I know this is another too-short chapter, but I wanted to at least post something, since it's been a while.
***
Previously in Technical Difficulties:
Ryan and Zach have been best friends since they were kids, and they've wanted to do perverse, BDSM type things together for years, but each was scared to tell the other. A few days ago, Zach got turned into a vampire, though he still doesn't know who did it, or exactly why. His severe allergy to sunlight brought an abrupt end to his brief career as a school teacher, and he went to Ryan for help and shelter.
When Ryan offered Zach blood, neither of them knew that drinking human blood would give him extremely accurate knowledge of his "victim's" emotions. Ryan tied Zach up in the basement (with his hands behind a pole) before giving him permission to bite, ostensibly just in case he got carried away and couldn't stop drinking. Zach discovered Ryan's lust, they finally told each other the truth. They just had their first kiss with a lot of tongue and a bit of fang.
***
When Ryan came up for air, he explored the texture of Zach's soft, closely shaven cheek with his lips, and nipped at his neck. Under the perfume of fresh soap, he caught his friend's own subtle human scent, and he breathed deeply. Thank God Zach still smelled like himself in spite of being a vampire. Ryan revelled in the perfect chemical compatibility that bypassed rational thought and said, mate with this one. As delicious as it was, though, it triggered a visceral feeling of unease.
He had rarely gotten close enough to smell Zach since they grew up, and it had always been bittersweet -- a brush with something wonderful he thought he could never have. There was a night last summer when they'd shared a pup tent on a hiking trip with some friends, and he'd rolled over so that his nose was almost touching the back of Zach's neck, and imagined they were lovers. Then there was the time when he helped Zach limp to the couch after their enormous friend Gary got drunk and accidentally danced on his foot. That memory gave him the sweet sound of Zach's breath hissing through teeth clenched in agony, and a soundtrack of other pained gasps and grunts that made their way into most of Ryan's fantasies. But even as those fantasies were turning into reality, he half expected to somehow be left wanting again - wanting so badly.
Zach tilted his head to the side, offering Ryan easier access to his throat. "Please..." he murmured.
The tiny submissive gesture made Ryan's stomach flutter and his breath catch in his throat. "You get to me so fucking bad. This is crazy." He nipped Zach again and sucked on the flesh that he caught between his teeth.
"Me too. I- oh!" Zach's words gave way to a moan of pleasure.
The sound of Zach's voice and the delight of tasting his favourite man inspired Ryan to suck harder, intentionally giving him a hickey. That'd look pretty later. Zach had beautiful smooth skin, like a blanket of freshly fallen snow that urged Ryan to come out and play. He remembered how sharply scrapes, welts, and bruises stood out against a field of pale, and he craved seeing it again.
Zach's moan of pleasure morphed into a cry of raw lust.
***
Ryan moved away, and Zach didn't understand what was going on. Those kisses had scrambled his brain. All he knew was that he didn't want Ryan to go. "What...?"
"I can't take you to bed without untying you. Sec." Ryan said as he circled around behind Zach.
"Ah. Right." Somehow, he hadn't thought the geometry through. He curled and uncurled his toes while Ryan worked on freeing him. Hurry up. You're too far away.
The ends of the rope swished through the air as Ryan yanked them down from the rafters. "I've changed my mind about lending you clothes." With a few efficient moves, he demolished the knot that held Zach's wrists. "Take them off," he said as the rope hit the floor.
Zach started to obey. His hands got as far as the hem of the borrowed t-shirt before he balked. Although he'd yearned for years to hear Ryan tell him to strip, and imagined following the order with zeal, it freaked him out in real life. Without blood or even a touch to reassure and distract him, he lost his nerve. It felt like a point of no return. What if he did it, and Ryan could never respect him again? What if...
Ryan interrupted the worry train by yanking Zach's sweatpants down to his knees. He grinned.
Zach's cock bounced out from under the loose elastic waistband and stood at attention. Standing there dumbly, frozen with pants around his knees, would be even more embarrassing than stripping on command. Zach peeled the clothes the rest of the way off, hyper aware of Ryan's eyes on his body. Did vampires blush?
When the clothes were out of the way, Ryan slipped his arms around Zach's waist and took two steps back, towing Zach with him. He leaned against the dryer and started making out with him again.
For a second, Zach wondered what ever happened to the idea of going to bed together, but then he got swept away. With Ryan's hot tongue in his mouth, and one hand holding him by the hair again, he couldn't think. All that warm skin pressed right up against him now that their chests were bare felt wonderful, too. He wanted more.
