by Emma Jaye
Ezra’s hand pushed further under Finn’s shirt kneading his shoulder. The increased skin-on-skin contact made him feel... cherished.
“What happened to the chain?” Ezra asked.
“Gave it back to the person who chose it; his fiancée’s lover, Charlie’s P.A. He sent her after me because keeping up the charade for their friends was more important than me.”
Ezra squeezed his shoulder in approval. Finn looked up at him in the darkness.
“Good move. You needed to prove he doesn’t own you. Idiots like him think money is everything. You were just a convenient mouth he was buying. That’s fine, if you know what’s happening, but you didn’t. He lied to you; you’re better off without him.”
Ezra’s words sank into him, became part of him.
Finn’s phone rang. Ezra reached for it.
“No, I’ll do it. He’ll just keep trying otherwise.”
“Where are you? I’m worried about you.” There was indeed a note of concern in Charlie’s voice. But it wasn’t for him, it was for the money he’d invested in priming Finn to be an always-available bit on the side.
“Bollocks, just bollocks. If you cared, you wouldn’t be fucking a big arsed woman for her family connections. Did you always use condoms, or do I need to get myself tested?” He knew that wasn’t an issue, but he wanted to hurt Charlie, like he’d been hurt.
“Don’t talk about Felicity like that. I’ve never bad mouthed you to her. Besides, we’ve never... Didn’t Annabelle explain it to you? In any case, come back and we can all sit down and talk about the future like adults.”
The sigh of frustration and the controlled tone was everything Finn had once found so attractive; now it just pissed him off. He wanted mindless passion, not logical conversation. And what the fuck does he mean that I can be ‘like an adult’?
Ezra put his other hand on Finn’s knee but he pushed it off, intent on the conversation with Charlie.
“I’m not a child or a fucking mushroom so stop talking to me as If I’m both. At least you told her about me, which was damn sight more consideration than you gave me. And what bloody future? One where you play happy families with Ms Horsey and a turkey baster? What’ll I be? Your live-in fluffer?” Ezra’s comment about paying for his mouth came back to him. “Actually, what’s the going rate for a rent boy?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Charlie growled.
“Yeah, I’m stupid, I must be not to have seen something was off when the whole fucking world was telling me. I still want to know if I’ve been underpaid or if you’ve been generous.”
“Street walkers get around thirty quid a trick. I charge two hundred an hour,” Ezra said.
Not being able to hear Ezra, Charlie carried on. “Stop being so damn dramatic and juvenile. Just tell me where you are and I’ll send a car to take you home if you don’t want to come here. It isn’t safe for a guy like you to wander the streets on his own.”
Finn’s hand tightened on the phone. “So now you care? And what’s a ‘guy like me’ meant to mean? You’ve been treating me like a whore and I want to know if I’ll be getting the going rate if I come back to you. The male escort who’s sitting next to me charges two hundred an hour and he doesn’t insist on exclusivity.”
The car swerved slightly. Ezra growled something about taking it out of Pixie’s hide if she wrecked his car.
“You always did have a dramatic imagination. If you’re really with an escort, let me talk to him.”
Finn touched a button. “You’re on speaker. Ezra, Charlie thinks you’re a figment of my imagination.”
“You wanted to speak to me, you lying, repressed piece of shit?” Ezra said as if he was ordering pizza.
Finn thought he could hear Charlie’s teeth grinding.
“Look, whoever you are, you’re barking up the wrong tree with Finn. He can’t afford that sort of money.”
“Oh, I know that. I’m looking to recruit him, not charge him. Thanks for not popping his cherry; that’s worth a bundle. I’m taking him back to my place right now to assess what I need to teach him.”
Blinking in surprise, Finn found he wasn’t completely against the idea. Or at least he wasn’t against losing himself in Ezra’s arms all night. The prostitution thing was another matter, but Ezra seemed to be doing fine with his career choice.
“Finn, listen to me, this is important,” Charlie said as if he was talking to a five-year-old. “Get out of that car right now; this isn’t you. Today’s been a shock. I handled things terribly and I apologise for that. I’ll keep paying your fees, room and board, whatever happens between us. This arrangement I’ve got with Felicity is for convenience, for show, nothing more. We’re friends, that’s it. It’s you I care about. If it wasn’t for her rules, I’d, I’d love to sleep with you. But after we’ve produced an heir, all that can change. It’ll be a good life for all of us, I’ll look after you, I promise. Please Finn, don’t do this, don’t go with him. I need you just the way you are, my sweet boy.”
Ezra stiffened beside him.
“Sweet boy?” Ezra growled. “I think you mean penniless virgin doormat, don’t you? You had your chance, you blew it. Don’t bother contacting him again.”
For the first time, Finn wasn’t witnessing the laidback charmer. This Ezra was... dangerous. But he was fighting for Finn. He liked it.
“Finn? Don’t do this. Don’t throw your life away because of something I did.” Charlie sounded frantic, more upset than Finn had ever heard him. Worry tickled at the back of Finn’s mind. It can’t be easy for him, and people make mistakes all the time, maybe–
Ezra reached out, turning Finn’s chin to look into his eyes.
