The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

Twenty-Two

Nino flips onto his side as he lies in bed, the restlessness like a deep ache in his bones. He can’t sleep at all now. It’s getting worse.

Haruka is lying still beside him on his back. The moonlight from the patio doors silhouettes his shadowed frame like silver.

Nino frowns. “Haru.” He waits. His mate doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. Eyes closed. Annoyed, Nino reaches out and pinches high on his side and just underneath his rib cage. Haruka jumps in shock, wincing and scooting away.

“Are you pretending to sleep right now?” Nino sits up, disbelieving. “Do you forget that we’re biologically connected? You can’t fake anything with me.”

He groans, rubbing and nursing his side where Nino pinched him. Nino scoffs, smiling. “I can’t believe you.”

Haruka peeks over his shoulder. “Just… if I go to the library, perhaps I won’t disturb you there?”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s late. You can’t keep doing this, Haru. It’s not just about me—or even us. We’re upsetting the pulse and energy of our entire realm. Every vampire is impacted by it.”

Haruka shifts to his opposite side so that he faces Nino. He looks up from the pillow. “I… I know this, but you are my priority. My only wish is that you are safe and healthy—no matter the cost.”

“So, it’s okay for you to ruin and starve yourself in the name of myhealth and safety, and I’m supposed to be fine with that? Do you think this doesn’t go both ways?”

“I am not ‘starving’ myself,” Haruka gripes, then sighs as he tumbles flat on his back once more. He closes his eyes. Nino stares down at him with his mouth pursed. After a moment, Haruka opens one eye, grinning. “Such pressure.”

Nino leans over toward his nightstand drawer, opens it, then grabs the bottle of liquid from inside. When he pops the cap open with his thumb, Haruka blinks both eyes open from the distinct sound. The usual look of concern rests in his brow. “Nino, it has not quite been two months. The doc—”

“If you say the phrase ‘the doctor said’ to me one more time, Haruka, I swear to God.”

Haruka stares up at him, biting his tongue. Nino goes on. “I feel great, okay? It’ll be two months in three more days. Would you stop telling me ‘no’? May I please touch you?”

“Of—of course. I simply wanted to make sure you were restored to your optimum health. It was not my intention to be difficult.”

Leaning, Nino slides his palm underneath Haruka’s thigh. “Knees up. It’s not that you’re being difficult.” Haruka does as he’s told, and Nino sits upright and settles himself between his gaped thighs. “You’re the most thorough, amazing and handsome caretaker I could ever ask for… but a tad strict.”

Haruka lifts his head from the pillow, brows drawn together in protest. “If the doc… If the medical professional suggests that we do something, it is wise to follow his recommendations. Especially if ah—”

Nino moves swiftly, dropping the bottle and crawling his fingers underneath Haruka’s robe like spiders to tickle the bend of his waist. Haruka squirms in protest, reaching to grab Nino’s hands while biting back laughter.

“Nino, sto—”

“I see what you did there, smartass.” Nino wrestles and teases, but Haruka clamps down tight on his wrists, chuckling as he catches his breath.

Nino pauses, looking down at Haruka lying against the bed. The bags underneath his eyes are noticeable even in the moonlit room. His fatigued appearance: his bony face and sharp collarbone… the deep-rooted anxiety Nino feels pulsing within him. Haruka tries to stifle it, but it seeps out, manifesting in his inability to properly sleep, eat and relax.

“I think this is the first time you’ve laughed in two months.”

“That isn’t true…” Haruka inhales, relaxing his shoulders.

“You need to sleep.”

“I cannot.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Haruka doesn’t answer but releases his wrists. Nino caresses his palms against his mate’s hips, soft and gliding across his cool skin. “I think… I want to indulge in you a little, since it’s been a while. Can I try something different? Are you with me?”

Haruka smiles. “Always.”

“Will you talk to me while we do this?”

Now, Haruka tenses, raising a dark brow in suspicion. “It depends…”

“Let’s keep it simple. I’ll ask questions, and you can tell me yes or no?”

He lifts his chin, his relief obvious. “Yes.”

Nino shakes his head, stifling a laugh. “I just want you to try and relax. Can we take off your robe?” Haruka sits up from the bed, and Nino helps to remove his robe from around his shoulders, unwrapping it from the length of his body. When he’s naked, Haruka plops back down against the pillow in a huff, exhaling and adjusting his spine with his eyes closed. Nino scans his rail-thin frame, thinking he has a lot of work to do in the coming weeks.

Lifting so that he’s on all fours and hovering above Haruka’s face, Nino takes hold of his chin. Haruka opens his eyes and their mutual gaze locks in a weighted moment before Nino shifts higher, leaning down to kiss his forehead. “Can I start here?” he whispers, placing another kiss just between his eyebrows.

