers of need through his body and he felt his dick stiffen in spite of the metal ring around its root.

The were drew his talons out of Rayne's clenching buttocks and the young vampire strapped to the frame uttered a tiny, helpless whimper of disappointment. The emotion was not to last. Henning laid his hand on Rayne's shoulder and slowly drew his clawed fingers down his client's naked back.

"Yessss!" Rayne hissed, bucking against the ring that held his prick and balls as the heat poured through him from the slow lacerations in his skin. The small, round puncture wounds in his arse-cheeks were already healing but a trickle of watery blood ran from the five narrow rents in his back. He felt it tickle down his spine like hot sweat.

"You like that, Monsieur?" the tall, powerful were growled huskily into his ear. He stroked one slightly curved claw up and down the vampire's ass crack, caressing the smooth skin between his cheeks and teasing the tight, pink pucker of his anus with the tip of the pointed spur.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 07



"Mmmhhhhh!" Rayne nodded as fervently as he could manage in the head collar.

Before him, Carlsen began to stroke his painfully erect nipples with one of the silver-steel pins. Rayne pulled furiously on the wrist restraints but the welded titanium-steel cuffs held, just as Carmine had told him they would when she buckled him in. He remembered then... a little flash of something other that broke through his shields.

Xavier, leaning back against the wall in the hallway of Aldo's house, his arms lifted and pinned by Rayne's hands as they fucked like life depended on it.

The little ripple of Xav's pleasure at being held and contained.  

Xavier would have loved this. Not the extreme stuff, maybe, but the frame and the cuffs and the cruel little cock-lock. That would float his boat, for sure.

NO! Rayne shook his head, trying to clear it. He had been doing so well, but little rivulets of memory kept trickling in through the cracks in his defensive walls. It was important to fight it. If he could not master something as basic as controlling his emotions and memories then there really was no hope for him.

Carlsen pricked tormentingly at the sensitive bud of his left nipple then pushed the needlepoint deeper. Tongues of cold fire licked through Rayne's chest and made the nerves around his erect teats dance and spark desperately. He bucked his hips again, feeling that hard claw between his cheeks press harder on his entry button. The smooth, cold, metal ring around his cock and nut-sac was a throbbing ache that only eased a little when he ground his pubic bone slowly against the steel bars of the X-frame where they crossed beneath his thrusting crotch.

The collar stopped him looking down. He could not see what Carlsen was doing to his tits, he could only feel it. For a little while the sharp, clear pain drove all thoughts out of his head except the ones screaming silently that it hurt, and the pain was so fucking good. It felt like rats were biting his nipples and his prick lurched excitedly as he sensed the blood running down his bared chest.

"Yes!" he panted eagerly. "Don't stop!"

Rayne pulled hard on the cuffs again as he felt the claw-tip at his rear begin a minuscule circular motion within the tight pucker of his sphincter. It tickled and teased there for an eternity, moving in and out and around in the confines of his ring until he wanted to scream for more. The little shivers it sent through him set off the flames around his left nipple again.

Carlsen smiled as he picked up another of his little pins and slowly pressed it against the tiny indentation in the centre of the vampire's pierced bud. Rayne closed his eyes and let out a little huff of breath as the man mirrored the circling motion of Henning's claw in each of his client's erect nipples with the tip of the little needle before slowly pushing it through the flesh of the vampire's right teat, piercing him.

"Nnnnn..." Rayne whimpered, clenching his back teeth again and closing his eyes tightly as he concentrated on the cold, sharp pain in his breast. It hurt like hell but at the same time it felt so good. His fangs extended automatically and pricked the flesh of his lower gums.

Carlsen must have seen it because he murmured; "Endtlich brauchen wir vielleicht das Knebel, ja?"

Henning slowly pushed his talon deeper inside Rayne so that it curled under the lip of his ring and he was able to tug steadily on it, rotating his finger to pull their captive's anus up and down and side to side almost experimentally. In a low, quiet, rumbling voice he responded; "No. We do not need the gag. He is collared and cuffed, the only way he will bite is if you put something too close to his mouth."

"I thought that was the idea," Carlsen reminded him sullenly, in English for Rayne's benefit.

"If you are afraid that he will rip your cock off, maybe I should take his mouth," Henning said atonally. He pressed his finger into Rayne to the second knuckle and the lean, naked vampire bucked into the ring again with a hiss of mingled pain and pleasure as he drew it back down, letting the curved tip rend soft, internal flesh. A little trickle of blood ran from Rayne's twitching ring as he withdrew his finger completely.

The vampire keened almost inaudibly, though it was hard to say if his cries were born of pain or disappointment at being left empty. He was not robbed of the sensation fix for long though. Carlsen knelt to examine his cock where it protruded through the metal hoop where the X bars crossed over. He grinned on discovering that the vampire was clearly aroused by their handling of him. Even with the ring screwed tight he was swollen and hard.

"You are a bad little bloodsucker," he chuckled, reaching for his collection of tools as Henning slowly clawed Rayne's bare back again, opening new tracks on his pale skin to replace the ones that were gradually fading there. The Were impassively watched him shivering like a junkie in need of a fix.

Carlsen rose and held up a little silver object, about the size of a proper, metal biro refill with a similarly tapered tip. It was curved at the other end though, with a pair of silver balls situated at the top and bottom of the curve.

"Do you know what this is, dead boy?" he asked with a waggle of his thick, dark eyebrows.

Rayne nodded awkwardly. The collar made it difficult to move his head up and down too far but he knew what a cock wand looked like and he knew what they were used for.

"Ever had one in your dick before?" the German grinned at him.

"Yeah." Rayne held his glinting eyes, refusing to look away.

"Bet you've never had one like this though," Carlsen sneered and knelt down to insert the little spear of silver carefully into the opening of the vampire's urethra like a catheter, except that Rayne knew from the size and weight that it was not hollow like a catheter. This little wand was designed to keep fluids from passing out of his piss slit. The curve and the silver balls were for added stimulus.

He winced as he felt it go in though. The pain was very different to the clean cold sensation in his nipples. This was like electricity, or a very thin, sharp knife lancing open his sensitive cock shaft. His jaws parted and despite his resolve not show weakness, he cried out, his fingers curling around the frame beyond the wrist cuffs and gripping it harder. It took every ounce of will not to buck and struggle like a trapped animal as he felt the slender, silver shaft slide deep into his erect penis until the first silver ball was pressing down into his slit, effectively closing the escape hatch on his urethra. The curve fitted snugly around the swell of his cock head and the second ball rested neatly against the sensitive ridges of skin at the root of his foreskin. Carlsen now stroked his curving shaft slowly and rubbed his thumb over that second ball until Rayne was shuddering and panting with longing. The initial cold flame lancing through his cock was dulling to a slow, throbbing ache but every movement brought fresh, exquisite agony.

He squirmed awkwardly in the restraints and made little yipping noises as Henning moved forward and showed him a new toy. The dildo was a plump, 9" black rubber shaft with a large tapered glans and a metal core. There were little steel nodules on the shaft and head. Henning picked up an object that looked like a candle-lighter. He touched the metal tip of the wand to the base of the dildo where the steel core was exposed. It sparked and the nodules along the shaft protruded from the rubber like small silver nipples whenever he connected the wand to the base. Now, the huge, silent Werebear touched the shaft gently to Rayne's fingers. Another spark leapt from one of the nodules and made him jump violently as it earthed itself in his hand. It shocked more than it hurt, but the pull of the restraints and the cock wand hurt more.

Rayne tried hard not to wriggle as Henning walked back between his legs with the big rubber cock. He lubed it carefully before pressing the tapered tip against the vampire's quivering ring and slowly pushing it into his tight rectum. Rayne moaned long and low in his throat as he felt it fill him, long and cold and hard inside him. It was incredible, a beautiful length and thickness, just perfect proportions for the stimulation of his arse. He was aching to be fucked and almost sufficiently horny to beg for that big rubber tool to shaft his restless passage.

But not quite slut enough. Not yet.

As Henning was twisting and turning the dildo inside him, getting it deeper and further between his firm, white arse-cheeks, Carlsen picked up the 'lighter' and murmured his partner's name.

It was all the warning his Were colleague needed. Henning released the dildo and stepped clear as Carlsen touched the little charger to the silver ball in the head of Rayne's cock and the spark leapt across and found its path. Rayne could not see what he was doing but he heard the click of the spark moments after he felt its bite.

His whole body jerked violently as the current shot down the little metal spike in his dick and earthed through his throbbing balls. Rayne screamed. There were no words at first just a long, high, frantic whine of protest.

"Jee...jee...jeeeeesus!" he exhaled at last, still twitching and struggling, no longer concerned by the pull of the cock ring. He had a more pressing imperative. His balls felt as if they were bleeding. Not for the first time he was glad that his colon was empty. A mortal would have crapped himself by now.

"Sorry," Carlsen chirped, sounding not one bit contrite. "I didn't realise it was set high."

Henning murmured; "Noise disturbs me, Monsieur Wylde. If you scream like that again I will have no recourse other than to gag and hood you. You understand?"

Helplessly, Rayne nodded, though he was still shaking from the shock that ripped though his muscles and nerve endings.

"If he won't use a safe word, he doesn't need his mouth open unless we want to fuck it," Carlsen pointed out casually. "Can't we just gag and hood him and be done with it?"

The way that his large, thick penis was forcing out the front of his tight shorts suggested that he was already aroused by the idea of their pretty, undead client blindfolded and tightly gagged as they tormented him and ultimately fucked him; naked and splayed, strapped helplessly to the frame. Wylde had given them permission for just about any form of sexual punishment or humiliation they saw fit to inflict. His only conditions were that he wanted them to make him bleed and that when they fucked him it had to hurt and he had to remain tightly restrained throughout.

Henning shook his head though, and Henning's word was law in here. If the Were said that they were going to kill the vampire, then it would be done. Carlsen would not disobey his Master. He knew that Henning's people had no truck with the Undead. Furthermore, Wylde had never stipulated that they could not kill him.

Carlsen had never seen a vampire executed before and the idea turned him on something bad.

The muscular German sadist had never been quite sure what it was that floated Henning's boat. The Were liked to use his whips and claws but there was something a little obsessive about the way in which he handled a client. He liked to touch them slowly, taking his time. Henning was a craftsman; his punishments were a work of art. Sometimes he talked to them whilst he was opening their skin or paddling their behinds; casual talk like you'd make with any person in the bank or on the high street.

They used the shocker on him for a little while now, passing the trigger back and forth and sending little blasts of electricity through their captive, enjoying the way that he bucked and squirmed. He kept quiet on the whole though, uttering little half-gasping sounds sometimes as the pain ripped through him and moaning low in his throat from time to time. He did not scream again, though his naked body shuddered furiously every time they shocked him. And he stayed hard whilst they were abusing him, which had Carlsen leaking into his tight denim shorts by the time Henning called a halt to this round of punishments.

The Were did not try to stop him when Carlsen removed the dildo from Wylde's ass and unzipped his fly. Szarbo watched impassively as Carlsen mounted, entered and fucked the helpless vampire on the frame, standing between his splayed thighs and taking him from behind with long, firm strokes of his straight, ten inch rod. Wylde quivered and made small, frantic, gasping noises, the sounds of a man fucked almost to the edge of his sexual endurance. He clearly enjoyed the feel of that big, hot cock inside him.

"Fuck! I love my work!" Carlsen panted happily, his balls slapping against the firm white cheeks of their client's cold, smooth arse.

Henning moved to his head now and unfastened his leathers, slapping the pretty vamp's face with his huge Were-bear penis. Wylde half turned his head so that he could lick that obscenely fat, hard shaft, stroking his little, studded pink tongue up and down it greedily.

"Feed me your dick," he panted, the first words he had spoken since they began to abuse him. "Please, I swear I won't bite you. Just let me suck you while he's fucking me. I want you both, together."

"Fuck his mouth," Carlsen panted as he pounded the vampire's tight hole. "Make him gag, Henning. I wanna hear him choke on your fuck-rod while I breed the deadboy bitch."

He gripped Rayne's skinny hips harder and banged his cold, tight arsehole like it was the last chance he'd ever have to fuck. The vampire squirmed under him but didn't fight it. His mouth opened wide as Henning took hold of a handful of his soft, dark hair and tilted his head back to enter his throat. The Were's knob was huge and fat, even bigger than the impressive human dick pumping his raw, twitching colon. Henning was plump and curved, his shaft ridged like the grip on a bike's handlebars. It was hot and salty in Rayne's mouth and he wrapped his lips around it, sucking and licking it willingly.

Their earlier session with the shocker had aroused Carlsen nicely and it did not take the German long to peak and empty his balls. Wylde was making soft, moaning sounds around the long rod in his mouth and throat, his pale eyes closed; lashes fanning his creamy cheeks as he fellated Henning greedily. The Were laid a hand on his dark head and drew his claws steadily through his vampire client's silky black hair as he thrust slowly in his soft, cold mouth and tight pharynx. When Carlsen groaned and bucked hard into him, spilling his load, Henning felt Rayne Wylde shudder with need, a little tremor that ran through the whole of his slender body. The Revenant was hungry for more than just their cocks and Henning pulled out of his mouth slowly, not willing to trust him any longer than he had to. Wylde had agreed to a contract that left him submissive to their whim but Henning had not survived this long in Paris by taking the word of vampires. If Wylde decided he was unhappy with the arrangement he could just as easily subvert it.

Carlsen might be taken in by that deceptively fragile frame but Henning had fought and killed vampires. And he had seen his own people taken by them in turn. If Wylde wanted to fight them he could do it. It might take him a little time to get free of the frame but he could probably do so eventually.

No, Henning Szarbo would be happier once the weird little vamp was off his premises for good. But in the meantime, he was also a lovely cocksucker and a nice tight fuck. The big blond Were moved around behind him now as Carlsen pulled out from between Wylde's bared cheeks, rubbing his wilting cock contentedly. His sperm dripped in long, slow ropes of pearly whey from the gaping 'O' that confronted them.

"That was something else!" the German grinned, exchanging hi-fives with his buddy before Henning took his place between Wylde's legs.

The vampire exhaled a little groan as he felt Henning's thick, well-sucked rod press against his raw, pink ring then quickly pop inside him, plunging deeper at once. That big, ridged cock tugged on his rectal walls as it surged in and out and he shuddered again, furiously horny though he knew that it was somehow very wrong to desire a creature only a short step away from being an animal.

Henning was a very shrewd operator though and he sensed the vampire's tension and also guessed at some of the reasons behind it. As he stroked his hands over Rayne Wylde's naked buttocks and tugged the little vamp back onto his thrusting cock so that the metal ring yanked on his tightly caparisoned genitals, he also made small talk with their pretty, undead submissive.

"This must be a trial for you," he suggested, curling his long, strong fingers around Wylde's narrow hip bones and sinking his talons firmly into the hollows of his pelvis until he could feel the blood running over his hands. The vampire twitched and shuddered again, making a low, urgent whining sound in his throat. Henning was unperturbed. "I mean," he went on, stoking his cock slowly in and out of Wylde's fabulously tight passage; "this probably seems as low as bestiality to you, doesn't it? If I were to shift now, you'd be riding a bear. And you know it, don't you?"

He watched Rayne Wylde writhe slowly in the frame, turning his slim, padded wrists and circling his lean hips as his nude body undulated beneath Henning. The vampire groaned quietly, shaking his head.

"I'd be prepared to bet that you've never ridden a shifter before, huh?" the Were teased, pumping his rod into Wylde a little harder, enjoying his relentless struggles.

"You'd lose," his client answered hoarsely, the cries he had been suppressing finally forced up into his throat. "Aaahhhhh... nnnnnhhhh! Yuuuuhhhhh!"

Henning pounded him just that little bit faster, his curiosity piqued by the response. Plus, he liked to hear Wylde moan like that for him. It made his balls clench in a good way. His client was indubitably crazy but he was also an incredibly satisfying fuck.

"What d'you mean by that?" he huffed, leaning forward and releasing the vampire's hips, sliding his claws slowly up the creature's slender waist to his ribs. Slowly he dug those long, hard talons in and drew them back slow, opening ribbons of scarlet across his bared torso.

Rayne whined low like a stuck gear-wheel. He juddered furiously under Henning as the Were dug his claws in hard again and used them to pull himself balls-deep into Wylde, piston-fucking him urgently.

"What do you mean?" he growled again as he jabbed his sex into the lean, squirming body beneath him.

"What I said, idiot! You'd lose. You're not my first Were." Rayne spat the words out like bitter olive pits.

"You've got a taste for them, huh?" That was Carlsen who had been watching and stroking himself as Henning fucked the vampire and ripped his chest open. "Kinky little bloodsucker, are you? You like a big bear cock in your ass?"

"Not as much as you like watching it," Wylde hissed quietly. He bucked again as Henning clawed his heaving torso a second time. "Ahhhhh... God! That... uuuuhhhhhh!"

"It makes him fuckin' hard," Carlsen said, admiring the curve of their client's erect cock, which was a good size for such a skinny little boy. "If he didn't have the stopper in he'd be spurtin' like a fountain by now."

"Shut up!" Wylde snarled at him, shaking his dark mane with some difficulty. The collar was still restricting his movement.

"Would you like me to shift my form for you?" Henning rumbled eagerly. "I am bigger in my proper form. Much bigger and I last much longer. Would it please you to ride my Beast?"

Rayne's lips parted around a little gasp and for a moment he could not speak. His eyes were wide and the pupils dilated abruptly as he felt Henning's cock twitch and thicken inside him. The huge Finn was easily eleven and a half inches without fur. Rayne had been ridden by a Were in wolf form and guessed that the bear's dick was boned and rigid like a wolf's cock, just from the feel of it inside him. They were not flexible like human pricks, it was more like being fucked with a solid dildo. He could only begin to imagine what kind of size Henning could attain in his true form. Gabriel, Dom Warren's gypsy Werewolf lover, was around ten inches in his human form but nearer to fourteen as a wolf, though his cock was not as thick as Henning's tool either.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 07



Carlsen saw the darkening of his eyes as he considered this and laughed maliciously.

"Oh he's hot for it, Henning!" he whooped. "Deadboy likes a bit of bestial kink. The bloodsucker wants some big ole'Bear-bone up his butthole!"

"Carl," Henning said curtly. "Leave us for a little while."

Rayne was not unrelieved by the German's reluctant departure. When the door closed behind him, Henning slowly withdrew from his throbbing passage and began to strip. He came around to stand in front of Rayne so that the vampire could watch him disrobing.

"Tell me about your previous experiences with my kind," he said as he unfastened his criss-crossed belts and peeled down his pants.

As Rayne watched him he saw the logic in not wearing anything on his feet. Those long toes were also clawed and it would be a nightmare to wear boots. It was hard enough to get the tight leather pants off over them. A thick pelt of dark blond fur covered Henning's sculpted belly and heavy, low-slung balls. His prick jutted up out of it, the flesh stretched tight around the long, curved bone. It looked narrow against his vast bulk but for sure it didn't feel narrow inside him.

He flexed his shoulders, which were aching from the long suspension on the X-frame and shifted his body, trying to get into a position that was at least semi-comfortable. It was virtually impossible given the way he was bound and manacled.

"Where does that go, when you... um... when you lose your hard-on?" he asked curiously. He knew that Gabe's wolf-cock slid back like a knife into its sheath but that still perplexed him. How the hell it didn't damage internal organs en route was a mystery.

Henning actually smiled. It was the first time Rayne had seen him do it and the expression was a little scary. It showed a lot of sharp, white teeth.

"I have a long backbone and a very deep pelvic area, Monsieur Wylde. You see the curvature of the baculum...?" He hesitated then added; "You are aware of course that bears, like wolves and dogs, have a long, extending cock bone?"

Rayne nodded his head, already doing the calculation as Henning demonstrated with hand gestures how his prick retracted when the muscles of his stomach and pelvis were relaxed fully, and was forced out when he became tense or excited. He managed a weak grin. "So... when you're doing me I'm genuinely getting boned!"

"You avoided my question, Monsieur," Henning reminded him, still perfectly polite even though he was standing bollock naked in front of the little vampire with an amazing erection virtually poking his eye out.

"That looks good enough to eat," Rayne said wistfully.

"In time." Henning folded his arms and looked seriously at him. "You said that you had been taken by a Were, by a Shifter of some kind. How did that come to be? What kind of creature was he?"

"It's a long story," Rayne muttered, turning his head awkwardly in the collar. "Basically... he'd not have been my first choice for a mate but we didn't really have many other options."

"I do not understand. You had no choice? He raped you?" Henning frowned.

"No," Rayne answered him slowly. "Um... not exactly. We reached an... agreement."

Again the Bear shook his shaven head. "An agreement? Like our agreement here, or did you lose a bet with him?"

"No... we..." Rayne bit his lower lip awkwardly. "We wound up trapped in a cell together. It's a long story, like I said. But we were stuck in this damned pit and I'd not fed and he was... well, it was getting close to a full moon and he was getting furrier by the day."

"You knew him, this wolf?" Henning sounded a little surprised now. "He was not hunting you, nor otherwise?"

"Uhh-huh." Rayne shook his head with some difficulty, given the collar. "I knew him beforehand. Friend of a friend, if you like. There was some history between us, none of it good. We tried to get out but there was no way of doing it. And we figured after a little while that what they wanted, the guys who'd left us down there... um, what they wanted was to sit back and watch what would happen when you pitched a Werewolf in against a Vampire just before the full moon."

"They were hoping you would fight?" Henning said in a dark tone. The way he said it suggested that this was not the first time he had heard of such things happening to his kind. "That one of you would be killed?"

"I guess so," Rayne said weakly. "They hadn't reckoned on us knowing one another."

Henning gave him a look. "Knowing in the carnal sense?"

"Shit! No!!" Rayne shook his head again, more vehemently, then wished he hadn't because the little movement sent ripples of pain through his entire body. "No, no... not like that. He's... just a... an acquaintance. But we talked about what they were maybe after. And... well, Gabe... well he kind of laid it on the table. When the moon was full he'd lose it, he'd turn and his wolf... well... it would want two things, right?"

Now the Werebear was just studying him in silence. The mild incredulity in his face made Rayne question everything Gabriel had told him whilst they were stuck in that pit together. He had the feeling he was just about to make a total fool of himself.

"He reckoned..." Rayne swallowed dryly; "well, he reckoned that his wolf would want to eat me or mate with me. And given that I wasn't up to a long fight, he... um... well, he thought it would be best if when he turned I... erm... if I smelled like his mate."   

If he had still been mortal his face would most likely have been bright red by this time.

Henning was still just looking at him as if he was insane. After a few moments more of silent contemplation, he said; "I am sure that even the wolves have more self-control than that, Monsieur. So you are telling me that you permitted him to mate with you in order that when he yielded to his wolf form he would think that you were his... bitch?"

Rayne closed his eyes. He could hear the sarcasm dripping from Henning's tongue.

"Okay, that wasn't one of my smarter decisions, I know," he said through gritted teeth.

"If I did not know better I would have said that it indicated a certain level of desire to feel his wolf cock inside you, Monsieur Wylde," the Were teased.

"That is so untrue!" Rayne exhaled.

"Really? And so you have no desire to feel my bear-bone thrusting in you as Carlsen suggested?" He put on his best disappointed face.

"I... erm..." Rayne swallowed again. He wanted Szarbo's dick so badly that there were almost no words he could say that wouldn't sound ridiculous if he spoke them aloud.

"Do you know something," Henning, walked towards him and gently stroked a long claw under his chin, drawing a thin line of blood. "I think that you have no idea what you want, Monsieur Wylde. And so I am going to have to help you make up your mind. Tell me, when I shift into my beast form, would you rather be loose and able to fight for your virtue or tightly bound and gagged underneath me, subservient to my mindless animal lusts? Keep in mind that if you fight or try to flee you will probably die."

Rayne blinked at him and caught his breath. His cock was throbbing at the bear's proposal and he knew the answer without even considering it. The most satisfying release for him almost invariably came when he was under a man, or a woman, preferably one who knew how to take control. It had been that way since his teens. The only exception to that rule in his whole life had been Xavier.

Rayne pushed that last thought away, hard. Henning had indirectly offered a second option but he was not sure if he was man enough to take it. Some days, True death was tempting but to meet his maker whilst being ripped apart physically by a bear...? He swallowed dryly, his body still shaking with a need he had no words for.

"Bind me," he whispered hoarsely. "I want you to have me like a fuckin' animal. I want to be your bitch... um, do bears have bitches?"

"Bears have sows," Henning said, removing his gauntlets although he kept the collar on. "And they can take two days to mate with their chosen partner, Monsieur Wylde."

"Two... days?" Rayne blinked at him. "Jesus!"

"The actual act of sex takes between twenty minutes to a couple of hours," the Were explained casually as he circled his client, contemplating what must be done. "The sow must remain submissive to her mate if she does not wish to be attacked violently. When he withdraws from her he will rub himself against his sow, biting and clawing her, keeping her in thrall to him until he is ready to mount her again. Bears do not mate for love or companionship, Monsieur. They mate in order to breed the sows. Once she has been bred the bear loses interest. Does this sound agreeable to you, mon petit salop?"

"Story of my life, I guess!" Rayne breathed, laughing bitterly.

Henning gave him a critical glance. Clearly that was not the kind of response he had been expecting.

"You think that this is amusing? For me to have you this way, it is ahh... a giggle for you, non?"

"No, it isn't funny. It's what I need," Rayne told him, rather more seriously. "I don't deserve anything more."

"I am the Master here," Henning said atonally. "I decide what you deserve, Monsieur."

Rayne closed his eyes with a little sigh. "Fair enough."

"If I am to fuck you, I wish for you to be in different straits," the Were exhaled, shaking his head at the reaction, or rather the lack of it. "Not in the frame, though it is good for floggings and sex-torture. I must release you and have you taken to the bench for this kind of sex."

"Okay." Rayne was not unhappy about the idea of being released from the X-frame. It felt good to be manacled there for a while but he was beginning to ache now and it was a relief when sexy Carmine who had strapped him and locked him into the frame returned and unfastened the manacles. She had to help him down and his fangs extended hungrily at the proximity of her full breasts in that tight PVC dress.

"Non!" she warned seriously. "Ne touché pas!"

"Mmmm... I do like a girl who knows how to take control," he commented wryly as she walked him to the door, still rubbing his cold hands and wincing as the feeling returned slowly to his other extremities.

NAPLES - XAVIER:

Feeling trapped Xavier stalked to the far end of the pool and tried to pretend that had been his destination all along. There was a sunken spa there that spilled over in a waterfall and Xav shed the rest of his clothing before slipping down into the hot water. He wanted to actually slip under the surface, drowning out the husky, raw sound of his lover's voice that spilled out like a dark spell over the party-goers, most of whom were oblivious to the anguish it was causing him.

Back on the terrace Chavez had just realised what it was that put the damper on Xav's mood but whilst he was arguing with Aldo about the music it was PJ who tracked the blond boy down to the plunge pool. He took a couple of glasses of fizz with him and sat down quietly on the edge of the spa, rolling up his jeans and dangling his feet into the water as Xavier sprawled there with his head tilted back.

Gently he stroked his fingers through Xav's wet, blond curls now and rubbed slow circles over the back of his skull and the nape of his neck. Xavier turned his head toward PJ and when he opened his eyes his look was hostile and defensive, but it only lasted a moment or two before crumbling. He glanced away again, long lashes shuttering his cool blue gaze. His jaw was set so hard it was a wonder he didn't crack his teeth.

The pain mixed with sex in the song cut Xavier down to the bone. He wanted PJ to go away. He didn't want to be soothed. As he opened his mouth to say as much a curious feeling stole over him. The here and now seemed to blur with the memory of another man's past again, like it had when he was with Aldo in the dressing room. He was looking up at PJ but seeing a younger, stronger version of him. The feel of hot water wrapped around him comfortingly and he swore he felt the gentle rocking of a boat under him instead of the steady stone and mortar he knew was actually there. Whatever he'd been about to say stuck in his throat and he just looked at PJ helplessly. The single hand on the back of his neck was suddenly like comforting arms around him and a confusing mix of emotions pumped though his blood that felt good but also terrified him at the same time.

He tried to blink the vision away but it lingered. Worse, the intensity of the emotions clung to him and he knew he could love PJ if he let himself and that thought scared him so horribly he was almost sick with it, panic making him want to get up and run away as fast as he could.

PJ's fingers worked steadily on the tense muscles of Xavier's shoulders and neck, unaware of the turmoil going on inside the younger man. No, not unaware, just not conscious of the extent or the cause of it.

Xav closed his eyes again and tried to shove the confusing memory out of his head. Unfortunately this left room for other things to filter into his consciousness. His memory of what happened just before Rayne left was foggy, but something about hearing his voice again triggered a recall and he remembered part of that stupid argument they'd had. He remembered how it felt when Rayne held him down, mocking him about being unable to stop it happening and then biting him hard; the jolt that had gone through him like a shot of electricity.

He recalled how, when Rayne had finally lifted his mouth from his neck, he'd felt like he was moving through syrup reaching for him, how everything had been going gray. He heard Rayne's words like an echo coming down a long corridor.

"I wish you were my equal, Xavier, but you're not."

Those words burned into him like acid now and he fought back tears.

"Let him go," PJ said, his voice no more than a low purr of sound but still cutting softly through the distant buzz of the party and the roll of that cursed song over the speaker system. "If you let him get to you like this every time, it'll never be any easier."

"I don't exactly have much choice but to let him go, now do I?" Xavier said just as softly, although his tone held traces of bitterness. "I'm not hanging on, PJ. I'm not stupid. He made it very, very clear I'm not what he wants. He as much as told me I wasn't good enough for him. So...that's it. The end. The song just surprised me, that's all." His words were rapid and clipped as he tried to keep the emotion out of them.

PJ's fingers never stopped their gentle manipulation of his shoulders or their stroking through his hair. He sighed wearily and shook his head though.

"Did he really say that?" he asked incredulously. "I mean... I can believe that he said it the other way about. But after seeing the two of you together..."

PJ sounded half-angry, half-disappointed.

"He said, as much as he would like me to be, I'm not his equal. How would you take that?" He shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. He can think whatever the fuck he wants to think."

"Baby," Paddy sighed, his fingers still steadily working on the knots in Xavier's shoulders, "the twists and turns of his mind are still a mystery to me twenty years and change since I first met him. One thing I can tell you without a doubt though, what he says and what he thinks are rarely one and the same. He's always on the run from his feelings. And just between you and me, the electricity between the two of you was like nothing I've seen in a very long life."

He bent forward and kissed Xavier very softly on the top of his head.

Xavier didn't have anything to say to that. What could he say? That he'd never felt anything like what he'd felt with Rayne before either? What good had it done him? At the end of the day it hadn't mattered to Rayne, he'd still dumped him.

He wasn't going to have too much longer to contemplate however, they were about to get company from Palo and a couple of his friends. The trio of handsome Italian men were laughing and talking good naturedly among themselves as they approached. Palo introduced his two companions to Xavier, though by their smiles and downward glances they already seemed to know who PJ was. Then he asked if it was alright for them to join him in the hot tub. Xavier shrugged, his expression surly and unwelcoming but that didn't seem to matter to Palo or his two friends as they slipped down in to the warm water on either side of him.

At this point, Paddy made his excuses and went back to the party, after a moment of brief, questioning eye contact to make sure that Xavier was okay with that. Xav's expression remained neutral, telling him he could handle things on his own for now.

Palo's friends did not know a lot of English, but they knew enough to have a semi-coherent conversation. It helped that Xav had picked up a little bit of Italian from Aldo, not a whole lot, but more than he'd realised. They seemed very interested in him and asked a lot of questions, which Xavier deflected with practiced ease. He'd learned a long time ago that people loved talking about themselves, and all he needed to do was re-direct the conversation to them and they usually didn't notice he'd never answered anything. It wasn't even intentional anymore, it was just a leftover survival tactic.

They had brought a bottle with them and Palo didn't let Xavier's glass get empty. Xav watched his intake though.

"Marco is very interested in you." Palo observed. "Don't let him push too hard, eh? He'll make you work all day and night."

Xavier shrugged lightly. "Whatever! It's not that hard to stand around and let him take pictures."

Palo arched a brow at this. "Have you ever modelled before?"

"A little," Xavier said evasivly.

This caused a few knowing grins among the other boys and Palo chuckled.

"I would very much like to see your work," he said, taking the opportunity to move a little closer and slide his hand across Xavier's shoulders. "You are very beautiful. I'm surprised Signor McNamara lets you out of his sight."

"Uh, PJ and I aren't together. He's just a friend."

"That is some glad news!" Palo said, smiling a beautiful white smile. "You are free then, no?"

Xavier wasn't sure how to answer that because although Palo was a gorgeous guy Xavier really wasn't all that interested in him. In fact he was starting to feel a little trapped now as Palo took his silence for permission to move in closer yet. His hands were suddenly sliding over Xavier's skin under the water and his mouth covered his in a searching kiss.

As soon as Palo had his mouth occupied another set of hands was on him, stroking up his thighs and over his chest below the water. Palo's friend murmured something appreciative in Italian, moving over to kiss the curve of Xavier's throat. A hand took one of his, curling his fingers for him around a stiffening cock and moving it gently up and down the pulsing shaft.

Xavier just drifted, letting them touch him and kiss him and manipulate him however they wanted. From the corner of his eye he saw the third man slide down in front of him and groping hands pushed his legs apart, kneading up toward the junction of his hips and caressing inward to wrap around his own semi-erect prick. Three very hot guys giving him their undivided attention should have had him all kinds of turned on, but tonight Xavier wasn't sure this was what he wanted.

He needed a second to think and he tried to pull away, turning his head from Palo's lips, but as soon as he did the man on his other side took his place, kissing him hard and aggressively plunging his tongue in his mouth. He tasted sweet, like brandy. His knees were being pushed back towards his chest. The hands wandered over him more boldly and suddenly they didn't feel like arousing caresses anymore, they were more like restraints, but not in a good way.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 07



What did it matter? a small voice in Xavier's head whispered. He could take on all three of them easily; get fucked until he couldn't walk straight. He could do it right here, even letting more join in if they wanted him.

With a start he turned his head again, this time not letting anyone claim his mouth. He gently but firmly pushed their hands away, feeling like he was wrestling with an octopus. "This isn't what I want. I have to go."

"You're not going yet?" Palo said in a cajoling tone. His arm slid back around Xavier's shoulders, holding him there and he gave a winning smile. "Stay and have fun with us, yes?"

"I have to get up early," Xavier said, still trying to extricate himself. It was true, but didn't mean much. He could grab a couple of hours sleep and be fine, he'd done it many times. He just didn't want to become the main attraction tonight. And if he stayed in the pool much longer he would get gang-fucked there. Already there were several naked guys standing casually around the little plunge pool, watching and stroking themselves.

"Just a little while, hmmm?" Palo murmured, dipping his head a little closer so the words breathed along Xavier's wet, bare skin. His fingers gripped Xavier's chin and turned his face toward him again, kissing him hard as the fingers of his other hand slid up into Xavier's damp hair. Hands glided up his thighs again, pushing his legs apart and groping in between. "Let us make you cum hard."

Xavier twisted away from Palo, shoving their hands away more firmly this time. "I said I have to go."

He raised his voice slightly, just loud enough to make them back off a little nervously. He didn't give them a chance to regroup this time and quickly stood and got out of the water. Ignoring Palo's disappointed face he grabbed a towel from the rack nearby and pulled it around him.

Even though Xavier had not been aware of anyone paying attention Aldo had been keeping a discrete eye on the hot tub. He wasn't sure if he was worried or relieved when Xavier brushed off his admirers and walked out on them. Aldo was not one to miss an opportunity though and murmured a few quick excuses of his own before making his way inside while Xavier was still wrapping himself in a towel.

Xavier headed straight for his bedroom. As he neared the end of the hall he saw that the door was slightly ajar and gave it an irritable little push. It was beginning to look like no one was gonna give him any peace tonight. The door swung open to reveal that it was Aldo sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for him with a bottle of wine and two more glasses. The Italian was still fully dressed, or as fully clad as he seemed to get out here, in loose, cream linen trousers and a white, open necked tee that hugged his powerful frame and showed off his tan very nicely.

"An early night," he purred appreciatively. "Very wise!"

Xav gave him a little half smile. He wasn't exactly unhappy to see his friend, even if he was thinking it might not be as early a night as he'd planned after all. He dropped the wet towel and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking the glass Aldo handed him. "So, this Marco guy, he's okay?" Xavier asked, revealing that it had been on his mind, despite the coolness with which he had played it.

Aldo poured the wine about halfway up the fluted glass and topped his own with a little smile. He clearly wanted Xav relaxed but not incapable this evening, though the expression on his face said there was nothing remotely manipulative about it.

"He's a professional," Aldo demurred, sipping his wine as he set the bottle on the floor beside the bed. "Not like some of those boys he photographs, by the way. They like to party and they look good on the camera but..." He sucked a little breath through his teeth and shook his head. "In my day they would not have got work."

Xav drank the contents of his glass in two big swallows, which made Aldo roll his eyes. Xavier grinned unrepentantly. Aldo always had good vino with dinner and after, and he despaired at the way Xav always tossed it back unappreciatively. One time, after Xav had chugged a glass like it was Kool Aid with hardly a pause between bites Aldo had asked; "Do you actually know how much that bottle cost? You didn't even taste it!"

Xavier had shrugged. "It all tastes like fermented grapes to me."

To which Aldo had muttered something mildly disparaging, in Italian and PJ and Clay had a good laugh.

Aldo didn't seem to mind his lack of refinement when it came to good wine tonight and poured him another glass whilst he sipped his own.

As they were sitting there amiably a floorboard creaked in the hall and Xavier looked up to see Palo standing in the doorway, looking inside inquisitively. He had obviously followed Xavier in from the pool at what he thought was a discreet pace. The young man was smiling but when he spotted Aldo his smile became a little less certain.

"Ah, sorry. I thought you would be alone," he said to Xavier.

Xavier shook his head, not knowing whether he should be amused or annoyed.

Since he hadn't yet been told to go away, Palo took that as permission to stay and came inside, but his eyes went from Xavier to Aldo, a hint of a question still lurking there.

Aldo seemed unconcerned that Palo might have heard him discussing his lack of professionalism. He sipped his wine and set down the glass on the shelf above the pillows, then eased his arms around Xavier and pressed his mouth hungrily to the American boy's soft, wet lips, kissing him with a sense of lazy urgency. It was passionate but unhurried, designed to demonstrate to Palo that he had possession. He peeled Xavier's fingers off the empty wineglass and tossed it negligently over the side of the bed where it landed safely on the soft rug with a little thump.

Aldo reached down with one hand now and unbuttoned his pants. He did not ask questions, just as he had not asked if he could kiss Xavier like that.

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was just that Aldo was hard to resist but Xavier responded to his kiss with a slow heat of his own. His hands slid up Aldo's chest, feeling his warmth under the thin fabric of his tee shirt, and he circled his arms loosely around the other man's neck as they kissed.

Palo moved toward the pair entwined loosely on the bed, his eyes drinking them both in. He had hoped that the little blond might warm up to him if he got him alone. As he settled on Xavier's other side, letting his hand come to rest on the boy's thigh and stroking the soft, smooth skin there he hoped that Aldo had maybe given him a little something to relax him, or at least that he wasn't about to be kicked out. His head dipped down to place a string of soft kisses along Xavier's shoulder and up the side of his throat as his hand moved steadily higher between Xavier's thighs.

Xav felt curiously buoyant, like he was just floating along. He hadn't drunk that much but he was slightly buzzed and he found that he didn't mind Palo's searching hands. Or maybe it was just the way Aldo kissed him that had his head spinning. He wasn't sure. His fingers sunk into the other man's short thick hair, his lips moving hungrily into the kiss as his tongue flickered in and out of the Italian's mouth and danced along Aldo's.

Aldo matched him kiss for kiss, rolling up over him, pressing him back down into Palo's body on the vast, comfortable bed as his mouth possessed Xavier's and his tongue lanced seductively between his parted lips, tasting the sweet, wine-laced heat of his mouth. His hand slid down into the open crotch of his pants and he eased himself out carefully, stroking the length of his thick Latin cock against Xavier's belly, nice and slow. As his hands glided up the younger man's slim body, his lips slid down across the blond's smooth cheek and kissed the shell of his ear and the slim line of his neck demandingly.

Xavier's soft sigh of pleasure turned into a little groan as Aldo rubbed against him and Palo's fingers skated lightly up the underside of his stiffening dick. He felt Palo's warm lips kiss the back of his neck and could feel the thickness of Palo's cock hardening where he was pressed up against his buttocks.

Xavier reached over to catch the edge of Aldo's shirt and pulled it up and off the older man, lifting his hips and rubbing his lower half against him as he did so. The handsome Italian murmured something appreciative in his own tongue and slid one hand caressingly along Xavier's thigh, gently guiding the younger man's slim, golden legs a little wider apart. Aldo ground his crotch steadily against Xav, responding to the blond boy's circling hips, the heat of his body pressed full length against Xavier as they began to kiss one another again.

This time there was a searing heat to the clash of lips and tongues. Aldo groaned happily into his mouth. Palo murmured along Xavier's skin, kissing the side of his throat. His lips caressed over the two tiny fading buds from where Rayne marked him and Xav shivered hungrily between the two men, grinding back against one and pushing up against the other.

Palo groaned huskily in his ear. "You are so hot!"

His hands slid up the outsides of Xavier's thighs and cupped his pert cheeks, kneading and pulling them apart slightly, the hard length of his shaft rubbed insistently between the cleft of Xav's silken buttocks. Xavier suddenly turned his head, dropping his hand from Aldo's chest to grip Palo's arm warningly. He might not have made Aldo wear a condom, but that didn't mean he was going to fuck just anybody bareback. He didn't know Palo at all.

To Palo's credit he did stop what he was doing.

"What...?" he queried, breathlessly.

"There's rubbers in the drawer," Xavier told him.

"Oh, okay," Palo said in a small voice, trying not to sound too disappointed.

Aldo kissed Xavier softly on the tip of his nose, then to the younger man's surprise, he knelt up and leaned over to reach in the drawer murmuring; "I'll get them, baby. No worries."

His smile said that he genuinely wasn't worried, but he would do it so that Palo didn't get offended, which took Xavier a little bit by surprise. He relaxed again, and feeling like he should maybe make it up to Palo he moved over a little and turned to kiss him, sliding his hand down to circle his fingers around his prick and stroke him. Palo closed his eyes, moaning appreciatively and lifting his hips into Xavier's deft touch. He'd wanted the beautiful boy since he'd first laid eyes on him earlier, and he didn't care if he had to share him, or wear two rubbers, just as long as Xav let him get inside his ass tonight and fuck him hard.

Xavier bent a little, kissing and licking his way over the turgid shaft in his hand. Palo had a nice cock on him, dark and smooth like the rest of him, not as big as Aldo though, Xav thought as he ran his tongue along the big vein underneath and took him in his hot wet mouth.

Palo groaned and lifted his hips, his fingers digging into the sheets. "Ahh...fuck...! So hot!"

Xavier's mouth was like warm wet velvet wrapped around his throbbing pole. The way he moved up and down and curled his tongue around him, sucking him slow and hard, then faster...Palo was shocked at how quickly he felt like coming; like he was going to burst any second if Xavier didn't stop. Panting hard; a short, hoarse incredulous cry on his lips, Palo gripped Xavier's hair and pulled back, letting his cock pop out of that incredible mouth before he blew. Apparently dancing wasn't the only thing Xav was skilled at!

Aldo watched with a wry smile on his lips and came to crouch behind Xavier as he curled over Palo on the bed. The Italian had shed the rest of his clothing and his lips kissed a slow path down Xavier's naked back to the base of his spine. Slowly and tenderly he began to lick his way down the sheer, pink valley between the boy's firm, bare buttocks. Aldo was alternately kissing, sucking and licking as his fingers gently caressed Xavier's arse.

Xav exhaled urgently as Aldo's lips and tongue did skilful things to him. His warm breath blew over Palo's wet cock, making him shiver. After a moment or two to catch his breath Palo eased his grip and caressed the side of Xavier's face, letting the gorgeous blond Americano go back down on him. Xav licked and teased at Palo now, a pleasure-soaked moan vibrating in his chest as he felt Aldo's long tongue lap at his own backdoor. Xavier's hand stole down between his legs, fingers spreading the few slippery drops of pre-cum, wetting the head of his dick as he stroked himself.

Aldo's warm hand began to caress his balls gently as he wriggled his tongue against Xavier's twitching pucker. With the other hand he retrieved one of the rubbers and passed it to Palo, who got the condom on with unsteady fingers while Xavier sucked at one of his nipples and tugged it with his teeth. Palo coaxed the blond boy up astride his hips and had to fight his own impatience to be inside him. He slid a hand behind Xavier's neck, pulling him down, lips hard and demanding against the blond's. Xavier was so hot and pliant in his hands and the horny impatience got the better of him. He cupped his sexy little ass in both hands and bucked his sheathed cock up fiercely between his cheeks.

Xav gave a little huff of surprise at the quick entry, his back arching defensively, like a cat's. The way Palo arrowed into him probably would have hurt quite a bit more if he and Chavez hadn't enjoyed such a vigorous fuck earlier in the afternoon.

Aldo moved over him, kissing the back of his neck, his hands caressing and pinching and stroking as Xavier began to ride Palo. He knelt up, moving alongside the younger pair, stroking his hand through Xavier's hair and pushing the lad's blond head down towards his throbbing cock, which was standing up proudly against his naked, sculpted, sun-bronzed belly. The cut head glistened with streamers of pearly fluid, trickling slowly down his impressive length.

Xavier's mouth watered for a taste and he didn't need any more encouragement than the subtle pressure Aldo applied. His tongue snaked out to lick that hot piece of meat, stroking over his glans and into the little slit before he opened wide and took him halfway down at a gulp, sucking a good five inches of thick Italian salami into his mouth.

Palo's eyes were glazed and only half open but he watching eagerly as he undulated beneath the sexy blond straddling him. He pushed up harder and deeper into his tight ass as Xavier nodded and gulped on Aldo's horse-hung erection.

"Oh...baby! That is..." Palo's comment trailed off into a groan of lust, his hands gripping Xavier's hips tightly as he thrust faster.

Aldo sighed almost reverently as he watched Xav engulf his head. His fingers tightened imperceptibly in the young man's loose blond curls but he was incredibly gentle as he rocked his shaft steadily in and out between Xav's softly seductive lips. He watched the blond's clear blue eyes darken with pleasure as Palo started pumping him hard from below, stroking that lovely thick cock into him over and over.

"Oh caro! That's so good!" Aldo purred in a deep, throaty tone.

Xav hummed his agreement around the thick shaft parting his lips and slid down further, going slow and getting Aldo nice and wet. He cupped the warm, hairless, heavy balls hanging down between his host's powerful thighs with one hand, kneading and rolling them gently while he applied gentle suction. Palo's hand wrapped around Xav's very erect cock at the same time, and started to stroke him, keeping pace with each roll of Xavier's hips. The sexy blond moaned appreciatively, sending nice vibrations down both the thick Italian cocks that were thrusting eagerly into his lean, beautiful body.

Aldo circled his hips, pressing his pulsing glans up against the back of Xavier's throat, loving the intermittent pressure of the that narrow channel around his sensitive head. The vibration of his young mate's voice just added to the delicious sensations playing along his shaft.

Xavier relaxed his throat and let Aldo thrust in and out at his own pace. Palo's fingers were digging into his hips, pulling him down to meet each upward stab. He was still a full participant, but, caught between their hands and cocks like this, Xavier let himself relax almost to the point where he was floating; deliciously submissive.

Palo panted, a light sheen of sweat breaking out on his dark olive skin. Xav was such a beautiful boy, so tight and willing. His last lover had been very high maintenance. The bitch would never have put out for two men and would have whined the whole time about being taken so hard. Xavier didn't seem to mind it rough and it made Palo want to discover how much more he would let them both do. He was going to come before he got a chance to find out though. He could feel the tightening rush in his balls already. Palo's heels dug into the bed and he bucked up hard, driving into the lithe dancer's body as deeply as he could. His head bent back with a sharp cry as his cum filled the latex sheathing him.

Aldo was pacing himself nicely, watching the younger pair, getting a feel for how close they were. He had already sensed that Palo would edge over before he did and Xav was not there yet. As soon as Palo's panting cries began to die and his grip loosened on Xavier his strong hands pulled the blond boy into his embrace, lifting him up off his knees and off of both their cocks, ignoring his little whimpers of frustration.

