Bryant leaned against the back wall of the library, tipping his chair back on two legs and gathering his own legs up so as to rest the textbook against his knees.
Professor Corbin, his history lecturer, hadn't exactly assigned this particular text as mandatory writing, but she referred to it so often in her lectures, and seemed generally excited about it, that he wanted to give it a skim anyway. Bryant thought it might be worth a try; Professor Corbin's enthusiasm was catching.
More than once she seemed to go off into her own little world when she lectured, and Bryant found it amusing and very appealing. He liked his Medieval History classes a lot--of course, it didn't hurt that Professor Corbin was a very beautiful woman.
Reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, Bryant felt the dryness of his bleached hair and, not for the first time that day, began to mentally count down the hours until he was scheduled at Attitudes to get his hair 'fixed'.
It, of course, was not going to be what Priory wanted. For once Bryant was going to have a say in his own life, and the thought of that was thrilling.
He was going to stand up to Pri. He was going to find a way out. He was going to get himself a good lover (male or female, he really didn't care). Somebody who'd care about him for real, and who he could care about... like Clive and Trenton.
A small blush fanned over his cheekbones at the thought of the pair of attractive men that Bryant had recently been lucky enough to acquire as friends. It was followed soon after with a small pang of jealousy.
Gods, what he wouldn't give to be loved like that.
Bryant's mind was about to begin the next step of these musings (probably a vivid re-enactment of the fetish party just days earlier), but was interrupted when the chair he was perched on decided that it didn't want to balance anymore.
His first thought was, I can't get bruised! Pri will kill me!
His second was, Shit! Falling!
His third was, Wha...? Why'd I stop?
Bryant looked up into a pair of intense green eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Trent. Where'd you...?" He trailed off as the young man who had caught him set him back on his feet, and smiled a tooth-less smile. "Sorry," Bryant immediately said, as he realized that although the youth's eyes were the same sort of fiery green as Trent's, this boy was not his team mate and best friend.
"No problem," the other teen said, and bent to right Bryant's neglected plastic chair.
Bryant did his absolute best not to notice the fact that the youth's arse was very, very nicely shaped.
When he had set the chair back onto it's own feet, the boy introduced himself. "Ethan Chase. You're Bryant, aren't you?"
Bryant, who had been so busy pretending not to look occupied, had to tear his eyes away from the youth's slender hips and nodded, slightly puzzled.
"We have Professor Corbin's class together," Ethan elaborated, interpreting the look Bryant was broadcasting, and gestured to the book in Bri's hand. "It's good, isn't it? I'd take everything in it with a grain of salt, though."
"Why?" Bryant asked, his mind frantically trying to catch up with the conversation. It was a little harder than he thought it would be; Ethan was very attractive. Before he had met Trenton and Clive, Bryant had had reservations about admitting to himself that there were men out there who could be just as lovely as women. Ethan here seemed to be one of them.
Ethan, who seemed to be musing about Bri's question, had a narrow linear face, which, paired with his frame-less triangular glasses, reminded Bri a lot of Mark from "RENT". And that hair... it was obvious that Ethan took good care of the shimmering white-blonde locks that partially fell into his eyes. Bri suppressed a small mischievous smile, thinking about the look that might appear on Ethan's face, provided that Clive ever got him back into that fun little room of his in Attitudes.
"Because," Ethan answered Bryant's question, and Bri forced his attention back to Ethan's face and off his tight blue turtleneck, or rather, the smooth flat chest underneath it, "It was written by Desmin Fale."
"Who?"
"Nice guy--but he likes to.... embellish," Ethan clarified, and Bri found himself nodding. "Mind if I cop a squat?"
Bri pulled out a second chair for his new companion, "Not at all," and planted himself in his own. He felt fairly safe here in the library. Pri was teaching a class right now, so he wasn't about to walk in and find his little bitch gossiping where he shouldn't, and this was the back corner of the library, so there was little chance that the librarian would see them either. And even if she did, Bryant could claim that he and Ethan had been speaking about some of the readings they had been assigned.
The few moments of shifting that followed as both the young men made themselves comfortable gave Bryant the precious seconds he wanted to get a really good look at Ethan. Twice the blonde youth pushed his glasses back up his nose, and the second time he re-adjusted his hair as well. Bri noticed that hair was moved to keep the tips of his ears hidden.
