Cantrips: Volume #1: Minor Magics Crafted to Amuse and Entertain

by Joey W. Hill

  “O love, thou art victor in fight: thou mak’st all things afraid…thou passest the bounds of the sea, and the folds of the fields; to thee the immortal, to thee the ephemeral yields. Sophocles.”

  Gideon swallowed, pushing down the feelings that rose in his throat at that sensual voice, so close to him. “Yeah, but you can’t put it to music. Great big gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts, chopped up parakeet, mutilated monkey feet…” He swayed with the nonsense tune, even though he knew he sounded as hysterical as a girl. Fuck. “It’s what I look like right now. Especially the disgusting, greasy part.”

  “Greasy, yes.” Daegan’s fingers trailed briefly over Gideon’s shoulder, making his cock flex and his body shudder. “Disgusting, hardly. You taste like pleasure.”

  His rectum clenched over the plug at the vision of Daegan tasting his come. The vampire did anchor his wrists, bringing his scent and heat close. Gideon breathed him in, imagining him there naked, within touching distance, though he was prevented from that by the chains. It made his gut ache. Then Daegan put his hand on the back of Gideon’s neck. “Use your mouth to get me slick again. Do it fast. I want to fuck you now.”

  He heard it in the roughness of the male’s voice. Gideon wanted it fast as well, such that he lunged blindly for him. Daegan steadied him, guiding the head of his cock to Gideon’s eager mouth. Gideon didn’t want to come with that plug again. He wanted Daegan to make him come, Daegan’s hard, irresistible cock. Apparently it was mouthwatering as well, because he found the saliva to suck it good, had the vampire gripping his neck with bruising strength. He did his level best to test his control. If Daegan lost it, came in his mouth, Gideon would consider it a victory, even if it meant he lost in other ways.

  The male pulled back out then, despite Gideon’s attempt to clamp his teeth down and hold him there. Daegan let out a grim chuckle, did that little maneuver with the hinge of his jaw to free himself, and gave him a not-so-pleasant thump on the forehead. “Nice try.”

  Gideon heard another chain drop. The steel manacle fit his throat snugly as Daegan locked it. Putting a collar on him always had the strangest effect on Gideon, making his breath shorten and his dick harder. When Daegan retracted the chain attached to it so he had to lift his head, and keep lifting it, back toward his shoulders, like a horse with the reins severely shortened, Gideon had to fight that plug vibration even harder. No, no, no. Not yet.

  “You crave a permanent collar, Gideon. One from both your Master and Mistress. One that locks and only we can remove. We know. We’re going to take care of that.”

  He wanted to beg, plead for it. Plead to be fucked. But he couldn’t. And not because he was being rebellious. If he spoke one word, he was going to go off like a geyser. It was a close thing when Daegan removed the slippery plug from his ass, the friction making him fucking insane.

  “Now beg me, servant. Beg for what you want. Get it right the first time, no games, or I swear to God I will make you suffer.”

  Gideon got it out on a strangled moan, working so hard not to come, not to clench his hands. Oh, fuck, those prongs hurt so bad, but his mindless cock didn’t seem to care that it would only get worse. “Please, Master. Please fuck me. I want your cock…in my ass. Please.”

  It didn’t matter how tirelessly he claimed not to recognize this side of himself, he was getting really familiar with this dark, needy creature that was his soul. And he was getting too damn close to the heart of it all, the yearning ache that went beyond the physical, that had other words hovering on his lips.

  “In heaven-high musings and many, far-seeking and deep debate; Of strong things find I not any, that is as the strength of Fate. Euripides that time.” But Daegan’s voice had that hoarse touch in it again.

  Please, Master. I need you. Gideon couldn’t force that through his lips, but it resounded through his broken soul. He needed Daegan; no games, no artifice. He needed his Master to fill him, to bring balance. To help him figure it out.

  “Ah, vampire hunter. You destroy me.” Kneeling behind him, Daegan put his hands on Gideon’s ass, fingers flexing against the cheeks. “Tighten up. I want to push in hard, make you feel the burn. It will help you last longer.”