"Come to Daddy," Aldo purred huskily, wrapping his arms around Xav and kissing him hungrily as his hands slid down the boy's naked back and gripped the slim thighs winding around his waist.

Xavier hitched his legs tighter around Aldo and wriggled eagerly. He clung to the handsome Italian like a saddle burr, hands gliding over his back and kneading the muscles of his shoulders as Aldo shifted him down on the bed. Xav slid his legs higher, his knees almost coming up to his shoulders as he made room for Aldo between his thighs.

"Do I have to cover up?" Aldo murmured into his ear, so softly that it felt like an extension of his heartbeat.

He was rubbing himself eagerly up and down Xavier's moist, well-fucked channel, stroking his oozing head over the yielding entrance. His lips caressed the younger man's slim neck tenderly, tasting the salty heat of his skin.

Xav would have insisted if Palo had asked the same question, but he'd already fucked Aldo twice without thinking about protection and it seemed sort of pointless now.

"N-no..." Xav breathed even as Aldo entered him.

"Mmm... You're precious," Aldo purred, sinking onto him and into him in the same breath.

Aldo curled his hips so that the entry was deliciously slow and he could feel every inch of Xavier's insides wrapping around him. He was bigger than Palo so Xavier's ass still felt tight even after the hard ride he had given Marco's star model. Aldo's lips stroked his throat and his hands gripped and released Xavier's firm golden cheeks over and over as he nudged his thick, rampant cock deeper. Xavier's fingers slid up the nape of Aldo's neck and sunk into his lush, dark hair caressing the back of his scalp.

"Mmmm, yeah..." His lips moved over the ridge of Aldo's firm jaw as he murmured; "Give it to me...!" He murmured, nipping lightly at the outer edge of Aldo's ear.

Xavier's fingers felt so good against his skin, gently tugging at his hair. Aldo nibbled lazily at the smooth lip of the blond boy's collarbone and rolled his hips a little more urgently, letting his massive, tumescent length slide all the way inside him, loving the way that Xav tensed and released around it as he was filled with heat. One hand moved between them and slowly pressed Xavier's erection against his firmly muscled belly, enjoying the silken pulse of the younger man's need against his skin. Now he fucked the delicious youth harder, giving in to the desire that had been burning in him for the entire evening; ever since he watched Xavier dance for Marco.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 07



"You are a slice of total hotness, you know that?" Aldo growled hungrily, silently adding; And Wylde is out of his mind to walk away from this! Now I know that he's crazy!

Xavier only groaned in answer, walking his heels up Aldo's smoothly muscled back as the big Italian pulsed deeper inside him. Hot? God, yes...! Xav was burning up for him and he wanted to come so bad. He shifted his hips higher, lifting himself up as Aldo drove into him harder. His head was tilted back and he bit down on his bottom lip as the angle of penetration made Aldo hit home just right inside him, tapping that sweet spot and making him break out in a sweat.

"Uhhh, yeah..." he hissed, in a breath through his teeth. "Aldo...that's so fucking good..." he panted, feeling the churning in his balls tightening, the pressure growing to almost unbearable levels. "Harder...!" he begged, tossing his head from side to side.

Aldo was not above giving him exactly what he pleaded for. He quickened his thrusts but kept them long and deep. The way Xavier seemed to ripple around him as he pulsed just took him closer and closer to the edge. He leaned down over the beautiful blond boy, kissing his neck again and sucking tenderly at the soft skin where his earlobe met the smooth curve of his jaw.

"Are you close, caro?" he panted huskily. "I wanna bring you over. I wanna come with you so bad."

Xavier felt a surge of heat at those huskily murmured words and the way Aldo drilled into him again and again. The sensitive head of his cock being rubbed up against his belly was edging him closer as well.

"Mmm yesss, make me cum...uhh uhhhh I'm gonna..." His body tightened, the hard muscles of his stomach standing out in sharp relief as the first pearly rope jetted from the end of his cock in a warm spurt.

Aldo curled around him, thrusting hard as he felt Xav clench on his cock. He kissed the younger man's hot, sweat-slick neck gratefully as the heat boiled up from his own balls and spurting eagerly deep inside him. Aldo's tongue caressed the little dimpled marks on the long line of his trapezius where Rayne liked to bite him and he moaned like a hungry bear as he bucked between Xavier's legs. He pulsed constantly in the wet heat of Xav's tight channel, trying to prolong the pleasure as much as possible. If this was what Rayne Wylde had been enjoying night after night it was little wonder that he sometimes looked a bit too pleased with himself.

Aldo still could not understand, for the life of him, why he would walk away though. Loco!

Palo lay sprawled on his back watching the pair of them entwined around each other. If he didn't already know better he would have thought they were a couple. They looked good together for sure, but it wasn't just that. There was an intimacy between them that seemed like more than just a casual fuck. Palo suspected that, given half a chance, something potent might develop there, and he was silently glad that Xavier was going to be at Marco's the next few days. Palo wasn't invited to the shoot, but he was sure he could change that if he talked to Marco nicely. Once he got him alone it shouldn't be too hard to find opportunities to get the sexy little dancer back into bed with him.

He stretched in a way that made his back pop and also just happened to show off every beautiful line and muscle in his body. Rolling onto his side, next to the panting, sweating pair, he smiled and kissed Xavier's cheek, ran an appreciative hand over the sleek line of Aldo's back, and wished them both a good night before getting up and taking his leave. He needed to go find Marco right away.

Aldo just grinned down at Xavier appreciatively.

"Was it something we said, d'you think?" he murmured, kissing Xavier's neck again, closer to the lobe of his ear and snuggling up to him again, actually quite glad of the chance to be alone with the younger man.

Xavier gave a little shrug, feeling too drowsy and sated to care why he left. Palo seemed like an alright guy and he'd been a good fuck but Xav really wasn't all that into him.

"He followed me in here for one thing. He got what he wanted, so he probably figured there wasn't any reason to hang around," he murmured reasonably.

"You're very cool about this tonight," Aldo purred, moving across to lie beside him and spoon up against him comfortably. Xavier had not asked him to leave so he figured that it was probably okay to stay. He hoped so anyhow. "I thought that you and Chavez were getting... you know? Was that just a bit of the same, huh?"

The questions about Chavez kind of startled Xavier. Aldo thought they were...what? Xavier shook his head slightly.

"He climbed into my bed so he could rub Rayne's nose in it, that's all." Xav said quietly, as if that explained everything. In a way it did. Aldo had crooked his finger at him and Xavier stripped and spread for him. Chavez crawled into his bed and Xav had rolled over. He was just doing what they wanted. Giving them what they wanted from him. Not that he wasn't getting anything out of it. He was using them as salve for his wounds and he didn't feel guilty about it because they were using him just as well. That was just the way things worked for him.

Unfortunately Aldo was not some greenhorn kid who would just let things lie. He'd been doing some thinking of his own and though he still cuddled up to Xavier, holding him in that warm embrace he clearly wanted something more from the situation too.

"So you're not interested in him any more than you were in Palo, huh?" he whispered softly in Xavier's ear. "Which begs the question, I guess, what are you looking for?"

Xav chuckled lightly but it sounded a little nervous even to his own ears. "Do I have to be looking for something?"

"Everybody's looking for something, caro." Aldo pointed out.

"Not me." Xavier said, a hint of something cold and final in his voice that he rarely let anyone see. "I don't need anything."

"Where'd I hear that before?" the handsome Italian sighed, running his big, warm hands very soothingly up and down Xavier's flat, tanned belly and chest. "Everyone needs something, even those that pretend like hell to be cold as ice and above all that. And you know what...? That pretending and playing it cool, all it gets you is just another big slice of nothing. A big old key to a life of being lonely and pretending it don't matter. And you can do better than that, caro."

Xavier turned his head slowly, looking right into Aldo's liquid brown eyes that were almost black in the dark of the room.

"I'm not pretending anything, Aldo," he said levelly. "I'm being realistic. People see me and they see a pretty toy, not someone they want to keep around."

The handsome Italian looked back at him, solemn and unblinking in the soft light from the lamp by the bed. He remembered Rayne once telling him something like that, looking up at him with the same earnest, frightened eyes as the sunlight played on the ebony silk of his hair.

"Not all people," he said, letting Xavier have the same answer he'd given Rayne.

Xavier snorted softly and turned his head away. He wished Aldo was right, but every time he'd reached the point where he could trust someone even a little bit he'd gotten kicked in the teeth. It had happened too many times for him to believe in happily ever after anymore. He stopped talking, and was grateful that Aldo stopped pushing him and was quiet as well. He didn't mind that Aldo stayed either. The bigger man curled around him, closing his eyes and holding him close. Xavier closed his eyes too, although his mind wasn't ready to shut down yet and kept turning for a long time.

PARIS - RAYNE:

"Et ceci?" Carmine asked Henning, pointing at the silver wand that was still embedded in Rayne's half-hard cock as she led the vampire to a different cell.

"Leave it in him," the Were said in English so that Rayne would understand. "I want Monsieur Wylde to experience the pleasure of a dry orgasm as he is ridden by my beast. In fact, once he is bound and gagged astride the mounting bench I would like you to bind his balls and the root of his cock so that he may not ejaculate, then prep him thoroughly for me. Comprenez-vous?"

"Oui, maître," she nodded with a feral smile.

"You're a very tough audience," Rayne said sardonically as she dragged him off to another chamber, this one smaller and more intimate. The lighting was low and the only items in the room were a full length mirror along the wall that faced the door, a selection of shelves and pegs for clothing and equipment and a long, low, aluminium bench with a black rubber padded seat. The bench stood in the centre of the room, one end facing the mirror, the other to the door. Its metal legs were bolted to the rubber-cushioned floor beneath. At one end there were two short aluminium arms attached to an open neck collar, padded with more rubber on the inside. The legs of the bench had manacles welded to them about half-way up, front and back. His attendant had left the protective rubber wrist and ankle bindings on him and now pointed towards the bench.

"Lay down on your belly," she ordered curtly.

He did as she told him, putting his neck in the open jaws of the iron collar automatically. The girl snapped it shut and locked it with a small iron key. As he lay on the bench his reflection stared him in the face from the mirror wall as Carmine fastened and locked the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. He was manacled securely into the bracelets on the legs of the bench, restrained on his elbows and knees astride this new frame. That was not the end of it though. The girl crouched and produced more cuffs, which she fastened, around his upper arms and around his slim thighs. She attached a pair of steel rods between them, both running from elbow to knee, and locked them into place and Rayne suddenly realised that the purpose of these clever little manacles was to keep him from trying to get up. Even if he slipped the wrist and ankle cuffs, the close-coupled bracelets between his elbows and knees would stop him rising to his feet.

His cock twitched and throbbed at the thought of it. As a youngster he had hated being restrained in any way. As an adult he had found that the most effective cure for this was to let men tie him up for sex as often as possible. By the time he was 25 he got hard just thinking about a loop of rope tightening around his wrists and ankles. Now he was strapped, immobile, to the bench in the perfect position for sex with a dwarf. His arse, he thought was a little bit low for comfortable standing sex and too high to be entered lying down but he figured they knew what they were doing so he kept his mouth shut.

Now the girl walked over to a closet built into the wall and unlocked it. Her long black ponytail swung heavily back and forth as she removed a couple of items and returned to the bench. As Henning had ordered, she used a strip of black latex to bind Rayne's dangling penis and balls so tightly that he winced more than once. Next she gripped his hair and pulled his head back to force a black rubber ball between his jaws, tugging the straps that ran from it back around his head and fastening them firmly.

He moaned appreciatively. It looked and felt okay to have a gag in his mouth, quite arousing in fact, when coupled with his other restraints. Rayne undulated against the yielding black rubber of the bench cushion. He could rub his bound genitals against the soft, spongy surface, which felt both excruciating and completely amazing. When the beautiful girl came to stand before him and unzipped the front of her black PVC dress his cock lurched painfully and he moaned in earnest. She stripped off the dress to reveal a tight black leather waspie that cinched her narrow waist in hard and forced up her full, white, naked breasts. She was not wearing panties but some kind of V-shaped black leather harness with a large ring set over her smoothly waxed pubic mound. When she inserted a long, broad-based, black rubber dong into the ring and tightened the straps he let out an incredulous groan. That thing had to be over a foot long and deliciously thick. As she greased it in front of him he knew where it was headed as well. Suddenly Henning's instruction to her to 'prep him' made sense.

She produced a shorter, thicker dildo next and eased it up through a second ring between her legs and into her pussy, locking it in place with the ring, then completed her preparations by inserting a ribbed five inch plug, with a long black horsetail attached, into her anus. He heard the low thrum as the plug began to vibrate and the young woman also groaned with pleasure as she moved behind Rayne, both of her tails swishing seductively with the sway of her curvaceous body. She positioned the head of the longer dildo firmly at the entrance to his gently pinking arsehole, which still had not recovered from the recent dual fuck he got from Carlsen and Henning in the other cell.

God, you enjoy your job don't you? he though with a little shake of his head, as she rammed it into him.

"The Master is bigger and thicker than this," she said unapologetically as if he had spoken the words out loud.

Rayne almost dislocated his shoulders trying to writhe up off the bench. Carmine was impassive and bucked her hips savagely as she impaled him with her strap-on. Just moments into the assault his prostate was thrumming deliciously and he uttered a long, low, urgent whining sound, grinding himself back against her, up and off the bench. He could feel the steady vibration from her sex toys undulating along the shaft of the long rubber prick inside him and it provoked a slow, warm, rolling sensation in his loins that was more than just satisfying. It turned him on massively and he growled with pleasure, feeling his fangs extend and sink viciously into the rubber ball gag in his mouth.

To his chagrin the sensation made him think of Xav again. The blond boy loved to be tied and taken, and he could not help thinking of how Xavier would have loved to experience something like this with him. It was not violent, but definitely forceful. If he had given them a safe word he knew that they would have abided by it. And the staff, like this girl and Carlsen, clearly enjoyed their roles. He wanted to ask if some of the staff were sadists and some masochists or whether they were just versatile, but with the rubber ball in his mouth he could not say very much.

As Carmine began to stroke harder and faster inside him, he decided it was probably a very good job that he could not say much, as most of it was likely to be profane at best and downright obscene at the very worst. Rayne watched unblinking in the mirror as her pale, firm breasts bounced rapidly behind him at every stroke of the dildo. She took him until the pulsing in her own sweet holes was enough to drive her over the brink. With a cry of ecstasy her knees buckled and she sank down behind him, pulling the big rubber prick roughly out of his arse and leaving him suddenly empty and quivering on the edge of something that was both terrifying and powerfully seductive. He wanted to come with every fibre of his being and she left him so close that he could almost have wept and pleaded for it.

"You are ready now," she panted once she was able to rise to her feet.

He shuddered and trembled on the bench, huffing violently through his nostrils as she cleaned the sex toys and put them away. At last she pulled her dress back on and zipped it, adjusting her hem in the mirror.

"You are good fuck, deadboy," she said in that deliciously thick western European accent, stroking his dark hair appreciatively before she left. "I hope your very beautiful, sexy bottom likes Monsieur Szarbo's bear cock."

Rayne hoped so too. He needed something that would drive all thoughts of the past right out of his head. If getting fucked by a genuine Werebear was not the distraction he sought then he did not know what to try next.

When the door into the chamber opened his eyes flickered nervously to the mirror. At first he only saw the dark shape outlined in the doorway behind him but as the door closed and his new companion lumbered into the light he suddenly understood the reason for the low setting of the bench. Henning's features were hardly recognisable. He was not fully shifted yet but almost there. A thick pelt of grey-blond hair covered his flesh now, from head to toe and the long, curved claws on his hands and feet were black and looked like twisted iron nails. He moved with a slow, stooping gait caused by the foreshortening of his legs that drew him into a half crouch, his spine curved forward, long forearms swinging like an ape's. His face was stretched and contorted, the mouth and nose drawn forward in a long, tapered muzzle.

Rayne quivered, inhaling the first heady rush of his rank, furry scent; the hot, carnal smells of rutting bear. As he drew level with the vampire, Rayne could see that his eyes were still almost human, which was quite disturbing. There was nothing remotely human about the obscenely huge tool jutting from between his furry haunches though. If he had thought that Paddy McNamara was hung, he was nothing compared to the vast, misshapen, club protruding from Henning's crotch. It was roughly curved like a crescent moon, with a long, fat head on it that stretched the fleshy covering around the bone almost to breaking point. The cock head was about as long as his palm was wide, and about as broad as well. It was a good four fingers thick, he decided. The shaft behind it tapered in, long and narrow at first but expanding again towards the root where it was so thick that he probably would not have got even his long fingers around it all the way.

And he was going to let the Were put that thing in him?

Definitely losing his marbles then!

Another long shudder ran through him as Henning bent over his body, snuffling and huffing, his breath hot against the skin of the vampire's slim, white back. Rayne was healed where Henning had clawed him earlier, though the flesh still felt tight and tender there. The bear began to lick him with a rough tongue, stroking it down his spine steadily to his buttocks. It lapped at his gaping passage and he whimpered, but with arousal this time.

You are so fucked up, Wylde! his conscience told him, horrified and astonished in equal parts. There is a fucking animal licking your anus and you are enjoying it! That is sick!

He's not an animal, Rayne soothed, still convincing himself. You can see it in his eyes. You can see it... oh shit!

He looked up into the mirror in time to see the bear lift its muzzle from his cleft and look back at him. Long, powerful carpals curled around his narrow ribcage and tightened slowly. The deepset eyes in that furry skull darkened to near black as he stared back at them. Powerful jaws parted in a low, hungry growl exposing spittle wet fangs that would have made even his Sire wince.

Oh shit! Shit! Rayne thought frantically. What have I done?

And then long black talons drove into his chest, biting deep, cracking his ribs and rending the sinew between them. He screamed around the gag as he felt the club-like cock head at his entrance, pushing at him, opening him like the lens of a camera. Rayne howled again for all he was worth as he felt his ring expand painfully around that massive intruder, then pop down tight around the shaft behind it. 'Henning' was inside him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Rayne's back arched like an angry cat's and he keened over and over as Henning used the claws in his chest to anchor himself. He began to thrust that curved weapon hard and deep in Rayne's tight passage so that it felt like a solid, fleshy hook inside him, the head thrumming urgently up and down his spine. The deeper he went the more the outer curve of him rubbed insistently on Rayne's sweet spot until the little vampire was thrashing like a landed shark in the collar and cuffs.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 08



© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2010 

CHAPTER EIGHT – BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Thank you everyone for your patience. It has been a hard month and we know what a cliff-hanger we left you with. Wait no longer. Without further ado, I give you Chapter Eight...

The usual terms and conditions apply. Do not steal our words, do not reproduce them without our permission. Do enjoy.

NAPLES - XAVIER:

Xavier lay on the edge of sleep, his body wrapped in a warm buzz of wine and the aftermath of fantastic sex. Aldo sprawled behind him, one arm and a leg draped over him. His breathing had settled into a deep, even rhythm, stirring the back of Xavier's hair lightly. The house was still and very quiet. Very faintly Xavier thought he heard the sound of waves rolling in on the shore, far below. He started to drift, a feeling of disconnection washing over him and a sudden tumble of emotions swirling into him, filling him up. 

There was anger and hurt and a deep sadness... too much to hold onto. Like it needed to get out of him or he would explode. An odd sense of foreboding wound like a dark thread through the feelings and Xav tried to shake it off, tried to climb up from the hazy edge of the not-quite-asleep state, but before he got there something happened. 

The fearful foreboding blossomed in him like a poisoned dart spreading its venom. Pain lanced through Xavier's chest and his eyes flew open but the room was gone, the warm balmy breeze from the open window gone, the softness of the bed and the solid body of the man sharing it with him were all gone. Xavier plunged into darkness like he had broken through a thin layer of ice and into inky black water below. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear... there was nothing. Panic gripped him. He knew he wasn't dreaming; knew this feeling was very real; knew with a cold surety he was going to die as he was sucked down into black freezing nothingness. 

The terror gripping him tried to crawl up his throat and he started to scream, only nothing made it past his past his lips. He silently begged his body to struggle, breathe, move, something! But he could only lie there, paralysed and helpless. Icy-cold darkness and nothingness surrounded and overwhelmed him, drowning him. This was what it was like to die then, he thought, suddenly and oddly calm. He stopped fighting, sinking deeper, letting that black cold press in on him. 

No! No! 

If nothing else he could not give in to that hopeless feeling. He would not! He reached out, groping blindly and felt a brush of something, a familiar presence, and knew he was not alone. Not alone. The thought seemed to echo from him and through him at the same time and he grabbed onto both the thought and the presence he felt in the darkness with a strength that defied the black coldness around them...I'm here, you're not alone. 

Xavier was suddenly moving, pushing up through thick tar, and then syrup, then water...he broke the surface... air rushed into his lungs as he slammed back into his body as if from a great height. 

He screamed for real now, thrashing so hard he flipped off the edge of the bed. 

"God!! No!" he wailed, gasping for air, shaking from head to toe. "Fuck! Fuck! Fucking Christ!" 

Xavier moaned, gripping his chest as an aching pain stabbed right through him. He curled into a ball, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth and a moment later he felt Aldo's hands on him, trying to sooth him and lift him up. 

The pain started to ease off, the sharp claws and teeth that had sunk into him drawing back gradually. Very slowly the world came back into focus and he heard Aldo saying his name worriedly, saw the light that had been turned on, felt Aldo's arms around him as he cradled him on the floor. He was still gasping for air, shuddering in that protective embrace. The world was real again but Xavier was utterly shattered. 

PJ came into his field of vision and Xavier's hand snaked out and grabbed the older man's muscular arm, holding on to him. His eyes were like black pits in his face and tears streamed down his cheeks. 

"I felt..." A fierce shudder went though him and his teeth chattered so hard that he could barely get words out. Some distant part of him realised he was in shock. He also knew then that he had been wrong. He had thought Rayne was gone, but he must have still been able to feel his presence, even after the singer had left. A very distant echo so faint that he didn't even recognise it as a connection, but he had felt the edges of that thread, their tie...Rayne was the presence he had felt in that black nothingness, Rayne was the one he felt sinking and whom he had clung to.

"Oh god... I think he's dead," Xavier breathed in a hoarse, cracked whisper.

PJ was stroking him instinctively, soothing with his hands as Aldo stumbled to his knees and lifted him back up onto the bed, still shaking the last clouds of sleep away. The Italian muttered an incoherent question in his own tongue. 

"You were dreaming," PJ told him steadily, a small frown creasing his brow even so. "It was just a nightmare, Xavier. Everything is okay."

Xavier took another shuddering breath, although it didn't seem to be calming him at all. "I wasn't dreaming! I wasn't asleep!" He struggled to sit up and wiped an irritated hand over his cheeks. His mind was rapidly turning things over, trying to make sense of what just happened, but he didn't know if he'd be able to put it into words. Not in any way they were going to believe. He shook his head repeatedly like a small dog trying to get water out of its ears. 

"Something's happened." His voice was still shaking but sounded a little less hysterical. "Something bad just happened. I know it sounds nuts but... I could feel it." 

He bit his bottom lip and hoped against hope PJ would believe him and not think he was just having some kind of night terrors. "You k-know how we had some kind of connection? I mean like, how even if he wasn't around I could tell if he was okay, or pissed off, or being hurt? When he left I thought it was gone, or mostly gone. I couldn't tell anymore what he was feeling. But, just now... just now I did feel something. Like he was more afraid than he'd ever been... just for a second, and then it felt like..." Xavier rubbed at his chest unconsciously, like there was a gaping hole there he couldn't see or soothe. "It felt like something went right through me. Like I was drowning in freezing blackness. I could hear him thinking. He was thinking, this was what it was like to die." 

He knew he sounded disjointed, and he couldn't help it. The tears wouldn't stop either, though he tried hard to gulp them back. He felt as if they should all be mourning, only everyone else just didn't know it yet.

"Sshhhhh..." PJ slid his arms more supportively around the younger man, not holding him back this time but letting him know by physical contact that he was there and he would try to help. He cast a glance at Aldo over the top of Xavier's head and the Italian shrugged helplessly. 

"Was he okay earlier in the evening?" he asked softly. 

"He was fine," Aldo replied in a quiet voice. "A little bit quiet but not... disturbed."

PJ pulled a face and shook his head. "Can you try and get Dom on the phone for me? Maybe he will shed some light on this."


Dominic! Yes! Xav thought exultantly. If the old sorcerer was with Rayne he would know what had happened. He was suddenly on edge again, could hardly wait until Aldo found his cell phone and made the call. He didn't care that it was the middle of the night and Dom might not even know where Rayne was anyway. He snatched the cell out of Aldo's hand almost as soon as he said hello. 

"Dom? Is Rayne with you? What the hell happened? It felt like I just got ripped apart. Is he okay?" Xavier babbled into the phone between hitching sobs, not even hearing what Dominic was saying. PJ took the phone away from him and Xavier dissolved into disconsolate tears again. 

"Sorry," PJ was murmuring, over and over. "Yeah, I know. Yeah it is late. I'm sorry about that." Then he tilted his head and made an affirmative noise. "He did? That's... not unexpected. I didn't know he was still cutting himself but I guess it's hard to tell now."

He put his hand over the body of his slender mobile. 

"Dom isn't sure where he was headed, but he felt something as well. It woke him up. He has a couple of bites off of Rayne too, you know?" He pulled a speculative face and turned back to the phone. "Dominic, do you think you could track him from the bites?"


Xavier was already shaking his head. He knew Dominic wouldn't be able to find Rayne, not like that. He might be able to locate him some other way, but Xavier's tie was stronger and he couldn't have found him. That didn't stop the seed from being planted though. Maybe if he was closer to him he might be able to find Rayne. If Rayne really was dead, it wouldn't matter, but if (and that was an awfully slender if in Xavier's mind) it was something else, Rayne might need help. 

He could tell that Dominic was explaining to PJ how he couldn't do it. 

"Ask him where he last saw Rayne." Xavier said. "I'll go see if I can trace him."

Paddy was already quizzing Lord Warren about Rayne's last known whereabouts. At last he said; "If you're gong to come out to Paris don't waste money on a hotel. My partner has a suite of rooms at the Hotel du Petit Moulin on rue de Poitou. I'll give you his number and let him know that you're on your way."

When he finally hung up, Xavier was practically tugging at his arm like a child, curious to know what had been said. 

"Go back to bed," PJ told him. "We cannot do much tonight. Lord Warren does not believe that he returned to England. There has been no sign of him at his home in Manchester and his London flat is empty. He is not answering his calls. Dominic thinks that either he remained in Paris or he has gone elsewhere. Hopefully it is the former and not the latter. Mikka, my partner, lives in Paris and he knows the city well. Dominic also knows, as do I, that if Rayne is harming himself again, he may seek out those who can help him to experience pain. Paris is a good a place for such clubs, as is Amsterdam. My gut tells me that he is still in Paris, and if he is, Mikka will find him."


Xavier just sat there looking a bit stunned. Go back to bed? Right. Like he could do that! He wanted to start packing and leave now. "But..."

"Xav, trust me on this. There is no point to you running off when Mikka's already there and knows where to look first. If Rayne can be found Mikkal will probably find him before you even get there."

Now Xavier's features lost a tiny bit of the shellshocked look and determination started to set in. "But..."

"Besides, didn't you tell Marco you would be ready this morning? In..." PJ looked at the clock. "...two hours."

"PJ, he could be dead!" Xavier reminded him.

"And he could not be." PJ returned, both soft and stern in the same breath. "And if he is, you haring off not knowing where you're even going won't help a bit. Marco wants you bad right now, but he's a pro, he won't wait. If you screw him over he won't care what you look like, what potential you have, or who your friends are. Don't blow this opportunity, Xavier. You may not think so but there are more than just a few people that would actually kill to be in your shoes right now."

"I...I can't." Xavier said, irritated at the quaver in his own voice. It was so unlike him to even say those words, but he couldn't help it. A hard life had toughened him but in a lot of ways he was still very young. He couldn't even think about carrying on now as if nothing had happened.

"Well, then you can't." PJ said quietly. 

The way he said it made Xavier feel about six years old and he resented the other man for making him feel that way, but for once he had enough respect to keep his mouth shut. Over the next couple of hours PJ and Aldo both kept him company, tried to sooth him, get him to start thinking reasonably. Neither man pushed him though, they were simply there, and understanding, and in the end Xavier took a shower, packed some clothes, and got in the car that Marco sent for him. Though he did not leave without a promise extracted from PJ that he would call straight away if he heard anything at all from Paris.

PARIS - MIKKAL

It was a little after 4am in Paris when the sound of the telephone ringing dragged Mikkal Saarinen slowly out of a deep and dreamless slumber. Disentangling himself from the warm arms looped bonelessly around his chest, he rolled over, stifling a yawn and pushing the disarrayed mess of his long white-blond hair out of his eyes as he groped for his mobile on the bedside cabinet. The ringtone told him before he answered who his midnight caller was. 

"Patrick," he exhaled wearily. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's about twenty past four in Vico, I would imagine that it's around the same in Paris," the familiar, husky voice murmured on the other end of the line. "Aren't you up yet, babe? You're always telling me what long days you work."

"And so I need my beauty sleep," he groaned, rolling onto his back and closing his eyes. His young bedmate curled around him again mumbling incoherently as he settled down with his head on Mikka's broad chest. 

"You've never needed that," PJ McNamara told him fondly. "Who can I hear warming your bed tonight? Bryen?" 

"Bry's filming that gang-fuck scene with Leo, Jayd and Corinth this afternoon. He's resting up. It's Trent," Mikka said with a little smile. "His girlfriend threw him out again. What do you want, Patrick? Not that it is ever anything less than a pleasure to hear your voice. You did not ring me before five in the morning because you were worried that I was lonely."

"True," PJ admitted frankly. "I need you to check something out for me, ASAP."

"And it couldn't wait until a civilised hour, huh?" Mikka rubbed his eyes with the fingers and thumb of his free hand. 

"I need you to find Rayne for me," PJ told him, cutting to the business abruptly. "He's missing and I think he's probably in Paris."

"Can't you ring him instead?" Mikka tried not to yawn but it got the better of him. 

"I tried that already. His cell is switched off."

"Very sensible," Mikka nodded. "He's probably getting laid then. Try him again later. You know what he is like, Patrick."

"Yeah, I know," Paddy admitted sheepishly. "And I know what you think, he's giving me the run around as usual."

"Exactly, so leave it. He will come back when he's ready." Mikka groaned softly as Trent's soft lips got to work on his nipples and the hot, twenty three year old model slid a hand between his legs, tenderly caressing his heavy, clean shaven balls and pumping the Finnish porn director's long, thick cock until he began to get fully erect. The boy was a natural bottom, his girlfriend topped him regularly with a strap-on, according to Trent. At least she did when she wasn't busting his ass metaphorically for some misdemeanour or another.

"I'm not so sure," PJ responded, sounding equally preoccupied. "Mikka, I told you about his boyfriend, Xavier, yeah?"

"The dancer?" Mikkal Saarinen confirmed. "Yeah, I think you mentioned him more than a couple of times, honey. Blond. Hot. Nice, ripped little bod... I think was some of what you said."

PJ ignored the sarcasm. "Rayne got pretty intimate with him, Mikka. They had this spooky bond thing going on. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like, sometimes they just knew what the other was up to, you get me?" he sighed, sounding awkward now. Patrick McNamara could cope with any physical weirdness you wanted to throw at him but get spooky on his ass and it made his teeth itch. 

"Yeah, I get you." Mikka stroked a hand through Trent's soft, rust-brown hair, gently pushing his head south. If he was going to be wide awake before it got light at the very least he could enjoy it! 

"Xav literally fell out of bed screaming about an hour ago. He thinks Wylde's dead," PJ told him in a neutral tone. "He told me that he thought he felt Rayne die."

"He knows that's not possible, right?" Mikka queried warily. "Rayne Wylde is... well... you know what he is, right? He can't... I mean, he's already..."

He did not want to say the words out loud, not with Trent listening keenly, even though he was doing a good job of pretending that he wasn't. A very good job. Mikka bit his lips to crush a little moan of ecstasy as, down beneath the pearly satin-covered duvet, the younger man started to suck hard on his rigid, drooling cock. 

"I don't know, Mikka," PJ admitted. "That doesn't mean that he can't be destroyed. I saw his kind killed in Frisco last month and it wasn't pretty."

"Why would some want to do that to him though?" Mikka was having trouble staying focussed as Trent nodded lower on him. He gripped the boy's loose, dark hair and began to thrust rhythmically in his mouth. "I mean... he's not dangerous, as such. Is he?"

"He's a vampire," PJ said impassively. "Who knows what he's capable of, huh? All I know is he walked out on Xav after a pretty bad row and he got on a train to Paris. I don't know what happened to him after that. Until this morning I didn't actually care. But Xavier does, and I care about him. He's been through enough shit already without this."

Mikka thought that, right now, he didn't actually care either. Trent was really getting down on his boner, giving him a good throat job and it was going to be touch and go whether he could hold on until Patrick hung up. He wondered idly if his lover was bedding this Xavier kid. It had been a long time since PJ had taken a lover outside of their normal circle of existing Positive friends. He was certainly hung up on the boy. Almost as hung up as he'd been over Rayne Wylde some twenty odd years ago. 

"What do you want me to do?" he asked almost breathlessly. 

PJ paused for a moment and Mikka could hear him breathing quietly on the other end of the line. Then he slyly asked; "Is he fucking you? While you talk to me?"

"Not yet," Mikka answered frankly. Though if you'd get off the fucking phone...! he thought with increasing desperation.

He heard his mate laugh incredulously and could almost see the expression on his face. In moments like this he remembered why it was that he loved Patrick McNamara so much. They had been through the mill together and although they had a fairly open relationship these days, he would never care for anyone quite as much. Patrick had been his first love and his best.

"Tell me what you want me to do, honey?" he asked again, more tenderly now. 

PJ's smile carried in his voice as he gave his lover instructions to check out the BDSM and fetish clubs and ask if anyone fitting Rayne's description had been seen there. 

"Mikka, I don't want you to get hurt. If he's... if something has killed him, don't get in too deep on your own. Promise me?" he urged. 

"I promise," Mikka crooned, biting his lip again as Trent edged him up slowly and skilfully. For a supposedly straight boy, he gave amazing head. It was a pity such a gorgeous young man was already HIV Positive, but Mikka was grateful as well. He had taken Trent under his wing and was grooming the young model as a potential star of the movies they were making out here with other Positive actors. He was already very popular. "I'll ring you and let you know if I hear any word of him."

"Oh..." PJ added, almost as an afterthought. "By the way, you won't be entirely on your own. A friend of mine is coming over there to help you look. You couldn't be an angel and put him up whilst he's in Paris, could you? His name's Dominic, he's a real sweetheart. I gave him the address and your number. I think he's coming in on the early train."




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 08



Mikka removed the phone from his ear for a moment and stared at it, utterly exasperated. 

"Sure," he sighed at last, sinking back down into the pillows. "Whatever! Is there anything else?"

"Yeah..." PJ said in a tone of voice that his lover had never been able to resist. "When you hang up on me, put your bedside webcam on. I wanna watch that foxy switch-hitter of yours riding cowboy on your cock before you hit the shower."

He kissed his mobile audibly and the line went dead. The handsome Finn closed his eyes with a helpless little laugh and put his phone down on the bedside cabinet, then reached over for the sleep button on his laptop and activated the built in camera. Less than five minutes later, he was sprawled supine on the bed, writhing and thrusting eagerly inside Trent as the younger man straddled him and his snug, well-lubed ass vigorously humped the cum out of Mikka's balls. He fisted the handsome young model's rigid, uncut sex fast and hard, squeezing and twisting and milking his dribbling bell end until the horny youth answered with several hot jets of his own. His thick sperm exploded in creamy ropes across Mikka's muscular chest and he uttered a whoop of delight worthy of any cowboy. Seductively he pulled a finger through the spill of jism and put it in his mouth, sucking it coyly before blowing a kiss for the camera.

Several hundred miles away, on the Italian coast, PJ McNamara closed the lid on his own laptop with a little grin of satisfaction and reached for a handful of tissues. 

"If that boy's straight I'll eat my own ass!" he chuckled wryly.

NAPLES - XAVIER:

Marco's place was in the city not all that far from where Aldo had taken Xavier shopping. The downstairs was a nicely appointed apartment, the upstairs was an open loft that served as Marco's studio. The studio was mostly bare floorboards and floor to ceiling windows with rolled blinds that could either partially or fully block out the natural light. It had an urban feel to it that was out of place with the exterior of the building, which looked like it was built sometime before the industrial revolution. 

"You look like hell!" Marco's surly voice greeted Xavier as he stood looking around. 

Xavier shrugged. "Sorry." 

Marco sighed impatiently. "Didn't I tell you not to stay up all night drinking and fucking?" 

"Actually you said you didn't care what I did as long as I was here for six. I'm here," Xavier shot back, in no mood to take any shit. 

Marco made a disgruntled sound but let it go. He was fiddling with his camera and looking Xavier over. "Alright. Let's get started." 

Apparently Marco had been hired to shoot an ad campaign for CockSox. If they liked what he gave them for the underwear line then he'd most likely get to do their layouts for the spring swimsuits. The company's target consumers were predominantly in the gay market. Their sizes came in twink, stud, cub, and bear, which Xavier found amusing. 

He put on what Marco told him to put on and stood where he told him to stand and Marco started snapping pictures. Xav routinely did whatever the photographer told him to but his thoughts were far from on the job. Even so, he could tell Marco was getting frustrated. After about an hour he called a halt and while Xavier sat and stared out the window Marco scrolled through the photos he'd taken, obviously unhappy. 

"This is crap. All crap!" he sighed irritably. 

Xavier ignored him. He knew plenty of drama queens. The showboating didn't phase him. 

"Oh, there's some good ones, but nothing really outstanding, you know?" Marco complained, as if Xavier was listening to any of it. The photographer was beginning to think he'd made a mistake. The boy was compliant enough but the energy and sex appeal he'd seen last night wasn't translating in the cold light of day. There were a few pictures he liked; one in particular, where Xavier was looking off to the side and down, was very poignant. Another where the sun was coming in behind him and turned his soft blond curls into a nimbus, his expression in that one was so contemplative you wanted to reach into the frame and hug him, or something. Those were good shots, but not what he needed for this shoot. 

He needed the sexy dancer from last night. 

That thought gave him an idea. "Ok, let's try something else." Marco said, using a reasonable tone for the first time that morning. He went over to one wall and turned on the stereo there. "I want you to dance for me, but if I say hold it, stop for a few seconds, si?" 

Xavier nodded. "Okay, but put something else on." 

Marco made an inviting gesture toward the stereo and let Xavier turn the dial until he found a track he liked. He finally settled on a pop station that would have to do. It wasn't that bad anyway. They were currently playing Janet Jackson's All Nite (Don't stop), a sexy number with a good beat and easy to dance to. Xavier started to move and Marco started to smile, and then quickly started snapping away. Perfect! That was much more like it! The first hour of the day might have been a washout, but the next few made up for it. Marco was grinning like a fool and his camera never stopped clicking. 

Several hours, and wardrobe changes, later (Xavier thought it was hilarious when Marco called it a 'wardrobe change' since it seemed like literally all he did was change from one microscopic piece of ass-floss to another) Marco called a halt. Before Xavier did anything else, before he even got dressed or fetched a drink, he went and checked his phone. 

Nothing! No calls, no messages. 

Disappointed, Xavier went to the bathroom to rinse off and get dressed. Marco hadn't been kidding when he said he was going to work Xavier's ass off. He supposed if he had just been standing around posing it wouldn't have been as bad, but it had been some time since he'd danced like that for several hours at a shot. 

Marco must have felt some sympathy anyway. He took his latest model out to lunch, which normally would have improved Xavier's mood in spades, but he couldn't really enjoy it while he was still wondering what had happened to Rayne. When they were done eating Marco invited him to stay the night. In the guest room, he added with a little smile, saying that it would be easier than going all the way back to Aldo's, or putting him up in a room somewhere closer. With a careless shrug, Xavier agreed. 

When they got back to Marco's the photographer told him to make himself at home and relax for the rest of the day. He needed to go through the shots from this morning and didn't want to be disturbed. Xavier was fine with that, leaving him to his computer while he checked for any calls or messages again. 

Still nothing. 

Marco was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't even take a break to eat and Xavier ended up raiding the fridge for dinner. After he had eaten and taken another shower he finally broke and called PJ. There was no word yet from Paris, although Paddy did say he'd talked to his lover, Mikka and he was still looking. PJ asked him how the shoot was going and Xavier told him Marco was a serial drama queen but he must be happy with some of the pictures because he hadn't come out of his office since he'd sat down in front of the laptop several hours ago. Xav asked him to say hi to Aldo, Chavez and Clay for him and then he said good night. The words tripped off his tongue but there was no emotion behind them. He felt empty... lonely... stripped of feelings. 

PARIS - MIKKAL:


By the time most Parisians were sitting down to a civilised breakfast, Mikka Saarinen had vigorously fucked an allegedly straight porn actor - twice; taken a fast and seriously invigorating shower; organised the storyboards for the scenes they were supposed to be shooting this afternoon and called his assistant Vaz to let him know that he might be held up and to start without him if that was the case. He then flipped through his contact book and called the numbers of several known fetish clubs in the district, figuring that it would be easiest to start locally and spread out if he did not find anything useful. 

He also called a handful of hotels in the city to check if they had a Monsieur Wylde on their register, and drew a blank with all of them. 

The clubs were harder to get hold of. Mikka sighed after getting the answering machine for the fourth venue on the bounce. These kinds of people did not do early mornings. It was going to be like raising the dead trying to speak to them before mid-day. 

Trent brought him rich, dark, fully roasted Italian coffee and a plate of hot, soft croissants with his morning newspapers and he flicked idly through the broadsheets, his mind rapidly processing the news as he ate. His young companion sprawled languidly on the dark green leather sofa in his very skimpy briefs and Mikka was just beginning to contemplate giving in to the distraction he presented when the 'phone rang. It was the internal line from reception and Trent bounced to his feet like a jack in the box with the lid off and picked it up, charming the receptionist with his pidgin French. 

"There's a guy in reception for you," he told Mikka now. "He says that Paddy sent him."

Mikka swore under his breath. He had forgotten about the man who was coming over from London, the one who was supposed to know Rayne. What the hell where they meant to do with him? Although, he thought grimly, another set of eyes probably wouldn't do any harm, especially as he had to work this afternoon. 


Dominic Warren was not what Mikka had been expecting. The fellow was extremely tall, well-dressed and well-mannered; rather aristocratic in fact, with an ageless face and moss-green eyes that twinkled rather keenly when he set eyes on Trent, who was still dressed in little more than his own smooth, tanned skin. 

He shook Mikka's hand firmly though.

"Mikkal, so glad to meet you. PJ's told me a lot about you," he said, pronouncing Mikka's name the English way; Michael. Mikka did not bother to correct him, there would hopefully be time for that later. 

He was surprised though. Patrick had told him that Warren was a fan of Rayne's band and a bit of an expert on the supernatural. Mikka had been expecting a cross between Bill & Ted and the Lone Gunmen; a solitary eccentric who probably wore his cap back to front and talked in perpetual stoner slang. 

"How on earth do you know Rayne?" he asked when Trent had brought them more coffee and they were sitting on the sofa together whilst the younger man sprawled in a basketwork chair by the full-length windows, smoking a Sobranie. 

"Through his friend, Simon, the drummer in his group," Warren explained with a little smile. "I met him via work I do for an AIDS charity in London. He was Positive; like your good self, I believe?" 

Mikka nodded, not surprised that he knew, but impressed that he was not afraid to bring the subject up so frankly. Most people, even guys he knew well, skirted around it still, refusing to talk about the matter of his HIV status directly. He warmed to Warren at once. 

"Are you?" he wanted to know. 

Warren shook his head. "Thank the Lady, no. I've been very lucky, Mikkal. Not a day goes by that I don't count my blessings for that. It's something else I have in common with Rayne Wylde. I believe we're both being looked after by a higher force, though I can't imagine why!"

"If the boy's dream was anything more than just night terrors, Rayne might well have put that protection to the test this weekend," Mikka said gravely. 

"Let's hope not," Dominic responded, shaking his head slowly. "Have you managed to find out anything since PJ called you?"

"Not a thing," Mikka sighed and explained about the clubs. 

Warren fished in the black messenger back he had been carrying when he arrived and handed the Finn a scrap of paper. It was a news-cutting, just a little thing. He read it through twice. 

"It was in the Evening Standard last night," Dominic explained with a little shrug, still working the travel knots out of his shoulders. "They have a column where people text in and tell everyone about totally random, inane things that have happened to them. I don't even read it usually but the name caught my eye."

Mikka scanned the scrap of paper; "Watching guy who iz spitz of Rane Wild out of Wipsnayde doing karioke in bar Gonk in Paris. How pizzed am I?" He looked up at Dominic sceptically. "It could have been anyone."

"Maybe. Or maybe the Goddess is looking out for him, as I told you." Warren smiled wanly. "Do you know this bar Gonk?"

Mikka shook his head but Trent said; "I know where it is. It's not far from here. Up near the Pompidou Centre."

"We don't have any other leads until the fetish people get up for lunch," Warren ventured optimistically. "Do you sing, Mikkal?"


NAPLES - XAVIER:

Rayne had Xavier's wrists trapped in a vice-like grip above his head and pressed his body down to the couch with his own. His expression as he looked down at him was coldly determined, and hungry. 

In reality when this had happened they'd been wearing clothes, but in Xavier's dream they were both naked and Rayne rolled his hips, rubbing their erections together and making Xavier moan. In reality he'd begged Rayne to stop. 

"Ray...please...need you so bad..." he breathed. The teeth that sank into his throat made him gasp and his cock throbbed with desire. He pushed his hips up, grinding slowly against his lover, the drowning, melting feeling of being drunk made his head swim. 

The sound of a soft click and tiny beeping noise pulled him up reluctantly from his dream. He blinked bleary eyes lifting his head and trying to focus. 

"Wha'er you doin'?" he mumbled sleepily. 

"Capturing an angel." Marco said and snapped another picture. 

Xavier groaned and dropped his head back to the pillows. "Fuck off! Christ! What time is it?" 

"Time to get up." Marco said, undeterred. "Unless you'd like to stay in bed? Maybe take care of that beautiful hard on?" 

Xavier didn't need to look down to know the sheet across his hips did nothing to hide the wood he sported. He rolled over, putting his back to Marco. "Would you go away? It's not even daylight yet." he complained. 

"I haven't slept," Marco said, as if that explained why he was waking Xavier at the butt-crack of dawn. "I've been working on the photos all night. They are excellent. Some of the best work I've done." 

Xavier snorted softly. "Great! Fan-fuckin-tastic! Lay off the coke and get some goddamn sleep." 

Marco ignored his comment as if he hadn't spoken. "Were you dreaming?" he asked. 

Xavier's back stiffened. "Why? Did I say something?" 

"No, you moaned though." Marco said, his voice dropping a bit. That little moan had sent a tingle down his spine. 

"I don't remember if I was dreaming." Xavier lied. It was none of the photographer's business what was in his head.

"It must have been a good dream..." Marco persisted. "You looked like you were enjoying it. Shame to waste such a nice erection. I'd really like to take pictures while you stroke it... I promise not to touch you, unless you want me too?" he cajoled. 

Xavier chuckled mirthlessly. "That wasn't part of the deal." 

"Please?" 

Xavier sighed. He was horny and he was having a hard time not reaching down as it was. Marco talking about it wasn't helping. He wanted Marco to leave so he could get off but he didn't think the photographer was going to go away any time soon. "What would you do with the pictures?" Xav asked. 

"Keep them. I don't sell pornography. It would ruin my reputation." 

Xavier rolled onto his back again. "I want more money." 

"I'm already paying you too much." 

Xavier arched a brow. "Shall I quote you? Some of the best work I've done." He mimicked Marco's plaintive singsong style cruelly. "Would it still have been some of the best you've done if you were taking pictures of the fuckin wall?" he asked, and for good measure he slid a hand down his chest slowly, teasing his fingers along the edge of the sheet. "You're going to make a lot of money. I want some of it, that's all." 

Now Marco chuckled. "Aldo told me you were a smart kid; not to underestimate you. I'll double what we agreed on, if you let me take pictures now...and stay one more day." 

"Fine." Xavier sighed, sliding his hand lower, beneath the sheet. His fingers skated over the sensitive head of his cock and he closed his eyes. 