"I like the color of your hair," Bryant started off with, and wished very much that he hadn't. What a stupid thing to say.
"Yeah?" Ethan seemed to squirm self-consciously for a moment. "I like yours too."
Bryant frowned. "I hate it. My roots are showing. But I'm getting it fixed at the end of the week."
Ethan blinked for a moment. "You're bleaching out again?"
"No," Bri felt a smile curl his lips absurdly, "Brown. But don't tell anyone, it's going to be a surprise," he added hastily. What if Ethan accidentally let something slip, and Pri found out before hand that Bryant had absolutely no intentions of getting his abused hair tortured yet again.
"I'm glad," the other boy said, and settled back into his chair, "that would look better on you."
Bryant found himself smiling.
Then he found himself wondering if Ethan swung both ways.
He was tempted to give himself a mental slap, but stayed his figurative hand. It wasn't as if he was cheating on Pri - there was no love there. And although he felt very grateful and loving towards Clive and Trent, he had no intentions of elbowing his way between the two lovers. No, what he really wanted was a mate of his own.
Ethan, however, seemed oblivious to the hungry way Bryant had begun to absorb his appearance, and began talking about what a wonderful lecturer Professor Corbin was: "... and Breena always makes it seem like the whole lecture hall is really there, you know?"
Bryant had to do a mental double take. "Bre... who?"
Ethan looked embarrassed. "Professor Corbin," he clarified, "Breena. But I'm not allowed to call her that at school."
Bryant's hopes fell.
Breena Corbin, their history professor, was very pretty, very smart, and seemed to be about the same age, maybe a bit older, as Ethan and himself. With a small frown he jumped to a conclusion: Ethan and Breena were an item. "Oh," was all he said.
Ethan studied Bryant's now slouched pose for a moment. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing." Bri pulled himself up into a firm sitting position. "So, you and the Professor, then...? Do you get extra credit?"
Ethan blinked again. "I... beg pardon?"
"Well, aren't you...?"
There was a moment of silence, and Bri could see the gears working behind the green eyes of his companion.
"Oh, God, no!" Ethan exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.
Bri was incomparably relieved. Maybe he stood a chance after all.
After a few moments of laughter, Ethan sat back down and explained that Breena was a good friend of his, and was in fact very intertwined with the author of the book Bri held, Desmin Fale.
"And you?" Bri forced himself the courage to ask, setting the text on a nearby table.
Ethan shrugged a little, his face taking on a sad cast. "I think I'm in love, but sometimes..." He turned his face to the bookshelves around them, and Bryant had to force back a curse. "Trey can be a bit of a... well...Trey. He's so cynical sometimes that I wonder if he really does care about me the way he says he does."
"Trey?" Bryant echoed, unsure he heard correctly. Could it be that Ethan really did swing his way? Well, if he did, maybe even if Ethan was committed to someone else just now, there was still the possibility in the future. "He?"
Ethan turned his gaze back to Bryant, blushing furiously, which looked even redder to Bri because of the boy's naturally pale complexion. "Yes, he. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I--"
Bri cut him off with a wave of his hand. "No, no, it's okay." After a few second's pause he added, "I am too."
"You are?" Ethan looked up, and for the first time seemed to be studying Bryant's face. The swimmer became absurdly pleased. In a moment of boldness, Bryant leaned forward and whispered, "You like what you see?"
Ethan pulled back abruptly, turning his face to the side once more... but nodded minutely.
"If you want to," Bryant ventured, his voice dropping in both volume and timbre, "I have a friend who would... lend us a place, for a while. It's within walking distance."
"But," Ethan protested, "Your parents... school's going to let out in a few hours..."
Bryant bit on his lower lip. Yes. What about his Daddy? Pri wouldn't like the idea of Bryant taking off randomly with a pretty-boi from one of his classes.
"I'll tell him that I need to... go pick up some materials for that dramatic presentation in History, and you agreed to show me where the best prices were."
"Not exactly a lie," Ethan murmured, admiring Bri's sly idea, "We are supposed to be picking partners for next month's presentations."
"Hello, partner," Bri grinned, and Ethan, who had previously been leaning closer and closer to the other boy as they plotted, threw his head back and laughed.
"I thought you were partnered with that kid from the swim team," Ethan chuckled.
"You're my partner for today."
Ethan laughed all the harder, and it sounded like he was getting all the nervousness out of his system.
