Downs, Jana - Ravyn's Heart [Ravyn Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (22 page)

Your words will guide and encourage them, Prince Salvatore. The answer to your dilemma lies in the course which you decide to
take
and support. Just as you encouraged the happiness of Dageus with his chosen, so must you encourage your other Ravyns with their own.

“Thank you for your guidance,” Salvatore said politely, his mind churning with possibilities. “I think I have an idea.”

Good. I knew you would
. Judgment paused as if considering his next words.
Your father would be proud of you, Salvatore. Your guidance of the Ravyns has kept them on the right path. Continue your way, and all will be well.

Salvatore hoped so. He picked up his cell phone and dialed.

* * * *

“Come in,” Allasandro called. He was already reclined on top of his bedspread, shirtless. His body thrummed in anticipation even as his mind resented every sensation he was experiencing. He used to revel in this.

Damian appeared at his right side in a pair of low-slung slacks and nothing else. “I felt your hunger.”

“I’m hungry,” Ally agreed in a clipped tone. Damian pressed the blade to his own throat and nicked the side of it.

“Take from me.”

Ally didn’t really wait for the invitation. Instead, he just latched onto the cut like a starving…well, vampire. He couldn’t help the moan that came from deep in his throat as the first brush of Damian’s mind on his sent him into a frenzy. He pulled on Damian’s shoulders until the vampire indulged him and pressed his body, head to toe, on top of Ally.

They’d done this so often lately that the slide into one another’s mind was no longer a true transition but instead was as easy as stepping through a doorway into the other’s soul. Ally’s powers had multiplied exponentially and so their mind bond went deeper than even Dageus and Alex’s. Ally knew this because one of his newfound powers was the ability to sense the connections, see them like physical cords, intertwining and connecting to the world.

“Hmmm…” Damian groaned as they mingled. He pressed the ridge of his very prominent erection against Ally’s stomach and the Ravyn felt the feral satisfaction of knowing that Damian had not sought release, not even with himself, since he’d banished him from his bed.

“You’re being cruel, love,” Damian said, catching the stray thought as it crossed Ally’s mind. He pressed himself tighter against Ally’s body, seeking the friction. Dry-humping him like the bad dog he was. Ally didn’t resist the impulse to score his broad shoulders with his blunted fingernails.

Cruelty has many forms
, Ally sent through their bond. The vampire shuddered at the intimate touch. Invisible hands came up to caress the vampire through his clothes.
Like that?
Ally asked darkly. It was a new trick he’d learned, one he enjoyed thoroughly. He kneaded Damian’s tight ass with his mind.

“You know I do.” Damian hissed through gritted teeth. Ally gave the cut on Damian’s neck one last lick before settling back against the pillows.

“Take from me,” Ally offered. Damian leaned in to nibble his neck, but Ally pushed him back. “My wrist.” Damian’s eyes clouded with sorrow, and Ally knew he’d hurt him once again with his denial of any intimacy between them. But like the dog he’d compared him to moments before, Damian took the sliver of shared contentment with gratitude. He bit into the bit of flesh Ally offered and closed his eyes, nursing softly.

It was Ally’s turn to shudder. Being with Damian always felt incredible. He looked at his dark head bent over his hand and felt his heart constrict. He missed the easiness that was gone between them. He missed it fiercely. He sighed and petted Damian’s head as he sucked, reasoning that it was for his enjoyment, not Damian’s, that he did so.

I miss us, too
, Damian murmured, his voice faint in his mind from ill use.

“Stay out of my head, Damian. Finish feeding and get out.” Ally tried to make his voice as harsh as he had in all the days since he’d found out that they were bound, but, oddly enough, the more they did this, the more he learned Damian from the inside out, the less anger he had to use against him.

Damian lapped the wound closed. “As you wish.” He pushed himself to his feet and readjusted his hard-on before turning toward the door. Pain radiated off him in angry sick green waves. Damian’s aura was always ten times more visible to Ally than anyone else’s.

“Wait,” Ally called as his hand touched the doorknob. Hope made a bright yellow burst of energy detonate in the midst of all the green.

“Yes?” Damian asked, turning back toward Ally.

“Will you…” He cleared his throat. “Uh…” Damian waited patiently. Their eyes met. “Just once.”

Damian was on him before the last syllable fell from his lips. Ally put his hands up, blocking his kiss as it sought to undo his sanity. He felt the desire to kiss, stroke, and make love in every cell of his body as it came off of Damian in waves of potent heat. It made him shiver in want. The vampire’s hands cupped either side of his face, and he stared into the Ravyn’s pretty gold eyes.

“Don’t,” Ally pleaded. The sadness in his gaze was what stilled Damian.

“You’re still angry with me.” It was a statement.

“Yes,” Ally said simply. “I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”

“Then why am I still here?” Damian wondered. Ally’s hands were holding on to his waist now and it felt fantastic.

“Because you look sad.”

“That’s it? I looked sad? I don’t need your pity, Allasandro.” Damian’s voice had gone deeper with anger.

“A kiss,” Ally stated. “I want a kiss.”

Damian leaned forward, offering him his lips. “You need only ask.”

Their lips met in a kiss. It was soft, full of the sorrow and yearning. Damian nibbled on the Ravyn’s lips. These touches were the ones he missed the most. Ally clutched him tight as the kiss deepened and their tongues danced. They put everything that neither of them had the strength to say into that kiss. For once, words didn’t matter.

Endless moments later they pulled back from their kiss, both of them panting hard. Damian rested his forehead against his lover’s and tried to regain his breath.

