Chapter Ten

Dakata

He was furious, embarrassed, and had a crushing feeling in his chest that made it hard to catch his breath. His vision wavered, and as the destroyed room came back into view, he groaned in dismay at finding a very naked demon sitting on his chest. “Get the fuck off me.”

Merihem rose gracefully, despite his size. He offered him a hand, grinning like a damn fool at him. “Your distress call woke the whole of the demon realm and spoiled my night. So a thank you would be nice.”

Dakata batted the hand away and got up off the dirty floor. “Leave then,” he said in way of thanks, then groaned his frustration recalling just how close he’d gotten to touching Silas—and how much he’d wanted it. “Thank you,” he muttered crossly, remaining utterly conflicted at being restrained.

“Meaning it would sound better, but whatever.” Merihem glanced about and chuckled. “You really did a number on the place. Branson isn’t gonna be happy with you destroying his place.”

One sweeping glance at the mess, Dakata shrugged his huge shoulders. “I didn’t do most of this, the crowd running away did.”

“Again, you really did a number on the place.” Merihem picked up a chair, righting it. Then moved around, picking up the seats that weren’t damaged, righting tables while walking on broken glass, crushing it underfoot to sand.

Dakata’s dark brows pinched together. “Why are you doing that?”

“Because we aren’t leaving until you tell me what the fuck you are going to do about this Silas.”

Merihem didn’t stop what he was doing, making it easier on Dakata when he deflated faster than a balloon popping. “I’m not…” he breathed the air that held a lingering scent of the man who was more to him than he liked. “I don’t…” he paused, licking at his lips, and tried to put into words the utter crazy going on inside his head… his heart… his soul. Demons, many believed, didn’t have a soul, but they did. Right now, he wished he didn’t, but no one always got what they wanted, not even demons.

A blissful bond, he couldn’t deny it. They had a connection, man, and demon, to Silas.

At fucking last. Now go and find him.

No.

His demon roared inside his mind, and Dakata flinched in agony as he cupped his ears that rang with the loud decibels.

Merihem came from behind, powerful arms wrapped around him, and he hugged him tightly, his demon whispering inside Dakata’s mind to calm his beast. He couldn’t hear the words, but seconds later, his mind became silent.

He shuddered with the effort to keep upright when Merihem let him go. It was fucking exhausting trying to keep his human form.

“Thanks,” he rasped, finding it hard to talk.

Merihem looked way too serious when he moved in front of Dakata, something he tended not to be. “You need to find an accord with your demon. You are connected to Silas, I feel it. The strength of it… Fuck, despite the lack of physical touch, he’s put a whammy on you.” He held Dakata’s gaze, sympathy there for him to see making the situation all the more real. “He’s yours. Nothing is going to change that, not even death,” he said solemnly.

Rolling his shoulders like a boxer preparing to go into the ring, the tension riding through Dakata made finding a target to punch necessary because he needed to work through what he was feeling. Beating something to a pulp would help.

Merihem stepped back. “I know that look, and you aren’t taking your frustration out on me. So not happening.” His lips pursed, and then he clicked his massive digits, giving Dakata a smile that spelled trouble. “We’re gonna go to our realm and get Kishi to do his upper world location summoning. We’ll find the tree nymph and you can say sorry and…” he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger then poked a finger from his other hand into the hole, wiggling it back and forth obscenely, “do the deed. That should help you figure out your shit.”

“Such a fucking romantic asshole,” Dakata spluttered through his laughter. He couldn’t help it. The huge naked demon looked so damn stupid.

“Who wants romance when fucking works just fine?”

Dakata groaned. He wished he actually believed that, but with the memory of Silas so fresh in his mind, his heart knew that he’d only be lying to himself. He shut his eyes, took a deep breath and let the situation he’d no control over settle inside him. Another breath, then another as he focused on the image of Silas, on the voice that cast a spell over him.

He was his.

He was.

He opened his eyes and met the grinning fool's stare. “Let’s go.”

He’d barely uttered the words and his demon broke free, not giving him a chance to change his mind as he focused on their realm. In a blink, they found themselves standing in his family home. In his quarters, ones he rarely used, but they kept clean for his infrequent visits. Here, his demon half ruled.

“Where does Kishi hang out,” his demon growled huskily.

“Down at Caven most nights.”

“Why the fuck did I ask? I should have known. Kishi always liked to be the center of the action.” The place was a playground for demons. They had their pick of other types of hell dwellers to use as they wished. The pecking order in their realm had demons sitting right at the top. So sex in Caven was a popular pastime. Doing it in public had never been Dakata’s thing, though many enjoyed it, including Merihem.

A part of Dakata hoped Kishi had taken the night off from the club because he really didn’t want to get embroiled in chatting to others he’d not seen in months. It was bound to happen because his absence caused much gossip. Demons were worse than humans, or so Dakata thought when he was the butt of all the gossipmongering.

Dakata’s demon tore off the remaining clothes they wore and nodded to Merihem. “Find him!”

Merihem reached for his hand to combine their power to search for who they were looking for. In this realm, Dakata was more powerful. However, as a ‘controller,’ Merihem could locate anyone in their realm. It was just for pinpoint accuracy, he needed a boost.

The moment they found him, Merihem, instead of going to Kishi, used his dark power and drew the other demon to them.

A furious looking Kishi stood naked and aroused, his eyes flashing fire. “What the fuck man!” he scowled darkly at them, waving a hand at the dick. “I was getting a damn good blow job. This better be a matter of life and death,” he hissed past his fangs.

“Blissful Bond,” Merihem jabbed his thumb at Dakata, “It is life and death for the human realm if Daks doesn’t find his guy. You should’ve seen the mess he’s left already.”

That got the giant demon’s attention, focusing directly on Dakata. His large body shuddered making his cock bob up and down. “Oh fuck, you poor asshole. I heard it’s worse than getting cursed by the king of demons, Asmodeus, and we all know how much that sucks for the demon stupid enough to cross him.”

“I’m not here looking for sympathy, but to find Silas.”

Kishi’s brows pinched together, and his hand waved in the air. “You can find him yourself down here.”

“He’s in the human realm,” Dakata snapped, then reeled his temper back in. He needed Kishi on his side. “He’s a tree nymph.”

A dark chuckle and a spark of delight lit Kishi’s gaze as he slapped his thigh. “Well, ain’t that the kicker. That’s gonna be interesting .”

There was something about the way he said it that made Dakata’s human side antsy. “What do you mean ‘interesting’?”

“Tree nymphs, their spirits connect to the forest, and directly to the tree they live in. They can’t leave for more than a few hours because it diminishes their life force.” Large shoulders shook with Kishi’s laughter. “You’re gonna have to go live in a tree, Mr. I don’t do slumming it.”

Merihem made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded decidedly like a chuckle. Dakata threw him a dark look, because even his demon wasn’t so sure he was ready to live without his home comforts.

“So, you still want me to find him?”

Merihem and Kishi stared at him, their amusement pissing him off when the answer remained a resounding, “Yes.”

Kishi clasped his hands together and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, leaving only the white visible. His lips moved and his fingers danced against each other. Every demon had their own ritual, so Dakata and Merihem kept silent.

After what felt like an eternity, Kishi’s eyes rolled back into place and he extended a hand to Dakata, grinning wildly. “I know where he is. You ready to get all blissed out in the forest?”

Were they?