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.