“You should go.” The words were soft. The vampire nodded. He knew. There was too much between them to just let it all go even with a great kiss.

“All right,” Damian replied. He pressed another kiss to Ally’s forehead. “Does this mean I have a chance?” A lot rode on that question.

“It means that I’ll think about it,” Allasandro allowed. Damian smiled for the first time in weeks. Without a word, he disappeared back to his penthouse apartment.

Ally rolled over and put his face into the soft down comforter. He wanted to believe in Damian. He wanted to believe in their relationship. He wanted to believe in forever. If he only had something to compare this to. He had never been in a romantic long-term relationship, and since Damian’s unexpected betrayal had cut so deep, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

He wanted to punish Damian as much as he wanted to hug him, kiss him, and demand he make everything all better. He punched the pillow above his head, rocking the bed with the force of it. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to feel. Worst of all, he didn’t know how to fix it. He considered for a minute. Maybe he’d go talk to Dageus. He knew about emotional crap. Maybe he’d talk to him tonight. Maybe.

* * * *

“All right boys, I’ve called you all in here for a reason.” Salvatore’s authoritative voice rang out in the meeting space he’d secured in the basement level of the vampires’ house.

“Is there a reason we’re meeting in a basement?” Germany wondered, glancing around the Spartan space. The windowless room was not his favorite setting. Pale gray walls tried their best to look cheery with pictures of bright yellow sunflowers in pretty silver picture frames, but instead the effect kind of reminded him of a doctor’s office. They were all seated around a round table, gray marble-topped, in black swivel chairs. A meeting room in a doctor’s office.

“I wanted some privacy from potential seeing minds. Alex reassures me that this space blocks not only good ears but sharp minds as well,” Salvatore said as a side note. He opened his mouth to continue his prepared speech, only to be interrupted again by Druas.

“So why are the shifters here if we’re worried about privacy?” he asked. His gaze flicked to the two shifters down at the other end of the table. “No offense guys.”

They both shrugged, and Cord answered, “No problem.”

“I’m not concerned about Cord and Michel hearing about our little family problem, because they, too, play a role in this plan of mine. The one I do not want you saying anything to about this meeting is Allasandro.” A flicker of unease filtered through the room. The Ravyns had no secrets from one another. It was one of the most important laws of brotherhood. “I know it’s going to make you all uncomfortable, but bear with me please. It’s for his own good. We’re all aware of the situation with Damian.”

A chorus of growls and curses met the mention of the vampire. Even Dageus scowled. Salvatore waited until they’d quieted to continue. “It is my opinion that our Ally-cat is in love with the vampire, even if he’s fighting very hard against his desire because of Damian’s entrapment.”

“Damn straight he’s fighting it!” Druas grumbled. “I would be fighting it too if some psycho bonded with me and didn’t tell me.”

“That psycho is my father,” Dageus snapped, his eyes flashing green. “Watch your fucking mouth. He loves him and said it wasn’t intentional.”

“That’s bullshit, my brother,” Druas countered. “A controlling jackass is not loving.”

“Don’t talk about Damian that way! If he was a ‘controlling jackass,’ then he wouldn’t be respecting Ally’s wishes to be left the fuck alone as much as possible within their Bride bond. It’s making them both miserable, but he’s respecting his wish.”

“Gods, you think every vampire around has the same good intentions that Alex does.” Tony delivered the jab with a glare. “Damian may not be the best guy for Ally. Besides, he never even liked boys until we came here.”

“You guys are missing the point.” Germany spoke up again, silencing the angry retort that Dageus was about to deliver. “If Ally is in love with him and is staying away for the sake of pride and hurt feelings, then it is our duty as his brothers to help him one way or another. Besides, we all weren’t so keen on Alex whenever Dageus and he started dating. We’re an overprotective bunch, and that’s okay in most situations, but this is a delicate one that needs to be handled with care. Now, shut up and listen to our Prince.” It was probably the most Germany had ever said at one time in any of the Ravyns’ recollections.

Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yes. I think it’s best for us to help Damian and Allasandro get over this particular bump in their relationship so that they can figure out what to do with it in a more reasonable way.” The Ravyns nodded reluctantly. “Here’s what I have in mind…”

Chapter Twenty-One

“I don’t want to go to the theater. Please, don’t make me go,” Ally begged Salvatore as they all got into formation to leave the house. It’d been two days since he’d last seen Damian, and his body was crying out over the loss. The last thing he needed was to go hear him sing and know that he wasn’t his anymore.

“It’s a special performance, Allasandro. You know how much I love
La Petite Morte
’s performances.” Salvatore adjusted Ally’s skewed tie and lapels. “Besides, you’ll be in the VIP section with me. You won’t even have to talk to him.”

“I don’t want to
see
him,” Ally argued.
Because if I do I might run into his arms and beg him to forget the whole thing, and it would embarrass the shit out of me to do it in front of all my brothers
. He’d made up his mind to forgive Damian and try and make this relationship they had work, but he still wasn’t ready to face him. If he were being honest with himself, he’d admit that he may have been hiding from Damian deliberately the past two days. Insecurities he didn’t even know he had kept him away from his gypsy man. What if he didn’t want him anymore? What if he were angry with him? What if he never said he loved him? That one was probably the biggest. He knew he loved Damian, but Damian had never said how he really felt about him. He’d be mortified if he’d gone through all this anguish to admit he loved Damian only to find the other man didn’t feel the same. Man, he had it bad.