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Daniel barely had time to protest before Louis and Armand had him cornered in the bathroom, sleeves rolled up like two determined nannies. Maybe he got a little dirty, a little careless with his hunt, but this truly seemed excessive. He wasn’t that messy of an eater.
“Honestly,” Louis sighed, turning on the taps and testing the temperature with aristocratic precision, “you smell like a wet newspaper left on the sidewalk.”
Armand smirked, holding up a bottle of shampoo as if it were a sacred relic. “At least dogs shake themselves dry. You just sit and brood.”
“I am not a dog!” Daniel snapped, but the next thing he knew Armand was herding him toward the tub with the same relentless cheer as someone corralling a stubborn golden retriever.
Louis clucked his tongue. “In you go. Sit.”
“Sit?” Daniel sputtered, splashing water over the side as he climbed in. “You don’t just ‘sit’ a grown man!”
Armand poured water over his head with wicked delight, slicking Daniel’s silver curls flat against his forehead. “Look, he’s already pouting like a spaniel.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes at the bottle Armand was holding up.
“…Is that flea and tick shampoo?”
Armand’s grin was all sharp teeth. “Yes. Specially formulated for creatures who insist on rolling in filth.” He gave the container a reverent little shake.
Louis, already kneeling by the tub, didn’t even look embarrassed. He simply drizzled some into his palm, the lavender scent sharp and oddly medicinal. “It’s effective. Why waste money on anything else?”
“I don’t have fleas!” Daniel protested, slapping water against the side of the tub like an angry cat.
Armand leaned over and scrubbed the shampoo into Daniel’s hair with suspicious enthusiasm, suds foaming high. “We’ll see about that. If something jumps, I’m not catching it.”
Louis worked the lather into Daniel’s shoulders with calm, patient strokes. “Hold still. It says on the back you need at least three minutes of contact time to kill all pests.”
Daniel gawked. “Pests? Pests?!”
Armand pushed him gently back into the water, ignoring the indignant spluttering. “Good boy. Rinse thoroughly. Don’t want the medicine irritating your delicate skin.”
When they finally hauled him out, dripping and furious, Daniel smelled faintly of eucalyptus, lavender and shame. Wrapped in a towel, he glared between them.
Louis smoothed his hair back with fastidious hands. “There. Pest-free.”
Armand added with a wink, “For now. But if you start scratching, we’ll have to do the dip treatment next.”
Armand pulled something from behind his back: a flea collar.
Daniel froze. “You wouldn’t.”
Armand dangled it over him with mock gravity. “It’s adjustable. One size fits all.”
“Relax,” Armand said at last, chuckling as he tossed it onto the counter. “I’m joking. Can you imagine?”
Daniel narrowed his eyes, clutching his towel tighter. “Not funny.”
But Louis, still calmly folding the shampoo-streaked washcloth, murmured in that maddeningly even tone, “You know, Armand, I have seen the other collars in your drawers.”
Daniel froze like someone had yanked a leash tight around his throat. Slowly he turned, cheeks burning hotter than the bathwater. “You what—”
Louis added without missing a beat, “One says ‘If found, return to Armand.’”
Louis folded his arms, calm as ever, but his eyes gleamed with quiet amusement. “You think I don’t notice? You aren’t very good at shielding your thoughts when you’re on the leash. Armand parades you around the apartment. And you let him.”
Armand smirked, lounging against the sink. “He does more than let me, Louis. He likes it.”
Daniel’s face went scarlet. “I—shut up! Both of you!” He clutched his towel tighter, as though it might somehow muffle the truth, but the smug look on Armand’s face and the maddening composure on Louis’s said otherwise.
Louis tilted his head, considering. “I will admit, the leather suits you. The little brass buckle in particular. Though…” His lips curved, just slightly. “…the bell was a touch excessive.”
“Louis!” Daniel yelped, mortified, practically sinking into the floor.
Armand laughed, stepping close to hook a damp curl behind Daniel’s ear. “You hear that? He doesn’t mind the collar, only the bell. Progress.”
Daniel groaned, burying his face in his hands. “I hate both of you.”
Louis’s smile was faint but unmistakable. “And yet, you wag your tail when Armand tells you to.”
Daniel’s muffled whine of outrage only made Armand’s smile widen.
Daniel had his face buried in his hands, towel slipping dangerously low on his hips, when Louis’s quiet voice pressed on.
“You don’t hate us,” Louis said, smoothing invisible wrinkles from his sleeve. “You hate being seen.”
Armand leaned in, his laughter dropping to a purr. “Oh, but you are seen, Beloved. Every time you kneel for me while I fasten the buckle at your throat, I can see how much you want it. How still you get. How good.”
