Cantrips: Volume #2: Minor Magics Crafted to Amuse and Entertain

by Joey W. Hill

  In answer, Gideon dropped the tether to the ground and stepped on it, a symbolic gesture that he was still holding the vampire’s leash. Then he opened his jeans. His cock practically gave an audible sigh of relief. After another thought, Gideon backed off a step, removed his boots, shed the jeans and stood before Daegan in those tight brief shorts Anwyn had admired on him earlier. Daegan shared that pleasure, how the style put all the emphasis on the front, on the cock and balls, the shorts style keeping the garment from looking like panties in the way that traditional briefs did. However, the far shorter cut of the legs versus boxers offered a good view of his muscular legs. Daegan’s thought, not his. Absurdly, Gideon flushed at the vampire’s avid and graphic appreciation of his body in the brief style.

  Daegan dropped to one knee before him. Gideon adjusted the cloth downward, releasing his cock fully, and then his eyes closed as Daegan’s hands came up and gripped him, double fisted.

  He hadn’t given Daegan permission; Daegan hadn’t asked. That was how the one knee thing worked now, where his intention to put Daegan on all fours hadn’t. It was such an odd thing, the subtleties between vampire and servant.

  Anwyn appeared in his field of vision. She’d shed the robe so she was only in the waist cincher, her breasts quivering as she stepped up behind Daegan and threaded her long-nailed fingers into his silken hair. Gideon let out a guttural sound of desperate pleasure as the vampire’s mouth closed on him. Daegan sucked him right to the back of his throat, letting him feel the prick of his fangs, but adjusting so they were an enhancement to the pleasure, not a distraction. Mostly. Anwyn watched the point of contact avidly, as did Gideon, seeing his Master’s mouth stretch over his cock, slide all the way down. The heel of Daegan’s hands, his thumbs, caressed Gideon’s balls.

  Hunger had exploded in Daegan’s mind during that first suck. Gideon imagined that had resulted in another spurt of semen from the slit of the vampire’s cock, thick enough to drip on the floor. He moistened his own lips at the thought, rasping out an erratic breath, fists closing at his sides as Daegan slid down his length and back up again, pulling on Gideon. He brought that boiling climax in his balls to full tea pot kettle whistle level.

  Reaching over Daegan, Gideon captured Anwyn’s gorgeous tits in his hands, fondling the curves with pure male demand. It won a challenging glint from his Mistress’s eyes, but she allowed it, dropping her head back with a lovely sigh of arousal, her gleaming brown hair brushing her ass. He gave her nipples a hard pinch as he shoved deeper into Daegan’s mouth.

  “Fuck…” he groaned. Anwyn gripped Daegan’s hair, and he heard the male vampire make a savage noise against his cock, a response as intense as theirs. Gideon was so close, but he realized he’d gotten so used to asking permission to come that he was hesitating at the brink. He met Anwyn’s eyes. But it wasn’t her lips on him.

  “Come for me,” Daegan snarled against his cock. “Gideon. Do it now.”

  He spurted like a fountain, bucking his hips against Daegan’s mouth, his cock emitting one pure, thick gush of come, everything that had built up since this had started. It felt like the pressure of a dam release, with all the disorienting rush and power of the flow that went along with it. Gideon shouted out his climax, dropping his grip on Anwyn’s breasts to overlap her hand on Daegan’s head, his other falling to the vampire’s shoulder, fingers leaving pressure marks there.

  “Yes…God.”

  Gideon discovered that Daegan’s mind went as blank as his own in such a moment. One goal, one purpose. It was all about taking his length fully, sucking him down, making sure he gave his servant a full measure of satisfaction. Functional, yes, but the fiery streak of satisfaction he felt from Daegan was enough to twine around his cock and start the blood pumping once again.

  Daegan had made room for the back stretch, but it was Gideon who was going to take them all the way home.

  Part Five

  Gideon took some deep, shuddering breaths, still holding onto Daegan’s shoulder. He realized Daegan had spread out his fingers, thumb in the crease between his thigh and ball sac. He was helping to steady Gideon, holding him up, the same way Gideon had done for him earlier, after he’d brought Daegan to climax in the same way. Glancing down at his cock, still in a semi-turgid state, Gideon saw some streaks of blood. Vaguely, he remembered the vampire had grazed him a couple times.

