Angel

David sat up now, one arm propping himself up and his head tipped to the side, his neck stretching. Porter’s eyes caught on that throat for a split-second, a split-second too long, and he jerked his attention away, looking for his pants.

“I thought you’d relax after we fucked but you’re still edgy, kitten.”

Porter bared teeth, not sure if it was at the continued concern or the damn nickname David had started using. Porter hadn’t put a stop to it the first time, because he was face down and the addition of that endearment had pushed him over the edge, but that was two weeks ago and the nickname had made it out of the bedroom into their day to day.

“What do you mean? I wasn’t edgy.”

David laughed, that dry laugh of his that suggested they were on the verge of a fight and he wasn’t the least bit scared. “Okay. Pissy. You’ve been pissy since you walked in last night.”

“No I–” he started and then stopped, blinking at David. They were both still naked, Porter’s shirt in hand but his pants nowhere to be seen. “What do you mean, last night? I wasn’t here last night. I just…” No.

David smirked. “Good morning, kitten.”

It was dawn. When he reached out with his senses, he could feel the sunlight outside the apartment. He had been late getting here last night and he must have lost track of time during…

David’s smirk fell, seeing something on Porter’s face. “It’s okay. You can crash here.” He finally got up, stretching.

“I can’t stay,” Porter said, realizing it even before he understood it. Fuck. He’d fucked up.

“Why? Got a lunch date?” David walked into the attached bathroom, flicking on the light.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. He was so stupid. He’d had a chore from the king last night that took longer than he’d expected. The fight had been ugly and he’d lost blood before healing. He should have gone out to feed but he knew David was expecting him and if he’d gone to eat…that would have taken what time he had and he wouldn’t have made it.

“Fuck…”

“Porter,” David said from the bathroom doorway, not joking anymore. “It’s okay. What do you need? If you want space, you can have my room to yourself. I won’t bother you.”

Porter shook his head. Feeling even more like a douchebag now that David was trying to be so accommodating. He probably had been an asshole tonight too. He had to clench his jaw to buy himself the seconds to choose his words. He didn’t want to be the sort of person that snapped at his partners just because he was upset with himself. He shouldn’t have come over, but that was already done. The sun was up and he was more or less trapped in David’s apartment until it went back down.

He could tough it out. He could sleep and just go hungry until tomorrow night. It wouldn’t be pretty with his body already running on too little, but he’d gone longer without.

“Talk to me,” David said.

Porter bared teeth at him and then groaned and flopped back onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. He was fucked. He could hear David’s pulse like a neighbor with their base cranked up so high that it was thrumming through the walls. “I wasn’t planning to stay the day,” he admitted.

“Obviously,” David agreed, deadpan.

Porter pinched the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t eaten.”

David smirked.

Porter threw a pillow at the shifter but he caught it easily. “I lost some blood earlier and then I didn’t go out to feed so… I’m going to be an asshole until I get out of here.”

David’s expression was unreadable for a stretch of seconds before his eyes widened a little. “Christ, are you hangry?”

Porter got up. “Fuck off.” He found his underwear and pulled them on.

David leaned against the wall. “Don’t you have a blood bank or something?”

“Such luxuries are reserved for the weak…and the princelings,” he scoffed, finally locating his pants, not that he could get out of here now. “I feed myself.” Maybe he could take a walk through the building… chances are he’d find someone willing. 

“Then why didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you feed yourself?”

Porter looked at David and tried not to look at the bed. He failed.

David’s eyes widened. “Are you stupid? You came here to fuck instead of feeding?”

Porter could have said something poetic about feeding his varied thirsts, but he couldn’t be poetic with David’s pulse practically against his teeth. “I thought I’d have time to go after.”

“How? Where would that fucking time come from?” He was really upset, brow creased. “How long can you go without feeding? What’s going to happen?”

It was jarring to see his reaction. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it definitely wasn’t this. “I’m not going to go feral, or anything,” he reassured, flashing a smile with teeth. “I promise not to try to kill you and your neighbors.”

David pulled on a pair of sweats. “That’s not what I asked.”

Porter rolled his eyes, for some reason how upset David was getting over the situation was taking some of it off of his own shoulders. “I’m not going to die. I’m just… running on empty.” He waved a hand around the words like it wasn’t right but it was good enough. “Headache and…edgy.” Edgy was a nice way of putting it, he knew. 

He already felt the tension in his head, behind his eyes, and that ache in his limbs that made him want to run and chase anything and everything. It wasn’t something he couldn’t control, but it was going to make the rest of the day unpleasant. The headache would get worse, the empty feeling deeper, but he would survive and hopefully not completely blow up his relationship with the shifter in the meantime.

He realized David wasn’t saying anything and looked up, surprised to find the other man just watching him. He still had that crease in his brow.  “How much do you need?”