Daniel’s breath caught, traitorously. “C’mon, Boss, not in front of the company,” he stammered, fingers digging into the towel as if it were the only anchor keeping him upright.
Louis’s gaze lingered on him, sharp and assessing, but not unkind. “It isn’t shameful. There’s a certain… beauty in belonging. Armand only exaggerates with the bells and the tags.” A beat. “Though even then, you wear them.”
Daniel made a strangled sound, caught between protest and confession. His heart drummed loud enough he swore they both could hear it.
Armand’s hand rose, brushing the damp line of Daniel’s throat, thumb lingering at the hollow where a collar would sit. “You think Louis disapproves,” he murmured, “but really, he’s just jealous he didn’t claim you first.”
Daniel’s eyes darted to Louis, who was watching him with unsettling calm. The weight of that gaze made his skin burn hotter than the bath had.
Louis’s lips curved faintly. “Jealous, no. Intrigued, perhaps.”
Daniel groaned, trying to turn away, but Armand caught his chin and tilted it back, smiling wickedly. “See? My little pet doesn’t know if he wants to hide or beg.”
Daniel’s voice cracked on his protest: “I am not your pet.”
Yet even as he said it, he leaned into Armand’s hand.
Louis stepped closer, so close Daniel could feel the heat of him through the towel still clutched to his hips. The vampire’s eyes glinted, calm and merciless.
“Armand makes claims,” Louis said softly, “but I prefer proof.”
Daniel swallowed hard, already shaking his head. “No. Absolutely not.”
But Armand, the perfect devil, was already fishing in the drawer. He drew out a thick leather collar, dark and supple, the brass buckle gleaming faintly in the bathroom light. He dangled it between two fingers, swaying gently, watching Daniel’s wide eyes track it.
“Daniel,” Armand crooned, stepping close enough that the familiar scent of him overwhelmed. He touched the collar to Daniel’s throat, letting the leather kiss damp skin. “No one’s forcing you. But you’re already trembling for it.”
Daniel’s breath hitched, and his fingers clutched tighter at his towel.
Louis, unblinking, reached out and gently brushed the collar where it rested against Daniel’s throat, his touch cool, deliberate. “It suits him,” he said simply. “Look at how he shivers.”
Daniel’s knees nearly buckled. His protest came out in a whisper: “This is humiliating.”
Armand smiled against his ear, fastening the buckle with a soft click. “No, Beloved. This is devotion.”
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, pulse thrumming wildly. And the worst part, the most damning part, was that Louis was right. He did like it.
Louis stepped back, taking in the sight with an unreadable expression. Then, after a long pause, his lips curved. “He wears it well.”
Armand kissed Daniel’s damp hair, smug and triumphant. “Didn’t I tell you?”
Daniel groaned into his hands. “I hate you both.”
Armand laughed, low and delighted. He leaned back against the sink, towel draped over his shoulder, eyes sparkling with mischief. He glanced at Louis with a sly grin.
“You know,” he began, voice loud enough for Daniel to hear, “sometimes Daniel likes to play fetch.”
Louis raised an eyebrow, calm as ever. “Fetch?”
Armand’s grin widened. “Yes. With… well…” He tilted his head toward Daniel, who had just turned away to avoid eye contact, cheeks blazing. “with my panties. He is very obedient, very eager to… retrieve.”
Louis’s eyes lingered on Daniel, then slid to Armand. “You’ve trained him well.”
Armand’s grin curved like a blade. “Not trained. Loved.”
Louis answered with a small, skeptical hum.
“I take precautions,” Armand went on, as though delivering some great courtesy. “I don’t just keep him, Louis. I make sure I never lose him.” His grin widened, devilishly proud. “Did I mention I had him microchipped? Like a prized hound. Isn’t that what you call it? A safeguard.”
Daniel made a strangled noise somewhere between a laugh and a protest. “You did what?”
Armand patted his knee fondly. “Relax, darling. If you’re ever lost, one click on an app and I know exactly where you are.”
Daniel blinked at him. “You’re joking.”
“Of course not,” Armand said, tone too smooth to be reassuring. “Technology is marvelous. I even get little notifications when you leave the apartment. Like tracking a very beloved Roomba.”
Louis’s brow arched. “A Roomba?”
Armand shrugged. “He wanders, he bumps into things, occasionally he gets stuck under the sofa. The comparison is apt.”
Daniel decided not to protest further. The idea of being tracked at all times by Armand was kind of doing it for him. The possessiveness, the absolute certainty that no matter where he went, Armand could find him. Besides, he had fond memories of what happened the last time he’d gotten half-stuck under the couch and Armand had come to “rescue” him.
