The Price of Possession

by Dakota Brown

  This time, as I slipped my tongue into his mouth, I felt sharpened fangs. A little less in control of himself this time, then. Good. I might get bit, but I didn't think he would hurt me. It occurred to me that he might have been watching for a while, though we'd gone pretty fast, so I suspected he'd left work earlier than he had intended.

  He kissed and nipped along my jaw.

  Sabian cupped my breasts, rolling my nipples between his fingers. He trapped one of my legs with his, and I could feel him, still erect, pressing against my ass.

  "Chris," Mal whispered between kisses.

  "Yes?" I managed to gasp out.

  "I would very much like to taste your blood tonight," he breathed softly, tongue flicking along my neck.

  My heart skipped a beat, and I froze for a moment.

  "You'll enjoy it," he murmured as he nibbled his way down to the curve of my shoulder.

  "Any, uh, lasting consequences I should be aware of?"

  "No, not from me just taking some of your blood."

  I rocked my head back against Sabian's chest, exposing as much of my neck as I could. "Okay." I both could and couldn't believe I'd agreed. I'd never been one to turn away from a good time.

  He rumbled in pleasure before nipping at my neck, sending all sorts of tingles through me, all the way to my toes.

  "Soon," he promised.

  Sabian, possibly reading Malak's intentions, slid one hand down my side, over my hip, until he could slide his fingers between my thighs and pull my leg up, exposing my soaked pussy to Mal's tongue.

  Mal, who obviously didn't care that I'd just had sex with Sabian, dove in with enthusiasm, quickly driving any thoughts out of my head other than the warm presence against my back and his attention to my clit.

  Pretty soon I was crying out wordlessly. Sabian held one of my legs and Malak had the other trapped against the bed. I squirmed, not really trying to get free but because the pleasure was so intense, I almost couldn't handle it. Except, I had no choice unless I asked them to let me go. No amount of intention on my part would ever be strong enough to overpower those two.

  My body shattered.

  I came down from that high pressed between the demon and the vampire, and I was really happy to be there.

  Malak kissed me softly, nipping at my lower lip, biting gently at my jaw. I gave him my neck, but he didn't take what I offered yet, instead glancing at Sabian, still holding me pressed against his chest. The demon loosened his hold on me, but before I could wonder what they were up to, Malak rolled me so I was facing the demon. Sabian took my leg and hooked it over his hip and Mal entered me from behind. The new angle had him filling me in all sorts of interesting ways and I found myself moaning in pleasure as he thrust into me.

  Mal wrapped his hand around my neck, squeezing gently. Not enough to actually cut off my air, just enough to get my attention. My heart raced, and I leaned back into him.

  He lowered his lips to my neck, tilting my head back with his hand. The briefest flash of pain, then pleasure rocketed through me and I came hard as Mal tasted my blood. The orgasm kept going as he drank my blood, sending me to heights of pleasure I never thought possible.

  Sabian lowered his lips to mine, as if he were drinking my small cries of pleasure, which was about all I could manage as the two of them wrecked me completely.

  It was a while before I managed to see straight after that, and I didn't even try to move from where I was cradled between them. Sabian was like a furnace, warming me. Mal was cooler, but no less comforting.

  "How was that?" Mal finally asked.

  "Yeah, we can do that again some time," I breathed out.

  He caressed my shoulder, and Sabian did the same to my hip.

  "Good."

  I really just wanted to go to sleep, but we needed to talk wards and I wanted to see if Sabian had any insight into the other demon's words before I'd banished his ass.

  "How are you, Sabian?" I inquired, voice a little steadier now.

  "Never better," he purred.

  Both Mal and I groaned softly as his power washed over us.

  "Mal?" I felt I should check in with the vampire, too.

  "Certainly one of the better days I've had in a while," he replied, kissing me on my shoulder. "Perhaps we should clean up."

  "Sure."

