A Lesson in Trust [A Dragon's Growl 8] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Read online

  “Why? Because I made love to you?” Lucian’s jaw didn’t quite feel right, but he was still able to speak.

  “Right. You and your filthy kind would call it that.”

  Lucian frowned. His brain was scrambled from the way Sorin had hit him.

  “Where have you been getting your blood?”

  Sorin looked down at him, frowning. “What?”

  “Your cheeks are flushed. You’ve got fresh blood in you.”

  Maybe that was why he was so strong. On top of the fact that Lucian wasn’t at a hundred percent, vampires were known to get a little boost after a feeding.

  It still shouldn’t have been that much, but it was at least an explanation.

  “N-none of your fucking business,” Sorin sputtered.

  Lucian growled. “Who have you been feeding from?”

  Sorin often fed from Lucian. Otherwise there were volunteers in the house Seth had taken over who took care of that, omegas who liked and were still loyal to Sorin.

  Even that Lucian didn’t much like because whenever Sorin did feed from him, it was because he was naked and moaning beneath Lucian’s body, writhing in ecstasy as Lucian slid inside him again and again.

  “I said it doesn’t concern you.”

  The idea that Sorin might be feeding from another lover didn’t sit well with Lucian. It wasn’t necessarily true, but it was more than enough to make his inner dragon roar at the thought.

  And Lucian got a little strength boost of his own as he came up fast.

  He grabbed Sorin by his throat, a strength and power he didn’t have two minutes ago flowing through him as though all his batteries had just been super charged.

  He spun Sorin around, slamming him against the wall. Sorin cried out. Lucian must have pushed him harder than he meant to, but then it didn’t matter as he crushed their mouths together.

  He caught his mate off guard. Good. That was exactly what he wanted. He pushed his tongue into Sorin’s mouth, noting the way his mate moaned for him, the way Sorin’s hands reached up and gripped his arms.

  He didn’t push Lucian away, or any closer. It felt more as though he was trying desperately to hang on. As though he would fall apart if he didn’t hold onto Lucian.

  And Lucian wanted that so desperately. This was what he’d wanted from the beginning. To feel his mate’s love for him. To kiss him and know that Sorin was still his.

  Lucian licked his mate deep in his mouth. He pressed their bodies flush together, wanting that same skin-to-skin contact everywhere, even though Sorin’s clothes, and what few Lucian were wearing, were still getting in the way.

  But he could still feel the firm length of Sorin’s cock, the heat of it, and the way it pulsed between Sorin’s legs.

  Lucian reached down. He needed to touch it. He wanted Sorin to touch him in return, but for now, Lucian had to satisfy himself by feeling the proof of Sorin’s lust for him.

  He cupped his mate between the legs, keeping his hand over Sorin’s pants at first, but the instant Sorin moaned into Lucian’s mouth, it was all over.

  He had to slip his hand beneath the waist of Sorin’s pants, had to go skin-to-skin.

  And then Sorin’s fingers were gripping Lucian’s hair, clenching painfully tight.

  Lucian thrust against Sorin’s hip as he stroked his mate’s cock, his body thrumming by the way Sorin thrust against his hand.

  “Oh God,” Sorin sighed, his head falling back as he seemingly gave himself over to Lucian.

  Submitting to him. Offering himself to Lucian to do whatever the hell he wanted.

  “I love you, baby,” Lucian gasped, his words hardly carrying because he had to whisper them so softly. He still meant them, meant them with everything he had as he took what he so desperately needed, and then he let his mouth latch onto the side of Sorin’s throat.

  A vampire’s sweet spot. Second only to maybe his dick and prostate. Sorin loved it when Lucian sucked on his throat.

  Until he didn’t, and Sorin pushed hard and desperately against Lucian’s chest.

  The struggle was sloppy, and somewhat pathetic if Lucian was honest, but it caught him off guard how Sorin pushed Lucian’s hands away, how he deftly slipped beneath Lucian’s hands and out of his reach before Lucian could reach out and grab him again.

