Dark Paths Ch. 02

Clay lifted his shoulders and his head lolled drunkenly; his limbs wouldn't quite obey when he tried to move.

"'M-ok..." he managed to mumble out, so maybe Clay would stop trying to wake him. All he wanted to do was sleep. His thoughts were confused. He felt drunk. Did they slip him something? He didn't think so but... wait. Rayne had bit him. Bit him pretty damn hard. He tried to think about that and put it with the sticky spill of red drying on his throat and chest. Fuck. 'Was' he ok?

He kept trying to get his head clear, but it was too much like hard work and finally he gave up. "Jus lemme sleep."

Mercifully the man listened; ceased trying to get Xav up. He pulled the edge of the blanket over him and Xavier instantly curled into a ball under it.

~~

Clay sat by him for a little while, stroking the boy's hair. To his relief Xavier did not seem to still be bleeding. At least Rayne had spoken the truth there. Perhaps it was no more than a nick in a susceptible spot, but he could not comprehend why the boy was suddenly so listless. He fetched a damp towel from the bathroom and washed the drying blood from his skin, trying gently to get it out of his blond hair. His searching fingers found a couple of small indentations in his skin, still an angry red, but the flesh was reassuringly unbroken.

The older man shook his head at that. If Rayne had not broken the skin, where had all that blood come from? He turned now to look at the slender Englishman, still sprawled on his back on the rug. Rayne Wylde was watching him solemnly, his pale eyes unblinking. A little trail of blood still ran from the corner of his mouth where he had bitten himself as he went down. There was more on his chest and his hands. Xavier had bled profusely over him as he lay beneath the kid. It didn't make any sense.

"What the hell 'are' you?" Clay whispered huskily. He had never been afraid of anyone before but there was something not quite sane in the gaze that fixed on his face. Suddenly Rayne's submissive beauty was a lethal thing and he found himself doubting how far he could trust his young friend. "Did you do this to him?" he demanded.

"He'll be okay," Rayne exhaled, still gazing at him from that point on the carpet, his slight body rising and falling vigorously as if he had just run two hundred metres full pelt. "He just needs to rest. Maybe if you got him some chocolate?" he suggested almost as an afterthought. "The sugar will do him good. A nice mug of hot chocolate, yeah? The proper stuff!"

"What did you do to him?" Clay moved from the bed to crouch beside the naked Englishman. He was still wary but also conscious that if Rayne was going to attack him too, he could have done so several times by now.

"I took his blood," the young man whispered huskily as if this was a rational response. "I took it, Clay. He's probably in shock." He lifted a hand to his face, turning his head slightly and catching his breath. "Christ! The stuff I saw! It'd shock anyone!"

"You're making no sense, Rayne. Why'd you bite him?" Clay asked incredulously. "I mean I know some guys have a kink for biting and being bitten but what the fuck...?"

Slowly, Rayne Wylde rolled onto his side and lay there with his arms wrapped around his head for a little while in silence. At least he mumbled; "I'm not going to hurt you, Clay. I never meant to hurt either of you. He'll be okay... just... get him the fuckin' chocolate, all right?"

For a moment Clay did not move, he crouched within reach of the dark-haired man on the bedroom floor, bewildered by this shocking confession. "Why'd you do it, babe?" he whispered at last. "Tell me that at least."

"Because I need it," Rayne answered, his voice strained and irritable. "I need it, Clay. I can't function without it. Don't ask me any more just yet. Make sure the kid's okay." His hand shot out as Clay moved to rise, catching the bigger man's wrist in a grip that Barclay could not break, try as hard as he might. "He's..." the Englishman's quiet voice failed him briefly as he struggled to sit up, his pale eyes shimmering. "He's... J-Just be gentle with him, okay. Whatever Paddy told you about me... well he's had it just as bad. Don't push him into anything."

Instead of fighting the fingers around his wrist, Clay rose slowly to his feet, drawing the other man up with him. Rayne was staring back up at him now, pulling him into that unbroken gaze. He felt like a rabbit caught in the glare of a car's spotlights, unable to tear himself away.

"What happened to you, honey?" he cajoled, unable to believe that the sweet, fucked-up boy they had sheltered all those summers before, down in the South of France was some kind of psycho. "What made you bite him?"

"I can't help it," Rayne answered him with a little shrug. "It's like being addicted to coke, only ten times as bad. Clay, if I tell you the truth you've got to promise that you won't try to have me committed. Because it 'will' sound crazy, I promise you."

