Page 12 of Tell No Tales
Vadim held the door open for him and ushered him through it. Then, Vadim grabbed his arm and shoved him up against the wall of the crate. Klaus let out a surprised yelp when Vadim's lips crushed against his.
Chapter 3
Vadim
Fuck, Vadim was foolish. Senseless. Ridiculous, even. He teased his tongue along Klaus's bottom lip, and he slid his knee between Klaus's legs, needing to be closer even as Klaus opened for him.
Klaus tasted like oats and berries. So good, and he smelled even better. Vadim trailed down Klaus's neck, teasing the sensitive flesh and sniffing his hair. Vadim stole another taste of Klaus's lips, his tongue, his intoxicating and overwhelming essence.
Klaus dug his fingernails into Vadim's scalp, tethering him in place as his tongue darted between Vadim's teeth, snaking alongside his, licking and savoring. Vadim might have moaned at that. How could he resist? He hadn't kissed anyone in … gods. It had been years. Not since Efren.
Well, there had been one. He'd given one of Coryn's troublesome assassins the kiss of death when the man thought Vadim's hands were safely bound behind his back. That didn't count. That had been work, not pleasure.
The sting of Klaus's nails and the suction on his tongue brought Vadim back to the moment. Klaus didn't kiss like a whore. He kissed like a drowning man who needed Vadim like he needed air. Vadim pressed closer, shifting so he straddled Klaus's legs and held him up against the wall. Vadim was taller, but not by much. Spreading his legs that little bit took away his height advantage, and Klaus took control of their kiss.
This was the most foolhardy thing Vadim had ever done in his life. Why did it also feel like the best? He'd wanted to kiss Klaus for so long, but the stench of death had kept him from doing so. He had yet another reason to thank Niall for his burst of healing. Now, Klaus would live.
He would live to hate Vadim. Fuck. As always, he had horrible timing and worse self-preservation. Even as they continued to kiss, he knew they could never do it again.
He tried to pull away, but Klaus dug his nails in deeper and caressed the side of his face. Blunt nails rasped against Vadim's stubble, and he couldn't control the urge to thrust against Klaus. He groaned as he realized what he pressed up against. Klaus was hard, too.
Klaus gave as good as he got. His slow undulations drove Vadim from his right mind, though if he were in his right mind, they wouldn't be doing this.
He finally broke the kiss, placing his chin on Klaus's shoulder and his forehead against the wall. "Fuck."
"Keep going." Klaus bit down on his earlobe, and Vadim reacted with another inadvertent thrust of his hips. "You're going to make me come."
Vadim grabbed the back of Klaus's head and cemented their mouths together again. His gloves kept him from feeling the silkiness of Klaus's hair, but he still remembered the smoothness of it against his bare skin. He'd had to touch Klaus, skin to skin, to form the life link. The memory of it had him rutting hard against Klaus as he plundered Klaus's mouth.
Klaus grabbed his ass and ground against him with a stifled cry. Then he broke the kiss, laughing. "Gods, you really did it."
"Did what?"
"I haven't come in my pants since I was playing hide-and-seek at the orphanage."
"What exactly were you hiding and seeking?" Vadim pulled Klaus's earlobe into his mouth for a hard suck, and his cock twitched.
"Gods, stop that. How can I return the favor with you distracting me like this?"
Vadim kissed down the side of Klaus's neck.
Klaus sagged against the crate, propping himself up with both hands.
Vadim took a step back as soon as Klaus released him.
"Wait. Where are you going? I'm not done with you yet."
"Yes, you are."
Klaus's passion-dark gaze narrowed. "What?"
Vadim inspected his handiwork. Klaus's neck was red from the scrape of his stubble, and there was a good-sized wet spot near the waistband of his pants. Vadim wanted to trace the outline of Klaus's cockhead but changed his mind. It was better to end things now. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm sorry."
"You've got to be fucking kidding."
There it was, the look of disgust Vadim remembered.
"Sleeping arrangements," Vadim continued. "You can sleep on the mattress. I'll have Stan bring us more blankets. If you want to share the sail, I promise I won't touch you."