  Mal scooted off the bed, and I managed to do the same, but then my knees gave out on me. Fortunately, vampire reflexes saved me from crashing to the floor. Mal kissed my temple as he cradled me in his arms.

  "Sabian, I guess we get to bathe our goddess." Mal glanced at the demon, who's eyes lit up with delight.

  That man said the damndest things.

  Chapter 8

  Price

  I found myself curled up on the couch later, content, and cradling a cup of tea while Mal and Sabian both gave coffee some attention. I was leaning against Sabian's strong shoulder and Mal sat across from us in one of the chairs.

  "Tell me what happened today," Mal suggested.

  "Well, we were at the restaurant and some asshole came in and started blowing the place up all poltergeist style. To make a long story short, I sent his ass back to hell, but not before he poorly tried to ask for my help. He wanted me to go with him, and when I refused, he tried to go after all the vintage posters and shit. I lost my temper pretty fast."

  Mal chuckled. "Imagine that."

  "Hey!"

  He shrugged.

  Sabian put his arm around me and squeezed. "It's part of your immense charm."

  "Now I know you're full of shit."

  The demon laughed. "Okay, tell him about the strip club."

  Malak's eyebrows shot up.

  "Well, he needed something to eat. You know what happens when the incubus gets hungry."

  Mal let his eyes travel over my body, lingering suggestively. "Yes, it's quite enjoyable."

  I shook my head in feigned annoyance, though I couldn't disagree.

  "So, anyway, we were doing fine, and then a human with a poorly contained demon, kind of like the one at the restaurant, showed up looking for a good time. The demon managed to get control and was, understandably, pissed, so I sent his ass back to hell, too. But he did manage to get out that more were coming. I'm not quite sure what that was all about."

  "Sabian, any insight you can lend us?"

  Sabian nodded. "Yes. The plane of hell is not quite as the human religions envision it, of course. I'll tell you more later, but there is a hierarchy of demons. I'm sure you've figured that part out. Some of it is related to what kind of demon you are, some of it to how much power you have, though that can be gained or lost, and some of it is related to your level of ambition. I've done well for myself in the past and am relatively powerful for an incubus. I'm also not terribly ambitious. For example, I've built myself up to a state where I don't get hassled, but not so much that I get noticed by the princes. I'm not interested in being their pawn."

  "So, you're here on earth hanging out avoiding notice?" I asked.

  Sabian shrugged. "I have a feeling my position here on earth is going to make me very interesting to whoever sent that message asking for your help. I'm actually here on earth hanging out, as you say, because you caught my interest."

  I cleared my throat and looked away from the intensity in his gaze.

  "Sabian, do you have a way of communicating with demons still in hell?" Mal leaned forward, staring at Sabian.

  He nodded in response, perking up at having been given a task.

  "Perhaps we should find out what they want. It's not that I'm advocating that we work with them, so much as this trend of binding demons and using them is troubling. Especially since it seems like not all the bindings were done well. It's possible this demon trying to send Chris a message could give us enough information to stop things before they get out of control."

  "Hey, mate, if the demon trying to contact me is named Lott tell him to fuck off, there ain't no way. Otherwise, I'll listen to what he has to say."

 
; Sabian studied me. "You know Lott."

  "Unfortunately."

  "He was a crossroad demon and is now a prince, elevated relatively recently," Sabian explained.

  "Fucker."

  "He is certainly not my favorite demon." Sabian hunched his shoulders.

  "Sabian, do you owe any allegiance to princes we should know about?" Mal asked.

  "I'm very loosely associated with a demon prince that goes by the name of Ezra. Obviously, this is not his true name. I actually suspect that this prince is the one trying to contact us. I believe most of the demons bound belong to him."

  "Oh, well, good. At least it's not the other asshole." I sighed. I couldn't believe we were actually doing this. It was like the opposite of my normal activities.

  Sabian chuckled. "I wouldn't say any of us are exactly good, but we're not all terrible creatures, either."

  "Can't believe I'm saying this, mate, but I kind of like you."

