Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Once he was certain Avery would stay asleep, Ozen went back to his office. He didn’t close the door fully to the bedroom, worried Avery might wake up confused and alone and the dark room would frighten him. Instead, he left the door open just a crack, so he could hear if Avery woke and the light from his office would be seen from the bed.

He made a detour to his private bathroom to deal with his reaction to Avery’s sweet noises first. They replayed over and over in his mind as he stroked his cock, the taste of Avery’s release still on his tongue. The only consolation he had for his embarrassingly fast finish was that he was alone. It had been ages since he was at the mercy of his desire like that. He asked himself again if Avery’s virginity was what made Ozen feel so wild and fulfilled at the same time.

After washing his hands, he returned to his office to officially cancel the contract with Calvin. He made a call to Mr. Martell to deal with the financial aspect of it and was about to call the agency that provided him when Taron strode into his office like he owned the place. Ozen shot him a flat look, putting the phone back in its cradle.

“You do understand the concept of knocking, correct?”

He gave Ozen a lazy grin, dropping into the chair opposite him and putting his feet on the edge of the desk.

“I’m your friend, and a little bird told me you were being difficult. I came to check on you. I’m guessing he got ahold of your feeder?”

Ozen couldn’t help but scoff, his anger spiking once again when he remembered how desperate he felt to get ahold of Calvin.

“No, he didn’t. I called several times myself. He refused to answer. I…” Ozen trailed off, real fear crawling across his skin. “I feared not only for myself but also for Avery, who only came in here to comfort me.”

That made Taron sit up, his goofy expression turning serious. “Is Avery alright?”

Ozen nodded solemnly. “He’s fine. Resting now.” Before his friend could make accusations, he put his hand up and continued. “I explained what was happening and asked him to leave, but he offered to feed me instead. There was no influence from my magic. I’d been fighting it the moment he stepped into the room. I refused to make that same mistake twice, hunger be damned. Avery was fully conscious of what he was offering and knew he wasn’t required to. He offered anyway, even after I tried to deny him.”

Closing his eyes, Ozen remembered the struggle, the pain of holding back when he was so close to starvation he felt the icy grip of it shredding his insides. It took everything he had left not to take more from Avery than was necessary. If he had been a little younger, a little less experienced, he could’ve drained Avery dry in his desperation, leaving him a passionless husk for the rest of his life. Avery had no idea how close he came to truly losing himself. His risk was not something Ozen would take for granted.

“It took two couplings to bring me back from the edge, Taron. Had it been anyone else, Avery could have–” Ozen’s voice cracked, betraying his emotions.

“But it wasn’t anyone else,” Taron interjected. “It was you, and you kept him safe. You are not a monster.”

Taron always knew when Ozen had reached his worst, when he felt like the monster most humans thought him to be. In his true form, he could lure just about anyone into his bed, and that made him dangerous. Some incubi refused to hide themselves and made no efforts to hold themselves back. The amount of people drained by incubi was so significant, the government had to step in. If a feeder was fully drained of their passion or killed during the feeding, there would be severe consequences.

“Why did you wait so long? Hell, I would’ve volunteered if you were really that desperate. I mean, I wouldn’t have let you fuck my ass, but as your friend, I wouldn’t have said no to a blowjob.”

Ozen snorted, the teasing doing its job to bring him out of his melancholy. Like Ozen, Taron didn’t care to distinguish gender in his partners, but he was vehemently against doing things of that nature with his friends. He didn't want to muddy the waters. Ozen would never sully his friendship with sex, however, even if he saw Taron as anything other than his brother.

“Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m alright now. Thanks to Avery. As to why I waited…” His brows drew together tightly. “At first, I thought it was just a temper tantrum. Calvin was angry with me for not making Avery fetch him things like a servant. I scolded him and told him Avery was my assistant, not his. He stormed off, and when he didn’t reply to my messages, I ignored his behavior because I didn’t want to encourage it. After almost a week had passed, though, I considered he might be punishing me. If we hadn’t signed a contract, I would’ve gone elsewhere for a feed, but the contract demands exclusivity on both ends.”

