18. Deimos

Chapter 18

Deimos

I didn’t go back to visit Cameron over the following week. That didn’t mean I hadn’t seen him, of course, since I’d been compulsively watching him in the security camera, but I’d respected his wishes when he’d told me to leave. Zeek had been bringing all his meals and doing his laundry. Cam was understandably angry with me, considering I’d taken something important from him, but he’d said it was making him sick. I guess I’d expected, oh I don’t know, a little thanks, some iota of appreciation for singlehandedly making him feel better? At the very least, I figured he’d help me get off too.

I huffed, leaning back in my chair. Why was Cameron even still here? I’d left the cell open, expecting him to saunter out of here, never to be seen again. But there he was, pacing around the room, looking all cute and rumpled. He’d been sleeping more, showering less, his greasy hair standing up in uneven spikes, and he’d bitten all his fingernails down to the quick .

And as long as he was hanging around, I felt like I couldn’t go after Loki. Like it was in bad taste to make Cameron watch me put his powers to use. I knew it was ridiculous, obviously, but I felt this desperate need to apologize . Me! Apologize! For doing something he’d literally begged me to do! I’d never said sorry for anything in my life, and dammit, that made me so… pissed off!

My entire body crackled with unspent energy, spooled so tight that I felt twisted up into knots. “For fuck’s sake, just leave already!” I screamed at the computer monitor, sweeping my arm across the desktop and sending my keyboard and mouse flying with a crash, but of course Cam didn’t hear me. Zeek, however, did.

He slunk into the room, cowering by the door, tremoring from head to toe. “Apologies, my lord, but… I think something is wrong with our guest.”

It was like a bucket of ice water dousing my burning ire, and my head snapped up, my heart stuttering. “What is it, what’s wrong?” Even before he answered, I was headed for the door.

“H-He is so tired and agitated, and also, he stinks.” This coming from the pus-excreting demon. He skittered along behind me, his overgrown toenails scraping on the concrete tunnel.

I rounded the corner and stopped outside Cameron’s room. “Thank you, Zeek. You will not be needed this evening. Why don’t you take the night off?” Then I stepped through and closed the door before Zeek could argue.

Cameron had stopped his pacing and was now nestled deep into his blankets, facing the far wall. I could tell he wasn’t sleeping, though, by how he tensed up. “What’s the matter with you?” I snapped, letting my irritation seep out in my tone.

“Why do you care?” he muttered .

And wasn’t that the question I’d been asking myself since the moment I first laid eyes on him. I stomped across the cell and grabbed the blanket, giving it a sharp tug. Cameron, however, tightened his grip and pulled back.

“I just want to be left alone, okay? So just fuck off already.”

I didn’t fuck off, though. Instead, I redoubled my efforts. I rounded the bed, trying to get him to look me in the eye, but he stubbornly rolled away again.

“Are you sad or mad? Depressed? Sick? I need to know what I’m working with.”

He sighed. “I’m not anything.” I took that to mean he was all of the above, but he was too proud to admit it.

“You know what you need? A little sunshine,” I said, crawling onto the bed and straddling him so he had nowhere else to go. “You’ve been cooped up underground for too long. It’s a beautiful day outside. Why don’t we go for a walk?” Of course he could walk by himself, so why was I offering to go with him?

He shook his head, trying to burrow deeper into his pillow, but thanks to my weight on his hips, he was trapped. “I don’t wanna go outside,” he grumbled, pouting, but the more he squirmed under me, the harder I got.

I could tell the exact second he felt my erection, as he froze and his gaze sharpened, but I refused to move away. I wanted him to know what he did to me.

Cameron was many things—brave, honorable, responsible—but he was also too stubborn for his own good. “When was the last time you had fun?” I asked deviously, a plan forming.

I could sense his curiosity, but instead of outright telling him my idea, I waited for him to ask. He peeked at me from the corner of his eye. “What kind of fun?” he finally asked grudgingly .

“You’ll see…” I drawled, my sly smile widening. I moved off the bed, making sure to drag my hard-on across his body on the way, inducing a shiver to roll through him. “Be ready to go out in an hour.” I walked away, already plotting, but I paused on the threshold. “Need any help in the shower?”

