Heart of the Warrior (11 page)

Ari was numb. What if Devon had seen him, too? What if he
knew? What if…? Fuck, it was just a matter of time before everyone knew and it
got back to his parents, wasn't it?

Okay, he needed to slow down and chill. If Devon hadn’t told
Io about him, then maybe he’d gotten out of the gym before Devon saw him.
"Did Devon say who he was with?"

"He thinks it was Bauer. Bauer came out of the gym
freshly showered right after Sev did." Io kicked back another swig of
beer, waggling his eyebrows at Ari. "Can you believe it? Sev and Bauer?
Faggots? Shit, bro, we’ve got a fag on our team. And Bauer? Shit, I never would
have thought. I’ve seen him with chicks. Hmm, maybe he’s bi. But Sev? A faggot?
I mean, he's pretty enough, but…"

This was Ari’s worst nightmare. "Stop calling him that,
Io. You don’t know."

Io rolled his eyes. "Think about it, Ari. When do you
ever see him with a girl? With anyone? Sev’s a fairy, admit it."

Ari shook his head and tried to think of something to say,
but couldn’t.

Io pointed at him as he drank then said, "You better be
careful having him here. He might try to rape your ass." Io broke into
fits of hushed laughter.

"Ssshh. Keep your voice down, jackass. He’s just in the
other room. And you don’t know what happened. Devon could have been
mistaken."

"Not likely."

The doorbell rang, saving Ari from further humiliation.

"That’s pizza." He led Io back through the kitchen
to the front door. He could smell the pizza before he opened up, and it almost
made his stomach turn with the shit Io had just unloaded on him.

"Hi, that’s $24.59," said the delivery boy.

Ari pulled thirty bucks out of his pocket and handed it
over. "Keep the change."

The boy nodded and tucked the money into his cash bag and
trotted off.

Ari closed the door and turned back to Io. "Io? Is that
why you stopped by tonight? To tell me you think Sev is gay? Please tell me
that’s not the reason." Ari was ready to boot Io out. It made him angry to
hear him talk about Sev like that, and not just because it was Sev, but also
because he knew that’s how Io would talk about him if he ever found out that he
was gay, too.

"No, man." Io seemed taken aback. "I wanted
to know if you had changed your mind about going out tonight. I mean, hell,
I’ve got two girls. We can share."

"No, thanks. I’m not in the mood." In fact, Ari
was feeling a little sick.

"Hey, that’s cool. More for me." He snuck his hand
inside the pizza box and swiped a slice. "See you tomorrow." Io
winked over his shoulder toward the living room. "Remember, bro. Watch
your back door."

Yeah, my back door was gonna get good and unlocked before
you stopped by, fuck you very much.
This had been a disaster.

Io saluted him and headed down the hall. And just like that,
Hurricane Io swept out the door. He had spun in, done his damage, destroyed the
wonderful mood Ari had been in, then blew out to leave mass destruction in his
wake.

Ari leaned back against the counter, the pizza box still in
his hand. What was he doing? How was this going to work? Shit, he couldn’t even
have Sev over without Io busting in like a wrecking ball.

"Hey, is that pizza I smell?"

Ari looked up and saw Severin leaning against the doorway
into the kitchen, concern in his eyes.

He lifted the pizza box and tried to smile, but he was sure
it came out looking as pathetic as he felt. "Yeah, sorry."

Sev stepped toward him. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No." That much Ari was sure of. "Please
stay. I want you to stay."

"You sure?"

Ari nodded. "Yes."

"You’re not afraid I’m going to rape your ass?"

If any color had remained in Ari's face, it drained out.

"You heard us." Ari dropped his gaze to the floor,
ashamed of how Io had talked about him.

Sev chuffed. "Hello. Vampire here. Yes, I could hear
you. It wasn’t like Io was really trying to keep his voice down."

"Look, I’m sorry about that." Ari felt guilty.

"Fuck, I’ve heard worse shit than that, Ari. I’m used
to it. Although I’m surprised your best friend would talk like that."

"He doesn’t know."

Severin took the pizza box and placed it on the counter
before digging out a slice. "Doesn’t know what?"

"That I’m gay."

Sev froze. "Say again."

Ari sighed heavily. "Io doesn’t know I’m gay."

