Chapter 12: Rydes

Raven did not knock.

He opened the door at midnight, stepped inside, shut it behind him, and stood there looking at Max with the black book in his hand.

Then he set the book on the table, squared it with the edge, and laid the pencil on top.

"No marks where anyone can see them," he said.

It was the longest sentence he had said all day.

"Why?"

"I won't be marked in public." His green eyes held steady. "Not yet."

"Then I'll bite you somewhere private."

A flush crept up the tops of his ears, and he nodded once.

Max crossed the room and unbuttoned the gray coat, one button at a time.

Raven stood still and let him.

Under the coat he wore a plain linen shirt.

Under the shirt he was long and lean and pale, with a scatter of old nicks across the ribs.

He was a head taller than Max.

He smelled of leather and cedar, dry and warm, and it was getting stronger.

"Night," Max said. "Domain."

The change came up through his bones, and the room tilted.

His scent rolled out dark and thick, and Raven's breath stopped.

Raven's scent changed.

It went soft and wet, the cedar turning sweet, and a shudder ran through his tall frame from head to foot.

He closed his eyes.

"Oh," he said, very quietly.

It was the first sound he had made that wasn't a word.

Max took him by the shirtfront and walked him back until his knees hit the bed.

Raven sat.

He looked up at Max, flushed and silent, and Max put one hand under his jaw.

"Lie down," Max said.

Raven lay back.

He pulled off his own shirt, then the rest, without being told, and lay naked on the sheet with his hands at his sides.

His cock was long and hard against his flat stomach, and slick ran down the inside of his thighs.

He didn't say anything.

He just looked at the ceiling, and a muscle moved in his jaw.

"Look at me," said Max.

Raven looked.

Max knelt between his legs, took hold of both ankles, and folded him up until his knees touched his chest.

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