Frostbite Page 12

  Ezra pressed forward, wrapping his arms around Morgan as they kissed. Morgan lifted him easily and Ezra wrapped his legs around his waist as he was carried to the bed and pressed down on top of it. They fumbled together over his shirt buttons, the fabric tearing as Ezra lost his patience with the tiny buttonholes. Morgan laughed, still kissing him, lips following the curve of Ezra's shoulder as it was exposed. He bit at one nipple, so hard that Ezra gasped and arched off the bed. His arms were still tangled in his shirt and Morgan kept pushing him back down before he could get them free.

  "I want to touch you," he whined.

  "I'm having fun watching you struggle, though." Morgan pulled the other nipple into his mouth and bit down.

  Ezra moaned. He felt pulled in too many directions. He wanted to touch everything just as much as he wanted to be denied, to be teased. He wriggled out of the shirt and shoved it aside before removing Morgan's. His lips found Morgan's ear, sucking at the lobe. "You didn't bring your chains, hunter," he whispered.

  "How do you know I didn't?"

  The low growl of those words was almost enough to finish him. Ezra was trembling again in anticipation.

  "I always keep spare supplies on hand," Morgan went on. His touch trailed down Ezra's bare arms to the wrist, before spreading them wide. "Just in case."

  "In case of what?" Ezra breathed. He was going to die.

  The grip on Ezra's wrists tightened. Morgan's smile had only grown wider as his eyes darkened with intent. There was beautiful calculation in that gaze.

  "What are you going to do to me?" It came out a plea. Or a prayer. They both seemed like the same thing just then.

  Morgan kissed his way along Ezra's jaw. Paused. Then Morgan leaned up, lips brushing the shell of his ear as he whispered his litany of threats.

  Ezra's breath caught in his throat. He could almost feel every word of it on his skin, as if it were happening already. Knowing Morgan, it could take hours to do everything. Hours of the most wonderful torment. "Yes. Yes. Please."

  Morgan's happy laugh ruffled his hair. "Shit, I love you. You know that? And now I'm gonna make you feel so good. There's a lot of hours to fill until midnight. I think we'll need them all."

  Outside the window, fireworks burst over the city as the New Year arrived but they were no match for the stars already dancing in Ezra's eyes.

  EPILOGUE

  Morgan paused at the knock at this apartment door. He'd been staring into the bathroom mirror for a long time already, adjusting his tie, trying to make it feel right around his throat before finally tearing it off and stuffing it in his pocket. After almost two months, he had adjusted to everything else about his new life, but the tie was the final sticking point. The suit was fine, excellent even, a perfect fit to his broad frame. He hadn't worn one since his sister's wedding. Back then it had felt like a trial, the jacket tight in the shoulders and across his back and the shirt pulling over his stomach. He'd spent all night tugging at his collar and fidgeting. This suit fit like perfection. It fit like Ezra wrapped around him. Morgan smiled at his reflection, smoothing back his hair, and then went to answer the door.

  There was a second, more persistent knock before he got there.

  Ezra lounged in the doorway when Morgan opened the door, looking tall and lithe in a pair of silver platform heels and a wicked grin. While Morgan watched, he rapped his knuckles against the door frame one more time.

  "I was under the impression bodyguard duty didn't start for another hour today," Morgan said.

  Ezra's smile stretched wider, full of fangs and mischief. "I got bored. Entertain me."

  "You have a meeting in two hours. I don't think we have time for whatever it is you're thinking about."

  "But how will we know if we don't try?" He swayed forward the slightest bit, as if Morgan were a magnet and Ezra couldn't resist his pull.

  Morgan looked him over. Today's schedule consisted of a luncheon with members of an allied clan, a tour of some of the family's facilities, and something Ezra had ominously written into the book as "shopping for supplies." Morgan had no idea what a vampire lunch consisted of, but if past experience and Ezra's velvet suit were any indication, he doubted there would be any food involved. The suit was cinched at the waist by a wide leather belt and the lace shirt beneath was so sheer that Morgan was sure that if he pulled the lapel aside, he would be able to see the dark flush of Ezra's nipples and every one of the tattoos that decorated his skin. He was less interested in that than the shadow of black leather at Ezra's throat. The sight of it made him feel like he was burning from the inside out.

  Morgan moved the ruffle of lace aside and hooked his finger through the o-ring at the front of the leather collar. The vampire fell against him when he tugged, hands braced on Morgan's shoulders, mouth already angled for kissing. His lips were rosy like he'd been biting them again. Morgan brushed them with a brief kiss.

  "You look really good," Morgan said.

