No longer in danger of falling, Ji-Su noted that the shoulders he clutched were warm from the steam and hard with muscle. That was nice. But the position he was in wasn’t. His crotch was directly in front of Raul’s face. He started nervously rambling, trying to distract himself from that fact.
“I’m sorry. Most home accidents take place in the bathroom. So, I’m really lucky you were here to catch me. Of course, this isn’t a bathroom. But everything is hard and slippery.” Mortified, Ji-Su snapped his mouth shut before any other absurd innuendos popped out.
“It’s okay,” Raul said in a low voice. “Be careful so you don’t hurt yourself.”
“I won’t. I mean, I will be careful.”
Ji-Su shivered at Raul’s intimate tone and the feel of his big hands on his body and the way he was always protecting him. Now he seriously needed to leave or he was going to do something stupid like offer himself again when Raul had made it clear he wasn’t interested in him that way. Another rejection would be the worst thing that could happen.
A second later, Ji-Su realized that rejection actually wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. Because standing there with Raul still gently gripping his waist, he was starting to get hard. And with his thin, water-soaked sleep shorts clinging tohis body, there would be no hiding his erection. It might go unnoticed as long as Raul didn’t look down.Don’t look down. Don’t look down, he prayed silently.
Raul looked down.
Ji-Su squeaked and tried to wiggle his way out of Raul’s hold. “It’s time for bed! Formeto go to bed. By myself. To sleep.”
It was actually dinner time not bed time, but thankfully, Raul let him go without question. Ji-Su hurriedly scrambled from the tub, forgetting his words from earlier that he would be careful. Grabbing his towel, he dried off enough not to leave a trail of water throughout the house, shoved his feet into his slippers and took off.
He was never going to stop embarrassing himself in front of Raul. Might as well put that on the calendar to replace their weekly feedings. “Wednesday, three o’clock. Ji-Su embarrasses himself in front of Raul with his awkward and unwelcome attraction,” Ji-Su muttered on his way up the stairs to his room. Six more months. He just had to make it through the next six months of his contract, and then he would never have to worry about embarrassing himself in front of Raul ever again.
RAUL WATCHED JI-SUuntil he was out of sight. His reasons for stopping his little human from leaving the hot tub the first time had been completely altruistic. And if he told himself that lie a million times maybe he’d start to believe it.
He looked down at his hands. They’d been on Ji-Su’s bare skin. Raising them until they were level with his face, he inhaled, breathing in the wonderful scent that was uniquely Ji-Su.
Along with touching his little human, he’d seen his entire body. Slim, golden, and sleek from the water. Ji-Su might as well have been naked for all the coverage the wet sleep shorts gave him. Those see-through shorts had done nothing to hide Ji-Su’sarousal. And thanks to that near fall, Ji-Su had ended up in a position where his cock was so close to Raul’s face, he could have leaned forward the barest inch and rubbed his mouth against it.
If he’d held on to Ji-Su for much longer, he might have done exactly that. Or even moved his hands to touch more than Ji-Su’s waist. His flat stomach. His slender thighs. Or his small but plump ass. Raul’s hands tightened into fists.
His body had responded to Ji-Su’s visible arousal, his cock hardening to press tight against his swim trunks. He was still hard simply from thinking about putting his hands all over Ji-Su’s body instead of only his waist.
But what about Ji-Su saying that he didn’t like the way he bit him? Is that why he’d rushed off so fast? Out of fear of another bite? He hadn’t seemed afraid. His heart had been thumping a mile a minute, but it sounded more like embarrassment than fear. In fact, Ji-Su never seemed to be afraid of him.
Maybe he’d misinterpreted Ji-Su’s comment that night—about not liking the way he bit him. He should have asked why he didn’t like it, but his fear of hurting Ji-Su had led to his knee-jerk decision not to bite him anymore. And because he didn’t want to push the matter and make Ji-Su feel unsafe, he hadn’t brought it up since.
Raul sat there thinking, staring blankly at the TV screen before he realized the game play Ji-Su had been watching had long since ended and rolled on to the next video. He was sitting in a hot tub with a hard dick, watching someone play video games on YouTube, while the man he wanted so bad it made his entire bodyachewas somewhere in his house. Probably dry by now but maybe still naked.
Raul groaned. He didn’t want Ji-Su to leave, but having him there, unable to drink from him or even touch him unless he was saving him from a fall was driving him crazy. And if Ji-Su feltlike he needed to run away from his touch, maybe it was time to stop being selfish and let him go.
Chapter 19
Ji-Su opened his curtains to look outside and gauge the late summer weather before starting his evening. It was calm, the sky cloudless and the tree leaves rustling from a slight breeze. He pulled in a deep breath as he gazed at the peaceful scene. And then something happened that took his breath away.
Raul rode into view on the back of a big, black horse. He sat in the saddle with easy confidence, fully in command of the powerful animal beneath him. Ji-Su sighed with appreciation as he watched the handsome vampire dismount. Raul pulled off his glove to affectionately stroke the stallion’s gleaming black coat.
Ji-Su wished that he was the one receiving Raul’s affection. he wanted to feel Raul’s big hands stroking his skin as he had the night of the storm. Instead, he could only watch from two stories up as a horse got what he wanted for himself. Realizing he was on the verge of being jealous of a horse, he yanked the curtains closed and turned away to get dressed.
Once he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Ji-Su went down to breakfast. He was prepared for another awkward meal. Raul was coming in from outside as he reached the breakfast room.
“Did you enjoy your ride?” Ji-Su asked after they greeted each other.
“Yes. Ace needed the exercise so it was beneficial for us both.”
“I should probably get some exercise myself. I spend way too much time sitting in front of a computer.”
“I’ve considered building a gym on the estate but never got around to it. I can have one of the ground level sitting rooms or a space in the garage converted to a home gym. It wouldn’t take more than two weeks to have everything set up. Would you like a gym membership in the meantime?”
Ji-Su shook his head to politely decline. “Thank you but that’s not necessary. It’s not like I’ll be here long enough to really use it. I’ll be fine with a jump rope and a pair of dumbbells. I can order them from Amazon.”
For the briefest moment, what looked like hurt flashed on Raul’s face. But the expression was gone too fast for Ji-Su to be sure.