Chapter 10

CHAPTER

TEN

My brain had been replaced with scrambled eggs, but my body knew where to go. The eggy mixture was able to decipher that it was way too late for Sias to be at his office, but not late enough that he wouldn’t be up on a weekend night. It was the twilight hour, the part of the night when he was usually feasting. He’d be hungry and ready for a meal, and I needed to be on a silver platter.

I had a lot of pent-up energy I wanted to expel, and he was the best catalyst for it.

I could salvage this day yet, if I could just get my mind off of things for a little while. Incubus charm magic mixed with Sias’s touch would be exactly what the doctor ordered.

It was the best time of night to travel the city, especially getting into the Lower Lovett. The buses weren’t running their normal route that late, but the train was nice and quiet, giving me plenty of time to be alone with myself before being dumped a few blocks away from Sias’s neighborhood. Lovett was a beautiful mix of extreme luxury and inherited wealth; big houses with too many bedrooms and an abundance of iron fences. The rich really thought crime would permeate their territory at any moment, like we’d collectively realize how much they all had and make a run for their properties.

The only thing stopping us was a lack of planning.

Sias’s estate didn’t need to be lavish, because his damn tower was the beacon of the city. His city home, which I’m sure he had a few of, was a modern masterpiece of understated wealth. It was an homage of turn-of-the-century industrial influence, with chic modern arches and automatic lighting. Even the security guard’s booth blended well into the ivy-covered stone fence, and I was waved along as a returning guest.

It was too cold for the crickets to sing, but the night wind was whispering through the large, skeletal trees that had dropped their leaves months ago. The perfectly maintained shrubbery looked fake around the perimeter of the house, but the warm light inside was very real. I held my arms to keep the cold away, wincing from the tug on the stitches, and rang the doorbell twice.

Sias was a dream when he answered my summons.

The heavy wooden door swung open, the demon of silk and sex smiled at me like candy had just been dropped into his hand.

“Dallas,” he purred, eyes swirling into cotton candy dipped in grape sprinkles. The gold at the tips of his horns glittered, his red silk robe open enough that I could see his golden skin. “What a lovely surprise.”

“I was in the neighborhood,” I obviously lied. “Thought I’d drop by for a midnight snack.”

“My favorite.” He pivoted his body to allow me inside, the door sliding shut as soon as I was past the threshold. “I’ll make you a drink.”

“We can skip that part.” I ran my fingers down the seams of his robe and pulled him closer. “I just want to fall into something soft with you for a little while. Bed, couch, a particularly comfortable rug, I don’t care.”

His long fingers tipped my chin up, the flurry of colors in his eyes slinking into magenta and velvety blue.

“Long night?”

“You have no idea.” I sighed at the soft kisses of charm magic that teased me. “I need a nice, big distraction for a little while.”

“I have just the thing for that,” Sias whispered near my lips, his breath vanilla with hints of fine brandy. His long, honey blond hair curled down his shoulders, draping over my fingers as I tried to pull him closer. I wanted to drown in amber and tobacco, to get lost in his expert touch while I drifted into the bliss of his charm magic.

This night could go to hell. No more lingering pain from past mistakes. No more weird, hot feelings for the dead guy in my apartment. No more fear that the artifacts would be lost.

“Right,” I mused out loud once the reminder of the shockingly difficult to obtain artifacts came back into my brain. “Before we get into the fun stuff, I do have a favor to ask. I was…too distracted to talk about it last time we hung out.”

“Does this favor involve you thrashing in ecstasy? Otherwise, I’m not terribly interested right now, darling boy.”

“Two favors then.” I grinned at him, lifting a brow in horny interest. “The first one is the thrashing bit. The second is I need an invitation to the gala Florence is holding tomorrow night.”

Sias’s hooded eyes lifted in surprise.

“Why in the hells do you want an invite to an art gala held by a wellness guru at the botanical gardens?”