“Yes.”

Nino moves to the tip of Haruka’s nose, grazing the smooth, curved shape with his lips. He slides his palm up one side of Haruka’s face and leans in to kiss just underneath his eye, wishing he had the power to make the heavy bags there magically disappear. When Haruka’s lids flicker closed, Nino brushes his lips against the delicate skin of one lid, and then the other, thinking about how much he loves the vivid color of this creature’s eyes. The infinite range of expression layered within them, and how looking into the depths of his gaze makes his heart race.

He lifts, watching. Haruka’s lids are heavy as he opens them. His tongue slides out over his bottom lip before he parts them in quiet anticipation. But when Nino leans down, he kisses one corner of Haruka’s mouth, then the other. He kisses underneath his bottom lip and just at his chin, teasing and avoiding direct contact with his lips altogether.

Haruka exhales a heavy sigh, stretching his neck against the pillow as Nino moves underneath to kiss his throat, following the exquisite line there and sensing the pulse of his rosy blood flowing underneath his skin.

He caresses one finger along the hard edge of his collarbone. “Can I kiss you here?”

“Yes,” Haruka breathes.

While he shifts low to trace the bone with his tongue, he slides his hand down his mate’s chest, feeling Haruka’s nipple tickling the center of his palm. Nino adjusts his hand, circling the hardness of it with his thumb.

“What about here?” He moves lower, caressing down Haruka’s torso as he kisses the center of his chest. His mate is silent, breathing heavy in the stillness of the room and his body writhing against the dark bedsheets and underneath Nino’s hands. Holding Haruka’s hips, Nino dips down to lick the flat concave of his stomach. He smiles against Haruka’s skin when his belly tightens and shudders from his tongue dipping into his navel.

Slowly, Nino sits straight, drawing one of Haruka’s legs up from the bed. His mate clenches the sheets in tight fists on either side of his hips while he watches Nino’s movements.

“Are we okay?” Nino asks, holding Haruka’s bent leg in front of him. He lifts it higher, stretching his hip and kissing the thin, soft skin behind his knee. As he does this, he glides his free hand down and along the flesh of Haruka’s inner thigh, tracing with his fingertips.

“Yes,” Haruka says, his eyes morphing and glowing like a fiery sunset.

Nino kisses his calf, then rests his face against Haruka’s skin to follow the swell of muscle toward his foot. He laps his tongue within the dip of his Achilles tendon, then kisses his heel. “Every time you stretched my legs when I was on bedrest, I always wished we were naked.”

“I know,” Haruka groans, breathless. “You were quite vocal about it.”

“One day you kissed the bottom of my foot—like it was no big deal. It surprised me…” Nino mimics Haruka’s action, first resting his nose against the warm arch of his mate’s foot, then tilting his head and littering the curve with soft kisses.

Haruka’s chest rises and falls as he stares. “I love every part of you.”

“And I, you.” Nino smiles, his fingertips still gliding up and down the inside of Haruka’s thigh. “May I have this part of you? Can I try?” he asks, holding his foot steady.

“Yes,” Haruka says. He relaxes the tension in his leg as Nino dips down, teasing his foot and toes with his mouth. While he licks, sucks and kisses, he delicately strokes the inside of Haruka’s thigh as if it were a stringed instrument—something elegant, like a harp or koto.

“Nino…”

At the sound of his mate’s raspy voice, Nino stops, pulling up from the swell of Haruka’s toe. “Yeah?”

His glowing eyes are eager under furrowed brows. “Please…”

Nino drops his leg, but surprises Haruka when he leans down to take hold of his wrists. He gently pulls, urging his mate upright so that he’s in a sitting position with his legs gaped wide, knees bent. When he’s close, Nino presses their foreheads together. “Please what, tesoro?”

His head tilted, eyes half closed, Haruka stretches up to meet Nino’s mouth. He whispers, “Enough…”

Their lips touch in a swift graze before Nino pulls back, lifting his hands to hold Haruka’s face. He stares down into his glowing eyes. “Tell me what you want.”

Haruka closes his parted lips, blinking. His eyes shift to the side before meeting Nino’s gaze once more. “I… I want you.”

In a smooth motion, he grabs the liquid that Nino had set aside, then lifts to his knees. Placing the small bottle in Nino’s hand, he grabs his wrist and pulls him up toward the top of the bed. Haruka adjusts so that his back is facing Nino, reaches behind and tugs him into his spine. When Haruka turns his head, his hair tickles Nino’s face. “I want you.”

Nestling against his ear, Nino wraps his arms around Haruka’s body. He whispers against his skin, “You don’t need to want me, Haruka. You have me. I’m already yours.”

