The Darkest Star

Ch. 17 A trusted friend

Salem was so stupid.

He knew that this would eventually happen, maybe not so soon but it would have. Not only that but Azrael had made it painfully clear that he was straight. Salem knew that. So why did he feel like the one thing he'd wanted most in the world had just been taken from him? Azrael wasn't his, would never have been. The male's straight. He needed to talk to someone and there was only one person who he felt comfortable talking about this with.

Salem knocked lightly on the door while looking down the hall. The Theta had a room on the second floor and had only recently moved in from his parents house in town.

"Salem."

Salem looked up at the male who smiled brightly down at him. He tried for a smile of his own but it was weak and the male could tell something was bothering him. Before he knew it, he was being hugged and pulled into the room, the door clicking shut behind them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Salem nodded against Xzavier's chest, wrapping his arms around the male's waist to return the hug. "Okay, sit here." Xzavier sat him on the edge of the bed and Salem watched the male pick up clothes off the floor and toss them in his closet. "Sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

"It's fine. Were you busy?" Salem glanced over at his desk where the three monitors were turned on. The male could do anything as long as he had a computer. It's how he and Melisande learned that the Council had reason to be worried about a male who people called the Russian.

"No, I was just doing some freelance work, nothing serious." Xzavier sat down on his bed, his back against the headboard. Salem kicked off his shoes before crawling up towards him and sitting with his feet tucked under him. "No Mel today? I guess you want to talk about a certain male." Salem's face burned.

Was it that obvious? Maybe he shouldn't say anything. Xzavier had been his first friend that he made himself and the only one he talked to about Azrael. It wasn't meant to be like that, but the male had confessed to Salem that he witnessed them kissing that one time at the arcade. Salem had been so scared that he'd tell someone that he started crying. Xzavier had hugged him and told him his secret was safe with him and if he needed to talk, he was all ears. Salem didn't feel comfortable talking to Melisande about her brother so he talked to Xzavier and the male never judged him. He was rethinking his choices now.

"Not that it's a bad thing! It's just whenever you're thinking about him, you get this faraway look in your eyes."

"Shut up. I do not." He groaned. Xzavier laughed and nodded for him to continue. "I just...how can you like someone that you don't want to like? It's so confusing. I told myself that it was just a stupid crush I had when I was young and naïve." Salem huffed and laid down, Xzavier scooting down so they were facing each other .

"Are you sure you can't just move on? You could have any male you want."

"You know I tried that, it just doesn't feel right." Salem had told his friend all about his times trying to forget Azrael by replacing him with another. Half the reason he was so comfortable telling him was because he was the only openly gay male Salem knew. The other half was because he trusted his friend.

"Maybe you're just purposely picking the wrong guy for the job." Xzavier offered with a smirked.

"What's the right kind of guy? Felix was the only one who got as far as my room, maybe I should try again with him."

"Or..." Xzavier dragged out, "You could take me up on my offer and we can have ourselves a good time." Salem rolled his eyes at his friend. The male had been trying to bed him for years now.

"Oh yeah? What would you do?" He played along, making his voice low and soft. Perhaps it was wrong of him to toy with his friend like this but the male fell right for it. 

"I can show you better than I can tell you."

Salem had come to talk and he'd never even thought of doing anything with Xzavier but what if he was right? What if Salem didn't try to hook up with some random but someone he trusted? Salem's mind was all over the place after hearing what the Alpha said so when Xzavier leaned in towards him, he didn't pull back.

Salem had kissed many males and Human men, some just for the fun of it and others to experiment. Xzavier was the type to dive straight in, to take what he wanted without waiting for permission. So when his tongue pressed past Salem's lips, he had no other choice but to return the kiss. He moved above him, pressing his smaller body into the bed with his hips. It didn't take Salem's body long to react, it usually didn't but he was still surprised when it did. It made him excited and more willing to find his release.

Xzavier pulled back and gave a smug smirk before coaxing Salem out of his t-shirt as he straddled his thighs. The male's mouth traveled down his neck to his collarbone before latching onto his nipple making Salem gasp. His fingers brushed through the back of the male's thick hair as he showed the same attention to his other nipple.

Salem didn't let himself think, instead he let his mind focus on what he was feeling and not who was making him feel this way. He let his eyes shut and felt Xzavier move down, his tongue leaving a wet trail and dipping into his navel. Salem squirmed, trying to push his hips up but the male held him down. Before the male could get his jeans unbuttoned, a beeping sounded from the desk and Salem's eyes opened as Xzavier's head lifted.

He gave an apologetic smile before jumping up from the bed and doing something on one of the monitors. Salem let his head fall back against the pillows as the fog in his head cleared. He'd almost let his friend do...whatever it was he was going to do. Salem covered his face with his hands.

"You know that thing you and Mel wanted me to keep an eye on?" Xzavier sat down in his chair, his fingers flying over his keyboard. Salem got up and stood behind him, not really knowing what he was looking at. "The Council wants the Alpha to send someone to talk with a male by the name of Nikolai Volkov." Xzavier looked up at Salem who was biting down on his bottom lip.

"Mel will want to know this." Salem pointed at one of the screens. "Tell me what else it says."