I Do Not Own Vampire Knight (Damn It!)

A/N Thank You To My Wonderful Beta Loveless Raine!

Let's GO!

Chapter Four

Secrets and Temptations

"I've never seen anything like it."

Seiren laughed harshly in the response to Toga's statement. "You didn't see it tonight either."

"My point exactly."

"Fascinating though."

All eyes turned to Cross who was staring into the fireplace where flames were popping merrily in contrast to their mood. His eyes were speculative, his scholar's brain working overtime.

The eleven of them were sprawled in different positions around the Kuran's solar study, a large airy room with ceiling to floor windows that led into their bedroom proper. They'd convened there for first aid after seeing everyone safely from the building of the King's headquarters. It was an intimate meeting of their closest confidantes, the atmosphere of the room comfortable as they discussed the new problem that had risen from the depths of secure negligence.

"We have to find out what it is and destroy it."

Now everyone's attention was on Kaname, who paced before a cream colored settee. Zero was curled on the couch, his head nestled on the sumptuous cushions. His eyes followed his mate, discontent coloring his face. Kaname stared right back. He made sure that his paces measured the length of Zero's distance on the couch so that he always stood in front of the silverette, not giving him a chance to move. Or escape. Since the incident he'd made sure Zero was in his direct line of sight at all times, the earlier scare prompting all of his territorial instincts. His inky eyes hadn't left Zero once. His aura was tightly contained, further evidence of his fury.

But it was the same for everyone in the room. Yuki lay between Ichijo's knees cradled against his chest, the mound of her belly seeming to take up all the space in front of them. A snippet of her hair was missing. A clean cut that had clearly been meant to take her head. Ichijo's hand's caressed the skin protecting his child, his eyes almost black with fury. It was the first time that Zero had actually seen the noble express anything but cheerful, playful amiability and maybe some irritation. Aidou sat behind the armchair that Ichiru occupied, his eyes hard sapphires. Those eyes seemed to be trying to bore holes in Ichiru's back. Blood stained the noble's shirt where an intangible blade had sliced through his arm. Angered tension flowed off of him as Ichiru attempted to ignore him. From the way the silverette didn't relax against the padded seat told Zero he wasn't succeeding in this endeavor. Kain was the only one who seem moderately calm, as none of the projectiles had threatened him or Ruka.

"How are we going to destroy it?" Seiren asked dryly. "It almost handed all of us our asses tonight. The only reason it stopped was because Zero showed up."

"Yes, it didn't seem intent on killing him like the rest of us," Cross mused. "I wonder why?"

Now everyone was looking at him curiously and he couldn't stand it. Zero shifted on the couch, his chest aching where the invisible blade had penetrated him. The wound was healing, but slowly and he resisted the urge to press a hand against it as his King's eyes traveled over it once again.

Kaname's eyes turned to Aaron for a split second. "I told you to keep him out of harms way."

Aaron shrugged. "Our president isn't good at taking orders."

The full force of Kaname's angry look fell on Zero again. "I know this well," Kaname murmured and his mate shivered at the underlying tone of rage that was still evident in his voice. Zero forced the uneasiness away. It was he who should be outraged. What, with the way his mate had been acting lately and…he glared at Aaron. Why in the hell was his subordinate taking orders from Kaname anyway? He hated not knowing what was going on in his world.

"So what now, Kaname-sama?" Seiren asked straightforwardly.

"Now, we follow the whisper of the rumors. I would definitely say it had to be someone at the tribute. We'll investigate every one who was there. We need to figure out a motive. We narrow it down to who has the most to gain from my death. And we have to find out what in the hell attacked us tonight." He rubbed at his chest. "Whatever it is, is very detrimental to our health. I still haven't healed completely."