Porter blinked and then raised an eyebrow. “Why? You have bloodbags stashed in your fridge, lover?”

David didn’t say anything, arms folded over that thick chest and sweatpants hanging low on his hips.

Porter was about to make another joke when he realized what his partner was thinking. He smiled. “Really?”

David frowned. “If you try to kill me…”

Porter’s grin dropped. “I wouldn’t.”

David didn’t look entirely convinced.

Porter would have taken offense if he wasn’t so hungry. He held up his hand. “I swear I won’t.” He dragged his finger over his heart in two slashes. “Cross my heart and hope to die…”

David rolled his eyes. “You’re already dead,” he reminded.

Porter was on his feet in front of David, hand sliding to the side of his neck, thumb stroking his jaw. He felt the shifter’s strong pulse under his palm. “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

David huffed a laugh, his pulse beating just a little faster. “Don’t try to trick me into something I’m already agreeing to, kitten…” He kissed him.

It was enough to make Porter’s thoughts blank, his senses full of that contact and David’s pulse. Would he really let him taste him? Why did he think he was trying to trick him? What had that meant?

Porter nipped at David’s lower lip, scraping it with teeth but not breaking skin.

David jerked back a little, bearing his own teeth in playful warning. “If we’re going to do this…” he said, unraveling from Porter and climbing onto the bed, up toward the headboard.

Porter was more than happy to follow him up the mattress.

“Behind me,” David said, when Porter was almost in his lap.

He paused, eyebrow raised and lip quirking. Again, he knew if he was running on more energy, he’d have a great remark for that… “If that’s how you like it,” he said, settling against the headboard and enjoying the new position. He gripped David’s hips and dragged him back into him, between his thighs. He moaned low at the sight of that exposed neck, dropping a kiss against his spine while his hands roamed bare sides and back.

“I told you…” David said, voice low and steady, not betraying the rising beat of his heart. “If you bite me, I’ll bite you back. This is the best way to keep that from happening.”

Porter’s hands paused. He’d been enjoying this, and then those words sank in. And the earlier trepidation. “Davey…” he kissed his shoulder, fingers sliding up into the back of his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp while tipping his head farther to the side. He thrilled at the way David let him be in control for this. Usually he didn’t want it and they were both very happy with that arrangement, but this was definitely interesting. He curled an arm around the other man, hugging him to his chest to get a look at his face when he asked. “Do you think this is going to hurt?”

The shifter turned his head to look at him, eyebrow raised. “I can take it, Porter. You’re not the first vamp to bite me.”

Porter felt a jolt of something ugly at that–at the idea of someone else running hands and teeth against his skin.

David smirked, leaning his mouth closer to Porter’s. “But you’re the first one I’m not going to rip apart for it.”

Porter would usually have enjoyed the threat of violence but this was leaving a bad taste. He traced one of the scars on David’s side before realizing why, fingers stopping. Bite. Not a clean crescent but a tear. David had fought vampires. He had been bitten before. He thought this was the same as that?

Porter inhaled, on the verge of being pissed when he realized not only had David expected this to be violent…he was letting him do it. He had even put himself in a position so that Porter could hold onto him from behind, could bite and drink without David hurting him back. He was trusting him and sacrificing for him.

For him? Why?

“Kitten?” David leaned back against him.

Porter jarred back to himself, hands back to wandering skin and head dipping to drop another kiss against David’s shoulder–not missing the way the big guy tensed but didn’t pull away. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered against skin, devastated by how true it was when it escaped him.

“Porter… You need blood, so just–”

Porter sucked at the side of David’s throat, making his breath catch. He hummed against his pulse. “I’m going to bite you, but it’s not what you think it’s going to be,” he kissed higher, licking and already tasting him through his skin. He moaned softly, arms around him, chest flush to his back. “It’s not going to hurt. And you’ll never have to fight me off.”

David relaxed slowly into him, dragging a deep breath and nodding once. He dropped his head to the side, onto Porter’s shoulder, offering him his throat.

Porter did not deserve that trust and he knew it wasn’t something David handed out easily either. So why had he given it to him? What had he ever done to deserve it? 

His throat burned with hunger and his chest burned with the need to live up to this moment.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever been more delicate with anyone in his life, kissing and licking, looking for just the right moment. When he bit, David tensed, arching in his grip. Porter kept one arm around his chest, pinning him to him, while the other was in his hair. He drank slowly, pouring pleasure into that bite, his own body shaking at the rich, heavy power in David’s blood. It was enough that a younger vampire would have lost themself in it–would have gotten greedy–but Porter had been greedy for David long before blood was involved. What he wanted was those sounds his lover was making, and the way his hips started twisting.

Porter was hard and pressed shamelessly against David’s ass.

David’s hands grabbed at his arm. If he pulled, Porter would have stopped and let him go. But he didn’t pull, he just held on.

“F-fuck…” the shifter rattled out.