  Gideon complied, grunting with the exertion as Daegan shoved in through the harness’s wide ring. The tightened muscles held against his entry for a blink, but once he was at a certain point, it all gave way. Gideon lost control, welcoming him so Daegan slid in deep, his balls slamming up against his own, a sensation that spurred his reaction into the red zone.

  “Fuck…” He wasn’t sure which of them said it, but maybe both. Daegan hadn’t been kidding. He was in the mood to give Gideon a rough ride. He pistoned into him, only his powerful hold on Gideon’s hips keeping him from being thrust forward against the collar’s hold so his air was cut off. Gideon lifted his ass up to him, cognizant of the restraints on his ankles and knees keeping him in place for that punishing, soul-level fuck. Jesus…God…

  His balls drew up again. Master…coming…

  “Come for me, Gideon. Come now.”

  “You too,” Gideon grunted it out, a strangled sound. “Aw, fuck…”

  His cock spurted. While a third mark could come far more often, after they reached a certain point, they would dry-come, like a normal male. Gideon experienced the incredible intensity of that, because after the streams of hot semen splashed against the floor beneath him, against his wrists and knees, he kept coming, his body jerking, humping air. Daegan fucked him thoroughly, slamming in again and again, burning and stretching Gideon’s ass to the point he thought he might be bleeding in among the pleasure of it all. His cock was in agony and still hard as a rock, those stainless steel teeth biting down on him. It didn’t matter. The vampire’s breath got harsh and rasping and Gideon clamped down on that irresistible cock inside him. Daegan’s balls slapped rhythmically against Gideon’s, an incredible sensation that just goaded him further.

  Come on, come for me, let me feel it.

  Daegan let go with a snarl, those fingers tightening until Gideon was pretty sure his pelvis was in danger of being snapped beneath that strong grip. He didn’t care. Daegan could break every bone in his body, and he’d just beg for more. He moved with him, not caring that the pressure of the collar against his windpipe increased until black spots started to fill his vision and his breath started to rasp and wheeze against it.

  Slowing down. Slowing. The chain eased, the slack pooling in a cool weight between his shoulder blades. Gideon necessarily went down to his elbows, breathing hard, swaying back and forth. Daegan dropped down over him, his arm sliding around his chest, his face pressed into the back of Gideon’s neck. The vampire’s lips touched him there, the graze of his fangs, and then they punctured skin. He’d fed earlier, but this was different, a possessive marking. A vampire’s idea of cuddling, because Anwyn did it pretty often after sex as well. Though her fangs were more like a kitten’s, whereas Daegan’s were obviously cousin to a mountain lion’s.

  Daegan’s lips curved against his neck. They didn’t move for a while, just stayed melded to one another like that. Probably literally, because between the blood, sweat and come, Gideon was probably like one of those sticky frogs that Velcro’ed themselves to glass surfaces on Southern summer nights. Of course most of that stickiness was on his front. His back was all about Daegan’s sweat, because the vampire had actually worked himself up to a light perspiration that made his muscles slide pleasantly against Gideon’s back as he shifted. He cruised up to Gideon’s ear, nipped him there. Then he reached beneath him and deftly unlocked the prongs, as well as the cock harness, pulling it all free as the vampire himself pulled out. Gideon groaned at both the loss and the agony of relief, pressing his cheek to the floor to steady himself.

  He was able to lift his head enough to let Daegan unlace the head mask and pull that loose. Air touched his cheeks, his forehead, his hair matted against his temples and neck. Daegan released all his chains but that first one, the one on his wrist
. Cracking open his eyes, Gideon saw Daegan squatting before him, a pleasurable view of his bare thighs, the still somewhat-erect cock, his sizeable testicle sac. Gideon had never been one to eye a guy’s junk, but everything about Daegan’s body got him aroused, even that.

  It wasn’t the physical. It was Daegan that aroused him.

  There was that uncomfortable thread again. He still didn’t have the brain cells—or maybe the guts—to follow that thread, but another instinct drove him. Reaching out with his free hand, he curved it around Daegan’s calf, just above the ankle, before the male could rise. If Gideon touched Daegan voluntarily, it was usually the precursor to an attack, so Daegan visibly went on alert, ready to counter him. But Gideon was acting on pure feeling, no thought to give him away. As a result, something entirely different took over Daegan’s expression as Gideon shifted enough to press his mouth to the vampire’s bare foot.

