All I Want for Christmas (4 page)

“You’d alter my memory? You can do that?”

“Mind manipulation is not difficult for my kind.”

I slipped into my
Star Wars
voice and mumbled, “These are not the droids you’re looking for.”

Nicholai gave me a funny look.

I waved it off. “Nothing, go on.”

He continued to explain his weird powers. “Vampaerii saliva heals the wound fast, and my thoughts erase any memory of my teeth sinking into your flesh. I have lived on Earth for nearly a year and fed without drawing any undue attention to myself.”

“Then why tell me?” I had to know. What was he going to do? Would I wake up tomorrow and lose all memory of the best sex I ever had in my life?
Okay, it was the only man-sex I ever had, and I had nothing to compare it to, but still, it was great!

“I told you; you are different. Your voice made my soul sing, and I knew I wanted you. The scariest part is not knowing if you will want me, now that you know the truth. Your culture suggests fear towards anything different from humans.  I am not human. Will you give me the chance to love you as one man does to another?”

“Love?” I heard him say it. And I heard myself question it. I just stared. The silence grew uncomfortably long. I hadn’t considered love when I came on this date. I just wanted to let go of my inhibitions and embrace the parts of me I kept hidden for too many years.
Love
?

“I need a shower,” I said as I gently pushed him back so I could get up off the bed. I knew it was not what he wanted to hear, but it was all I had to offer in the moment. I needed to think.

*  *  *

There
was a knock at the door. It startled me out of my cogitations, and I leaned away from the streaming water. “David? You’ve been in there a long time. I’m surprised I still have hot water for you to wash with?” Nicholai’s voice was still music to my senses. Somehow, I knew what he meant by “making his soul sing.” I sure felt a twinge of longing race through me when he said my name. Did he make my soul sing? I wasn’t certain. What I
did
know after the longest shower in history where nothing actually got washed was that his being a vampire, or Vampaerii as he called it, or whatever, didn’t matter. He was him, that man, the one who kissed me and made my fingers go numb.  Nicholai Markoff. I could not deny the longing I felt for him just because he wasn’t human.
And I can’t believe I just heard myself think that! This has to be a dream.

I called to him from where I was. “No, it’s still hot. Come on in,” I beckoned, and I heard the door open and shut instantly.

“I didn’t wish to disturb you,” he said from outside the shower curtain.

I peeked out. “Stupid vampire. Get in here.” I offered a wet hand.

He smiled a wide smile that revealed both his sharp canines and then stepped into the tub behind me. “Vampaerii,” he corrected as he grabbed the soap from my hand.

I turned and placed my arms around his neck and asked, “How does no one notice those teeth?”

“I never smile.”

“Impossible.” I felt his cock touching mine. I was so glad I didn’t giggle; this was not a time to act silly.

“No, it’s true. I am a rather serious person at work. No one questions me. They leave me to go about my way, and I have been quite happy. On the few occasions when I have let myself slip, I simply remove the person’s memory of having seen my teeth.”

“That sounds so lonely.” Indeed it did. To never allow himself to smile, how awful.

“On the contrary, you have no idea what living on my world was like. Living here is like paradise. Not smiling on the outside just became a part of what kept me alive, and
out
of FBI hands. But I am smiling. Oh, yes, I am, everyday because I am able to live free. And now I smile because I found you.”

He moved his soapy fingers over my skin and around my back. He stepped closer and pressed himself against me. I grinned and touched my lips to his. The shivers that raced through my body at the touch of his tongue were nothing compared to the shivers that quaked through me before the water ran cold and forced us to leave the pleasure we discovered in the tub together.

*  *  *

The
light streaming through the curtains caught me off guard. I was in his bed, with his arms wrapped tightly around me, and the sunlight made me panic. I didn’t want to move for fear of Nicholai combusting into a pile of ash and debris. My eyes wandered down my naked flesh to where our hands intertwined.  The sun was clearly upon him and he was not burning.
Another fable thwarted!
I squeezed his hand reassuringly. He sighed and kissed the back of my neck. This was by far the best morning on record!

