Wicked Ones {bxb}

{Chapter 26 : A Lovely Bane}

"Kai," Vinny whispered his name.

He was sleeping, his lashes fluttering under the captivation of dreams.

"Kai," he whispered again, hesitant to wake him. He reached forward, knuckles gently sweeping over the soft skin of Kailan's cheek. "Why are you in my bed?" Vinny's words were soft, his laugh even softer as Kailan opened his eyes.

His gaze wavered not an inch as he held Vinny's stare, the soft brush of his fingers trailing up the bare skin of Vincent's arm. At the touch, chills trailed behind like a shadow, and Vincent watched in silence as Kailan's stare grew stronger.

"Kai?" he muttered the name again.

Kailan didn't answer, but nestled in closer. His eyes fluttered shut as their noses brushed against one another, hot breath sweeping against Vincent's lips, bidding them to part.

Suddenly Vinny shot up out of his sleep, his face buried in his hands before he could catch more than a glimpse of the early morning sun.

"For the love of fuck," he spat, his fingers trailing the clammy skin of his face to ensure he was awake. He gave himself a few hard pats on the cheek and let out a rickety sigh. "Those fuckin' dreams."

The morning had just arrived, and the room was still dim, the sun just barely peaking over the Puget Sound. After a long while, his lungs slowed to an even pace, and he fell back into the warm embrace of his mattress. It wasn't until he could make out the soft breathing of a second person that his eyes shot open, and he turned his head to the side.

That was when Kailan was rudely awakened to the sound of a startled shriek and the loud thud that followed. He sat up, hair askew as he found Vinny on the floor, pain twisting his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

Giving him a questioning look, Kailan pushed his hair out of his eyes. It took him a moment to realize he was back in his own bed—the one Vinny had slept in the night before. He'd gotten up in the dead of night for water. He must have forgotten they switched, and crawled into the wrong one.

He looked over at Vinny, who was still on the floor and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why so freaked?" he asked, slowly hoisting himself from the bed and crouching down next to him with a grin. "We used to pass out in the same bed all the time."

"When we were fourteen, in a California king, yeah." Vinny steeled himself and used the frame of Kailan's bed to rise to his feet, a nervous prickle tickling at his neck. "Not drugged up and spooning in a corner." He rubbed it away, shuffling through his pockets for the bottles Jahni had given him.

"Here." He counted the pills out in his palm. "You should eat something with these."

"What do these do?" Kailan asked, grabbing Vinny by his wrist, and using the bigger man to hoist himself to his feet. The sudden movement made him feel dizzy, but nothing like the mess he was the night before.

"They make your dick grow," Vinny replied in testy sarcasm. "They're painkillers and antibiotics. Just fucking take them."

Kailan glared and took the pills from Vincent's palm. He walked to the kitchen, downing the capsules and washing his parched throat with a tall glass of water. When he was done, he pulled up the sweater—one he didn't really remember putting on—and looked at the gauze guarding the stitches. Frankly, he was just glad it hadn't been on the side with his tattoo.

"How fucked was I last night?"

Vinny laughed, fixing the coffee pot for a fresh brew. "At one point you started throwing your cookies at every old person you passed, and telling them it was 'one for the road to hell'. So I'd say pretty fucked." Vinny started the drip and turned to slack back against the counter while the bitter aroma of the beans filled the air. "You know, most people are happy when they're doped up, but yeesh you were bitter."