  He stayed there, eyes closing, fingers tightening on his Master in a sudden fierce need to hold him like this, stay like this, until he could bear to move, to handle the tide of emotions washing through him. Emotions that weren’t all his own. The vampire bent over him, sliding his arms under Gideon’s body. He laid his cheek on the curve of his back.

  “It’s all right,” Daegan murmured. “I’ve got you, Gideon. Everything you give is safe with me, remember? Everything.”

  Gideon nodded, not sure how to respond, throat to raw to speak. He wasn’t sure what was happening, what he was feeling, but something had changed in this moment. Something significant.

  At length, Daegan eased back. He put Gideon into a seated position, his back against the wall, the one hand still manacled, his knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Daegan rose. “Stay there.”

  Gideon managed to roll his head toward the manacle and arched a brow. “Where d’you think I’m going?” Hell, his voice was slurred like he was drunk.

  “I never underestimate you, vampire hunter.” Daegan flashed that devastating grin, and moved away to the next room. Gideon got way too good a view of his perfect ass and muscular body, the grace and power with which it moved. It would stir the libido of a dead man. Even a dead straight man.

  When Daegan came back, he had a basin, some soap, a wash cloth and other items. “I can clean myself up,” Gideon protested weakly, but Daegan ignored him and dropped to one knee at his side.

  “It is my right as your Master. I don’t have to bind you to do this, do I? Will you obey me, be still for me, Gideon?”

  Be still. It was how this had all started. Learning stillness under Daegan’s touch. Gideon gave him a nod after a long moment, his jaw tightening. It was still strange as hell to watch Daegan’s capable, male hands moving over him, wiping the come off his chest, making him lift his chin to get to his throat, using the soap on his arm pits and then working his way down to sore cock and balls. Daegan was thorough, firm but gentle, and it made Gideon feel so odd, sitting there silent, watching him do it all, moving only when he ordered him to adjust. Daegan even stroked his hands through Gideon’s hair, loosening it from where it had matted, combing it back with his fingers.

  He balked a bit when Daegan had him rise and commanded him to grab his ankles so he could shoot some soothing herbal crap into his ass, but Daegan patiently waited him out again, giving him that implacable look. When Gideon complied, he listened to the soft splash of water as Daegan caught most of it in the basin. The vampire mopped the rest off his thighs and buttocks with the towels. As he did all that, Gideon realized he was back in that floating trance state. Happy to…just be.

  Daegan took him back to a seated position and brought him a bottle of water, opening it for him. Then he really unsettled Gideon by sitting down himself. Against the wall, right behind Gideon, pulling him up between his thighs. He adjusted him so Gideon could slouch down, his tired head resting partly on Daegan’s chest and shoulder, his one arm draped on Daegan’s knee, the other loose across his own abdomen. His naked body was sprawled out for Daegan’s view, but he was essentially cradled in Daegan’s arms, held between his thighs. The male stroked his knuckles down Gideon’s sternum, teasing a nipple as he directed Gideon to drink, even closing a hand on his wrist so Gideon had to bring the bottle to his mouth.

  “Drink, vampire hunter. This night is far from over. I’m not through with you yet.”

  Part Five

  Round Five

  Author’s Note: Thanks to a reader winning a walk-on part in this vignette, we’re happy to introduce our readers to “Shan” in the next two segments of this story. Whenever we’ve offered this “walk-on” giveaway, I’ve always found it contributes greatly to the ongoing storyline. So a thank you to all our winners of this kind of prize for their willingness to work with me. I hope you enjoy the results in these two segments as I did!

  §

  Gideon drank long and deep, emptying the water bottle in one go. He fumbled it toward the end, but Daegan kept holding his wrist and hand, anticipating his servant’s lack of coordination. When he was done, Gideon realized he was still thirsty. But not for water.

  Setting the bottle aside, Daegan unlocked the manacle around Gideon’s wrist, freeing him, at least in one sense. Laying his palm on Gideon’s forehead, Daegan kept Gideon’s head resting on his shoulder and chest, even while Daegan played with the strands of hair there, a drifting caress. The languorous strokes, Daegan’s intriguingly bare-ass naked body behind him… It reminded Gideon of lying on a raft in quiet surf, being okay with the tug of the current, wherever it took him, because the sun was warm, the breeze was gentle, and the ocean was so much larger and more powerful than himself. There was a comfort to that.