Zero stared at Kaname as if he'd suddenly grown snakes for hair. "The rumors?" He suddenly felt lightheaded. "You knew about this? You knew someone was going to try and kill you tonight?" He was numb, his emotions buried under incredulousness. That Kaname would keep something of this magnitude from him floored him. "You deliberately put yourself in harm's way tonight?" His eyes flickered around the room, searching the knowing faces and not liking what he found. "And all of you knew about it?"

"Kaname-sama asked us not to tell you," Ichiru spoke up. "He knew it would just stress you out more than you've been lately." He looked down at his hands, unable to look his brother in the eyes.

Zero stood slowly, the betrayal seeping through him like an infected wound. He was cold, and his whole body ached. His glance at Kaname was vicious, feral almost. "I'm going to take a shower. If I don't see any of you for a couple of days that will be just fine." His voice was subdued, quiet as though an orchestra of rage wasn't shrieking through him. Everyone but Kaname winced. His mate refused to move from his path, a resolution deeper than his anger emanating from him. Kaname didn't avert his gaze as he spoke to the rest of the room.

"We'll adjourn for tonight. I would like everyone to make plans to stay here for the foreseeable future. I wasn't the only one targeted tonight. I want all of you safe."

Though it more polite than Zero's earlier dismissal, it was still a dismissal.

Aidou was the first to react, rising and grabbing Ichiru's arm, forcing him from the chair, curtailing his attempt to approach his brother. The silverette glared up at him as he was dragged from the room. He risked a quick glance back as he was forcibly removed from the room, his last sight Kaname and Zero facing each other down as though across a battlefield. It wasn't until they were two hallways away that he gained his bearings. He slapped Aidou's hand then growled low in his throat when the blonde's hold wasn't affected at all.

"Why did you do that?" He all but shouted as he dragged his feet, attempting to stop his headlong progress. "I wanted to-"

"That's not your business." Aidou snapped. His cobalt eyes gleamed as he opened the door to his rooms and thrust Ichiru inside. "And you have other things to focus on."

Like me.

It was unspoken, but crystal clear as Aidou blocked his avenue of escape. His concern for his brother turned into concern for himself. Aidou stood with his arms at his sides, seemingly calm. But he was anything but. The tension reached out and wrapped around Ichiru in a strangle hold of tangible threads of annoyance and want. No, not want, need. Holding Ichiru's gaze, Aidou let him see into turbulent depths, showing him the deep visceral necessity of him. He shivered as he felt that need answered in his bones,his side of the connection responding, opening a little further. This was what deepened every time he drank from the noble. This extreme need to let the noble do as he wanted. To hand over the keys to his soul to the only person who knew how to unlock his door. It tripped him up, threw him aback as he struggled against his own cravings. But the golden, shining presence that was Aidou wouldn't let him retreat. His bright aura swirled around the room, touching upon him, warming him.

He trembled and stepped away, moving deeper into the room, furthering Aidou's obvious goal. But he couldn't help it. He had to distance himself from the sun that was burning him, threatening the very planes of his existence. The past image of Aidou, small and weak compared to what he was now assaulted his memory. The remembrance of the first time he'd drunk from the noble. His blue gaze had glittered the same then, hot even though the core of his burned like hot ice.

"You seem very skittish tonight." Aidou remarked idly, his feet covering the distance that Ichiru tried to put between them. "Though I can't blame you with the attack and all. You're still bleeding."

The abrupt change of subject threw Ichiru off and he instinctively glanced down at the wound across his collarbone that had quite healed yet. When he looked up again, Aidou was standing directly in front of him. He jumped and cursed the noble under his breath for moving so quickly. Aidou smiled and it was wicked, causing tingles to sweep up his skin. He wanted to move back again, but didn't want to show any signs of weakness. It was his undoing.

"I don't care what you say, you have to drink tonight."

And that wasn't all the blonde haired behemoth intended. It was writ across the smirk that drew the corner of his mouth up. He pulled his collar away, revealing the strong, elegant lines of his neck. "I thought we'd try something a little different tonight."

