Tatterdemalion

When you drew on it, you made it easier for the guul to take. Whatever was left, you couldn’t use enough

to do any damage.” He stepped into the tub and nudged Lindsay forward, sitting down behind him.

“So I shouldn’t have tried to use my magic at all.” Even when Lindsay wanted to help, he failed. “It

didn’t do me any good at all, did it?”

“Not you.” Dane caught Lindsay around the waist with a big hand and pulled him back. Lindsay

found himself leaning on Dane, his cheek against Dane’s chest, while Dane rinsed the muck and gravel

from his wounded shoulder. “While it was feeding on you, I had some time to heal.”

Lindsay nodded, cheek sliding against the soft, thick fur on Dane’s chest. “I don’t want to be so

helpless anymore.”

“You need to keep your head up, to start.” It burned when Dane was washing, but he stopped and,

after trying to identify the next sensations, Lindsay realized that Dane was plucking debris from the

scrapes. “You could get mugged by a lamppost, the way you go around.” A kiss on the nape of Lindsay’s

neck took some of the sting out of the words.

“I’ll do better.”

“That’s all I want.” Dane kissed his hair. The longer Dane worked, the better Lindsay felt, especially

when Dane put Izia’s salves on his throbbing arm and torn back. By the time Dane set the jars aside, the

wounds of the evening were fading into nothing but a dull ache and the itch of healing skin.

Lindsay rested and snuggled Dane as best he could while Dane washed his hair. When Dane shifted

him aside and moved on to washing his own hair, Lindsay picked up the cloth Dane had used on his face

and washed the rest of his body. When he was finished washing himself, he wriggled around in the tub,

sloshing water up the sides, to wash Dane, too. It was his fault Dane was all grimy and dirty, after all. And Lindsay wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to touch.

The grooming made Dane purr and he sank to rest his head on the edge of the tub, twisting his long

hair up and out of the way of the cloth. Other than that, he was passive and relaxed—all Lindsay’s.

Lindsay washed Dane’s face last, and once it was clean, he leaned in to rub his cheek against Dane’s.

Feeling Dane’s skin sliding against his own was as intimate as a kiss.

The gesture got him a warm purr and a nuzzle in return, and Dane’s big hands sliding across his back

as Dane pulled him in close. “Thank you,” Dane murmured in his ear.

“It was my pleasure.” Settling his body against Dane’s in the warm water, Lindsay drew back enough

to kiss him on the mouth.

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Tatterdemalion

“I know.” Dane’s voice had that teasing growl, and Lindsay could feel him smile before he kissed

Lindsay again. This time, the kiss was less gentle, more open, and Dane left one hand on Lindsay’s hip

while he got the other in Lindsay’s hair to keep him near.

Lindsay pressed himself up to Dane, skin on skin, and flicked his tongue along Dane’s lips. This

close, he could feel everything, and the warm water surrounding them made their bodies slide against each

other like silk.

Dane’s hand in his hair tightened as Dane kissed him hard enough that Lindsay felt the edge of his

fangs, how sharp and long they were. Dane’s claws brushed against the nape of his neck too, all the little

hints that he was in the hands of someone who was barely human at the best of times. And yet Dane was so

careful with him. There was a ripple of tension in Dane’s body and a low rumble in Dane’s chest, yet he

was still safe.

Lindsay moaned and rocked his body against Dane’s, feeling the proof that Dane wanted him as much

as he wanted Dane. That got Lindsay a low growl and Dane’s fingers slipping between his ass cheeks.

Dane nipped his lower lip and kissed him harder. Arching into the touches, Lindsay moaned again. “Dane.”

“Bed.” Dane followed the word with another kiss before he pulled back. “I want you in bed,” he said

roughly, nudging Lindsay’s cheek with his nose.

It took a moment for the words to register. “Yes.” Lindsay slid back off Dane’s lap, out of Dane’s

arms, and stood up. Once he was out of the tub, he held his hand out to Dane. “Come to bed with me.”

Dane let Lindsay draw him out of the bathroom. The lights were out, but the moonlight trickling in

through the open balcony doors washed everything in a thin coat of white. They were still sleek and wet,

but it was a hot night. Even the breeze making the gauze drapes dance like ghosts was warm. When they

got to the bed, Dane bent to kiss Lindsay again, one hand in the small of Lindsay’s back to pull him close.

Lindsay slipped away after one kiss and fell onto the bed. He sprawled out, damp skin sticking to the

soft sheets, and smiled up at Dane. The way Dane was looking at him was like one of his fantasies come to

life, and it sent a thrill of pure pleasure through Lindsay’s body. Dane wanted him.

Dane’s growl was definitely predatory, a low thrum that sent a shiver up Lindsay’s spine. Dane

crawled onto the bed and over Lindsay, inspecting him carefully in the low light. Lindsay could make out

his expression clearly, couldn’t miss the way Dane’s tongue flickered over his fangs before he growled

again. Dane nudged the hollow of Lindsay’s hip with his nose, breathing in Lindsay’s scent, and his hot

tongue washed across Lindsay’s balls.

Lindsay’s breath caught in his throat and he arched, legs falling open. Dane’s feral behavior only

turned Lindsay on more, reminded him how much Dane wanted him.

Dane’s tongue was slightly rough and it felt incredible as he tongue-bathed Lindsay’s balls and licked

up the shaft of his cock. Dane’s hands were all over him too, stroking his thighs and spreading him open.

Dane purred as he licked at the head of Lindsay’s cock, pleased with whatever he tasted there.

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Anah Crow and Dia