I pulled his fingers to my lips. “Merry Christmas,” I whispered.

His low chuckle filled the air around us. “I thought you said you were Jewish?” He maneuvered his way on top of me and looked into my eyes as his fingers played with my hair.

“I am. But meeting you makes me believe in the Christmas spirit. It’s the best present I could have hoped for.” For some stupid reason that old song popped into my head:
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, I said, my two front teeth….
Tyler is right. I am a dork!

He smiled his Vampaerii smile again and smothered me in kisses.
Definitely the best morning on record!

*  *  *

Later
, after a little bit of kissin’ and a little bit of snugglin’, we both got out of bed and got dressed. I would have been perfectly content to go naked all day, but he had other plans. I got dressed and found him already making breakfast.

“You cook?” I asked as if I didn’t believe my eyes, even though I distinctly remembered eating dinner at some point last night. But I can’t recall whether he cooked it.

“Yes. Do you eat?”

He gave me the same tone in return and I blushed from embarrassment.
Fucker! “
Yes. I didn’t know. I mean, if you don’t need food, then I guess it shocked me to think you can cook.”

“I like food. Some of it. And if I live among humans than it makes things easier when I have guests.” He broke an egg and threw the shell into the trash.

I walked over and rubbed his shoulders as I watched. This was nice. I felt completely wonderful for the first time in forever. I could not stop myself from holding him right there in the kitchen. I felt giddy. I moved my arms around his torso and rested my head against his shoulder.

Nicholai stopped what he was doing and caressed my arms that held him tight. “If you loosen your hold, I could turn around and hold you back.” I did, and he turned around and did just as he suggested. His hands slid up and down my spine, and he kissed my neck and then whispered in my ear, “The eggs are burning.”

I grinned and stepped back. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be; they are just eggs. I can always cook more.” He kissed me before removing the pan from the burner. Once everything was turned off, he resumed the kissing. His soft, sensual kisses stirred everything on the inside, and I moaned into his mouth. This man was incredible. He could devour my mouth with enough intensity to bruise my lips and cause spontaneous combustion, but the next moment he could be gentle and loving like he was savoring the very taste of me.

Thinking about him tasting me had me wanting to taste him. That part of him that I had never touched before on a man was suddenly of interest to my tongue. I needed to, right now. I pulled back slowly. He questioned me with his eyes. “I want to… um, I mean, you did it. I thought to return the favor.”

My roundabout explanation seemed to click, and he leaned back. “By all means, go right ahead.”

I dropped to my knees with a silly grin on my face and proceeded to unbuckle his belt.
We need to stop wearing belts. Velcro! That’s the way to go.

“I love your eyes. And the way they light up when you’re happy.” His breathy compliment was lost on me as I responded with sarcasm.

“What? Shit brown. My eyes aren’t special.” Belt done, now if I could just get the zipper down without asking for help….

“Why would you say that? Your eyes are a lovely color.” He was most insistent with his opinion.

“That’s what my brother says.” Jeans undone, move the boxer-briefs down and…
there’s
my prize!
Damn! He’s even big when he’s soft. And uncut too. Never seen foreskin before.
I touched him and pulled the skin back to reveal the hidden head.

Wild! Looks kinda like one of those water tube-snake wiggler toys my sister has that have a hole at both ends and when you squeeze one end it goes sliding through your fist, shooting across—

“So, you have a brother?” His question snapped me out of my internal rambling. Sometimes I wish I had a key to turn that part off.

“Yup, and two sisters.” I answered, shaking off my fascination over the extra skin around his head and taking him into my mouth. His soft flesh felt swishy on my tongue. I heard him groan. I smiled but found it difficult to move my lips in any other shape than an O. His dick swelled quickly as I bobbed my head and soon there was less room in my mouth than at the start. His tip hit the back of my throat, and I gagged and had to pull off. I only choked for a moment and then looked up. “Sorry. How do you do that? You swallowed my dick halfway down your throat without gagging.”

He shrugged. “Practice.”

