The sweetness of the kiss helped immediately. Laurent's eyes closed, relaxing into the kiss and letting Damen lead him. His arms curled fully around Damen's shoulders, wanting to remain close to him.

Nodding warily at the question, Laurent slid off of his lap, settling back onto his elbows. He watched Damen through hooded eyes, immediately nervous and tense again and trying desperately to fight off the nerves. He hated being on unknown terrain, of being vulnerable and not in immediate control of any situation, and it was a struggle to yield to Damen, when their past encounters had often ended poorly.