Ichiru trembled, the hot, clean smell of Aidou sweeping across his senses. Too late, he realized, he should have taken the obvious exit granted. Now Aidou crowded him, cutting off all of the routes he would have used. "You're bleeding too." He stated the obvious, hoping it would deter Aidou a little. No such thing. The blonde chuckled, removing his shirt completely, tossing it aside so that it draped over the dark couch.

"I wouldn't worry about that."

Ichiru paused, his mouth dry as sand heated by the sun. He was immediately arrested by the sight of Aidou's nakedness from the waist up, his skin smooth and golden, covering a sleek physique of muscular contours that made him want to kneel and offer himself up like as a feast. He swallowed roughly, praying to any God up there that Aidou could be distracted from his present course. The long slash on his arm bled sluggishly and the sight of it drew the silverette's attention to how good the blood smelled. Like a feast of Valhalla should smell.

And now he was hungry.

His tongue brushed his ultra sensitive fangs and he stifled the curse that wanted to escape. If he was going to get away from the blonde it had to be now.

"So what are you worrying about?" He was trying to stall.

"Did you enjoy yourself with the ladies tonight?"

Aidou was almost touching him, only a breath from making full contact, his scent of hot sunshine sinking deep into Ichiru's pores. Panic flooded through the silverette. He knew that if he didn't stop Aidou now, he would end up just like Zero.

"Aidou-"

"Hanabusa, or for you just Hana."

"I'm not drinking tonight. I'm not hungry."

"Do you think you can hide it from me? Your hunger?" Aidou tilted his head to the side, an offering that he would have been hard pressed not to accept if Zero's words weren't still streaming through his mind.

When he's pushed, he'll do what it takes to claim you.

He wondered what had pushed the blonde tonight, the women or the attack. He wasn't going to take his time asking. Aidou reached for him, a large broad palm sweeping up his throat, touching the sensitive skin. Using the element of surprise, ignoring all the instincts inside him compelling him to respond to the touch, he stepped to the side, using all of his vampire speed to hurtle past his donor, towards the door. It loomed just before him, the short distance seeming like a million miles.

Almost there!

His hand touched the doorknob just as Hanabusa's hand slammed down on the jamb. A thin coating of ice sheeted down the door and his hopes sank, when he realized the door wouldn't budge. He attempted to turn away but only managed to run into Hana's shoulder as the noble wrapped one arm around him. He jerked when Hanabusa's fingers splayed across his stomach, the heat of his palm seeping through his shirt. He froze, as if Aidou's ice encompassed him instead of the door, heated forks of sensation shooting through his limbs. He drew in deep breaths. He'd always avoided being this close to Hanabusa, preferring to drink from his wrists, distancing himself from the encroaching feelings that threatened whenever he touched the noble. But now the nearness slapped him full in the face and the what he was feeling was definitely not fright or disgust. Full on lust claimed him and his body hardened, responded to the proximity. He felt his eyes slide shut as his body delighted in the nearness against his will. His response sizzled through his blood and he knew that Hanabusa could feel it because his was the same.

"I love it when you try to run," Hana whispered in his ear, his voice deep and rumbling. "Chasing you has become one of my most favorite pastimes. If I could, I would let you go just so that I could hunt you down again."

"You really should let me go." Ichiru cringed, his statement sounded like a plea and maybe it was. Aidou's blistering heat was causing his blood to boil with fevered calamity. Every inch of him felt like it was burning. Even the cold door in front of him wasn't enough to break the fever.

"I need you."

He shivered as Hanabusa wrapped a hand around his chin, tilted his head back and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. The shock of it reverberated through him. It was soft, barely there but it seared his skin like lava. He clenched his teeth, tugging at the strong fingers that held him captive.

"Aidou, please don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Aidou's voice held a light, mocking curiosity. "Don't break down the barriers that you put up between us? Don't touch you? It's not possible. I'm at my breaking point. And I told you it's Hana."

"I'll find another donor."

