All Roads Lead to Rome

Fanning the Fire

Antares closed the scrape with a sweep of his tongue and smiled roguishly. Romulus didn't give him time to change his mind and tilted Lyra's head back. Her pulse was racing but she had remained silent, knowing they needed to work that out.

"Trust me." Romulus murmured against her skin and felt her nod.

"Just do it already," she said hoarsely. Antares laughed delightedly as Romulus sank his fangs in. She moaned and sank back against Antares weakly as the pleasure coursed through her. He slid his hand down her body even as he held Romulus to her.

Fingers stroked and teased, ripping sobs from her throat. Then like a lightning strike, he bit down into Romulus' shoulder. The growl that rumbled from Romulus was answered only by a tightening of Antares' fingers in his hair. Lyra nuzzled Antares neck, burying her face in his scent. Even as the room began to fade, she held onto that.

When the door slammed open, Antares lifted his head with a snarl, teeth dripping blood. A tall figure filled the doorway.

"Get your teeth out of him, faery." the man standing in the doorway snapped. Antares growled in response. A familiar scent flitted for an instant over Romulus' senses. He pulled his fangs from Lyra's neck and sealed the wound. He started to pull back so he could check on her, then caught his breath on a hiss when Antares' fangs sank slowly and deliberately back into his shoulder.

"Remus, back off." He gritted out, struggling to push the desire back. It had been so long since Antares had been this possessive and he wanted to relish it. Now of all times is when his brother decides to visit. He hated siblings.

"It's Romanus now. He is close to killing you both, but I'm the one that should back off?" Romanus snapped incredulously.

"Close doesn't..." He bit back the groan when Antares' tongue caressed the skin under his mouth. His vision blurred as he struggled to push back the lust. "Dammit, you're challenging him..."

The man stalked over to the bed and started to just pull Antares off. He was startled when Lyra put a trembling hand on his arm.

"Don't." She pulled herself out from between them to defend them against this intruder. Yet, as soon as she wasn't being held up by the two of them, she collapsed. That gained the attention of everyone in the room and Antares pulled back with a horrified expression in his eyes. Romulus sank down briefly, weakness catching him.
"I did that," Antares whispered to himself, noting the bruising and pale skin. He turned to Romulus and a sound of pain escaped him like he'd been struck. He brushed his fingers lightly over the blood-streaked skin.

"Yes, you did, but you won't again. He's leaving." Romanus said firmly. Antares' eyes flashed blue and Romulus pushed back the weakness to stand. He pulled pants on and shoved Romanus back, anger fueling him.

"The hell I am." He snarled, dark eyes fierce. "What the fuck do you think you were doing, just pushing your way into my bedroom?"

"I wanted to check to see if you had come to your senses yet about this guy. Believe it or not, I do worry about my brother."

"I don't need you looking out for me, Remus." Romulus sneered and Romanus' deep blue eyes grew hot at the deliberate baiting. As the two argued back and forth, Antares ran his hands gently over Lyra. Her skin was cool and pale. He swallowed the guilt and worry. She had a pulse and she was breathing. Everything else, she could recover from.

"Wake up, my enchanting dancer." He said softly, threading fingers through her hair. Her eyes fluttered open and he cursed himself, seeing the fog there.

"You need my help." She said, pushing herself up. He eased her back against the headboard.

"You need to rest." He said. "I'll deal with this."