  When he tried, Sorin was well enough out of reach that Lucian’s chains wouldn’t give him the slack he needed to touch his mate again.

  Sorin gasped heavily. The horror he stared at Lucian with unlike anything Lucian had ever seen on the man.

  Mainly because of its sincerity. Sorin honestly looked as if Lucian had scared the devil clean out of him.

  Lucian didn’t know whether to be pleased by that or not. That stare could mean anything.

  “You can’t tell me I mean nothing to you now.”

  Sorin shook his head. “You mean less than nothing to me.”

  It still hurt to hear it. God, worse than that, it tore chunks out of Lucian that were deeper than the slashes from when Sorin whipped him.

  At the same time, Lucian got what he needed. The way Sorin kissed him back was enough to make Lucian believe.

  Whether it was an act, or even if it was real and Sorin did hate him, that kiss proved there were some genuine feelings there.

  “You kiss me back and hump against my hand and want me to think I’m nothing to you? You can’t tell me you didn’t feel that because I sure as shit did.”

  Sorin pressed his lips together. He stared at Lucian for what had to be a solid minute then spun on his heel and moved quickly for the door.

  Lucian wanted to yell out to him, to make him come back, but his brain and body were still fried. The only thing he was aware of was how cold he felt as his sudden strength was sapped from him and he slid back down on the concrete floor, how he was still hungry, and how, even though Sorin had been striking him as if he were the enemy, the room without him felt…less alive.

  Lucian pressed his face into the floor, desperately trying to bring back the warmth of his mate’s skin.

  Great. He was chained up in a goddamn vampire basement, and his dick throbbed as though it hadn’t been touched in years.

  Sorin had touched him back. Sorin had kissed him back, had held him close. This was confusing as all hell, and he wished he knew the exact reason for what was going on, but he could hang onto that much.

  Maybe he passed out for a bit because, when he came to, it was with a little more clarity. He had a headache, but his brain wasn’t ringing anymore.

  Also, there on the floor, not even on any kind of plating, were two small bread rolls.

  He reached for them, taking them and holding them close.

  He checked them over, opened them up, and didn’t find any kinds of pills. He sniffed them and smelled nothing but bread.

  If these were poisoned, then it could be something he couldn’t make out with his eyes, or smell, but he was too hungry to resist anymore, and not eating was making it impossible for him to properly fight his way out of this.

  He ate his bread, taking small bites, chewing thoroughly, and swallowing. Eating slow would help his body hold on to the food for a little while longer and ease his hunger pains for a longer amount of time.

  He needed that right now.

  As he ate, Lucian thought about what his mate had been saying to him when Sorin had come down here. Lucian thought of every look, every twitch of his eyes and mouth. He searched and searched, going through every word, even down to the tone of his voice.

  It was as if he watched a tape of the event in his mind.

  He needed to find something he could cling to. Something that still proved his mate was loyal to him and no one else.

  Lucian stopped eating when he remembered the part where Sorin had flipped out when Lucian had suggested they’d made love.

  Not just the way Sorin flew at him but the way he’d also denied it had been lovemaking at all.

  Almost as if he’d been denying what they’d done had been somet
hing Sorin had wanted.

  The little food in Lucian’s stomach threatened to come up again.

  He replayed that moment again and again in his mind. Sorin had suggested that Lucian, and his filthy kind, would think of sex like that.

  What did that mean other than he was disgusted by it?

  As if he was suggesting he’d been forced…

  No. Lucian knew his mate and he’d known the time they’d had together. Sorin loved him. He’d wanted to be with Lucian every single time. The way they’d started their relationship had been rocky, sure, but…

  No.

  Lucian’s hands clenched so tightly around his rolls that he ended up destroying them accidentally, turning them into crumbs in his fists.

  It was a mistake. It was all a mistake. Sorin didn’t think that of him or their mating.

  It was all an act, just an act, and soon they were going to get out of here.

  Though the small bit of faith Lucian found slipping away from him still left his body colder than the concrete beneath his body.