  "I know." Ezra pushed against Morgan until he'd forced him back a few steps, closing the door behind them. He didn't stop until he'd walked Morgan all the way back to the little couch opposite the door.

  Morgan had to sit on the arm or fall over it. He chose sitting.

  "And you look delicious." Ezra stole another kiss, sucking gently at his lips and tongue as he leaned over Morgan. "I'm hungry."

  Morgan curled his fingers around the metal ring, holding Ezra where he wanted him. The vampire was all but purring again, a liquid moan curling in the back of his throat.

  Morgan let him go and straightened up again. "Then I'll make you a hot chocolate." When he glanced over his shoulder on the way to the kitchenette, Ezra had dropped onto the couch face first, heels in the air as he pouted. Morgan chuckled. "You have appointments to keep."

  "I don't care," Ezra whined, voice muffled by the cushions. "I want to fuck. I'm dying."

  "You're not dying."

  "I haven't seen you in ages."

  "Two days. And I left you the collar to remember me by."

  Ezra made another frustrated noise, halfway between a growl and a moan, as he flopped around on the couch. Morgan did his best not to imagine all the other circumstances under which he'd heard that exact sound and the things they'd been doing to cause it.

  They had seen each other nearly every day and every night since returning to the city, falling into the routine so easily it had felt like coming home. Community college classes three days a week, then trailing Ezra through this new glittering world of vampire contacts and lunchless lunches, nights spent wrapped in each other while Ezra introduced Morgan to their extensive family library and Morgan introduced him to the entire canon of vampire movies. Ezra thought they were hilarious.

  "And you asked to be included in the business more. Don't go complaining now," Morgan went on as he took down two mugs from the cabinet. He didn't turn around even when Ezra's heels clicked against the linoleum. His breath tickled the back of Morgan's neck a second later.

  "What if I say please?" he whispered.

  Morgan hid a smile before he turned away from the counter. He took Ezra's face in both hands, one thumb stroking over his cheek. It glittered faintly from whatever makeup the vampire had applied that morning. "I love you," he said because it was true and because he loved to look into Ezra's eyes as he said it and watch his whole face come alive with pleasure. It was the most beautiful kind of magic he'd ever seen.

  "I love you too," Ezra breathed. His lips parted, cheeks slowly growing warm.

  "But the answer is still no. You'll have to be patient."

  Ezra hissed at him, one hand circling Morgan's throat in a loose grip while Morgan laughed.

  The phone rang. Morgan pulled it from his pocket, not even glancing at the display before he answered. He already knew who it was. "Yes, he's here," Morgan said without giving Seraphine a chance to speak first.

  "Tell him to get his ass back here. We need to prepare for this meeting. I'm not having a repeat of the last time," she began. Morgan
held the phone away from his ear as her voice rose in volume.

  "We'll be there soon," he said when she'd finished. He hung up and replaced the phone in his pocket. "Did you at least come in a car this time or am I gonna have to call for one to pick us up?"

  "Yes, I took a car," Ezra grumbled. Pouting for all he was worth. "It's waiting on the street."

  "Then I'll make your hot chocolate to go." Before Ezra could stomp away, Morgan caught his hand. He raised it to his lips to kiss his knuckles. "If you're good, I'll give you a reward tonight."

  "Promise?"

  "Absolutely."

  Ezra's dark eyes narrowed before he smiled and licked his lips. "All right. And this time make it hurt."

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First of all, thank you to all my twitter friends who encouraged me to write what was frankly the most ridiculous sounding collection of tropes I’ve ever put into one book. I couldn’t have done this without you or your very abundant DMs. You made this book a reality. Hopefully you don’t end up regretting that. But even if you do it’s too late. No take backs.

  Chace, Parker, Skye, Lynn, and everyone else who read bits and pieces of this book along the way: you’re the best people in the world and I’m not just saying that so you’ll read for me again.

  An extra special thank you to Ovidius for correcting my Latin and to Liz for correcting my commas.

  And to everyone who ever asked how the book was going or helped me celebrate when I had news.

  Thank you so much.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  J. Emery is slowly writing their way through every fantasy trope imaginable. And if they can make it weirder and queerer while they do, that’s even better as far as they’re concerned.

  They spend their free time watching anime, gaming, and drinking large quantities of tea, occasionally all at the same time. They have also been known to document their ridiculous levels of terror while watching horror movies on twitter as @mixeduppainter. Sometimes they even discuss upcoming projects.

  STILL NEED MORE?

  To receive updates and special bonus content, including side stories, visit the address below to sign up for my newsletter. I promise not to abuse this newfound power.

  Thanks for reading!

  HTTPS://MAILCHI.MP/ccb68f4efead/mixeduppaintersignup