“She’s going to be buying the artifacts I stole from Omar’s apartment, and I want to intercept that deal. Or at least get a cut of it.” I moved my fingers from his robe to his waist. “Could you get me in?”

“I can,” he said, voice dripping with sinful promise. “But it will cost you.”

“I hope it does.”

Neon pink flashed over his eyes, a wave of beautiful lust floated over me like a current, and his fingers plucked me from my inner melancholy. I loved how his touch felt on my skin, how sweet his lips tasted when he angled my chin up for a kiss. I could get lost in him so easily, escape all the obligations banging at the walls for my attention.

Tonight, it could be just us, whatever we were, and I could pretend I would be sleeping over afterward. It was pathetic how badly I wanted to melt into the blankets with him, hold him, fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat and plummet into a dreamless sleep with the promise of a sweet tomorrow.

The melodic laugh of Vix in the dining room shattered the illusion into sharp shards, and I was standing in the nebulous unknown again.

“Oh,” I managed, proud that I didn’t sound disappointed. “You have other snacks over.”

“Vix and Bastian are here,” Sias confirmed, trailing his fingers down my cheek before releasing me. “They’ll be happy to see you’ll be joining us tonight.”

I forced a smile, because I wasn’t going to be the favorite that brought the mood down. They sure as hell didn’t deserve that, even if I was having a crap night. It was an unspoken rule that baggage was checked at the door, and that only fun sexy times were to be had within the walls of Sias’s domain. No complaining, no sad tales, just unbridled fun and orgasms.

Sias placed his hand at the small of my back and led me through the foyer, the dark wooden floors heated to keep the chill away. Vix and Bastian were lounging together on the leather couch near the fireplace, silks barely covering their gorgeous bodies. They were a snapshot of indulgence: Vix, a succubus sculpted from calla lilies, silver threads weaved around her ram horns and spun through long locks, and Bastian, a silver-eyed jinn with a braided beard and dark tattoos covering his earthy brown skin.

Since Vix didn’t have the anatomy I’m into, we didn’t spend a ton of one-on-one time together, but she was often tangled up in the mix during past rendezvous. I liked her in a fuck-buddy-adjacent sort of way, and appreciated that she seemed to adore my presence, even if we kept our hands to ourselves. Bastian had his perks. He was a slab of hairy meat with an easy laugh and talented hands, but more than once I felt like I was in his way when he wanted a little more time with Sias.

As far as Sias’s favorites went, they were the ones I was the fondest of and spent the most time with. I liked them, but I never saw them outside of Sias’s place. I had a sneaking feeling that our camaraderie began and ended around Sias’s pleasure.

On any other night, when I wasn’t emotionally bruised and wanting some quiet, sort of monogamous time with the guy I currently had squishy feelings for, I would have been happy to see them. It was hard to maintain the smile and make it feel anything less than a performance.

“Dallas!” Vix sat up when she saw me, making grabbing gestures for me to come to her. “Sias, you spoil us. I love it when Dallas comes to play.”

“This was an unscheduled surprise,” Sias chimed in, easing me forward into Vix’s demands.

“Hey, Vix.” I crawled onto the couch and hugged her, immediately wrapped in sweet perfume. “Sorry I didn’t get the memo to wear a silk napkin over my nipples.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she teased, adjusting one of the tiny strips of silk over her breasts. “I’m sure Sias has something you can change into, but we’re not going to be dressed long anyway.”

“Adding an extra set of hands into the mix is always a good thing,” Bastian mused. “The plan tonight was going to have Vix center stage, but we can pivot.”

“Didn’t mean to derail the plans.”

“You didn’t.” Sias set his wine down near the fireplace, the soft sound of the glass resting against brick almost lost in the crackle of the fire. “Even numbers make it easier for everyone to be involved.”

“Oh,” Vix purred, uncrossing her long legs as Sias prowled over to the couch. “I do like the sound of that. I haven’t eaten all day so I could have my fill tonight.”

