[ he'd already known the answer to his own question, but he's not exactly prepared for the one dorian asks in return, abruptly aware of the placement of his hands even as he tilts his head back to look at him. why is it so easy to nearly lose himself when he's with someone else? or, more specifically, when he's with him? other people don't interest him nearly as much. ]

It reminds me that you're alive, [ he settles on after a few moments, smoothing his thumb over dorian's wrist before freeing his hand. rather than skirt away from the topic, he feels the need to elaborate. ] Not that you aren't. I can hear your heart beating without even thinking about it. It's more – I don't know. A conscious effort to keep my teeth where they should be and not take what isn't mine.

[ which is a different sort of reminder, always aware of that primal instinct to bite and claim but desperate to prove that he has control over something he never wanted in the first place. ]