The Last Emperor

“Isn’t there someone here more experienced, who knows what they’re doing?” Arit snorted a laugh. “Show me how to make it good for you first.”

Blood streamed from the bite on Nick’s nape in wet trails. The coppery scent dizzied Nick as he turned in Arit’s embrace. He’d meant to guide Arit to their mating bed, but red blood painting Arit’s delectable mouth and smeared down his chin set Nick to trembling. Nick had to taste Arit. Not kissing those plump red lips was unthinkable. Nick bent his head, and Arit angled his jaw to meet him, their mouths mashing together in eager lust. Nick shuddered at Arit’s tongue dancing with his, loved the sharp prick of Arit’s canines. The salty, metallic flavor of Arit’s mouth dazzled him, and when Arit bucked his hips into Nick’s groin, grinding their cocks together, Nick grasped Arit’s biceps. He pushed and, body loose, Arit let him. They both fell to the mattress in a tangled heap.

Unlike his mate, Nick had enjoyed many lovers. He had never considered himself a slut, per se, but he’d rarely denied himself physical release if the chance for an orgasm or three arose. He liked sex. His partners and a couple of boyfriends over the years had taught him what turned him on best, how and where to touch, lick, and suck to please whoever he was with and, most importantly, to read his lover’s responses to make sex good for them, too.

Curse him, though, Arit had been right.

Nick was as virginal in their bed as his mate. He shook, hands clumsy. Where their kiss should have been smooth as silk, raw but skillfully potent, their mouths slammed together in desperate greed, and the unique zest of Arit’s blood gliding across Nick’s tongue told him he’d reopened the wound his teeth had sliced into Arit’s lip earlier. Damn it. Nick wanted to be gentle, to prolong their pleasure into a drugging haze, but Arit arching his ass up, thrusting into Nick, destroyed Nick’s self-control. His second orgasm of the night tightened his balls. At this avarice pace, it’d be over before they’d hardly started.

Hell with it.

Ripping his mouth away, Nick scooted down Arit’s writhing body. Arit whined in protest, but Nick ignored the needy sound until his knees planted on the bedroom floor. “Just…” Nick shoved Arit’s knees up, exposing Arit’s muscled ass. He spread Arit’s legs to open Arit up and groaned at his first glimpse of his mate’s hole. “God, I want you,” he said and bent his head.

Arit arched his back at Nick’s tongue darting over his asshole. Nick had meant to start slowly, to tease and inflame his mate by gentle incremental degrees, but, need skittering up his spine, he shoved his face into Arit’s ass and ate voraciously. Innocent as Arit may be, he wasn’t completely ignorant. Nick tasted soap, indicating Arit had washed thoroughly, and then, the enticing earthy flavor of his mate. He licked, nibbled, and pushed his tongue into Arit’s ass, the shocked and broken sounds Arit made driving him to rim his mate with as much skill as Nick could muster. Arit’s musk intoxicated Nick, his wild tremble sending Nick’s arousal into a crazy spiral. Nick’s cock, dangling between his knees, dripped as Nick made a meal of Arit’s ass.

Nick growled, reaching between Arit’s legs to slap Arit’s hand away when Arit grabbed for his dick.

“Need to come.” Arit’s chest heaved with his harsh pants.

“Not yet.” Nick snarled, wallowing in Arit’s protesting groan when Nick stabbed his tongue into Arit’s hole once again. Drawing his mate’s pleasure out was as beyond Nick as it was Arit, though. He wanted more.

So did his mate.

Heartbeat thudding a rapid staccato, he grudgingly withdrew his mouth from Arit’s wet, softened ring and, unable to resist, Nick sank his teeth into a taut ass cheek. Grunting, Arit jerked, but he didn’t move away. Not that he could go far with Nick’s canines embedded in his flesh. Hot, salty liquid flooded Nick’s mouth, streaming from his mate and into Nick who sucked and bit deeper, hungry for every drop Arit could give him.

“Mount me,” Arit said, voice raspy. His hands fisted the sheets at either side of his hips. His ass bucked in spite of the tight clench of Nick’s teeth in him. “Want your cock inside me. Now.”

Lifting his head up, Nick laved the wound with his tongue. The wet sounds he made slurping Arit’s blood maddened him. Was their scent mixing already? The thought alone zinged desire through him, like a raging inferno burning him to his core. “Center of the bed.” He caressed Arit’s flanks, the curve of his mate’s ass and tense muscle under silky skin almost more than Nick could stand. “On your hands and knees.”

He didn’t have to tell Arit twice. He flipped onto his stomach, a stray foot clocking Nick on his jaw as he hurried to do as Nick said. “Shit. Sorry,” Arit said over his shoulder.

“’s all right.” Nick grunted at the pain, grateful at least the blow jarred him out of his sensual thrall enough to see to Arit as his mate deserved. Instead of pouncing on him, Nick crawled onto the mattress. He rubbed his injured jaw, sure a bruise would bloom spectacular blues and purples by morning. “Rolan and I have done a lot worse wrestling each other for fun back home.” Before Arit could apologize again, Nick crouched over Arit’s legs. He licked a long line from the man’s sexy feet up his calf, sprinkled liberally with dark hair. He tasted the salt of his sweat. Nick inhaled the musky scent of his mate. He dipped his tongue into the back of Arit’s knees, teasing the soft and sensitive skin there before gliding up his thigh. Drunk with arousal, he lapped up a red stream spilling down Arit’s thigh from the bite on his ass cheek while Arit squirmed, bowing his back to tip his ass up in wanton invitation Nick couldn’t resist.

Nick rose up, leaning over Arit to skate open-mouthed kisses up the line of Arit’s spine. Arit moaned, muscles rippling under Nick’s lips. Fucking him would be amazing, like riding the lightning, and Nick shivered in anticipation, need coiling inside his gut. When Nick’s dangling locket slid over the bunched muscle of Arit’s shoulder, Nick bit. Arit snarled, quaking so violently Nick wondered that his mate didn’t fly apart. With the hot splash of Arit’s blood once again filling Nick’s mouth, though, Nick focused. Reaching beside Arit, Nick slid his hand under the pillow for the lube he’d hidden. One handed, he flipped up the cap.

“C’mon.” Arit glared over his shoulder at Nick. “Do me.”

“Shh,” Nick said, spilling a few drops of lube onto the sheets as he wet his fingers. Closing the bottle, he tossed it onto the mattress and stretched his hand down while he gulped his mate’s coppery blood. Eager, Arit wriggled to spread his knees, and Nick traced the seam of his ass with slick fingers. Arit oomphed out a sharp breath when Nick pushed one digit past Arit’s ring. “Okay?” he asked, tearing his teeth from the banquet of Arit’s smooth shoulder, his golden skin broken again by Nick’s mark.

Kari Gregg's books