  “Got a little enthusiastic there,” he grumbled. “You have switch blades in your mouth, you know.”

  “You zigged when I zagged. Which is not a problem when I’m in your mind.”

  Thinking back, Gideon did admit the fangs had scraped him when he jerked in involuntary response. Daegan had never scored him by accident when he went down on Gideon from a Dominant position, even when he didn’t have his servant tightly restrained.

  “No shit. Never thought of it as planned.”

  Daegan’s gaze lifted. “It’s why you wanted in my mind, is it not? To monitor my wellbeing?”

  “You laughing at me for that?” Wrapping the tether around his hand, Gideon tugged the vampire to his feet. Daegan rose, all deadly grace and balance.

  “You’re still in my mind, Gideon. You know the answer to that. A vampire, like any predator, expects no one but himself to safeguard his wellbeing. Learning there are times when you may relax that guard…it’s not easy for us, but that doesn’t make it any less precious of a gift.”

  He was right; Gideon could feel that reaction in the maze of the vampire’s psyche. Daegan wasn’t mocking or rejecting the idea of Gideon’s care. He was approaching it the way a wild animal approached something unknown to it, all senses tuned to evaluating the size and shape of it, but he’d passed the point of considering it a threat. Now there was curiosity, a little bit of wonder. Giving a seven-hundred-year-old plus vampire a sense of wonder, however brief, was undeniably kind of cool.

  “I want you back in my head. Two-way, though. I want to be in yours for this last part.”

  Daegan inclined his head, and there it was. Usually it was a subtle click that Gideon’s precog senses helped him detect when the connection was active. He noticed it had more of a jolt to it this time. It reminded him of a dog brought back to his yard after a trip, charging back into the fence to run around and sniff every corner, see what had crossed his territory, if anything had changed. Hopefully Daegan wouldn’t feel the need to mark him the same way.

  Daegan’s gaze met his, amused. “I am forever torn between the desire to laugh or put my foot up your ass, vampire hunter.”

  “Same goes. Right now, though, I only want to do one thing.” Gideon stroked a knuckle down Daegan’s throat, winning a surprised flicker in his dark gaze at the intimacy, but he wanted to feel the swallow when he spoke the next words.

  “I want to fuck you.”

  The vampire did swallow, and that constriction in his throat was matched by a similar reaction in Gideon’s gut. He backed up, tugging the rope, and the vampire followed him. It was a powerful fantasy come to life, Daegan naked, his hands bound, following him into the bedroom. Following his lead, trusting him because Gideon had asked him for that trust.

  You did more than ask, Gideon. You have earned it. A far more important distinction.

  “You’re way too articulate,” Gideon said, despite the swell of emotion the thought inspired. “I need to get you back to four-letter words and heavy mouth-breathing.”

  “So we can be on equal intellectual levels?”

  “Nice.” Gideon gave the tether a sharp tug. “Not a smart move, when your ass is going to be at my mercy.”

  “I have no fear of you, vampire hunter.”

  Daegan often arrogantly assumed no human could cause him physical harm, but the look he gave Gideon now said he meant something quite different. Daegan cocked his head, eyes vivid. You assured me I had nothing to fear from you.

  Gideon pressed his lips together, not sure how to respond to that. Instead, he turned his attention to their new setting.

  As if Lyssa
knew her vampire guests might have an orgy in it, the cottage’s master bedroom had an enormous bed. A great size for two tall men and one female. Usually, Anwyn lay between Gideon and Daegan. Not tonight, though. At least not right now.

  The screened windows were open, letting in the night marsh sounds, the futile patter of bugs trying to invade. The smell filtering through the mesh was humid salt water and green maritime forest. Gideon could easily imagine Lyssa flying in that mysterious jungle when she transformed to her sleek Fae form.

  Anwyn slid into the room behind them. Unhooking the waist cincher, she dropped it over the arm of a chair, so all three of them were pretty much naked, except for Gideon’s shorts and Daegan’s restraints. Her pale skin gleamed, her hair brushing her buttocks.

