Chocolate-Covered Damon by Elektra Pendragon "Don't move." Damon wasn't restrained, even though his arms and legs were stretched out towards the corners of the bed. He could move as much as he desired, but his desire was to please his lover. His lover wished him still, so he fought every impulse to move, shift, wiggle, or even breathe out of time. Julian kneeled beside him on the bed, his knees tucked into Damon's side as he bent over his body. His face was dark with concentration, the look softened only slightly by the presence of a loose shock of white hair over his nose. His fingers dipped into a bowl hidden from the vampire's view, withdrawing something that he hid in his palm. With the careful grace of a fine artist Julian's hand hovered over Damon's stomach, looking for the perfect spot. Damon held his breath as Julian's fingers brushed over the curl of his navel. When Julian opened his hand, Damon could hardly feel the weight of the object that fell onto his skin. He dared his lover's wrath to lift his head enough to look down. On his lower belly, just above the dark curls at his groin, was a small piece of chocolate. White chocolate. A drop of soft confection smaller than a dime but just as flat. Even against his pale skin it stood out, stark and bleached like bones left to dry desert heat. He only knew it for chocolate by the distinct scent he only now realized came from the hidden bowl. What could Julian be up to? Even after a couple months of wild and weird trysts, Damon wasn't sure he would ever be able to understand these strange games of Julian's. At least they were always entertaining, and, more often than not, ended in some of the best sex Damon could remember. Julian was rummaging in the bowl, picking out another piece of chocolate. When he placed it on Damon skin--middle of his chest, just slightly off center--Damon could see that this one was dark and a little misshapen, not so much a disk as a puzzle piece. It was larger, too. Damon couldn't help but to feel its weight, the thick chocolate adhering to his bare skin in the heat of the room. His fingers twitched, wanting to itch or peel away the nuisance. "I thought I told you not to move," Julian said softly, his voice dangerous. His gaze slid away from his work to look at Damon's face. His eyes were dark, but his cheeks were flushed. Damon was familiar with the look--Julian in full game-mode. He took the better path and obeyed, laying his head back down on the mattress. Another piece of chocolate fell, pattering like a lumpy raindrop beside Damon's right nipple. Though he moved his eyes around, nearly straining them in the attempt, Damon couldn't make out what kind of chocolate this was, or what its shape might have been, or why it had to go right there. He stifled a sigh and counted out seconds in his head, modulating his breathing until he hardly made a rustle of movement as more chocolate fell from ceiling. Unable to watch the progress of Julian's entertainment, Damon instead moved his gaze to his lover. Once again, Julian's face was shadowed with concentration, as though he were playing an invisible foe who was kicking his ass at his own game. Damon would have been amused, but it was worrisome to not see that dark humour that usually hung on Julian's every movement. After the first few hesitant movements, Julian started to cover his game board quicker, dropping more chocolate in what felt like random places at a quicker pace. As more of his chest and stomach was covered, Damon started to see the anxiety ease in Julian's expression. After a while, he even started to smile. Whomever he had been playing against must have made a wrong move, allowing the gamemaster to take control. Damon let his eyes close, relaxing as soft-slick candy touches fell with hypnotic rhythm. The first chocolates were already mostly-melted. Damon could feel their presence like liquid quivering with any small movement. The chocolates were thin enough to melt quickly with the mix of body heat and the high temperature of the room. Damon could understand, now, why Julian had insisted on the large fire. It was consuming a few nights' worth of wood, but even as his skin prickled with sweat, Damon was grateful for the heat. It was like being covered with liquid velvet. More candy dropped. The new pieces were cool at first, almost a shock every time one fell until they grew skin-warm and soft. There was no predicting where Julian would place the next piece; whatever rules he was playing by didn't include letting Damon in on their intricacies. After a while, there was a perceptible weight on his chest--not oppressive, but noticeable. It was like a thin blanket, trapping warmth against his skin. More and more the pieces fell close to older, melted bits, making a thick thomp of noise. His sides tickled with the undulating shift of the chocolate blanket, the edges threatening to drain it away. Damon was nearly holding his breath to keep from disturbing it. Inside he felt like he was shaking from the effort to keep still, but every drop of candy jarred him, making it more difficult. Damon didn't want to destroy Julian's work, even though the man seemed to not really care if it survived to completion. Damon had thought he would know it when Julian was near the end, but he was still surprised when the candy stopped falling. It was sudden and unheralded. One moment, he was being rhythmically pelted by chocolate; the next, it was all gone. Damon waited a few shallow breaths before he opened his eyes, looking for Julian's face. Julian's smile was crooked and dangerous, but triumphant. The game was over, and he was victorious. The only place where Julian touched him was where his knees pressed into Damon's side, their skin now sticking together from shared perspiration and perhaps even a little chocolate. Damon still didn't move his head, his lungs threatening to quicken their breaths if Julian kept staring at him like that. He waited for Julian to give him the order to move, or maybe touch him, or--dare he hope?