He instantly regretted the threat when an emotion he'd never felt from the gregarious noble before rose from his skin. It was dark, and murderous. He felt ice cool Aidou's skin as he drew him back fully against his hard body. His mouth trailed up the sleek tendons of Ichiru's throat to his ear.

"Try it," He warned. "Hopefully it's no one Kaname really needs."

A hard jolt of desire shook him as teeth nibbled at his ear lobe. He began to struggle then, a last resort as the walls he'd erected began to tumble. He felt that pulsing connection between them widen and become stronger. And Hana hadn't even drunk from him yet! He feared how strong the connection would be if he ever allowed Hana to complete it but even that thought wasn't enough to still his attraction. The smooth heat of Aidou's mouth consumed his reluctance. "Damn you!"

Hana chuckled and tugged harder on his soft flesh. "The same old stubborn Ichiru. When are you going to realize the fight is hopeless and just give in?"

"Like I would willingly give up my freedom!"

Hana paused and held him even tighter, the cage of his arms belying his next words. "Give up your freedom? I don't recall threatening to lock you away."

"It would be the same thing! Look at Kaname and Zero! I mean my brother can't take a piss without Kaname knowing about it."

Hana began to laugh outright, the sound rich and velvet, vibrating against his body. It stroked over all his erogenous zones so that he was too dazed and distracted to realize when Hana began to move. He tumbled Ichiru onto a low couch and made himself comfortable next to him, still cracking up. Ichiru stared at him, lavender eyes wide in surprise. He looked so carefree, his long blonde hair seething around his shoulders, his face lit from the laughter, muscles bunching and releasing. It made him want to reach out and touch him and because the yearn to do so was so strong he didn't. His eyes darted to the door as he wondered how far he would get.

Hanabusa sobered abruptly, attuned to his every mood. "You can try if you like."

"See?" Ichiru grumbled glaring at him. "No freedom."

Hana just smiled back at him. "You can have all the freedom you want as long as you're not using it to get away from me. And since it seems to bother you so much I'll grant you a short reprieve."

Ichiru sighed in relief and started to swing his legs from the couch and then cried out in shock when Hanabusa's hand curled around his nape yanking him back so that their faces were breaths apart. "A reprieve from the bond, not me."

And now he was confused. "Isn't it the same?" He asked hesitantly, conscious of Hana's mouth so near his.

"No, it's not the same," Hana snapped, a little of his earlier agitation returning with having what he wanted so close, yet still unattainable. "You'll stay here. We'll get to know each other and when you're ready, I'll let you bond me."

"Stay here?! Let me bond you!" Ichiru spluttered in disbelief. "I'll never- Hey!"

He jerked as Hanabusa closed the distance between them. But he didn't kiss him, oh no that would have been too easy. Instead the disgruntled noble leaned in a raked the tip of a sharp fang across his throat, opening a smaller but no less devastating wound. He whimpered as a hot tongue stroked up the tiny bead of blood, the connection between them shuddering as it tried to grow. He growled as Hana drew back, his eyes glowing scarlet now.

"You taste even better than I imagined."

He gulped, the words of reproof dying before they left his mouth as he met Hanabusa's eyes. Only a thin ring of blue showed through the red and the once again the need was apparent. He shivered as he watched the beast fill those eyes. He couldn't find it in himself to look away. Slowly, so slow as if Hana was making sure that he didn't miss a movement, his tongue slicked across his lips, his expression changing to one of hunger. His lids slid lower and his aura undulated around them in soft waves. Caressing waves. Hanabusa still held him and his hand crept under the silver silk of his hair and clenched in the strands so he couldn't back away.

"Wait, Hana." He pressed a hand to Hanabusa's chest and instantly became mesmerized with the heartbeat that thumped under his hand, racing with excitement. It was so strong, and vital. It captured him as surely as Hana's mouth did a second later. The first touch was exploratory, that tempting mouth sweeping back and forth across his, learning the curves and textures as Hana tilted his head to better align their lips. Then the kiss firmed, lips sealing his as that same hot tongue probed, took over his mouth in a move that would have been envied by the corporate world. Heat suffused Ichiru's cheeks as the hot, honeyed flavor of Hana filled him, so contrary to the ice that flowed in Hanabusa's veins. It was gentler than he expected, the seduction more patient that the emotions that'd flashed in Hana's eyes.

