Read Online Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7 by Various Authors - Free Book Online Page A

torso stretching in the warm waters, revealed the losing battle of concentration.
    Out of sudden benediction, Jeremy paused washing his body and began helping Jacob. He thoroughly scrubbed through the salty skin and hair, without any mercy over the sensitised skin Jeremy had discovered the previous night. The flinch as Jeremy cleaned over Jacob's collarbone; the gasp as Jeremy scoured over Jacob's sides; or the almost outright rebellion as Jeremy firmly cleaned every crease of Jacob's engorged rod, paying meticulous attention to the throbbing head after pulling the foreskin firmly back.
    In the end, when they were dressed, watered and fed, Jacob had another ache to add to his previously decreasing list of maladies. However, they did leave cleaner than when they entered, feeling lighter, with a spring in their step. With thundering heartbeats filled with repressed passion, they exited into the sharp, fresh air of the new day, with clothes finally on.
    In the shade of a particularly beautiful day, Jacob's pulse quickened under Jeremy's grip and Jeremy could feel the anxiety radiate like heat from Jacob's vein as they walked hand in hand. The birds could be heard singing, and the plants could be heard gently whispering, but it was the heat of his hand that drew his attention. Feeling the extremely fine hairs on his palm tickle and sensitise every nerve on the limb.
    Jacob trusted Jeremy. That was his resolution.
    Jacob was insensible to the surroundings, completely engrossed in his partner who, again, was leading him without any input of Jacob's own volition. Doubts clouded his mind and fear ran through his blood, but Jeremy's happy face eased any unwarranted emotion other than a soul deep magnetism to the spritely figure, almost strolling leisurely through the hidden trails of the forest.
    Jacob absorbed the setting as Jeremy's expression sobered. They slowed, waking Jacob from his reverie of the hypnotic scenery. Jacob's senses sharpened. He looked questioningly at Jeremy, trying to find the source that seemed to drain the happiness out of Jeremy's features and dug valleys into his forehead.
    Jacob was not distressed; he was alert to danger, as he scanned their surroundings. The building rising before his eyes, behind the coniferous trees, screamed to his senses, as he found the source of Jeremy's derision.
    As only Jeremy could do, he calmed the protective beast rising from its dormancy, before Jacob did anything rash. Like protecting Jeremy by running away, fast, with Jeremy cradled in his arms; then ravish him senseless in the undergrowth, claiming him with teeth … Jeremy leaned against Jacob's side to disperse the urgency that gripped Jacob, releasing the tension that had built up in his fists.
    When did "teeth" become a rational option? The beast within him was closer than Jacob thought. Focusing Jacob enough to listen as Jeremy began an explanation. "This is where I work: the National Archive. Prohibited to humans. I call it the library."
    Jacob ignored the intricacies of ivy strangling any protruding masonry. "'Humans'?" Jacob questioned, with a flustered inflection. Silence met his unease as they continued to walk closer to the dark stone building.
    Jeremy finally answered in a matter-of-fact tone that challenged any argument, "You and I are both immortal. I know this, and now you know the full truth of it. In short, we are the descendants of the 'creatures of nightmares', as humans often generalise us."
    Jacob was shocked. He could not tell if Jeremy would grab a pitchfork or dance with Jacob in hand – no emotion remained in his voice. No one knows the truth! Jacob thought in confusion, how does Jeremy know ? Jacob could not express the fear that he may have just walked into his own execution. Regardless, he continued to walk along with Jeremy.
    Jeremy saw the panic claw at Jacob's throat as he swallowed compulsively – the only sign betraying Jacob's thoughts. Jeremy knew if he were in such throes of emotion, the