Marco caught his breath and brought his camera back up. Yeah, he was a little infatuated, but he hadn't lied. He had taken some very good pictures yesterday, better than a simple magazine spread deserved. He'd get the rest of the shots for the ads taken today, and then tomorrow he'd work on his own project for an upcoming exhibit in a few months. Right now though he brought the focus in as the sheet slid down to Xavier's thighs. Such a beautiful boy! He was torn between wanting to fuck him and wanting to shoot him, always a dilemma for the photographer. 

The shutter clicked away but Xavier didn't play to the camera. He did his best to pretend Marco wasn't even there. He sank back down into the memory of his dream as he wrapped his fingers lightly around his aching cock and began a slow, rhythmic stroking motion, up and down the pulsing shaft. It was not going to take long, he could tell. He had been fiercely aroused in his dream, close to coming already when he woke. His left hand drifted over his ribs and up across his chest, a finger circling around the taut bud of his small nipple while his strokes became firmer and quicker on his prick. 

Glistening drops of precum leaked from the end and he rubbed the slickness over his silky head, a groan coming to his lips. He lifted his hips in short thrusts into his pumping fist. In his head Rayne slid into him, filling him up, as cool lips caressed the side of his throat and seductive hands roamed his body. Oh yeah...! That was it...! 

He whimpered as he drew closer, his thigh muscles bunching rhythmically as his heels dug into the mattress. He was almost there, almost... He pictured the way Rayne like to buck into him hard and deep just before he came, the little sound he made in the back of his throat as he was fucking him with total abandon. With a hard gasp of his own Xavier's back arched, a shimmering crescent of pearls shooting from the tip of his lurching cock to spatter along his warm tanned skin. He stroked hard and quick as the spasms took him. The release felt so damned good he could barely move. 

Marco's breath came fast and hoarse, panting raggedly. His hands shook slightly on the camera. He dick was so hard that it almost felt painful in his shorts. 

"So fuckin' hot..." he murmured. 

Xavier opened his blue, blue eyes, like slices of summer sky, just a slit of cerulean heat. Blue was normally such a cool colour but there was an inferno in that lazy gaze. The languid, satisfied look on his face, with streaks of cream decorating his heaving, sweat-jewelled belly, made Marco's mouth water. He snapped a last picture, shuddering with pleasure at capturing that delicious moment. Finally he turned the camera off. 

"Get cleaned up and come upstairs. I'll meet you in a few minutes."

Xavier chuckled softly as Marco left the room. Yeah. A few minutes!

It was more like half an hour before Xavier went upstairs, and he still beat Marco by a few minutes!

The morning was kind of a repeat of the previous day, with Marco telling him what to change into and where he wanted him while he took photos. He didn't ask him to dance this time, but Xavier had pretty much figured out what he wanted anyway and was more relaxed, only needing a little coaching on stance or expression here and there. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 08



A buzzer interrupted them and Xavier was grateful for the break, although not quite as grateful when he saw who it was that had joined them. Palo looked far too chipper for this early in the morning, his broad white smile gleamed in his tanned face. 

"Caro mio! How are you this morning?" Palo asked, smiling at Xavier. 

"Alright." Xavier answered shortly. It wasn't that he didn't like Palo, he just wasn't a morning person and dealing with bright and chipper first thing always made him irritable. That he called him caro kind of bothered him too. He knew it just meant something like honey or dear, but he was used to it being Aldo's pet name for him. Hearing it from someone else bugged him. He knew that was ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. 

Palo was completely unmoved by Xavier's apparent surly attitude. "Good! Marco has you working hard already, eh?" 

"I guess." Xav said, wondering what Palo was doing here anyway. 

"Palo's going to play assistant today." Marco said, as if reading Xavier's mind. 

Xavier wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that, and no comment seemed required from him anyway. He could have pointed out that Marco hadn't needed an 'assistant' yesterday, but what did he care? 

The addition of Palo changed the atmosphere though. Up until then the shoot seemed to be more or less casual. Now both of them turned fussy, queening, playing with back drops and various props. At one point the two of them had a heated exchange in Italian, most of which went over Xavier's head but he knew it was something about Palo's 'helpful suggestions'. 

Palo didn't know why Marco didn't have someone here for styling. Why didn't he want something done with Xav's hair? Why didn't he at least have some oil on his skin? Marco growled back that this was his shoot and he wanted minimal styling. Palo argued that Marco trying to get artsy was going to ruin Xavier's chances of getting hired by anyone else. 

The argument grew so heated Xavier wondered why Marco didn't just throw Palo out. They carried on for a bit longer and then abruptly went downstairs. Xavier followed tentatively. They were at the computer and after a few minutes the argument started again. 

"Ok yes, they are very beautiful," Palo said. "But you reckon the magazine will think so? I figure you're thinking with your cock. How many of these will you put in your show?" 

That set Marco off on another tangent but eventually the two men settled down and apparently Palo must have made an impression because the next thing Xavier knew Palo was asking him to go get his hair wet while he dug out a blow dryer. 

Marco stormed around impatiently. 

"Fine, fine! Don't put any makeup on him though. He doesn't need it!" he hissed at Palo. "And if you cut one curl off his head I'll kill you, do you hear me?" 

Xavier ignored Marco and looked dubiously at Palo. "Just give me the blow dryer, I can do it." 

He took it from Palo and closed the bathroom door on him. He could hear the two of them variously talking or arguing even over the noise of the blow dryer while he tamed his curls and worked some styling wax into his hair until he had a more edgy style. He did know what he was doing at least. 

When he came back out Palo looked delighted and even Marco looked happily surprised. His expression soon faltered though. "I don't know... he looks too young now." 

"That's the point!" Palo insisted. 

"Ok, look. If you guys are going to start bitching again I'm just gonna take off for a while," Xavier said, exasperated. 

Marco mulled that over for a second and with a sigh waved toward the stairs. Once they were back in the studio Palo took out a small bottle of oil that smelled like coconut. 

"Only a little of that!" Marco warned. "I don't want him looking like some greased up beach bunny. He don't got the build for it anyway." 

Xavier shot him a narrow glare and Marco actually looked apologetic. "You're beautiful, caro mio, but you're no muscle stud." 

Now Xavier shrugged; couldn't argue with the truth, he supposed. He let Palo rub a bit of oil over his biceps and the tops of his thighs, only a little bit rubbed down the centre of his chest. Palo stepped back and Xavier had to admit that he knew what he was doing. He used the same kind of techniques onstage. At a bit of glisten or glitter to certain areas and the light picked up on it, added more definition. 

Marco started taking pictures again and the day wore on with far more 'wardrobe changes', back drops and props than they had used the day before. Marco was not only a workaholic but a perfectionist. Xavier could only imagine how many rolls he would have gone through had he been using actual film. 

As the day swung around toward late afternoon with just a couple of breaks, during which Marco didn't want him to 'eat too much', Xavier's mood was plunging toward fuck it levels. He wanted to be done already. How many goddamn pictures did the man need? 

"Alright," Marco said at last. He was looking at Xavier, slouched on a ladder back chair and looking bored. "That's enough for today." 

"Thank god!" Xavier muttered under his breath. 

Palo laughed. "Not as easy as you thought, huh? More than just stand around an' look pretty, no?" 

Xavier gave him a frosty look. 

Palo ignored it and asked Xavier out to dinner. Since Xav already knew what slim pickings there were in Marco's refrigerator he agreed. He was fuckin' starving. 

PARIS - MIKKAL:

They had spent much of the afternoon roaming from club to bar, zigzagging back and forth across the central zone of Paris since their visit to Bar Gonk. A sleepy looking bartender there had confirmed that someone fitting Rayne's description was briefly at the premises that previous night but had sung one number only then left, alone. After checking out the nearest neighbouring clubs without success, he put Trent in a taxi to the studio and he and Dominic split up thinking to cover more ground that way. 

He was now in a specialist fetish club name-checked by several people they had interviewed throughout the day. Now a young woman behind the surgically pristine reception desk took Mikkal Saarinen through to a room that looked more like an office than one of the antechambers of a renowned BDSM playground. It was decorated in a minimalist style with low, broad seated loungers in a deep, wine-red leather that was soft as skin to the touch. There was a cream-coloured, hand-woven rug on the stripped beechwood floor and unframed abstract canvases in reds and blacks hung on two of the cream-painted walls. Concealed lighting in the ceiling gave the room a soft, silvery glow. 

She offered him tea and told him politely that M. Szarbo was with a client and would join him shortly. Mikka laid a hand on her arm as she turned to fetch his tea. 

"Do you know why I am here?"

"M. Szarbo knows why," she replied, unflustered, with absolute zero urgency. "Your friend is still here. M. Szarbo will take you to him when he is finished with his current client."

Mikka's heart leapt at that. She knew why he was here. Did she mean that Rayne was still alive?

"Can't you take me to him?" Mikka tried not to be terse with her but this lack of co-operation worried him. Patrick had seemed to believe that something very bad had happened and it was not like his lover to panic needlessly. 

"The matter is not straightforward," the girl explained, shaking her head so that the waist-length fall of her perfectly straight, blue-black ponytail swung from side to side gracefully. "M. Szarbo will explain when he takes you to see the revenant."

"Tell me this, at least," Mikkal demanded. "Is he dead?"

The girl looked at him rather oddly, he thought. She was tall, but still a good head shorter than him, and she was forced to lift her chin in a defiant manner to look him directly in the eye. In spite of this she maintained a determination to hold his stare. 

"M. Saarinen, he... the vampire... he is not technically alive but such is the nature of his kind," she ventured stiffly, at last. "He is not dust, if that is what you wished to know."

Mikka let go of her arm. That was a small consolation but he still did not like the careful way in which she answered his questions. He sensed that there was more to this matter but she was avoiding the need to speak of it. As he was on the verge of asking if she knew what had happened to Rayne Wylde, the door from the corridor opened and a vast, broad-shouldered man with a closely shorn head and the stooping gait sometimes affected by the very tall, ambled into the room.

The girl's expression brightened at once.

"M. Szarbo," she declared, by way of an introduction. The relief was evident in her voice. "This is M. Saarinen, he has come for the revenant." She nodded politely to Mikka. "I will fetch your tea, Monsieur."

Szarbo looked him up and down rapidly and said; "Leave the tea, Carmine. Bring M. Saarinen a large shot of vodka. The Finlandia, I think. He will need it."

Once the young woman had gone, he turned to Mikka with a grim look on his jowly face. 

"This is a very bad situation, M. Saarinen," he intoned. "If word of this matter got out it could be detrimental to my business. I wish you to understand that such things do not ordinarily go on here."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, M. Szarbo," Mikka said rather stiffly. "The girl told me that he is not dead. If so then what is the problem? I mean, you and I both know what Rayne Wylde is. If he has not been reduced to so much ash then why can he not simply... regenerate as he has done so often?"

Szarbo shook his head ponderously. 

"I was rather hoping that, as his friend, you would be able to answer that question for me," he sighed. "Come, follow me, Mikkal Saarinen. Under any other circumstance it would be an honour and a pleasure to welcome you to la Griffe, but today it is my grim duty. Come, and I will take you to your friend."

He led Mikka out of the waiting room again, where they met the girl, Carmine returning with two shot glasses on a silver tray. Szarbo picked one up and raised it in a silent toast before downing the contents. Mikka deliberated for a moment then mirrored his actions, setting the glass back down on the tray with a little sigh of appreciation. The man then beckoned and led him wordlessly down the corridor to a waiting elevator. In the mirrored car they descended two levels which made the tall Finn frown thoughtfully. 

"The club has a sub-basement?" he queried. "How deep does this building go?"

"We reside above a part of the Parisian catacombs, M. Saarinen," Henning Szarbo told him in a low, sonorous tone. "La Griffe has many levels. Your friend is, I suspect, a Daywalker by nature but there is no harm in taking precautions and keeping him from the light. The darkness and the quiet will not interfere with his rest, if rest is truly all he requires."

"And if it isn't?" Mikka was irritated by these roundabout references to Rayne's condition. He wished that Szarbo would just get to fucking point. 

"Then perhaps you should consider that he may truly be beyond us," the other man replied gravely. 

Those words sent a shiver down Mikka's spine. His solemn host opened one half of a set of double doors at the junction of two corridors and led Mikka to a locked room. He produced a modern swipe card and used it to gain access to the room beyond. As they entered, the lights came up slowly, as if by magic and Mikka caught his breath. 

There was a black latex sheath laid out on a long, low table in the middle of the room. The sack was the approximate length and depth of a small, human being. He had never seen a body-bag before but he knew that was what he was looking at. Three plain beech wood chairs had been pushed back against the walls. There was no other furniture in the room. It had the look and feel of a high-end, ultra-modern funeral parlour. At once, Mikka felt sick to his stomach. 

"Just exactly how many clients die here, M. Szarbo?" he asked tersely. 

His guide responded with a rapid shake of the head. "I have never killed a client, M. Saarinen. This is a storage room, nothing more sinister. We removed all the ancillary items. It did not seem in keeping with our... guest's repose."

"And... that?" Mikka pointed towards the body-bag, unwilling to actually touch it. "Just lying around was it?"

Szarbo's lips curled around a small, humourless smile. It had a lot of very sharp teeth in it. 

"My friend, this club caters to many fetishes including those that you would perhaps consider morbid. We have clients who like to be bound and contained, who like to feel the kiss of the grave. So, yes, it was just lying around as you say. Very convenient, since we were able to move his body without distressing any of our regular customers."

He was so unfazed, so matter of fact about the whole business that Mikka wanted to hit him. He was glad that PJ did not have to witness this. 

"Show me," he said through gritted teeth. "Let me see him."

Almost gently, the burly proprietor of la Griffe stepped forward and ran his hands over the small, black shrouded form on the table. The bag was not zipped up, Mikka realised as he drew the folds of material apart and stepped aside. 

Mikka felt his stomach turn again. He was not a weak-willed man but it took a great deal of effort to make himself come to the table and look down. His heart leapt at the sight of that achingly familiar, heart-shaped face, its normally pallid tone thrown into even sharper contrast by the spill of Rayne's ragged black hair and the ebony-dark second skin of the zip-up bag that still shrouded his lower body. 

The vampire's pale eyes were open but they did not see. The dark, dilated pupils were slightly irregular and the whites of his eyes were veined with red. A single, bloody tear had run down his face into his hair, breaking the pallor starkly. His lips were parted; whether around a scream or a sigh, he could not know. The vampire's small, perfect fangs were extended and blood-stained and his lips were also black with dried blood. When Mikka exhaled a slow sigh the blackness shifted like a fine dust, smudging the pale perfection of his face. 

"We washed his body before we let him rest," Szarbo said quietly. "Patrice and Simone, two of my girls, both gave their blood but he would not, or could not drink."

"Jesus Christ!" Mikka turned so that the other man would not see the hot tears that he dashed from his eyes on the back of his hand. He was not give to blasphemy but the words rose to his lips unbidden. "God forgive you, Szarbo..." He turned again, hands clenched into impotent fists at his sides, his normally pacific mien subverted by the sight before him. A sight he had never thought to see. "Did you do that to him?"

Had Patrick been here, he thought grimly, Szarbo would be on the floor, bleeding, by now. Mikka closed his eyes and struggled for another long breath, and another. 

"He did not fall by my hand, M. Saarinen," Szarbo said neutrally. 

"But you know what happened? You know who did this to him?" Mikka growled softly. 

"Yes," came the simple, unaffected reply. "He no longer works for la Griffe. Such an action will not be tolerated upon these premises. I dismissed him promptly."

Mikka stared back at him, incoherent with shock. 

"You... you let the bastard who did this walk free?" he stammered furiously at last. 

"M. Saarinen, I empathise," Szarbo told him coolly. "But Rayne Wylde is not protected by the laws that govern mortals. He is a Revenant. Mortal law does not see his slaying as a murder. Some humans might even call it a blessing."

"You unspeakable..." Mikka drew his fist back to strike but the other man was faster. Szarbo deflected the blow before Mikka could land it. Moments later the tall, furious Finn found himself pressed against one of those cool, cream-coloured walls with both hands twisted up hard behind his back. Henning Szarbo leaned against him until he finally stopped struggling and swearing in his native tongue.

"I did not say that this was my view," Szarbo told him, not even out of breath. "If any other had been the proprietor of la Griffe and this had happened upon his watch, then perhaps the corpse would be truly ashes by now. Or Wylde would be at the city morgue, awaiting the crematorium. He was fortunate."


"F-fortunate!" Mikka turned as the grip on his arms loosened. His blue eyes were blazing and he could barely control his tongue as he forced the word out. "You call this fortunate? You let some sadist rip him apart and... and murder him... and you have the fucking nerve to tell me he was fortunate!" 

He pulled free, staring disconsolate at the frail, torn body lying on the table in front of him. Now that the bag was drawn open he could clearly see the long, vicious rents in Rayne's pale chest; tears like giant claws had peeled the flesh back cleanly from his ribs. He wanted to be sick. 

Atonally, Szarbo told him; "The scars you see were not inflicted by his would-be killer. They are not what put him into this state. his damage he begged me for."



Mikka Saarinen was glaring at him again with all the animal passion of a creature not quite human. In that moment he would have made a magnificent Were, Henning thought as he cautioned the man; "Do not try to punch me again, M. Saarinen. I was patient with you last time. I understand your distress but if you strike me again, you will get hurt. Please let me try to explain."

Mikka was still bristling but he kept his hands on the table to either side of Rayne's small damaged body, staring from the burly??Norwegian club-owner to the pale, lifeless vampire and back again.

"You ripped him apart like this?" he huffed at last and Henning Szarbo nodded gravely. 

"M. Saarinen, your friend came to la Griffe seeking pain. It is what we excel at. We knew what he was and what he was able to withstand by way of punishment. M. Wylde is an excellent healer, when he bothers to feed adequately. Last night was not his first visit to the club."

"Punishment?" Mikka blinked at him. "For what? Why the fuck were you punishing him?"

"That, Monsieur, you must ask of your friend should he ever awaken," Henning replied solemnly. "He was punishing himself, Mikkal Saarinen. We were merely his chosen instruments."

Mikka wilted at that, knowing it for the truth. He had known Rayne Wylde for over twenty years and, vampire and mortal, he had always been bent on self-destruction. As a teenager he used to cut himself and as an adult he used ruinous sexual relationships to keep the wound open. Patrick had seen the hurt in him from the beginning. He understood that Rayne would not let it heal and he tolerated it, for some ungodly reason. Mikka would never understand it though. 

What, in the name of all that was sacred, could drive a man or a vampire to seek out a punishment like this? It made no sense.

"He was in pain before he came to us, my friend," said Szarbo, echoing his thoughts. "But that hurt was something that he did not share with us. M. Saarinen, I have to say to you that he disturbed me. There was... I sensed... a hunger in him, a hunger for death and darkness such as I have never felt in any man. He fears the solitude of the grave but he also yearns for it with all his heart."

Mikka shook his head disbelievingly. 

"If this punishment did not kill him, then what did?" he wanted to know.

Szarbo looked uncomfortable for the first time since they had been introduced. 

"My assistant," he began at last. "A man named Carlsen. He came to me from Berlin, a professional sadist. He had worked in clubs in that city and had excellent references. After I had left off working on the vampire, Carlsen went in to him intending to clear up. Wylde was weak and exhausted but he was alive when I left him, Mikkal. Please believe me when I say this."




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 08



"And so?" Mikka scowled at him impatiently. "This Carlsen, what happened?"

"As I understand it, the vampire begged Carlsen to end his existence. My assistant maintained that he refused, but then the vampire baited him and finally attacked, forcing Carlsen to defend himself. He claims that in the struggle he and Wylde came down together. He was holding a pair of long piercing rods that he uses on clients who like to be impaled and as the vampire went for his throat he drove one of these rods through Wylde's ribs and into his heart. The vampire then fell down dead, as you see him now."

Mikka's expression grew steadily more incredulous. 

"Do you believe that?" he asked when Szarbo fell silent.

"Monsieur Carlsen is no longer in my employ," Szarbo said neutrally, neither confirming nor denying his opinion on the matter. "There were cameras in the room but they were not active. For whatever purpose someone turned them off before Carlsen entered and they were not turned on again until after he left. By this time the vampire was dead."

"And you think Carlsen turned them off then went in and killed Rayne?" Mikka licked dry lips speculatively. 

"I believe that he turned off the cameras," Szarbo responded atonally. "For this reason he was dismissed. It is a legal requirement for us to have the cameras running whilst one of us is in a room with a client."

Mikka sat down heavily on one of the chairs that had been pushed back against the wall. He rubbed his face, feeling tired and contaminated by his experience here. Something else occurred to him as he sat there and he asked; "Why didn't you just get rid of the body? Why keep it here?"

For a moment Szarbo subjected him to a penetrating look; a strange, unreadable expression on his snub-nosed face that was more animal than human.

"M. Saarinen," he said at last, "how am I to do that? If I call the Gendarmes there will be an investigation and my club will be suspended pending the results of their enquiries. It would do me lasting damage; damage that I can ill afford. I could have had my men dump his body in the river, yes, or take him to the incinerator in the basement. Think what you will of me, Mikkal Saarinen, but I value life more highly than that, be it mortal, vampire or whatever."

"So what were you planning to do with it?" Mikka demanded warily. He was not sure he would like the answer.

"I believed that we should wait," his host responded simply. "He is not mortal, a vampire of any age ought to have crumbled to dust at the moment of True Death. I wished to see if the Revenant would revive, given time."

"You don't believe he is dead?" Mikka looked up at him, surprised and suddenly allowing himself a small thread of hope.

Henning Szarbo moved closer to the table. He ran a stray lock of Rayne's soft black hair almost tenderly through his fingers. 

"I have seen vampires die," he said at last, in a softer voice. "All but the very newly Turned decompose very rapidly once the spirit has fled." He glanced up at Mikka. "Do you know how long your friend has been Undead?"

Mikka shook his head. "I don't know exactly. Less than twenty five years for certain, but probably more than ten."

Szarbo heaved a long sigh. "Wylde has been in this state for over twenty four hours, M. Saarinen. If he is dead then his mortal body must be in the grip of a very powerful spell. Like the legend of the Sleeping Beauty, he lies here neither dead nor living. What are we to do with him? I will not consign him to the flames if there is a chance that his spirit has not passed on. That would be too cruel."

Mikka gazed dolorously at the small, still, silent figure lying on the table between them. He clasped his hands together as if in prayer for guidance.

"Do you want me to take him?" he ventured at last. "I promise to get him to his friends, to people who will care for him. They are all worried about him." 

He did not add that one of those friends had felt the moment of Wylde's death. Henning's face was shaded with enough grief already for what had come to pass here. Let him hope that one day Rayne Wylde would wake. Mikka did not know what to hope for. Maybe the vampire was still alive. He had no idea what a resting vamp ought to look like.

Warren would know though. And hopefully the mad old bastard would know what to do with him.

"It would be a burden lifted from me, I will not lie," Henning admitted sadly. "You will let me know how you fare with him?"

Mikka nodded wearily and rose to his feet, reaching for his phone to make preparations for the small body to be removed.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE © SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2010 



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 09



(c) Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010 

CHAPTER NINE – THE DARKEST HOUR

At long last, here is chapter nine. Apologies for the hiatus but too often the real world interferes in my writing schedule and I don't get any work done for ages. As a reward for your infinite patience we'll post a couple of chapters very close together. This one ties up the loose ends of Xav and Rayne's separation. It's a fairly unsexual chapter with a fairly gruesome medical sequence, so anyone wanting to read this for a bit of titillation might be better off waiting for chapter ten. Wouldn't wanna bore anyone. **grin** 

For those who want to know how we're gonna get them out of this mess... read on. Thanks again for your patience. We love you all, really. xxx S&B

NAPLES - XAVIER:

Rather than pick one of the restaurants within a few blocks of Marco's, Palo said he knew a place that was much better, just a little further away. Xavier didn't really care, at the moment he just wanted to stuff his face with as much grilled, breaded or sauced goodness as he could get. Having Palo laughing and teasing him about his ill temper when he was hungry was not winning the Italian model any points. By the time they actually arrived at the restaurant Xav was ready not only to eat the bread but the basket it came in. 

Palo shook his head at the forthright way Xavier attacked his food as soon as the plate was set in front of him. He also raised a brow at the amount his companion could put away, muttering; "You better not eat like that all the time or you'll never make it as a model."

"Who said I want to be a model?" Xavier fired back dismissively between bites. 

"Then why are you working for Marco?" Palo asked. 

Xavier shrugged. "It's money." 

"You could make more money working for PJ McNamara," Palo pointed out. 

Xavier looked at him over the top of the glass of wine he'd just gulped downed like it was water. "PJ's never asked me to work for him." 

Palo looked surprised. "He seemed to like you. If you wanted to be in his movies he would give you work, I'm sure." 

Xavier shook his head ruefully. "I'm sure he would." 

"So, you don't want to be in porn movies?" 

Xavier stabbed a few more pieces of pasta to put in his mouth, muttering; "Brilliant deduction!"

"Why not, though? I think you would be good." 

Apparently Palo was not the brightest crayon in the box. Xav had already figured that, but he was rapidly lowering his estimated IQ points by the sentence as this conversation went on. "Because... I don't want to." 

"You take your clothes off for money, so you are not shy. Why not get paid ten times more for making movies? I have heard that McNamara pays his boys top dollar." 

"I get paid to dance and strip, not to get fucked by strangers while someone films it." Not any more, anyway, Xav added silently. "There's a difference." 

"You didn't know me and you let me fuck you." Palo said reasonably. "What's the difference if someone gives you money for it?" 

Xavier just stared at him incredulously. This Italian pretty-boy seriously was a dimbulb, he decided. But he wasn't completely stupid, and antagonising Xavier clearly wasn't part of his plans tonight. Palo changed the subject quickly, asking him randomly about San Francisco and how he'd met PJ McNamara, and why he was in Italy, and how long he was staying. 

Xavier was getting exhausted just figuring out ways not to answer his questions. Usually it was easy, he just turned the direction of the conversation to the other person, but it was harder to do when he didn't give a good god-damn and really wasn't interested in talking at all. 

Palo didn't seem to mind Xavier's reticence nor did he seem to notice his avoidance of answering any questions about himself. He talked enough for both of them. When dinner was done and they were back in his car he tried to persuade Xav into going on to a bar or two. Xavier would rather have gone back to Marco's to catch some sleep. He'd been up since dawn and it had been a hell of a long day. He checked his phone automatically though. 

Still no calls or messages from PJ, and with a sigh he agreed to go for a few drinks. 

Palo took him to a place where he was obviously well known, which was a mixed blessing. It meant Palo had more people to occupy his attention but also meant they would probably stay longer than Xav wanted. Thanks to the language barrier he also hadn't a clue what most of the conversation was about. He was bored, and tired, and upset that he still didn't know what had happened to Rayne. That was a really bad combination of things to be for Xavier, especially when he was pouring alcohol on top of it. 

To add to the matter of his irritability he knew he was being talked about. He heard the word Americano more than once and Palo was just having a grand time showing him off like Xavier was a prize he'd won in a cereal box. Xav was getting tired of it, and he was getting more tired of Palo, really fast. The handsome model always made sure he was in contact with Xavier somehow. A hand on his shoulder or hip, an arm around him, a couple times he tried to hold his hand. Xavier had noticed that in general everyone here seemed more touchy-feely then he was used to, but Palo was going beyond that, and he wasn't fooling Xavier for a minute. It wasn't affection or even trying to get him into bed, he was making a statement of possession, and Xavier was getting pissed about it. 

Long past the time Xav was ready to leave Palo finally suggested they go, only when he did he made it pretty plain that they were going back to his place, and he had clearly invited some friends along. He worked his hand under the back of Xavier's shirt, caressing the base of his spine and kissing him sloppily. Xavier pulled away, taking a look at Palo's friends, and their anticipatory expressions. Like a pack of slobbering dogs!

"Tell you what, sweetheart..." he smiled cynically at Palo. "...you take your friends home and fuck them, because I'm not going to, and I don't give a shit what you told them." 

He got up and started toward the door. Palo called after him and when Xav didn't stop he went after him. "Hey! Xavier, wait..." 

"Fuck off!" 

"Where you going? Hey, don't leave," Palo pleaded with him as they reached the exit, standing on the step down into the darkened street. "I thought you might want to go have some fun, that's all. You're still too uptight about your boyfriend walking out, I understand. But you can't sit around alone, feeling sad forever." 

That was just about a jibe too far and Xav snapped at him; "I told you, you can go fuck them if you want to. I'm not sad and I'm not fuckin' lonely. I'm just tired and pissed off and I'm going back to Marco's." 

Palo grabbed Xavier's shoulder and pulled him to a stop, turning him around. "Come back to my place, I'll tell my friends 'not tonight'. Just come back with me, babe," he said in a placating tone, sliding his arms around Xavier's waist and pulling him close, bending to nuzzle under his ear. "You are so beautiful, I want to take you home...please?"

Xavier shrugged out of his grasp. "Just go home Palo, I'm not interested." 

Palo wouldn't let him go and pulled him back. "You were interested the other night with Bocaccio. You let us both fuck you good then." 

"Yeah, a mistake I'm not going to repeat." Xavier pushed his arms away more firmly. 

Palo grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. "A mistake? I don't think so, you were hard for me, baby." He brought his mouth down over Xavier's in a hot wet kiss, hoping he could force the fickle little dancer to drop the hard-to-get routine. 

Xav had endured enough though. He shoved an elbow into Palo's stomach and twisted out of his grasp, shoving him away more deliberately. 

"Would you just fuck off already!" 

Palo let go of his wrist and Xavier staggered a step or two. Before he even knew what was happening those dark brown eyes lit with fury and Palo hauled him back and slapped him hard enough to jerk his head around and make his ears ring. Xav stumbled another stunned step. 

"Bitch!" A string of angry Italian followed and Xavier had to clamp down on his own fury. If he got in a fight here it could only end badly for him. Palo's friends were still watching from the bar with hungry eyes. He glared venomously at the other model, refusing to lift a hand to his burning cheek and then he turned around to storm away.

Palo was after him like a shot, his mood swinging around again, back to cajoling. "Xavier, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"Get the fuck away from me!" Xav growled and kept on walking.

Palo grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around and that was the last straw for Xavier. He swung at the bigger man and probably the only reason his fist connected was that Palo was already pretty drunk. It also meant Palo didn't feel the blow as much and in the next instant his hands were on Xavier shoving him so hard he was thrown against the wall of the building beside them. 

Before Xavier could do more than gasp a stunned breath Palo had grabbed him again and pushed him toward the dark, garbage-strewn side street. Immediately Xavier struggled to get out of Palo's grasp and stop him from shoving him down that alley. He already knew that nothing good could possibly happen to him there. 

"Let go of me you fuckin' cunt!" Xav yelled at him as they scuffled. Palo was a lot bigger though and he was in the grip of a violent, egotistical rage. He was acting quickly and without thought. 

He let Xavier go but it was only to spin him around and slam him chest first against the gritty bricks. He pressed himself up behind Xavier, holding him tight there and getting a grip on his arms so he couldn't get free. 

"You wanna play games huh? You like to play rough?" Palo breathed heavily in his ear. His other hand came up quickly and clamped over Xavier's mouth when he felt his lungs expand for a shout. 

Xavier felt a ripple of fear thread through him, displacing some of the anger. He struggled even harder but Palo had his arm twisted behind him and he pushed it up between his shoulder blades now, making Xavier cry out in muffled pain behind the hand clasped around his jaws. 

Palo began kissing him wetly on the side of his throat, and ground his pelvis against Xavier's backside, letting him know how excited this was making him. Xav just felt sick. He'd actually fucked this guy willingly the other night. The hand holding his arm let go for a moment and Xavier renewed his struggles but Palo's body had him pinned tight to the wall. His jeans were fumbled open and yanked down his narrow hips. 

Xavier felt Palo's fingers tighten painfully where he clasped his hand over his mouth and the hot hard feel of him pressing along the valley of his bared cheeks when Palo undid his own zipper and tugged his pants open. 

"Mmmhhhhff!" Xavier's muffled curses tried to find away out as he flailed with his free arm and tried to kick back. His efforts got him pulled backward and slammed into the wall again, jarring him into stillness for a few moments. Long enough for Palo to get lined up, nudging the smooth head of his cock up between his clenching cheeks. Xavier knew if he just relaxed it wouldn't hurt as much but he was too pissed off to settle himself. His back arched and his eyes squeezed tight as Palo breached his defences. 

"Nnnnhhhhh!!" This time his muffled cry was one of pain. He was smashed up tight against the bricks and impaled, Palo's hot breath panting in his ear as he pushed into him rough and fast. 

Then, all of a sudden, Palo's hand was gone from his mouth and he was off him as if torn away. Xavier staggered against the wall, turning and automatically reaching to yank up his jeans. A slim young man with at tumble of dark, wavy hair held Palo by the throat, at arms length, nearly off the ground. Xavier's panicked eyes widened even further as he felt a prickle of energy along his skin, a flare of some psychic instinct that told him his rescuer was not human. For less than a second he allowed himself to hope but one look at the creature's face told him it was in vain. He was a vampire, but he was not Rayne Wylde. 

Xav didn't think, didn't question it, he just turned and ran.

Several blocks later he realised he did not have the smallest inclination of where he was, or at least he didn't know how to get back to Marco's, and there wasn't a cab in sight. Gulping for air he slowed down at last to take in his surroundings, as if that would help. A car came suddenly careening down the street and swerved into a pile of roadside garbage. It looked like a heap of rotted produce and other debris but apparently buried inside were some heavy crates, or something more solid, and the resulting smash was quite spectacular, doing a number on the car as well as sending shit flying everywhere. Xavier looked on incredulously as the guy driving came to a stop and got out quickly, cursing a blue streak while he inspected the damage. The whole front of the car looked caved in. Then the guy started laughing his ass off, got back in, reversed the complaining wreck out of the garbage heap and drove away. 

"Jesus...people here are fucking nuts!" Xav shook his head. 

He wandered for a bit longer, hoping to spot a familiar street name or building but nothing looked quite right. After a little while he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the time. It was close to midnight. He didn't have Marco's number so he called PJ instead. The older man sounded a little sleep-addled but he didn't tear a strip off Xavier for ringing so late. 

"Are you okay?" he wanted to know. 

"Kind of..." Xav mumbled, suddenly embarrassed to admit that he'd screwed things up tonight and now he was hopelessly lost in the middle of one of Europe's most notorious criminal hotspots. "Has Dom called? Did they find anything yet?"

PJ hesitated briefly, but again it could have just been that he was half-awake. "I promised you that you'd be the first to hear if I knew anything. I meant that, Xav. Go to bed, baby."

"Ok..." Xav said, trying not to sound disappointed or impatient. "Um, could you put Aldo on for a minute?" 

"Sure, honey." He waited while PJ went in search of their genial host and had to smile at the genuine pleasure he heard in Aldo's voice when the Italian greeted him. Xavier realised then that he had come to think of the guys as true friends. They made small talk for a minute or two and then finally got to what he needed. "Aldo, do you know where..." he squinted up at the name on the street sign and repeated it hesitatingly. "Do you know where that is?" 

"Yes," Aldo said after a little intake of breath. "You don't want to go there, caro. That's not a good neighbourhood, if you know what I mean." 

"Yeah, tell me about it," Xavier said. "Can you tell me how to get to Marco's from here?" 

"You're there now?" Aldo demanded, a note of alarm creeping into his voice. "At this time of night? By yourself?" 

Xavier rolled his eyes. "Yes mum, now can you tell me how to find Marco's from here?" 

He could hear Aldo cussing softly in Italian. "What the living hell you doing down there, Xav. You taken leave of your senses?" 

Xavier sighed softly. "I ditched Palo at a bar, ok? Now, can you please give me directions? Like, before I get mugged or something?" 

There was some more breathless swearing on the other end but Aldo finally relented and relayed directions for how to get back to where he wanted to be. He made Xavier repeat them back to him twice.

"Call me back when you get to Marco's." Aldo admonished him. 

Xavier grinned. "Alright, thanks," he said before he hung up. It was kind of weird having people worried about him. He was used to being on his own. 

Aldo's directions took him the shortest rout on foot, but still he was farther away than he'd realised. It took him a half-hour to get back to the block Marco's building was on. Even at this time of night there were people walking down the street here. The address was a much more busy, tourist area. He was about to pull out his cell and call Aldo to let him know he'd made it back okay when he felt that familiar prickle down the back of his neck. 

Xavier slowed but didn't stop. There was a small group of people walking toward him, two couples it looked like. A fifth followed them, just a few paces behind. Close enough that he could be with them, or far enough that he might not be. Xav caught his breath and tried to pretend he hadn't seen him. It was the vampire from the alley.

The couples, laughing and having a good time, passed him, then the guy behind... Xavier turned his head as he passed and it felt like time slowed, like a slow-motion movie reel. Xavier's head came up as he turned it and the guy was looking back at him as well. Curious dark eyes pinning him and for a moment Xavier couldn't look away. 

The guy was good looking, at least he had a nice face, but he was wearing loose nondescript dark clothing and other than his height it was hard to really make out his built. Unbound dark brown hair curled around his pale cheeks and Xavier caught his slight smile just before they both turned to look forward again. 

Xavier's heart was beating in his chest hard enough that he could feel it against his ribs. Christ! Had he gone from the frying pan into the fire? The vampire had pulled Palo off of him, and Xavier didn't know what he might have done to him after he ran, and truthfully at that moment he didn't care, but then why was the vamp now following him?

Xavier turned his head to look over his shoulder again. He couldn't help it, he had to look. The two couples walked on, almost a block away now. The vampire that had been following them was gone. 

He faced front again, trying to hurry and not look like he was hurrying. Silly really. If the vampire wanted to catch him it wouldn't matter if he ran flat out, and even if he did make it to Marco's there was no safety there. Hurrying helped channel some of the adrenaline though. He could see Marco's building now and he had to put effort into not running the last few yards. He jogged up the steps even so, and reached for the buzzer with a sense of relief spilling into him. 

A cold white hand closed over his wrist just before he hit the button and Xavier nearly jumped out of his skin. Dark, chocolate brown eyes regarded him with that same curious expression he'd seen when he had turned to look at vampire on the street. Those soft loose curls around his face moved restlessly with the breeze as if stroked by a lover's hand. He was only a little taller then Xavier, though this close he had a heavier build. He could feel the strength in that cool, smooth hand; strength that could snap his wrist like a winter-dry twig.

"Ho visto che lei mi guardando." 

"Um..." Xavier replied intelligently. 

"Parlez-vous du français?" The vampire asked, apparently seeing the lack of comprehension in Xavier's expression. 

Xavier shook his head. "I speak English, and a little bit of Spanish. Enough to tell you to fuck off, anyway!" 

The vampire sighed, not in a melodramatic fashion but weary, as if this was a game he was already tired of playing. 

"You do not sound English." His own softly lilting accent was more French-sounding than Italian. 

"I'm American." 

The vampire tilted his head to one side regarding him and Xavier had to block the pictured of a cute cocker spaniel puppy from coming to mind. This guy was definitely not like most of the vampires he'd already met. Then he did something rather more vampiric, he caught Xav's eyes and did that thing where it felt like he was trying to see inside his head.

Xavier gave him 'the wall' easily enough. The vampire's expression shifted at once, somewhere between surprised and amused, and Xav's heart pounded a little harder at the memory of Elian Iannopoulos looking at him with nearly an identical expression. It had been cute, right up until Elian had savagely bitten him and mercilessly ripped what he wanted out of his head. Xavier had much more practice keeping unwanted mind probes out now though. He had gone to Dominic on only their second day in Italy and asked the old wizard to teach him all he could about "that shielding thing", and although Dominic despaired of his lack of discipline on anything else, that was the one thing Xavier practised with nearly obsessive zeal. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 09



"How are you doing that?" the vampire asked softly. "You're keeping me out, and...you know what I... what I am. Don't you? How?" 

He seemed genuinely curious, his questions asked mildly rather than demandingly. Xavier didn't let his guard down though. That cold hand was still restraining him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, and it sounded flimsy even to his own ears. 

"Let's not play, hmmm? You are keeping me out of your head but I can still see a lie." 

"What do you want?" Xavier asked. 

"As I said, I want to know how you comprehend what I am," the vampire repeated. 

Xavier shook his head. "I don't know." 

For the first time a little impatience crept into the vampire's voice. "Come now... I have not threatened you, I stopped that man from hurting you... I only want to know how you sensed me. When you looked at me you knew, right away, before you ran. I never met a mortal that could do that." 

Xavier swallowed, his throat suddenly very dry. "I told you, I don't know. I mean, how do you know when you're hungry, or when you have to sleep? You just do, right? How do I explain that to someone? I looked at you and just knew. I felt it." 

The vampire contemplated this for a moment. "What is your name?" 

"Xavier," he answered, just a little reluctant. He supposed giving his name wasn't really a big deal. 

"Xavier...?" the vampire prompted. 

"Gavrilov." 

"Xavier Gavrilov." His interrogator turned the words over in his mouth, savouring them with a curious smile. "Are you a Russian-American then?" 

"I was born in east Los Angeles, California. That's about as far from Moscow as you can get, comrade. I'm all American." 

The vampire chuckled and it lightened his face; made him look even younger. "Sorry. I have a few American friends that like to trace their ancestry. I know more about transatlantic diasporas than I ever wanted to." 

"Whatever floats their boat. Can you let go of me now?" For whatever reason Xavier was rapidly losing his fear. He wasn't sure if it was the way the vampire seemed so mild and puzzled, or if he was just so tired he was beyond the point of caring what happened. 

The vampire slowly released his wrist. Xavier refrained from rubbing the circulation back into it, though he flexed his fingers awkwardly. 

"What's your name?" 

The vampire hesitated just a second, no more. "Nicolas Gulliard." 

"Ok, now look Nick..." 

"Nicolas!" 

Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. He was getting a headache. "Nicolas. I'm really beat. I want to go in and get some sleep. Thank you... for stopping him, in the alley. I'm sorry I couldn't answer your questions better. Can I just...?" He waved toward the door and the vampire nodded his head. Xavier hit the buzzer. A moment later Xavier heard the locks turning. Nicolas smiled but he was gone before Marco pulled the front door open. With a grateful sigh Xavier stumbled in. 

His life just kept getting weirder and weirder. 

"What are you doing here?" Marco asked. "I thought you'd be out all night with Palo." 

Xav shook his head. "Change of plans. You got any aspirin?" He asked, already heading toward the fridge for some orange juice. The thought to tell Marco what Palo had done didn't cross his mind. He was already mentally compartmentalising what had happened and dropping it down a well. All gone! Like it never happened.

Marco brought him a bottle of aspirin and Xavier shook a few out into his palm and swallowed them. Marco was frowning at him and grabbed his chin, turning his face a bit. 

"Someone hit you?" the photographer asked, visibly aghast. 

Xavier pulled away from him. "Don't worry, it'll be gone by morning. I don't bruise that easy." 

He left his empty glass on the counter and headed toward the bedroom. Marco frowned after him but said nothing. 

RAYNE:

It was a bit like swimming underwater in the dark. He seemed to have been swimming for hours, trying to pull himself towards the surface. He could see the light, shimmering tormentingly, just out of reach and the harder he pulled to get to it the further away it seemed to slide as if he was a dead weight, sinking deeper and deeper. 

He could not breathe. The pain in his chest was too hard and too wide to work around. It was like a boulder between his ribs, blocking all his attempts to draw in air. He felt weak from fighting it, but at the same time he knew that he must. The only thing that kept him swimming desperately minute after minute was the knowledge that Xavier was there, somewhere beyond the surface. He could feel the boy's shock and sadness. There was a numb spot somewhere in Xav's passionate heart that matched the hollow in his own. 

He ached to just reach out and touch that sweet, sorrowful, lovely face; to brush the tears away; to kiss him gently even if it was for the last time. If he died, would Xavier just carry on? Might he meet someone else who would care for him and love him like he deserved; the way that Rayne Wylde had not been able to? Would he forget in time how much they had shared and how sweet it might have been if they could only live a life untouched by horror and death and the dark shadows of the past?

Rayne hoped so, fervently. But still he kept on swimming. He would not give up just yet, even though his limbs were so cold that he could not longer feel his hands or his feet. It was darker now. 

Soon the light would go out and he would finally be able to rest. 

PARIS: 

As a couple of young men from la Griffe were helping to load Rayne's body into the back of a small, black Daihatsu van, Mikka took a moment to call Patrick and deliver an update, which was received with sombre optimism. His lover wanted to come straight to Paris but Mikka talked him out of it. The journey to Napoli had already taken more out of PJ McNamara than he cared to admit and Mikka had no desire to see him get sick because he was overdoing things. He promised to ring again in the evening or as soon as there was a change in Rayne's condition. 

He then called Dominic Warren, who had been checking out a couple of the other clubs. Warren was understandably elated at the news that the vampire had been found but like Patrick his mood sobered as Mikka relayed the circumstances in more detail. 

"You said they were moving him. Where to?" Dominic sounded anxious. 

"We have a studio in an old warehouse about a kilometre from the hotel," Mikka told him. "I was going to take him there. We have the space to hide him."

"Do you know where the Institut Curie is?" Warren asked him. 

"I think so. South of the river, isn't it? Near the Sorbonne?" Mikka ran a hand through his hair. 

The boys had Rayne in the van now and were looking at him expectantly. He held up a hand, asking them silently for five minutes. 

"Take him there, I will meet you," Warren said breathlessly. He sounded as if he was on the move. 

"I think that maybe Henning was right," Mikka told him as he waved the van driver towards the front of the vehicle and climbed in beside him, scribbling their location down on a piece of paper from his diary and watching distractedly as the young Frenchman programmed it into his sat-nav. "He could be healing himself."

"What makes you think so?" Warren asked him curiously. 

"I was just checking on him before they put him the van. His skin feels warmer. I'm sure I am not imagining it."

For a moment Warren said nothing. Mikka could hear him breathing hard and felt his heart stop. He did not like that portentous silence one little bit. 

"What?" he asked ominously. 

"I've know Rayne Wylde for a lot of years," Dominic Warren said, tersely. "He is never warm. Oh, Bright Lady, this is bad!"

"Bad?" Mikka made a circling gesture with his free hand telling the driver to get a move on. It earned him a dirty look but the youth did at least start the engine. 

"What is it?" Mikka asked, when Dominic did not speak right away, feeling real fear now. 

"Mikkal, you need to get him to the institut as soon as possible, do you hear me?" the older man's voice instructed in his left ear.

"Why would we...?" Mikka broke off as Warren continued like he had not spoken. 

"We need to bring his body temperature right down. Ideally we need a cryonic chamber but a chest freezer would probably do in the short term. He mustn't get any warmer, Mikkal."

"Are you going to explain why?" the Finn asked him irritably.

Again there was a brief silence. The van pulled out into the busy evening traffic and set off towards the river. 

"He is beginning to decompose," the vampire expert replied at last, in a slightly strained voice. "That is what you could feel. The heat is a part of the process, his body is breaking down slowly. We need to... to cool him to a degree that kills the bacteria completely. That will stop the rot and maybe we can get him to take blood then. If his body accepts new blood then it may try to heal itself."

"That is more than one maybe," Mikka ventured, sounding worried. "What if none of that works?"

Again Lord Warren was silent but Mikka could hear him struggling for breath as if he was trying not to shed tears. 

"He will die?" Mikka felt the quiver at the edge of his own voice as he asked the question. He and Wylde had not always seen eye to eye but the news of his death would destroy Patrick and he could not bear that.

"He is already dead, Mikkal. If we cannot get his body to heal naturally, in a little more than a couple of days he will be bones and a few scraps of dried flesh, nothing more." Warren took a long, determined breath. "I never believed I would live to see this."

"Where would we get the blood from?" Mikka asked practically. "And how do we get him to drink it if he can't even swallow?"

"That bit is easy enough," Dominic said more decisively. "There is matched blood in an ice box at the Institut Curie. I have a friend who works there," he added pre-empting the next question. "The important thing is to stop the decay first. Then we can try and revive him. If we can get his body to heal naturally it will combat the decomposition without our help."

"And if it can't?" Mikka sounded doubtful.

"Then we will have to be resourceful and think of something else." Dominic's tone of voice now defied arguments. Wisely Mikka kept his mouth shut on the myriad reasons why this was already a lost cause. The van took a corner on two wheels and he grabbed at one of the door handles and glared at the driver but did not say anything at all. 


Warren was already at the Institut by the time the van had fought its way down a narrow Parisian back road beyond the Parthenon. He was waiting outside the modern multistory block of the Hospital with a man in a green smock and they waved Mikka's driver through to the back of the building right away. 