Nino revels in the feel of his mate’s cool flesh and nakedness underneath his hands, holding him tight. He litters Haruka’s shoulder with kisses. “And you’re mine?” Nino asks, sliding one hand down to rest flat against his stomach. Haruka arches into Nino’s groin, leaning his head back to rest on his shoulder.

“Forever.”

He unwraps Haruka’s body, but only for a moment to swiftly lather his fingers and crawl them down and between his soft flesh. Nino keeps hold of his belly and kisses his upper back while easing two fingers inside. Haruka relaxes, gripping the headboard and pushing back to encourage him.

“I want to try something.” Nino swallows, his body stiff with arousal.

“Mm,” Haruka breathes.

Focusing, Nino closes his eyes. The warm energy deep within him swirls. He channels it, making it flow like hot honey up his core, through his veins and down the sinews of his arm. When it reaches his fingertips inside his mate, he presses it outward, soft, like candlelight. Faint and with just enough heat.

“God—” Haruka sucks in a breath, then exhales a deep moan through parted lips.

“Does it hurt? Should I stop—”

“No… n-no. I’m—it’s…” Haruka pants and swallows, chest rising and falling underneath Nino’s palm as he holds him.

“Panther, are you sure?”

Haruka blows out a breath. “Yes, don’t… please don’t stop.”

Nino focuses, manifesting the gentle glow of his energy through his fingertips again. Haruka tenses and huffs, but Nino trusts in his assurance and doesn’t stop this time. Knowing his mate’s body even better than his own, he twists and rubs his warm fingertips within his inner walls, stroking just the right spot. A soft moan escapes Haruka’s lips, and Nino has never heard him make this sound before: something like pleasure and purring smooshed into a singular, luscious expression.

He practically melts in Nino’s embrace when he spills over in ecstasy. His rosy aura fills the bedroom, wild and free like an ancient, mythical creature. Nino whispers against his ear. “Are we good?”

Haruka is trembling in his arms, his eyes closed. “So good…”

Removing his fingers, Nino hooks his thumb into the waist of his pajama pants. He pulls the soft material down to free himself, grips his shaft with a slick palm and gradually guides himself inside. Haruka meets Nino’s intention, arching into the friction and wetness of their joined bodies. His mate’s skin is always cool to the touch, but inside is delectable heat: warm, tight and perfect.

Instead of rolling his hips, Nino pauses. Everything within him is threatening to overflow—Haruka’s smell and the soft sounds of his pleasure, the feel of his body submitting to him, his aura all around him.

Realizing their lack of movement, Haruka turns his head. “What is it?”

Nino moans in a sigh, enjoying the stillness of him within his embrace and his body warmly wrapped around his shaft. He brushes his nose along the curve of Haruka’s neck. “Ti amo molto.”

“I love you,” Haruka says, amusement in his deep voice. “Why… have we stopped?”

“Because I want you to come first and I was too close to the edge.”

Haruka chuckles warm and deep. “It does not matter.” He smiles, lifting a hand and running his fingers into Nino’s hair at the back of his head. He turns just enough to where Nino can catch his mouth in a lazy kiss.

“It matters to me,” Nino whispers against his lips. “You like it when I feed from you while I’m inside you.”

Haruka’s body stiffens, his eyes wide. Nino can practically feel the flush of shame radiating off his mate’s skin.

“Why are you embarrassed?” Nino prods, smiling. “I just notice you come really hard if I do that.”

“I…” Haruka turns his head away, taking a breath. He squirms but Nino holds him tighter.

“Technically, it’s just another yes or no question.” Nino kisses the back of his neck, softly, just at the center. “Do you want me to bite you?”

His mate’s voice is quiet, just above a whisper. “Yes…”

Nino reaches up and unravels Haruka’s hair from its tie, letting the length of it fall and spill down his back. He runs his fingers into it, gripping and pulling Haruka’s head to the side before he bites down into his flesh.

Haruka tenses underneath his mouth, but Nino pulls, feeding to indulge his mate’s intrinsic nature—to fulfill and stir his emotions. He pours his affection and gratitude into him, wanting to offer at least some notion of how much he means to Nino and how deeply he loves him.

While he feeds, he rolls his hips, rhythmic and thrusting, until Haruka spasms, groaning as the climax overtakes him. The sound of his voice and the feel of him unraveling within his arms push Nino over the edge. He allows himself to let go, his own body shivering from the satisfying rush of release as he holds Haruka tight.

When they’ve mutually relaxed from the exquisite high, Nino disconnects their bodies, grabs Haruka by his waist and pulls him from the headboard. Gently, he guides him to lie against the mattress. Haruka’s eyes are closed, his long dark hair wild, as if he’s been caught in a violent storm.

Breathless, Nino glances at the headboard. “We made a mess.” He crawls forward, stretching the length of his body and then resting his weight on top of him—into the damp, rosy and sex-infused scent of him.