Armand, pleased with Daniel’s obedience, clapped his hands once and proclaimed, “Good boy, now roll over, we need to trim your nails.”
Daniel groaned inwardly. He reluctantly shifted onto his back, towel clutched tight, but couldn’t help the small, guilty flicker of hope in his chest. Maybe this would end in belly rubs?
Armand was already reaching for the nail clippers, humming to himself like a man about to perform surgery, when Louis finally stood. He brushed his sleeves smooth, movements precise, his expression unreadable but edged with faint exasperation.
“I think,” Louis said, voice calm but edged with amusement, “I will leave you to your… routine. It has been highly entertaining, though even for me, it’s drifting into the peculiar. Not that I wouldn’t be tempted, under the right circumstances, next time.” He gave a faint, knowing smile, then slipped away, the soft click of the door punctuating his retreat, leaving them in private, lingering heat.
Armand leaned down, lips curving in wicked amusement. “See? Even Louis knows when to give us privacy.”
Daniel peeked through his fingers, muttering, “He’s not giving us privacy. He’s fleeing for his sanity.”
Armand only laughed, settling back with the clippers poised. “Semantics, Beloved.”
The click of the door had barely faded when Daniel let out a long, shaky breath. Without Louis’s calm gaze pinning him in place, some of the tension bled out of his shoulders. He slumped back against the cool porcelain of the tub, towel slipping just enough to be precarious.
Armand was watching him, of course. Always watching. His grin was sharper now, untempered by Louis’s restraint, eyes gleaming like a predator who had finally been left alone with his prey.
“Well,” Armand drawled, setting the clippers aside with exaggerated care. “No audience now. No one to shame you. Just us.”
Daniel hesitated, then tilted his chin up, meeting that dark gaze. His voice was low, muttered, but without the usual sting. “You love making a fool of me when he’s around.”
Armand crouched closer, fingers brushing the damp edge of the towel, a touch light enough to make Daniel’s breath hitch. “Not a fool. A pet. My pet. And you love it, Daniel. You don’t have to hide when it’s just me.”
Daniel swallowed hard, cheeks still hot, but this time he didn’t deny it. He leaned into Armand’s hand, eyes fluttering shut. “I hate that you’re right.”
Armand chuckled, soft and triumphant, thumb stroking the hollow of Daniel’s throat where the collar had rested moments before. “No. You love that I’m right. You love giving in.”
Daniel’s lips parted around a shaky exhale. The last of his defiance slipped, replaced with something rawer, quieter. “Tell me what to do.”
Armand’s smile curved like a blade. He leaned in until his lips brushed Daniel’s ear. “Good boy. That’s the only thing I want to hear from you.”
Daniel’s pulse thundered beneath Armand’s touch, and this time he didn’t hide it. He tilted his head back, exposing his throat, towel loosening further, offering himself up with a trembling sort of relief.
Armand leaned back, taking in the sight of Daniel trembling against the porcelain, towel clutched but slipping lower with each breath. He reached out, slow and deliberate, and tapped Daniel’s chin with two fingers.
“Up,” he said simply.
Daniel obeyed, lifting his head, his lips parting in anticipation. Armand’s smile widened, approval glinting in his eyes.
“Good,” Armand purred, thumb stroking over Daniel’s jaw. “You’re much prettier when you don’t argue.”
He shifted closer, pressing his knee between Daniel’s legs, forcing them apart. Daniel’s towel sagged dangerously, his hands hovering as though unsure whether to hold on or let it fall.
“Drop it,” Armand commanded.
The towel slipped from Daniel’s grasp, exposing him fully. He flushed scarlet, but made no move to cover himself again.
Armand caught his wrist and guided it to rest against the cool tile, pinning him gently. “Stay.” His voice was soft, but it had the weight of an order, absolute. Daniel stilled, chest rising and falling too quickly, but he didn’t resist.
Armand pressed Daniel further back, settling between his legs, every line of his body exuding possession. “Now, my pet,” he murmured, “show me how good you can be when no one’s watching.”
Daniel sagged into Armand’s hold, pulse racing, every nerve tuned to his maker’s voice. Armand’s thumb stroked slow circles against the wrinkles on his throat, coaxing, claiming.
“You’re so good like this,” Armand murmured, lips brushing Daniel’s ear. “Soft. Obedient. Mine.”
Daniel swallowed hard, whispering, “I’m yours.” The words trembled, but they were clear.
Armand’s smile curved sharp, but his voice softened to something dangerously intimate. “Then give me more. Give me everything.”