Within minutes the black bodybag was on a gurney and they were in an elevator on their way into the heart of the facility. Dominic was already conversing in urgent French with the dark, handsome, Arabic-looking fellow in doctor's scrubs. The van driver had departed without a word or a backward look, only happy to get the task over with. 

Mikka felt suddenly superfluous as Lord Warren took over, handling the situation as smoothly as a born diplomat. His French was fast and very good. If the doctor was at all bemused by anything Warren was telling him it did not show on his face. In fact nothing showed up in his expression at all until they had the bodybag on the table and he slowly unzipped it. Even Mikka understood without needing a translation. 

"Il est mort, totalement," the doctor said, without even a cursory application of the stethoscope.

Dominic said something rapid and soothing and the young doctor looked at him with raised eyebrows. Lord Warren kept talking as his medical companion continued his cursory examination of the corpse. The look of incredulity did not leave the young man's face but nor did he stop what he was doing; carefully lifting Rayne's hands and moving his fingers to assess the state of his body, then investigating the wounds on his torso. 

"How long did Szarbo reckon he'd been down?" Dominic asked quietly in English and it took Mikka a couple of seconds to realise that the question was aimed at him.

"Ummm... since the night before last," he said awkwardly. 

Dominic translated and the doctor looked at them both again, eyebrows raised. He shook his head a couple of times. At once Dominic was arguing with him; not violently but in a relentless, soothing tone that was designed to be persuasive in any tongue. Mikka let a humourless smile twitch the corners of his mouth as he watched the doctor fall to that beguiling manner. 

He still wore an expression of disbelief as he turned away to make some arrangements but Dominic looked satisfied and Mikka asked; "Will he help?"

"I think so. This is a scientific research hospital, how could he resist something like this? A genuine vampire on his operating table? How many scientists would kill for the chance to examine one of the Undead?" Dominic flashed a tight smile. 

"And what happens next? Will they ever let him go, even if he does revive?" Mikka asked sceptically. 

"We'll cross that bridge once we've saved his Unlife," Warren said tersely. "For now, we let them get on with the serious business. They have the facilities here to freeze him and kill the bacteria that is making him... warm. When he comes out of the cryo-chamber they can thaw him gently and start the transfusions. Then we see if we can start his heart."

"And if we can't?" Mikka asked, still unconvinced. 

"We will," Dominic insisted. "If these guys can't do it, no one can."


RAYNE:

It was a different kind of cold that he was experiencing now. Suddenly the darkness was not so intense but the cold was like millions of tiny knives sliding into his veins. It numbed everything, leaving him feeling drowsy and distant. Maybe this was it, the end of everything, at last. All his hopes, all his desperate desires were slowly fading, as if they had been mothballed; wrapped up in bubble wrap and put away one by one. The pain was sliding away, replaced by the peculiar pricking in his blood that seemed to be spreading right through his body. 

No more pain. No more worry. No more tears or laughter. He would not be needing them any more. Nothing he could do about it now. 

Nothing.

It would be nice to sleep. To stop. 


PARIS:

In the end they did not keep Rayne in the cryonic chamber for very long at all. As the vampire was manoeuvred in and out of the small, glass-walled room on a gurney, one of the medical assistants explained in broken English what was going on. 

"He will freeze no more over five minutes," the young man said earnestly to Mikka. 

"More than that and they cannot work on him without doing more damage," Dominic added, never taking his eyes off the small body on the trolley beyond the glass partition. Lord Warren had been talking to the medical team and now he watched, transfixed as they wheeled him into the aluminium pod, sealed the doors and liquid nitrogen was pumped through the tiny, enclosed space. 

It seemed like the longest five minutes of his life. Mikka exhaled a shuddering breath when finally a bleeper sounded and a small green light came on above the door. Dry ice billowed out into the room as they opened the chamber and the gurney was removed by men in heavy coveralls and gloves. 

"Process has only prior use in freezing ones already dead," the young medic explained awkwardly. "We have not cause for revive anyone before. This is never tried before this day."

"They never tried to freeze the Undead before though," Dominic mused, tapping a long finger nervously against his lips as he watched them begin to slow process of feeding pre-warmed blood into Rayne Wylde's veins. 

Initially they injected about a litre of O negative into him, whilst the team wired him up to a set of machines that would basically act as a life support. Mikka chewed on his lower lip as the young medic said; "This machine here nearest is moving blood through his body. When circulation is complete then they will try to mend heart."

"He's full of holes," Mikka said distractedly. "Just as soon as they pump it into him he's gonna bleed out."

"The blood will begin to heal him," Dominic said, sounding more certain than he looked. 

"You hope!"

For a moment now the older man turned his head, looking critically at Mikka. In a tight little voice he fired back; "If you can't pretend to be optimistic, perhaps you would like to go and be a pessimist somewhere else. The negativity coming off you is ruining my concentration."

"What exactly are you concentrating on?" Mikka asked bitterly. "I mean, it's all out there. Literally!" He waved a hand towards the surgical team now at work on Rayne's damaged stomach and ribs. "You can see it!"

"I am communing with my Goddess," Dominic told him, very stiffly. "Now if you have no faith of your own I suggest that you at least try to hope that something is out there looking after him!"

They bristled at one another in hostile silence for a little longer, then Mikka inhaled a long breath and let it out all at once in an explosive sigh. He rose to his feet and left the room without a word. Dominic turned back towards the glass panel dividing the area in which they had been waiting from the space below where the medical team were still struggling to keep Rayne Wylde from bleeding out all over the floor.


Over the course of the next few hours, the team of doctors and scientists wrestled with the problem of how to keep their patient's circulation flowing when his heart and lungs were beyond normal function. He was on artificial bypass, a system used for patients awaiting a heart transplant. A prosthetic balloon was used to inflate the punctured left lung so that another machine could breathe for him. In the meantime the doctors got to work stitching him up as well as they could in an attempt to make him retain the blood they were transfusing into him. So far nearly ten litres had hit the deck. But the rate of spillage was slowing. 

How much of that was down to their attempts to repair the damage and how much was down to Rayne it was hard to say. 

Dominic's eyes were closed now and his lips moved in a silent prayer, repeated over and over, as his fingers moved around the perfect ring of sandstone hanging from a silk cord around his neck. It was gone midnight when Mikka finally cooled down enough to return and just the sight of the disconsolate Englishman, sitting huddled in a chair, trying not to weep, melted his bitterness. He bent and put his arms around Dominic, pulling him close and the other man turned hungrily toward him, sobbing in his arms like a child. 

Mikka took him out once he had calmed down and brought him a styrofoam cup of disgusting coffee. Sitting across from the older man he held up a couple of miniature bottles of alcohol purchased from a shop across the street. 

"Vodka or whisky?" he asked and smiled as Warren reached automatically for the little bottle of scotch. "I was hoping you would say that!"

Dominic decanted the whole bottle into his coffee and threw it back with a grimace. "That improves it slightly. Do you have any more?" he asked in a hoarse-sounding voice. 

Mikka took a swig from the vodka miniature then offered it, but Warren shook his head. "I should try and keep a clear head."

"When did you last sleep?" Mikka asked him sympathetically. He was thinking that this morning, lying sprawled in bed with Trent, talking to PJ on the phone seemed a lifetime away. 

Dominic Warren had been in Paris by breakfast time so he must have set off at the crack of dawn. He smiled weakly now. "Just before PJ woke me in the middle of the fucking night and sent me out on this wild hunt!"




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 09



"He has a talent for delegation that I envy," Mikka said, deadpan. 

"You're not wrong," Lord Warren laughed wearily, lowering his head into his hands. 

"Maybe you should go back to the hotel, get some rest. It could be a long night. We can work it in shifts if that is easier?" Mikka suggested. 

A shake of the head was his only response. 

"I'll catch forty winks here," Dominic breathed at last. "I daren't leave. Someone wake me the minute anything happens."

The older man had begun to nod and Mikka moved into the chair beside him, drawing Dominic's head onto his shoulder when the door from the cryonics department swung open and their young translator came out looking wild-eyed.

"You must see this," he said breathlessly. 

Mikka moved to shake Lord Warren but his companion was already roused, knuckling the grit from his eyes. He was on his feet first, following the young fellow back into the lab. Mikka followed, hardly daring to hope. 


The handsome Arabic doctor looked exhausted but there was a brightness in his eyes that told them instantly something utterly unexpected had happened in the makeshift theatre. 

"He opened his eyes," Dominic translated, a hint of awe in his voice. "The flesh wounds are beginning to heal, they have turned a corner with him. He is amazed, he has never seen anything like this."

"His eyes are closed again now," Mikka pointed out, staring down at the scene of carnage down below. There was blood everywhere. The doctor was covered in it but he seemed not to care. On the table, one of his assistants was charging up the paddles, getting ready to shock their patient. 

"They only opened for a moment or so," Dominic conveyed, also staring at the scene below. He asked something else in French, a look of concern on his face.

The doctor waved a hand and his reply was dismissive even to Mikka's ears. Let me get on with it. And with that he was gone, back to the theatre of blood. 

"What is wrong?" Mikka asked warily. 

Dominic shook his head. "Nothing. I guess they know what they're doing."

"But you're not sure?" Mikka looked anxiously at him. 

"They can't know for sure that the heart has healed. If they try to jump start his heart and it's still damaged it could do more harm than good."

"Surely they know that?" Mikka said.

"They've never treated a vampire before. They've never seen anything like this," Dominic answered in a quiet voice, adding under his breath; "And neither have I."

The unexpected jolt flung him forward like the immediate aftermath of a train crash. He had been... well, he wasn't actually sure where he had been. It was a cold place, that was all he knew. He had no feeling in his hands, or anywhere at all. At least not until the impact slammed him backwards again and all his senses suddenly kick-started at once. 

He could taste blood in his mouth and his fangs extended instinctively. Then the pain began to dig its claws in and he screamed. There was fluid in his lungs, in his throat, he was drowning and he panicked for a moment before he remembered that he couldn't 'technically' drown. But his lungs were still trying to inflate, even though he wasn't breathing. None of that made sense. Why was this happening to him? Why the fuck couldn't they leave him alone?

Something long and sharp probed his side, between his ribs, then slid into his chest. He wanted to fight it, but his limbs felt too heavy. It was as if he was deep underwater still. After a little while however, he began to feel more comfortable. The sensation of choking and drowning was beginning to ease. He tried to swallow but his mouth would not work. 

And then whatever it was that kept on slamming him against the wall, picked him up and did it again. 

'Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!' he screamed at them in his head, but his lips would not obey him, his tongue was like a round, red rock in his mouth. 'Please!' he wanted to whimper at them; 'Please stop doing that.'

But the jolts kept on coming, and they were getting harder. The pain in his chest and in his tightly bunched muscles grew hotter and harder to bear until he began to slip away from it again, his senses lost in a vortex of chaos; spinning, spinning, spinning... falling...

'Please make them stop. Someone! Please!' he thought frantically. And then the darkness swallowed him up again and he let go of the slim tendril of light, sinking back down into the quiet of the grave.



"Please! Merci! Don't... please stop shocking him." Dominic was banging on the reinforced glass window that separated their sealed viewing area from the space where the French surgeons were trying to literally blast Rayne's small, blood-stained body back to life. 

Either the glass was soundproofed as well, or the medics were ignoring him. Whichever was the truth, Mikka could not watch it any more. He walked around to the door that ran between the two rooms and, after a moment to gather himself, kicked it virtually off its hinges. 

Dominic was through the gap like a terrier down a rat hole just as soon as he realised what was happening. Mikka watched his back as the Englishman pleaded with his doctor friend for several minutes, during which they at least did stop applying the paddles to Rayne's chest. The vampire lay perfectly still on the gurney in the interim, no sign of life flickering anywhere along his small, wretched body. Mikka walked to the gurney as Dominic was arguing with the doctors and gently stroked his pale face. Rayne's skin was icy cold. Maybe that was a good sign. 

He bent his head and kissed those chilled, black lips very tenderly. Then he picked up one of the scalpels that the medical team had used to work on their patient earlier. Carefully he made an incision on the back of his hand and touched it to his own lips, taking the blood into his mouth. 

One of the doctors moved towards him and he held up the scalpel as a warning. 

"I am HIV positive," he told the doctor, as blood ran down his chin. "Do not come any closer to me, or I will make you regret it."

Whether the young man spoke English or not, he stopped in his tracks. Clearly the look on Mikka's face told him not to mess around with this man. Mikka nodded gravely, then turned back to Rayne and bent over him, touching his gory lips to the vampire's mouth again. 


He swam back up for the third time, more slowly. It had been a lovely dream he was having. He and Xavier were naked, curled up together in the sunshine, kissing long and slow. Light rippled off the sea and the water of the pool and he was torn between the desire to dive into the cool water and the pleasure of remaining in his lover's arms for a little while longer, just enjoying Xav's soft mouth on his. It had been a long time since he felt this relaxed; this happy with another person. For a little while he wondered why he did not just stay here, curled around his beautiful mate, making the most of the time they had together. 

It could not last. It never did. 

But why? Why not? He could not answer that question for the moment. All he could think of was Xavier's mouth moving sweetly against his own; gentle hands exploring his body. It felt so good; so deliciously tasty. 

Rayne swallowed, finding it hard but wanting to all the same. The taste of blood was irresistible. He gulped again, and again. 

The tender lips moved back from his and he felt suddenly cut off, abandoned. He needed Xavier's kiss and the sweetness of his blood. 

Then suddenly it was there again, another rush of heat and salt and iron in his mouth, the wonderful flavour of his lover. He swallowed hungrily again and again then struggled to reach for him, to hold him. He wanted to bite, to take it for himself. The brief bloody kisses were not enough. 



One moment Mikka was bent over Rayne Wylde, gently kissing him, using his lips to feed the little vampire his blood and the next... He could not quite describe what happened to him afterwards. Rayne stirred under his hands and he felt an instant of elation before the vampire latched onto him and bit down deep into his throat, sucking and clinging like a limpet. 

"Dominic!" he hissed, waving one hand frantically as Rayne used him as a mobile bloodbank. "Jesus! Help me! He's... I think he's awake!"


Somehow, Dominic Warren managed to get the vampire to release him. Rayne was still less than half conscious but his bite was instinctive, like a pirhana's and only some deft manipulation of his jaw muscles by Warren's long, clever fingers managed to make his mandible unhinge and free the shocked, and slightly enervated Finn. 

Mikka was sitting by the door now, holding a surgical pad to his neck where Rayne had bitten him. Warren had returned to the vampire just as soon as he knew that his companion would not collapse. Already the medical team had sent for more blood supplies to give him a transfusion. He was grateful for that. After all, he had shouted at them and threatened them earlier with an offensive weapon. They were more than kind. 

"Will he be okay?" Mikka asked when Dominic came back to lean against the wall beside him, still taking several deep breaths to control his emotions. 

"I sincerely hope so," Lord Warren exhaled. "Mikkal... what you did there was above and beyond what I could have expected from anyone but a true friend."

Mikka waved a hand at him. "I just thought it might help," he said, slightly abashed at the other man's remark. "He's obviously hungry."

"Ravenous, darling!" Dom smiled down at him, fondly. "And thinking of food... actually, so am I. Do you fancy catching a bite to eat while he's resting? I think it will take him a couple of hours to start feeling more like himself, at least."


It was mid morning by the time Dominic and Mikka returned from their breakfast in a lovely cafe by the Seine. The sunlight and delicious food had been more than enough to revive their spirits but when they returned to the Institute it was to find that Rayne had been moved to a private room. The door was locked because most of the medical team were petrified of being alone with him but they let Dominic and Mikka in there without question. 

"He looks better," Mikka whispered, observing the slight flush to their friend's normally pale cheeks. "Please tell me that's not another bad sign."

"I think it's good," Dominic said with a smile. "The blood is circulating, not simply being absorbed. He's getting there. I just hope that being down for so long hasn't done him any lasting damage."

"Can't he repair it the way he does with any other wound?" Mikka asked warily. 

"Body damage is one thing," Dom told him solemnly. "Brain damage is a completely different matter. The brain controls the repair centre. It's why slayers are always told that the best way to kill a vampire is to remove its head and burn the body and skull separately. If his brain degenerated too badly then he might not be the creature that he was, Mikkal."

"Is that dangerous?" Mikka looked anxiously at him. "Should we even be here alone with him?"

"To be honest, I have no idea." Dom flashed him an apologetic smile. "It could be, I suppose. If he wakes and all he remembers is the hunger for blood, then he might be a danger to us. But he's remembered enough to mend his body. He looks well, as you pointed out."

It was true, Rayne's lean torso was only faintly scarred now. To look at him, it was hard to believe that he had been little more than a pile of shredded flesh and muscle just a few hours earlier. He was still wired up to the life support machine but his body was whole and from the colour in his cheeks he might merely have been sleeping. 

As Dominic stroked his hair fondly the vampire opened his eyes again and this time they stayed open; his stare pale and unfocussed, translucent chlorophyll green. His body trembled and dry lips parted around a short hissing gasp, fangs extended hungrily. Mikka caught his breath anxiously. Dom uttered a small, strangled sound somewhere between a sob and a sigh of relief however as the vampire latched onto his wrist and began to feed. He stroked Rayne's hair as tenderly as a mother with her newborn.

END OF CHAPTER NINE

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

©Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 10



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010 

CHAPTER TEN - A NEW DAY

Greetings! We promised that this one wouldn't take long, didn't we. See how well we keep our word. We definitely owe you some hotness after all we've put you through so we hope that you like this fresh offering. 

To any new readers out there, Sunrise is essentially a vampire story so if you don't like boy on boy or bloodsucking in your sex-scenes then skip to the next tale. Have a nice day. 

xxx.S&B

XAVIER:

Xavier woke to muddy daylight coming through the window and rubbed his eyes with a yawn. He was surprised Marco hadn't woken him at stupid o'clock in the morning again but got up and dug around for some clothes grateful for the extra rest. The first thing that came to hand was a tee shirt with the word Diva written in silvery script across the front and black slacks that fit rather snug through the waist and hips. They would do. 

He noticed that the door to Marco's bedroom was still closed and was even more surprised. Xav guessed he must have finally crashed. The photographer really did need to slow down on the coke if the last couple days were any indication of his habit. 

At a loose end, Xav wandered upstairs into the studio. He didn't exactly know what to do with himself and ended up just sitting and looking out the window. Being left alone with his thoughts wasn't something he wanted for long though and after a little while he got back up and went over to the stereo. He turned it on, scrolled through some classical stations until he found what he was looking for, then pulled a full length mirror from the corner where the rest of the props were and set it against one wall. 

He didn't have a barre but that was okay, he could do without. He started with piles and worked through a series of simple eleves, battements, and rond de jambe to warm up and then got into some more serious steps. 

When Marco finally rolled out of bed he went first to the kitchen to start coffee and then followed the trail of sound curiously. Certainly the choice of music this morning was a far cry from what he knew Xavier usually listened to. He stopped at the top of the stairs and stared bemused at what he found. Watching, he leaned against one wall and folded his arms and his bemused expression settled into appreciation as he realised Xavier wasn't just fooling around but actually knew what he was doing. Marco wasn't sure what surprised him more, that he most certainly had been classically trained in ballet at some point or that he apparently cared enough about it to want to practice it still. 

Marco waited until he was at a finishing point then gave up a small but genuine round of applause. Xavier turned and swept a bow without missing a beat, letting him know that he'd already been spotted, and Marco laughed. Xavier moved to the stereo and switched it off. 

"You're up late," Xavier said. 

Marco nodded. "Sleep catches up to you eventually, even when there's work to do. Come down and have coffee with me?" 

Xavier followed the photographer downstairs and sat on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter while Marco poured thick black coffee into a pair of chunky mugs. Xavier added large doses of cream and sugar to his. 

"You are full of surprises, Mr. Gavrilov." 

Xav raised his brows inquiringly while he sipped at the hot coffee. 

"How come you don't dance at the theatre rather than a strip club?" 

Xavier snorted softly. "Because I make more money at the club, for one thing." 

"Is that all you care about? Making money?" 

"Yes," Xavier answered flatly, because he hoped that would stop Marco's casual inquisition. 

The photographer wasn't put off though. He smiled knowingly at Xavier. 

"That's not true or you would already be working for PJ McNamara." 

Xavier took another sip of his coffee, refusing to look up. He'd already resisted this line of interrogation from Palo and was not about to rise to it now.

"So how did you become interested in ballet?" Marco asked, perhaps sensing a change of topic was necessary. 

Xavier lifted one shoulder in a little shrug. "My mom loved it. She worked at a theatre..." He waved his hand before Marco got the wrong idea. "She wasn't a dancer, she worked on sets and costumes." He paused for a second, lost in the memory then said; "When I was little she would take me to watch the shows." 

Marco fell quiet too for a moment, conscious perhaps that he would not get more out of the boy. It was already more that Xavier had said about himself in all the time they had been working together. 

"Xavier, I hate to ask," he said at last, "but I'm not feeling well today. Do you think we can postpone the last shoot until tomorrow? I know we only agreed on one more day..." 

Ordinarily Xavier would have bargained with him, but he was in a mellow mood and Marco really did look fucked. 

"Alright... sure." It wasn't like he had any pressing engagements. He could stay another day before heading back to Aldo's. 

As he was thinking about this, his phone rang and he reached for it, then answered when he saw it was PJ. After a somewhat cheerful, if distracted, greeting PJ said he had news, finally. 

"Mikka found Rayne, Xav. He found him and he's...he's okay." 

Xavier was so surprised he missed the slight hesitation in PJ's voice. "He's okay?" 

"Yes. He's alive. I thought you'd want to know." 

The instant feeling of relief and elation lasted all of ten seconds. 

"Oh..." Rayne was okay. That was good. Very good news. He'd been so worried... and he had been so sure that something terrible had happened. He realised he had been quiet for several seconds. "Oh..." he said again, softer. "That's...I'm so glad he's okay..."

God! How stupid could he get? There was nothing wrong, Xav thought, closing his eyes as an embarrassed heat crept up his neck. He'd panicked Aldo and PJ in the middle of the night for nothing! He'd made a big fuss, and made PJ call Dominic and have Mikka go searching for Rayne and...oh, god... What had Rayne thought when Mikka found him and told him that Xavier had made a big deal out of nothing and sent him out hunting for him? He'd probably had a laugh about that. Or more likely he was annoyed. 

"Xavier..." PJ started to say more but Xav cut him off.

"I'm sorry PJ... I guess...well, I don't know what...I must have been dreaming after all." His sigh was so soft the phone barely picked it up and then he cleared his throat. "Listen PJ, Marco's asked me to stay another day and I told him I would, so... I'll call you later." He paused. "Thanks for letting me know he's okay," he said in a very small disconsolate tone. 

"Xav..." PJ tried again, and then he let go his own small sigh, apparently deciding that saying more would not do much good at the moment. "I'll talk to you later," he promised and then they both hung up. 

Xavier looked at the mobile in his hand for a moment after the call ended and was glad Marco wanted to postpone things. He looked up from the phone. 

"I'm going to go out for a while," he said. "I'll see you later." 

Five minutes later Xavier was out the door and headed down the street. He supposed that today he was just going to end up alone with his thoughts no matter what. Rayne was fine. He'd panicked needlessly. Great! Ray was fine and he obviously wanted to be left alone. Why did he have to go and do such a stupid thing? Rayne probably thought this was some stunt to try and get him to come back, or that this was Xavier's way of trying to hold on to him, or something. He wouldn't be surprised if PJ and the others thought so too, even if PJ had been gentle with him on the phone. He felt like a complete idiot. 

But...he knew what he'd felt. He hadn't been dreaming. The pain was too real. The fear had been tangible. Utterly desolate Xavier wandered on, not really seeing anything of the world around him. He couldn't even trust his own feelings any more. 

PARIS:

It took a lot of persuasion on Dominic Warren's behalf to get Rayne out of the clinic. Mikkal had not been wrong to presume that the medics and scientists, having gotten their gory hands on the little vampire, would not be so willing to let him out of their clutches. Only after several hours of delicate negotiation and no small amount of financial bribery were they finally able to leave the Insititute with Rayne Wylde. 

The vampire had fed from both men and was now curled up like a sleepy child on the back seat of a taxi with Dominic's arm around his shoulders. Mikka glanced back from the front passenger seat at him, still concerned. 

"Is he okay?" he asked for about the fifteenth time since they left the building. 

"He's fine," Dominic retorted through clenched teeth. "Just let him be, Mikkal. He's been to hell and back. If he was going to attack anyone he would have done it by now. He needs to build his strength and to rest."

Rayne had not spoken since he came to his senses but he looked at them both like a small, hungry cat waiting by its food bowl. Mikka found that stare a bit unnerving. There was a fearful intensity to his eyes, the pupils wide and dark in the swimming paleness of his face, which made him very uneasy. Mikka had never been good with animals and the little creature in the back seat of the cab was currently more animal than human. 

Though technically he was neither, the Finn reminded himself bitterly. 

He called Patrick and relayed the news that Rayne was conscious which was at least greeted with some relief by his lover. He did not mention that he had preferred it when the vampire was still out of it.


For the remainder of the day Rayne slept in Mikka's suite at the hotel. Mikka popped some amphetamines and went out to supervise the shoot, although Vaz had assured him over the phone that everything was going just fine without him. He needed something to do and he also needed to be out of Rayne's way. 

Dominic did not seem to mind being left alone in the hotel room with the vampire, although Mikka had already decided that the Englishman was madder than a box of coke-addled frogs. He was not Warren's keeper though, and when Dominic seemed unruffled by the prospect he showered and changed and set off out. He was halfway down the stairs when he ran into Trent coming back up looking even more exhausted than the vampire. He clearly hadn't been to bed either though the twinkle in his eyes said that his night had been more enjoyable than his boss's.

"We've still got company. You might want to come down to the studio with me," Mikka suggested lightly but Trent just shook his head. 

"I'm cool. I'll crash on the sofa," the boy told him with a grin. "Just wanna get my head down. I'm not on the shoot-schedule 'til next week."

Mikka was less than happy with that, but Trent was not a little kid. He could look after himself, he guessed. They exchanged a brief kiss and Mikka wished him sweet dreams and then they went their separate ways. 

In the car he fished his phone out again and called the number of the club, la Griffe. He had promised to let Szarbo know how Rayne went on and whatever his feelings were about the other man, he generally kept his word. Henning Szarbo had seemed genuinely concerned for the vampire after all. The call was brief but Szarbo seemed grateful for the news and wished them well. Mikka turned off his phone and headed for the studio. If he buried himself in some work for the afternoon perhaps he could forget about the previous night for a little while. 


Back at the hotel, Trent heard the hiss and splash of running water from the bathroom and took advantage of the situation to retrieve some of his clothing and toiletries from the bedroom. Whilst he was doing so he whistled softly and appreciatively at the sight of the naked young guy in Mikka's bed, sprawled on his back, dead to the world. He was pale-skinned and so thin that you could see his bones but there was a understated elegance to that lean frame as well. His long fingers were draped loosely over his chest and one thigh and he had a nice-looking cock lying at rest in the hollow of his hipbone. There was no hair anywhere on his body, apart from a little dusting of shade on the backs of his slender arms and the tangle on his head that almost obscured his pretty face. 


"Lucky old faggot!" Trent chuckled knowingly. "No wonder he was so keen to find you, baby!"


Trent reached out tentatively and stroked a hank of that dark forelock out of their guest's eyes. The face beneath was ashen and very pretty. The guy was probably about 26 or 27, and he looked like he'd had a rough night. There was dried blood around his mouth and his hair felt dirty and matted. He felt really cold too. Trent leaned closer, registering with some alarm that the young man did not seem to be breathing. 

"Oh man!" he muttered, taking a step back from the bed. "Oh man! What to do?"

"It's okay, don't panic," the Englishman said soothingly from the doorway that led into the bathroom. Trent had been so wound up that he didn't even hear the shower stop running. "He'll be fine, Trent. He just needs to rest for a while."

"He's dead, man!" Trent protested fearfully, worrying that the English guy was maybe a nutter and he'd killed the boy in the bed and now he was going to do Trent as well.

"Yes... but he's been dead for quite a few years now. He's used to it. Trust me."

Dominic patted him on the shoulder and came to sit beside the dead youth lying sprawled on their bed. He was wearing a bath sheet around his waist and rubbing at his hair with another, smaller towel. Now he reached out and curled his fingers around one of the lifeless young man's cold, pale hands. Slowly he circled the pad of his thumb against the dead man's palm and as Trent watched, both horrified and fascinated, the guy on the bed closed his own fingers around Dominic's thumb, holding on to it tightly. 

"How'd you make him do that?" Trent asked, breathless with fear.

"He did it all on his own, darling. Why don't you come and say hi?" Dominic looked up at him with a little smile. 

As Trent put his hands on the edge of the mattress, leaning closer for a better look, the dead boy opened his eyes and he jumped back with a little yelp. 

"Jesus Christ!" 

The pale green eyes staring back at him went wide and scared and the black haired youth huddled up like a little hedgehog and tried to hide behind Dominic. He was still holding Lord Warren's thumb possessively. Now he lifted it to his lips and sucked on the tip of it like a baby with a comforter. 

There was nothing babyish about the look in his eyes though. The way he suckled on the other man's thumb was almost enough to give Trent a serious hard-on. 

"Owww!" Lord Warren protested suddenly, distracting them both. "Rayne! That wasn't very polite!"

When he retrieved his thumb it was bleeding quite profusely. The pretty young man just looked at the blood and licked his lips. Then he took Dominic's hand almost tenderly in both of his own and began to suck on the wounded digit again. His eyes closed as he nodded his head over Dominic's bloody hand and Trent caught his breath, his own fingers sliding to his crotch, stroking himself eagerly. 

"Jesus!" he whispered. "That shouldn't be so hot, but... man!"

He shook his head slowly. Dominic smiled at him and automatically the horny teen stopped fondling his bulging groin, a flush rising to his cheeks. "Umm..."

"It's okay," Dominic murmured. "I know what you mean. There is something very sensual about the way he feeds. It's even better when he takes it from your neck; very intimate, in fact."

"He's... he's a vampire?" Trent exhaled incredulously. "For real?"

"Oh yes," Dominic confirmed. "He's the real deal. His name is Rayne, do you want to say hello?"

Trent swallowed. "He looks kind of... busy."

Dominic was stroking Rayne's dark hair and he murmured; "Ray, why don't you say hello to Trent? He's a lovely lad, I'm sure the two of you will get along like a house on fire."

"He's the guy you were looking for? The singer?" Trent asked nervously. 

"That's right. He used to front a band called Whipsnade, but that was a few years ago. You probably won't remember them, I'd have thought." Dominic sat back, trying to extricate his thumb from Rayne's mouth. "Come on, darling. That's enough now," he said at last, pulling a little harder until the small, hungry vampire was encouraged to relinquish his snack. 

"How'd he get to be a vampire?" Trent probed, unable to take his eyes off Rayne, who was looking quite put out at the loss of Dominic's thumb. He was so damned pretty! Almost girlishly pretty in fact. When those green eyes slid upward unexpectedly and stared directly into his own, the shock was like having an ice cube dropped down his back. Long black eyelashes framed that shivery, unblinking stare and the little vampire licked his bloody lips again. 

"Uhhh..." Trent breathed out nervously. "H-hi!"

Rayne glanced quickly at Dominic, who nodded his head in silence. When he looked back at Trent, the smile that curved his lips had very sharp little teeth behind it.

"Xavier?" he queried, huskily. It was the first thing Trent had heard him say and that voice made him shiver as well; deeper and huskier than he had expected but almost musical as well. 

"No darling, that's not Xavier. Although he does have something of a look of Xav about him," Dominic soothed with a smile. "And his accent is very similar, isn't it?" He smiled at Trent too now. "Rayne's still a little confused, I think. But you're having a positive effect on him. That's the first thing I've heard him say since we brought him back."

"Who's Xavier?" Trent asked warily. "What happened to him?"

"He's fine, Trent. Nothing happened to Xavier. He and Rayne were lovers for a little while before Rayne came to Paris and got... got hurt."

"And now he can't even remember if I'm his boyfriend?" Trent grimaced. "What kind of thing hurt him? A ten ton truck?"

"We still don't really know the answer to that," Dominic said diplomatically. "Rayne came as close to death as anyone I've ever known. Somehow he survived. Every minute that he lives he grows a little stronger. So we need to help him as much as possible, okay?"

"How do we do that?" Trent asked sceptically. 

"We try and be kind to him," Dominic explained. "And... and we let him feed if we can."

"You mean, let him bite me?" The teen looked anxious. 

"If you want him to," Dominic said gently. "No one is going to force you, Trent. Especially not if you're HIV positive like Mikka."

"He told you?" Trent looked appalled. 

"No. He didn't have to," Dominic responded amiably. "Your expression, just then, told me. I'm not going to criticise or pity you, Trent. I just think it's better if this kind of thing can be discussed openly."

"I'm not gay or anything," Trent protested warily. "I mean... I have a girlfriend. She's positive as well. I had a Junk habit, back in Cali, that's how I got infected. But I never even fucked a guy until I met Mikka. On my mother's life!"

"Like I said, no one is going to force you to do anything you don't want," Dominic soothed him. 

Rayne was still looking at him solemnly, those jewel bright eyes roaming all over him and making Trent shudder each time they met his own. His smile had wilted though and the younger man thought that he looked rather sad now; small and lonely, huddled up against Dominic, eyes flickering listlessly towards the older man whenever he sensed he was being discussed. 

"I could do with getting Ray in the shower anyway, now that he's awake," Lord Warren said at last, heaving a little sigh. 

"Um... I guess I could do that," Trent ventured. "I mean, you've already had a shower and I kinda need one."

"Are you okay with that?" Dominic asked him. "Being alone with him, I mean? He's still quite weak, but he can be a bit pushy when he's hungry."




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 10



"I guess I can handle him. I'll scream if I can't, yeah? You won't go far?" 

"I promise," Dominic chuckled. "You're an angel, Trent." He turned to face Rayne and said; "Behave yourself, all right? You're not to bully Trent, he's been very kind and he's going to help you get cleaned up. I know that you hate being dirty."

Just then, Trent noticed something else. "Uh... your thumb... it's... it's like there wasn't ever a bite!"

"Vampire bites heal quite quickly, on the whole," Lord Warren told him with a little smile. "Just in case you were considering letting him..." He shrugged his shoulders expressively. 

"Does it hurt?" Trent wanted to know. 

"Maybe a little, at first. Like anything worth having it gets better as you go along." Dom smiled knowingly and Trent blushed harder. It was not the only thing that got harder either.


NAPLES – XAVIER:

Xavier had been walking for about an hour in brooding contemplation when Nicolas suddenly appeared at his side in that irritatingly casual way that most vampires had. He seemed to come out of nowhere and acted as though it was perfectly natural for him to be there.

"Good morning...although the way you drag your wings behind you it doesn't look so very good, perhaps?" the vampire greeted him, turning the salutation into an enquiry very subtly. 

"Huh?" 

"You do not look happy this morning." Nicolas clarified. 

"I'm fine." Xavier said. 

"You haven't eaten yet," The vampire observed. This was not a question.

Xav didn't question how he knew that, but he did cast a judicial eye over the vampire. "Neither have you." 

Nicolas gave a small laugh. "True. Come to my flat, I will cook you something." 

Xavier arched a brow. "You cook?" 

He nodded. 

"But...why? I mean, you, uhh... don't have to eat." 

"No, but I can smell the food, enjoy the preparation of it, watch someone else's pleasure when they eat a delicious meal." 

"Living vicariously?" 

Nicolas laughed again and inclined his head. "So to speak. So, come... I make a very good omelette." 

Xavier wasn't one to turn down a free meal, especially when it was nearly noon and he hadn't yet eaten. It occurred to him briefly that following a known vampire into its lair without question was not the smartest thing to do but somehow Nicholas did not feel dangerous. Xav was not sure how he knew that, but he trusted his instinct. Nicholas had already saved his ass once. He followed the vampire as they turned down a few more streets that he had not previously explored and finally reached his building, which was a mite shabbier than the one Marco lived in. 

The inside of Nicolas' flat was clean and neat, although sparsely furnished. Most of the furnishings looked like cast-offs he'd acquired or had donated by well meaning friends, not shabby but not modern either. 

Xavier was puzzled by Nicolas. He was Undead, for sure, Xavier had no doubt. He got that familiar prickle all over his skin whenever the guy was close. Yet Nicolas acted very...mortal. 

"How long have you been a vampire?" Xav asked as Nicolas indicated he should take a seat at the small table in the kitchen. 

"Just a few months." 

Xavier's jaw nearly came unhinged. 

"Months? Oh...so..." He didn't know what to say. 

Nicolas chuckled softly. He seemed to find amusement in much of what Xavier said now he came to think about it. 

"What? You expected me to say centuries?" 

"Well...yeah," Xavier admitted and that made Nicolas laugh harder. 

"Non, mon ami. I'm sorry to disappoint." 

"I'm not disappointed, just surprised." 

"And all the vampires you know are among the Ancients, are they?" Nicolas teased, still chuckling while he whisked eggs in a metal bowl. 

"Not all of them, just a couple." 

Nicolas suddenly froze and turned slowly to look at him, the smile wiped clean off his pretty face. "You are...joking?" 

"Um..." Xavier wished he hadn't said anything. He had certainly not intended to freak Nicolas out, but that was what his words had done.

Nicolas shook his head. "Your friend the photographer is correct. You are full of surprises." 

That made Xavier frown slightly. The only way the vampire could have known what Marco said was if..."You've been watching me? Why?" 

Nicolas shrugged. "I'm curious, and I have very good ears." He had the grace to look apologetic. "Sorry." 

Xav blinked at him. "Uh... ok, I guess. Could you not spy on me though?" 

Nicolas nodded amiably. "All right, if it makes you feel better." 

God, this is fucking bizarre, Xavier thought, but kept his mouth shut. 

Nicolas hadn't lied. He did make a very good omelette, totally light and fluffy with sharp cheese and fresh, plump mushrooms inside. He brewed dark, Italian coffee and apologised for not having fresh bread but he hadn't thought about going to the market as much lately. The more he talked the more weird Xavier felt this all was. He was a vampire! He should act like one, not like some mother hen. Xav charitably supposed he was just so new to being a vampire he hadn't really figured it all out yet. He could sympathise with that in a way. 

Whilst he ate, Nicolas watched him wistfully and made pleasant conversation, talking about where he had grown up and how he had been a student of history and politics in Paris but was travelling for the summer. Almost as soon as he'd arrived in Italy he'd met a man at a club and hooked up with him. The guy liked rough sex, which Nicolas didn't mind so much. He also liked to bite and the next thing Nicolas knew he was waking up a vampire and his lover had gone, off in search of new conquests no doubt. 

Xavier was frankly amazed at how open and forthcoming Nicolas was with this information. It was almost a little disturbing. He just seemed so calm about it, so...nice. True, Xavier only had a limited experience of vampires, but what he'd seen of them made Nicolas seem like a lamb among wolves. He could not shake the feeling that his new friend might not survive to enjoy a long Unlife unless he toughened up some. 

After he finished eating Xav thanked Nicolas enthusiastically for the meal but he had already decided that he had probably better go and he made his excuses, though he was sure the vampire could see through them. Nicolas walked him to the door but at the last moment he reached for Xavier and pulled him close. 

"Must you go already?" he asked, his voice soft and enticing now. "I would very much like you to stay, Xavier." He took the other boy's chin between his fingers and tipped his head back, slanting his lips across Xavier's lush mouth with more aggression than Xav would have guessed him capable of. One arm wrapped tightly around his waist, the other slid up his spine and cupped the back of his head. 

Xavier wasn't at all sure he wanted to let this continue, but his back was suddenly up against the wall and Nicolas was pressed up hard to his front, his tongue thrust between his lips and his hips grinding against his own. Xavier was not unaware of how cool he was to the touch, or the edges of his hunger that prickled along his skin. Nicolas might have only been a vampire for a few months, but he still had the strength of one, and he held Xavier pinned while he kissed him ravenously. His desire to bite and feed suddenly beat at Xav like a drum and Xavier felt an answering flare within himself. 

He had sought comfort in the arms of Aldo and Chavez from the hurt of Rayne leaving him, and they were both excellent lovers. They had certainly stirred his passion and satisfied him well, but they weren't Rayne. They didn't touch him on the same level. There wasn't the same convergence of mind and body that sometimes felt soul deep when he was with Rayne. 

He didn't think he would find that with Nicolas either, but he still craved his bite, his blood was on fire for it. Somewhere deep down he recognised the craving of addiction but he didn't care. He could not soothe the emotional void Rayne had left in him, but at least he could drown the physical hollow for a little while. He slid his hands up Nicolas' chest and twined his arms around his neck, his body responding to the spark Nicolas stoked. His fingers sunk into his dark chestnut hair and his mouth and tongue returned the passionate kisses the lonely young vampire assaulted him with. 

With a small, needy groan Nicolas dropped his hands to the delectable curve of Xavier's perfect little ass and slid them down to his thighs, lifting him quickly and taking the few hurried steps back into his apartment, to the bed. He spilled the beautiful blond boy in his arms across the coverlet and fell hungrily on top of him, still kissing him ravenously. Hurriedly he slid his hand under Xav's shirt and ran his fingers over the hot bulge at the boy's crotch. His mouth watered for both his body and his blood. 

Nicolas tugged the fastening on Xavier's pants free and impatiently slid a hand down the front, moaning with heated delight as his fingers wrapped around the thick hard shaft waiting for him there. Xavier's little gasp and moan as he writhed under him and pushed his cock into his hand almost made Nicolas lose his head. He wanted to tear the American boy's clothes off and sink his throbbing prick and sharp fangs into him at the same time. His mouth moved to the side of Xavier's throat, lips skating over the soft tender skin and the hot pulse beating so near the surface. He reached the crook of his neck where it curved to his shoulder and suddenly stopped dead with a groan of despair. 

Xavier gave a little whimper at the sudden halt, looking up at him in all his dishevelled glory, with his pants open and riding low on his hips and his shirt pushed up his chest exposing the delicious ripples of his golden belly. 

"Wha...what's wrong?" he panted breathlessly. 

Nicolas looked as if he was in shock, and then the expression crumpled into something more resembling pain as his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth came together tightly with a little snap of self restraint. 

"You are marked." He said it hoarsely as if with a great effort. 

Xavier blinked, trying to shift gears and think coherently. 

"Yeah, but..." He swallowed hard, surprised still at the sudden knife of pain. "We're not together any more." 

Nicolas shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Xavier. His mark is still there. He hasn't relinquished his claim or they would only be faded scars, or nothing at all. This is a viable mark." He rolled over onto his back next to Xav with a little groan of frustration and need. "I can't touch you." 

"What?" Xavier was more than a little frustrated himself. "What are you talking about? That can't be right. I mean, he left. He dumped me and left, made it pretty damn clear he was done. Are you sure? I figured they would just fade away in time." 

Nicolas groaned again, adjusting the hard outline in his pants. 

"I'm sure, Xavier." He sighed heavily. "The touch of them burns my lips like acid. I can't touch you, or your master can hold a blood debt over me." 

Xavier snorted. 

"He's not my master!" he retaliated hotly. "He's not even my boyfriend. I told you, he left me." 

Nicolas shook his head. "He might have left you, but those marks don't lie. He left his claim on you in place." 

"Well, we...we sort of fought, before he left. Maybe he just didn't think about getting rid of them," Xavier protested, almost frantic with need now. He wanted Nicolas to kiss him and bite him, wanted to feel that long, cool cock thrusting hard inside him. Why hadn't Rayne gotten rid of those stupid bloody marks? Damn him to hell!

"Listen Xavier, the vampire that made me explained precious little, but one of the things he did warn me of was that our kind are usually more territorial than your average human, over both hunting area and the humans they take as consorts. Being marked by a vampire is much more than simply having a possessive boyfriend. The visible mark on your body is only the physical sign of a blood bond that binds you to him, and binds him to you, in ways that are not so easy to understand or explain. 

"The only way the physical mark will fade and scar over is if the blood bond is broken, and there are only a few ways to break a blood bond. The True Death of a vampire will break the blood bond. Another older or more powerful vampire can mark the human as his own and override the first mark. Or, the vampire can relinquish his claim. Relinquishing a claim on a human only requires that he truly does not want the human any more. He doesn't have to physically touch you at all to remove that mark, only to stop wanting you." 

Xavier frowned thoughtfully. Why hadn't Rayne broken the blood bond? It made no sense.

Xavier left Nicolas' place frustrated and unhappy. It was no consolation at all that the vampire seemed just as frustrated and unhappy as he was. He wouldn't even consider a mutual blowjob, despite Xavier's assurance that Rayne most assuredly did not want him and was not coming back for him any time soon. He spent the rest of the day walking around the market in a daze of misery and frustration, then headed back at last to Marco's. 

PARIS: 

In the bedroom watching the hot little vampire sucking Lord Warren's thumb getting naked with him had seemed like a pretty good idea to Trent. Trapped in close confines with him in the shower cubicle it was a different matter. Rayne was hungry, he could see it in the vampire's unblinking, junky eyes, but he was also wary. He did not seem to like being touched very much at all and it took Trent quite a while just to get him to take his clothes off. 

"What in hell was done to you?" he whispered, shaking his head. 

Rayne had some pretty scars; track marks on his slender arms and burn marks that Trent recognised fairly well, as he had his own collection. But there were marks on the vampire's naked back and below his ribs; pale, pinkish rake marks like the trail of an animal's claws. Trent shuddered just looking at them.

"You get jumped by a tiger, man?" he asked quietly. "That is unreal!"

Rayne just looked at him with narrowed eyes. 

"You're not Xavier," he croaked at last. 

"No, man. Your buddy out there told you that. My name's Trent. I just wanna help you get cleaned up, okay? We'll have a little shower and we'll be nice and clean. You get it?"

"I need Xavier," Rayne told him adamantly. He looked around as if he expected to see demons slide out of the walls. Slim white arms curled around his fragile frame and he hugged himself, going to his knees in one corner of the spacious, tiled shower area and pressing his forehead against the floor where he made a low, whimpering noise in the back of his throat.

Trent's eyes widened. He considered calling for Dominic but he didn't want to take his eyes off Rayne for too long. Instead he went to the shivering creature and put his arms around those slender shoulders, trying to prise him up from the floor. 

"It's okay, Rayne. I promise you, it'll be okay. We're just gonna take a shower then you can get some sleep and we'll take you to find Xavier, all right?"

That dark head came up and Rayne looked at him suspiciously. "Promise?"

"Yeah... I promise. We'll find him, okay? I can see he means a lot to you, man. But I need to get you cleaned up first, okay?"

Trent bit his lip and Rayne just kept staring at him as if he was trying to memorise Trent's face. There was something childlike about him but it was not cute and cuddly childlike. His eyes moved slowly over every inch of the younger man's anxious façade, drinking him in, assessing him with almost deliberate hunger. 

"Okay," he nodded slowly, at last and Trent exhaled a long, shaky breath he had not realise he was holding on to.

When the water began to run the vampire seemed to calm down. It was as if the shower worked a kind of spell on him, soothing his nerves. Trent managed to coax him to his feet and he stood beneath the rose with his face turned upward and his eyes closed, letting the warm spray run all over him. Little trails of dirt and stuff that Trent really did not want to think of as dried blood trickled down over his pale skin and the wary teen reached for the shower gel very cautiously now. 

"I'm gonna get you soaped up, all right?" he said quietly. 

Rayne was still and silent for a moment, then he nodded very briefly. "Okay."

Trent poured a little pool of blue-green gel into his hands and began with the vampire's dark hair, rubbing in slow circles, stroking his fingers through the fine, wet strands of inky black hair and gently kneading Rayne's scalp and the back of his neck. He was so tense. Trent could feel the tightness of his muscles as he worked on Rayne's nape and shoulders. 

"You don't have to be scared of me," he murmured softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"

Rayne turned in his hands at once, looking defensively at him. He rested his own small, cold hands against Trent's chest. 

"It's okay," Trent told him earnestly. "I swear to you."

Thankfully he had lost his erection when Rayne seemed so freaked out just at the idea of being naked with him. He remembered how scared he had been the first time he fucked a man for money; taking his clothes off in front of a guy he'd only just met and letting the creep do whatever he wanted just to get enough dough together to score that night. He had felt sick afterwards. 

Rayne looked genuinely frightened. He was like a little kid sometimes, just shivering like he knew something bad was coming but not how to stop it. 

"Some fucker hurt you, didn't he?" Trent said, a little more grimly. "They hurt you and they wouldn't stop? Is that what happened?"

He saw Rayne pull away automatically and held up his hands in surrender. "Hey! Hey! Look... I'm not gonna touch you if you don't want me to, but let's just get you cleaned up, right. I'm not gonna hurt you like they did, I swear to you."