It was safer that way. Not only for diseases, though Ozen would be able to tell before they got started, but also because in the past, enemies used feeders to poison incubi during the act. Most feeders were unaware they were being tampered with until after the incubus died. Sex magic was powerful, and incubi weren’t the only supernaturals who used it. It was rare now, society had moved beyond that, but it was still a common precaution in feeder contracts.

“It wasn’t until Avery pointed out that the contract was void when Calvin refused to show up that I gave myself leave to seek nourishment elsewhere. I already contacted Mr. Martell, and I was about to contact the agency before you arrived.”

Taron’s face had grown darker throughout the story, and by the time Ozen finished, he was so angry, he’d reverted to his true form. His skin was black as night, all identifying features absent. He looked like a shadow, and his anger made the surrounding air vibrate.

“He was going to kill you, starve you to death, because you wouldn’t make your assistant cater to him? What the fuck?”

“He also took issue with me not feeding from him right away after we met. My first feeding from Avery left me quite comfortable for a few days. I didn’t need to seek more. Apparently, Calvin took that personally.”

“If I ever see that piece of shit again, I’ll–”

Ozen interjected to stall his friend’s rant. “You will do nothing, because you are not a monster either. I will make a phone call to the agency and will put in the paperwork to have Calvin blacklisted from being a feeder to another incubus. I won’t let this pass, but I’m not going to let my friend end up in prison, either. Be still, my brother. I am well.”

Slowly, Taron drew back into his favored form. He made minor changes here and there when he was feeling whimsical, like the larger nose he was sporting today. But every century or so, he found a new form he enjoyed and stuck with it until his next inspiration hit. His smile still hadn’t returned, but Ozen was happy to see his friend’s anger settle a little.

“You’re sure? Twice was enough?”

Ozen tipped his head back and forth. “For now. The effects of going two weeks without feeding haven’t worn off completely, but I feel closer to normal again. And I wasn’t going to push for more so soon. It would endanger Avery, and I won’t allow that to happen.”

Taron nodded seriously. “Good. That’s good. Do you think he’ll sign on as your feeder? He’s trustworthy and doesn’t throw tantrums when he’s unhappy.”

Ozen sighed. He’d been avoiding asking Avery to be his feeder, not wanting to ruin their working relationship when he was so reliant on the human. But Ozen wasn’t stupid. He needed a feeder, and Taron was right. Avery could be trusted to do the job, hopefully without letting feelings get involved. Thus far, he’d been the picture of professionalism.

“I’m going to ask. I don’t trust the agencies anymore, and I don’t enjoy going to the feeding clubs. They’re not as selective in their admission process.”

Taron made a face. He knew all about those clubs and had never argued with Ozen’s refusal to visit them.

“Yeah, don’t do that. You’re better than that. Did you want me to stick around for that conversation? Maybe it’ll make Avery a little more comfortable with a third party in the room?”

He fought back a smile. His friend was always conscious of other people’s feelings, but he sometimes forgot his importance to those closest to him. “If Avery requires a third party, I’ll ask someone a little more unbiased. Perhaps Mr. Martell. But for the initial conversation, I believe privacy is necessary. Thank you, though. I know you mean well.”

After Taron left, which took too long because he needed several assurances that Ozen was well and would call him to let him know how the discussion with Avery went, Ozen finally had the time to call the company who sent Calvin. The receptionist was a peppy young woman and her voice was chipper when she answered his call.

“Wicked Delights, this is Tanya. How can I help you?”

“I need to speak with the director,” Ozen replied tersely in lieu of an introduction.

“And what would this be in regards to?”

“One of your feeders tried to starve me in retaliation to an imagined slight. I want to speak to the director. Now.”

His order was forceful and probably unnecessarily rude to the poor receptionist, but he needed to impress the gravity of the situation. Tanya was quick to action, though, a tremor in her voice as she responded.

“Right away. Let me transfer you. I’m so sorry.”

If this was the way they ran their company, they would be. Ozen wasn’t going to be satisfied until Calvin and the people who judged him sane enough to act as a feeder were jobless and blacklisted. And even then, it might not be enough.