"You're some kind of vampire-freak?" Clay asked him disbelievingly.

"Something like that," Rayne mumbled, shaking his dark hair as if he was embarrassed. "Sweetheart, go and get the chocolate. I swear on my life, I won't hurt the kid. But he needs a lift, yeah?"

Slowly, Clay moved him to the edge of the bed and Rayne sank down there, releasing his arms at once and curling up again as if he was in pain. The bigger man shook his head. "Okay... I'll get the chocolate, honey. But if I hear screams I'm coming back up here with a hammer and meat skewer. And if he's hurt when I get here..."

"He won't be," Rayne said atonally.

"He better not be!"

"Clay?"

"Yeah?" the big man turned in the doorway, his expression still wary.

"Just fuck off and get that chocolate, right?"

~~

Rayne rolled onto his back as he listened to the sounds of Clay's hurried footsteps on the stairs. Of course his old friend might just call the cops and have him locked up but right now that was a risk he was ready to take. He was not about to leave Xavier alone. Stretching out one cold, long-fingered hand he stroked the boy's damp hair awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered almost inaudibly. "I'm so sorry. It's okay now."

Xavier lay quiet and still under Rayne's fingers, his skin still much too pale. Eventually though his shallow rapid breaths became deeper and more even, and his heart began to slow its racing beat. He opened his eyes as if his thick dark lashes were an effort to lift.

Fathomless green eyes watched him with... concern? The corner of Xavier's mouth lifted in a sleepy half smile. "Sorry... didn't mean to just roll over an' go to sleep on you."

"You get all the rest you need," Rayne answered him quietly. "Clay's gone down to fetch a little treat, if he's not managed to get lost in this fuckin' great barn of a place!" His lips twitched around an expression that might have been a smile but it was there and gone so quickly that it was hard to say. His gaze moved restlessly over Xavier's face, drinking it in like an artist about to commit the delicate features before him to canvas. His fingers twined loosely in the younger man's hair. "Do you feel okay?" he whispered at last, a tad suggestively.

Xavier didn't miss the tone, but he no longer felt exactly up for a marathon. Still... he could be tempted.

"I feel alright." He lifted his hand to trace his fingers lightly along Rayne's jaw. It felt like he was trying to lift lead and he chuckled inwardly at himself. So tired he could hardly move, and 'still' insatiable. That made him remember; he moved his hand to the side of his throat but didn't feel any wounds or the stickiness of blood. "Did you bite me?"

It almost felt like a dream now.

"Just a love bite," Rayne whispered languidly, rolling onto his side to kiss Xavier's face, touching little butterfly kisses across his brow and down his cheekbone. "We were so hot and sweaty it probably felt a whole lot worse than it was. Do you forgive me?" He folded his arms across Xavier's chest and rested his chin on them, peering down at him mischievously. The tip of his studded tongue flickered between his lips briefly, moistening them.

Never one to miss an opportunity Xavier smiled, "Oh...well, I don't know. I think you might have to make it up to me."

Rayne's expression was almost feral as he stroked his hands slowly out towards Xavier's shoulders. He bent his head, drawing the tip of his tongue slowly down the blond boy's slim torso from his clavicle to his sternum as if it would magically unzip his mate's body and release the sweetness within. He began to kiss Xavier's belly searchingly as his fingers wandered back up to tease the younger man's sensitive nipples, running deliberate rings around the stiff, dark peaks as his lips worked on the softer flesh beneath his lover's ribs where Xav's heart was beating ferociously again.

If he had not already fed that might have been too much temptation. As it was, it probably looked dangerous enough because he heard a crash from the doorway as Clay dropped the jug of hot chocolate and the stack of glasses. He did not have the time to sit up and protest before the big man crossed the room with the speed of a hunting cat and grabbed him by the arms, dragging him off the bed. Rayne yelped incoherently at him but wound up on the floor in any case.

"Are you okay, honey?" Clay demanded, but his concern was entirely focused on the startled Xavier.

"um... yeah. Are 'you' OK?" Xavier asked a bit warily. He'd sort of missed the first time Clay had tossed Rayne across the room like a rag doll. His eyes went to Rayne at once. There was definitely a bit of sparkle in his green orbs, he did a good job of not looking pissed, but Xav could see the hostility simmering there. Not that he could blame him after being unceremoniously dumped on the floor like that.