“No,” he snapped, and I laughed. He flipped back the blanket and stomped to the bathroom, but he couldn’t turn away fast enough to hide the briefest uptick of his lips, and I swore I saw a distinct bulge in his sweats. Regardless of the distance he seemed determined to wedge between us, I sensed a hint of interest. I allowed myself a tiny indulgence and watched his fine ass until it disappeared into the bathroom.

For so long, Cameron’s identity had been tied up in what he was, not who he was. He’d been used and abused, nobody standing up for him. What the straightlaced man really needed was to learn how to live without his power, and I had an idea for how to kill two birds with one stone.

“You’re joking, right? This is a joke.” Cameron looked up at me, his expression full of misplaced hope. He looked around, probably for hidden cameras, chuckling shakily.

I raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I’m joking?” I took a small amount of satisfaction in knowing I could surprise him.

“You said we were going to have fun…” Cameron wrapped his arms around his stomach defensively. He’d changed into a clean pair of joggers and a t-shirt, and even though the early-summer night was warm and fragrant, goosebumps dotted his skin. His jaw was clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grinding from here. He stared reluctantly down at the man on his knees between us. There were tear tracks glistening on the guy’s face and snot dripping over his lips. He was an ugly crier.

The man in question was none other than Scott Strilek, Cameron’s so-called ex—though I hated to give him the title since he’d obviously seen it more as a business opportunity than a relationship. I wasn’t generally a fan of humans as it was, but this particular one gave the rest of them a bad name. And I was pretty sure he’d pissed his pants, because he smelled worse than Zeek. My lip curled in disgust.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m having fun,” I said, grinning wide. It was a beautiful night for bloodshed. The sky was clear, dotted with the stars strong enough to get past the light pollution, and the water lapped along the shore of Lake Erie. We stood at the the construction site for the new bridge, and while the chances of anyone stumbling on us out here were slim, the added bonus was that once we were finished with him, I could dump the body in some newly poured concrete—not that anyone would miss this douche canoe.

“Well?” I urged, gesturing to the weak little manbaby currently blubbering at my feet. “Hit him.”

Cameron’s chin jerked up, eyes wide. “W-What? Why? No, I c-can’t.” He shook his head hard enough to send hair flopping across his forehead, and his knuckles turned white where he clung to his elbows.

“Cameron, this piece of shit never cared about you. He manipulated you, used you. Abused you. He stole your virginity and sold it to make a quick buck. ”

Scott turned his face up to Cameron, hands clasped at his chest, pleading. “No, that’s not true. I never meant to hurt you, I… I love you.”

I transferred my grip to his hair and dragged his head back, and his words cut off with a gurgle. “Stop. Talking.” I unspooled a little bit of my terror. It took an embarrassingly small amount to drive him halfway to madness. The guy had the courage of a wet noodle.

Scott curled up in a ball, digging his fingers into the gritty bank. His wail rose in pitch, until Cameron took a step toward me.

“Stop,” Cam whispered harshly, stray tears collecting on his lashes. “Please, Deimos, stop !” His face had gone blotchy, bright red spots high on his cheeks. The color looked beautiful on him.

“Why should I stop? He didn’t.” I let off on the terror only to reach down and grip Scott by the back of the neck, hauling him back into his kneeling position. He let out a little whimper until I gave him a shake. “Look at him, Cameron. Go on, look. Tell me how sweet he was to you, how he made you feel loved and wanted. Tell me he treated you the way you deserve to be treated—like a fucking god. Tell me all that, and I’ll let him go.”

Cameron wiped the tears from his cheeks, his eyes hardening. “I can’t,” he admitted, voice flat and cold.

“And why is that?” I asked, leading him to face everything he’d buried deep inside himself.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Because he didn’t treat me well. He made me feel small and alone.”

Cameron was conflicted, I could tell, but I knew he needed to face everything that had happened. He was holding on to so much. “He’s still selling pictures of you, you know. I found them online. He pays his rent using graphic pictures of your body that he took without consent. So, go on,” I said, nodding. “Hit him. He deserves it, and it’ll make you feel better.”