  His head moved with the motion of that hand, slow increments, until his face was turned into Daegan’s neck, mouth an inch away. His nostrils flared, taking in the vampire’s scent. He wanted to taste. To bite. To drink. Since he’d become Daegan’s third mark, he hadn’t really asked for that. Not from the male vampire.

  Daegan was silent, but his fingers continued that caress. Gideon realized his hand had fallen on the male’s thigh, just below his knee. He kept his face pressed toward Daegan’s neck, but he looked down at his hand as if he wasn’t entirely sure what it was about to do, and maybe he wasn’t. He curled his fingers, touched firm skin. No hair of course. Vampires had no hair below the neck, but that didn’t make Daegan girlish at all. He was like one of those Roman statues, all smooth muscles that Gideon had never considered arousing until he compared them to Daegan. Jesus, he was turning into a fucking fairy.

  Daegan’s lips pulled into a smile against his temple. I don’t think you have to worry about a guest appearance on Queer Eye. Except as one of the very straight, poorly dressed, utter slobs they are trying to rehabilitate.

  He’d let that smartass remark pass. One, because he’d have a better chance of getting even when Daegan was off-guard later. A nice right jab to the testicles would do. He’d also point out to the antiquated fanged fossil that the show had been off the air for a few years now. But right now he had something else capturing his attention.

  Gideon watched his own fingers slide a few inches down that thigh, as far as he could go before his own armpit got in the way, then back up toward the knee. Daegan was all lean strength, and stroking the lines of it was…mesmerizing. He did it again, and became even more aware of where lots of other muscle was touching him. Daegan’s chest against his shoulder blades. His ridged abdomen against his lower back. His cock, pushed against the top of his ass.

  Technically, the cock is not a muscle.

  Gideon huffed out a half chuckle, and was amazed to see a ripple of gooseflesh cross Daegan’s forearm. His breath on Daegan’s neck had caused that reaction, as well as a stirring of that beast at his lower back.

  It made him think about touching Anwyn. There were few things in the world Gideon loved as much as touching his Mistress. Sometimes, she’d withhold that permission, knowing how the denial aroused him, but he knew she liked his hands, his mouth on her. While h
e savored every taste, the way her skin felt, he loved the little noises, the caught breath, the movements that betrayed her desire. Women reacted with their whole bodies to stimulation, from violent undulation to a simple pressing together of their lips. But until this moment, he hadn’t noticed that a man could react in such subtle ways as well.

  He did it again, this time deliberately. A heated breath against that major artery. Daegan’s fingers twitched against his sternum, thumb doing a pass over his nipple that made Gideon’s lower gut tighten. Wow. Fucking hell. He brought his mouth closer, but before he made contact, Daegan caught his hair in one strong hand and held him off, tilting his head until they were eye to eye. His eyes had done that startling thing, where the dark brown color had taken over the whole eye, no whites, so it was like Gideon was looking into a pitch dark room, wondering whether it was a good idea to step blindly over the threshold.

  Fuck it. He wanted that darkness. But then Daegan’s other hand came up, caught his throat. Reflexively, Gideon’s hand landed over it, tightened, and they were locked there, teetering on that prelude to physical combat. Gideon could turn it into that, Daegan could squelch it, they could start from square one again. Or…

  “Let go of me, vampire hunter,” Daegan said, his voice holding that dangerous edge. He wasn’t in the mood to play. Normally, that would be the trigger Gideon needed to ignore him, test the limits, do whatever the hell he wanted and see what Daegan would do to override him.

  He didn’t do that this time. But he didn’t let go, either. Closing his eyes, Gideon eased his touch so his fingers spread, settling over Daegan’s on his throat. He felt the heat and strength, the taut tendons as his touch slid to Daegan’s hand, then the wrist and forearm, all the way to the biceps. When he reached that point, he gripped and held, not in struggle or defense, but to connect. And then he spoke, direct to the vampire’s mind.