It took him several more minutes to get Rayne just to accept being touched and soaped again. He shivered the whole time, blinking droplets off his long eyelashes like silvery tears as Trent's hands moved in slow circles over his chest and his slender arms and shoulders. The whole time, Trent just talked to him quietly as if he was soothing an angry dog. 

"It's okay. We're gonna get you nice and warm and clean, then you can go to bed and curl up again. Whatever you want, babe. Okay? You like that? You're very pretty, you know? You got beautiful eyes, Rayne. And such a soft mouth too. I bet you kiss real good, don't you?"

He saw that little, pink tongue flicker across Rayne's lips but the vampire's face was completely unreadable. It might have been nervousness or desire that provoked the reaction. Trent's soapy hands moved down as far as his belly and the small of his back and then he stopped warily. 

"You wanna do the rest yourself?" he asked carefully. And that was maybe the catalyst, he would never be sure afterwards.

RAYNE:

Since he woke up in a strange bed, in a room that was not his own, he had been struggling to remember something. He knew that he was hungry, and that blood would make the hunger go away. The blue eyes and soft, spiked blond hair of the boy looking down on him reminded him of Xavier. He had been trying so hard to reach Xavier and now all that remained of that Herculean effort was a sense of weariness and confusion. The pain was not so bad now, at least. And then the tall man with the gentle voice came to sit beside him and let him feed a little bit more. 

The tall man was ever so nice to him, explaining to him that his name was Rayne, which was quite a pretty name, and that something bad had happened to him but it was all better now. He felt at ease with the tall man, who had told Rayne his name, but he could not remember it now. 




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 10



At first he thought the blond boy was Xavier but when he had studied that curious face for a while he knew that it wasn't. Even so, whenever he glanced at the boy he thought it again. Something was very wrong though, he should have been able to remember what it was but the things in his head kept moving away whenever he mentally reached for them. It was frustrating, and a little bit scary too. 

There were other things in his head that he didn't want to see. When the tall man suggested that the boy who was not Xavier should take him into the shower room, Rayne caught fleeting glimpses of some of those things. At once he put his hands up over his eyes, not wanting to look; not wanting to remember. It had been another bathroom and another time but he did not want to see it here. He just wanted Xavier, who had come for him when it was darkest and whose voice he had followed out of the nightmares. It did not make any sense to him. Xavier should be here. Why wasn't he here? He would have made the nightmares go away. 

And then the blond boy was kneeling beside him and talking to him ever so gently. He touched Rayne and washed him and got him to stand up and stop hiding his face. He kept on promising that nothing in the bathroom would hurt him. When his hands moved lower, Rayne worried for a moment that he was just another one that would tell him that everything would be all right, then do terrible things to him like in that other bathroom. He screwed himself up tight inside and stared up at the blond boy who was not Xavier as his hands stroked down and down and down... then stopped. 

"You wanna do the rest yourself?" the blond asked him in a quiet voice. 

Rayne licked his lips. He shivered in spite of the heat of the water cascading down on him. The boy who was not Xavier smelled so good. He would be really tasty, Rayne just knew it. He would not have Rayne's memories, like Xavier did, but he was prepared to bet that the boy still tasted good. Maybe if he let the blond boy touch him and do the things he wanted to do, he would be allowed to bite him in return. That seemed like a good deal, to Rayne. 

Boldly now, he reached out and took the blond boy's hand, putting it between his legs. He saw a sudden, confused smile curve the boy's warm, pink mouth. 

"Maybe you're not as shy as you look," the blond laughed nervously. "Okay, here we go then."

He began to stroke his hand gently over the soft, pliant flesh between Rayne's thighs and in response, Rayne reached for him and touched him in a way that told the blond that he was certainly not an innocent in these matters. His cool, clever fingers curled around the blond's long, heavy, cut cock and he tugged down gently on it, over and over, milking it steadily until it began to twitch and stiffen in his hand as he had known it must. In return the blond boy began to stroke him in the same way, gently rubbing his penis and balls in one hand whilst the other rested lightly in the small of his back, moving in small, slow circles there. 

Rayne reached up with his right hand and curled his fingers around the blond who was not Xavier's neck, pulling that lush, wet mouth down to his own. It felt very, very good to kiss his soft, warm mouth that way and the blond boy did not seem to think it was all that bad either. He certainly did not stop what he was doing to Rayne's stiffening penis as his tongue danced between Rayne's parted lips and his mouth pressed down harder. Now the blond's fingers slipped speculatively down into the smooth crevice between Rayne's bare buttocks and began to work in slow circles there, wandering searchingly around the sensitive bunch of nerves that ringed his rear entrance. 

There was a little ring of chrome piercing his tongue that contrasted with the silver stud in Rayne's mouth. They clicked together softly now as the blond boy kissed his mouth harder and deeper. There was another ring in the head of his erect penis too. Rayne's thumb stroked slowly over it, teasing tendrils of salty scented semen from the slit that it dove into and following the curve down under the head of the blond's rigid cock. It ended in a little silver ball that pressed against the ridges of hyper sensitive flesh where the bulbous glans joined his thick, hot shaft. The blond boy shuddered and thrust into his hand when Rayne caressed him there. 

"Oh my! You sure know what to do with that," he panted when their lips briefly parted and Rayne looked up into his darkening blue eyes. 

The vampire pulled him back into the wordless kiss, as his small, cold hand gently fisted the blond boy's erect penis until it was drooling a constant flow of pre-cum. The boy who was not Xavier pressed hard against his puckered ring and eased two fingers slowly into Rayne as he jerked the little vampire rapidly with the other hand. Rayne almost climbed up his nude body as they writhed together under the flood of water from the shower rose. He released the blond's long, hard member and pulled himself up against the boy eagerly. At the same time, the blond who was not Xavier drew his fingers out of Rayne and curled both hands under his slender thighs, lifting him up and pushing him back against the wall to kiss him more urgently on the mouth. Rayne's lean thighs encircled his thrusting hips and his tongue mated with the blond's ringed probe in his mouth. The other, harder, thicker probe found the wet pucker between his firm, white cheeks and slowly the blond youth lowered his restless mate down onto it, letting it pop wetly into Rayne's tight channel. 

Now Rayne sucked in a fast, hard breath and quivered in the blond's powerful embrace, looking him searchingly in the eyes as his fingers locked around the back of his mate's neck. He pulled himself towards the blond and his jaws opened wide, biting down hard on the hot, wet flesh covering the plump vein that ran down from his brain and sucking the rich ferrous taste of Trent's life blood into his mouth. 

With it came a zillion fragments of emotion and thought, desire and memory; all of Trent was distilled down into the essence of his hot, delicious blood. It was like picking up the pieces of a jigsaw and recognising where they ought to go. Suddenly he frames of reference for his mate's whole life. And he could compare them to his own ghostly memories, for what they were. Now, abruptly, he knew what it was that he had lost and he wept silently, still drawing on Trent's essence, even as the tears streamed down his cheeks. 


NAPLES – XAVIER:

The photographer was just getting up again when Xavier got there. 

"You forgot to take your phone with you." Marco said. "PJ McNamara called, I answered it because he rang more than once. I told him you'd gone out and forgot your phone." 

"Oh, okay." 

"Palo stopped by too," Marco said, watching Xavier's expression and the way he bristled slightly. "I told him not to come back here." 

Xavier raised his brows in surprise and some relief. "How come?" 

Marco shrugged. "You didn't seem too happy with him when you came back last night. And I don't want you hanging around him if you're gonna show up for work with bruises on your face the day after." 

Xavier let it go at that, relieved he wouldn't have to worry about Palo any more at least. He went to bed early that night, and was glad he did when Marco got him up early the next morning. The photographer looked though the clothes Xav had brought with him and selected a pair of butter soft leather pants that hung low on Xavier's hips and fit like a second skin, along with the equally snug fitting vest that Aldo had picked out for him. 

Considering Marco's apparent fondness for his soft blond curls and vehement insistence that he didn't want any make up put on him Xavier was a little surprised that he had him do his hair like he had the other day, then had him sit in a chair for a makeup artist he'd scheduled to come over. Xavier could have saved him that trouble as well and done it himself, but Marco seemed very pleased with the results. 

Xavier looked in the mirror and had to admit it was a good job. The dark green shadow on his lids brought out the bright blue of his eyes, as well as the dark liner and mascara on his lashes. A more neutral colour darkened his full lips and they shimmered kissably. His face did lend itself well to androgyny. With the makeup it was hard to tell if he was a pretty boy or girl. 

After he was dressed and made up they started off in the studio again. Today was pretty much a repeat of their previous sessions at first, but after a couple of hours Marco decided he wanted them to go out. He took his camera and they walked around the city together. Xavier was doing nothing he thought was of any particular interest but Marco took pictures that he intermittently cooed over. They ended the day back in the studio. Xavier sat down astride a straight-backed chair and Marco brought out some accessories he wanted him to don, a pair of leather wrist cuffs that fastened with silver rings. 

Xavier looked at them and back up at Marco. 

"I haven't touched you inappropriately once since you agreed to come and work for me, and I promise I won't do so now. I just want the pictures," the photographer said with a shrug.

Somewhat reluctantly Xavier buckled the cuffs onto his wrists and then Marco directed him to put his hands behind the chair and fastened the rings together. He immediately took a few pictures of Xavier's bound wrists, the way his fingers curled lightly, and his hands turned out slightly as if to test for any give. It was not the first time he was hard for Xavier, but the rush of blood and desire to his groin still caught him a little off guard and a soft moan escaped his lips. 

Marco moved around Xavier, taking a few more pictures from different angles, and then he stopped again, took Xavier's boots off and snapped a few pictures of his bare feet. He brought out another set of cuffs and these he buckled on to Xavier's ankles, and then fastened to the chair with the attached straps. He took another flurry of pictures. 

Xavier squirmed a little in his seat. He didn't really feel anything one way or the other about Marco, but the memory of Nicolas getting him primed yesterday without the delivery, coupled with the restraints which always got him going, he was already more then a little turned on. 

Marco reached down and undid the top button of his pants, but no more than that. He took more pictures of Xavier sitting there, of the way he tipped his head back and rolled it. He had Xavier scoot his butt to the edge of the seat and lean his neck on the back of the chair and took several shots of him like that. His full body, close ups of his face and carefully selected other regions. 

"Alright..." Marco said softly, getting Xavier's attention, and capturing another stunning shot of his face, eyes dilated slightly with desire and soft lips parted. "Alright..." he said again, clearing his throat. "You've got cynical or mischievous down to a T, and you do dead sexy wonderfully... but I want something more out of you now." 

Xavier just looked back at him, he didn't know what else he could do, he tried for whatever expression the photographer had asked of him so far. 

"I want to know what's inside you, Xavier... give me something real." 

Xavier started blankly back at him. Marco held the camera at ready. "What do you feel right now?" 

"Horny!" Xavier answered and Marco chuckled softly. 

"I heard you were hot and heavy with the singer from Whipsnade for a while, Rayne Wylde? That must have been hard, when he left you." 

Surprise lit across Xavier's face, Marco clicked the shutter. Then his expression changed, for just a second there was an expression so raw and wounded it was almost painful to see, Marco clicked the shutter again. Finally his expression settled on hot anger, his blue eyes blazed with it, and Marco got that shot too. He was in ecstasy. Those last three shots taken in no more then maybe ten or fifteen seconds were worth more than anything he'd shot so far. Absolutely beautiful! He just hoped Xavier would forgive him. 

"Let me go," Xavier said, cold and flat. 

Marco did, and he was almost surprised that Xavier didn't try to hit him when he was freed. He was sorry the boy was angry with him now, but he wouldn't have gone back and changed it, not for anything. 

They were done. Marco could have insisted on more, but he didn't need any more. He paid Xavier what they'd agreed on, and was less surprised that he wanted to leave as soon as he had the cash in his hand. He didn't apologise, but he was more than generous with the extra cash he slipped in, figuring those last three shots were worth any amount of money. 

Xavier packed up quickly, he didn't even bother to take a shower or change, he just got his stuff together while Marco arranged for a driver to take him back up to Aldo's.

PARIS - TRENT:

For a moment as the vampire bit down on his neck in the shower, Trent simply froze with shock, and then he picked up the yoke, gripping Rayne to him and thrusting into him hard in response. He buried himself in the sexy little vampire and held his shaft there for a moment, panting with the adrenaline rush of mingled fear and arousal. Until this summer he had only ever fucked another man for cash, or to make a movie, which was just being 'gay for pay' in another, more artsy way. Since joining Mikka's crew, Trent had also shared the other man's bed on numerous occasions, sometimes just with Mikkal Saarinen but often in company with one of the other boys from whatever film they were shooting. Mikka liked to watch him 'top' other boys before he fucked Trent and Trent could not say with hand on heart that he disliked it either.

Even given the knowledge of what his current partner was, Trent could not feel anything other than furiously horny as he felt that tight little ass slide down onto his throbbing pole. So Rayne liked to bite him? Well he'd been with guys who were a hell of a lot kinkier than that in his time. And Dominic was right, once the initial shock of feeling another man's teeth in his neck subsided, Trent realised that he was enjoying it. 

"Jesus, you're hot!" he panted as he gripped Rayne's ass cheeks tight in his hands and began to stroke between them vigorously. "That feels so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o good!"

It did not take either of them long to spill over the edge. Rayne was writhing on his thrusting rod like a fuckin' pole dancer and Trent drove it into him with animal passion as the vampire twined around him and sucked hungrily on his neck. He was going to have the mother of all hickeys tomorrow but, by Christ, it would be worth the pain. He felt Rayne's explosion moments before he jabbed himself balls deep into the vamp and answered the spray of semen that lashed his belly with a handful of lush spurts of his own, way up in Rayne's clenching colon.


The powerful jaws released his jugular and he gasped for breath, then melted as he felt Rayne's studded tongue licking his skin with short, quick strokes that teased him and sent little tremors through his body. 

"Oh my god, you're astounding," he groaned, sinking slowly to his knees with Rayne still curled around him. 


And that was how they stayed for the rest of the night, though they did move over to the bed once Trent's legs had stopped feeling like jelly. In the soft, warm bed they snuggled close and even though Trent wanted to make love to him again, his body was less compliant. He felt so exhausted that he could barely open his eyes. 

Dominic watched over them as they slept but Rayne too was sated for the time being and just snuggled between the two men, soaking up their warmth from the proximity of their skin, finally calm enough at last for a healing sleep. 


END OF CHAPTER TEN

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 11



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010

Good Day to you, dear readers. The tempting and teasing is nearly at an end. We lay before you, chapter 11, the penultimate instalment of Reach Out For The Sunrise. It has been over a year in the delivery and now the end is in sight and we can rest our weary index fingers for a little while. Maybe enjoy a nice break in the Caribbean? Go surfing around the Great Barrier Reef? Soak up the sunshine in Santiago, Seville or Salamanca? Anything but sit in front of a laptop every night groaning "what... more editing?"

I jest... the words are on the page, they are in your charge now, sweet people. Receive them gently, we implore. Thieve them not, and remember. A gay vampire rockstar is for Unlife, not just for Xmas. And so we give you...

CHAPTER ELEVEN

REUNIFICATION BLUES  

Xavier was silent and contemplative on the drive back to Aldo's villa. His stay at Marco's had been more eventful than he'd anticipated, and while he'd already mostly buried what had happened with Palo, setting aside the information Nicolas had given him about the marks and Marco's not so subtle prodding about Rayne was not as easy.

The driver occasionally glanced in the rear-view mirror at his pretty, brooding passenger. For all that the young man was artfully made up and dressed in the most chic and modern style, he gave off an unmistakable vibe of melancholy that automatically made anyone with half a heart want to offer comfort to him. But after a couple of his attempts at small talk were politely rebuffed the driver gave up on trying to talk to him.

As the car pulled up on the curving driveway though a little smile touched Xavier's lips.

Ridiculous as it was he sort of felt like he was coming home. Maybe it was just that he'd come to think of Aldo's as a kind of sanctuary. He'd only been away for a few days and yet it seemed like he'd been gone much longer. The merest sight of the house filled him with a sense of familiar warmth and longing though.

When the car pulled to a stop at the door he thanked the driver, got his gear out, and headed up the walk. The front door was open and he was expected so he just went in, wandering down the hall toward the kitchen, following the sound of well-loved voices. PJ, Aldo, and Chavez were there, along with another guy whom Xavier at first glance almost mistook for Jabez, although he was not as tall or as broad across the shoulders as the vampire.

"Lu-u-ucy, I'm home!" he crooned, grinning cheekily as he came in.

Aldo came towards him at once, a look of concern on his handsome face that almost wiped away his smile. In the background PJ rose and disentangled himself from the embrace of the tall, handsome, white-haired newcomer.

"Xav! It's good to see you," the Italian declared, pulling him into a hug. "You look gorgeous! How was it with Marco? He's not been working you too hard, heh?"

"It went alright." Xavier said neutrally, suddenly on his guard.

It was obvious, even to anyone who didn't know him, that while Aldo's affectionate greeting was genuine he was also anxious and that it was something to do with Xavier. Before he had a chance to ask him what was wrong though PJ was beside them both and he put a hand on Xav's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're back," he said gently. "We have some news for you, baby. I think you should sit down before you hear this, okay?"

A little frown appeared between Xav's brows as he let PJ lead him to a chair and settle him down into it. Something weird was up, for sure. Aldo's bright smile looked forced and PJ was smiling too but he couldn't hide the worry in his eyes. Xav looked back and forth between then, his own anxiety growing.

"What news?" he asked warily, knowing it couldn't be good if they were both handling him like fine china.

PJ cleared his throat and into the pause Aldo quietly said; "Dominic's back. He arrived about an hour ago. He brought something for you."

The Italian ignored the look he got from PJ that said his friend would have preferred to handle things differently.

Xavier blinked, looking surprised, but he didn't relax. Something was still fishy here, the way these two were acting, and Chavez hadn't said a word to him, wouldn't even look at him. He actually looked kind of pissed off, arms and legs crossed defensively as he leaned up against the counter. But Dom being back was a good thing, Xav thought, brightening a little.

"Oka-a-ay..." he said carefully, wondering why PJ had wanted him to sit just to tell him that. "I'll go put my stuff away then. And... where is Dom anyway?"

"He's in Rayne's room," PJ said before Aldo could open his mouth.

Xavier went still, and the room suddenly got very, very quiet. PJ might have just meant the room Rayne had been using before he left, but since that was also Xav's room there was no reason for him to refer to it so and anyway why would Dominic come back at all? Xavier suddenly guessed who the handsome, silver-eyed man sitting next to PJ was. Mikka, PJ's friend, whom he had asked to go looking for Rayne in Paris. If both Dominic and Mikka were here...

The stunned look on Xavier's face flickered only briefly before closing off, like a solid door slamming shut on the sunshine. He shot Aldo a look full of reproach.

"Brought something for me, huh?" he said, low and angry, shaking his head. "Rayne's with him, isn't he." It was not a question and no one tried to answer him now. He immediately thought that Dominic must have bullied Rayne into coming back with him. Something of that nature must have happened because he sure didn't believe Rayne just decided he missed him and came back here on his own.

PJ ran a hand slowly up his arm, a gesture that was both soothing and warning at the same time.

"Babe," he said gravely. "It's not that simple. I didn't exactly give you the whole story on the phone. They found Rayne, yes, but your instincts weren't that far off. He did run into trouble and he was in a pretty bad shape when Mikka found him. I'm still trying to get to the bottom of what happened to him up there but whatever it was, it's fucked with his mind."

"Yeah, yeah!" Aldo turned away shaking his head as if he did not quite believe that. "He's playing stupid games with you, Paddy. Just like he's always done! Listen to Mikkal, he knows how Rayne is."

PJ looked like he might have said something more about that but a movement in the doorway drew their eyes. Dominic leaned there for a moment, mortally tired, watching them argue. For once he almost looked his age. He smiled when he saw Xavier though. "I thought I heard your voice, darling. It's good to see you again. I take it the boys have broken the news to you?"

Xavier opened his mouth to say something. He wasn't sure what might have come out, but before he got to speak he was sidetracked by a low aside from Mikka, who was still embroiled in the tensions between Aldo and PJ.

"You were not there, Aldo. You did not see him...what had been done to him," he murmured gravely.

PJ's handsome companion sounded so deadly serious Xavier's head turned automatically to look at him. He sounded infinitely more tired than Dominic looked and his tone was too defensive.

"What do you mean?" Xav asked, frowning slightly. "Who did what to him?"

The room got quiet again and Xavier looked around at the faces that were avoiding looking back at him. That little niggle of anxiety that had been at the back of his head since he'd come into the room suddenly blossomed into something approaching full-blown panic.

"I knew something was wrong!" He stood up, too agitated now to sit any longer. "What happened to him? What about his mind?" He looked around at the silent somewhat shell-shocked faces and his anxiety exploded into irritation. "Would someone please just cut the bullshit and tell me what the fuck is going on?"

For a moment there was stalemate as the occupants of the room virtually squared off. Aldo and Chavez were visibly hostile, Mikka and PJ the solid wall of defence. Then Dominic half-turned in the doorway as a small, dark-haired figure pushed up against him and snuggled under the protective warmth of his arm, peering out at everyone as curious as a small child.

His green eyes widened when he set eyes on Xavier though. Briefly, Rayne looked up at Dominic as if seeking some acknowledgement of what he was seeing.

"Xavier?" he whispered hoarsely.

The older man nodded gravely. "Go on... you know it's him."

Xavier's expression could not seem to settle on a single emotion, but anger and hurt were chief among them, with a good deal of confusion thrown in the mix. After all, Rayne had not only dumped him but the last time he'd seen him he'd left him lying on a couch nearly bled out and with a raging fever serious enough that Xav had only been semi-consciousness for several days afterwards.

Xavier's eyes locked on Rayne's and for a moment no one else in the room existed. What he saw in those shimmering pale green orbs was hard to say. Rayne had never looked at him like this before. He'd seen those pretty eyes filled with desire and passion, laughter and concern and even anger, but right now they just looked confused... lost... searching.

"Y-you don't remember me?" Xav asked in a small hurt voice.

"He doesn't remember anyone, darling," Dominic said in a pained tone. "He doesn't even remember his own name half of the time. But he remembered yours, Xavier. He kept on calling out for you, even when he had no idea where he was, or who."

The most beaming and beautiful smile illuminated Rayne's face then and he whispered; "Xavier."

"Yes, darling," Dominic assured him again. "Yes, it's Xavier."

Xav felt the little hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Something was profoundly wrong here. He stood frozen to the spot as goosebumps crawled up his arms. How could Rayne remember his name but not remember who he was? What the fuck had happened to him?

He watched transfixed as Rayne slowly moved out from under Dominic's protective arm and came to him. Standing face to face again like this brought back a flood of memories, for Xavier anyway, not all of them happy. He had been so angry with Rayne for leaving him the way he did, packing up and trying to sneak off while he slept. How could he have done that after all they'd gone through together?

Yes, Xavier had broken the unspoken rule and told Rayne he loved him, but he hadn't asked for anything in return. Just to be with him. And how pathetic was that? Maybe Rayne had been right to leave him. It still hurt though.

Almost against his will Xavier lifted his hand to Rayne's cheek, his fingers brushing softly there as if to see if he was real.

"What happened to you Ray?" he asked softly.

Soft, cold lips brushed the palm of his hand and Rayne nuzzled him there affectionately. His long fingers reached for Xavier automatically and he wrapped himself around his mate almost possessively.

"You came for me," he whispered huskily, his lips pressed to Xavier's ear. "I was lost and you came for me. But then... when I woke up I didn't know how to find you again."

Xavier was still rooted to the spot, his body felt frozen even though it was almost a shock to the system when Rayne touched him and wound around him so tightly. He should be angry. He was still angry. He ought to push Rayne away. He should shove him away right now, as hard as possible. He could not just forgive and forget so easily the way Rayne had treated him; how he had taunted him when he left him, and how badly it had hurt. He wasn't really going to just forgive all that in an instant because something bad had happened to Rayne and he'd come back all messed up, was he?

Everyone in the room saw the way Xavier stiffened when Rayne put his arms around him. In the space of a few heartbeats that followed not one of them didn't speculate what he might do next, and more than one was certain Xavier was about to push him away.

Xavier closed his eyes. You bastard! You broke my heart! How dare you run away like a thief in the night, go get yourself hurt, then expect me to just forget everything when you come crawling back! The inner seething lasted all of a moment and then Xav crumbled. He couldn't help it, he still loved Rayne no matter how much it hurt. His arms wrapped around his lover and held him tight, his head bending so he could bury his face at the side of Rayne's throat. The hurt was still lodged deep inside, but the anger melted away. He might be an idiot but he wasn't heartless... and it felt so good to hold him again.

Rayne made a small sound and nearly crushed his ribs he tightened around him so much, and a flood tide of emotion hit Xav like a big wave. It was chaotic and confused but it was also overlaid with an overwhelming sense of relief. Just that small lowering of his guard and the connection between them sizzled, electric enough to crackle in the air around them. There wasn't a person in the room that didn't feel it.

The vampire made a low, happy purring noise and snuggled into the hollow of Xavier's neck and shoulder, lipping and kissing the sensitive bite marks he had left there. Xavier's lips parted around an intake of breath and Rayne's mouth sought out his and swallowed his little gasp. The kiss was clumsy, hungry, but sweet nonetheless.

When their lips parted again Xav looked over Rayne's shoulder up at Dominic, his blue eyes almost as lost and helpless as Rayne's.

"Thank you." Dominic mouthed the words almost soundlessly as Xavier held Rayne. Just loud enough to be heard he murmured; "Your instincts were right Xavier; we nearly lost him. Maybe we have lost him anyway. He swings back and forth from adult to child and I can't keep track of what his mind is doing. The closest I can equate it with is the aftermath of a stroke, or perhaps some kind of brain damage. He is improving though. He's not forgotten how to feed and that seems to help."

Brain damage? A stroke? Xavier blanched. Jesus! What the fuck had happened to him? But Xavier had already asked, and he wasn't getting very many straight answers and... oh, man... he wished Rayne would quit kissing his neck like that! He couldn't think straight. He wanted to ask Dominic what he should do? Ask if he was he going to stay like this? He wasn't sure he wanted to hear Dom's answers though.

Xavier let out a shaky breath, his heart pounding violently in his chest. When they had first got together this weird connection-thing only happened when Rayne bit him, and it was mostly one way. After some weeks though, the feeling of being connected was with him all the time, intensifying when they were intimate or when Rayne fed from him. Even then Xavier didn't pick up much from Rayne, only what the vampire wanted him to feel or what slipped by in a moment of passion. Xavier had figured that Rayne shielded so much from him more out of a sense that he was protecting him than anything sinister.

Maybe that was right. He was wide open right now, and the barrage of emotional debris was enough to nearly take him to his knees. It was almost physically painful. It wasn't telepathy, only empathy, although he got a little flash of something else. The night he had woke up screaming and falling out of bed it had felt like someone had stabbed him right though the heart, and he again felt a coldness touch his chest and make him want to rub the place where it had hurt.

With an unsteady hand Xav lifted the edge of Rayne's shirt, his fingers finding and tracing over the fading scars on his chest, so faint they were almost gone, but still enough for him to see that what he had felt was real. His lips compressed and he had to blink his stinging eyes quickly. Someone had done this to him, put those scars there, hurt him so badly he'd nearly died.

"You can see what happened?" Dominic queried softly.

Xavier shook his head once. "No, but I can feel it." His voice sounded strained. "Whatever happened, it was really, really bad." The last was almost a whisper.

Xavier suddenly didn't want to be in this room full of people any more. He felt too exposed and flayed raw just from the little brush of Rayne's emotions. He let his shirt fall back in place, took the vampire's cold, slender hand and pulled him along behind him as he headed toward the hallway.

"We need to talk," was the only explanation he gave the others as he fled with Rayne in tow.

Once they were in the bedroom Xavier closed the door and sank down on the edge of the bed, pulling Rayne close and holding him. He kissed his temple, breathing in his scent and trying to get hold of his own galloping emotions again.

"I couldn't find you." Rayne said, a forlorn echo of what he'd been trying to tell him earlier.

"I'm here now, sweetheart," Xavier murmured soothingly. It occurred to him that in Rayne's current state he probably didn't remember how they had parted; might not even remember anything other than his name. If he did start to remember... Jesus! He might want to leave again. Could he do this then? Could he hold Rayne now and love him and help him, knowing that in the end he might just get his heart stomped on a second time?

It wasn't even a question really. Rayne needed him, and Xavier loved him, and if he was destined for heartache again... but he didn't want to think of that now. Right now he just needed to hold Rayne and soothe him and maybe help him find his way back home.

Xavier's arms circled around him and he touched his forehead to Rayne's. He brought one hand up to his lover's cheek when he noticed those luminescent green eyes shimmering with tears. "What is it Rayne, what's wrong?"

Rayne swallowed several times, struggling to keep the tears from falling. A single crystaline droplet overlapped his lower lashes and trickled fulsomely down his cheek though and he made a tiny little hiccuping sound as he struggled to remember the right words to say.

"You... I hurt you... you're angry with me," he faltered in a small voice, so unlike his usual bluster that it was as if Xavier was talking to a different man. "I had to find you. It was so important... but I don't know why," he quavered softly now, another tear escaping. "I thought you would make it right... that when I found you it would all be... better. But you..." He lowered his head, unable to even look at Xavier. The tears dropped down wetly onto his nervously twining fingers. "You hate me, don't you?"

"No, I don't hate you." Xavier said softly, putting an arm around him and stroking him soothingly. "Yes you hurt me, and yes you made me mad, but I don't hate you. I could never hate you Rayne." He brought his other hand up to cup Rayne's face, his thumb caressing his cheek and wiping away the tears there.

"I'm sorry Rayne," Xav continued, his own voice raw and husky with emotion. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it better. I don't know if I can help you, I don't know if I can ever make things right. I can try though." He kissed Rayne's lips very softly, and he tried to put into that kiss what was behind the hurt and the last traces of anger. The ache in him was so bittersweet, and without really meaning to a memory came up in his head unbidden. Rayne above him, his face half bathed in the moonlight seeping in through the window. His body floating in a hazy bliss. I love you, Rayne. The words spoken so tender and husky and not meant to actually pass his lips.

His heartbroken mate looked up at him, bewilderment still flickering in his eyes as he accepted the kiss, but he did seem to sense some of what Xavier was thinking and feeling for the look in his eyes softened and grew less fearful. His fingers glided lightly up Xavier's arm to his shoulder, into the dip of his collar bone and up along the smooth curve of his slender neck to caress the little dimples left by his fangs there. Their noses were almost touching and Rayne could feel the quickening of Xavier's breath between his lips.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 11



"I did that to you," he whispered, almost to himself, as his cool fingertips circled the two, barely perceptible fang marks, then touched them tenderly. "You love me... and I did that, I bit you and hurt you, but you still love me." The argument ran around in his head like a kitten chasing its tail. He tilted his head and returned the kiss, stroking Xavier's lips restlessly with his own. "You taste good."

"So do you." Xavier breathed, brushing his lips again. Oh god he wanted him so much, had missed this so much...it just wasn't fair. "Rayne..." His voice was suddenly husky with desire this time as his lover stroked his fingertips over the sensitive bite marks on his neck. He could hardly stand it, the heat pooled into his middle and he dropped his head with a little moan.

"What is it?" Rayne sat back from him, suddenly shy and solicitous again. His face was anxious; puzzled. "Did I hurt you? Are you angry again?"

When he bit his lip the little fangs drew blood but he barely seemed to notice it. His eyes were swallowing Xavier up.

Xavier gave a breathless little chuckle. "No...no you didn't hurt me," he soothed.

This was just too strange. He really was like a different person. Rayne would have normally had him flat on his back and half his clothes off already. Xavier was also acutely aware now of how long it had been since he'd gotten any. He supposed it hadn't been that long, but still... and here Rayne was like a walking, breathing temptation and acting like he was twelve years old, playing kissy-face for the first time. It was laughable really, except he was so damn horny now.

He sighed and flopped back on the bed. He caught Rayne's hand and pulled him down beside him, tucking him in the curl of his arm. Dominic had said he remembered how to feed well enough, and that it helped him. "Are you hungry, sweetheart?"

Rayne nodded at once, peering through his dark forelock at Xavier, the expression on his face at once transformed into something oddly feral. His smile bared the sharpness of his teeth again as he prowled over Xavier slowly, looking down at him, absorbing the moment, memorising his face before he sank down onto him. The little silver stud in his tongue teased the dimples on Xavier's neck experimentally and his breath was quick and cool there, whispering over the wetness of his saliva.

The little vampire was suddenly afraid. There were parts of his past inside Xavier and when he bit the warm, soft flesh beneath him those missing pieces would come rushing back. He knew it without being told. This was why he was here, it was why he had been yearning for Xavier for so long. But still he held back for a moment. When the past came back he was not sure that he would like the person he became.

Xavier seemed nice. He was kind and warm and gentle and Rayne had hurt him before; back in the past when he knew who he was. Maybe once he bit Xavier he would go back to being that person and hurt Xavier some more, and then Xavier would hate him again.

Rayne closed his eyes tightly and whimpered with frustration, burying his face in the warmth of Xavier's soft, delicious smelling neck. He licked the bite marks there and as he lay close to the beautiful blond man he felt something that he understood. Xavier was getting hard, the stiffness slowly pushing against his hip the way that Trent's had done as they sprawled in bed together. Rayne lay on top of him and rubbed the whole length of his body along Xavier's very gently.

"You like that, don't you?" he whispered against the blond's downy earlobe, making him shudder with need.

Xavier made a sound that was half moan half whimper. His whole body yearned for Rayne touch, his hips rolled up unconsciously, rubbing his stiffening length up against him.

"Yes...I like that, Rayne," he got out in a strangled-sounding whisper.

A beatific smile lit up the vampire's face, only slightly tempered by the sharpness of his dog teeth. Rayne knelt up astride him and his quick fingers released the buttons of the fine black shirt that shrouded his lean, scarred body. Restlessly he shrugged it off, letting the material cascade down his pale arms as he loosened the buttons of his fly, then ran a slow hand over the swell of Xavier's straining groin.

"Beautiful!" he sighed.

Xavier swallowed hard, his warm hands gliding up Rayne's pale body and back down to his waist. A tiny voice in his head whispered that this still wasn't quite right. Like he was taking advantage of Rayne when he was drunk, or something. But Rayne looked so happy now, Xav was afraid that if he tried to dissuade him he would become upset again. Rayne's fingers traced over the outline of his cock and Xavier groaned urgently. "Oh...god, I want you."

Rayne played with his zipper, a teasing little smile on his face. It was all there, in his head. They loved this... all men loved this, the chase, the tease and the ultimate release. He knew it and yet he didn't.

For a moment he stopped and shook his head as if trying to dislodge something that had fallen over his eyes. It was there... just on the edge of his consciousness and he couldn't touch it. He couldn't see it. There were parts of him missing and he needed them in order to function. He needed to bite Xavier and take back the rest of himself.

"Help me," he said, sounding slightly dazed. "I don't know who I am. Xavier... I don't know who I am."

"Shh, it's ok Rayne." Xavier soothed, moving his hands away from his zipper, setting aside his own frustrated need for the moment. He sat up and pulled Rayne back into his embrace, holding and comforting him. "We'll figure this out sweetheart," he sighed, hoping he was telling the truth. Blowing out a little breath he thought about the situation. "Okay, we need to help you remember. Maybe if we just talk about things, it will make it easier for you to think of them on your own. Do you remember, umm... when we first met? Do you remember that? At the club? You and Barclay watched me dance to your song, Dark Paths, and then you came backstage..."

Rayne snuggled into the circle of his arms. It felt good there. Xavier's voice was warm and soothing. He liked to listen to the other man talking. The words were not important really, it was the gentle music of Xavier's speech that lulled him. He felt instantly that he was home.

"Did you like me?" he asked, neither confirming nor denying the memory. "I really like you, Xavier. You're warm and beautiful. I like being with you."

Xavier couldn't help the little smile that tugged at his lips. "Yes, I like you. Do you remember though? Remember meeting me?" he prodded.

Rayne just smiled though and wriggled his way deeper into Xavier's embrace. There were fragments of memory there, but when he tried to think about being in a club it brought back a weird collection of mental images; too bright, too loud, too dark, too urgent. He caught his breath and hugged Xavier too tightly, making him gasp too. When Rayne tried to kiss him he did not fight it; he needed it too much. But it was a deliberate diversion and frustration quickly set in.

When their wet lips parted, Xavier tried a different tack, recalling conversations they'd had. He shied away from some of the darker memories they shared, for now, but there were plenty of casual little things to chose from. Mostly Rayne was ambivalent in the face of this soft interrogation. He neither confirmed nor denied that he remembered anything but was so sweet, and affectionate that Xavier would have felt like a bastard to lay into him for it. After an hour or so of this tactical evasion he needed a break. He didn't feel like he was getting anywhere at all, and that in turn made him feel like he was failing Rayne.

Xavier put Rayne's shirt back on him in the end, and went out to find Dominic, the confused little vamp still trailing behind him like a puppy. Rayne seemed fond of the older man and snuggled up to him automatically while they were talking. Dom in turn stroked his dark hair affectionately as if he was a child. If he was fazed by Rayne's behaviour he managed not to let it show. Xav envied him. Meanwhile he told Dominic about his idea for trying to help Rayne recover his memories.

"Dominic," he asked at last, when the older man had reassured him that his efforts to help Rayne remember were probably doing more good than harm. "I've seen the scars on his body. What the hell happened to him? He won't, or can't tell me."

Dom chewed on his lower lip for a moment as if deliberating the wisdom of answering that question truthfully. At last he glanced down at Rayne and asked their little shadow to go and get one of the others to help him make them some coffee. Rayne looked at him a little bit strangely, Xav thought but he went at last and Dominic heaved a little sigh.

"Xavier," he said gravely. "When Mikka found him Ray was... I can't even say he was close to death. You weren't wrong in what you sensed. I believe that he died - in the true sense of that word - and that he was dead for at least 24 hours before we reached him. And now... now I have to wonder if we did the right thing to bring him back. I wasn't at all sure it was even possible. I still don't know how he survived the damage done to him."

For a moment Xavier just stared at him. He couldn't find the words to express what was in his head. Dominic had justified everything he felt and believed that morning when he got PJ to make the call. He had felt Rayne die. It was true.

"Someone staked him," Xavier said in a numbed voice, knowing it for the truth even if no one had come right out and said it yet. "I felt it. Felt the moment it pierced his heart. He was scared... terrified. He didn't want to die. He told me that I came for him. Could he have sensed me, through the link, the same way I felt what was happening to him?"

"It's not unlikely," Dominic conceded with a humourless smile. "Xavier, when we were in Herculaneum that morning before he left, you and he shared a dream. Did you know that?"

Xavier shook his head, bewildered at first by the enquiry. Then he began to remember. It had been less than two weeks ago but it felt like another lifetime. He recalled lying on the sunbed by the pool and thinking that it was snowing. There were other, darker things in his dream but he had pushed them away, his instincts protecting him. And then Rayne had been there, kneeling beside him, waking him gently.

He told Dominic about it, hesitantly now, omitting the parts about finding his mother dead. The older man nodded slowly as he listened.

"Intriguing," he murmured at last. "You know, I suspected there was something about you from the start, Xavier Gavrilov. Whilst we were in Paris, Rayne couldn't remember his own name but he remembered that you dreamed it was snowing. He talked about it in the car on the way back. Do you know why?"

Xavier shook his head, increasingly bewildered by this.

"When we were in Herculaneum he collapsed, did he tell you that?" Dom queried.

"No, he didn't say anything about it. And then we argued and he left... no, wait!" Xavier was shaking his head again, trying to remember something. "He fainted or something, in the bedroom. When I woke up he was on the floor and Aldo was holding him. Then we had the fight and..." Xav swallowed, blinking back a sudden embarrassingly hot rush of tears at the memory.

Dominic stroked his arm gently, soothing him. "Shhh... it's all in the past now. Xavier, I have a crazy theory about this, will you hear me out?"

The blond nodded now, already aware that when Dominic suggested something was crazy he meant it in the serious fruit-loop sense. He was keyed up for anything but not what the old man told him.

"I went to Herculaneum looking for a psychic Hot Spot, a place between the paranormal dimensions as we know them," Lord Warren explained to him as if this was logical or even rational behaviour. "But I think that Rayne found it. And he almost got lost in it. I believe that if he did not already have one foot on the other side of the Veil he might have suffered more severely. But you," he pointed at Xavier, "you have a link to him that is definitely beyond most mortals' capacity for empathy. And you subconsciously tried to follow him into the hereafter. I believe that he brought you back, whether he understood he was doing it or not. The incident left you both feeling drained. You were ill for days afterwards, were you not?"

Xavier opened his mouth to contest this, but closed it again. He had been swallowed up by an inexplicable fever, it was true. At the time he put it down to a combination of over-indulgence and the stress of Rayne leaving him. But he was rarely ill. It was unusual.

"What does that have to do with how he is now?" he asked, making his brain work rationally again.

"It... I think it possibly opened the floodgates between you," Dominic ventured, still looking thoughtful. "You were conscious of him before it, but afterwards it was as if you felt with his body and thought with his mind. At first I believed it was just because he took too much blood from you too quickly. But it's more than even that; stronger than a blood bond. You are life and death to each other, Xavier. If he had died, I do believe that it would ultimately have killed you."

Ba-boom! Xavier's heart stopped for a moment. He remembered waking in the night again; the cold sense of terror, of sinking into the darkness. Yes, it's true, his mind insisted. You almost died with him that night. You felt his death. You shared it!

"Why haven't I lost my mind then?" he asked, feeling suddenly too breathless, too close to the edge of some invisible precipice.

"Because you are the key to him," Dominic said levelly. "As he is the key to you. You ground one another. If you are in danger he is stronger for you. I think that he is right, you hold the key to his memories inside you."

"He's told you that, too?" Xavier forced a humourless grin. "He knows what he did and he's scared of doing it again if he gets his memories back. Will it be that easy though?"

"I doubt it," Dom sighed. "He went through a massive physical trauma, Xavier. It's about more than just getting his memory back. He needs to physically and emotionally grow again."

"You think that being dead might have damaged him permanently, don't you?" Xavier stated grimly. "That's why you wonder if you did the right thing? He's... different. It's changed him in more than just losing his memory. He... he's so unsure of himself."

Dominic looked out of the window as if he saw answers there. He sighed again and when he returned his solemn gaze to Xavier there was a glint of emotion in his mossy-green eyes.

"Darling, when we stop living, the first cells to die are in the brain," he said with only the slightest tremor in his voice. "He can fix physical damage to his body. It's part of his make-up as a vampire. But the brain is a difficult thing to repair. If he's lost that part of him that tells the rest how to heal, or if it was damaged..."

He did not finish. It wasn't necessary. Xavier's expression said enough about his understanding of the issue. Rayne was broken and he might never be fixed, that was the simple answer. But the real answer was more complicated than that. If he couldn't ever be fixed, what would happen to him? Xavier was having a hard enough time trying to forgive him for what had gone before. Having a dependant was something he simply hadn't ever considered; someone who would need him, constantly.

He was not sure which worried him more. That Rayne might never be whole again or that he might not be able to handle it if he never got better.

After his bizarre talk with Dominic Xavier found Rayne and took him back to their room. He decided that he would stay with his plan for trying to help him remember and for the rest of the evening Xavier sat and talked to him, bringing up things that the vampire should know to make it easier. When he questioned him sometimes Rayne got upset, and then Xavier would stop and just talked to him instead, telling him all about the past few months as if he were relating a story. It didn't seem to make much difference to Rayne's condition. When it got late he lay down with that cool, sleek restless body beside him on the bed. Rayne seemed neither inclined to go to sleep or to let Xavier go and so Xav kept talking to him until the wee hours. Eventually Rayne did fall asleep while curled around him. Xavier lay awake though, turning things over in his head until the sky outside began to lighten, and then he too could finally close his eyes.

The next morning Xavier woke first and he slipped from the bed carefully and went to take a shower while Rayne slept on. When he opened the door to the bathroom Rayne was somehow standing right in front of him. Xavier had not even heard him move and nearly jumped out of his skin, which startled Rayne too, and then Xav had to spend some time soothing him and reassuring him he wasn't angry. It was simply exhausting.

"It's okay, it's okay, you just startled me," he insisted, running his hands over the vampire's silky hair. "I'm just going to freshen up, okay? Go back to bed. You'll be all right."

Rayne calmed again and sat on the edge of the bed. He stayed there like an obedient child while Xavier showered and was still watching while he got dried and dressed afterwards. It was slightly disconcerting to have him just looking on incuriously like that. Xavier opened a drawer and inside he spotted a tote bag and he remembered he'd put it in there after Rayne had left. It had a couple big beach towels, a blanket, some suntan oil, and a half a pack of Marlboro's in it from a little trip he and Rayne had taken down the beach. He pulled the bag out now.

"Remember this?" he asked his lover. "We went to the beach and laid in the sun by the water. There was a little spot up by the trees that's secluded and we..."

He trailed off as Rayne just looked back at him enigmatically, a little smile playing on his lips. Xav sighed. "Maybe we can go down there again, hmm? Maybe you'll remember it if I show you where I'm talking about."

He said it without much hope really.

Xav wandered out of the bedroom, Rayne following close behind. When the vampire reached out for his hand Xavier took it. The contact seemed to comfort him. In the kitchen Dominic and Clay were already chatting over breakfast and Xav said good morning to them both. PJ and Mikka were conspicuously absent. As he moved to sit down Aldo came in from the direction of the front door, carrying a huge bouquet of red roses.

Xavier grinned at him. "Secret admirer?"

Aldo grinned right back at him. "They're for you."

Xavier blinked. "Me?"

Aldo pulled out the little card with his name on it and handed it to him. Bemused, Xavier opened it and read 'Xavier, I'm sorry. Please call... Palo.'

Xavier's expression hardened and he tossed the little card onto the table. Aldo felt no compunction about picking it up and reading it. His broad smile faded a bit as he scanned the message though, obviously it wasn't what he had thought it was going to be.

"What's he apologising for?"

Xavier shrugged, suddenly sullen and withdrawn. "Probably for being an asshole."

Rayne, who had taken the seat closest to his own, now picked up the little card as Aldo put it down. He examined it minutely for a moment then his fine black eyebrows came together slightly as he looked over the top of it at Xavier. He said nothing though.

As Xavier loaded up on carbs and orange juice, Rayne wrapped his long fingers around the heat of a coffee cup and inhaled the caffeine in brooding silence. Dark fronds of hair veiled his face almost completely. Dominic tried to talk to him but he was uncommunicative until Xavier had finished eating, his silence enough to put Xav off his breakfast, which was almost a first.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 11



"Can we go to the beach now?" he asked sulkily when Xavier finally put down his knife and fork, proving that at least he was paying attention and had not forgotten their earlier conversation.

Xavier took his memory of their conversation as a good sign, and not only that but his desire to actually want to go do something was a very good sign. His smile could have lit the room.

"Sure we can!" He stood and Rayne stood with him, almost mirroring him as he took his dishes to the sink for a rinse and dried his hands. It was still a little unnerving, the way Rayne watched his every move.

"Let's change first, okay?" he suggested, leading Rayne back to the bedroom so they could put on something more suitable for the beach and he could grab the bag with the towels and stuff.

Rayne was still rather quiet all the way down to the cove, which was thankfully deserted when they got down there, as Xavier had hoped. He brightened a little bit at the proximity of the sea however and actually ran down the small beach to crouch by the water's edge, trailing his fingers in the gently rolling surf. Then he walked out into it, still fully dressed in his open shirt, black converse and mid-thigh, cut-off jeans.

Xavier shook his head, but it was too late to do anything about it now, he was already wet. He kept an eye on Rayne though as he spread out a blanket on the sand beneath a cluster of swaying trees. When Rayne didn't come back, just stood waist deep in the rolling waves, Xavier decided he should probably go and get him.

The water was warm as Xavier waded out, considerably less dressed then Rayne in a bikini speedo. He took his hand when he came up beside him. "Do you want to come sit up on the beach?"

When his companion turned to face him his expression was serious. He took hold of Xavier's hands and drew him out into the water a little further until the waves were lapping at their chests. Rayne leaned forward as Xavier seemed about to protest that they'd gone far enough and kissed him. Xav could taste the salt on his lips and Rayne let go of his hands now to slide his fingers up his naked back and stroke one hand searchingly through his hair, pulling Xavier's mouth down harder onto his own.