  He finally admitted to himself that there was the chance this was real and that Sorin looked at him and spoke to him in exactly the way he felt about him.

  As if Sorin hated him.

  Chapter Two

  Sorin had to get out of there. As fast as possible. He couldn’t hold it together. He couldn’t stop his hands from shaking, and he couldn’t stop thinking about what his palm felt like.

  Or his mouth.

  His palm still buzzed and tingled from when he’d slapped Lucian in the face.

  The man had gone down hard. So hard and fast that it horrified him.

  Lucian was supposed to be an alpha. He was big and strong, stronger than Sorin. A hit like that would have hurt, sure, but he shouldn’t have gone down like that.

  He had, and then he kept talking. Sorin couldn’t stand it. He knew who was listening, so he kneed Lucian in the face.

  When Lucian started talking about lovemaking, aside from squeezing Sorin’s heart tight enough to pop it, it made the terror in his blood spike.

  And then that kiss…

  Sorin pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. God, how stupid could he have been? He should have pulled away the second Lucian’s mouth touched his, but he hadn’t. Sorin had lost himself. He’d actually forgotten where he was for a split second.

  And then Lucian had palmed his cock, stroking him, teasing him, and Sorin humped against his mate’s hand like a dog in heat when such a thing could get his mate killed.

  He very nearly let Lucian fuck him. He might have, had he not come to his senses.

  He had to go. He couldn’t do it. The second he got control over himself he managed to escape Lucian’s hold and get away from him.

  Only to see the disappointment, and desperation, in Lucian’s eyes.

  Sorin couldn’t stand there and look at what had become of his strong, proud alpha. He’d run away like the coward he was.

  “That didn’t take long.”

  Sorin didn’t stop walking. The blond followed him. Sorin didn’t have to look at the man to see the smirk on his face.

  “That was some top-level acting you got there. Didn’t fool me too much, though, especially when you let him stick his tongue down your throat.”

  Sorin clenched his fists. “Leave me alone. You got what you wanted.”

  “No, I don’t think I did,” Van said, clucking his tongue. “I mean I could always go back to your daddy and let him know all the shit you’ve been up to with Lucian. You’re lucky it was only me watching that little display and not anyone else. He already basically knows anyway, so it’s not like it would be a big deal or anything.”

  Pretend not to care. Sorin had to pretend not to care.

  “You can act like you have power around here all you want.” Sorin made it to the wide staircase leading out of the basement, struggling to contain the trembling of his hands. He stopped and looked at Van, at the dragon who had held him down and pulled his fangs out with a pair of pliers. “You know that the second my father loses interest in you, or when he’s done with you, he’s going to kill you.”

  “Maybe.” Van actually smiled at him. “I just have to keep being useful. Works out nicely that I know where Seth put all the servants and where everyone is sleeping, what routines there are…”

  Van trailed off, purposely no doubt, and it gave Sorin all the right, or wrong, ideas about what Van had been doing by the side of Sorin’s father.

  Convincing the man he could be useful to getting Varrick’s property back and killing Seth once and for all.

  Sorin had managed to keep Lucian alive by telling his father about the mating and adding a few little details that made Lucian’s life important to him.

  After Van was captured, he’d managed to stay alive and secure himself a proper place in this house, by offering everything he had to Varrick.

  Sorin wanted to be sick just from the sight of this man. It disgusted him to the highest degree, and he couldn’t believe he had to deal with this at all.

  “What?” Van asked, leaning against the wall next to Sorin. “You look like you want to bite my face off.”

  “You’d taste disgusting,” Sorin said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re worse than I am. You pretended to care about the omegas, to want to protect them from me, and here you are, ready to sell them out.”

  Sorin nearly laughed. “Actually, I guess that makes you a perfect fit to work for my father.”

  “Right,” Van nodded. “We make an interesting pair. You can’t get your father to kill me because you know I’ll out your little boyfriend before anyone can strike the killing blow, and I can’t out your boyfriend without you getting me killed.” Van actually laughed. “It’s almost like a movie set up.”