“Good.” Sias melted into the couch beside her, moving like a stalking cat slinking onto his prey. Her chin was angled toward him, her thighs nudged apart. “I want you starving for me, darling.”

There was something truly magical, in every sense of the word, when you got to be near two powerful sex demons feasting off of each other. In my demon biology and culture 101, I knew that incubi and succubi could sustain themselves on fellow sex demon energy, and had for centuries before they realized how delicious jinn, imps, humans, and even oni were.

When two sex demons love each other very much, they put themselves in a sex energy cycle and sometimes make babies.

Not really, there were like…family treaties and marriage bonds that go into sex demon procreating, and it was all very complicated and boring. There’s a lot of politics and paperwork that go into baby incubi, like a crazy amount. Barnaby told me all about it once and I almost died.

But I knew from personal experience, when two godly demons were in the throes of passion, they could break the cycle right at the tipping point and turn their attention to the other bystanders in the room. It was like edging for demons who feed off ecstasy, and god damn was it fun. The charm magic was at its most potent when they were ready to burst, so it hits like a shot of pure lust directly into your veins. It’s so powerful, so all-consuming and glorious, that it was actually illegal for them to do that without written consent because they could basically turn us into walking sex zombies.

I’m not kidding, Bastian and I had to sign contracts before we could experience it.

This is the thrilling content you don’t see behind the scenes, kids.

The moment Sias’s fingers touched Vix’s skin, the sizzling presence of their charm magic made the hair on my arms stand up straight. It was the dancing spark of a lit fuse, the beginning pop of magic that pinched at the anxiety sitting like a brick in my belly. I hadn’t wanted a hot and heavy, sex-zombie night because I was already wound up too damn tight but, I was here now, and I needed to figure out how to relax into it.

Otherwise, I wasn’t going to have any fun, and they’d notice.

No bad vibes, no excuses.

Bastian’s thick arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me into him, my back pressed up against his big chest.

“Easy, big guy,” I teased, forcing myself to not seem prickly at his aggressive maneuver. “We should enjoy the show.”

“That’s the plan.” His beard tickled my ear as he spoke, voice husky with the brewing excitement. “Look at them together. Two beautiful specimens enjoying themselves just for us.”

Vix wasn’t my type, but she was beautiful. The charm magic helped sway me into appreciating her more, the way she moaned into Sias’s touch added a certain seductive ambiance to the scene. While she was a stunning woman and absolutely deserved to be worshipped, it was Sias I was praying to. I was a devout worshipper at his altar, and couldn’t wait to get on my knees to show him my faithfulness. The way his hands moved over her skin, the ease in which he moved onto his knees in front of her, the smirk when she shivered from his touch.

I was ready to take over countries in the name of that damn smirk. All would know of the good word of Sias’s talented, sinful lips.

The swell of charm magic that bloomed from the foreplay helped me relax into Bastian, and I reached back to bring his hand around to my jeans. I tried to give him the signal to go slow, make the night a gentler dance while we enjoyed the delicious deities tangled up together on the couch. He responded by giving me a less than gentle squeeze, chuckling as I hissed.

“Easy,” I whispered.

“Since when do you like it easy?” He nipped at my ear, too many teeth greeting the flesh. “What happened to, ‘Snap me in half like a candy cane’?”

“That was then.” I put my hand on his and urged him to ease the grip. “Just to get the party started.”

The grip eased, palm sliding up before dipping under my waistband. His big hand felt fantastic on my skin when he wasn’t wringing the life out of me. The sensation of a man’s hand on my cock made me exhale some of the tension in my chest, and I shut my eyes to pretend it was Sias who was making me feel relaxed. Bastian’s warm breath bled over my neck, the smell of brandy almost distracting.

“I know what you need,” he growled, beard rough on my earlobe. I almost told him to stop talking so I could fall back into my daydream, but thought maybe that was rude.