  Gideon took Daegan to the bed and nodded. “In the middle, on your side. Facing the window. Facing her.”

  Anwyn’s mind touched his, understanding what he wanted. Gideon held the tether, paying out some slack as Daegan complied, sliding across the bed and settling on his side, showing the curve of shoulder and hip, lean thigh stretched out. Gideon was the one who swallowed now. He could see in darkness like a candlelit room, and the play of shadows and light his vision provided etched out the line of Daegan’s back, the seam between his buttocks, every line of muscle. The way his hair lay on his neck. The shape of ear and jaw.

  Putting his knee on the bed, Gideon leaned over Daegan’s head, giving the rope a tug. “Grip the rails of the headboard.”

  He felt Daegan looking up at him as he tied the tether to the slats just above Daegan’s grip. It left the vampire’s elbows bent at the level of his face, his arms not as straight as he’d been when standing, but that was fine, as long as his hands were out of the way. The main point was emphasizing he still wasn’t the one in charge. Technically.

  The position pillowed Daegan’s head on his biceps. Gideon traced his back once more, admittedly a little fascinated with the way his callused, rough fingers looked against the unmarked skin. He didn’t often get the chance to touch Daegan like this, and he was finding it damn addictive. His mind went to the trinity of teardrops on his own chest, proof of Daegan and Anwyn’s combined third mark on him, the choice of the Powers-That-Be. The branded collar on his throat and matching cuff brands on his wrists were the choice of his Master and Mistress, their imposed will.

  He sensed Daegan’s attention to the thoughts going through his mind. “You wish to mark me as I marked you, vampire hunter?”

  Yes.

  “There’s a blade in the drawer.” Daegan nodded toward the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed.

  Anwyn regularly teased them about their penchant for having a weapon in every room. She’d declared they could pull an assault rifle from behind the commode, or a grenade out of a fruit bowl. Gideon had pointed out calmly that they weren’t that excessive. Given their capable hand-to-hand skills, they were technically well-armed, even if there were no weapons available. However, the fruit bowl idea was a good one. And grenades were a plus in any situation.

  Leaving the bed, he circled to the side where Anwyn sat, facing Daegan. Withdrawing the blade from the drawer, he saw it was his military grade pig sticker. An aspiring burglar would wet his shorts if faced with it. Yet if he broke into this cottage, it wouldn’t be the knife he’d have to worry about. At least two of the occupants would view him like a Domino’s delivery. With extra marinara sauce.

  Daegan spoke again. “Not that one, Gideon.”

  Anwyn drew in a quiet breath. Gideon glanced back into the drawer. There was a wooden knife lying next to his nine-millimeter. It was excellent craftsmanship—solid blade, sharp edge, wicked point. Jacob had given it to Gideon as a gift, partially as a joke, but with serious intent. Vampires had enemies and, whether the vampires in question liked it or not, a servant felt just as responsible for protecting them. Especially a servant who had been a vampire hunter.

  Gideon turned the wooden blade over in his hands. By directing his choice, Daegan was verifying his earlier thoughts, telling Gideon he was one of the few in the world Daegan trusted. Completely.

  “When I mark you, it won’t stay. Not like mine.” Daegan healed from anything. His angel blood even overrode the vampire blood, such that he couldn’t tattoo himself. His blood and Anwyn’s combined had worked on Gideon, though.

  “Not like yours,” Daegan agreed. “But do you feel their weight most on your skin or on your heart?” He nodded to the marks on Gideon’s chest. “What’s on your skin is merely a symbol of where the real collar and cuffs lie. That is all.” Mark me as you desire, Gideon. I will absorb it into my soul, and it will be as real there as what you bear on your flesh.

  Anwyn had shifted over Daegan’s legs and was now kneeling behind him, her hand resting on his hip as she regarded Gideon with quiet eyes, serious mouth. With her gaze trained on them, Gideon lifted the knife and brought the point to Daegan’s chest. His hand trembled, then tightened with hard resolve on the hilt.