As I sat there, it dawned on me that I was not his first. In fact, he had probably had lots of lovers, and I was just one of many. He must have seen my mental calculations because I felt his hand on my hair. I looked up.

“Don’t, David. My past lovers are just that—in the past. Right now, it is only you I am with until you decide to let me go.”

“Don’t you get a choice?” I asked as I took his cock back into my hands. I liked the feel of his extra skin sliding up and down with my fingers. This was really turning me on. I licked around the tip, and I heard him audibly swallow.

He gasped but still answered my question. “No. There was only one other person in my life who made me feel like you do, and he is dead.”

That confession made me stop licking my lollipop. “What happened?” I could not stop myself from asking. It was so involuntary. I really should think before I speak.

“He was killed. And I was powerless to save him.”

The sadness in his dark eyes pulled me to my feet. I know it was not the best moment to feel sentimental, but I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. “I’m sorry. So sorry.” The thought of his pain and anguish over his dead lover hurt me like I did not expect. I felt horrible for him. Even knowing that the other guy could not still be in his life for me to be here, I still hurt for him. Then insanity took over and I could not stop the next words that slipped from my lips. “I love you.”

Nicholai stiffened. “Don’t say the words unless you mean them.”

Did I? I
thought
I did.
“No, I do. I do mean them.”

He leaned back and pushed me away enough to look into my face with his concern. “David, don’t say them out of pity.”

“No,” I protested, “I’m not. I mean… it’s not like I’ve ever been in love before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I
think
it’s love. It feels like love.”

“We don’t have love on my world. Not among the Vampaerii. Violence, hatred, vengeance—these things I know well. So when I met Max, I knew. It was a feeling I can never forget.”

“He must have been great.” I hated hearing about it, but at the same time I could not stop it from passing between us. Knowing the other person is what makes a relationship work. If I was going to know Nicholai, I needed to hear about his past.

“Yes… and no. He—Max—put up barriers and would not admit his feelings for me until it was too late.” Nicholai averted his eyes and looked to the floor as he spoke, like it was too painful to admit as he looked at me. “I loved him with every ounce of my being and for the longest time he would not reciprocate my feelings.”

I cupped his face and made him look at me. “I love you.” I wanted to make sure he heard me—that he knew.

“Oh, David,” he whispered, “I do love you.” Nicholai crushed my mouth with kisses. So much for tender. He moved me backwards out of the kitchen toward the bedroom and kicked his pants off as we went.

Just as he had me right where he wanted me, my phone rang. “Shit. Sorry.” I guiltily reached for it and looked at the caller ID. “It’s my friend, Joey. He’s probably wondering if I’m dead in an alley somewhere.”

“Answer it,” he said as he got comfortable next to me.

“Hello,” I said as a flipped it open. Joey’s voice was fully of sarcasm and insults. “I’m fine, Joey. Yes, I had a great night.” I was lying on my back so I tilted my head to look into Nicholai’s eyes as I spoke. He in turn touched my face with his hand, running his fingers around my jaw. I almost tossed the phone aside and pushed him over onto his back to ravage him, but then Joey would just call me back and the phone would annoy me some more. I settled on enjoying Nicholai’s touch as I finished the conversation now.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be there today. Yes, I’m serious. Nicole? Yeah, she’s great. Fuck, yeah, I’m getting laid. Joey? Joey?” I snapped the phone shut, and Nicholai gave me a questioning look. “Joey said ‘All right!’ and hung up.”

“Ah! Then who is Nicole?”

“Um.” I knew lying would come back to bite me in the ass. “You are?”

“Is that a question? Because I am sure I am not a woman.”

“No. I know. I lied. He thought I was saying Nicole not Nicholai, and I didn’t correct him.” I felt so small right now.
I am such an asshole.

“Because they don’t know you’re gay.” He, on the other hand, did not state it as a question.

“No, they don’t. I really didn’t know until now. I was in denial. Then you kissed me, and everything felt right. My life made sense, and I knew this is what I wanted.” Crazy as it was, love and all, this was what I wanted.

“Are you sure?” he asked sarcastically, “because I was going to suggest fucking you again, but if you’re straight—”