Clay was running soothing hands over Xavier like he might break if he was handled too roughly. He was pretty sure the big guy wasn't going to start tossing him about as well, but he didn't want to make any sudden moves and find out.

"Er... what's going on here?"

Barclay was looking intently at him, as if searching his body for some hidden sign and the big fellow seemed to relax as he realised that his young house guest was unmarked. Almost embarrassed by his astonishing outburst he smoothed Xavier's hair protectively and fired another suspicious glance at Rayne. The singer had not moved from the floor although he was watching them both with a wary, incredulous half smile on his face.

He did not seem to be hurt and when Clay looked his way he obliquely remarked; "I promised, didn't I? You reckon I'm the sort of bastard who breaks his promises?"

This was getting really weird. Xavier wasn't hurt, as far as he could tell, but Clay was acting like he'd seen something a lot more worrisome then just a love bite. He was watching Rayne as he touched his neck again but found nothing but a slightly sore spot. When his fingers went over it an odd shiver went down his spine. His features softened slightly with desire and he felt his cock swell. At the same time he had the weirdest sensation of his mouth filling with the coppery taste of blood. He should have been repulsed but it didn't bother him at all.

'What the fuck...?'

He wasn't sure if he should be afraid of the singer now or not, but he did know he wanted him. Every time his fingers brushed that little sore spot it made him want to lay back and let him have whatever he wanted. The thought should have made him scared but it only made him hot.

"What promise?" Xavier didn't like the feeling that he was missing something.

I promised not to start without him," Rayne answered with a little grin for Xavier. At the same time Clay growled; "I warned you to keep your fangs out of him. I don't get this weird shit with you two pretending nothing's going on here. I know what I saw!"

"Check him out," Rayne Wylde said, a little more frostily now, pushing himself to his feet and sauntering around to the edge of the bed. "Is he bleeding?"

Clay shook his head automatically but his expression did not change. He was still watching the beautiful singer like he was a poisonous snake.

Xavier wasn't watching him like that though, his eyes held considerably more heat as he gazed at Rayne. When the singer came to a stop at the edge of the bed Xavier slithered from Clay's arms like a piece of silk and stretched out on his belly toward the singer, which put him right at hip level.

His hands caressed a path up the outside of Rayne's thighs. "You can bite me anytime you want, sweetheart. I don't mind," he said as he kissed a line over the curve of his lover's hip.

Rayne looked down at him with a smile that could only be described as feral. There was nothing fraternal about it, for sure.

"There," the singer murmured to Clay, without looking up at the man. "You heard him. He doesn't mind."

As Xavier stared up into his eyes the dark-haired man's smile grew broader and his elegantly pointed dog-teeth extended smoothly. It was not a massive difference, only about half an inch, but there was no pretending that it hadn't happened.

"Jesus Christ!" Clay exclaimed in an awed tone.

Xav blinked slowly. A ribbon of fear uncoiled in his middle and he felt the little hairs on the back of his neck raise. The reaction was instinctual, something primal that refused to listen or be controlled by the rational voice in his head that said there was no such thing as vampires. Perhaps if he'd felt it earlier he might have backed off, at least been more cautious. Now... now that little bit of fear only made him more excited. He wanted Rayne even more then he had earlier, the need seemed to thrum in his blood, making him heedless of anything else.

He slid his hands up to Rayne's waist, pulling him slightly forward, and licked a warm wet line up the underside of his shaft.

Cool, long-fingered hands moved almost mechanically to cup his face and the singer's smile grew more proprietary as he stroked them into Xavier's tangled blond hair, caressing the boy's scalp. His green eyes moved up to meet Clay's anxious, defensive stare. Slowly and appreciatively he licked his lips, and the smile grew wider as Xavier's clever tongue and warm, quick breathing stimulated him to full readiness. "That feels 'so' good," Rayne exhaled in a low, tremulous voice.

Xavier hummed his pleasure around his mouthful, his hands urging Rayne closer towards the bed. As Rayne came forward, Xav pushed himself slowly back on his hands and knees, never breaking contact. The position put an enticing temptation right in front of Clay's face, but Xav was fully occupied with working his suckling lips down to the base of Rayne's cock.

He opened his throat and took him in all the way, moving up and down on him rhythmically. An occasional short wave of dizziness rolled over him, easily ignored in the face of his mounting desire.