  No. He pulled it away, flipped it so it was pointing backwards, blade clutched firmly in his hand. Not even for this, no. He couldn’t handle seeing that lethal wooden point so close to his Master’s heart. Because of his mixed blood, Daegan had said he wasn’t sure if he could be killed in the regular vampire way, but Gideon wasn’t taking any chances. He’d seen too much shit in his life. Fate was too capricious. For all he knew, a mighty gust of wind might come through the screen, or Gideon could have a violent muscle spasm, and then bam, that blade would be thrust between Daegan’s ribs.

  Yeah, it was a stupid, childish thought, but he’d lost his parents to such a crazy act of fate. Then he’d lost Laura. As much as he loved those three faces of his past, it was a star against a galaxy, in terms of how he felt about these two faces of his present. Fuck the automatic dying if his Master or Mistress were killed. Losing either of them would kill him, period.

  What they meant to him was far too precious to Gideon to ever take such a risk. He set the wooden blade aside and retrieved the military knife. For all its threatening appearance, it was much less worrisome.

  “Gideon.” Daegan’s hands flexed in the bonds as if he wished to touch him. Gideon saw it in that kaleidoscope of colors in the vampire’s mind, and felt an answering resonance in Anwyn’s.

  “Just shut up. Pretend you’re tied up and at my mercy.”

  I am.

  Gideon closed his eyes, enveloped by those colors. He put the blade tip against Daegan’s flesh without looking, because he didn’t have to do so. He knew where his heart was. As he pressed into the firm meat of the left pectoral, he felt Daegan still, internalize the pain. Gideon carved the marks into his flesh, feeling as if his own nerve endings burned in response. When he opened his eyes, there it was. A bold G, with a clean, sharp A right next to it.

  “The two people you belong to,” he said. “Say it. Say you’ll never forget it.”

  Anwyn’s hand had settled over Gideon’s, both of them gripping Daegan’s shoulder, which shifted beneath their hold as he looked between them, meeting Anwyn’s blue-green eyes before coming back to Gideon’s.

  “I belong to the both of you,” the vampire said, that Old World cadence he had making it even more formal of an oath. “And I will not forget that. Not ever. My heart, soul and body are yours.”

  Gideon nodded. With a sense of the same ritual solemnity, he licked the residual blood off the blade, collected the rest off Daegan’s chest with his fingers and offered it to Anwyn. She took it straight from his hand, Daegan’s gaze locked on both of them. Every line of him tightened as, with a playful look toward Gideon to break the mood, she bent and used her delicate tongue to lick around the edges of the wound.

  When she straightened, Gideon offered a hand to his Mistress. “Switch places with me? I’d like you to keep him occupied.”

  That sparkle stayed in her beautiful gaze as she took his hand, sliding over Daegan with an intimate wriggle of her body that captured his attention just as Gideon intended. S
he reclined facing the vampire, aligning herself with Daegan’s body as Gideon moved behind him and stretched out on his hip.

  Bless her heart, Anwyn had brought the lubricant with her. Getting rid of his shorts, he leaned back to snag it off the other nightstand. As he rolled onto his back behind Daegan to grease up his own cock, he had the pleasure of being connected to their minds, knowing Anwyn was taking full advantage of Daegan’s bound state to trail her fingers over those healing initials, put her mouth on them and lick the blood more thoroughly as her other hand dropped. Caressing his cock elicited a strong response from the vampire. With feral amusement, Gideon realized the vampire had a seriously sexist double standard. He got way more growly and aggressive about Anwyn taking advantage of his bound state than he had about Gideon doing it.

  When he latched onto her throat, a reproof complete with the prick of fangs, her throaty purr was preceded by the appearance of her fingers sliding up along his shoulder, into Daegan’s dark hair as she pressed her body full against the vampire’s, teasing his cock with her slick pussy, but keeping it out of penetration range.

  I shall tie you both up for days and torture you at my leisure.

  He meant that shit. But Gideon intended to distract him from such dire intentions. Glancing down, knowing they were both in his mind, he gave them a front row view of him stroking his cock, spreading that lube on good and thick over the head, up and down the shaft. It was like feeling two lasers turn in his direction. He intensified the heat by drawing it out on purpose, thumbing his slit to rub some of what was oozing out of it in with the lube. Having been their servant a while, chained to them in a variety of ways, he knew just how to tease the Dom in them.