Ryan stopped drinking right away.
He also pulled out the transfusion needle from his left hand.
"Take off your clothes," Ryan commanded Aiden while he rubbed away the tiny opening at the back of his hand.
Aiden was visibly confused by the sudden change of mood.
"... Pardon me?" he asked while pressing a hand against the bitemark on his neck and staring at Ryan in bewilderment.
Ryan tugged at Aiden's long-sleeved shirt.
"Take off your clothes, now."
The authoritative tone in Ryan's voice tolerated no defiance. Although Aiden did not feel comfortable undressing himself in Ryan's ward, he still took off his clothes under his lover's watchful eyes.
Naked and shameful, Aiden straddled Ryan's legs as the latter ran his hands across Aiden's body.
As Ryan poked against various spots of Aiden's bruises, the knit on his forehead deepened with every touch.
"Does it hurt?" he kept asking as he poked and pinched at various bluish and purplish spots.