He kisses Haruka underneath his chin as he whispers, “I’ll take care of it in the morning. Sleep, panther.”

Haruka is already passed out, his breathing slow and even. Nino shifts so that he lies against his side. He closes his eyes, and soon, he joins him.

* * *

The followingmorning is muggy and hot. Cicadas are buzzing loudly outside, their mating calls reverberating within the hallways of the estate as Nino walks. He readjusts his summer robe, tying the belt tighter. He needs coffee.

Running his fingers through freshly washed hair, he steps into the kitchen. “Hey, Jun.”

“Good morning.” The charming vampire is sitting at the kitchen table in his usual seat near the open patio doors. He waves a deep blue half-shell fan near his face. The color of the fan matches the large traditional pattern printed on his white button-down. Junichi is nothing if not stylish, his choices always bold, unapologetic in nature.

“I thought you were coming later. Why are you here so early?”

“I like to spend time with my favorite purebred couple.” Junichi grins. “Being in your presence melts my old, jaded heart.” He places a hand on his chest, dramatic. Nino chuckles.

“Jun, you’re not old.”

He bats his dark eyelashes. “I’m older than the two of you. Where is his highness?”

“Sleeping.”

Junichi stops fanning, his onyx eyes wide. “Through the whole night?”

“Yes.” Nino fills his coffee cup to the brim. He needs a bigger mug. Maybe two.

“Well, that’s amazing news. Maybe things will get back to normal? I hear the local elementary school has been having a hell of a time. None of the little ones have been sleeping at night for the past month. You know their natures are very sensitive to him.”

“Really?” Nino sits down at the table across from Junichi. “I mean, I definitely feel the unrest, but I’m with him all the time.”

Junichi leans with his elbow on the table, cradling his chin in his palm. “We all feel it. Sora said the twins haven’t slept at night in two weeks. Between that and her strenuous hospital shifts, she said she might drop them off here if Haruka doesn’t stop this—see how much he enjoys them when they’re bouncing off the walls at three in the morning.”

Nino takes a long sip of his coffee. When he’s finished, he sighs, relaxing his shoulders. “He does like them a lot…” The image of an excitable Amon showing off his toy shark while sitting on Haruka’s knees flashes in Nino’s mind. He’d watched the gentle interaction, awestruck. Something within his mate had brightened—like a dense fog lifting or a locked chest opening. Haruka had been so content and singularly focused on the small boy, as if everyone else in the room had ceased to exist.

“Do you like kids, Nino?”

“I don’t know… I don’t dislike them. I haven’t ever given them much thought. Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d ever be bonded. Thinking about anything past that seemed pointless.”

“Well, seeing as you’ve reached this milestone, maybe it’s time to start thinking about what else you might want?”

“Hm… maybe. Do you want kids someday, Jun?”

“Hell no.”

“Mail call.” Asao walks into the kitchen, a small stack of letters in one hand and a delivery box the size of large book in the other. Nino beams, excited as he stands from the table to relieve his manservant of the package. He takes it over to the counter.

Junichi smiles. “Hey, old coot—”

“Watch it.” Asao points, grinning.

“How do you feel about some little vampires running around here in the future? More monsters for you to take care of.”

Asao shrugs. “It’d be fine. Haruka wanted that when he was little, anyway.”

Nino stops unpacking the shipping box, blinking up at Asao. “He did?”

“Yeah. He made a pitiful little declaration right after his father died. He said that when he bonded with Yuna, he wanted to have a big family. He’s an only child, you know? So with Aika and Hayato passing, it left him pretty damn lonely. But Yuna didn’t want any part of that so… end of story. He’s never brought it up again—at least not to me?”

Both Asao and Junichi look at Nino, making him swallow hard. “He hasn’t said anything to me either.”

“Where is he, anyway?” Asao asks.

“Sleeping, apparently,” Junichi answers. “You want to go out for coffee? Since I’m here…”

“Sure.” Asao nods. “He slept the whole night?”

“Yes.” Nino pulls a second, smaller, elegantly wrapped box from the package. “He won’t be nocturnal for much longer. We’ll get this fixed, somehow. He’s been so intense and stressed lately. I don’t want ‘the threat of Lajos’ dictating the rest of our damn lives.”

“Agreed.” Junichi nods. “Have you thought any more about reporting what you know to the detective? Could help ease some of the pressure, knowing a professional is on the case?”

“I want to.” Nino sighs. “I need to talk to Haru about it.” Between his own regeneration challenges and his mate’s general distress, Nino had pushed the subject aside. How can they help solve someone else’s problems when their own household is under duress? As of last night though, maybe they’ve finally taken a firm step in the right direction? Just an inch closer to getting back to their normal lives.

Maybe I should try bringing it up again?