I didn’t really think he would do it, but Cameron wound back his fist and dropped it across Scott’s jaw like a hammer. The asshole jerked to the side, but I hauled him back for another strike, which Cam delivered like an old pro, blood spattering from Scott’s busted lip and nose.

“I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you,” I said, praising Cam. He’d make a fine partner in crime yet.

But Cameron wasn’t finished. “My shoes… lick them,” he demanded, putting a foot forward.

Scott nodded, leaning forward on hands and knees. “Y-Yes, I’ll do anything.”

Cameron was every inch the vengeful god, and holy shit, it got me so hard. I stroked my rigid length through my pants.

As Cam watched Scott with impassive eyes, though, something seemed to pass over him, and he frowned, stepping back. “That’s enough. Now wipe his memory. You can do that, right?”

I blinked. Did I hear that correctly? “Wait, you want to let him live… and forget?”

He took a long, steadying breath. “Yes.” When he looked at me, his eyes were no longer blazing but hollow. Cold. “Thank you for… trying to give me this, but it isn’t me, Deimos. I’m not a god, and I wouldn’t want to be one either. No one should get to decide someone’s fate, and hurting him isn’t going to repair all the damage he did. But maybe… can you make sure he has nightmares? Ones that will remind him to be a better person. I don’t want him to hurt anyone else.”

I grinned wickedly, planning out a few choice scenarios to plant inside his brain. “Consider it done. This brand of darkness looks good on you,” I praised .

It didn’t take more than a brush of my fingers to manipulate his thoughts, and a few minutes more to get him into the back of a car, giving Zeek instructions to deposit him back at home. When I held the car door open for Cameron, though, he shook his head.

“I think I’d like to walk,” he said quietly, gaze unfocused. I didn’t like this detached version of him, and I worried that I’d gone too far.

After a moment, I closed the door. “Then if it’s all right with you, I’d like to accompany you.”

He smiled sadly. “Sure, I’d like that.”

We watched as Zeek pulled away from the curb, then we began a slow meander down the sidewalk in companionable silence. It was too late for much activity this far from downtown, but the farther we walked, the more people we saw. The bars had just let out, and everyone was drunk and happy, their boisterous laughter a sharp contrast to the somber mood between us.

Cameron picked at the flecks of dried blood on his knuckles. He huffed a sharp breath, shaking his head. “Gods, Deimos, I can’t believe you made me do that.”

“Hey, you can blame me all you want, I don’t mind, but the choice was always yours to make. And honestly? I’m proud of you.”

He stopped in place, rounding on me. “Proud of me? For violence? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering the god of war raised you, but violence should never be something to make someone proud.”

I ignored his jab, focusing instead of the way his eyes flashed with excitement. It was a far cry from how he’d been acting back in my lair, all mopey and depressed. He was finally alive. “Yes, proud, but not for the reason you might think. I wanted to show you that you could be strong even without your powers, that your worth isn’t tied to your usefulness to others. You are an incredible man just as you are, and I’m proud of you because you stood up for yourself.” He reared back, stricken but speechless. “So, did you? Feel strong, I mean.”

Cameron’s head hung low, his breathing rapid. “Yes,” he whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

I held a hand to my ear. “What was that? I couldn’t quite catch it.”

“For fuck’s sake, yes! Okay? Are you happy now?” he shouted, cheeks flushed, and he dragged his hand through his hair. “Gods help me, I—I liked it! I liked seeing that piece of shit brought to his knees, licking my boots like the slug he is.” His jaw clacked shut with the admission. I knew him well enough to know his guilty conscience was creeping up on him. “And I hate myself for it. I’m supposed to be the good guy, I should’ve shown him mercy—”

“No, don’t do that,” I said sharply, closing the distance between us in one wide step. His breath caught, those rich brown eyes locking on mine. “Mercy and forgiveness are one thing, but there is nothing saying you have to let assholes walk all over you. There is no shame in standing up for yourself. You’re done being used by people, do you hear me? From now on, this is your life and yours alone, and you set the rules. So, tell me, Cameron… what do you want?”