"Why not?"

Ari dropped his head back. "It’s complicated, all
right?"

"Well, uncomplicate it. How the hell does your best
friend not know you’re gay?"

How did he explain this to Sev when he was only really
beginning to understand it himself?

"Because until last month…when you and I…well, when we
were together…I wasn’t even fully aware that I
was
gay, okay?"

Severin stopped with his slice of pizza halfway to his
mouth, and the two stood and stared at each other in stunned silence.

"Come again?" Sev lowered the pizza back to the
box. "Is this some kind of joke? Are you fucking around with me, Ari? If
you are, tell me now. I mean, if I’m just some homo-erotic experimentation for
you, let me know, because I don’t think my heart could survive if you—"

"I'm not playing with you." Ari stepped forward
and placing his hand over Sev's mouth to quiet him. He stared at his fingers
and felt Sev's full lips press against them. Then he locked his gaze to Sev's
and repeated with conviction, "I'm not playing with you. This isn't a
game, a joke, or some homosexual fantasy I want to act out. I don't know why it
took me so long to figure things out, but Sev, when you came here and we did
what we did right in this very spot…I can't explain it, but suddenly I knew. I
knew I had been living a lie. I knew I was gay." He paused and lowered his
hand. "I knew I wanted you and no one else."

Sev watched without saying a word, and the silence stretched
for what felt like forever.

"God, Sev, please say something. I'm dying here. I
don't know what to do. I've never been with a male before, but I can't stop
thinking about you. I can't get you out of my mind." He stepped closer and
ran his hands up Sev's chest and inhaled a shaky breath as he felt himself
drift further into Sev's personal space.

Sev remained stoically still while following Ari with his
gaze.

Ari closed his eyes as if fighting himself then opened them
and looked back into Sev's.

"I've never reacted to women the way I react to you. I
just figured something was wrong with me, or that it was normal – as
dysfunctional as it sounds – that I had to fantasize about men to even tolerate
being with females. But then you…." Ari's voice trailed off, and before he
could stop himself, he leaned in and ran his nose up the column of Sev's neck so
that his lips brushed over his skin.

He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Sev purr softly as
his body rippled ever so slightly.

"You came along, Sev. You changed everything. I know
who I am now because of you." Their bodies had slowly come together, and
they stood chest to chest. "I was meant to be with you."

Sev's head turned into his. Ari felt him exhale more than
heard it as Sev slid his cheek over Ari's hair then dipped his nose against his
scalp. Ari felt like he was being claimed by a giant feline, which was fine by
him. He wanted to be claimed. And Sev made the perfect lion with his mane of
blond hair.

He stepped back and lifted Sev’s hand to his mouth. Slowly,
he drew his tongue around the tip of Sev’s index finger then sucked it between
his lips, tasting a hint of pepperoni from the pizza Sev had been holding a
moment ago. He moved to his middle finger, then his ring finger, his pinky, and
finally his thumb.

Sev stared at him, his mouth opened slightly, his gazed
fixed on Ari's mouth like he was hypnotized.

Ari had never seduced anyone, man or woman, but with Sev it
felt completely natural. In fact, his body was almost commanding him to seduce
Severin. He had never felt such a powerful pull to be with someone, but Sev had
him enthralled.

He released Sev’s thumb with a pop and leaned in close.

"So, see, Io had it all wrong." He tugged on Sev’s
sweater and slid one hand underneath it to play his fingers over the waist of
Sev’s jeans. "It isn’t me who needs to worry about you. It’s you who needs
to worry about me, because I want to invade you in the most unbelievable way
right now." Ari had no idea where his words came from. He just knew that
he was ready for more. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for
weeks. I’ve waited all my life for you, Sev. Now that I’ve found you, don’t
make me wait, anymore."

In a rush of movement, Sev growled, gripped Ari’s hips
harshly, and shoved him back. "Bedroom?"

"Downstairs."

"Show me."

Pent-up energy exploded between them, and Ari batted Sev’s
hands away and spun him around before driving him out of the kitchen and
directing him toward the stairs that led to the dimly lit basement. After
nearly tripping over each other to get to the bottom, Ari gripped Sev’s long
hair like it was a horse’s mane and jerked his head back as Sev groaned and
cried out.

