Beast slowly rolled them over, keeping Laurent close to him with both hands so that he wouldn’t just drop to the mattress but be softly lowered onto it, with all the care Beast wanted to invest into this... thing that was developing between him and Laurent. “Did they leave you with the strange people you stayed with? You don’t keep in touch with them, do you?”
Laurent shook his head, but he was becoming tense, alert. Like every other time when the topic of his past came up. Beast wondered whether Laurent had been sexually abused by his keepers, but considering his drive for new sexual experiences, Beast hoped that wasn’t the case.
“No. I gave up on that long ago.”
It was such a sad statement Beast felt compelled to just hold Laurent for a moment, brushing his lips against Laurent’s forehead to express his sympathy. “I’m sorry. I lost my mother. I know it must have been difficult,” he whispered.
The attentive brown gaze bore into him instantly. “What happened to her?” Laurent asked, distracting Beast with the touch of his fingers and the legs wrapping around Beast’s hips as if he were pulling Beast inside his body already.
Beast swallowed, bracing himself above the pliant body and pressing his forehead to Laurent’s. They were so very close he could almost feel the touch of invisible hands on his cock, but he caught Laurent’s gaze and kept it. “Her car exploded. I pulled her out, but she died.” It was as if every single scar on his body was proof of his failure, and he closed his eyes, burying his face in Laurent’s neck, so soft, hot, and tender to the touch.
And Laurent was there to sooth every bit of Beast’s pain. “Oh, Beast… I’m so sorry. Is that how you got burned?” The soft fingers danced over the arm Beast had gotten tattooed solid black because of all the scarring.
Beast nodded, swallowing the warmth of Laurent’s scent and hugging him tighter. That was the worst of it all—no matter how hard he’d tried, he still couldn’t save her. Sometimes, he felt that had his mother lived, the pain that resulted from the accident would have been more bearable somehow. It would have had a purpose. Instead, the deformity was just a particularly painful entry in the journal of Beast’s life.
“It’s okay.”
Laurent kissed Beast’s cheek, in the sensitive spot right under the eye. “Why did her car explode? Are they dangerous?”
Beast shook his head. “No. We were in conflict with this gang. They planted a bomb and killed her.”
Laurent nodded slowly, but Beast wasn’t sure how much of it he understood. What really mattered was that he listened. After the attack, the Kings of Hell made the rival gang pay in blood, but that couldn’t bring Beast’s mother back to life or make him handsome again.
“Can I… see more?” Laurent asked, gently pulling at the back of Beast’s cut.
Beast swallowed but gave Laurent a nod and kneeled, slowly sliding off first the vest, and then the black T-shirt he wore underneath. His chest was covered in thick scar tissue and tattooed into a warped image of Lucifer’s fall. Would Laurent recognize the image?
Laurent ran his fingers over it, so perfect with his lips slightly parted and hair forming a halo around his face. His breath quickened, but Beast wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. “Did it hurt to get the pictures to remain on your skin?”
“A bit. Depending on the place,” Beast said, pulling on the stretchy fabric of Laurent’s barely-existing top. He wanted this thing off him quick.
Laurent bit back a smile and arched up to brush his fingers over Beast’s nipple. “What about here?” He struggled with the garment that was basically only sleeves but finally pulled it off, revealing his slender arms.
Beast licked his lips, gasping at the touch. “Harder,” he said and moved his own fingers lower, to the waistband of Laurent’s pants. He couldn’t believe that he had someone so beautiful, so wonderful in his bed. And not only did Laurent take pleasure from him, but wanted to touch Beast as well.
“Like this?” Laurent gasped and pressed his palm to Beast’s pec, moving the other one down the side of Beast’s chest that had less scarring, and onto his stomach. He lowered his legs around Beast, spread out like a platter of delicacies for Beast to sample.
Beast smiled, taking Laurent’s hand and rubbing it against his nipple until it stiffened from the continuous touch. “No. Like this. Feels good.”
Laurent laughed nervously, but let Beast guide his hand. The sight was so sweet Beast could lick Laurent all over. He couldn’t recall ever being in bed with someone this innocent. Because despite his declarations of maturity, Laurent was the most unspoilt person Beast knew. So utterly different than the life he and his brothers led as members of Kings of Hell MC, and yet somehow Laurent fit in as if he was meant to be here to offset all the bloodshed and violence.