Bri found himself caught by the sleek, clean lines of Ethan's creamy throat. When the blonde had sobered, and once again met his gaze, Bri did not look away this time.
They held each other's eyes for a long, long moment. It was Ethan who looked away first, nervousness overcoming him.
"What's wrong?" Bri asked, shifting to sit at the edge of his seat, resting his palms on Ethan's denim-clad knees. "It's okay if you don't want to, I'll understand..." And he would too - he'd been coerced enough by Priory to not want to repeat his actions elsewhere.
"It's not that," the other youth looked back into the face of his companion. "It's Trey."
"Oh," was all Bryant said, and he leaned back to rest his head against the wall. Story of his fucking life. Trenton had Clive. Ethan had Trey. He was never going to get a break.
"I love Trey a lot," Ethan went on, and Bryant had to close his eyes for fear of crying. Which felt obscenely stupid--there was really no reason to want to weep. It was just disappointment; one would think he was used to it by now.
Ethan's soft whisper cut through the other boy's bitter musings. "Are you mad, Bri?"
"No," Bri lied. Well, no, it technically was the truth. He was angry... but at Priory, not Ethan. Perhaps if he hadn't been so terrified of Pri for so long, he might have had the chance to snag the delicious feminine Ethan before this fickle sounding Trey had.
"I owe Trey my life," Ethan said softly. "I'd be dead if it wasn't for him, but he's..." he sighed, "He's off hunting Brices, having the time of his unlife, and I'm stuck here, alone and wondering if he's ever coming back."
Ignoring the term unlife, Bri clung to that one shred of hope--Ethan was just as lonely as he was.
Bri sat up a bit, forcing the burning sensation that would a have signified tears back down his throat. "Where's Trey now?"
Ethan shrugged, "I dunno."
The Bri ventured a more daring question, "Are you two exclusive?"
Ethan stared, open-mouthed, at Bri for a long, long moment. It struck Bryant that Ethan's eyeteeth were abnormally sharp, but that wasn't exactly strange. He'd met boys in the foster homes with longer canines than others.
"Well... no," the blonde boy admitted after a protracted silence, "He's had others but... I've never really thought about it."
"Until now?" Bri pressed.
"Yes," Ethan said, the volume dropping out of his voice. "Until now."
Then Bri did the singularly bravest thing he'd ever done in his entire life--he leaned forward and kissed Ethan full on the lips.
"He-llo, pet!" a singularly cheery, but not overly feminine voice chirped out as Bryant pushed back the doors to Attitudes. "Ah, Bri, your appointment isn't for another few days, but if you wanted to do this early, I could... ah. Sorry, I didn't notice your friend there." Ethan smiled, a bit overwhelmed by Clive and his golden handsomeness. And his friendliness, too.
"Introductions, pet!" Clive gave Bri a small clip on the ear, and Ethan was amused to see that Bri sent the older man a wry look.
"Ethan Chase, meet Clive. He runs Attitudes, here."
Clive nodded grandly and approached Ethan, standing up on tiptoe to examine his hair. "I've never seen shine like this. And your highlights are so white." He took a lock between his fingers and studied it. "But there's no coloring. How do you do it?"
The blonde boy ducked his head. "It comes with the territory."
"Beg pardon?" Clive fixed him with a shrewish and calculating glance, which Ethan avoided by fiddling with the straps of his schoolbag.
Felling that the situation was becoming unnecessarily tense, Bryant stepped in. "Uh, Clive, Ethan and I were just going to Lavender's Green, and I knew you'd be peeved if we went without saying hello. I wanted to talk to Toddy, and he's never been."
Clive's eyebrows rose into his hairline, and his expression softened into a warm smile. "Peeved? I'm glad to hear that, Bryant." He hooked one well-muscled arm around the swimmer's shoulders and pulled him off to the side a bit. "I'm proud of you, Bri. You're starting to look out for your own happiness and welfare. I know that standing up to that asshole is going to take some doing, but you're taking the first steps all on your own." He gave Bryant a firm pat on the back. "I'll see you in a few days, love. You know, the people from the party hope you'll be there next time. And tell Toddy that I want you both treated like royalty, you hear? That Ethan seems like a nice kid." Clive's amber eyes narrowed again, "But he's definitely hiding something. You be careful."