"I don't know what you're getting so upset about," Rayne murmured to Barclay in that fragile, husky voice that told the older man his stunning English friend was becoming uncontrollably aroused. Rayne Wylde nodded down towards Xavier who was still greedily gulping him down. " 'He's' not upset. He seems to quite like it, in fact. Uuuuuhhhh!!"

The singer shuddered, dropping to his knees on the edge of the bed and twisting a hank of blond hair slowly around his fingers as he began to buck steadily into Xavier's open mouth, entranced by his earnest, hungry face. He closed his eyes, still getting little emotional aftershocks from the boy, enhanced by this powerful physical connection; the mingling of Xav's saliva and his semen. When his green eyes opened they were staring back at Clay, wide and unblinking, like firelit jewels in the paleness of his face.

"Fuck him," Rayne whispered urgently. "He wants you to mount him and screw his arsehole hard!"

"Jesus!" Clay exhaled incredulously, shaking his head a little. His cock was stiffening traitorously though, tempted by the firm golden peaches swaying seductively before him.

Xavier's fingers tightened perceptibly on Rayne's hips, and he gave a soft moan when Clay's warm hand touched his cool skin. Little sounds of encouragement vibrated in his throat as that hand stroked over the curve of his backside and up and down his flanks. He shivered as his cheeks were parted and he felt the smooth pressure of that thick, lubricated cock at his opening. A whimper escaped as the head of Clay's thick phallus pushed slowly past his tight ring, and he had to come up off Rayne when Clay gave him more.

That was one big boy hammering down his back door. Clay inched forward and Xavier groaned with the burn and stretch, struggling to accommodate him. The mix of pleasure and pain didn't dampen his hunger any and he wrapped his tongue and lips around Rayne again, just as soon as he could control his muscles.

Clay reached for the lube once more as the boy's tight ring gripped him in its hot embrace. He pulled out, ignoring the little whimper of disappointment from the sexy blond. Slowly he squeezed a glob of gel into the boy's gaping hole, working the cooling wetness into his clenching passage with his sex. He took his time, easing his rod in and out a couple of inches either way, letting the Astroglide do its work. When he lifted his head, Rayne was watching him with half-hooded eyes, his body completely relaxed and his long fingers flexing in Xavier's damp blond hair as the boy's mouth drew greedily on his hard cock. The blond's slim, naked hips rocked back and forth, keeping time.

"Enjoy it," Clay growled at the singer. "When I'm done with this little honey, your ass is next!"

"You won't have the strength, old man!" Wylde teased huskily. He looked down at Xavier, waiting for the boy's eyes to meet his own. The words didn't leave his lips but he thought; 'Are you okay with this?'

Xavier had stopped wondering what was going on. The question that whispered in his head with Rayne's voice was just one more layer of weirdness he wasn't going to try and figure out. The only trouble was, he didn't know how to answer, not with words anyway. Instead Rayne got a soft wave of emotions; fire, heat, wanting, the feel of being impaled on that enormous rod, the salty taste of his own cum on the boy's tongue, the sweet musk of his scent in Xav's nose.

The dark and wounded things lay deep and silent and un-bothersome at the moment. There was only the aching need between his legs and the desire to push Rayne back up and over that edge of pleasure again. 'Yes, he was perfectly all right with this'.

The singer kept his hands on Xavier's blond head. Somehow the slow caressing touch on his skin helped him to feel his young lover's pleasure and to share it. The boy's arousal was like an itch deep inside that he ached to scratch. Clay's slow, deep, bearlike growls of satisfaction rumbled in his chest. Over all of that Xavier's need trickled like water from a spring, bubbling and teasing inside him until he thought that, had he been a mere human, he would probably have been finding it very hard to breathe right now.

As it was, his fangs were already proving an inconvenience. He didn't mean to scare anyone but try as he might he could never hold them in check when he was aroused. It was becoming a total pain in the arse! Now he drew his lips between his teeth and bit down hard on them in an effort to make the bloody things retract. His own watery blood appeased them slightly but the pull of Xavier's lips on his sensitive flesh and the sight of Barclay's long, thick, mahogany tool sinking deeper between the dancer's firm golden cheeks with every thrust drove him to the edge of reason. Rayne moaned like a creature in pain and the sanguine fluids trickled from the corners of his mouth until he could only feel disgusted with himself. He turned his face away, feeling no better than an animal. Frustration gnawed at him and would not let go. His fingers tightened in Xavier's hair and he pulled the young man's pretty face roughly into his bucking crotch, holding him there as his cock jumped violently in the boy's mouth and released its worthless seed.