"I love your hair," Ari said, giving it another
sharp tug. "I love pulling it."

Where was this side of him coming from? It seemed more than
just his sexuality had been in the closet his whole life. Finding the one he
was meant to be with was waking up all sorts of new feelings and emotions, as
well as a darker side to his libido.

"Please, more. Harder." Sev seemed to enjoy the
rough action as much as Ari did.

Ari thrust his hand into all that glorious hair and maneuvered
Sev to the bed and shoved him down face-first. Sev bounced then rolled over and
they both hastily pulled off their shirts and unfastened their jeans, stripping
off their clothes in seconds.

Sev crawled backward into the middle of the bed as Ari rode
up with him, hovering and stalking him. He had never wanted to have sex with
anyone so badly that he had lost all inhibition like this, but it was as if he
was suddenly someone else. And based on Sev’s reaction, he loved who Ari had
become.

Sev’s arms wrapped him up, and their mouths connected once
more, hungry and greedy for each other as their cocks rubbed together to send
tingles down both his legs and around the insides of his balls like tiny
lightning strikes.

Ari loved how Sev touched him and how he felt. Sev's touch
was unlike a woman's. His hands were bigger, and the way he handled him was
strong and gruff, full of lusty intent. No woman had ever touched him this way,
and it was clear that this was how he had always wanted to be touched. It turned
him on.

What was even clearer was that Sev's was the kind of body he
had always wanted beneath him. Powerful and masculine, with hard, rounded pecs
topped with large, dark nipples. And God, the male had the widest shoulders
he'd ever seen. He was built for brawn.

"Fuck, you feel good." Ari trailed his lips over
razor stubble – actual fucking razor stubble – and shivered with excitement.
The faint beard growth was just one more physical sign that this wasn't one of
his fantasies and that he was finally living his true self.

"Mmm, so do you."

And that was another sign. Women didn't have such sexy, deep
voices that rumbled with masculine intensity in a way that shot a whole lot of
sexual excitement up the backs of Ari's thighs to whip around the base of his
spine before shooting down to his dick.

Ari moaned and drew his mouth down to Sev's chest. His skin
was smooth and hairless – not uncommon for a male vampire – and he tasted
incredible. He had a distinct manly flavor that turned him on.

Sev arched into him and groaned as Ari found one dark nipple
and drew it into his mouth. A man's nipple – Sev's. Rarely had Ari suckled a
woman's breast, but taking Sev's between his lips felt perfect in all the right
ways. Flat and hard, not soft and buoyant. Sev's nipple still puckered and
hardened against his tongue, but in a completely different way than a woman's.

His palms caressed over hard muscles which bunched and
flexed unlike a woman's, straining and tensing in such a masculine way. Oh God,
this was what he had been missing all his life. This had been what he had
always wanted. The reality was so much better than the fantasy, and Ari found
himself being swept away with his need to feel all of Sev.

His mouth worked its way to the other side of Sev's chest,
closing around his other nipple, sucking it harshly and flicking it with his
tongue. He wanted to please Sev. He
needed
to please him.

"Babe, you're driving me wild." A purr released
inside Sev's chest.

A fucking purr! Ari felt like he was in the middle of a
smorgasbord of revelations and new discoveries.

Females rarely, if ever, purred. Ari had never been with one
who did. Hearing the telltale sign of arousal from Severin was mind blowing,
and he surged up Sev's body to close his mouth over his throat, sucking hard,
wanting like hell to bite him and sink his cock in deep to claim him.

Sev shuddered violently as he purred again, more loudly this
time, and with a flip, Ari was on his back and Sev rose up over him, grinding
his hips forward and back in a fucking motion. Ari looked down to watch their
dicks slide against each other, and his body visibly shivered. The visual
heated him instantly, pushing him closer to the edge as he panted and a purr
emanated from his own chest, surprising him. When had he ever purred before except
when he was masturbating?

His eyes shot to Sev's, wide and shocked.

Sev smiled down at him. "Let me guess. You've never
purred during sex."

He shook his head. "That was a first. God, this is a
lot of firsts for me."

Sev moaned and seemed to melt a little against him.
"Babe, you can't say shit like that to me."