Vix began to groan in mounting pleasure, body arching and sliding on the leather from Sias’s undivided attention. The charm magic fell upon us like shattered starlight, crackling across our bodies in electric kisses. Bastian had pulled me into his lap, his skin white hot against me, obvious excitement pressing against the seat of my pants. My jeans had been undone to give him more room, and I was just about to shuck the damn things and get more into the festivities.

But, because this is my story, and things hadn’t been going great, it was doomed to fucking fail.

I don’t know what the hell got into Bastian that night. I don’t know why the guy couldn’t take the hint that I was maybe in a weird place and needed a gentle touch. Either way, the message wasn’t received, and he hit the gas forgetting my very few limitations.

Thick fingers ran through my hair in an almost loving fashion, caressing over my scalp so sweetly that it made me smile. The sudden shift in demeanor hit all the wrong buttons as he grabbed ahold of it and yanked my head back, freezing me in mid-appreciation. That I could have forgiven, maybe course-corrected with some teasing but firm reminders that he needed to follow my lead and stop being an alpha jackass.

It was the biting that did me in.

Bastian tilted my head back and raked his teeth over my neck, and my body was immediately lost in a firestorm of soul-deep panic.

I reacted so fast, so severely, that I didn’t even feel the impact of my elbow hitting his face. It was a series of movements I couldn’t control, a body running off of blind fear and bone-deep training that kicked in when my brain went into dark mode. One moment I was enjoying the heat of his touch against me, the next I was backing away from the couch while a fountain of blood poured from his nose.

Bastian made a terrible noise, a groaning scream of agony as he tried to stop the bleeding. The glittering fireworks of Sias and Vix’s magic withered into a cold vacuum, the warmth draining from the room in a heartbeat. Vix was at Bastian’s side, urging him to tilt his head back, worry marring her features.

Sias was on his feet, somehow manifesting a towel for Bastian to bleed into.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Wilde?” Bastian was wailing, whatever else he wanted to toss out there lost in a sharp inhale through his teeth.

“Gods, you need a healer.” Vix’s attention turned to me expectantly. “You could at least heal him enough to stop the bleeding.”

“Me?” I blinked, stupefied. “I can’t heal anyone.”

“All humans can heal,” she said so confidently that I questioned my abilities for a second.

“No, we can’t,” I argued. “We have to go to school to hone that shit. Plus, you don’t want me using any of my magic on him.”

“Don’t let him touch me,” Bastian snarled, glaring at me through eyes squinted in pain.

“Enough,” Sias chopped our bickering short, encouraging Vix to place the towel over Bastian’s bloody fountain. “I’ll call a doctor. Bastian, stay still. Vix, stay with him. Dallas.” He motioned for me to follow him and walked out of the living room in a quick stride.

The shock from Bastian’s teeth on my neck started to wear thin, replaced by a growing boil of anger, regret and heaps of guilt. It poisoned me like a snake bite, icing my veins and knocked my heartbeat off rhythm. I usually liked seeing Sias mad, because the heat was never directed at me. He would get pissed off, ask me to kill someone for him, then we’d have fun, grumpy sex across his desk.

He’d never been mad at me before, not in any real sense.

Not like this night.

I was led back to the foyer, and Sias came to a stop only a few feet away from the front door. The chill of the snow falling outside made me shiver, even though I hadn’t felt the cold just yet.

“What the hell happened?” he hissed, eyes a storming cocktail of dark blues and sharp teal.

My shoulders had tensed up too much, my bones started to ache.

“Fuck. I’m sorry. He knows not to touch my neck. They know I hate that! But I know—” I cut myself off before he could. “I know that’s not an excuse. He didn’t deserve to have his nose busted because I have a thing .”

“I don’t tolerate violence in my home, Dallas.”

“I know.” I rubbed at the prickling shame trailing down the back of my neck. “It was instinct. I felt teeth on me and…” I couldn’t make myself continue. “I don’t like people touching my neck, Sias. Especially teeth. I’ve been so up-front about that.”

“You’re jittery, under-slept and on edge.” His eyes churned from icy to cobalt. “You weren’t in a place for this tonight, and you didn’t communicate that to me.”

