Lover Dearest (Ziam Vampire AU)

Chapter 9

Liam."

Liam grunts and rolls over, swatting blindly at nothing. "No."

"Liam."

No. He wants to keep sleeping. See, he's having this lovely dream, and he doesn't want it interrupted. It's perfect, wonderful, and he wants to live here, in this dreamland, where Zayn smiles at him, no fangs in sight. They're in the backyard, the sun beating hotly down on them. Harry and Niall are in the distance, kicking a ball around, laughing loud enough that it reaches them. But Liam's too distracted by Zayn's lips on his neck, light and wet and perfect, and he's running his hands through Zayn's hair, laughing when Zayn yelps because Liam's fingers got caught in a tangle and he pulled just a bit too hard.

But someone's shaking his shoulder, and the dream shatters. Liam sits up, glaring. Zayn looks down at him, a soft look on his face that Liam really doesn't want to see right now. "My door was locked for a reason," Liam says. "Get out."

Zayn looks almost self-conscious as he frowns down at Liam. "Let me at least talk to you, please."

"What's there to talk about?" Liam asks, aware that he sounds like a petulant child, but he really doesn't care one bit.

"Everything," Zayn sighs. He pulls back the blankets and gets in bed with Liam, not waiting for an invitation (not that he would have ever got one). "Can't I at least explain?"

"An explanation doesn't change what happened," Liam says.

Zayn sighs, rolling over, straddling Liam's hips without warning. Liam almost gasps in surprise, but Zayn's not done yet. He grabs both of Liam's wrists in one of his hands, pushing them up until his knuckles are brushing the headboard. Zayn leans down on them, not enough to hurt, just enough to show Liam how truly trapped he is right now.

"I don't want to hurt you," Zayn says. "I don't ever want to hurt you. I need you to understand that."

Liam can't think. His head is swimming, and, god, he's so fucked up. Liam is so fucked up, because he should be scared right now, especially after what happened yesterday. Instead a shocking thrill goes through him at the way Zayn easily pins him down, at the way his imagination races, picturing how many different things could happen in this position. If he just twisted his hips a little, maybe, and...

"Liam," Zayn snaps. "Focus."

"Sorry," Liam mumbles.

"It's fine," Zayn says. "Just — think about it. If I wanted to hurt you right now, could I?"

Well, yeah. "Obviously. I'm fucking trapped underneath you."

"Don't," Zayn says, eyebrows furrowed. "That word looks terrible coming out of your mouth."

"Fucking," Liam says again. "Fucking, fucking, fucking—"

Zayn leans in, lips at Liam's ear. "You wanna keep going, babe? Because I could sit here all day, just like this."

Liam shuts his mouth with a clack of his teeth, refusing to shiver at those words. He can't, not when Zayn would feel it. "Fine. Say what you have to say then get off me."

Zayn sighs at him once more. "Liam, I'm making a point here, yeah? Think about it. If I wanted to right now, I could kill you. I could do it without breaking a sweat. I could tear your throat out with my teeth. I could dig my nails into your chest and pull out your heart while it struggles to keep beating. I could sink my fangs into you and drain you until there's nothing left and you're long gone."

Liam struggles against Zayn's grip on his wrists. "Why would you— why would you say—"

"That last one," Zayn cuts him off, "you don't realize how tempting that one is. All the time. You've no idea, Liam, how fucking good you taste, you really don't."

"You're fucked up," Liam realizes. How he's managed to miss this crucial character flaw in Zayn, he has no idea. "What is wrong with you?"

"A lot of things," Zayn admits. "But that's not the point. The point is that I could kill you, so easily. You get that?"

"I get that," Liam spits. "I'm really freaking aware of it, all the time."

"Good." Zayn still doesn't let him go. "But I haven't, Liam." The teasing, slightly annoyed look on his face is gone. "I haven't. I've never intentionally hurt you. I can't. I need you to understand that. You're the most breakable thing I've ever had and I'm so careful with you because it kills me to think of ever hurting you."

"Last night—"

"Last night was a mistake," Zayn says. "I get caught up in Louis all the time. It's not an excuse, I'm not trying to make it one, but he's been talking me into stupid things for years. And I shouldn't have come home like that, I know I shouldn't have. There's a reason vampires can't get drunk. We lose our self control. It's dangerous for everyone involved. But Lou found a way around it years ago, and I shouldn't have come home like that. I just didn't think, Liam. I didn't think you'd be in danger by me coming home like that because it's honestly unfathomable in my mind, the prospect of me ever hurting you."

Liam looks away from him. "I've never been genuinely afraid of you before yesterday."

"Idiot," Zayn say. "You should always be afraid of me."

"But you just said you'd never hurt me," Liam reminds him. "So then—"

"But I can," Zayn says. "You need a better sense of self, Liam. It's concerning that you really don't realize just how freaking dangerous we all are to you. Last night proved that. One little mistake and you could have died because of it."

"I don't understand what I'm supposed to get from this conversation," Liam says quietly. "You're trying to convince me you'd never hurt me, while at the same time telling me to be afraid of you. I don't understand."

Zayn releases Liam's wrists but doesn't get off him. "I know. I don't really know what I'm trying to do here, either. All I know is I can't stand you thinking I'd ever want to hurt you, but I also can't deal with you not realizing how fucking vulnerable you are."

"I'm aware of it," Liam tells him. "I'm aware of it, Zayn. I've been aware of it every single day that I've been here. But I trust you all, is the thing."

"First rule, babe," Zayn says, leaning down. His lips slide over Liam's jaw, barely there, just a soft pressure, fleeting and gone as soon as it came. "Never trust a vampire."

He's grinning as he climbs off Liam, heading for the door. Liam watches him go, thinking wrong. The first rule should be to not fall in love with one.

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