Daniel’s breath hitched. “More?”
Armand leaned closer, lips grazing the corner of his mouth. “Breed me like the dog you are,” he purred, the words decadent, deliberate. “Fill me, claim me from the inside out. Mark me so Louis can smell you on me.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, shock warring with heat, but Armand only tilted his head, watching him squirm under the weight of it. “You think I don’t crave it? You think I don’t want to feel you in me, carrying your hunger like it’s my own?”
The demand hung in the humid air between them, thick and undeniable. Daniel’s body betrayed him first, a tremor of want, a helpless lean into Armand’s touch.
Armand caught it instantly, pouncing with a smile that was half victory, half worship. “There it is,” he whispered. “You want it too. Say it.”
Daniel shut his eyes, but when he spoke his voice cracked open with honesty. “Of course I want it, Boss.”
Armand’s laugh was pure delight, and he kissed Daniel hard, sealing the vow. “Good boy. Then make me yours.”
Armand shed his damp clothes quickly and got on all fours on the tile. His dark curls wild, orange eyes bright with a hunger that had nothing to do with blood. “Better,” Armand whispered,looking over his shoulder at Daniel. “I want us on the ground when you take me. Like the animal you keep pretending not to be.”
Daniel’s hands hovered, uncertain, but Armand’s gaze pinned him in place, patient and daring all at once. “Do you want this?” Armand murmured, voice low, almost a growl. “Or do you need me to beg?”
Daniel swallowed hard, heat curling through him. “I want it,” he admitted, voice ragged.
Armand’s back arched slightly, offering himself fully and Daniel’s hands found his hips, tentative at first, then firmer as he leaned in. “Good,” Armand breathed, pressing his forehead lightly to the tiles. “Closer. I’m yours.”
Daniel shivered at the feel of Armand beneath him, slick heat and taut tension radiating through every line of muscle. He leaned closer, letting desire take over, hands bracing on Armand’s hips. His hands drifted to Armand’s ass as he cupped and spread him roughly, claiming him.
He dipped his head, tongue tracing eagerly, greedily, tasting him, exploring as if starved for every inch. Each sloppy, desperate movement drew a low, ragged sound from Armand. He lapped and nipped, giving himself over completely to the animal they both knew he was.
Armand whispered against the tile, voice tight with anticipation: “Yes… just like that. Don’t stop. Show me how much you need this.”
Daniel slid his hand between Armand’s legs, feeling the weight and heat of him. His cock was hard and heavy beneath his palm. He teased him with a few deliberate strokes as he speared Armand open on his tongue. When he judged his maker ready, he leaned back on his heels, circling a thumb over Armand’s rim, eliciting a low, needy whine.
Now it was Armand who was trembling, desperate for release, and Daniel’s chest tightened with pleasure at the sight. He lived to please him.
Daniel pressed the tip of his cock against Armand’s slick, yielding entrance and felt the familiar heat of surrender beneath his touch. With one smooth, fluid motion, he sank inside him. Normally, he was the one receiving, but each time Armand demanded this, each time he was allowed to claim him like this, it felt like coming home, right, inevitable, and entirely theirs.
Daniel let himself sink into the movement, letting Armand’s trust and hunger give him permission, the two of them entwined in a rhythm that was both fierce and intimate.
Water still dripped from Daniel’s hair, trailing cool rivulets down his temples, but Armand’s body below him was a furnace. Daniel wrapped one arm around his waist, the other across his chest, pulling him flush, molding him to every curve of his own. He moved with a ferocity that belonged to a predator at the top of the hunt, rutted into him again and again, relentless.
Armand tilted his head back, lips parting, voice a low, vibrating purr. “Breed me right here on the tiles. Mark me so every inch of this floor remembers you were here.” he whispered, heat and hunger lacing every word.
Daniel’s restraint frayed. His body surging into Armand’s. Armand gasped, triumphant and surrendering in the same motion. “That’s it,” he coaxed, voice raw now. “Deeper. Harder. Make me yours.”
The sound of skin against skin, the sting of the cold floor beneath, the heat between them, it was all tangled into a blur. Daniel’s groans broke into desperate gasps, and Armand’s laughter twisted into cries, low and sharp.
He leaned to Daniel’s ear, whispering raggedly between breaths: “You’re claiming me. You’re inside me. Always.”
With a fierce, hungry motion, Daniel sank his huge fangs into Armand’s neck, drinking deeply, savoring the heat and pulse beneath him. Armand’s low, shuddering moan carried a mix of pleasure and admiration. Daniel felt a thrill at the knowledge that his bite was noticed. The size of his fangs made his maker proud. He clung tighter, teeth grazing and tongue tracing, fully claiming him in that intimate, feral way. Each shiver and gasp from Armand was a testament to the power and hunger in him.