Bryant agreed and was just about to leave--only mildly disappointed that Trenton had been held up at home and was not at Attitudes to say hi to--when Clive snared the back of his collar. "And Bri?" he asked, in a tone that said he was not at all asking, but demanding. "Yes, Clive?" Bri replied, wondering if this was some sort of bizarre sub/Dom thing Clive was trying to pull. "Find out how the hell he does that with his hair."
"Yes, Clive," Bri laughed and wriggled out of the older man's grip.
Toddy seemed relatively interested in interviewing Bryant for the bartending position, and Ethan was impressed by the club. It was mid-afternoon, so there were few patrons, and all were enjoying one of Elsie's wonderful dinners. The boys settled for sodas. "I bet Trey could get in here," he had mused to himself when they had sat down, which had earned him another puzzled glance. He explained, "He looks very young," which wasn't really an explanation at all, but Bri left it at that.
Ethan was even more impressed when he learned that this place was where the Scribe had preformed. He admitted to still having every photo of her and every article ever written.
Bryant couldn't help but notice, however, that Ethan kept double-checking his hair, making sure that the tips of his ears never showed. After an hour, it also became apparent that Ethan was not drinking his soda. "Is there something wrong with it?" Bryant finally asked, gesturing to the glass of untouched flattening pop in front of Ethan, and the other boy froze.
"No," he said, and Bri realized there that Ethan was a lousy liar. He said as much.
"Look I... it doesn't agree with me," Ethan confessed, and although Bri wasn't quite convinced, he dropped the subject and moved onto Clive's question--how did Ethan get his hair so shiny and white?
Ethan chuckled to himself and declined to answer, on grounds that he would "have to kill you if you learned my secret."
Another hour passed, and five pm found Bryant doing his absolute best to seduce Ethan. They both already knew that there was going to be a tumble of some sort before the evening was out, but Bryant was enjoying the challenge of being the aggressor, and Ethan seemed flattered.
By five-thirty, the casual footsies under the table became such that the boys would be in need of a private room, and soon.
Luckily, Lavender's Green was a lovely little bar that was used to catering to the more unusual aspects of society - namely, homosexual lovers who had no where else safe and comfortable to meet and spent 'quality' time together--and therefore had a few nice back rooms.
Toddy gave Bryant a stern lecture about coming back for an interview before the boys vanished into the back, at the end of which he pressed a small foil package into the swimmer's hand. Bryant went slightly red, and shoved the condom into his pocket, then followed Ethan into the back.
The room was nothing splendid, but it was clean and warm, with a large cot covered in fresh sheets. Really, it didn't need any decor--the soon-to-be-lovers were too engrossed with staring at each other to have noticed if there was a nice pattern on the wallpaper or not.
It was not a sleazy dive, but neither was it a fantastical bordello. Bryant absently wondered how many times Clive and Trenton had ended up back here when home was too far away.
The first kiss was tentative, but Bri's assertive nature came to the fold, and although Ethan wasn't quite as much a submissive as Trenton was, he nevertheless enjoyed the idea that he wouldn't have to work very hard.
Bri pushed Ethan onto the bed, then fell on top of the other boy, doing his absolute best to fumble off his own white dress shirt.
"S-stand up," Ethan panted, helping with the buttons, "Your shirt will get wrinkled."
Bri nodded and did so, still nibbling lightly on Ethan's ear. He knew it wouldn't do if he returned to Priory's place rumpled, so reluctantly pulled himself away from his partner, and quickly shed his white clothing, and folded it neatly on the back of a chair that was present.
He then turned and made short work of Ethan's dark denim pants and navy turtleneck, then stepped back to get a good look at the naked youth.
Ethan's skin was a delectable shade of cream, pale and almost shimmering. Although not particularly well defined, as Trent and himself were due to their swimming, Ethan was slender in a way that made it seem as if he had no inner organs. With his glasses removed, his eyes shone and even more piercing shade of green, and his pubic thatch was just as white as the hair that dangled in those bright olive-colored eyes. All in all, Ethan was like something that was too perfect to be really real.
Bryant spent countless moments just staring, until Ethan came forward and wrapped himself around Bryant, pressing his lips to the swimmer's, and guiding him to the bed. Upon feeling the cool flesh of Ethan's torso pressed against his own, Bri snapped back into reality and his role as the aggressor.