The kiss was tender and sweet and Xav slid his arms around Rayne's waist. The sun was warm and glinted off the water painting it gold all around them, and the gently rolling waves lifted and sighed as they ran up to the shore. Their lips moved and danced together until Rayne nudged his lips apart and plunged his tongue in for a taste. Xavier's arms tightened around him, flames licking up inside him as a sudden hungry desire flared bright inside.

"Mmmm... better," Rayne whispered into his mouth, his little tongue stud clicking softly against Xavier's teeth. Pale green eyes wandered downward, taking in the proximity of their bodies, shimmering under the gentle waves. "I'm all wet now."

He looked up suddenly at Xav with an expression that certainly couldn't be classed as innocent.

Xavier searched his eyes, the desire still thudding in his veins. The sea-saw back and forth between innocent and libertine, befuddled and knowing, playful and melancholy had him feeling like he was on a roller coaster. His lips sought Rayne's again and he kissed him hard and hot, their bodies pressed closed together in the water.

Rayne was smiling against his lips, then reaching for him and drawing him back towards the shallower surf. He was moving backwards as quickly as the water would allow and when the current tangled his slender legs and pulled them from under him he went down with a burst of laughter and tugged Xavier with him. Fortunately the tide was low enough here that it did not simply surge right over their heads. Rayne kissed him again like a starving creature seeking sustenance from his lips.

A wave of contentment washed over Xav, a sensation that was coming entirely from Rayne. Mine! it said, decisively. All mine!

Xavier laughed as well, despite his worries. It was infectious. He let Rayne kiss him and caressed him tenderly as they played in the surf, those feelings that were both possessive and content still rolling over him like the waves. "Alright, alright! Yes, I'm yours." he agreed, still laughing and then pulled the sodden vampire up out of the water finally.

He peeled Rayne out of his shirt and shoes and they flopped down on the blanket together. Laying on their sides facing each other, the little outcrop of scrubby trees shading them from the hot summer sun shining down, Xav leaned in and kissed him again. He radiated back a feeling of happiness and contentment of his own. Rayne had hurt him when he left like he did, hurt him badly...but before that the singer had been so good to him, they fitted so well together and he couldn't forget that either.

"Do you remember this spot now, Rayne?" he asked tentatively as their lips parted again, his voice low and husky.

The look he got back was a long and serious gaze, swallowing up his face, taking its time. At last, to his despair, Rayne shook his head but he reached out before Xavier's face could fall, cupping his cheek in the curl of his long fingers then letting them trail to his neck.

He brushed them lightly over the dimpled bite marks.

"I remember this spot," he whispered, touching one then the other. "And this one. I remember the sea and the smell of salt on the wind and being with you. Who is Palo?"

The question was so unexpected, so out of leftfield that it came as a shock. It wasn't asked with any menace, just a quiet puzzlement that drew Rayne's bird-wing brows together again slightly.

Xavier's eyes dropped, although there really wasn't any reason he should feel ashamed, it wasn't actually a conscious or controllable reaction. He started to say something dismissive and stopped. Rayne would know if he was being brushed off or lied to, and Xavier didn't want to do anything that would endanger the trust they shared, especially not right now. "He was a just guy I met; a model. He works for a photographer named Marco Decellio and I went and did some work for Marco while you were... away."

Rayne nodded slowly, turning all of this over in his head.

"He likes you," he said at length. "He sent you flowers. That's nice isn't it? When someone sends flowers? It's either cos they like you or you're dead, really. You're not dead, so I guess he's quite into you, yeah?"

Xavier stared at a spot on the blanket, unable to bring his eyes up to meet Rayne's.

"There are other reasons to send flowers, Rayne," he said neutrally. "Like when you're trying to buy someone you can't have. Palo only wants me because he thinks I'd look good on his arm, so he can make his friends jealous. If he really liked me he wouldn't have... he wouldn't have treated me like he did."

Rayne licked his lips. They were lying so close that he could almost lean in and lick the tip of Xavier's nose, but he didn't.

"Was that... was that why you were angry with me?" he ventured at last. "I mean... I know you're just being kind to me because you think you have to, yeah?" He shrugged awkwardly and closed his eyes as if it hurt to even see the possible answer in Xavier's face.

"I don't fee like I have to be nice you, Rayne." Xav answered. He had to wonder though, if Rayne had come back under different circumstances, if he had come back and he was himself... would he have forgiven him so easily or so quickly? Would he be talking to him as frankly as he was now? Xavier believed that, yes, he probably would have done, but it would definitely have taken longer, and for sure he would have been much more guarded with Rayne. He gave a little sigh that seemed to match the sound of the wind and waves.

"I was angry with you because you didn't want me Rayne, not because of anything you did wrong. You didn't treat me bad before you left. You never made me do anything I didn't want to do. You never lied to me. You never made any promises you didn't keep. You never made me feel like a piece of meat."

He paused, wishing he could see Rayne's eyes, but maybe it was easier this way. "I was hurt and angry because I love you and you didn't love me back, but that's not your fault."

"I didn't love you?" Rayne looked up at him with a little frown. That had clearly wrong footed him and now he reached out again as if somehow the physical contact would tell him what words alone could not explain. "When the darkness came you were there. Why were you there if I didn't love you? Why did I give you my memories?"

He touched Xavier's neck again, very gently.

Xavier shivered from the touch of his fingers on the sensitive bite marks and just stared at him, not knowing what to say. If you loved me why did you leave me? He wanted to ask but Rayne wouldn't know the answer and... wait. "Hang on... Rayne, what do you mean, you gave me your memories?"

Rayne leaned in and kissed the marks on his neck softly.

"Here," he whispered. "They're here. In your blood, and mine, where I bit you. Maybe not everything, but it's in your blood. I know it. It pulled me back to you."

That little revelation was so startling Xavier pushed himself up on one arm and gawped at Rayne like a fish out of water. "You mean...all you have to do is bite me and you'll get your memory back? Then why haven't you?"

Rayne drew back into himself a little, cradling his head in the crook of one pale arm. He chewed on his lip for a moment.

"I made you unhappy, the way I was before I lost my mind. We're okay now, aren't we? You like me, don't you? Maybe... if I get my memory back, I'll be an arsehole again and maybe you won't want to be with me any more." The words came out of him in a little rush like water spilling from a broken pipe. "I'm scared to bite you," he confessed. "I don't know what will happen if I do."

Xavier continued to stare at him open mouthed for several long moments as the puzzle pieces started to fall into place. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

He hadn't stopped to really think about why Rayne had remembered him when he couldn't remember anything else, or why he'd been so drawn to come and find him. Now he realised it must have been some kind of vampire homing instinct, a back up plan that had kicked in and told him to go and find his last snack so he could pick up his memories. Only now Rayne didn't want to follow through on that instinct because he was afraid he'd remember what an asshole he was to him. It was more likely he'd remember why he'd dumped him in the first place and take off again!

Xav snorted, then chuckled, and then the chuckle turned into a helpless laugh and he fell back on the blanket. He and laughed and laughed until he had tears streaming down his cheeks. How did life get this fucking complicated? And what the fuck was he supposed to do about it? The laughter started to die down and Xavier brought his hands up to cover his face, a sound suspiciously like a sob coming up from his chest. What on earth was he supposed to do?

Wiping his eyes and sniffing as the bout of brief hysteria subsided Xavier turned back to look at Rayne, who was huddled still, watching him, eyes huge and afraid. Xavier swallowed hard and took a shuddering breath.

"Rayne...I-I don't know what will happen if you bite me either. I have my own selfish reasons to want you to stay as you are now. I don't want you to leave me again. I didn't want you to leave before...that's why we argued, that's why you were mad at me. But, I think you should drink from me if it might help you get yourself back to normal. I think you should. You need to be whole again, and you need to know how to take care of yourself. I know you're afraid, but I'm here, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to you if I can help it."

Some of the fear left Rayne's eyes when Xavier finally calmed down. He leaned forward again to touch the younger man's tear-streaked face, then bent over him and kissed him very softly on the lips.

"I think that I chose you for a reason," he said in a quiet voice. "I know that you think I'm no smarter than a little kid. Dominic and the other guys think it too, and that's why they treat me like I'm made of glass, but they're wrong, Xavier. I'm not a child. I remember stuff. It's coming back in little pieces like... something broken and scattered... like I'm picking up bits and thinking yeah, that goes there, you know? But just because I don't remember everything it doesn't mean you can make choices for me and baby me. None of you can. Xavier. I came to you because I wanted to be with you. If you hadn't been there, when... when..." He stopped for a moment and his ashen features actually turned a shade paler as he struggled to say the words and failed. "I'd have been swallowed up," he whispered at last. "I wouldn't have been able to fight it. But you were there and you made me live, I was trying to reach you. Trying so hard!"

There were swirls of blood in the tears that ran down his cheeks and he curled up again, hiding his face in his hands as he struggled to stop them.

Xavier wrapped him in his arms, pulling him close and murmuring soothingly as he caressed his back and shoulders. "Shhhh, it's okay." He tried to reassure him, peppering the top of his head with little kisses. Maybe it was the contact, or maybe Rayne couldn't help letting a little bit slip through, but Xavier was suddenly remembering with him that sucking darkness, and the cold, and the fear, with only one bright spot keeping him hanging on. So tired, and so alone and he just wanted to give up and let go... Xavier shivered despite the heat of the day pressing down on them and his arms tightened protectively around his lover. The lump in his throat was going to choke him and he had to ease it by letting a few more tears go as he held and stroked his hands lightly over Rayne's body.

"Alright, sweetheart, alright," he murmured. "I'm not going to try and make you do anything you don't want to do, okay? We'll do it your way, unless you decide otherwise." He brought his hand to Rayne's chin and lifted his face up to kiss him softly. He put all the warmth and light he could into that one sweet kiss hoping to chase away the dark cold fear that had clutched at him.

Rayne curled around him in response, holding him as close as he dared. He was still afraid of hurting Xavier. Something in his fragmented memories kept on reminding him that he could hurt other people so easily, without even thinking about it. Xavier was precious and needed to be loved and protected. He tried to push that into his thoughts and into the emotions he projected as he answered that gentle kiss with one of his own, then pressed his lips more passionately against the warmth of his lover's open mouth.

"When I was alone in Paris, I thought that I wanted to die," he whispered between Xavier's lips. "But I was wrong, because when Death opened the doors for me, I just wanted to run away. I knew then, how much I wanted to live... how much I still have to do before I can lay down and let the darkness take me."

Rayne's lips pressed to his again and Xavier responded with a slow sensual kiss. He thought for a moment of asking why he had thought he wanted to die, but he didn't really need the answer. He knew it was at least partially to do with him. What was more important was that he had found out that he really didn't want to die after all. They could spend days getting philosophical about life and death and how those boundaries seemed more and more blurred but Xavier was exhausted. All he wanted to do at the moment was enjoy the fact that Rayne was here now, and the feel of his kisses, and the way his hands moved on his body.

Rayne certainly was not unwilling to humour him in that respect. There was nothing childlike in the way that he took Xavier down onto the blanket they had spread over the sand, joined at the lips and all points downward with him. Mouth and fingers explored him rapidly, a spidery caressing that wandered over every inch of his body, stroking and tonguing his flesh, divesting him of his brief swimsuit and nuzzling him with a curious tenderness that was both relaxing and intensely stirring.

"So soft and warm," he whispered into the hollow of Xavier's sharp hip bone, licking the sensitive skin there almost hungrily.

Xavier let out a tumultuous breath. Despite the emotional roller coaster, or maybe even because of it, he was suddenly filled with a hot desire. The edge of Rayne's hair tickled along his stiffening cock and he bit his bottom lip on a soft moan, instantly coming fully erect. His hand caressed Rayne's bare back and shoulders and into his silky dark hair, as if he wanted to do some re-memorising himself.

There might be some gaping holes in Rayne's memory but some things are pure instinct and he certainly had not forgotten how to give pleasure. Soft lips pulled gently on the smooth skin around the base of Xavier's shaft and his ball sac kissing without touching him there, yet. His cool hands ran stealthily up and down the backs of Xavier's flexing thigh muscles, caressing him sweetly as he teased. He sucked in a long breath and inhaled the heady scent of his lover's naked body; fresh sweat and musk mingled with the lighter, sweeter aromas of hot sun-oil on skin.

His mouth was watering and his fangs extended involuntarily as he lipped and kissed Xavier's undulating crotch and lean, powerful thighs.

"Rayne..." His name came out a soft sigh on Xavier's lips and his mate spread his legs a little wider. He was so keyed up he couldn't stay still, his hips flexing longingly toward the sweet mouth that teased along his skin.

His lover's hands shifted Xavier so that his knees were bent and his legs apart, raising him up off the blanket so that his wicked tongue could slide all the way back, following the pulsing vein from the base of his cock to the swell of his puckered ring. Rayne licked up and down the cleft of his arse and teased gently with the little stud before wriggling the tip of his tongue against the entrance to Xavier's fiercely contracting passage.

"Mmmm..." the vampire sighed appreciatively. "So tasty."

"Oh, baby..." Xavier moaned softly, his head tipping back as his neck arched in pleasure. His toes curled involuntarily as Rayne pushed that searching tongue into his orifice, the little stud bumping past his ring making his nerves jangle and twitch. "Oh fuck..." he breathed. It seemed like a lot longer than just a few days since he'd had any sexual gratification. His cock was stone hard on his belly and ached for satisfaction.

Rayne practically wriggled underneath him and turned him slowly onto his side like a turtle righting itself as he kissed his way up each nodule of Xavier's spine and curled around him. His fingertip touched lightly between Xavier's lips as his mouth found the nape of the blond boy's neck and the other hand whispered seductively up and down the aching shaft that jutted up towards Xav's belly.

"This feels so hot," Rayne whispered hoarsely to him.

Xav felt a shiver go down his back from the point where Rayne's lips touched the back of his neck all the way to his tailbone.

"Mmm, yeah...Very hot!" he agreed, pulling Rayne's fingertip into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around the digit. He wriggled the firm smoothness of his buns into the crook of Rayne's crotch.

Snuggled in this position on the rumpled blanket he could feel quite definitely that there was nothing childish about Rayne's Wylde's intentions towards him. The vampire stroked him more firmly as he drew his wet finger from Xavier's mouth and moments later touched it to the moist aperture of his ring. He licked a long line from Xavier's earlobe to the nape of his neck as he slowly pressed his finger into the younger man. Xavier tried to tamp down on his eager impatience but his body wasn't cooperating. He arched and pushed back on that slender invasion like a cat in heat wanting more.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 11



Rayne's probing finger plunged into him fast and deep and with the other hand he vigorously fisted Xavier's cock, burying his face in Xav's sweat-damp blond curls. His hard member was poking Xav in the back now as they writhed together on the blanket.

"I think I've dreamed about doing something like this to you," Rayne growled huskily in his ear.

Xavier's dry chuckle turned into a long moan as Rayne pressed another finger into him, rubbing his most sensitive parts as he stretched him open.

"Not a dream...a memory," Xav got out between panting gasps. "Fuck me, Rayne... I need you...want to feel you inside me."

Rayne was pressed full length against his back and thighs, curling into the heat of his skin and rubbing eagerly against him like an over-friendly tom-cat. He rolled Xavier smoothly onto his belly now and stayed with him, undulating more vigorously astride him on the blanket. As his fingers eased out of Xav's tight channel he stroked the head of his leaking cock determinedly against the moist opening, curling his hips, pushing himself up against his wriggling mate. Xavier's spittle-glossed entrance flexed and yawned like a little sea anemone as it felt the intruder trying to breach its protective maw.

Rayne uttered a frantic little sound as he rose and fell on Xav with increasing urgency, hungry for the heat of his lover's body around his throbbing tool. His recent memories were all of submissive sexual embraces; in Paris with the handsome boy whose name was still frustratingly eluding him, and dark flashes of desperate sex in a closed room, with his limbs tightly restrained. These were mostly mental images of urgent, painful release coupled with a terrible hunger for something that he could not name. He was only aware of the wanting that had consumed him during those nightmare moments.

The little pieces of dreamlike image where he was with Xavier worked both ways, with his lover on top and also writhing energetically under him. Rayne's hands moved to his hips, pulling Xavier against him determinedly as he bucked again. This time he plunged into the blond almost savagely and uttered an involuntary gasp as the holding heat of his lover's flesh sucked him in. Xavier's tight channel holding him in place so that he could do little more than circle his hips wildly against his lover's naked cheeks, trying to work himself deeper into the tunnel of pulsating meat and muscle between them.

A little cry forced it's way past Xav's lips and he reached a hand back, gripping at Rayne's hip to still him for a second. The unrestrained passion had him turned on like nothing else, but he had been tenser than he realized and he was so tight that the rough penetration made him hiss through his teeth.

"Use the suntan oil," he suggested in a strained voice, and was relived to immediately feel the lush, almost hot, lubrication drizzled between his cheeks, easing the entry of Rayne's throbbing erection.

He moaned huskily and a wave of pure pleasure rolled over him as Rayne surged deeper until he was buried all the way to his balls. Xavier's fingers curled into the blanket and he lifted his hips, rolling to meet Rayne's thrusts as they moved smoothly together now.

"Oh yesss..." he hissed. "Rayne, oh-mmm-god...!"

The breathless instruction was timely, for Rayne had already been turning over in his mind how he might possibly make their union smoother and the application of sweetly scented oil also filled his nostrils with the most delicious array of olfactory pleasures. He relaxed at once and very quickly he and Xavier were moving against one another with uninhibited passion that neither had believed possible just a short while earlier.

Xavier's gasping exhortations only lent steel to his hard-on as he bucked himself rapidly against the younger man's rippling body, keeping him pinned down for the time being as he rode each powerful wave of Xav's spine. His lips found the delicious heat of his lover's neck, just below the lobe of his ear and he kissed and suckled on the tiny dimples of flesh where once his fangs had ridden the vein. Again they extended and it was harder this time; harder not to give in and taste the sweetness of Xavier's hot blood.

Xavier felt those two delicious little points of pleasure throb with anticipation, and he too had a hard time not begging Rayne to do it. He craved his lover's bite almost as much as he craved his body and the pleasure it brought him. He moved with Rayne, his head spinning and his body humming and it was so good he practically couldn't stand it.

"I need to do this," Rayne groaned low in his ear, stroking slow and deep inside him. His words were a lustful buzz against the rapid pulse in Xavier's neck. "I don't think I can stop myself. Oh god, Xav... I don't know who I am. I have to do this. I have to bite you."

Xavier let out an incoherent tumble of words. He was so close to coming he was incapable of any kind of rational thought.

"Please, Rayne..." he whimpered, although he wasn't even sure what he was asking for. His body knew though. His body throbbed and his blood pulsed darkly in his veins with what he wanted.

It was enough. Rayne closed his eyes as he bit down hard, the small, sharp spikes of his teeth sinking cleanly into hot, salty, yielding flesh. He folded himself around Xavier like a serpent, driving into him even as the rush of blood filled his mouth and an explosive climax rocked his whole body.

It was like falling into someone else's dream. He was overcome by the sense of Xavier's painful need, his hunger for their connection and the uncontrollable lust that responded to his embrace and to his urgent thrusting.

The heat of his lover's blood welled up and filled his awareness then, filling his head with so many images that they invaded his senses like unchecked pop-ups on a computer screen. One after the next they bombarded him; scenes of Xavier; of himself and Xav wrapped around one another; of other men with Xavier, men who clearly meant him no good; of a life before he even knew that Xav existed, and flashes of a life that he was almost sure was not his own. Blood, sex, death and violence chased themselves around his head until his jaws released Xavier's neck and he screamed out loud.

The moment the needle sharp jabs of Rayne's canines sank into his skin, deep into his vein, Xavier felt the climax hit him like a runaway train. He hadn't any barriers up at all, and everything was laid bare at Rayne's feet. He had no control over it, and didn't even try; he just let him take every bit he needed, until he lay exhausted and spent in the wake of his lover's turmoil. He could not even muster the strength to move when Rayne lifted his head and screamed, he could only sprawl beneath him feeling both incredibly sated and distantly unnerved. Tears tracked down his cheeks again, unnoticed, but even had he heeded them he could not have explained why they were there.

Rayne collapsed against Xavier's naked back, gasping and whining urgently, overwhelmed by the sense of absolute horror that came with the flood of memories. Beyond the mirrors of Xavier's nightmares - the scenes of his mother lying dead as he tried to wake her; the men who took advantage with her helpless knowledge; the more recent nightmares of San Francisco and his torment at the hands of a vampire named Steffen - Rayne recovered a dark seam of memories that he had never even dreamed could exist. He rolled off Xavier and sprawled on his back, panting like a dying animal as, one after another, men mounted and took him, in quick succession. All of them holding him down, driving into him, telling him that he was worth nothing more than this. And he knew their faces and their names; that was the worst of it. He remembered every single one of them. Every man that had used him like a whore and cast him aside. The looks on the faces of each woman who had turned him away as soiled goods, not fit to be with her. His own memories and Xavier's blurred into one another until he could not separate them.

In all the flood of memories probably took no longer than a couple of minutes to surge over and through him but to Rayne it felt like a lifetime. He rolled onto his side, buried his face in the cage of his uplifted arms and wept like a child. Was this what he was?

Was this ALL that he was?

But even as the sobs were choked down and he fought to control his emotions he could still feel the helpless sorrow that radiated up and off Xavier, who was curled beside him. Rayne swallowed the salt of his tears and rolled over, cautiously reaching out for him now, sliding his hands over the blond youth's trembling shoulders, ready to be pushed away. He understood now why he feared Xavier's disdain.

He had no right to ask anything of the boy. Xav had suffered too and he had triumphed over his suffering. And he deserved better than Rayne Wylde. As they curled together on the beach towel though, both utterly shell-shocked and left almost paralysed by the reopening of old wounds, something curious happened. The trail of memories did not stop there. It bloomed and flowered and suddenly Rayne was back in the shadows of a small, San Francisco club, watching in amazement as the lithe, golden body of his mate gyrated impossibly on the stage below, taking his dark, lonely music and creating something unbelievably beautiful from it. He remembered how the sight of the gorgeous, restless, beautiful young man on the stage had made him think of the sun coming up, soft, golden tendrils invading the darkness and driving it away.

Xavier always felt that way to him. Amazing really to believe that there was so much darkness inside him when to Rayne he represented the light. And then he was forced to wonder, was that how Xavier saw him? Or did he just see the shadows and the despair that Rayne felt whenever he looked in the mirror? Whatever it was, he was inexorably drawn to it, like a bee to honey.

Still weeping silently Xavier slid into his arms, pressing his face to his chest and nuzzling into the side of his neck, both giving and needing the comfort desperately.

"I'm sorry, Rayne, I'm so sorry. I should have tried harder to keep it from you."

"No," Rayne groaned huskily into his soft curls. His voice was raw and painful but he held Xavier with tender gratitude, wanting to be close to him. "It's not your fault. I should never have bitten you in the first place. I hurt you and I took you to places you didn't need to go. Can you forgive me?"

Xavier lifted his face to look at Rayne, his hands coming up to cup his cheeks and his thumbs brushing away the tear tracks there. He wanted to tell him how much he loved him, but the words were stuck in his throat, to afraid of what it might cause and he couldn't handle any more today, he just couldn't. Not that it wasn't all there for Ray to feel anyway.

Xav kissed his lips tenderly. "Just don't die on me again, okay?" he said, with a wan little smile.

Rayne curled around him a little tighter, touching his mouth more insistently and gratefully to Xavier's quivering lips. The words reminded him sharply of sinking into the darkness; of being in a place that he had no desire to return to, physically or emotionally, for the time being.

"I'll try my hardest not to," he responded in a small, hoarse voice. "So long as you stick around for a while to keep me from making an idiot of myself, yeah?"

Xavier closed his eyes for a moment and kissed the wrist of the hand that touched his face as he nodded. He opened his eyes again to look at Rayne intently.

"Are you alright? Do you remember...everything, now?"

Rayne looked back at him solemnly. He shook his head a little, shivering with pleasure at the brush of Xavier's soft lips on his wrist.

"It's still... vague. I... I dunno. The memories are there now. I can feel them. I know who I am, what I am. If you asked me a question I figure I could find the answer in there somewhere but... I don't know. Something must have happened to me while I was down and I can't figure it out. I think it changed something inside me but I don't understand how." He leaned over Xav, just wanting to kiss him again; to feel the warm presence of the boy's mouth on his.

Xavier shifted slightly, letting Rayne push him to his back. He was happy to sink into the warm kiss and his fingers moved to the back of Rayne's neck, massaging the tense muscles there gently. They kissed languidly, in no hurry, simply reacquainting themselves with the taste and feel of one another's lips and tongue. When Rayne moved to kiss along his jaw Xavier's sigh was like a contented purr.

"I missed you," he whispered.

Rayne's little smile was actually rather pleased.

"Yeah?" he murmured languidly. "If you're gonna miss me this much maybe I should go away more often. I like this kind of 'welcome home'."

He stroked Xavier's neck with his lips and tugged gently with his teeth on the lobe of his lover's ear as they moved against one another slowly on the blanket. Xav wanted to leave it at that, after all, Rayne hadn't immediately decided he should leave again now that he had some of his memory back, like Xav had feared he might. He had even said he wanted Xavier to stick around...but that fight they'd had came back to him. The hurt and anger he'd carried around with him for the last couple of weeks was still raw, despite the fact that he still loved Rayne and didn't want to be anywhere else but in his arms right now. He didn't want any crap between them coming up to fuck with his head later.

"So...so, you don't want to leave again? I mean, I know, eventually... but when you go, should I be making other plans, or what?" He said it as evenly as he could, he wasn't trying to lock Rayne into anything, he just wanted to know where he stood, no guesses, no assumptions.

Rayne moved up and over him, his lips touching Xavier's so that he breathed the words into his mouth almost soundlessly.

"You brought me back. I'm not ready to run away again just yet. Can't we enjoy this? You and me, here, now?"

Xavier gave him a little smile and kissed him lightly. "I'm not trying to tie you down, Rayne, that's not where I was I going. It's okay, and yeah, we can just enjoy now."

His hands whispered down Rayne's sleek sides and up his naked back as he kissed him again and then again, with more heat. He was up for whatever Rayne wanted right now.

"I don't ever want to hurt you," Rayne told him with a little shake of his dark locks. "I know that when I went away, I left you feeling like... like... I never want to be responsible for making you feel like that again," he exhaled in a rush. "Maybe I can't always be what you'd like me to be but I never want to hurt you like that again. Do you get it?"

"Yeah, I do. I get it." His smile was a little less sad this time, a little less uncertain. He had other questions, a thousand of them, but they could wait. Everything else could wait. Right now they had the sun and the sand and the sea and each other and it really would be a shame to waste all of that. Xavier pulled Rayne back down into his embrace, kissing him harder.

Rayne was certainly not reluctant to plunge back in. His tongue slid wetly between Xavier's lips, and his mouth moved against his mate's with renewed vigor as they rolled together on the blanket. Gentle hands stroked possessively over Xavier's long, lean back as Rayne lay down on him, pressed up full length against him with one slender thigh between Xav's legs so that his stiffening cock rubbed up in the hollow of his lover's pelvis.

He circled his hips, grinding himself against Xavier with a low, hungry moan, kissing him harder and deeper.

Xavier's hands moved up and down Rayne's spine and shoulders, his caresses both soothing and arousing when they slid lower to circle around his hips and knead the taut globes of his backside. His kisses matched Rayne's in feverish intensity and hungry longing. Moving with Rayne's slow undulations his cock hardened, flushed with need again, desire rushing back into him like the waves running up on the beach.

To his surprise, Rayne moved up astride him, manoeuvering so that Xavier slipped between his thighs then coming down to resume the passionate clash of lips as he rubbed the hot, pulsing head of Xav's erection slowly between his firm cheeks.

With a hot groan of pleasure Xavier rolled his hips smoothly in the cleft of his sexy partner's gorgeous little ass. Groping with one hand he found the bottle of oil without even looking and let a thin drizzle run down between Rayne's silky cheeks. The oil was so warm and slippery Xavier felt a jolt of heat run through him as he slipped more easily into that inviting valley. His hands gripped Rayne's cheeks and he shifted his hips, quivering a little as he angled up against his impossibly tiny hole and pushed the slick head of his cock inside.

A hard groan reverberated in his chest and his fingers flexed and tightened on the firm ass in his hands as he sunk a little deeper.

Rayne closed his eyes and keened softly through his teeth as he felt Xav slide into him. It was so easy with him, like they were two parts of a machine, designed to work together like this. He barely had to think about what he was doing. Bracing himself with his hands on Xavier's shoulders and his knees straddling the blond's lean mid-section he rocked back slowly into his lover's slow thrust, letting Xavier stretch and fill him in a deeply satisfying way.

"Uuuhhhhhh... yes-s-s-s!" he hissed eagerly, throwing his head back as he wriggled down lower on Xavier's cock. "That feels really, really amazing!"

"Mmmm, yeah..." Xavier groaned his agreement. With his heels planted he bucked a little harder, sliding his throbbing shaft into Rayne deeper. "Ohhh, yes..." he panted, sweat beading on his skin as he moved in slow strokes in and out of him. "I love this, love being inside you..." His hands caressed Rayne's angular hips and perky ass as he watched his beautiful lover ride him.

As Rayne's head came down so that his gaze could lock back on to Xavier's, his eyes glowed a soft, ethereal green in the shadows of his tumbling, sable hair. His (academically) breathless smile bared the glistening precision points of those neat little dog-teeth. Each upward stroke drove a low, hungry growl from his lips and the heavy, tapered head of his own rigid sex nodded responsively against the pale, scarred flesh of his belly. The flex of his abdominals as he rose and fell on Xavier's lance only made those fading claw-marks dance like flames over his creamy skin.

Xavier's pace quickened as he drove all the way inside him, again and again. He took one of his hands from Rayne's hip so he could wrap his fingers around the turgid cock jutting at him and stroke in time with the rhythm of his thrusts. He swept his thumb over the slick end, rubbing there for a moment before he brought it to his lips, licked the salty taste of him off for a quick taste before wrapping the hand around his shaft again.

For a moment Rayne swayed forward on his knees, his hands moving to Xavier's loose blond curls, torn between the desire to impale himself more deeply on his lover's hot, pulsing shaft and the heady pleasures of plunging himself into Xav's mouth.

"Uhhhhh... Jesus Christ! I don't know how you do that to me but I'm so glad you do!" he panted, his eyes almost black with arousal. He was practically melting into Xavier's embrace. "Uhhnnnn... Xav... Christ! Fuck me! Please! Fuck me hard."   

Fire flushed through Xavier, hot and swift, setting him ablaze with lust. In one smooth motion he wrapped his arms tightly around Rayne and rolled, hardly even breaking his stroke. Rayne's back hit the blanket and Xav hooked his arms under his knees, hitching them up almost to his shoulders as he bent between them to claim his lover's mouth possessively. His hips pistoned like a man on a mission, every thrust hitting hard and deep inside his writhing, restless mate.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 11



Rayne cried out desperately with every stab into his clenching loins. He slid his heels over Xavier's shoulders in perfect submission to him, riding each vigorous stroke as he undulated on the ground, rucking up the blanket, raking his fingers through the sand as he searched for something to cling to whilst Xavier was taking him higher. The urgent thrumming in his colon and his balls was driving him into orbit and it felt as though he would take off at any minute if he didn't cling to the ground beneath him for all he was worth.

"Ogodogodogod! So good baby! That's so fuckin'good!" he panted, the words rising to a feverish whine as the thumping probe in his sensitive channel ground and bucked him to the very limits of his control.

If the sand opened up under them and the world fell apart at that very moment Xavier wouldn't have noticed. His arms locked around Rayne tightly, his fingers curled over his shoulders from behind, pulling him down with each upward thrust of his hips to get that much harder and deeper inside. Although he didn't have Rayne's craving for blood, the primal instinct still drove him to nip the side of his lover's throat and place a sucking kiss there as he was spiraling out of control. If Rayne needed to hold on to the earth below, then he was Xavier's anchor.

"Uhhh! Gonna come...!" he panted. "Oh, babe, gonna come so deep inside you..." he got out as he bucked hard and the first pulses of orgasm burst through him.

Rayne rippled against him like a wave made flesh. For just a handful of seconds everything was liquid. Xavier's teeth pinching the skin of his neck sent shivers of heat through his veins and he thrashed like a netted tiger. Then Xavier impaled him to the root, over and over and over and he burst, unable to control the furious impulses inside him any longer.

He made a sound that could have been torn from a machine by metal claws. Then he was splashing wetly against Xavier's heaving ribs and abdomen, feeling his lover sink like a dead weight in his arms, a drowning angel wrapped in the wraithlike embrace of arms and legs that no longer had muscles to control.

His mouth tried to make words but it seemed full of weeds, a strangely inanimate orifice that flapped meaninglessly and spilled out strange, helpless noises as he tried to pull Xavier's delicious heat closer.

For long blissful moments that was how they stayed, wrapped around each other in a tangle of limbs and heaving chests trying to regain some sense of the world around them. Xavier had his face buried at the crook of Rayne's neck, his hot breath blowing in little gasps across his skin. At some point he moved his arm, bringing a hand up to cup the side of Rayne's face and brush aside the long loose tendrils of his hair.

He finally lifted himself up, kissing Rayne slow and sweetly before carefully disengaging and rolling onto his back. A lazy, very satisfied smile curled his lips as he looked up at the tree limbs swaying gently in the breeze. His fingers curled around Rayne's as they lay side by side and let the calm after the passionate storm wash over them.

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010

To be concluded... in CHAPTER TWELVE.



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 12



© Sadie Rose Bermingham & Bellora Quinn 2010

"Hello again, lovely people, this chapter turned out very long so forgive us for the slight delay. I know I said it would be the last but because of the length there will be a little epilogue as well. We like things to flow nicely.

By now you should all know that these stories contain shameless vampirism and boy-on-boy sexiness, but just in case you don't... there's your final warning. Hope you enjoy it.

As per usual, don't take our words without asking or crediting us as authors. We work hard on the stories and it's really very rude."

XX S&B

Chapter Twelve

As One Door Closes....

They had left to come down to the beach around mid morning, and it was now late afternoon. Xavier supposed they should be getting back, although it was hard to convince his body he needed to move. He was so happy and contended at that moment he couldn't help radiating that feeling to his partner.

After a little while, when the fierce post-orgasmic tremors seizing his body had begun to fade to a gentle hum of sensual satisfaction, Rayne rolled languidly onto his side again so that he could look at Xavier. His fingers were still twined through the warm tendrils of Xav's hand. He thought that he had never seen a sight quite so beautiful in his life as that of his naked, breathless mate lying sprawled beside him, his hair damp and his lean, golden body glistening with sweat and semen.  "I still don't get it," he sighed with a little shake of his head that turned Xavier's luminous azure gaze abruptly back to meet his own.

"Hmm? What don't you get?" Xav asked, in a sated almost sleepy voice that matched his expression perfectly.

"Why the hell did I leave you here?" Rayne asked in a quiet, smoky tone, his pale eyes heartbreakingly clear and solemn. "I must have been out of my mind."  He drew Xavier's fingers to his cool, wet lips and kissed them almost reverently.

Xavier could have left the question as rhetorical but answered anyway.

"Because you got freaked out, and for some reason thought dumping me was the right thing to do." He managed not to sound bitter, but hints of hurt still curled stealthily around the words.

Rayne's face said that he felt that jab, and that it hurt but he ducked it carefully.  "I can't remember anything about it, except that you were angry and so was I," he said instead. "I remember that I wanted to take care of you, Xavier. But having been with you today, I wonder if you really need taking care of."  His eyes moved back to Xavier's sleepy, curious gaze and he smiled almost awkwardly. The expression left his face looking so young and so vulnerable.

Unbidden and unwanted the memory of their fight came back to Xavier. He'd been feverish and hung over and he'd woken to find Rayne packing, and known without being told that he wasn't being invited to come along. He'd been so hurt and so angry at the abruptness of it that he'd stormed out. Dominic and Aldo had been well meaning in trying to push them together to talk, but Rayne wouldn't be persuaded that he might be wrong for running away and Xavier didn't want to hear his excuses. The end of that argument was fuzzy for Xavier too, but he did remember that Rayne had wanted to hurt him, wanted to drive home his point and push him away. He'd held him down and bitten him without any of the usual sensuality he put into it and drained him to the point where he was dizzy, nauseous, and wavering out of consciousness.

After that he really didn't remember what had happened either, until he woke up three days later. Rayne had gone and all he had left was that skin-crawling, empty longing that had been every bit as painful and maddening as going cold off drugs had been.

"Maybe it's better you don't remember," Xavier said. "I'd rather just forget it too," he added, lifting his head enough to kiss Ray gently.

Rayne accepted the kiss but he looked at Xavier for a long while afterwards as if he suspected that the younger man knew more than he was saying. Ghost memories nagged at him, little fragments of things that he still could not quite link together. Everything had made much more sense since he fed from Xavier but still there were spaces in his recall that he could not fill.  He needed blood and that urge felt so natural to him that he could not even begin to believe that not everyone felt that way. Xavier had tried to bite him whilst they were making love so the impulse had to be there in everyone, surely. He could not shake the little ripple of hostility that he got from his mate whenever the subject of his departure was raised however.  Maybe he would talk to Dominic about it later.  He touched the tip of his nose gently to Xavier's and returned the kiss.  "If that's what you want," he lied easily enough.

Xav knew Rayne was not satisfied with that, but he let it go as Rayne seemed willing to do the same. His fingers trailed down Rayne's chest and abdomen, over the tracery of scars there. "Do you remember now, what happened?" he asked softly. "Who did this?"

The little vampire glanced down at the markings across his torso and belly incuriously as if it was inconceivable that they would not be there.  "I was taken," he said casually, as if it did not matter any more than having his wallet snatched. "He was a fuckin' animal!"  A small, feral grin split his face briefly then waned when he saw Xavier's expression did not mirror his own.

A small frown appeared between Xavier's brows. At times he could be dense, but other times things just fell into place like a line of dominos pushed over. Rayne had said that when he was in Paris he had thought he wanted to die, and Dominic and Mikka had known exactly where to go looking for him.

"You looked for someone to hurt you," Xav said, not in an accusatory tone, it was just a statement. He knew it was true, and where most people might have asked why he had gone looking for it, Xav did not have to. It really did feel like they were two sides of a coin sometimes. Xavier knew too well how it felt when you hurt so much inside that you wanted to find a way to punish the pain away. It seemed Rayne had found someone to do that for him, but apparently they took it a little farther than he had planned. The small, puzzled frown on Xavier's face hardened into anger.

"You went to a pro and they did this to you?" Xav breathed in soft outrage as his hand touched the fading scars. "Fuckin' idiots!"

He snorted and shook his head. He knew people back home who were heavily into BDSM and there were definite rules within that particular sub culture. Xav was well versed in them, and not just as an innocent bystander. Whoever Rayne had gone to had fucked up big time.

"Ssshhhhh," Rayne exhaled, letting his fingers trace the smooth contours of Xavier's face tenderly. "It doesn't matter. I gave him... what d'you call it? A clean slate? Carte blanche? And this..." he looked down at the scars again almost dismissively. "This is nothing. It's not what took my memory. If he hadn't been such a pro maybe it would have killed me. But the scars will fade. Don't be angry, sweetheart."  He leaned in to kiss Xav's lips again, soft and placatory.

It was hard to resist that kiss, but he did, causing Rayne to back up a second and look down at him again. Xavier was willing to let a lot of things slip and just forgive and forget, but he held onto this a bit more stubbornly, probably because it was much easier to be angry on Rayne's behalf rather than rage directly at his lover.

"Wait a second. You just told him... what? That he could do whatever he wanted? No limits? You didn't even give him a safe word? And instead of questioning your mental health he decided to slice you to ribbons. That's just fuckin'..." He made a disgusted sound, unable to come up with a suitable description of what he thought of someone that would do that.

"Xav, I asked for it..."

"I don't care." Xavier cut him off firmly, sitting up and looking at Rayne very directly. "If someone came up to you on the street and said 'hey, I'm just tired of it all, be a pal and slit my throat for me.' would you do it? No! You don't do something like that because the person's either nuts or just in a bad place and will probably get over it with help. You don't just do whatever the hell you want to them and call it ok because they asked for it."

He stopped for a second but his temper had the better of him right then. Those dominos were still toppling and he was remembering how it had felt when he'd woken up, screaming and sliding into shock, knowing that something inhumanly terrible had happened to Rayne.

"You put yourself in someone else's hands and he took advantage of you not giving him any boundaries, and then after he got his kicks he just wandered off and let some crazy get a hold of you while you couldn't do anything about it. That's not a pro, that's not even a responsible amateur, that's a total fuckwit by any definition and I'd really like to tell the asshole so."

"Xavier, I can't speak for the guy that..." Rayne caught his breath and it was clear even without words that he still could not talk about the moment when he knew he would die. It was just too hard. But he kept on stroking Xavier's face with that same tenderness. "The scars... these scars on my body, they are... a rite of passage, if you like. They will fade. If any mortal had made them with a knife they'd be gone already. The... the creature that did this to me was not human, and he knew what I was. He knew that this would not kill me. And when I woke and I saw these marks it would give me something to think about. He couldn't have known that another man would come back and do what he did to me out of total spite, Xavier. Henning's not human but that doesn't make him a god."  He swallowed in the face of Xavier's bristling anger that refused to subside. "I hoped that if anyone would understand me, then that person would be you."

For a moment it seemed that Xavier wasn't going to let go of this rage, he drew a breath and his lips parted to flash something back, but then he blew out again slowly and pulled Rayne close, leaning in until their foreheads touched. He blinked once.

"Yeah, I understand why you needed it," he said softly. Rayne was right, he understood perfectly. "Sometimes the guilt or the anger or the hurt just gets to be too much and you have to do something to let it out and feel clean again. I know what that feels like. It's just... that kind of extreme is... hard for me to think about."

He didn't want to think about anyone hurting Rayne that much. Instead he wrapped his arms back around him and buried his face at the side of his throat, just breathing him in for a few moments. When he lifted his head again a little smile was on his lips and some of the sparkle had come back into his eyes.

"You missed me," he said with a little grin.

Rayne's cheek was soft and cool against his own. He turned his face slowly so that they rubbed against one another, noses and lips brushing softly, not quite kissing but deeply intimate. The change of mood was like the steady incoming tide, soothing and cooling his anxieties.  "I dreamed about you a lot," Rayne whispered. "You were in my head so much. I could feel you, even hundreds of miles away."  He did not add that he also knew, somehow, that this could be a dangerous thing. There were other shadows, other memories and not all of them were so sweet as his time with Xavier. He did not want to think about them, so he shut them out.

It was on the tip of Xavier's tongue to utter those three little words, they were right there in his throat, but he swallowed them down again because he was still afraid of how Rayne would react. Instead he kissed him, long and slow and deep, his hands creeping up to cup his face and slide into his hair, fingers caressing along his scalp.  When their lips parted again Xavier searched Rayne's eyes, grown dark and luminous again. There was easiness between them now though, alongside the sexual intensity that couldn't be denied. Smiling, Xavier pulled Rayne up by his hands.

"Come on, let's go take a dip in the sea again before we have to head back," he coaxed.  They both moved towards the water in unison, picking up their pace over the hot sand until they were almost running, and tumbled naked and laughing into the surf to cool off and wash some of the stickiness away. They stayed in the sea for a while, swimming and floating and just fooling around. By the time they got out the sun was sinking on the horizon and the close contact and relaxed atmosphere had them both thinking about another tumble across the blanket. But they'd already stayed down here all day and Xavier at least was getting hungry. With the mutual agreement that they could always slip off to bed early, they packed up their things and headed back up toward the villa.

As they walked hand in hand, back up the cliff path to the house, the difference in both of them was immediately apparent. The cloud of worried tension and unspoken hurt had lifted from Xavier and his easy smile was more like it used to be. Rayne seemed more sure of himself and far less confused then when they had left for the beach several hours before.

In fact Rayne was happy. He could not remember the last time he had felt so very much at ease. With the clouds of his enforced ignorance had come a kind of gentle acceptance of the pleasures to be found in this life. He still worried a little over the darker flashes of memory that wound through his thoughts but he shut them out. Today had been so beautiful, so intensely satisfying. Perhaps now he could even let the darkness slip into the past. Perhaps, finally it would let him be.

PJ was sitting by the pool reading a magazine when Ray and Xavier walked back up the steps from the beach, their fingers still loosely entwined. He glanced up, then smiled to see the looks of simple pleasure on both their young faces.  "Someone's had a good day," he chuckled.

Xavier's little smile broke into a grin.

"I helped Rayne remember some things," he said airily.

"Is that so?" Paddy chuckled warmly. "Must have been some pretty good things, judging by the blissed-out look on his face."  "Wasn't bad," Rayne conceded, almost sounding like his old, cocky self again as he stood poised by the edge of the pool, one hand on his hip, the other running slowly up and down Xavier's bared back.

Xavier rolled his eyes but he kissed Rayne's cheek. "I'm gonna go get something to eat."

 He'd wrapped a towel around his waist before they'd walked up, but two sets of eyes still watched his lean supple body move with fluid grace across the patio before disappearing inside.  Xav found the kitchen empty and picked up a pear out of the bowl of fruit on the counter top. He leaned one hip against the edge and looked out the window contemplatively while he took a bite and chewed. Blissed-out, yeah, that pretty much summed up his mood, he thought with a smile.

He heard the unshod footsteps on the tiles behind him as he was munching but did not turn until he felt a deft set of fingers grab his towel then flick it lightly across his bared ass.  "You are a fantastic colour," Aldo teased. "You been out there tanning your sexy behind all the day? I don't see any lines."

"Hey!" Xavier protested, but it didn't have much effect because he couldn't completely rid himself of the silly grin on his face. He groped for the towel but his friend teasingly held it just out of reach. Aldo was right about the sun of course, his skin still radiated heat from all he had soaked up. His fair skin didn't get the dark bronze of Aldo's Mediterranean hide, but turned a deeper golden colour the more sun he got, and right now he was definitely glowing sunkissed gold from head to toe.  "Come on, Aldo." Xav laughed as he reached for the towel again.  The handsome Italian finally relented and gave it back to him. Xav wrapped it low on his hips again.

"Rayne's a little better," he related casually. "I think he's remembering more now."

"And that's what you want, is it?" Aldo moved a shade closer so that his unclad body was able to rub gently on Xavier's as he leaned his hands on the counter to either side of the blond, boxing him in playfully. "For him to remember, and everything to go back to what it was?"  The look in his dark eyes was a challenge, but an easy smile still pulled at his lips.

Xavier held his eyes for a moment, and then he looked away, turning his head slightly to one side and unknowingly drawing attention to the renewed dimples on the slim line of his neck that clearly showed a recent feed. He didn't know how to answer Aldo. It was...complicated. Some of the happy light faded from him though, like watching a cloud cross over the sun.  "He needed to remember who he is, Aldo," Xav said quietly. "At least that. It wouldn't be right to keep it from him." He swallowed but brought his eyes back up to meet the older man's solemn, sceptical stare again. "He says he came back because he wanted to; because he wanted to be with me. But how am I supposed to know if that's real, or just something he was confused about unless he remembers everything properly?"

For a moment Aldo bristled but then his expression softened and his hands came up to gently cup Xavier's face, bringing the younger man's blue eyes back to meet his own. He wanted Xavier to see that he was not angry, just concerned. And not only about Xav, which the younger man understood with a little rush of shock and relief. He was not sure if it was the bites and the renewed contact with Rayne that let him read Aldo so well, or just that something was happening to him.  He was changing, that was for sure. His experience with the young vampire, Nicolas had told him as much. Nicholas had seen something in him right away that marked him out as more than just food.  "You're still in love with him, aren't you?" Xavier whispered, feeling the little ripples of worry start up in his chest again. "That's why you were so angry."  "Is it that obvious?" Aldo asked with a wan smile.

Xav gave his head a tiny shake. "Maybe not to everyone," he said in that same soft voice, feeling awkward and unsure now.

What did you say to someone that loves the same man you do? Should he ask what Aldo wanted? He wasn't sure he was ready to know. What if what Aldo wanted was for Xavier to get out of his way? He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that! Almost anything else he would do for him, because Aldo really had been good to him and Xav did care about him, but not that.  Xavier felt the sting of tears in his eyes again, he just seemed to have no control over his emotions today. He couldn't help it, he could feel the hurt in the older man, although Aldo was much better at hiding it than he was.