  Sabian gave me the most adorable puppy dog eyes that I about died.

  "Seriously?"

  He grinned and my heart melted a little more.

  "Okay, what do you have to do to contact your prince?"

  "Actually, just give me a minute. I really don't have to do much." His expression turned inward before his eyes widened in alarm and he stiffened.

  "Wait! We should probably go downstairs first," I barked.

  Too late. Fuck. What had we just done?

  His entire expression changed, and I scooted to the end of the couch, having an idea of what might have just happened. I'd fight to get him back, but that might not be necessary. Of course, I might have just invited a demonic prince into my house. I exchanged a quick, worried glance with Mal while a probably possessed Sabian surveyed the living room.

  "This is not exactly how I would expect the living area of a notorious exorcist to look." Not-Sabian turned his attention to me. His normal amber eyes were rimmed in red. Definitely possessed. Damn it.

  "You're going to give him back, right? Otherwise, this is going to get ugly fast." I tried not to swell in pride at him calling me notorious, though. That was pretty badass.

  "Yes, Price. I'll give your demon back. For now."

  "For good mate, he's mine," I surprised myself by saying. Huh, I'd really meant that. How had Sabian worked his way into my heart that quickly?

  The demon sighed. "Sabian is practically dancing with glee at the moment. It's giving me a headache." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  "I take it you're not here to destroy my house or be an utter shit?"

  "No, Price, I want your help to free my demons."

  "Did you send that jerk to my restaurant?" I crossed my arms and glared.

  The demon inhabiting Sabian shook his head. "I apologize for his behavior. He will be informed of the proper way of addressing you in the future."

  I got the impression the demon prince was not used to apologizing. Especially to mortals.

  "Naw, don't ever send a minion again. You want to talk to me, you gotta talk to me straight." Shit, really Price, that was the dumbest thing you've ever said. You do not want to deal with a demon prince on the regular, or ever. I tried to keep my alarm at what I'd just done out of my expression.

  "Very well, if that's what you require for your assistance."

  "Naw, mate, that's just what I require to be willing to listen to you."

  Sabian smiled coolly, but the expression was so foreign to his normal cheerful attitude that it sent chills through me.

  "Very well. What do you require for your assistance?"

  "What are we talking about here? What's going on?" I was seriously bargaining with a demon? I'd really gone and lost my mind.

  "Let me say it this way, what would you do to prevent a bound demon prince from being in the possession of your unsavory human friends?"

  I raised my eyebrows. "They're going after a prince?"

  He nodded.

  "We want the same thing, Price. The demons want to be released back to hell. I want whoever is summoning them to burn in the deepest pits of my realm for eternity. You want us not on earth. I'm asking you to actively look into this problem. I doubt the priest has what it takes to prevent what's coming."

  "What is coming?"

  Not-Sabian's brow furrowed. "There is much to this scheme I don't yet understand. I suspect it is a power bid in hell spilling over into your realm."

  "So, you want me to help you. I'm getting that right? You've come to me, an exorcist, to help you."

  Though he looked pained, he nodded. "I need someone who can work on this plane. I do not wish to be summoned myself. My days of bargaining for souls are long behind me and I wish it to remain that way."

  My chest clenched and icy tendrils of fear laced their way through my spine. Fuck. Sabian had failed to mention his prince was also a crossroads demon.

  "What do you wish in exchange for your service?"

  "'Kay, get this straight. I look into this. I'm not working for you. I'm doing you a favor. You don't get to order me around. You don't get to act like you own me. And you will owe me a favor in the future. No strings attached. No trying to find ways around what I'm asking. I ask you for the return favor straight up, you give me straight up help in return. For example, I ask you for a puppy, you ask me what kind."

  He tilted his head as if considering. "Would you like a hell hound? I could arrange that. One might even be useful for you in this coming battle."

  "That's not my favor!"

  "I understand. Price, you must know this. If things were not dire, I would not make this bargain, but I believe they are. I agree to your terms."