“I-I want…” His gaze darted down to my mouth, once, twice, then held there as he slowly dragged his tongue across his lower lip, hungry. “I want you.” His eyes were bright, like he was chasing a high. “I want you to make me feel wanted, needed. Special .”

I reached up and traced his lower lip with my thumb. “I thought you’d never ask.” I entwined my fingers through his hair and tilted his head back, my movements restrained. It had been so long since I had felt anything close to tenderness for a human, and after hearing about the way his ex had treated him, hurting Cameron was the last thing I wanted .

He shuddered, letting out a breathy moan as I nibbled up his exposed throat. Even though we were practically alone in a city of a million people, we were still exposed. Anyone could look out their window and see us, and when I stared down into his face, bathed in the golden glow from the streetlight, eyes closed—as if he trusted me to take care of him—I realized I didn’t want to share this moment with anyone. I was just greedy like that, when it came to Cameron.

When he tried to rub himself against me, I held him back with my hands on his waist. “We should stop, take this somewhere a little more private.” My pants no longer fit properly, and my eyes strayed to the empty alley behind him as my brain started debating if it was private enough .

He blinked dumbly up at me for a second. “Are you serious right now?”

As much as my cock disagreed, I knew it was the right choice for his sake. I took his hand and began to drag him down the sidewalk, satisfied to see that he wasn’t walking straight either. “Come on, let’s get you home.” My heart stuttered over the word—home. I wasn’t sure when I’d started thinking of that underground lair as being home, but I knew for certain that it hadn’t been until Cameron had started staying there.

I thought I’d successfully masked the snag in my thoughts, turning to face forward, but Cameron picked up on it straight away. “What’s wrong?” he asked, tucking himself into my side, his warmth a comfort I wasn’t sure I deserved.

“Absolutely nothing,” I told him. And it wasn’t even a lie. “Except maybe that we’re still so damn far from the nearest tunnel entrance. Why are your legs so short?” I teased. “Can’t you walk any faster?”

His giggle was so light and musical, and then he surprised me by dashing off ahead of me. “Now who’s slow?” he called over his shoulder, his smile wide and carefree.

I let out an exaggerated growl and took off after him, and he squealed in mock fear, trying desperately to stay ahead of me. Too bad I was taller, and you know, godly, not to mention all that power still surging through my veins. He had no chance of escape now that I was in pursuit.

Never in my life had this kind of playfulness had a part in foreplay. I was a take-what-I-want kind of guy, but this little cat-and-mouse game got my blood pumping. I let him think he could win, toying with him, until we were almost at the tunnel entrance—an unmarked door in an alley behind El Sabor del Sol, my newly acquired Mexican restaurant. Then, just as he’d swung the door open, I lunged and caught him in my arms.

We stumbled through, the door swinging shut behind us and closing out the city’s electric glow. The pitch darkness was the perfect excuse for me to feel my way around his body where I pressed him against the brick wall.

“I caught you,” I purred.

“I let you catch me,” he countered, his rich laughter vibrating through me. It was the sweetest sound, and I just had to know if its taste was as sweet.

Cameron’s mouth was softer than I remembered, even as his teeth clamped down on my lip, hard enough to draw blood. His hands were on me, tearing my shirt open and unzipping my pants with jerky, desperate movements. He slipped a hand inside and grabbed my cock in a firm fist, pumping it slowly.

“You don’t want to wait for a bed?” I asked, already knowing what his answer would be .

“Can’t,” he grunted, shoving my pants and boxer briefs over my hips and letting my erection bounce free, the evening air cool on my heated flesh. “ Won’t ,” he clarified, and I could hear the mischievous smile on his face.

I let out a shuddering breath, fighting the urge to take over. No matter how I wanted to dominate him, he needed this. He needed to be the one in control.

So, I let him peel off my shirt and toss it aside, his mouth sucking up marks I was excited to examine later in the light. His fingernails scratched over my ass, and I relished the sting, anticipating the welts he was leaving. I wanted to laugh and cheer him on. Once he’d been given permission, Cameron was a wildcat, and I was here for it!

