Kieran's control snapped.
One moment Adrian was in his lap, clothed and challenging. The next, Kieran had flipped them, pinning Adrian to the bed with his body, his eyes fully red, fangs extended.
"Last chance to say no," Kieran growled, and his voice was different—deeper, more primal.
Adrian looked up at him—at the monster everyone else feared—and felt only want.
"Yes," he said clearly. "I want this. I want you."
Kieran descended on him like a storm.
His mouth found Adrian's throat, kissing and sucking and scraping his fangs (carefully, so carefully) against the sensitive skin. Adrian arched up with a gasp, his hands fisting in Kieran's hair.
"Too many clothes," Adrian managed, and Kieran responded by literally tearing Adrian's borrowed shirt in half.
The sound of fabric ripping should not have been that hot.
Kieran's mouth traveled down, finding Adrian's collarbone, his chest, pausing to lavish attention on each nipple until Adrian was writhing beneath him. Those cold hands mapped every inch of exposed skin, raising goosebumps and stealing breath.
"Beautiful," Kieran murmured, looking down at Adrian spread beneath him. "You're so beautiful. Every version of you, across every lifetime."
Adrian reached up to pull Kieran's shirt off, needing to see, to touch. When it came away, he sucked in a breath.
Kieran's body was a work of art—lean muscle carved from marble, pale skin unmarked by time. He looked like a statue come to life, all sharp edges and deadly grace.
"Your turn to stare?" Kieran asked with a hint of amusement.
"Shut up and kiss me."
Kieran laughed and obliged, settling his weight more fully on top of Adrian. The feeling of skin on skin, cold meeting warm, was intoxicating. Adrian wrapped his legs around Kieran's waist, pulling him impossibly closer.
They moved together, grinding and gasping, hands exploring, mouths tasting. Kieran kissed a path down Adrian's body, pausing at the waistband of his sleep pants.
"Yes?" he asked, looking up with those crimson eyes.
"God, yes."
What followed was slow and torturous and absolutely perfect. Kieran took his time, learning what made Adrian gasp, what made him moan, what made him curse and beg and forget his own name.
"Kieran, please—" Adrian was nearly sobbing with need. "I need—"
"I know what you need." Kieran moved back up his body, kissing him deeply. "But we're doing this right. Slow. I'm going to learn every inch of you before we go further."
"I'll die if you go any slower."
"You're not going to die. I'm going to make you feel so good you forget about mortality altogether."
It was a promise Kieran delivered on.
By the time they finally came together—slow and careful and overwhelming—Adrian was shaking with need and emotion and too many feelings to name. Kieran held him through all of it, whispering words of love in ancient languages, moving with a care that belied his inhuman strength.
"Mine," Kieran said against Adrian's throat as they moved together. "You're mine. In this life and every other."
"Yours," Adrian agreed, too far gone to form more coherent words. "Always yours."
When they finally reached their peak together, Adrian saw stars behind his eyelids. Kieran's fangs scraped his shoulder (not breaking skin, just marking), and Adrian clung to him like an anchor in a storm.
After, they lay tangled together, sweaty and satisfied and completely content. Kieran pulled a blanket over them, then gathered Adrian close.
"Are you alright?" Kieran asked, pressing kisses to Adrian's hair. "Was that... okay?"
Adrian laughed, the sound exhausted and happy. "Okay? I think you've ruined me for all other men."
"Good. That was the plan."
"Possessive vampire."
"You knew what you were getting into."
Adrian snuggled closer, not caring that Kieran's skin was cold. It felt right. Perfect, even.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too." Kieran's arms tightened around him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming back. For giving me another chance. For being brave enough to love a monster."
"You're not a monster. You're mine."
Kieran laughed softly. "Semantics."
They drifted into comfortable silence, the morning sun warm on their skin. Outside, the world continued with its problems and dangers and complications.
But for now, in this moment, they were just two souls who'd found each other again. And that was enough.