  "Okay," I replied slowly after shooting a desperate look at Malak. He looked about as shell shocked as I felt.

  "I do not know enough now to be useful, but I am close to discovering some information on my end." He hesitated. "It would be most useful if I could communicate through this one."

  I took that to mean Sabian.

  "Up to Sabian."

  The demon's expression turned inward for a moment before he nodded. "He agrees. I will reward him suitably when this is over."

  I figured I'd leave those arrangements to the demons. Sabian would know what would be best for him.

  "Good day," the demon said.

  Sabian gasped and clutched at his chest.

  "Holy crap," I exclaimed.

  "Yeah, you can say that again," Sabian murmured.

  Not sure what to say, but not wanting us to delve into a weird silence we had no way to work out of, I forged on with running my mouth a little. "So, what do you think the chances are we're going to have a hellhound show up in the very near future?"

  Both Mal and Sabian focused on me, before they cracked smiles, Sabian's seductive, Mal's a bit more ironic.

  "I hope you don't mind hair on the furniture." Mal laughed.

  I sighed. "So, that just happened, right? It's not some post-sex hallucination?"

  Sabian reached out and pulled me back over to him. I tucked in under his shoulder and snuggled against him.

  "I never thought I'd be working with the supernatural." I was feeling out of my depth, and I didn't like that. I was used to being at the top of my game, but what I knew was exorcism and the occult. Minor spells and such. Getting involved in demonic power plays was far outside of anything I was even remotely comfortable with.

  Mal chuckled and shot me a suggestive look. Sabian tightened his arm around me.

  "Yeah, right, or fucking them." I groaned.

  "Regrets?" Sabian sounded worried.

  "Mate, did I not just claim you in front of a demon prince?"

  "Yes, but I can see you doing that just to be contrary." Sabian really did sound worried now, and clearly he was figuring me out quickly.

  I sighed. "Well, that's true. No, Sabian, so far, no regrets. Not sure how I ended up with the two of you, but I'll happily keep you around."

  The incubus purred happily, and I nearly had an orgasm as the sound vibrated through me do
wn to my very core. I squirmed. "Yeah, that's not something you should do in public."

  He laughed.

  Mal shifted in his chair and I glanced at him. He had a slightly pained expression on his face. "Yes, not in public, thanks."

  "You sure you want to stick around, Mal? Could get pretty dangerous. We could end up entangled pretty deeply with demons other than Sabian here." Now I sounded worried. I didn't want to lose the vampire this fast. How I'd gone from, 'I'm good with my vibrator' to desperately needing the two men in my living room to stay in my life, I wasn't sure. Yeah, they were hot, and interesting, and sweet, and seemed to like me. Okay, those were pretty good reasons to keep someone around. Two someones in fact. The feelings were a touch uncomfortable, but I felt I had to own up to them. It wasn't fair to them otherwise.

  "I'm no stranger to dangerous times. I'm happy to stand by your side, and Sabian's. If nothing else, it'll make things interesting for a while. We need to stop this occultist before the idea of binding demons spreads, and before they get more involved in the other aspects of crime that your priest is worried about. Besides, I like you, Chris Price and you might need me to watch your back."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Just my back?"

  His grin turned suggestive. "And the rest of you."

  I took a deep breath. "Okay, right. So, we have a few more hours to kill before I suspect the staff will be done cleaning up the restaurant. What do you want to do?"

  Mal grinned.

  And that was how I ended up playing a drunken dwarf in a dungeon crawl for my very first tabletop roleplaying adventure. Sabian played a celestial paladin, and Mal told us all what to do.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  We showed up at the restaurant at about ten pm. Everyone was still there, eating pizza and drinking beer. The place was as clean as I had ever seen it, and I fully approved of the pizza party.

  Billy grinned when we came inside. He knew me well enough to know I'd be okay with the party and no trace of worry crossed his features.

  The smell of fresh pizza also made me realize how hungry I was. Had I eaten?