  Sorin sneered at the man and started walking up the stairs, needing to get away from him. It was hard to get time alone, and he needed it if he was going to have any peace after this. He needed to be able to think, to breathe. He could barely do either of those things while Lucian was down there, alone, cold and hungry, but Sorin needed to try.

  He went to the kitchen first, knowing Van was following behind him, but Sorin was unable to do anything about that.

  Van wasn’t the strongest dragon. Lucian could take him without a problem if he was at his full strength. Lucian had once beaten the hell out of Van.

  But Van was still a dragon. He could grab Sorin by the neck and snap him in half if he really wanted to.

  Likely he wouldn’t because Van was still surrounded on all sides, as well, but Sorin didn’t appreciate having the other man follow him. He suspected Van had been ordered to by Varrick.

  Sorin found the cooks. He ordered them to put something together from the leftover dinner they’d had last night and bring it down to the prisoner in the basement. Lucian needed protein and calories to get his strength back up. Sorin had been shocked to hell and back the first time he’d found out how much Lucian needed to eat in order to maintain his body and all that muscle he had. Luckily there were steaks that hadn’t yet been thrown to the dogs.

  “Heat these up, send down some mashed potatoes, the bread rolls. Some of the vegetables and…”

  Sorin stopped talking to the two cooks in front of him, suddenly aware of what he was saying and who was listening behind him. Van could bring this information to Varrick, and then Sorin and Lucian would be well and truly fucked.

  “Whatever, just feed him. He’s starving down there, and I need him alive.”

  “So you’re going to give him a five-course meal?” Van asked. “Want to have the lobster sent down to him, too?”

  “We have steak around here literally all the time,” Sorin snapped, not looking back at the man. “Giving him the day-old leftovers meant for the dogs is hardly a sign of respect.”

  Indeed, it wasn’t. In fact, that food had to go to the dogs because Varrick wouldn’t be caught dead eating leftovers. He didn’t want his son having them either.

  In f
act, no one in Sorin’s family tended to eat day-old food. Everything was fresh or nothing at all.

  He knew this especially because of that one time when he was a child, his home had gone on lockdown when a neighboring vampire household attacked.

  Varrick had thrown away good food when the fresh stuff began to run out, not concerned at all that his staff, or his son, weren’t eating.

  Sorin had gone for three days without food back then. Meanwhile, his father had walked around the house as though it was a minor inconvenience, and he hadn’t been worried at all that they might die.

  Either of starvation or from the enemy getting inside.

  Thankfully, Varrick’s men had won the day, and the instant servants were able to go out and get fresh meat and produce, they did.

  Sorin ate until he nearly popped.

  After that, Varrick had most of his enemies, family or not, killed. Only the most loyal remained, and other vampire families stayed a healthy distance away ever since.

  Van snorted. “Send a couple of bread rolls down and nothing else.” Sorin cringed when Van clapped him on the shoulder. “I think our boss’s son here is just a bit confused because of the mating. Poor thing.”

  Van actually pinched Sorin’s cheek. Sorin hated it, but he let it happen. Then fantasized about how wonderful it would have felt to slap and kick Van, instead of the man he loved.

  What did Lucian think of him? It couldn’t be good.

  “Sir?”

  The cooks looked to Sorin.

  Van had a lot of clout around this house after he’d offered his services and all the information he had to Varrick, but Sorin was ultimately still the son of the employer they feared.

  And Sorin had absolutely no power in this house. Whether Van watched him or not.

  “Send him the bread rolls. That’s all.”

  He hated himself. Lucian needed more than that, but Sorin could give no more. Not without further risking him.

  Lucian had protected Sorin and loved him, and Sorin repaid his mate by hitting him and giving him two stale bread rolls.

  Sorin’s heart clenched.

  He turned and walked away before he could change his mind. He needed to get to his room. He needed to be alone. He needed to let himself flip out and cry and yell.