Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Afternoon.

A window-side Western restaurant.

A tall, slender man in casual clothes swiftly finished a plate of pasta, then rose to pay. He ate with elegant speed, wiped his mouth, settled the bill, and even paused to playfully tease a stray cat on the street.

One-thirty.

Jiang Yao checked his watch as someone brushed his shoulder. He turned to find a note obscuring his view. When he removed it, no one was there.

Jiang Yao chuckled, unfolding the note to reveal an address and a pass.

System: "A hospital?"

Jiang Yao hummed noncommittally and hailed a cab.

System: "Too smooth."

Jiang Yao said, "Yue Er’s just leveled up. His progress these past few months is insane."

System: "Well, he *is* the protagonist’s love interest in the book."

Whether Doug cared about being the "bottom" was anyone’s guess, but the thought always amused Jiang Yao.

Lost in thought, he barely noticed arriving at a military hospital.

System warned, "What if you can’t leave once you go in?"

Jiang Yao: "Then I’ll just stay. Naturally."

The system could only marvel at its host’s nerve.

The military hospital was heavily guarded.

Jiang Yao walked past sentries stationed every meter, all armed. Guards outnumbered staff, who dwarfed the handful of patients.

Jiang Yao smirked under the weight of surveillance. The changes in him couldn’t escape the seasoned vampire handlers. Grin widening, he swaggered into the ward.

Sunlight poured into the immaculate room.

The door hadn’t fully opened before a man behind it yanked him into a crushing hug. "Heard you were looking for me. That desperate to see me?"

"Had your funeral planned."

Doug dug his thumbs into Jiang Yao’s neck, making him arch into the touch, pliant under his hands. Doug tilted Jiang Yao’s chin up and licked the corner of his lips, taking every liberty while the other was still dazed.

"Hands off my ass," Jiang Yao panted, grabbing Doug’s wrist. Doug switched their positions, pinning Jiang Yao against the door in a ravenous kiss.

"Keep it PG above the waist."

Outside, guards stood watch. A telltale creak leaked through the door. The two listened until gasping breaths escaped, prompting the guards to retreat two meters away.

"No depictions below the neck or explicit content."

"Coast’s clear…" Jiang Yao gasped. "Easy—ah—"

Doug bent down and scooped him up. "Idle hands miss you most."

Doug was shirtless, thick bandages wrapped around his torso. The scent of blood taunted Jiang Yao’s control. He licked his lips, only to be dumped onto the couch.

Cramped compared to a bed, the couch forced them into tight, skin-to-skin contact.

"Wait, wait—" Jiang Yao called a breathless protest.

"Changed your mind?" Doug’s voice, magnetic and warm, stood out starkly against the sterile hospital white, irresistibly alluring.

Jiang Yao folded, flipping over to climb on top of him.

Doug looked every bit the gentleman but was, in truth, a wolf in a suit. Under his hands, Jiang Yao came undone twice.

Jiang Yao: "I’m still hungry."

"You’re gunning for my spot," Doug mused, licking his fingers.

"Worried about keeping your ass safe?" Jiang Yao’s face was hot with frustration, but his eyes burned with ambition. Even his 'innocent' act was laughable after his heart transplant.

Doug kissed him, a dark chuckle. "I was planning to—"

The rest went unsaid. He’d *meant* to take charge, but Jiang Yao’s hunger was getting harder to deny.

Jiang Yao pushed Doug down. "Let me help."

He began unwrapping the bandages.

Doug sprawled on the couch, arms stretched overhead, baring his vulnerability. "Don’t kill me."

Fangs pierced Doug’s chest.

"*Oh!*" Doug roared like a bucking wild animal, thrashing before collapsing back, breathless and dazed.

New to blood, Jiang Yao feasted greedily, swallowing mouthfuls that brought Doug not pain but waves of pleasure.

Afraid of draining the injured man, Jiang Yao pulled back, licking his crimson-stained lips, high on the feed.

The sight of his own blood on Jiang Yao drove Doug wild. He flipped their positions, claiming Jiang Yao’s mouth.

Panting, Jiang Yao lay boneless on the couch, the air thick with lingering musk. He sniffed—filthy.

Savoring the taste, he ran his tongue over his fangs and groaned.

Doug: "My turn to eat."

Jiang Yao glanced down. Hazy with lust, the glaring numbers above Doug’s head taunted him. He smirked, indulging in the haze between intoxication and lucidity.

Not enough. His hypersensitive body craved a thousandfold more.

The thought ignited a fire in him, a wildfire under his skin. He fell back, staring blankly at the ceiling.

*Too much!*

The more he was… the more feverish he grew. At the peak, his legs locked around Doug like a vise.

Doug spread Jiang Yao’s thighs.

Twined around him, sinuous, Jiang Yao robbed Doug of reason. Pinned against the bed frame, Doug resembled the wolf Jiang Yao often saw—a beast in human skin. But only Doug knew: once tangled with Jiang Yao, even he couldn’t escape.

Jiang Yao gritted his teeth, letting out stifled, restless pleas before being turned around by the shoulders, his head resting on Doug's shoulder. His scorching breath burned against Doug's ear, setting his core ablaze layer by layer.

Doug felt like he was going insane. It was the first time he had shown such exaggerated patience in foreplay. Not that he didn't want to hurry, but his warped sense of amusement longed to savor the sight of the man beneath him consumed by desire—pitifully adorable.

Fucking obscene.

Freeing one hand, Doug brushed it over Jiang Yao's forehead, pushing aside his sweat-drenched bangs. Jiang Yao lifted his head in response, tilting his chin up, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Don't touch me," Jiang Yao's sweat-slicked threat came out.

Doug: "You're fucking pathetic."

"I am pathetic, and you're just a toy for release," Jiang Yao retorted, swallowing hard as sweat beaded down his forehead, tracing his nose bridge and chin before dripping past his Adam's apple and soaking the front of his backless tank top.

Soaked through.

Doug couldn't hold back any longer. He clamped a hand over Jiang Yao's mouth, their lips grazing but not claiming. "FUCK!"

Jiang Yao's tongue flicked out several times, retreating each time, his flickering tongue a silent indictment of Doug's teasing.

"Let's move to the bed, okay?" Doug nuzzled Jiang Yao's nose, whispering the question.

Like hell there was any choice—in this state, Jiang Yao would agree to anything for relief!