He pressed his tongue against Ethan's lips, asking permission to enter his mouth - which oddly enough was denied. Oh, well, Bri mused to his mildly bruised ego, Maybe he's not comfortable with it...
"Brrr," he commented, positioning himself with his legs on either side of Ethan's narrow hips, arching his back and leaning down to lap at Ethan's collarbone and nipples, "you're freezing."
"I'm fine," Ethan assured his lover, palming Bri's own hardening nipples.
Bri groaned and closed his eyes, happily leaning into the sensations. He decided that although he enjoyed being Dom--or topping rather, because he'd really never done the full-fledged Dom thing yet - he was perfectly happy to let Ethan explore too. He lowered himself so that their chests and cocks rubbed against one another, and moved minutely, rubbing sensitive flesh together.
Ethan let forth a mewling sound and turned his head to the side. Bryant took this opportunity to press his nose into Ethan's shining hair and lap his way up the shell of the other boy's ear.
However, when he reached the tip of the shell, he stopped.
A look of mild horror on his face, Bri suddenly sat up, putting all his nude weight onto Ethan's thighs, effectively trapping the bottom boy, but distancing himself as well.
Ethan read the look of loathing on Bri's face and struggled meekly to sit up, trying to reach Bryant's shoulder's to push him away. "Please, Bri, I can explain..."
He reached forward, and grabbed Ethan's wrists, forcing them back and away from his head. Then with his other hand, he pushed Ethan's head back down into the pillows of the cot, and to the side. Ethan stopped struggling at this point and just lay limply as Bri pushed back the hair that covered the tips of Ethan's ears.
Bri stared for a long, tense moment, then let out a strangled sentence: "Your ears... are fucking... pointy."
Ethan attempted to sit up, and Bri allowed him to, releasing his wrists, but not getting off of him. With dark scowl Bri said, "Explain."
And Ethan, who was a horrible liar, covered his face in his hands and nearly wept. "I'm sorry! You weren't supposed to find out! And I know I can't tell you a lie...!"
"Find out what?" Bri asked warily, eying Ethan carefully. He could hear the sobs in the other boy's voce, but saw no tears.
"I'm not allowed to tell, Bryant," Ethan admitted, forcing himself to calm down. Then he looked at Bryant meaningfully.
Bryant thought he got the message. "But if I figure it out for myself, that doesn't count, right?"
"Right," Ethan agreed, a bit more relieved--it was obvious that Bri wasn't going to run away screaming--but still very tense.
Bryant thought for a long hard moment. "Are you like Superman? Not human?"
Ethan's voice was mildly weary when he answered. "No. Not like Superman. But yes, not human."
Bryant studied Ethan carefully--perfect, pale skin, shimmering hair, slender appearance... then he, without warning, reached up and forced Ethan's lips apart and stared in horror at the long sharp canines that the other boy sported.
Ethan did not move to stop him, and when Bri let go, he merely licked his lips to wet them, and watched Bri in silence.
"You're... a vampire, or something, aren't you?" Bri finally whispered.
"I am." There was a long moment of silence. "You can't tell anyone, Bryant. I'm supposed to kill you now." Bryant stared at Ethan in horror. "But, I don't want to!" the blonde boy seemed to be at odds with himself. "I... like you."
With a small shudder, Bryant pushed himself away from the cool body of Ethan and turned his back to the boy, scrambling to pull all his clothes back on. It hurt to try to stuff his hard on back into his trousers, but he was really ready to just leave and forget that he'd ever met Ethan.
The vampire just remained on the bed, nude and alone. Sadness crept over his face.
"It makes sense," Bryant finally said, calming his racing heart as he turned to face the youth on the cot, and finished doing up the last of his buttons, "The pale skin, the slender body, the shining hair. Oh, poor Clive. The fact that you wouldn't let me use my tongue. How cold you are. That you didn't like the soda. I should have seen it."
Ethan looked vaguely miserable. "Hindsight is 20/20." Bryant nodded and moved towards the door. "You're leaving?"
Bri paused. "You said you have to kill me. Two months ago I would have invited you. Now..."
Ethan let forth a small chuckle. "Two months ago I was human."
Bryant turned to face Ethan. "You're... not old?"
Ethan shook his head. "I was murdered." he made a gesture that indicated he was stabbed through the heart. "Trey saved me." He patted the empty spot of the rumpled sheets beside him. "Please, don't run away. I... want this."