--lick off some of the chocolate he had been careful to place Just So on Damon's body. Julian's eyes moved all over Damon's body, making the vampire more and more anxious for his touch. He never really looked at Damon's face, just kept examining his work, his gaze darting gleefully from spot to spot, admiring. Julian's hand hovered above Damon's stomach, and the vampire held his breath, waiting for a touch that never would never come. It was frustrating and irritating and fuck if he wasn't hard as hell. "You are so beautiful." Julian's voice, when he finally spoke, was soft enough to be a whisper, but it came from deep in his chest, more like a groan. Damon's eyes snapped back to his face, away from the distraction of that hovering hand. Usually, Julian spoke long, artful praises of Damon's beauty, but tonight he only repeated himself, simply, "You are so beautiful." Damon had heard it a thousand times from a thousand people, but coming from Julian made him feel it. Not that he was born beautiful, but made so through whatever arcane magic those long, graceful fingers held. It was an accomplishment, not just empty praise. For a moment, Julian's hand disappeared from Damon's view, then returned, holding the bowl. It was large and glass, and Damon could see it was completely empty. How much had his lover covered him in? With his other hand, Julian reached out and wove his fingers into Damon's hair, cupping the back of his head. Slowly, he lifted, allowing Damon to see what he had done. Damon's chest was a canvas of abstract whorls and curves made of glistening chocolates. He couldn't quite understand how Julian had done it--with just light and dark and a few splashes of white, Julian had created gently variated striations and vortices that blended harmoniously with sweeping curves and waves. At the edges, the painting faded into his skin, making it look like he was tattooed, or painted, or somehow marked naturally with the earthy-brown tones. Damon hadn't felt Julian touch the candy or his skin, and yet everything was blended perfectly. The liquid art shifted with Damon's deeper breaths, shivering and teasing against his skin as the design danced. Oh, it was pretty, but if Julian didn't touch him soon, Damon would be forced to hurt him. He felt as though he had been teased mercilessly for hours instead of playing game board for his lover's strange ways. Julian could read his thoughts even though Damon didn't use his Power to send them. He leaned over Damon's body, reaching across the bed to place the bowl aside on the night table. The muscles of Damon's arms twitched with the need to reach up and grab him, though he fought it, not wanting to ruin Julian's mood by ruining his artwork. The point became moot as Julian stretched out his legs and straddled Damon's thighs. Julian sat up on Damon's lap, holding Damon's head up so he could watch as he slowly lowered himself, smashing the art between their chests. The squish and slide of chocolate was surprisingly pleasant as Julian wiggled around, destroying what had taken so long to create. Damon could feel it ooze down his sides, staining the sheets, but he couldn't care as Julian started to lap it up from his collarbones, tracing new artwork on his skin with his tongue. Julian twisted and undulated against Damon, laying his full weight on his chest so he could run his free hand down through the chocolate, smearing across the areas he'd just cleaned with his mouth. He rubbed it in, then bent down again to retrace new symbols. As he drew with his tongue, Julian's hand continued sliding down Damon's chest until he could wrap a chocolate-covered hand around their erections, coating them both with sticky-slickness. He moved until the could get them both in his hand, squeezing them together as he worked his hips fluidly. When Julian raised his face to Damon's, his nose and chin were covered with brown-grey candy, making him look like he had been pushed face-first into a mud puddle. Damon's laughter was cut off by the sweetness of Julian's mouth spreading chocolate across his tongue. Julian was insane, but Damon loved it. He lay passively, letting Julian lead until he could feel himself getting close. /Julian,/ Damon spoke to his lover in his mind, a mental poke in the shoulder. /Can I--/ "Move," Julian commanded absently, the word made almost unintelligible in the mash of their mouths. Damon surged up, crushing Julian to his chest with one arm while the other reached down to entwine with Julian's stroking hand. He sat up, settling Julian on his lap and sliding him closer, stroking them harder until he got the right kind of friction. Small moans of noise came from Julian's throat as Damon pressed his face into the soft, chocolate-scented skin, his teeth just grazing the tender flesh. When Julian started to shudder in his grasp, Damon let his instincts take over. He bit deep, sucking on the skin as he pulsed his release over their stomachs, adding to the sticky mess that covered them both. Julian kept stroking them both until Damon pulled his hand away, trapping it behind Julian's back as he rolled them over on the bed. He moved them to the far side of the mattress, though it was hardly the cleaner. When they stopped moving, Julian was still on top, not minding at all the sticky, sugary mess that was probably going to cement them together if they didn't get it washed off. With a few final licks and a long suck, Damon lifted his head from Julian's neck. He stared at the flawless skin with a frown. "I wish you could bleed," he said absently, licking his aching fangs. Julian shifted until he could get a knee in between Damon's legs, creeping up until he could nudge him playfully. "If you would just come to my world--" "No," Damon shook his head quickly. He reached up and finally moved the now brown-streaked lock of hair out of Julian's face, using the sugary liquid to stick it back in place. "As tempting as that might be...no." "I told you, I have a house. We wouldn't go near the amusement park." "No." "I won't even let the other Shadow Men know you came." "No." "How about we flip a coin?" "NO!" "I'll lick you clean..." ".....no." Julian scooted down Damon's body, a devious smile on his face. "If I lick you clean, then you will come to the Shadow World for a while." Damon returned the dark smile with one of his own, flashing long and pointed teeth. "I'll think about it," he hedged, knowing the rules well enough to play the edges of the game. As long as he kept the possibility open, Julian would continue to try to convince him. Julian dropped his face to Damon's chest, continuing his earlier work. Now this was a game Damon would never grow tired of. THE END