“Yeah, no fucking shit.” I shut my eyes, hating how sharp I sounded. I scrubbed at my eyelids until I saw stars, blinking them open to stare down at the floor. “I had such a shit day, Sias. It’s been so hard. I wanted a night with you.”

“You cannot come here in that state of mind and put people I care about in danger, Dallas.”

My heart was too fragile for that kick.

The fine cracks that had spider-webbed over my bruised, sad excuse for a functioning emotional core shuttered and faulted, the pain so brutal it knocked the wind out of me.

“Saints,” I breathed out in disbelief. “That fucking hurts.”

“Dallas—”

“No, I get it.” I struck out verbally like a wounded animal. “Sorry your fun little fuck buddy came in and crashed the party. God forbid your favorites have a bad night.”

The cobalt in his eyes sharpened into a vicious gold, jaw bunching as he gnawed at my audacity. I didn’t know if he was mad because I called him on his bullshit, or if I missed something else entirely. I had a pretty good feeling I not only overstepped, but struck a little too deep when he finally spoke.

I had never heard him sound so cold to me before. It strangled me with the distance of his words.

“I surround myself with people I care about, and I choose who I spend my time with very carefully. If you can’t respect that, can’t see that you are part of the chosen, then maybe we need to take a break from this arrangement for a while.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

I probably should have tried, should have apologized and owned up to the fact that I was in the middle of a crisis, that I was grappling with too much crap and I sucked at communicating that. I was sore, tired, and confused. I couldn’t handle anything else complicated in that moment, including trying to unpack how deeply hurt I was that he couldn’t see how much I needed him.

I wanted him to magically know that I cared about him, even though I was a total fuckup who had just ruined something special, I didn’t mean it.

Sias opened the door to his home and didn’t look at me as he tacked on, “I’ll get you your tickets into the gala, but don’t come here again unless invited.”

I don’t remember hearing the door shut behind me, but I remember how cold I felt when I stepped out into the street.

It had been about a decade since I had felt that type of cold, the type of freezing hurt that only came when you had only yourself to blame.

My heart was in shambles, my feet didn’t know where to go, so I just meandered across Lower Lovett until something made sense. The snow stuck to my boots, my hair was soggy with the bitter weather, and I mused the idea of finding a dive bar and getting blackout drunk for a bit.

It wasn’t the worst idea by a mile. What else does a miserable jackass do after they get dumped by a sex demon billionaire who was also your best client?

I knew I had to fix it somehow, but I wasn’t in any place to summon a decent plan. I needed time to wallow, maybe get into a fight and get some sense knocked into me.

My plans for getting assaulted and drinking were interrupted by a buzzing cell phone, the bright screen informing me that my high-strung landlord was calling me well past his grandpa bedtime.

“Barns?” I answered, befuddled. “Is the apartment on fire?”

“What the hell did you do to Zane?”

“What?” I blinked, checking to see if maybe the reception was bad before clarifying, “Is Zane different than normal in some capacity? Because he was whole the last time I saw him.”

“Well, you broke him somehow, because he’s acting insane. Truly bonkers. A maniac.”

“Uh…” I faltered, the gap in my dialog a moment of opportunity for Barnaby to pounce.

“I normally don’t mind him coming into the store, since we usually meet for breakfast in the mornings anyway, but this is ridiculous . He’s rearranged several displays, and I caught him polishing my rare collection of brass codpieces.”

“Sorry, did you just say that Zane meets you for breakfast?” I cut in when he took a fussy breath.

“Well you sleep late like a delinquent teenager, so we do the newspaper crosswords over coffee.”

“What the fuck?”

“Get home now , Dallas. He’s trying to alphabetize my books by author instead of subject! No! Zane, I have those exactly how I like them!”

The phone politely beeped that Barnaby hung up on me. I stood in the snow, brokenhearted and now gobsmacked, wondering what the hell I was doing with my life.