Because he thinks I'm his already!

Well, aren't you?

And then he wasn't thinking anymore as the soft rasp of Hanabusa's tongue stroked every contour, every corner, every sensitive inch of his mouth, curling playfully with his own in a dance as old as time itself. Ichiru could only gasp, escape forgotten as Hana nibbled on his tongue and then sucked it into his mouth to sooth the aching pleasure. The feelings it caused, the sensations that traveled up every nerve ending shocked him and his body flared to fevered, tempestuous life. He wriggled backwards trying to detach the instrument of torture before he gave into something he wasn't ready for. Before he asked the noble to bite him and see what all the fuss was about. But Hana wasn't letting go. He pressed his mouth down even harder, sealing them together the kiss becoming voracious as he attempted to devour his mate. It only made the shuddering bond between them quake even worse as it sought a firmer hold on both of them without the proper feeding and bedding. It was painful as it tried to expand inside of him, trying to link them together, his arousal rising between their bodies. To his complete amazement he found himself opening for that ravaging kiss, his sensibility taking the back burner for once. It felt so good to have Hanabusa's mouth on his, almost but not quite relieving the ache that throbbed deep in his bones. And Hanabusa took advantage pressing even deeper, nipping at the tender verge of his mouth, eating the soft, panting sensual sounds he couldn't stop himself from making.

It was Hanabusa who pulled back, cursing, the kiss ending as abruptly as it'd started, heated rigidity making his shoulders seem larger. They stared at each other, their breaths harsh in the quiet room. Hana's narrowed eyes searched his wide, dazed ones before he reached up and stroked his thumb across Ichiru's swollen lips. And Ichiru couldn't help himself. He let his tongue flick across the silky pad, stealing another taste of the noble. Hanabusa released him so quickly he almost fell forward onto his face.

"Be careful how you tempt me," He warned. "Or you'll find yourself bonded sooner than you're prepared for."

"Tempt you? You're the one who kissed me!" He flinched at how weak his voice sounded.

Hanabusa stood as if he were trying to put more space between them. "How could I not with those hot lavender eyes begging me to? Maybe Kaname is right in his approach. You're too fucking tempting let out of the house."

Hanabusa was walking away before he could come up with a smart ass comeback, pulling the band that contained his hair free as he headed for the bedroom. "Make yourself at home, I'll have your things moved here tomorrow."

Ichiru watched, dazed and quivering, as Hanabusa left the room, unconcerned with leaving him alone, the strands of his hair flowing over his wide shoulders and down his back in golden rivulets. His long legged stride was relaxed, the curves of his ass flexing with every step. The picture it left in his mind was undeniably sexy. And scary. He touched the throbbing skin of his neck and snatched his hand away as the warmth of the scratch burned his fingers. His entire body burned the same way. After only one 'd even forgotten about his bloodlust. He could only imagine what two kisses would do. And now he understood what Zero had been trying to tell him all of these years, trying to explain why he couldn't escape Kaname. He understood it now. How you could let someone's will impose on your own, when someone's aura, heart and body felt so good to you that you would let them get away with doing whatever they wanted.

Shit!

The first thing he tried to do was escape, pulling on the door and windows, cursing when none of them yielded. All of them were coated in thin sheets of ice. When had Hana done that? And when had he become so powerful? Defeated, he sat on the couch, facing the door that Hana had disappeared through, swearing to himself to keep a vigilant watch just in case the arrogant noble tried anything further.

Fearing that he just might let him if he did.

HxI

Well I must say, I'm enjoying writing this couple…..LOL. I hope you enjoy it as much!

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