Aldo's hands slid down past Xav's shoulders and strong arms moved around him at once, pulling him close.  "Hey, no tears," he warned mock sternly. "Not over me. The idea of you coming here was to chill out and have a good time, remember? That still stands. Yeah, I love him, okay? Always have done. Even if he is an idiot! Even if he doesn't have any idea what's best for him. And I know you look at him and you see the awesome little guy I saw all those years ago when we first met, and the dark angel PJ sees every time he looks at Rayne. You see past the barriers, si?"  He kissed the sun-warmed thatch of blond curls affectionately.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 12



Barriers! Yeah, right now Xav needed some of those too, but he was having a hard time blocking things out. He was picking up more than just Aldo's mood. He hadn't really been paying attention, but he was getting something from just about everyone in the house and it was making his nerves jangle.  He wanted to burrow into Aldo's comforting embrace, but he drew back gently instead. He had to pull himself together. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but it didn't help much. Aldo's question still bothered him. Did he want things to just go back to what they were before Rayne left? Not exactly, but he didn't know what he wanted instead.  "Yeah, I see past the barriers," Xavier finally answered. "But I don't know if that means much." He gave a little shrug. "I don't know what to think right now."

"You know, if you weren't sure... no one would think any the worse of you," Aldo told him gravely. "It's a big commitment to make, when you don't even know if he'll ever get over what happened. And we still don't know all the answers to that question either."

Xavier looked stung by that initial point, for a second and then shook his head. "I know I want to be with him, Aldo."

"That's your call, no one's going to force you either way, caro," the older man reassured him. "I just wanted you to know that whatever you decide, nobody's going to think badly of you, that's all."  A shadow passed into the halo of light from the doorway and they both looked automatically towards it. Rayne's hands were resting either side of the portal and he looked quizzically from one to the other now.  "Xavier can make up his own mind what he wants," the vampire said quietly now, his tone slightly strained. "He doesn't need any help."

A crooked little smile curled Xavier's lips as he looked over at Rayne and his features softened into something sweetly angelic. There really wasn't anything for him to decide, as far as he was concerned. He'd already made up his mind and it wasn't hard for anyone to see. He wore his heart on his sleeve like a big target, but that was just how he was. It would have been nice to know what came next, but he supposed Rayne wasn't in any kind of place to even know that himself. So it was like they'd returned to that strange sort of limbo before Rayne had left, where neither wanted to take a look at the future too closely.  Before either Aldo or Xav had a chance to respond another voice came from the opposite entry way, this one a tad more disgruntled.

"He might not need anyone's help, but at least someone is trying to make him see sense!" Chavez said. The Mexican youth looked far from happy as he came into the room. "You change your mind and come back, like nothing happened, Wylde. Like a doctor didn't have to come and make sure Xav still had enough blood left as he got sicker and sicker! Like he didn't have screaming nightmares every night over you! Like he didn't cry his eyes out for days..."  "Chavez..." Xavier tried to interrupt. He looked as desperately embarrassed as he felt.  Dark Latino eyes turned to him, sparking fire. "And he comes strolling back in and snaps his fingers at you and you're falling all over yourself to make him happy. Estupido! Like you learned nothing."

Rayne stared at the handsome Mexican youth incredulously.  "Can you hear yourself?" he exclaimed with a shake of his head. "Fuckin' green-eyed monster or what? I make him happy and none of you can get your fuckin' heads round that, can you?"  He let go of the doorposts and stalked right across the room towards Chavez with a purposeful stride that had both Xav and Aldo anxious that he would do their friend some real damage. To his credit Chavez stood his ground.  "The only green eyed monster around here is you, Wylde. And you know that!" He jabbed a finger into Rayne's chest as the little vampire came to a halt, directly in front of him.  Aldo winced.

Xavier's teeth were on edge and his skin felt like it was going to crawl off his body. He imagined he was trying to breathe syrup, the air was so thick and hot around him. On some level he realized he was still picking up emotional crap from everyone else, but that was like a distant awareness that he couldn't really bring into focus. All he could think of at the moment was the anxiety and anger that were pounding through him like hammer blows and he was hanging onto it by a thread. A part of his brain, the one that overrode the desire to beat someone to a pulp when you were pissed, or stop a full blown panic attack when you were freaked out, seemed to be completely on the fritz. He closed his eyes and desperately tried to envision a sold brick wall around him to block everything, the way that Dominic had taught him, but for some reason it wasn't working. Or... it was but only one way.

Right now though he couldn't run away and he couldn't block them out so he was just going to have to deal.

"Okay... just stop! Everyone, just stop it." He tried not to shout like Chavez wanted to, or sneer like Rayne was doing in his head, or even placate like Aldo was thinking of doing. God, this must be what it was like to go completely nuts, Xav thought frantically. Walking a very thin edge of control, he brought his gaze to Chavez.

"I know you don't like Rayne, and I know why, and it didn't start with me. I'm not blind, and I'm not stupid, Valentin. He can be with PJ and you can't and it drives you crazy, but it's still my choice who I'm with. I wonder if you realize that half your attraction to me is because you just want to put Rayne's nose out of joint. It's not very flattering, so knock it off." He was wondering if any of what had just come out his mouth made sense. He couldn't have repeated it because his head was being pulled in several different directions at once, like a piece of taffy.

Rayne had half-turned to look at him as he began to speak. He smiled like a child and his fingers gently brushed the back of Xav's hand now as Aldo moved between him and Chavez, carefully insinuating himself into a position where he could block potential violence before it arose. Xavier felt some of the anger drain out of him at the unexpected intervention  "He's wrong you know," Chavez protested, a shade tremulously. "That's not why I want you, Xav. Yeah, I like to piss him off, he deserves it sometimes. But it's not the reason why I like you, okay? You're hot and you're a decent, beautiful person and you deserve to be treated way better than he treats you. And if I could have any guy in the world right now, I'd still want you more."  He looked as if he would have liked to have run away at that point but Aldo was holding his arm now, murmuring softly to him in a curious mixture of Spanish and Italian. Chavez turned to wrap his arms around the older man, suddenly needing to be held.

Rayne's emotions may have cooled down a bit, but Chavez had ratcheted the tension up a few notches; a huge dose of upset injected into the initial anger. Xavier had to close his eyes for a second and he swallowed hard as it hit him like a wave. He realized with a start that Chavez really did care about him, a lot. He also realized that he shouldn't have given in to his advances; that he had only made things ten times worse. Xav had thought at the time that Chavez was just horny for him... that it didn't really mean anything to him. Now, he thought, that maybe it did.

"I'm sorry..." Xav's voice sounded raspy. "I'm sorry... I have to get out of here."

He turned on his heel and took off down the hall, a swirl of emotional backlash whipping him along. He ended up flung across the bed, arms over his head, trying to shut everything out.

He was so chewed up by the tide of borrowed emotions that he did not feel Rayne slide into the room and lock the door. Didn't even know he was there until the little vampire climbed onto the bed and slid over him like a comfort blanket, curling around him.  Rayne tapped into him very gently, biting him and... not sucking but almost giving something back to him, it was like a tranquilizer flowing into his blood and making everything still. Just for a second or two he maintained the contact then lay beside him and kissed him where the bite marks were already slowly healing. And one by one the chaotic voices in his head faltered and fell quiet, until there was just him and Rayne.  "I think I did something very bad to you," his vampire lover said in a small, sorrowful voice.

Xav turned, twining his arms around Rayne's neck and burrowing his face into his chest like a child that needed comfort. He was so grateful for the bit of quiet that stole over him that he was almost overcome by it. He could hear the subtle rasp of Rayne's skin moving against his ear, feel the brush of his silken hair, smell the salt and sea air on him, and he was alright again.

"They're so...loud!" Xavier whispered. "Usually I can block it all out, or most of it."  He pulled back a little bit, enough so he could look at his lover but keep his arms around him. "What's going on Rayne?"

Rayne was looking at him almost anxiously. He chewed on his lower lip, drawing blood with the slightly extended dog teeth. His tongue retrieved the little spill of redness, flicking it back into his mouth and he swallowed nervously.  "Xav... I think... it's starting to come back in bigger bits and... Dominic's right, I feed from you too much. I think that's a part of it. It's... it's waking something up in you, something that was probably there before, but it's making you more sensitive to things," he said awkwardly. "When I first Turned it was like that. Like being hungover, but so much worse. I could hear things and smell things that no one else could. I thought I was going totally insane. Dominic explained what was happening to me. Before I met him I just thought I was going to go completely mental and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Yeah... in the kitchen just now, I felt like I was going crazy." Xav agreed, and then stopped because a little zing of fear rippled through him as it sank in, what Rayne was telling him. "Ray...are you saying I'm... Turning?"  "No, not that," Rayne reassured him quickly. "Not into a vampire anyway. I'd have to have bitten you more often the way I did just now before you crossed over," he added quickly.  "Then what?"  "I don't know, exactly. I think perhaps that a sharing bite like that makes you more sensitive, the way we are all the time."  Xavier looked back at him, worried and scared now... but without any regrets.

"Maybe...maybe we should ask Dominic? If he knew stuff about what you were going through, maybe he would know about this?" Something else occurred to him just then, a darker thought. "I was getting these feelings before tonight, before you bit me. It's not the first time you've done this to me, is it?"  Rayne looked down at his hands awkwardly. "Ummm... I... I might have," he admitted at last, looking suddenly rather sheepish. "Probably while we were fuckin', it's so easy to get carried away. I'm sorry," he said rapidly, his eyes pleading with Xavier again, begging him not to lose it.

He didn't. It was a close thing, but he didn't. It would have been easy to freak out, but at the same time he understood. It was hard not to fall completely into one another, especially when they were fucking. He gave a tiny sigh and kissed the tip of Rayne's nose to show he wasn't mad at him.  Xav closed his eyes for a moment, and then almost like he couldn't help himself the curiosity got to him and he had to test this thing out. He was still calm, and still quiet while he was holding onto Rayne. He let his mind drift a little bit, like he did when he was reaching out to touch Rayne's presence.  "Chavez is really upset," he relayed with an anxious frown, eyes still closed. "Aldo's worried... so is PJ, but Mikka's calm, calm for PJ's sake, soothing. Clay is... not indifferent, but quiet. He... fuck, I think he's got a bit of a thing for Aldo. I never saw that coming! Dominic...he's doing something to keep me out." He opened his eyes again and looked into Rayne's. "It's not like with you. I can't hear them or feel them like I do with you, but I just know how they're feeling."  He licked his lips and looked away a little guiltily. "I didn't mean to hurt Chavez."

"I can't believe you'd ever deliberately hurt anyone," Rayne murmured against the skin of his jaw, then pulled him closer, kissing him hard. His tongue lashed between Xav's teeth for a moment then he broke the kiss softly, still talking as though he had only paused for breath. "Me, I trail chaos behind me like... I dunno, a great big emotional bin wagon, I guess. But you're not like me, Xavier."  He felt the blond boy stiffen slightly in his embrace and leaned back a little to look at him curiously.

"I mean that in an entirely good way," he added quickly.

"The last time you said that, you told me I wasn't good enough for you." Xavier said before he could censor the words. He bit his lips, a little too late to keep them back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up."

"I did?" Rayne looked slightly shocked at this admission. "Are you sure?"  There was open concern in his eyes now and he started to understand a little more of why Chavez was so unhappy with him.

The emotion Xav felt now had nothing to do with picking anything up from anyone else, it was all his own. He'd been with Rayne almost constantly for two days, and they'd talked about so many things, reconnected stronger than ever, and it had started to feel like the breach between them had never happened. Xavier had been willing enough to forget it, especially since Rayne didn't really remember what he had done, and he had been in no condition to discuss it anyway.  Xavier had almost forgotten it himself. He had not been simply placating his lover when he told Rayne his own memory of that argument was fuzzy, especially at the end. He tried now to recall just what Rayne had told him. They had been yelling at one other, Rayne determined to go and Xavier determined that if he did leave he wasn't going to walk out thinking he was the self-sacrificing hero. The yelling had quieted down, but their words had remained intense and angry, and Rayne had pushed him back onto the couch more roughly than he had every handled Xavier before and bitten him hard. And then... well that was where it got confused in his head, Ray had not specifically said that Xav wasn't good enough for him. That was what Xavier had heard, but it was not what he'd said, exactly.  "You told me, I wasn't your equal," Xavier said quietly, not angry now but still a little hurt. "You said you wished I were, but I wasn't... and you wondered, if I was like you, if you would love me as much." He remembered that last part as he was saying it, and it was something of a revelation.

Rayne fell silent for a while. He wore an expression of shock that quickly turned to one of sadness as he listened to Xavier's impassioned words. Now he reached for the blond boy's hands holding them in his own for a moment as he mulled this confession over.  "If you were the same as me, do you think that you would feel the same way you do now?" he asked at last, biting his lips anxiously.

Xavier was quiet for a long time, laying side by side with Rayne holding his hands. He would not say that the thought hadn't already crossed his mind. What would it be like, to be what Rayne was? To become a vampire? It was a powerful seduction; one that Elian Iannopoulos had dangled in front of him too. He had been scared then, and he was uneasy with the thought now. He supposed many people would jump at the chance to be semi-immortal, not to suffer the effects of ageing, to have strength and power... yes, it was a very seductive idea. But... he was closer to Rayne than he supposed most mortals ever got to a vampire. He knew... in his blood he knew what Rayne had given up, and the terrible, terrible longing in him that almost never went away.

His eyes met and held Rayne's. "Did you know that Elian wanted to Turn me? He would have, if I'd let him. I didn't want him to... I'm happy with what I am Rayne. I wouldn't ask you to do it either." He looked down, unable to hold Rayne's gaze any longer. "I know you're afraid you'll bring me trouble, that I might even get killed. I know you're afraid that you might lose control one time and take too much... but knowing that doesn't make me want you any less."

Rayne's fingers twined through his and he smiled almost knowingly as he looked back into Xavier's eyes. The news that Elian Iannopoulos had wanted to make the boy like them darkened his gaze very briefly but the anger did not last. He was quietly overwhelmed by how smart and sorted his mate seemed to be. Little wonder that he had been so desperate to get back here. The things Xavier had told him were disturbing though. Clearly there had also been reasons why he had needed to get away and the pieces of that jigsaw were slow to come to hand.  His eyes wandered over the scars on his hands and arms and he knew that they were keys to his past, just as the scars on his chest and belly were keys to what he had done in Paris. But he was not ready to tap into them just yet.  "I don't want to do anything that will hurt you," he said ardently, at last. "It would kill me a hundred times knowing I'd deliberately done you harm."

"I know," Xavier said solemnly. "I know you don't want to hurt me. But, you never know what's going to happen, Rayne. You could have died in Paris, and stayed that way. I could get in a car wreck, or run across a trigger-happy mugger, or any number of things. If I lived my life afraid of what might happen I'd never make it." He took a breath and let it out slowly. "But... I had a lot of time to think after you left. I-I still want to be with you, but it's not really fair for me to ask you, is it? To ask you to live with the guilt if something does happen to me. If you didn't want to face that, I... I'd understand."

It was just about the hardest thing he'd ever said, but he meant it utterly.

Rayne lowered his eyes for a moment, his fingers tightening around Xavier's hands. He was chewing on his lower lip again, a definite sign that he was nervous, as the younger man was beginning to realise.  "It's not just that," he ventured finally. "Xavier, I've never lived with anyone before. I've never been with anyone like this, the way I am with you. I've always been on my own." He looked up again now, slightly perplexed. "I'm not even sure I know how to live any other way."

A small smile touched Xavier's lips but his eyes were still serious and a little sad. He could have told Rayne it wasn't that hard, but he didn't want to push him on this. Xavier had never been after a commitment anyway, but he didn't know where that left them. He knew he still wanted to see Rayne sometimes, at least... if Rayne still wanted to see him. And Rayne said he did. He said he had wanted to come back, that had to mean something, didn't it?  He leaned in and kissed the upturned tip of Rayne's cute little nose, then brushed his lips along his, clinging there for a moment before he rolled to his back and tucked one arm under his head, still holding Rayne's hand with the other. He looked up at the ceiling for a time, then turned his head to gaze at his lover again.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 12



"So, what do you think I should do? I mean, as nice as Aldo's been, I can't stay here forever and you've got a place, and a life to go back to..." He lifted one shoulder in a little shrug. "I've got enough money from the job I just did here to go back to San Francisco, but I don't think that's a good idea right now. I just haven't thought about where to go next."

Rayne mirrored his pose almost unconsciously, running his thumb slowly back and forth over the back of Xavier's hand as he studied the unprepossessing cream-painted ceiling as if looking for minute cracks.  "I still have a place in London," he said at last. "There's room for a guest... if you fancied seeing London, I mean? I've got to go back up to Manchester and sort some stuff out there but it's not far away. I'll be coming and going. I'll probably be under your feet all the time. But if you get sick of that, Dominic's got a house in Holland Park, just around the corner. I'm sure he'd be up for showing you the sights when I'm not about. If you wanted to, I mean?"  He glanced at Xavier anxiously now, aware that the younger man had been very quiet whilst he was rambling inanely on.

Xavier realized that was a pretty monumental step for Rayne. The invite was a way they could be together, without necessarily being tied down. And it made Xavier a whole lot happier than, say, if he'd told him to stay with PJ and he'd visit, maybe. With a smile blossoming over his face he rolled hungrily onto Rayne, coming up on hands and knees above him and kissing him like he was all the air he needed to breathe.

NICOLAS:

Nicolas lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, hands resting peacefully on his flat stomach. He was not at peace though. His mind kept drifting to the adorable blond boy he had brought home just a couple of days ago and had to let go without even having tasted him. He could still smell the light scent of Xavier on the sheets, so faint a trace no human would have picked up on it. Nicolas could though, a warm clean scent, like almonds and sugar...and hot blood throbbing just beneath the surface.  He moaned and closed his eyes. An image of Xavier half undressed under him came to mind. So sweet, and so hot and eager, he had not been sure which he wanted more, to fuck him or bite him. And then he saw the marks and he could not do either. The temptation had been keen, and still was or he would not be brooding over him now. Maybe Xavier was right, and the lover that had marked him was gone for good. He had seemed so lonely; so desperate for intimacy; wanting to share his warmth and his beautiful body with Nicolas, even when he knew what the vampire was and that he would want to bite and feed as they made love.  That was why Nicolas kept thinking of him, he decided. That and those heartbreaking, clear blue eyes...and that very sexy little ass. The vampire abruptly opened his eyes and stood up. He had to stop this. Seeking that boy out was the very last thing he should do. It was asking for trouble. Xavier belonged to someone else, whether he thought so or not.  Nicolas knew that he should forget meeting him. Definitely he should not be thinking of going to the building where Xavier had been working. He chided himself sternly even as he headed out the door. He just wanted to check if Xavier was all right. That was it. Maybe see if the boy had been correct, and the marks on his neck had faded.  Nicolas returned to the photographer's flat and settled unseen on an escarpment under one of the tall windows, the same one he had used to spy on Xavier before. Instinctively Nicolas knew Xavier was gone, the warm, familiar feel of him was not there, but Marco, the photographer was not alone. Nicolas curled his lip in a little snarl when he recognised the man he had dragged off Xavier in the alleyway. He was arguing with Marco in heated Italian.

Ironically enough they were arguing over Xavier. Even with the windows closed Nicolas had no trouble picking up their conversation. The older man was trying to talk his hot-headed companion into giving up on the idea of driving out to Vico and the other was just as animatedly insisting that he and Xavier only had a misunderstanding that would be worked out if he talked to him.

"Leave it be Palo!" Marco hissed. "I don't know what happened between the two of you but I do know Xavier showed up here with bruises after being out with you. I told you before and I'm telling you now, stay away from him!"

"It was nothing! He just likes playing hard to get. And you are not my keeper Marco!" The argument ended abruptly then and Palo stormed out.

Nicolas had let the mortal live the other night because he generally had no taste for killing; even when someone obviously deserved it, like the arrogantly handsome rapist. Now as he watched the good-looking, dark-haired man storm down the pavement he regretted letting him go. Xavier had obviously not told Marco the truth of what had happened, and now Palo was apparently going to seek him out, and Xavier had no warning. Nicolas knew he could simply make sure Palo never arrived, but if he killed Palo then he still would not know where Xavier had gone. Palo clearly did, given the speed and purpose of his exit. Making a snap decision Nicolas followed the mortal discreetly.

Palo fumed verbally for most of the winding shoreline drive up to Vico Equense, but he managed to calm himself down sufficiently before approaching the gated driveway of Aldo's villa. He could not remember all of what had happened the other night when he took Xavier out. He knew he had got drunk and got rough with the kid. He didn't recall how he'd ended up lying in a dirty alley with his pants undone. Palo had a vague impression of pressing Xavier up against the grimy bricks and of the blond struggling. He was certain it had just been a game though. Maybe he had fucked him, but he wasn't even sure of that. What he was sure of was that he could not get the sexy blond model out of his head now.

Aldo buzzed him through into the courtyard and he parked up. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves he knocked on the door and gave the older man his best winning smile when it opened, apologising profusely for not calling first. Aldo Bocaccio leaned casually in the doorway in casually donned slacks and an open shirt, still impossibly good-looking for a guy of his age, letting Palo do most of the talking.

"I won't stay long. I wanted to see if Xavier would go for a drive with me," Palo explained, feeling awkward with Aldo's dark, solemn eyes resting on him.

The older man surveyed Palo with a twitch of the lips that fell just short of a smile. Aldo could not fault the lad's enthusiasm but at the same time he was still trying to decide whether it would be better or not for Xav to see other men just now. A light had come back on behind his beautiful eyes since Rayne came back to Vico. And they had spent most of today down on the beach together. Even without Lord Warren's gift for seeing auras he could tell that they had probably spent a good deal of that time snuggling up on the blanket, making love to one another like it was going out of fashion.  "I think perhaps he's kind of busy right now, Palo," he said diplomatically.

Palo's expression flickered through a rapid series of emotions, settling on frustration and doubt.

"What did he tell you? Whatever it was, it was just a misunderstanding," he protested, in a repeat of the argument he'd had with Marco. "I just want a chance to straighten things out. Can I at least come in for a minute and talk to him?"

"I simply don't think he will thank you for interrupting right now. He's in his room and he not alone," Aldo said, rather more bluntly.

"Oh..." Palo looked crestfallen.

Aldo could see the wheels turning and that Palo was actually bloody-minded enough to considering sticking around until Xavier came out. He could only shake his head at that kind of determination. His inclination was to get Palo to leave, but he figured that maybe the only way he would get the message was if Xavier told him straight. So he invited Palo in to wait, which was humiliating enough in itself. Though the walls were not paper thin, there were few places within the villa where one could not hear the fierce, urgent cries and low, satisfied groans of ecstasy emanating from the room Xav shared with Rayne. Palo had a rather long and embarrassing wait, but Xavier eventually did come out of the bedroom, looking so happy and sated he floated more than walked into the kitchen where they had been waiting for him.

Xavier really was starved now, the pear he had eaten for lunch wasn't nearly enough. It was so hot he hadn't bothered to do more than wrap one of Aldo's sarongs around his waist but when he saw that Aldo had company he wished he'd put on a pair of jeans.

"What are you doing here?" Xavier demanded, glaring at Palo.

Palo stood up, his smile a little strained. "I wanted to apologise. I sent you flowers, but you didn't call."

"That should have been clue number one," Xavier hissed.

"Xavier, I'm sorry... How can I make it up to you? I was drunk and stupid, that's not really me."

"You should leave, Palo." Xav said coldly, not buying this line of bullshit.

Some of the pleading tone went out of Palo's voice as he began to lose patience. "Why are you being so stubborn? We got along good at Aldo's party..."

"I already told you, that was a mistake!" Xav cut him off sharply. "I'm not gonna make the same one again."

Palo's expression darkened and he came closer. "What, you think now that you got Marco's attention you can do better, huh?"

Xavier shook his head slightly. He had already had enough of this crap. "I really don't give a fuck what you think, Palo! But just so you got this real clear, I'm not going to see you, I'm not going to fuck you or your friends, and you're an asshole!"

Palo's handsome face flushed with barely suppressed rage and he moved aggressively toward Xavier. The blond boy stood his ground though. He even smiled cynically.

"Guess that apology meant a whole lot! What now? You gonna hit me again? Go on, I dare you! This time you don't get a whole fuckin' bar full of your buddies to back you up!"

Palo didn't hit him, perhaps sensing even through his anger that this would not be a wise move here. He sensed that others had come into the room now and were observing the argument. Instead he grabbed Xavier by the upper arms, shaking him rapidly.

"You are impossible! You play games, teasing like you want me, than walk out on me in front of everyone!" He hissed an ugly word in Italian and shoved Xavier vehemently.

Rayne's fangs automatically extended as he walked into the kitchen and observed the unexpected scene, and he moved towards the young model. He did not need to speak the language to understand what Palo just said to his mate. But Aldo was closer and their host did understand. His dark eyes narrowed as he seized hold of Palo's shoulder, spinning him around so hard that he almost lost his balance.

"I invited you into my house, as a guest," Aldo said coldly, in English so that his other companions would know what was said. "It is not an invitation that will be extended again. You have abused my hospitality, Palo. You're a nasty, evil, mother-fucking creep! I am not a violent man, but trust me, you will pay for treating my friend like this."

Palo had far too much arrogant pride to feel chastened. He shrugged out of Aldo's grip, although he did not do it easily. Still speaking in Italian he told Aldo his friend was worthless trash and he would make sure Xavier never worked with Marco DeCellio again.

By this time Xavier had recovered and pushed himself away from the edge of the counter top he had been shoved against. He didn't know what exactly what Palo said, but he'd heard Marco's name and he could guess. Bullies like that were all the same.

"You're a brainless fucktard, Palo!" Xav said, but with a cooler temper than a few moments ago. "I kept my mouth shut, you moron, because you are so low on my radar that you don't even rank with the shit I scrape off my shoes, but if you want to play stupid games I'll be more than happy to tell everyone what a loser you are. Starting with Marco! You think you will ever work for him again if I tell him what you did? You think anyone will put your face in a magazine once it gets around that you're a bully and a rapist?"

Aldo's head turned sharply. He had opened his mouth to give Palo another piece of his mind but that little snippet was so unexpected that he had to look Xavier in the eye just to confirm that he had heard it right. And as he let go of Palo, Rayne Wylde laid into the younger Italian. He was a good half a head shorter than Palo but it didn't deter him.

Neither did he waste words. One minute Palo was standing there glaring at Xavier and the next he was on his back, blood pouring from his nose. Rayne licked his knuckles and stared down at him, pale eyes on fire.  "You filthy Latin cunt! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't break your fucking neck?" he snarled softly at the groaning youth.

Xavier held Aldo's concerned gaze for only a moment before he dropped his eyes. He shouldn't have said anything. That look on Aldo's face was exactly why he hadn't said anything. He felt sick to his stomach now.

"My nose! Dio! You broke my nose!" Palo cried in a tone at least an octave higher than his usual voice and muffled by the hand he was holding over his face as the blood gushed between his fingers.

"You think I'm done there?" Rayne huffed incredulously, kicking Palo's legs apart to stand between them. "Clearly you're not that smart, arsehole! You're still here. In my book that means you probably want some more, yeah? Gagging for it, are you?"

He brought the heel of his foot down hard on Palo's kneecap. The sickening crunch of bone and sinew was only just drowned out by the younger man's scream of pain and shock. Rayne turned his head to look a silent question at Xavier then kicked him again in the back of the broken knee, making him shriek like a train whistle.

It was Aldo who pulled the vampire away, shaking his head. "No! That's enough!"

"Not your call, Aldo," Rayne exhaled, his voice trembling a little now. He looked at Xavier again, his expression indecipherable.

Xavier didn't say anything though, he wouldn't even look up. That look of sorrow and shame on his lovely face was more than enough of an answer for Rayne. He pulled free and laid into Palo furiously again. Xav finally spoke up before he could do more damage. It wasn't any pity for Palo that helped him find his voice, but a sense that he needed to protect Rayne. His vampire lover could kill Palo easily, accidentally even, and they did not need that kind of trouble.

"No Ray, let him go," Xav said softly.

The vampire uttered a small huff of incredulity that was almost his old self re-emerging from the shadows. He turned to look down at Palo with unspeakable disgust in his eyes.

"Get up and get out!" he snarled. "I'm doing this for him, not you. I won't give you another chance."

Palo had let go of his face to clutch his knee as he floundered on the tiled floor. There was no way he could get up, and even if he could he didn't think he could drive like this but those thoughts were only a distant fog. The pain and the fear were much more real as he tried to crawl away.

The commotion had drawn other members of the house toward the sound of fighting and there were sudden exclamations and demands to know what was happening from all sides at once.

"He's fuckin' crazy!" Palo yelled through hysterical sobs. His broken nose had produced an amazing amount of blood. It had run down his face and stained his shirt and smeared across the floor and wall where he had been struggling to rise.

It was PJ who took wordless pity on the young man and pulled him firmly but gently to his feet, though Palo was unable to lower his injured leg to the ground for the pain. Dominic pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his shorts and overcame all of Palo's feeble resistance to press it lightly to the model's bleeding, ruined nose.

"Come on now, you're in a mess," the older man soothed as Aldo quietly muttered; "Marco will hear about this, and he will not be the only one. You will not work in this country again, Palo. I might not make movies any more but I know people here. I can end your career tonight with a word in the right ear."

PJ blinked at his handsome former star, perplexed by this tirade though he guessed that it must be something pretty serious just from Palo's condition. His friends were generally impulsive but not naturally vicious.

Xavier's stomach was still turning and he could feel the bile trying to crawl up the back of his throat. He swallowed quickly, refusing to look at anyone or say anything. Palo was sputtering indignantly at Aldo's words, but he was also trying to make his way toward the door.

"It's my word against his!" he raged, impotently. "You're the one that will pay for this!" Palo threatened, puffing up again now that he'd regained his feet, or at least one of them.

"Not his word alone." A voice with a soft, clear French accent interrupted his tirade. The unfamiliar voice drifted in through the open patio doors that looked out over the twilit terrace and all heads turned in that direction at once. A young man with dark, tousled chestnut hair and even darker eyes was standing almost hesitantly just outside the doorway in the glow of the security lights. Rayne hissed through his teeth, his fangs still extended and Dominic's moss-green eyes widened, instantly recognising the newcomer as a vampire from his strange, colourless aura. Xavier, of course, already knew Nicolas well but the surprise of seeing him here on Aldo's terrace left him lost for words.

"Bright Lady!" Dominic breathed, drawing a curious look from young vampire before his attention returned to Palo.

"I would be 'appy to tell the polizia about seeing you fight with Xavier, and push him down that alley, and what you did to him there. He did not want your attentions, Palo, and no one observing your actions and his would have believed otherwise," the timid French vampire continued. He spoke calmly and appeared to be talking directly to Palo, but in reality he was extremely nervous and his eyes were actually fixed on Rayne Wylde. It was never good to come into another vampire's territory, especially unannounced and uninvited, but he could not let this Italian cretin get away with maligning Xavier or hurting him again. Although the young man's friends seemed to have the latter covered.

Rayne stopped in his tracks, bristling like a little black tomcat at the shivers of recognition coming up through every pore as he glared at the strange vampire. A defensive snarl crackled through his extended fangs, even though the logic modules in his brain were telling him that the stranger was actually speaking up for Xavier. Somehow he had defended Xav from Palo before. Aldo put a hand on his shoulder and kept it there, a warm, human, steadying presence that calmed him and helped him to focus again.

"Palo is just leaving," Aldo said softly, but in a tone that even their protesting visitor did not seek to argue with. "My driver will take you to the hospital, Palo. Once they have checked you over I suggest that you think long and hard about what you've done. If the police come here looking for any of us in retaliation for this afternoon, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?"

Even Palo was not so stupid he couldn't see his defeat. His reputation would be in tatters if the accusations were made public. He left as quickly as he could manage, with his tail between his legs and no intention at all of drawing the police into things. Xavier did not look at him once and only lifted his head after Palo had gone. The tension in the room was still thick enough to cut into slices and all eyes now seemed to rest with varying degrees of curiosity or (in Rayne's case) open hostility, on the young man still lingering just outside the doorway.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 12



He was quite striking. Young, but not really boyish, his jaw was a little too firm and his features too well defined for anyone to judge him underage. The wind blowing up from below tossed his loose chestnut coloured hair about his handsome, pale face and his deep, dark eyes regarded Rayne steadily, but without offering any sort of challenge.

"What are you doing here Nico?" Xav asked in what he thought was a remarkably steady voice considering what his insides were doing. This time Nicolas did not correct the abbreviation of his name.

"I followed that one." He nodded in the direction Palo had just taken. "I wanted to make sure you did not come to any further harm," Nicolas managed a smile that was puppy-dog cute as he glanced around the room from face to face. His eyes landed back on Rayne as he said; "I can see you are well protected though."

"Stay inside," Rayne said defensively when he felt Xavier move towards the younger vamp. "He can't enter the house unless he's invited in."  "You weren't invited in," Xavier pointed out.  "I've been here before," Rayne countered with a shake of his dark hair. He was still glaring hostility at Nicholas who retreated defensively into the shadows of the garden. After a moment the lights went out and darkness swallowed him.

"Really? That's true? You can't go in a place uninvited?" Xavier asked, turning that information over. So much of what was in the vampire mythology and in movies was wrong, he hadn't figured on that one being right. Rayne was ignoring him though. Xavier, for a change, did was he was told and stopped at the edge of the doorway.  "How do you know him?" Rayne asked. The question was for Xavier, though he never looked away from Nicholas, whom he could still feel lurking in the shadows.

Xavier for once seemed unsettled and stumbled over his words, "I-I...it's, well, I met him when I was at Marco's."  Nicolas meanwhile had figured out the situation. He came closer again, just staying out of range of the lights which hurt his eyes after the gentle gloom of the Neapolitan hillside."This is the one that gave you his mark. The one you were sure wasn't coming back," he said, somewhere between amused and disappointed.  Xavier looked quickly from Rayne to Nicolas and back. "I didn't think he would."  Nicolas leaned against the outer wall casually, although it was actually just a pose. He was so hungry, and he could smell the scent of sex and blood on them both but he resisted the urge to act on impulse. He could see that Rayne was staring at Xavier now, his expression almost hurt by this admission.

"He did not betray you." Nicolas said to Rayne.

"No," Rayne whispered. "I'd know if he had."  He looked at Xavier with a curious yearning though and the expression on his face was hard to read; not angry but quietly speculative. He was mulling over this new information; that Xavier had not believed he would return. Now he turned and looked Nicholas up and down and reached a magnanimous decision not to immediately run the other vampire off.  "You look hungry, maybe if you stay around for a while someone will take pity on you." He turned and walked back in, stroking a possessive hand along Xavier's cheek as if to say that, most likely, that person would not be Xav.

Xavier's head turned with the brush of Rayne's hand, his lips trailing briefly along his fingertips, but he didn't follow immediately.

Nicolas straightened from his casual slouch against the low wall and came nearer, his eyes travelling lightly over Xavier's scantily clad frame. The mix of lust and hunger in his eyes lit them from within until they settled on the two tiny pin-points at Xavier's throat. He stopped just shy of the doorway and leaned closer to murmur; "I told you he had not relinquished his claim."  A little flush crept up Xavier's neck, and he could not entirely hide the small, satisfied smile that came to his lips.  Nicolas' mouth watered at Xavier's scent right under his nose. He sighed, barely audible. "You are happy now, mon ami? There is light in your eyes. You do not look as dejected as when I saw you before."  Xavier gave a little nod. He turned slightly, spying Aldo out of the corner of his eye and smiled more easily.

"Aldo, this is Nicolas, I met him when I was staying at Marco's," he said, as if his Italian host hadn't already heard everything.

Aldo managed a little twitch of his eyebrows but he too was smiling at the young vampire when he said; "I suppose that it is a stupid question to ask how do you manage to be in my garden when I am supposed to have security that the Whitehouse would be proud of?" He waved the answer aside. "You are a friend of Xavier's... tonight he has been a popular boy. I suppose, Signor Nicolas, that you should come in and make yourself at home."  From inside the house, Rayne called out; "Does nobody ever listen to a fucking word I ever say? He's a vampire, Aldo."  "You're a vampire, Wylde!" Aldo reminded him. "We put up with you!"

Nicolas still seemed slightly hesitant, there really was no reason for him to stay now. He had only come to see Xavier...and Xav obviously had eyes right now for only one individual, and that individual didn't seem too keen on sharing him if that possessive gesture was any indication. He was curious though, these mortals knew he was a vampire; knew Xavier's beautiful, dark-haired lover was a vampire, and as the very, very sexy Aldo had just pointed out, they put up with him. So, he followed Aldo and Xavier inside.  Xavier glided over to Rayne and it was like watching two magnets pull together. The blond boy slid around behind him and wrapped his arms loosely around Rayne's waist, laying his head on his shoulder in a soothing, appeasing gesture. Nicolas had been watching his lean tawny back as he walked in, and now turned his eyes away with some resignation.  "So, you met Xavier at Marco's?" Aldo reiterated, playing the good-natured host.  "Marco is the photographer, yes? I saw Xavier one night when I was out walking and he was...with Palo." Nicolas answered, obviously having just changed whatever he'd been about to say. He also glossed over what had happened next, "It was not a very good part of the city he was in and so I followed him to make sure he got back to where he was going safely. Also because I was curious to learn how he knew what I was. I came back again, to talk to him about this feeling he said he had when a vampire was close, and I made him breakfast while we talked."  All this forthcoming information was making Xavier a little uncomfortable. He wouldn't have said nearly as much. Rayne half twisted in his loose embrace though and kissed his nose. He smiled a little at Nicolas' admission.  "You little vampire junky!" he teased Xav. "I thought Lady Warren was bad enough! Even he doesn't have lovelorn vamps stalking him!"  "Excuse me, Raymonde!" Dominic exclaimed, shaking his silver and gold curls irritably. "My interest is purely professional!"

"Bollocks! There's nothing pure about it!" Rayne teased him.  Nicolas fortunately seemed more interested in Dominic now. Here was yet another mortal that had known what he was at first sight.

"Bonjour." Nicolas said a little shyly. He was starting to wonder just how many gorgeous men this house held. Even the older mortals were impressively handsome. And he could feel that, like Xavier, the one Rayne called Lady Warren had bites of ownership on him.

Dom Warren was suddenly charm incarnate, extending a hand to the handsome young vampire and murmuring something in French that actually made Nicolas blush a little. Mikka Saarinen was also studying him and now he added; "You have an amazing complexion, Monsieur Nicolas. Have you ever been in movies?"  Watching them from the hallway, Rayne turned in Xavier's arms and slipped his own around the younger man.  "You have been well entertained while I was in Paris, haven't you?" he chuckled knowingly. "He's even prettier than the human one!"

Xavier looked slightly discomfited. What was he supposed to say? Some people might have crawled into a bottle to assuage their broken heart. Xavier hadn't consciously been trying to drown himself in other men when the one he wanted had left him, but that was just about what he'd done.

"Nothing happened," he murmured now, and his expression showed a bit of vexation. "When he saw the bite mark on my neck he practically threw me out. It was like he'd found out he was with a mobster's daughter or something."

"Yeah?" Rayne glanced towards the younger vamp with an odd little twitch of his lips. Curious guys surrounded Nicolas by now and he practically had to fight them off with a stick. So much for the fearsome reputation of his kind! Rayne Wylde fought the urge to look smug. "Good for him! He's a smart kid, at least," he said mischievously, just to see how Xavier would react

Xavier poked him in the ribs but took the teasing good-naturedly. He glanced over and thought Nicolas looked like a he was having a hard time figuring out which delicious looking body he wanted to bite into first, and that was fine with Xavier. He was more than happy to have just one vampire in his life.

His stomach gave a little rumble, reminding him that he still hadn't eaten yet, and he gave Rayne a kiss before he slipped off to the kitchen. He was going to miss Chavez's cooking, he really was. He needed to have another talk with P.J.'s Latino chef too, before they left. He didn't want to leave with any bad feelings still between them. He and Rayne would be setting out for England in a day or two at the most; they'd already planned that. To be honest, he would miss more than just Valentino's cooking and he'd miss more than Chavez alone. They were all good people. Aldo was sweet and sexy; Clay always knew how to make him laugh; P.J. ... well, he was simply awesome, the most amazing man. Rayne was more than a little in love with him, he knew. And Xavier understood the reasons for it. P.J. was the glue that held this little crew together. He loved all his boys unconditionally and they loved him in return.

No, he hadn't planned on coming so far from home; on leaving the life he knew behind, but Xavier was glad that for once, at least he hadn't had to do it alone.

While he was poking around in the fridge he heard a step behind him and turned to find Chavez there. He supposed there was no time like the present, and all that, although Xav hesitated when he looked up at the Mexican lad. His features where determinedly bland, like he had a mask on, and his soft dark eyes were red rimmed but very blank. Xav did not need an expression to tell him how the other man was feeling though. The turmoil inside him was a tangible presence in the previously tranquil cool of his host's kitchen.  Xavier's own expression immediately softened. He truly was sorry he had caused Chavez any hurt. He could still hear the others chatting with Nicolas in the next room, but for the most part they were alone. Taking a breath Xav tried to keep the angry, hurtful emotions he was getting off Chavez from affecting him too much. Whatever Rayne had done to him was helping in that regard at least, like having an extra filter.  "I'm sorry, Valentino," he said sincerely. "I really am."

Chavez took a deep, slightly shaky breath that lifted his shoulders in a little shrug. He was trying to be casual about it as he murmured; "Well, at least I know where I stand, I guess. And you've nothing to be sorry for. It's not like you proposed or anything."  He looked as if he wanted to turn and walk out right then but for the moment he could not take his eyes off Xavier.

Xavier had to look away, he cleared his throat softly and looked back though. "I know you don't like him, Chavez, but..." He trailed off for a second. "We're leaving in a couple days. I don't want there to be... you know, any hard feelings between us."

Chavez was trying to look tough but his features softened for a moment.  "You know there ain't no hard feelings between you and me," he declared emphatically. "Xav... only one thing's hard between us right now. Same as it ever was!" Chavez laughed weakly and shook his head. "You want me to get you something proper to eat? I could see you, scrounging for leftovers in here, like an alley cat. Man, you must be feeling better if you thinking 'bout your stomach."

"I'm starving!" Xav said in the most plaintive tone he could manage. He sucked in a huge breath and pulled in his already taut stomach, pointing at the hollow. "See? Wasting away!"  Chavez grinned and poked him hard enough that Xav let his breath out in a whoosh and folded his arms around himself with a little grunt. They both laughed, and although things were not exactly the same between them as before, it was all right.  Xav started to help Chavez with making something for dinner, and Chavez quickly set him the task of washing and cutting veggies for a salad. Xav had a lot of skills, but cooking was not one of them. Chavez had already experienced his attempts in the kitchen once, and after the resulting disaster he'd been summarily banned from going anywhere near the stove again by everyone in the household.  The others started drifting in shortly thereafter, including their newest guest. Xavier was more then a little amused to see Chavez's reaction when he set his eyes on Nicolas, and he couldn't resist whispering to him, "He cooks a really, really good omelette."  Xav stayed just long enough to eat like someone had strapped a feedbag on his head, although he did manage to chat a little bit with P.J. and Mikka between forkfuls. He was feeling healthy and happy, like the Xavier they'd got to know during the extended summer sojourn. Even the naturally reserved and cynical Mikka came to see why P.J. seemed to have taken such a shine to the boy, beyond the obvious allure of those butter-blond curls and that killer smile.  P.J. also seemed in very good spirits, and Xavier was quietly relieved. As he was finishing up he had not missed the little exchange of glances going on between Chavez and Nicolas either, and that made him feel better too.

Whilst his lover was hunting down munchies and the guys were all investigating their new playmate on the terrace, Rayne turned back towards the bedroom thinking that he would snatch a little rest before Xav recharged his batteries and came to jump his bones again. To his surprise, Aldo was still in the hallway, watching him with a solemn expression on his face.  "Are you still mad at me?" Rayne asked lightly.

"I should be," Aldo replied with a half-shrug.  "But...?" The vampire smiled curiously.  "I've never been able to stay mad at you for long," Aldo sighed. "I don't know why. Even when you absolutely deserve it, I can't be angry with you. You know why that is?"  "I'm irresistible," Rayne teased, coming right up to him and touching a fingertip to his lips to silence any objections.  Aldo's arms snaked around him and he kissed Rayne long and hard on the mouth by way of a response. Rayne could have fought it, he knew. He should have been fighting it by rights. Xavier was just in the room along the hallway and could walk out at any moment. (Though it was unlikely since there was also a lot of food in the kitchen and he'd only been in there for a handful of minutes!) Even so, he let his hands run gently up Aldo's back and his mouth cushioned the force of the kiss, riding it, absorbing it and then pushing back into it. His tongue flickered between Aldo's lips, tasting the familiar sweet warmth of his mouth. Aldo's tongue retaliated, lancing hungrily between his teeth as they surged against one another restlessly.  When their lips parted briefly so that Aldo could get his breath, Rayne was twined around him and his green eyes were almost black with lust, glittering seductively like dark jewels through the fronds of his ebony hair and his thick black lashes.  "Told you!" the vampire exhaled with a little grin that showed his small, perfect fangs. "Irresistible!"

Full and satisfied Xavier cleaned up after himself and wandered down the hall toward the bedroom where he figured Rayne had probably sacked out already, but when he reached for the door handle he stopped. A soft sound drifted to him, a little groan of pleasure. Not Rayne's voice but Aldo's. For a second he just froze, more surprised than anything. A little torrent of thoughts and feelings tumbled through him, among them the fact that he was glad Aldo wasn't still mad at Rayne. He supposed he could just go and talk to the other guys a bit longer.  He drew his hand back before he'd even touched the handle and started to turn, but he heard a soft voice on the other side of the door call him.

"Xavier." It was Rayne's voice this time. Xav hesitated there, and he got a tentative little trickle from Rayne, a sort of warm horny inviting feeling; asking... seeking... With a tiny smile touching his lips he brought his hand back up and slipped by the door, closing it quietly behind him.

The lights in the bedroom were low and Rayne and Aldo were already spilled across the bed in a loose entanglement of cream and golden limbs. Two pairs of eyes, one dark chocolate the other coolest green moved up to swallow him as Xavier slid into the room. Aldo looked slightly anxious but Rayne's smile was supremely confident.  "Forgive me, Xavier," Aldo said in a low, hungry voice.  Rayne licked his thigh and kissed his way higher until the words caught in Aldo's throat. The vampire turned his head to look invitingly at Xav again.  "Make him work for it," he whispered suggestively.

Xavier's eyes moved slowly from Rayne to Aldo and they could almost see those pretty blue orbs darken with desire as he slowly crossed the room.  His fingers tugged gently at the knot of the sarong around his waist and the material dropped from his lean hips in a little cascade. The low light played over his smooth skin in amber and gold as he came up to the edge of the bed.  "You want to earn my forgiveness, Aldo?" he asked, his voice like a warm husky caress, the slightest bit of a smile still touching his lush lips.

Rayne leaned back with a wolfish grin and Xav noticed the little trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth as he watched Aldo squirm. The handsome Italian ran a searching hand up Xavier's belly and chest, his fingers gently exploring the ripple of taut muscles there as Xav joined them on the bed.  "I accept that you'll take him away from me again," he said in a rueful tone. "I'm not gonna fight you for him, Xavier. I know I can't be what he needs but if you can, then..." Aldo's hand reached Xavier's cheek. He leaned into the younger man and kissed him hungrily.

Xavier sank down on the bed, letting Aldo claim his mouth, but some of the playfulness drained out of him with Aldo's sorrowful words. He didn't want this man to feel hurt, not for any reason and certainly not because of anything he'd done. With Chavez he'd told him he didn't want any bad feelings between them, with Aldo he showed him... sliding his arms around his neck and letting him push that searching tongue between his lips.  Xavier's fingers slid up into the dark silk of Aldo's hair and his lips moved responsively with Aldo's kiss. He couldn't help thinking now that maybe he should be the one apologising. As soon as he thought it he felt the link between himself and Rayne twine around him like a warm comforter and he knew he couldn't apologise for that. All he could do was be grateful for Aldo's understanding.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 12



As they eased down into the softness of the rumpled duvet together, Rayne moved up behind him and kissed the nape of his neck tenderly, making him shiver. Cool hands caressed his hips and thighs. Hot hands wandered up and down his torso and teased the sensitive peaks of his nipples whilst Aldo's mouth worked across his cheek and down to his throat. Rayne licked his naked back, letting his studded tongue trail slowly down Xavier's spine.  "Mmm... you're too soft on him," he teased huskily. "But he is kind of cute when he's sorry."  "Don't push it, Wylde," Aldo rumbled from the hollow of Xavier's collarbones where he was also doing ingenious things with his lips and tongue.