Bri weighed the pros and cons of the situation. At worst, he could be killed - which wasn't that bad of a fate when he considered what he was going home to. At best he could... what? Be turned into a vampire? Oh, the fun he'd have with Priory then. But the more he thought about it, the more it scared him. Immortality. Blood. Evil. No--the vampire's lifestyle was not his own. Bri wanted a happy, normal, mortal life--that's all he'd ever wished for.
Ethan seemed to know exactly what Bryant was thinking, for he said, "I won't make you a vampire. I couldn't if I wanted to, I don't know how. And I don't want to kill you."
Bryant started. "Did you read my mind?"
Ethan laughed, "Hardly. I read your face. You're very expressive."
"Oh," Bri murmured, and that was the end of that particular train of thought.
After an awkward pause, Ethan leaned over and kissed the stiff and frightened Bri on the lips, this time allowing for the use of tongue, but Bri did not take the bait.
With a sigh, Ethan flopped back down onto the cot and stared at the ceiling. "Well, if you don't want to anymore, I guess you better get home," he said, reluctance in his voice.
Bri was at a crossroads. He wanted Ethan, as much as he had before, but he was also terrified he'd be hurt. "Ethan, how do... is it the same? Sex, I mean? For you?" he finally ventured.
Ethan sat up slowly. "Depends. I can show you another way. If you want to. I won't hurt you, I promise. And no annoying condom."
Bri allowed himself a small nervous chuckle, "You saw Toddy slip it to me?"
There was another long pause, but this one wasn't as awkward. Bri gave a small nod.
Ethan shifted closer to the mortal youth, wrapping himself around him, entangling their limbs, kissing and licking and nipping until he came to the point where Bri's collar bones dipped together. Here he set his wicked teeth against Bri's flushed and sweat-dampened skin and pressed just enough to cut.
Bri jumped, but remained perfectly still. The slight pain was actually very sensual. "Go ahead," he croaked, his voice lousy with lust, and clenched his jaw, tilting his head back to give Ethan more room to maneuver.
The pain was quick and surged away just as fast. Feeling as if the suckling sensations, and Ethan's thoughtfully stroking hands, which had found their way back into his pants, were about to lift him out of his body, Bryant surrendered to the most intense orgasm of his life... and blacked out.
When Bryant awoke, it was in his own bed. Priory was standing at the door, the beaded curtain falling around his form.
Bri sat bolt upright, terrified that he was going to be beaten. Pri had to have seen the huge hickey at the apex of his chest. He had to have known what had happened.
"You're home early," was all the coach said however. "Good. You get your work done, boy?"
"Yes, Pri," Bryant lied, pulling the sheets up to rest under his chin.
"Good," Priory turned away, and Bryant noticed the empty beer bottle in his hand. Well, that explains why Pri didn't hear when Ethan had come and dropped him off - for it had to have been Ethan who put him in his own bed. However, Priory paused and turned back to Bryant. "Why you in bed so damn early?"
Bri thought fast. "I wanted to be up early to do extra laps, so I thought I'd get some more sleep," he said, aware that he would actually have to do them, and not caring. He was also aware that this would prevent Pri from wanting to keep him up by fucking him.
"Good boy," Pri slurred, and dropped a twenty dollar bill on his dresser, "Get yourself new shoes tomorrow too. I threw out your old ones."
"Yes, Pri," Bryant answered obediently, then waited for Pri to leave before lying back to muse on what had happened to him that day. He turned his dark eyes to the neatly folded clothing that lay against the back of his desk-chair, smiling slightly at the thought of Ethan stripping him once he'd gotten home.
He noticed, however, that there was a small dab of red on his white-button up shirt, right where the buttons met. Alarmed, Bryant jumped to his feet and stared at the small mirror by his door.
Nothing.
There was no indication that he had ever been kissed there, let alone had his skin opened and his blood sucked.
Crawling back into his bed, and feeling very sleepy from what he assumed was the blood loss, Bryant decided that he would 'accidentally' cut himself shaving to account for those blood spatters in the morning.
He also decided that once he was free of Pri forever, he needed to look up Ethan--and his lover/maker Trey--again sometime. And next, he was going to do the sucking.
And as he drifted off to sleep, Bryant's still-swollen lips curled in a small smile - Clive sure wasn't going to like not knowing the secret to Ethan's shiny white hair.
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