Daniel felt Armand tightening around him, each tremor and squeeze a clear signal of how close he was. He wrapped his hands around Armand’s hardness, matching every frantic stroke with the rhythm of his own desperate thrusts. Armand shuddered violently, painting the tiles with his release, and Daniel’s own restraint shattered in response.
The orgasm tore through him, shuddering deep and raw, spilling inside Armand as his body trembled uncontrollably. He clung to him like a lifeline, nails grazing warm skin, every breath ragged and desperate. Pressing his lips to Armand’s neck, voice hoarse and reverent, he whispered, “Mine…and I’m yours.”
The room felt impossibly still after, save for the drip of water from the tap and the ragged rhythm of their breath. He lay sprawled against the tiles, chest heaving. Armand was now draped over his chest, their skin damp with sweat and steam. The cold of the floor bit at his back, but it was grounding, almost a relief after the fevered heat.
Armand didn’t move at first. He stayed laid across Daniel, cheek pressed to the rise and fall, listening. His fingers traced idle, soothing shapes over Daniel’s soft belly, spirals, circles, lines that softened into a kind of caress.
When Daniel finally managed to speak, his voice was wrecked. “You’ll kill me one of these nights.”
Armand chuckled, low and indulgent, and pressed a kiss just above his collarbone. “Never. I take too much pleasure in keeping you alive.”
Daniel huffed something like a laugh, though it cracked halfway. He tipped his head back against the tile, eyes closing, too tired to fight the warmth curling in his chest. “You’re insufferable.”
Armand shifted, lifting himself just enough to meet Daniel’s gaze. His expression was softer now, stripped of the wicked glee, affection shining through. “And yet you let me have you. Again and again.”
Daniel groaned, covering his face with one hand. “Don’t remind me.”
Armand caught his wrist and gently tugged it away, holding Daniel’s hand against his own cheek. His smile curved, still sharp, but quieter. “I will remind you, Beloved. Because you deserve to know how wanted you are.”
Daniel blinked at him, throat tight, the fight long gone. “You’re going to make this sentimental, aren’t you?”
Armand leaned down, brushing his lips over Daniel’s hair. “Only a little.” He shifted again, gathering Daniel against him, pulling him up off the cold floor with unexpected care. “Come. You’ll freeze down there. Let me take you to bed.”
Daniel let himself be lifted, too spent to argue, too secretly grateful to resist. Armand’s arms were cool and unyielding around him, but his voice stayed soft.
“Good boy,” Armand murmured, as if the night hadn’t ended in ruin on the tiles but in something quieter, deeper. “Rest now. I’ll keep you safe.”
Armand carried him easily, as though Daniel weighed nothing, out of the damp echo of the bathroom and into the hush of the bedroom. The shift in air was immediate, cooler, drier, the scent familiar, theirs.
Daniel half-buried his face against Armand’s shoulder on the way, muttering, “I can walk, you know.”
“Yes,” Armand said simply, with that infuriating smile in his voice, “but I like carrying you.”
He laid Daniel down on the wide bed, tugging the rumpled sheets free. The mattress dipped under Armand’s weight as he settled beside him, pulling the blankets over them both. Daniel sank into it with a groan.
Armand’s hand drifted up and down his side in long, lazy strokes. “Better?”
Daniel cracked one eye open at him. “You’re asking if it’s better than the bathroom floor?”
“Yes.” Armand’s grin curved slow and self-satisfied. “Though I admit, there was a certain charm to that too.”
Daniel groaned and shoved at him half-heartedly. “You’re impossible.”
Armand caught the hand, kissed the back of it with exaggerated care. “And yet, here you are. In my bed. Wearing nothing but the glow of obedience.”
Daniel flushed, turning his face into the pillow. “Don’t say things like that.”
Armand leaned close, brushing a cool kiss to his temple. “Why not? They’re true. And I like the way you squirm when you hear them, my beautiful boy.”
Daniel muttered something incoherent, but he didn’t pull away. His body, traitorous and warm, edged closer instead.
Armand’s arm slipped around him, drawing him in with the ease of habit. He tucked Daniel’s silver curls beneath his chin, voice dropping to a murmur. “Rest, beloved. You’ve pleased me tonight.”
Daniel huffed a laugh, almost fond despite himself. “That’s one way to put it.”
Armand’s lips ghosted over his hair. “It’s the only way that matters.”
Daniel sighed, letting himself be held, the last shreds of tension bleeding out into the quiet. For once, he didn’t argue.