FLIRTING WITH DANGER (ASHTON)

Flirting with Danger

It had been a while since Danny had really let loose. He and Lisa had spent a few hours dancing together at Amaranth and it felt good to finally take a night off writing papers for what felt like the first time in weeks. They had both had a few shots and he had somehow lost his shirt, but he didn’t mind. As the night went on, he watched Lisa go off to flirt with an attractive bartender and glanced around the dance floor for someone of his own, his body moving to the thumping beat of the music.

As he surveyed the club, he felt a light tap on his shoulder and quickly spun around to see a familiar smirk and a fringe of mauve hair that he recognised as belonging to Val, one of Addison’s new friends that he had met outside the club earlier that evening. His eyes were drawn to the young man’s muscular arms that were shown off by a sleeveless shirt, then up to the star tattoos adorning his neck, and finally to his eyes, which Danny noticed seemed to be a dark shade of crimson. He suddenly became very aware of his heart pounding in his chest as Val spoke.

“Dance with me,” he instructed, his voice somehow perfectly clear amongst the music and surrounding dancers’ conversations. Danny stared at him for a moment, imagining those arms wrapped around him and that strong voice in his ear…

“I’d love to!” he replied, barely missing a beat. He took a few confident steps towards Val, draping his arms around his neck as Val wrapped his around Danny’s waist. Despite being in a packed nightclub, Val’s hands were cool against his skin and everything other than him seemed to fade from Danny’s view. Their bodies moved together fluidly as the rest of the world disappeared and he grew more and more mesmerised by Val’s eyes.

Val’s face moved closer to his and their cheeks rested together, Danny’s eyes falling half shut at the sound of his voice. “Gorgeous and an amazing dancer?” He gave a throaty chuckle. “I may be in love.”

“Careful…” Danny teased, “we barely know each other.”

“I want to get to know you, Danny,” Val replied, moving his head back into Danny’s view, capturing his gaze again. “Addison told me much about you, but her stories did not capture how truly fascinating you are… and how attractive,” he added, his eyes flickering down momentarily to Danny’s neck. Danny shuddered as a shiver ran through him. “Would you like to come up to the balcony with me?” Val asked, pulling Danny harder against him, their chests pressed together. “It’s a much more… intimate setting. Better for conversation.”

“Yes,” Danny gasped before he even had a chance to consider Val’s offer. Not that he would have come to a different answer had he thought harder about the idea. “Just for conversation, huh?”

Val’s smirk returned. “Let’s just say I adore your lack of clothes.” He ran a hand down Danny’s chest, his fingertips leaving a cold trail in their wake. “And I’d just love to take a closer look at your neck.”

A little confused, but deciding to play along, Danny pushed his hips harder against Val’s. “Are you sure my neck is the only thing you wanna see up close?”

Grinning, Val curled his fingers around Danny’s arm and began to lead him towards a staircase across the room. “Come on, then.”

The staircase led up to a second floor, and they stepped through a doorway which opened onto a small balcony, and Danny sighed as the cool night air washed over him. The music faded to a soft pulse as Val shut the doors behind them, leaving them alone, away from the scrutiny of any other dancers who happened to also make their way to the second floor. Within seconds he had pulled Danny back into his arms and Danny pressed their lips together. He felt Val’s lips curve into a smile and the kiss quickly turned passionate, their hands roughly exploring each other’s bodies.

“Ah!” Danny suddenly pulled his head back, having pricked his tongue on something sharp. “Fuck,” he muttered, his mouth filling with the taste of blood.

“I’m sorry, my bad,” Val said, his eyes alight and clearly no remorse in his expression to support his words.

“What was that?” Danny asked, frowning. Val moved his mouth back to the side of Danny’s mouth, slowly kissing across his jaw and down to his neck. “Val?”

He sighed, drawing back, but keeping his arms around Danny, who gave a short glance at the closed balcony doors. “You taste good,” Val breathed, somehow pulling him even closer.

“Val…?” Danny repeated, hesitantly. “What’s going… Oh!” His eyes widened as Val grinned, exposing a sharp set of fangs. “You’re… You’re a vampire?” A hand behind Danny’s head, Val gripped his hair, tilting his head and running his thumb over the exposed skin. “That makes sense…” He swallowed, Val’s eyes capturing every movement. “Are you going to bite me?”

“Yes,” came the simple reply, Val’s voice rough as he dipped his head back down towards Danny’s neck. “Mmm, I can hear your heart pounding, the blood running through your veins… Are you scared, Danny?”

Danny took a deep breath, feeling Val’s breath tickle his skin. “No.”

“I don’t believe you.” He could practically hear Val’s smirk now. “This will hurt.”

“Bring it on,” Danny countered, confidently, and Val paused, his eyes flicking back up to meet Danny’s.

“You want this?” he asked, and Danny gave a small shrug. “Well that’s no fun…”

Danny let his arms wind around Val’s back, bringing their bodies closer still. “Isn’t it?” It was his turn to smirk.

“You’re impressive, Danny.” Val looked back at the sensitive skin just centimetres below his fangs. “I might just enjoy this.”

Danny closed his eyes as Val pressed his fangs against his neck, feeling the pressure of the points against his skin. As they broke through, he gasped at the flash of pain, clutching tightly at Val’s shirt. Val’s hand around the back of his neck held his head firmly in place as Danny groaned, his breaths deep. Over the next minute or so, he slowly relaxed his grip and let his hands slip down to Val’s lower back, starting to feel a little lightheaded. When Val finally released Danny’s neck from his hand and teeth, his head fell against Val’s shoulder, and he let the vampire hold him up.

“Your blood is delicious,” Val marvelled, turning his head to lick at the blood that was still leaking lightly from the punctures in Danny’s neck. “I’ll have to keep you on tap.”

“Literally,” Danny muttered, slowly lifting his head and bringing up a hand to touch his neck. He winced slightly at the sting, but smiled lazily. “You look… rejuvenated.”

“You don’t,” Val smirked. “You’re probably going to pass out.”

Danny shook his head, trying to ignore the way the movement made him a little dizzy. “I’ll be fine. Now, do you wanna go dance more, or would you rather we go somewhere even more intimate?”

“Let me know how that works out,” Val shrugged, loosening his hold on Danny, who frowned.

“You’re just going to leave me now?”

Val gave a short laugh. “I’ve taken all I need.”

Danny pulled away from Val, irritated. “Fine.” He stumbled over to the balcony doors, but collapsed heavily against them, his head spinning. Through the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, he heard Val sigh, before a strong arm wound around his waist, holding him up.

“Come on, I’ll help you home,” he offered, pulling the doors open and supporting Danny back down the stairs. “But you owe me,” he added as they slipped out of the club. “Not that I could resist coming back to you…”