"I don't think I'm too soft." Xavier said with a low chuckle and demonstrated with a roll of his hips that pushed his stiffening rod against Aldo's thigh.

"He feels pretty hard to me," Aldo remarked with a grin. "I think you're lying the wrong side of him."  He winked at Xavier playfully.

Xavier's little chuckle turned into a soft groan as he felt Rayne's lips touch at the base of his spine just above the smooth curve of his pert cheeks. His breath caught as the tip of his tongue wriggled into the little hollow at the very top of his crack and he arched slightly between them. Aldo's warm hand slid down his body and cupped his balls gently and Xavier lifted his leg obligingly, sliding his calf up along Aldo's thigh.

Rayne licked greedily at him now, sweeping his soft, wet tongue gently between Xavier's firm cheeks, loving the sharp, clean taste of his crack and the way his rosebud clenched and flexed as it was tongue-tickled. Aldo was nibbling lightly on Xavier's erect nipples as his fingers gently rolled the blond lad's balls. The head of his long, Italian cock rubbed wetly on Xav's belly as they moved against one another.  "Touch me," Aldo panted against the smoothness of Xavier's bared chest.

Xavier slid his hands down Aldo's chest in a sensual caress, fanning his fingers over the tight peaks of his nipples before travelling over the smooth cage of his ribs and hard packed abdominals. He shifted slightly as his hands came together around the base of Aldo's jutting cock. His own hard member sprang up against him, and he rubbed the undersides of their shafts together eagerly.  He was not quite a match for Aldo in size but it felt incredibly good to rub together like this. Wrapping his hands around them both, he stroked slowly, his palm crossing over their leaking heads, spreading the natural lube down their silky skin. Rayne's clever studded tongue probed at him at the same time and Xavier's head tipped back on the bedclothes as he sucked in a hiss of pleasure.

Aldo groaned appreciatively. His lips wandered back to Xavier's neck as his hands explored the firmness of the blond boy's arse. Rayne was on a mission and wriggled between both their legs lapping and kissing his way towards their balls as they writhed together on the bed. He reached Xav first, rolling his tongue over the full, tight sac between his lover's thighs, caressing slowly then taking the cool, silken contents one at a time into his mouth and applying gentle suction.  Aldo gently circled a fingertip in the wetness he had left around Xavier's tightest opening, pressing on the yielding nub of flesh experimentally. Xavier's head swam with an overload of sensation coursing though him. The sensitive head of his cock rubbing up along Aldo's shaft; the sensation of Rayne's sweet mouth sucking and rolling his nuts; Aldo's exploring finger pressing inside his wet heat.

"Uuuhhhh!! Fuck...mmmhhh!" He let out a throaty groan of pleasure as Aldo pushed another digit inside him, finding him hot and horny and opening easily for that gentle probe.

Rayne's head tilted so that he could transfer his mouth to Aldo's heavy balls, still firmly massaging Xavier's in the palm of his hand as he sucked and licked on the horny Italian. Aldo swore softly in his native tongue, as Rayne's other hand stroked up and down his inner thigh, keeping his leg lifted.  He probed Xavier deeper murmuring; "Ahhh, caro... I need to be inside one of you."

Xav slid his leg higher, hooking his knee over Aldo's hip and letting him shift so his long cock slid between his thighs, poking at the smooth stretch of skin behind his balls before sliding back even further to push at the entrance his fingers were invading. Xavier's hand dropped down to caress Rayne's hair and the side of his face.

Soft lips tugged briefly at Xavier's fingers then returned to their manipulation of Aldo's plump, clean-shaven nuts. In response the Italian began to thrust against Xavier eagerly, sensing how easy it would be to fill the younger man. He was kneading Xav's cheeks urgently as he bucked against the blond boy's inviting pucker.

Xav's back arched and a breathless little cry huffed between his lips as the smooth head of Aldo's cock breached him. The Italian tugged him closer, pulling him up astride his hips as he pumped a little deeper. Xavier's tight channel twitched and stretched to accommodate him and Xav slid his hands up into Aldo's hair, raking his fingers through the thick dark mane as Aldo slowly sank into him, filling and stretching him deliciously. Large hands squeezed and separated his tight little buns and Xav groaned appreciatively. "Mmhhh-uhhhh...yeah, that's so good, Aldo!"

Rayne shifted as the pair of them came smoothly together so that Xavier could ride Aldo harder. Xav could still feel the quickness of his breath between his cheeks and the tickle of his heavy fall of ebony hair. Rayne was licking his way back up Aldo's thrusting shaft, using it to lead him back to Xavier's sexy little arse. His lips now kissed the point where Aldo was driving into his lover, making them both groan with need at the feel of his wet mouth and caressing tongue. His hands glided up and down Xavier's quivering thighs from knee to hip and back as he sampled the delicious heat of Aldo's pulsing cock and kept him nicely wet and slick.  With one hand now he reached out for the bottle of lube by the bed and oiled himself slowly, his fingers curled loosely around the throbbing length of his own rigid rod. A little growl of pleasure escaped him and he poured some of the warm, silky liquid steadily into Xavier's smooth, pale crevice, easing Aldo's thrusts inside him before he set the bottle aside.  "Do you like that, sweetheart?" he purred, rubbing the length of his naked body seductively against Xavier's arching, sweat-shimmering back and buttocks to touch his lips to the blond youth's ear.

"Uh-huh..." Xavier answered, turning his head so he could snatch a kiss, sweeping his tongue into Rayne's mouth and meshing their lips for a moment. Aldo lifted his hips, pushing deeper in the slick heat of his snug channel and Xav moaned into Rayne's mouth.

"Oh baby!" Aldo rumbled hungrily as he felt Rayne's cock move against the curve of his shaft, stroking up and down the underside of him as he pulsed in and out of Xavier's body.  The Italian's powerful fingers kneaded Xavier's cheeks then dipped between them, pressing on Rayne's plump, slippery cock-head gently. The vampire caught his breath then groaned helplessly as he felt Aldo's fingers apply a little more pressure, steering his glistening sex towards the hot little hole that had already swallowed his long prick.  "Mmmmhh... are you up for the both of us?" Rayne panted into Xav's mouth as they kissed again and he bucked his naked body the entire length of his lover's back. The touch of Aldo's hand on him was driving him crazy and he wanted to be in Xavier so badly that he was shaking with the need.

Even drenched in a haze of lust Xavier was a bit hesitant. Neither of them was small. "I dunno..." he murmured uncertainly. He could feel how badly Rayne wanted it though, how his limbs practically trembled with longing against him. "Go slow, okay?"

Aldo stroked his hands gently over Xavier's arse, trying to get him to relax.  "It's okay, caro. I done this plenty of times with boys younger and tighter than you," he promised. "You set the pace, okay?"  Rayne kissed his neck gratefully. "Aldo and Clay did me like this when I was just about 20 years old and you know how big Clay is. I was fine, sweetheart. Just relax. Let us get you ready."

While they soothed and coaxed him they both moved steadily with him, each moving in slow undulations. Rayne's cool touch whispered over his flanks and up his sides. His hands slid down his front and stroked lightly over Xav's hard, weeping cock. Xavier lifted into his touch and came back down on Aldo slick pole, his head tipping back onto Rayne's shoulder as he relaxed again. He was glad now he'd drunk all that wine with his dinner, that was making it easier to relax, as were the slow gentle caresses that wandered all over his lean naked body.

"Ahh... you're so fuckin' beautiful," Rayne crooned to him as Aldo pulled back and they both urged Xav up on his knees so that the Italian was barely inside him. Just his head lay cradled in the snug ring protecting Xavier from invaders. As he slipped it out, Rayne's fingers curled around both of them, holding his dick flush to the vast length and girth of the ex-porn star's lovely erection. If he'd been the kind of guy that got self conscious about such things he might have been jealous but today he just figured that with Aldo underneath his extra length made them well balanced for this act.  Slowly he pressed their mutant double-headed hard-on back against the yawning 'o' of Xavier's soft, wet hole, feeling the tight ring resist them valiantly. He poured some more lube over it and pressed more firmly, feeling Aldo grunt at the added pressure on his sensitive glans as it slid back into Xavier.

Despite his efforts to relax, Xavier started to wonder if this was going to be possible. The slippery pressure being applied to his backdoor felt far too large to actually fit, and then the pressure grew and, just when Xavier was about to tell them to stop, the head of Rayne's cock finally nudged past the constriction of his orifice joining Aldo inside him. The burn of being stretched that far was incredible and Xav sucked in a deep hissing breath through his clenched teeth.

"Ohmyfucking...Nnnnn-Aahhhhgh!!!" Xavier's pained groan was tumultuous. Rayne moved ever so slightly and Xavier's eyes squeezed shut, his sides heaving. The thing was, his cock was still just as hard as could be, standing up like a rigid pole against his belly and drooling a steady stream of clear liquid from the end that dripped down onto Aldo darkly tanned skin.

Xavier barely heard the little soothing words of encouragement from his lovers, hardly felt their hands on his body. It seemed like his every nerve ending had gathered and concentrated between his spread cheeks. The burn was starting to recede ever so slowly, his stretched opening amazingly accommodating and more elastic than he'd figured possible. In tandem they pulsed deeper inside him.

"Uuuuhhhhhnn!!!" Xavier groaned again, but this time it was a silkier sound, a generous dose of pleasure only tinged with a little pain, for flavour. The feeling of having that much inside him was indescribable, his limbs turned watery and his whole body was buzzing with need.

Rayne curled around him, one arm braced against the bedcovers beyond Xavier's left shoulder, the other snaking around his rib cage and caressing him appreciatively, then wandering down to his drooling cock. He fisted Xav rhythmically as he pressed his lips to the back of the blond boy's neck. Xavier's skin was so hot that it was a little like lying next to a blazing fire.  "You are so fuckin' wonderful!" he murmured against the softness of skin and hair, feeling his lover undulate against his body fiercely as they surged deeper still.  "Mi Caro, ti amo. So hot!" Aldo groaned, thrusting upward, into him harder and faster. Strong hands gripped Xavier's lean, golden thighs now, holding on tightly as they powered between his cheeks.

Xavier bent his head and caught Aldo's lips in a searing kiss, although he was not exactly moving with conscious thought anymore. He was nearly overwhelmed by the sensations assaulting him and he let himself drift on the tide of heat and lust being stirred. They built him up slowly, sliding in and out a little at a time and then with growing speed as the way became easier. How they moved together so perfectly never even crossed Xavier's mind, he was too far lost for coherent thought, and only the incredibly full feeling inside mattered. That and the way the slippery head of his cock was stroked and squeezed within Rayne's hand. Speech seemed beyond him as well, but he moaned sweetly and keened with the heat being fired up in him as they fucked him into oblivion.

Rayne felt Xavier's muscles begin to tighten fractionally before he began to respond to the delicious friction along every inch of his twitching, throbbing erection. He wrapped both arms around Xavier and carried on milking him steadily as his body melted over his lover's naked, bucking back. The explosion drove a long, breathless series of cries from his throat though.  Beneath them both Aldo was writhing and pulsing like someone had run a high-voltage current through him. Xavier's lips stifled his growl of pleasure as he burst inside the younger man.

The hot wet splash inside him was molten and set off Xavier's own volcanic eruption, spilling over Rayne's pumping fist onto Aldo's chest and belly as he cried out his pleasure. The muscles of his arms and legs gave way and he collapsed on Aldo, panting hard and whimpering dazedly.

Aldo sprawled under him, muscles suddenly gone limp in the aftermath of the delicious orgasm. Rayne crumpled like a broken doll over both of them, sliding out of Xavier as the two younger men finally rolled apart. They slumped down either side of Aldo and snuggled against the rapid rise and fall of his broad, sun-gilt torso, basking in his post-climactic heat.  "That... that was fucking amazing!" Rayne panted at last, shaking his damp, dark hair incredulously.  "Mmmm... I love you guys so much!" Aldo purred contentedly, as his arms finally recovered strength enough to curl around them both.

Xavier slowly turned his head, his cheek rubbing cat like along Aldo's shoulder, his eyes half lidded and very sexy as he kissed the corner of Aldo's mouth gently.

"You should, after that!" he chuckled, his voice still warm and husky. He snuggled back down, letting his hand drift soothingly across Aldo's chest and Rayne's arm, blissfully content. And a little sore! He wasn't going to walk right for a week after the things they had just done to him, but it was so worth it.

Rayne buried his face in the crook of Aldo's neck and nipped him lightly, just tasting him, nothing more serious. A couple of minutes' gentle kissing in the same spot was more than enough to heal the wound completely. Aldo kept on stroking his hair though, looking tenderly from one to the other of his boys.  "You look after him," he said at last, when Rayne's lips came up to meet his mouth.  "I will," the little vampire promised between snatched kisses. His hand wandered slowly up Xavier's outstretched arm as if taking possession.  "You too," Aldo murmured, turning his head to plant a gentle touch of his lips on Xavier's. "I don't want to hear about any more screaming rows or storming out the house, and I don't want you to take any shit from him either, caro. You tell me about it if he gives you grief. I know what he's like."

Xav thought Aldo sounded a bit like an elderly Auntie giving instruction to newlyweds going off to live on their own. He grinned, but he didn't tease him about it, mostly because he was just wore right out. He kissed him instead, and he kissed Rayne softly too and promised he that would. Because he knew then, without a shadow of doubt in his heart that it was going to be all right. He wasn't sure how but he just knew it.

Rayne's fingers curled around his arm and held him tightly then, as if he was the most precious of treasures, the sunrise and the moonlight and all the twinkling stars in the heavens. He did not let go for the longest time.

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2010

TO BE CONCLUDED... IN

THE EPILOGUE

COMING SOON!



Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 13



EPILOGUE

"Well, ladies and gentlepersons, our holiday tale of boys, sex and bloodletting, like all good holidays, is finally at an end. We've had so much fun writing this story over the past couple of years and we hope that you've enjoyed it as much as we have.

We try to thank people individually for all the comments and adds but for those of you that we've missed (and I'm sure there must be some) thank you again, for your patience, your suggestions and your boundless enthusiasm. We could do it without you, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun, I'm sure! We hope that you enjoy the conclusion to Sunrise and will come along for the next instalment of Rayne and Xavier's incredible adventure, in London.

"All the very best to our lovely readers."

xxx Bellora & Sadie

NICOLAS

Sitting with these warm, talkative mortals while they ate and laughed and teased or loved one another was both an intense pleasure and a cruel torture. Nicolas could not touch the food they ate, and as much as they tried to include him in the conversation he still felt... removed from them, and not just because he was new, whereas they all seemed to have an easy familiarity. He was acutely aware of their heat, and the source of it, the hot blood just below the surface. He doubted anyone else was having trouble containing himself from grabbing the person next to him and savaging his throat.

When Xavier finished his meal and left the table a bit of the warmth went with him, as if the sun, now way beyond the horizon, had truly set within him. Nicolas was sure he was not the only one to feel it. The others were still lively and talkative and so very warm, but the blond boy seemed to have a certain... aura about him; a light that shone so brightly it was like he had his own natural gravitational pull.

Nicolas was currently talking with the boy called Chavez, who was telling him animatedly about Mexico and California, though he was only half-attentive. The house was very solid; well built and insulated so that sounds did not carry far. Mortal ears may or may not have picked up the distant throaty moans of pleasure, but with Nicolas's keen hearing he might as well have been in the same room with them. Envy and desire poured into him in almost equal measure, the lust flashed through him, stirred by a mental image of Xavier sprawled naked and writhing between his two lovers, and it even brought a hint of warmth to his own, cold, pallid cheeks.

The good looking young Mexican seemed to sense his distraction for he paused in his telling and, after a moment's hesitation, put his hand gently on Nicolas's cool, golden-skinned arm.

"You okay, man?" he asked in a solicitous tone. "You wanna maybe slip out for a little while?"

Chavez was seemingly not unaware of the look that Dominic Warren cast his way. The English nobleman did not seem critical but his glance was wide-eyed and slightly amused. In view of the number of dimpled bite marks on Lord Warren's neck and arms this could have been for any number of reasons. Nicolas smiled at them both and rose, only the way he stood it looked more as if he floated up from the chair. "Lead the way, mon ami."

Chavez was on his feet straight away, ignoring the way that Lord Warren's look of curiosity mutated into a slow, knowing smile as he returned to his conversation with PJ and the guys.

"Ermmm... you wanna go down to the beach, or... umm... back to my room?" he asked warily, stroking his fingers up and down Nicolas's forearm, unwilling to break the physical contact with him now that it was made.

The small smile on the vampire's lips grew and for a moment a flash of sharp fang was visible. "Show me your room," he suggested as they walked down the hall together.

Chavez continued on toward the bedrooms rather than turn toward the terrace. As they drew closer to the room Xav and Rayne shared, Chavez was able to pick up on what Nicolas had already been privy to. Only, as luck would have it, at that moment Aldo and Rayne were attempting to push their double headed monster through a tiny but, fortunately, flexible little hole. The cry Xavier made was definitely more pain than pleasure and Nicolas saw Chavez's head turn and his eyes narrow on the door.

Nicolas moved his hand gently up his arm and leaned closer to his ear to murmur, "They are not really hurting him, mon ami." And as if to affirm this statement another silky little moan drifted out and seemed to caress over them both. "Which room is yours?" Nicolas prompted, his voice a little huskier.

For a moment, Chavez remained frozen by the bedroom door, as if hypnotised by the sounds within. Then the touch of Nicolas's cool hand slowly began to melt him, breaking the spell. The vampire smiled very persuasively and Chavez swallowed the lump in his throat as he nodded towards his own room further along the hall.

As they tumbled through the doorway, Chavez lifted his arms to put them around Nicolas's shoulders and the look in his eyes was almost one of amazement. He leaned in for a kiss, touching his lips hungrily to the cold mouth of the beautiful youth in his loose embrace.

Nicolas's soft lips returned the kiss eagerly, his hands gliding around Chavez's waist and under the edge of his shirt. His hands were normally cool now, but it had been too long since last he fed and he knew they were almost chilly. The warm skin he touched pebbled with gooseflesh as he ran his hands up Chavez's back, pulling the shirt up as he did so. He quickly divested him of the garment and caressed slowly up and down his lean torso as they kissed, bringing his hands to his chest to rub his thumbs over the little nubs of his nipples.

His fingers slid slowly down his front to the button of his jeans and he deftly pulled the button free and unzipped him while his tongue probed and explored the delicious heat of Chavez's mouth.

Chavez moaned a little as their lips meshed and parted then came together again. Nicolas's hands ran up across his scalp and tugged at the band holding his long dark hair back from his face. Then Chavez was stroking his fingers searchingly into the neckline of Nicolas's shirt and pulling it open eagerly.

"Ohhh, you're so cold, baby. Let me warm you up," he panted into the beautiful Frenchman's yielding mouth.

His arms moved around Nicolas's lean, toned body, encircling his slender torso as he buried his face in the crook of his neck, kissing his cool, silken skin and running his hands down over those slim hips into his loose fitting pants. In no time they had shed their clothes and were tumbling across the bed. Nicolas could have very easily overpowered the other man, but he let Chavez push him back on the mattress, moving his hands incessantly over his warm skin. A soft moan caught in his throat as the scent of his skin and silky hair filled his head and he nuzzled up under his ear, hands sliding into the long dark hair and lifting it gently as he inhaled deeply.

"You smell so good, mon ami," he murmured. His dark lashes were stark on his pale cheeks as his eyes focused on the thudding pulse in his partner's throat, and another little moan escaped him. "Let me taste you..." he whispered, lips moving over his soft skin, but not biting, not yet, although it was so very hard to hold back.

Chavez was surging against him, hard and eager. His lips covered Nicolas's mouth again but this time he was just whispering huskily between those smooth lips.

"Not yet, baby. Hold on for me, just a little more."

And then he was kissing his way down the silken body beneath his own, letting his tongue flicker playfully around the vampire's painfully erect nipples and pressing his face into the hollow beneath his ribcage. He kissed Nicolas's bare belly and tongued his navel, licking down slowly, following the fine, dark treasure trail that led into his groin. Eagerly, Chavez stroked his tongue up and down the pulsing vein that ran from his lover's sensitive perineum, right up to the head of his throbbing cock.

Nicolas sucked air he did not need through gritted teeth, his fingers sinking deeper into the mass of thick dark hair that suited Chavez so perfectly. He was a study of delicious browns, his hair black coffee, his skin caramel cream, and his eyes velvet chocolate, and yet Nicolas knew the best would be the rich red taste of his hot blood. He quelled that desire as hard as he could for the moment, concentrating on the warm wetness of his tongue as it traced over his hard flesh, rolling his hips with need as his lover's lush lips moved over the head of his cock. "Oh, yes, mon cher... that feels so good."

Chavez wrapped his lips around the plump, moist head of his lover's fabulous cock and glanced up at Nicolas with those melting brown eyes. Slowly he took the horny French vampire all the way to the root in his mouth and the tightness of his throat, holding him there as his breath came quick and hard in the hollow of Nicolas's urgently thrusting crotch. Now Chavez stroked a gentle fingertip over the pucker of his mate's tight anus, teasing him steadily with one careful fingernail as he slowly nodded and sucked on Nicolas's beautiful erection.

Nicolas moved within the slick wet confines of Chavez's tight warm throat and mouth. He guided his head gently as he slowly pumped his hips, fucking the other man's willing mouth with a series of soft delighted cries and murmured encouragement. He was thick and so very hard and close to coming when he pulled Chavez off his dick before he shot. He was grinning, a little sheen of sweat glistening on his pale skin. "Uhh, you are very good at that, cher."

"I had the best teachers," Chavez grinned back at him, licking his salty lips and flexing his jaw. "PJ gives amazing head and he makes sure all his boys know how to treat a guy's dick." He sucked the tip of his finger and stroked it gently around Nicolas's twitching pucker again. "I really wanna get inside you," the Mexican youth purred huskily, eyes on the prize.

Nicolas's legs were parted just enough for Chavez to lay between, now he lifted his foot to the back of Chavez's thigh, slowly caressing upwards as he let his legs fall apart a bit more. "All right, but it's been a while since I was, how do you say... the bottom?" he said with a little grin.

Chavez kissed him gratefully, undulating rhythmically between those sleek thighs. "Are you sure? Because we can just carry on with lips and tongues, if you'd rather. Hell, I could do that to you all night!"

The way he was pressing up against Nicolas though suggested he could probably do other things all night as well.

"Non, cher," Nicolas said, kissing him hungrily in return. "I want you to take me."

His mate needed no more encouragement than that. Kissing Nicolas long and hard on the mouth so that those sharp little fangs nicked his lips, though he hardly cared, Chavez reached out to the bedside unit, groping blindly in the drawer there for the little bottle of oil that he knew would be just within reach. He knelt back between his lover's slim, pale thighs and uncapped the bottle, pouring the silken liquid slowly over Nicolas's chest and belly, pausing to stroke his slippery hand searchingly up and down that beautiful body.

He drizzled oil over his erect cock and guided Nicolas's hand to it, whilst his own lubricated fingers cupped and caressed the vampire's heavy balls. Two fingers found the nub of his sexy ass and Chavez firmly but gently pushed them inside him, feeling the tight ring of muscle grip him right away.

"Wow, you are tight, man!" he exhaled with a grin.

Nicolas moaned, his eyes closing as he pulled his lips between his teeth for a moment before he was able to give a breathless little laugh.

"I told you," he said, as he stroked his slippery hand slowly up and down on Chavez's straining cock.

The young mortal kept his long fingers straight as he worked them slowly in and out of the soft, velvet tunnel of Nicolas's sexy ass. He dribbled a little more oil down over his lover's clenching balls and worked it into him with his fingers, the action getting steadily easier the more vigorously Chavez frigged him.

"Jesus, you're cold inside as well," he commented with a little shake of his head. "That feels so weird. Good! But weird too!"

"I'll be warmer soon." Nicolas assured him with a little grin. His hand snaked around Chavez's neck and pulled him down for a slowly simmering kiss. The tiny hint of blood he'd tasted when Chavez nicked himself on his sharp little fangs was already gone. He lifted his hips and undulated encouragingly. Although he was enjoying the mortal's attentions he wanted him, now. Fortunately Chavez was willing enough to comply, his fingers were quickly replaced by the head of his turgid shaft. Nicolas moaned deeply, his tongue thrusting into Chavez's mouth as the young man's plump, pink cock head slid past his tight opening with a little pop.

"Ohhhh... fuck! Yes!" Chavez exhaled fervently as he felt Nicolas open up for him, letting him slot neatly inside. His muscles did not resist the steady thrust of Chavez's eager cock and as the mortal pulled him into a passionate embrace his neck was perfectly poised within snatching distance of Nicolas's sharp fangs. Chavez wrapped lean, brown arms around his torso, gripping Nicolas's shoulders from beneath and driving his hips, bucking deeper with a slow, low whine of desperate arousal.

The long exposed column of his throat, the scent of his skin under his nose, the throb of his pulse, was just too much for the hungry vampire to resist. One arm locked around Chavez's waist and the other hand slid up into his hair, holding him tightly as his lips parted and glistening fangs sunk into the side of Chavez's exposed throat. The warm, coppery, salt-tang of rich blood rushed into his mouth and hit Nicolas with tsunami force, flushing him with hot pleasure, a rush like no drug or sex or alcohol on earth.

Chavez uttered a small, fragile "ohh..." as he felt Nicolas bite into him. His body shuddered fiercely and for a moment he froze, buried to the hilt inside his mate. As he felt the vampire draw on the heat within his veins he was moments away from exploding inside Nicolas.

The stillness helped. After a little while of being used for sustenance this way, his body relaxed into it and he began to pulse again, more slowly this time, remembering how good it had felt to feed Wylde's Sire, Jabez Everman in San Francisco.

Nicolas still had a fierce grip on him, the blood pounded through him, so sweet, so intoxicating as he swallowed again, drawing on Chavez. With a shudder of his own he suddenly pulled his head back panting hard, his eyes huge and black, his lips stained scarlet. It was not a very clean and neat feed but he was newly Turned and nearly out of his head with the temptation Chavez put before him. He reined himself back only with a supreme effort.

His body writhed under Chavez, his every nerve singing with the glut of warm pleasure thrumming inside and the throbbing heat impaling him. The bittersweet taste of him was still in his mouth. He gasped out a startled little cry, the urgency building and then bursting from him in a quaking orgasm.

Chavez wanted very much to make this last, to make his first time with Nicolas so tender, so gentle, but the feel of that supple, silken body tangled around his own, writhing beneath him was driving him close to the edge. He felt a wave of dizziness when Nicolas broke from his neck and those drowning dark eyes stared back helplessly into his own. Gripping his lover's slim, white hips he fucked deep and fast into the sexy French vampire and felt Nicolas clench hard around his thrusting cock as he collapsed back into the rumpled nest of bedclothes. Jets of milky cum zapped Chavez's naked belly and trickled down into the neatly trimmed, black treasure trail leading to his own pulsating dick.

"Joder!" he moaned as the wetness of his lover's semen spilled like cool cream around the base of his shaft and dripped onto his swollen balls. "Gonna.... gonna..."

He bucked his straining erection vigorously into Nicolas, once, twice more before erupting inside his tight, clenching chute; his lover's sexy arsehole sucking the explosion from his balls.

"Jesus!" he exhaled forcefully, as his limbs gave way and he collapsed, shaking with lust and pleasure on top of his naked mate.

Nicolas held him to his body, his chest still heaving as he licked the last traces of salty tang from his lips. Nicolas had not invaded his mind or shared any thoughts or memories with him, there was no circuit completing connection like there was between Rayne and Xavier, but he had felt something in the young Mexican lad. A hurt...an ache for someone that was bitter sweet. He crooned gently to Chavez, stroking his hands tenderly over his soft tanned skin. Even though they had been quick, it was intense and very satisfying.

"Madre de Dios!" Chavez exhaled at last, snuggling happily into the vampire's arms. "That was amazing, chico. I'm sorry it was so... wham-bam! I'll try to last longer next time. If you'll give me another chance?"

He lifted his head, looking up anxiously through sweat damp fronds of dark hair at Nicolas. The young French vampire was so gorgeous that it made his chest hurt just to look at him.

Nicolas chuckled softly, his fingers tracing lightly over Chavez's jaw. "That was indeed amazing, and even so I think you can have another chance. Maybe next time we switch though, yes?" He grinned charmingly.

"For you," Chavez responded in a low, hungry tone, reaching over to press his mouth to those soft, cold, lush lips, "...anything."

Nicolas kissed him slowly and deeply, his hands still gliding over his soft skin in gentle caresses. The desire for the rich hot blood in him was still strong, but more manageable now, a background buzz that added to his desire for his body rather than overwhelming it. He lingered over the kiss, the initial rush fading enough to allow him to take his time and savour Chavez now. When he had thoroughly tasted every bit of his tongue and mouth he finally broke off for long enough to move Chavez, laying the young man on his front. Nicolas moved over him, running his hands up and down his sleek back and the curve of his gorgeous ass. He dipped down so his lips and tongue could follow the trail of his hands, kissing and nibbling and nipping lightly at his shoulders and down his tanned back.

Encouraged by the little coos of pleasure from his partner he cupped the globes of his cheeks in his hands and kneaded them, separating them as he nuzzled between, and let the tip of his tongue wriggle teasingly around his rim.

Chavez exhaled a rush of Hispanic imprecations under his breath as he felt that rough little tongue begin to do amazing things to his ass. He wriggled eagerly against the bedcovers and buried his face in his arms, moaning breathlessly with pleasure and anticipation. Neither he nor Nico were natural bottoms but it felt good to submit to him now, having already taken his pleasure on top. The vampire sure knew how to touch a guy to get him just ready for it.

"Ahhh... where have you been all my freakin' life?" he growled feeling his prick lurch and swell for the caress of his lover's tongue.

Nicolas was a little too preoccupied to answer but he did moan softly against his skin, the vibrations travelling nicely along Chavez's most sensitive areas. The tip of his tongue finally wriggled past his fluttering ring, plunging inside as he reached under Chavez's squirming hips to pull his cock back between his legs and pump him slowly with his fist. Despite Chavez's increasingly desperate moans Nicolas did not relent, he took his time tonguing and kissing his sweetly offered little hole and stroking his lovely hard cock.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 13



"Uhhh... chico, I can't take very much more of that," Chavez panted at last, still wriggling beneath him and loving the touch of his lover's soft, cool mouth between his cheeks. "You are driving me freakin' crazy!"

Pleased with Chavez's reactions, his sounds of pleasure, and the way he opened easily for him when he slid his fingers inside Nicolas sat back a bit and pulled Chavez up by his hips to his knees. He'd already slicked some more of the oil Chavez had used on him earlier over his throbbing erection and now eagerly pressed his swollen head to that thoroughly rimmed little hole. With a short, heartfelt cry he slid inside him, shuddering at the intense pleasure of his tight heat around him.

"Ohhh... oh, mon cher! So sweet!" he murmured along his arching back, wrapping himself around Chavez's hot body.

His lover tilted down, burying his face in the crook of one arm as he huddled on his elbows and knees feeling Nicolas slide smoothly into him. Chavez had taken men like this before but he was almost weeping with pleasure as he felt the beautiful French vampire begin to stroke in and out of him steadily; his erect cock fitting into Chavez like it was meant to be a part of him. He was just the perfect weight and length, just the right heft and curve to touch all the important spots inside his lover.

And Chavez let him know it now, crying out hungrily for more as he let Nicolas bury himself to the hilt.

Nicolas steadily caressed up and down Chavez's heaving flanks as he began to stroke harder and faster inside him. He spread his knees wider, making Chavez spread a little more for him as well, and bucked into his body with abandon, a string of flowing French endearments and encouragements whispered and moaned. He slid a hand around Chavez's narrow waist and wrapped it around his very hard cock, pumping rhythmically with his own thrusts.

Immediately Chavez rolled back onto his hands and knees, pushing back to meet him and bucking eagerly into the firm hand around his shaft. His breath came fast and hard now, rising to a little moan with each exhalation.

"Oh... ohh... ohhh... Dio! Gracias!" he whimpered as the horny young vampire fucked him into helpless, passionate submission.

Nicolas curled forward, his breath huffing over Chavez's ear and his lips kissing and nuzzling down into the crook of his neck as his hand fisted his lover's cock and he plundered the mortal youth's sensual depths with smooth hard thrusts. He bit Chavez almost gently, the edge taken off from the first feeding. The hot mouthful of copper and salt slid down his throat and zinged through him like electricity. Nicolas moaned as he kissed and licked the wound, skating the edge of orgasm.

His eager human lover moved with him now, curling into the smooth arc of his undulating body and writhing against him as Nicolas stroked and milked him inside and out. The pleasure was exquisite, the sharp pain of his fangs melting into the bliss of being held and touched and fucked that way. Chavez moaned steadily at the slow thrust of the vampire's beautiful cock deep inside him. He wanted to die like this, wrapped in a passionate embrace, on fire with the need to come and come and come.

"Ahhh chico... te amo!" he panted, riding the knife edge as Nicolas worked his sensitive dick and throbbing depths.

Nicolas's lips moved from the closed bite-marks to his earlobe, nipping gently there as their bodies moved together in a perfect, driving rhythm. He could not hold out much longer, the tight hot grip around him was bringing him closer and closer, and suddenly he was beyond the point of holding back.

"Uhh... uhh... ohhhh... I'm there... oh oui...merci!" and he felt the tightening dam burst, flooding his lover beneath him.

Chavez jerked under him, firing sporadically into his clenching hand as they sank onto the bed together in breathless ecstasy. He lay flat for a little while, letting his heartbeat slow, listening to the rhythmic drumming of his pulse in his ears.

"Oh man...!" he exhaled at last, rolling over to take Nicolas in his arms; feeling his vampire lover slide wetly out of him with a hint of regret. "How amazing was that?"

Nicolas held him close and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Sleepily he murmured; "You are wonderful, trop cher."

"Are you going to stick around for a while?" Chavez asked him, almost coyly. "I mean... I'd like it. If you wanted to that is?"

He nearly blushed, but shook his hair across his sun-tanned face to hide it.

Nicolas didn't let him hide though, brushing his long dark hair back again and caressing gently along his chin. He kissed Chavez hungrily, murmuring against his lips, "I would like very much to stay with you, cher. And perhaps to fuck you again, many times like this, oui?"

Chavez made a small incoherent noise of agreement that was quickly muffled as he pulled Nicolas closer, pressing his mouth hungrily to the vampire's soft, cool lips once more and kissing him passionately. Nicolas sensed that Chavez needed comforting perhaps more than anything else at the moment, and he was more than happy to provide that comfort. He did so by holding and kissing him tenderly, and then a little later, after they had both slept, by waking him to another round of passionate lovemaking which continued until the sunlight flooded their room and they had utterly exhausted one another.

THE SUNRISE...

Between them Xavier and Rayne, either together or in turn, kept Aldo up (in more ways than one) until the wee hours before dawn in a hedonistic, self indulgent, feast of sexual energy. When they finally slept, all three were completely wrung out and sated.

Sometime during the night (or early morning actually) they had shifted around on the bed. Aldo lay curled up to Rayne's back, and Xavier lay on Rayne's other side facing him. Xavier opened his eyes first, noting the room was already quite bright. Rayne's tumble of dark hair framed his face, inky black lashes fanned across his cheeks. He resisted the urge to run the tip of his finger over the edge of that silky-soft double row of lashes or kiss the tip of his nose. It was amazing to him how much difference one day made.

An image came to him of their bodies entwined on the blanket in the warm sun yesterday, Rayne surging into him and, unable to resist, biting into the side of his throat. The tumble of dark and horrible memories that ensued was interspersed with brief bright moments of happiness from two pasts that, in many ways, resembled one another. The aftermath left them both panting and reeling but somehow more intimately bound to one another.

He watched Rayne sleep for a few moments more. His lover looked so peaceful and still. The face that so often wore a cocky smirk, or smouldering lust, was porcelain smooth and so innocent in sleep.

Very carefully Xavier slipped out of the bed at last, managing not to disturb either of his mates, and headed to the shower. He smelled of sweat and sex and vaguely of surf, sand and sun oil. Not bad smells really, but he was fastidious about being clean. Yawning he adjusted the temperature of the water and stretched. His back ached a bit, and his ass was definitely sore. It was a good kind of sore though, a thoroughly satisfied, fucked into the mattress kind of sore.

He stepped under the warm spray of water and let it beat down on him for a few moments. It felt so good on the back of his neck and shoulders and he rolled the muscles there slowly, feeling them relax.

Other things started to intrude into his thoughts as he picked up the shampoo and worked it into his hair. He dwelt on the confused, panicky feelings he had experienced yesterday, standing in the kitchen with Aldo, Chavez, and Rayne, recalling how he had picked up what they were all feeling so easily. He had experienced it like he was each of his friends in turn, only knowing distantly that the feelings were not really his own. He would have had a hard time describing it to someone, the best he could say was that it was like he was being pulled in too many directions simultaneously and he could not control himself.

Whatever Rayne had done to him when he bit seemed to have made it stop, or maybe just let him block it out. He really should talk to Dominic when he got a chance; find out what the older man thought about what was happening to him.

Xavier rinsed the lather from his hair; soapy white trails sliding down his smooth golden skin. The steam swirled around him as the door to the shower cubicle slid aside. He opened his eyes and smiled to see Rayne stepping in with him. It had become something of a morning ritual, their showering together. This morning though he wasn't sure if his lover would want anything more than soap and water after their recent exertions.

He slipped his arms around Rayne and kissed him lightly as he came closer. "Good morning."

Rayne's lips dwelt over the kiss, and his arms slipped around Xavier holding him as if he was fragile, just a gentle touch of his fingers up and down the younger man's wet, naked back and firm cheeks.

"You started without me," he murmured when their lips parted softly. "I liked that you were watching me sleep though," he added, almost as an afterthought. A little tease to let Xavier know that he hadn't been sound asleep after all.

"I didn't want to wake you if you were still resting," Xav said, returning the gentle caresses with gliding strokes of his own fingertips. He turned a little under the spray and watched as Rayne tipped his head back under the water. Xavier reached over for the shampoo and squeezed some into his palm before bringing his hands up to Rayne's hair. His fingers massaged along his scalp sensually as he worked in the lather before the spray rinsed it back out.

The look on Rayne's face told Xavier he was enjoying that, so he moved his hands down, his strong fingers making soapy circles over his sleek back and kneading the muscles skilfully.

"I 'aven't let anybody wash my hair since I was a kid," Rayne told him in a soft, husky voice. "That feels... it feels nice actually."

He let one hand slide around to Xavier's bared chest, resting his palm flat against the younger man's torso with the fingers splayed, watching the way that the water broke and cascaded around them on its way down over his golden skin. There was a quiet wonderment in his impossibly green eyes.

"You're so warm," he whispered. "So... alive. I can feel your heart beating. I can feel you watching me, even with my eyes shut. Jabez said this would happen, that the way I sense things would get more... just 'more'. I can't even find the words to explain how it feels."

He looked up at Xavier apologetically.

Xavier looked at him curiously. "I wonder why your senses are getting even sharper now? I mean, is it just something gradual that happens, or did something trigger it?" he wondered aloud.

Rayne kissed the tip of his nose affectionately.

"It's a constant learning curve, being dead!" he said with a teasing smile. "That's why Elian and all those old bastards in Frisco made such a meal of the fact that they're older. Not necessarily wiser, but they're stronger, that's true. And their senses are so much sharper. They can smell a stranger in town the minute he steps off the plane. You can filter it out, you'd have to or it would drive you insane, but the older I get the better my senses are, it's true. I feel things with you though that I don't get from other people," he added cryptically.

Rayne tilted his head then to kiss Xavier rather more than just affectionately. Wet hands snaked down to his hips, then lower still, caressing the backs of his thighs and the smooth curve of his cheeks. He pulled Xav closer in a way that did not leave the matter open to debate.

Xavier slid his arms up Rayne's back, his hands splaying and caressing him as he was pulled into a tighter embrace, kissing him back with a slow lazy heat. Lush lips opened at Rayne's probing and drew his tongue inside to dance with his own in languid undulations that mimicked their bodies.

"I could get too fond of this," Rayne purred with a languid smile as their lips parted and Xavier caught his breath.

Xavier's lips curled as he nuzzled the side of Rayne's throat and placed soft little kisses along his collarbone.

"Oh yeah?" he murmured as he slid slowly down his body trailing warm kisses. "How bout this?" he teased playfully, on his knees, licking up the underside of his wet stiffening shaft and lashing his tongue over the very tip.

Rayne let his head tilt back and closed his eyes, long fingers running feverishly through Xavier's wet hair as he drowned in the heat of the younger man's breath against his crotch and the quick, skilful touch of his tongue all over the sensitive flesh of his quickening erection.

"You are a very bad boy," he sighed tremulously. "I think I'm gonna have to do something about that when I get you home."

Xav moaned at the tormenting image those words brought to mind.

"Promise?" he purred before he closed his lips around the plump head of Rayne's cock and took him down in a single gulp.

"Uhhh... mmmm... whatever you want!" Rayne agreed in a little rush of ecstasy, his fingers curling possessively around his lover's skull as he bucked eagerly into Xavier's wonderfully accommodating mouth. "Jesus, that feels good!"

"Mmmmm..." Xavier agreed, purring around the thick shaft he was slowly nodding up and down on. With one hand braced on Rayne's thigh he used the other to heft and knead his heavy balls and then slipped a finger back along his perineum, circling around the little pucker between his cheeks and slipping the digit inside him.

Rayne yelped urgently at the sensual intrusion, not sure whether to push forward or back now. He spread his feet a little wider apart, bracing himself with one hand on the cubicle wall and the other cradling the back of Xavier's nodding head. Slowly he rocked his hips to and fro, crooning with delight at the sensations roused by Xavier's deft digits and skilful tongue.

"Oh my god! You are a fuckin' angel!" he growled huskily, swaying closer and closer to the brink, his eyes closed, wrapped up in the sexual spell his young lover was casting on him.

Xavier relaxed his jaw, tilting his head back a little more, letting Rayne slip easily in and out of the tight constriction of his throat. He added a second finger into the tight sheath gripping him, the pads of his fingertips pressing and rubbing over the smooth tiny bulb of pure sexual pleasure inside. He gazed up at Rayne with glazed, lust filled eyes, waiting for the salty-sweet cream he knew was very close now.

Rayne cried out hoarsely as his lover's deft caresses conjured their intended explosion. His fangs extended of their own volition and he gripped Xavier's wet curls more tightly as his knees weakened. He almost fell but the bracing hand on the glass wall of the shower cubicle kept him upright as the climax surged like electricity through his muscles and veins.

"Uhhh... Oh Jesus!" he hissed, staring down at the glistening, naked beauty that had worked such incredible magic on him.

Xavier's throat flexed, swallowing the load Rayne delivered into his mouth. His eyes were half closed and unfocussed. He waited a few more moments, sucking on his lover gently now and withdrawing his fingers before he let Rayne slip slowly from between his lips. He nuzzled him at the juncture where his hip met his body before he stood on not quite steady legs and kissed him softly.

"I've got to get some stuff packed and get something a bit more substantial to eat if we're leaving this afternoon. Not that you're not delicious!" he added with a little chuckle.

Rayne leaned into him, kissing the curve of his neck just above his collarbone and nipping him there gently, then licking away the beads of blood his sharp little teeth drew.

"Thanks sweetheart, what a wake-up call! You are so fuckin' tasty," he whispered in his lover's ear. "I can't wait to get you all on your own."

The little nip sent sparks chasing all through Xavier, adding to he heat he was already feeling from sucking Rayne off. He loved to give a good blow job almost as much as he liked getting one! But, he could hold off a while for his own gratification. Sometimes a little self-denial was a hell of an aphrodisiac, and beside, after the night he'd just had he really was too sore for anything more strenuous.

He got out of the shower and let Rayne finish in there while he dried off and got dressed. He genuinely had quite a bit of packing to do. There was a lot more stuff in his wardrobe than he'd arrived with. Still, it didn't take him too long and by the time he was done Rayne was out of the shower, dried and dressed, and it didn't take but a few minutes for his mate to gather up his own few belongings and pack them into his small, black messenger bag.

A NEW DAY

The vampire was used to travelling light. He rarely hit the road with more than he could ram into a shoulder bag. Anything else got sent ahead, so it did not take him long at all to get himself ready. Whilst they were in the shower Aldo had risen and stripped down the bed, and they could hear him whistling in the other bathroom. All over the house now there were signs of movement. Dominic was coming back to London with them. Mikka had elected to spend a few more days with Paddy and Aldo in Italy but the older men had still risen to see their friends off.

"I'm going to miss the sunshine," Rayne sighed with a little smile that said there were other things, and people, that he would miss as well.

"Why? Don't they let the sun shine in London?" Xav asked with a little grin, trying to keep the mood on the lighter side. He was going to miss people too, and he didn't want to dwell on that too much. Besides that though, he was from California, he was used to a sunny, temperate climate, and even when the weather was bad it didn't last long. He had no idea how different England would be.

"They passed a shitload of laws against it in 1765," Rayne answered him, completely deadpan. "Ask Lady Warren... it's in the statute books. It's only allowed to be sunny in London for one day in sixteen. And if the temperature gets above freezing too often the entire British Isles will sink into the Irish Sea."

He could only hold Xavier's slightly incredulous expression for a few seconds before the grin slid back across his face though.

As if speaking his name had conjured him up, said Adept poked his head in the door just then. "All packed and ready?" Dominic asked with a sunny smile.

Xav returned his smile and patted the single suitcase he'd managed to cram all of his things into. "Yep."

It was a considerably happier and less dramatic departure then the first time Dominic and Rayne had left. Aldo was driving them to the train station this time, although everyone else said their farewells at the villa. PJ was particularly hard for Xavier to say goodbye too. He'd grown closer to the older man than he'd like to admit, and would miss his steadying influence and kindness.

"You take care of yourself," Paddy murmured to him as he pulled Xavier into a long, warm embrace that said more than a thousand words. "And take care of that pain in the butt boyfriend of yours as well. If he gives you any nonsense, well you've got my number."

He kissed Xavier gently on both cheeks and smiled fondly at the younger man. Then the other guys were bidding him their farewells. Clay bear-hugged him wordlessly and winked as he put Xavier down. Mikka took his hand gravely, but pulled him into a one armed hug as well.

Chavez, who had been standing with his arm around Nicolas, the French vampire, now stepped forward and grasped his upper arms firmly, kissing him quick and hard on the mouth.




Reach Out For The Sunrise Ch. 13



"I'll miss you, Xavier chico," he said bravely. "It was good knowing you."

Xavier stole a quick glance at Nicolas and back to Chavez, a smile tugging at his lips. He figured Chavez would soon have other diversions to help keep him from missing him too much. What he said though, with a wink and another quick kiss, was, "I'm sure I'll see you again."

He didn't do well with goodbyes, he always felt awkward and unsettled.

Nicolas wished him farewell with a sort of wistful airiness, but Xav noticed his hand didn't stray too far from Chavez's waist. Knowing that those two had formed a bond of sorts made him feel better about his own choices.

Then, with final smiles and waves, they were out the door and in the spacious Cayenne, Lord Warren up front with Aldo, and Xav and Rayne settling into the backseat. Both Dominic and Rayne seemed somewhere between amused and surprised that Xavier had never been on a train before. San Francisco didn't have a subway, and the only concept Xav had of trains was something that carried freight.

"Well..." Dominic exclaimed cheerfully. "England here we come, then!"

Rayne turned his head to exchange a long look with Xavier. His lips were smiling, his pale eyes slightly concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked, almost under his breath.

Xavier smiled back and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine." And he was, for the most part. He couldn't help a little bit of anxiety though. His world, and the only life he knew, had been pretty much turned upside down. The weeks they'd spent in Italy had given him time to get used to the idea that he wasn't going to be able to go back to that city or that life, but it had also given him a chance to get comfortable, if he didn't think too far ahead.

Staying at Aldo's had been a bit like putting life on hold for a while, and now someone had gone and pressed the play button again. He was very happy Rayne wasn't trying to cut him out of his life anymore, but there were still uncertainties ahead. Xavier wasn't too worried though. He could handle just about anything and, as usual, he decided, he would figure it out as he went along.

The high-powered car rolled out of the drive and onto the highway and was swallowed up in the golden glow of the Italian sunrise.

*

REACH OUT FOR THE SUNRISE

© SADIE ROSE BERMINGHAM & BELLORA QUINN 2010

THE END