He spun me around and shoved me roughly up against the wall, the bricks scaping the bare skin of my back. I heard the rustle of fabric as he kicked off his joggers, and the musky aroma of his slick filled the narrow space. He locked my cock in a vicelike grip, cupping my balls tightly in his other hand, and I hissed, dropping my head back. “You are going to fuck me, hard and fast. That’s what I want,” he commanded.

“It will be my pleasure.” Literally .

I moved to pick him up, and with his hands still on my dick, the motion tugged on my balls and made my eyes roll back in my head from the thrill of pain that ran down my spine. I groaned as he was forced to change his grip to my shoulders as I hoisted him up, hooking his legs over my hips.

His ass cheeks were slippery as I spread them, tapping a finger around his pleated hole. After sliding my length through the crease and coating my shaft in his arousal, I paused, hesitating with the head of my cock teasing his entrance .

“Do you still hate me?” I asked, adding just the slightest amount of pressure and feeling resistance.

He arched his hips, trying to lower himself onto me, but I held him steady, keeping him hovering just above me. “So much,” he moaned, fisting my hair. “Especially if you don’t put your dick in me right this second.”

I chuckled, laving the hollow at the base of his throat, his skin salty with sweat and a taste all his own. “You keep telling yourself that.” With that, I slammed myself home, right to the hilt, his cry echoing off the tunnel walls.

There was no finesse to the way I claimed him, no grace or delicacy. It was raw, pure and simple. A melding of flesh, a claiming of souls.

He was so tight, hotter than he had any right to be as I drove into him, again and again, bracing myself against the wall. With the loss of sight, all other senses were heightened, overwhelming me. The aromas of slick and sweat, the texture of his smooth damp skin beneath my fingertips, his rough touch and the rasp of his whiskers burning with friction, our moans and curses wrapping around me and driving me half mad. It was enough to bring me to my knees, but even as I came down hard on the concrete, I kept a hold of him. I refused to lay him down on the filthy floor, no matter how I longed for the leverage to plow into him properly.

“Oh fuck, Deimos, harder!” he cried, looking for purchase, his hands flailing in the dark as he searched for something to hold onto. He wrestled for control, finally planting his feet flat on the floor to lift himself off me. He rose up until only the tip of my cock remained inside him, then he dropped down, impaling himself on me with a wet slap of flesh.

“Again,” I grunted, doing everything in my power to keep my wits about me, ready to catch him if he fell .

I couldn’t see him in the darkness, but the image I conjured of him in my mind was glorious. With every grind of his hips, I was driven closer to the edge, pressure building. I was already so damn close, but I couldn’t come before him. I had a reputation to maintain, after all, and if I didn’t properly satisfy him, what reason would he have to stick around?

And I knew with certainty, as I squeezed his ass in my hands and buried myself inside his depths, that I desperately wanted him to stay, because once would never be enough.

I could feel the tension in him, his body taut and his rhythm stuttering. “Give me your knot, alpha,” he demanded. “Please?” He whispered the last word, the only hint of weakness in his mask of perfect control.

“I’ll give you what you need,” I vowed.

With my arms locked around him, I brought him to the brink with bruising force. Slick coated my thighs beneath him, and his back arched as he threw his head back and cursed to the heavens. There was so much pent-up anger and frustration, and he let it all out in one long howl. His channel clamped down around me as he came, his hot cum spilling between us in spurts. It was what I’d been waiting for, and with jaw-clenching force, I finally unleashed my own climax. My knot expanded from the base of my shaft, forcing its way past the ring of muscle, stretching him even further.

Cameron was mine now, there was no taking that back.

With one last spasm, one final gasp, he lost his grip on me, sagging limply, but he seemed to trust that I would never let him fall. I cradled him in my arms, close to my chest, as we panted to catch our breaths. I could feel his heartbeat where he was pressed against me, fluttering, soft as a butterfly’s wings, achingly mortal .

I couldn’t remember anyone ever making me feel so… vulnerable . As terrifying as that thought I was, I refused to turn away.

Cameron nestled against me, shifting in my lap and tugging on my knot, making us both groan. He pressed a soft kiss against the side of my neck. “I think I might hate you a little less now…”

We both laughed, and a feeling of accomplishment spread through me, promising to keep me warm all night.