“You’re upsetting him, Whittaker. He’s had a hell of a shock, thanks to you. Plus, he’s exhausted because he was out with me last night. Stop playing games with him and leave him alone.”
Finn suddenly felt very tired. Ezra was right. He didn’t want to do this anymore, didn’t want the conflict, the worry, the doubt. It was over and Charlie needed to understand that.
“You’re not the person I thought you were, Charlie. You lied to me, and I need to trust the person I’m with. I hope it works out for you.” He pressed the disconnect button, then blocked Charlie’s number.
It felt so very final. Slumped in his seat, he tried to work out whether Ezra would think he was pathetic if he cried.
“Have a little sleep, I’ll wake you when we’re nearly there.”
CHAPTER 5
Finn dozed off as he snuggled up against Ezra. The night before, the trauma of the day and the uncharacteristic alcohol intake had all taken their toll. They were coming into Brighton by the time Finn stirred.
He wondered what they’d been talking about as Pixie’s back was stiff, but Finn had a plan to cheer all three of them up. It was spelt F.U.N.
“You know what?” Finn said.
Ezra raised his eyebrows and Pixie glanced in the rear-view mirror.
“I think I want to have sex. Lots of hot meaningless sex just for the fun of it.”
Ezra grinned down at him, totally on board with his sexual emancipation.
“From what you said the other night there are a lot of things I’ve been missing out on and I’d like you to show me, no strings attached.”
The car pulled to the side of the road and Pixie turned around in her seat.
“Are you using your mojo on him again?”
Ezra frowned. “Nothing since he woke up. You really think this is necessary right now?”
“It is if you’re modern enough to consider informed consent is a factor, instead of being a cave man.”
The mention of mojo made Finn recall the strange urges he’d felt ever since he’d met Ezra. He still wasn’t sure how he’d got home last night and he only remembered having a single sip of wine.
“What the hell do you mean, mojo?”
“You first, Pink. You started it,” Ezra drawled as he relaxed back in his seat.
A lorry rumbled past, making the car r
ock briefly before the silence returned. Pixie shifted in her seat and reached out to hold Finn’s hand in the gloom.
“He wasn’t lying about wanting you to join his business.” She held up her hand to stop both of them speaking.
“It’s not that I don’t think you could get enough clients to fund your degree if that’s what you want; you’re one hot guy. It’s more about whether you could cope with the emotional, or rather, lack of emotional baggage that goes with being paid for it. There are other ways. Student loans, that sort of thing.”
“And you were doing so well. Best watch what you say, fae,” Ezra growled.
Finn put his hand on the bigger man’s arm. “No, it’s all right. I appreciate her looking out for me. She told me Charlie was a loser, and I didn’t listen. She has no ulterior motives so I trust her, more than I do you at the moment, no offence.”
“None taken. Shows you’ve got a brain as well being seriously hot.”
As Finn was trying to come up with a suitable reply to such a blatant compliment, Ezra turned to Pixie.
“So, am I trustworthy enough for our Finn? Will I ever lie to him, if he asks me a direct question?”
Pixie scowled at Ezra as some unsaid conversation occurred between them. “No, no you won’t lie. But you might omit the truth or try to distract him so you don’t have to answer.”
“I’m going off you, big time,” Ezra told her.
“No, that helps.” Finn squeezed Ezra’s arm. “To be honest, if she’d just agreed with you, I would have smelled a rat. I don’t expect either of you to be saints. I’m certainly not.”
Pixie murmured, “Bloody good job.”
Ezra leaned forward. “Look, you can get out and walk if you like. It’s my–”
Finn interrupted the squabble. “The thing is, after all this, I never want to have to rely on someone else for money ever again. I can’t burden my mum with my sorry carcass. I need a job and it needs to be here. Maybe I’ll be able to go back to education later in life, but I’d rather do it now.
Warming to his subject, he carried on “I could get some bar work, and what you do doesn’t bother me. If you need any help, I could work in the shop, organise your clients, even if I can’t... you know. Would someone really pay a lot to have my cherry? Because I think I might be able to do that. It’s got to happen sometime, right? After that, can we see how it goes?”
After announcing such a momentous decision, he’d expected a little more of their attention focused on him. Instead, his companions were staring daggers at each other.
“If you don’t tell him, I will. He deserves to know so he can make an informed decision,” Pixie said.
“That’s a little rich, considering how often you break the rules and need bailing out by yours truly.” Ezra indicated Finn with a finger. “Go on, you first; tell him what you think he needs to know about you. They say confession is good for the soul. I’m interested to find out what you think constitutes an ‘informed decision’.”
Pixie scowled at him then turned to Finn. “I work for him. I recruit likely clients by watching out for wealthy students, lonely lecturers, conference attendees looking for some fun away from home, and arrange introductions. He pays me for each suitable person who contacts him, and a bonus if they employ him. So, in a way, you already work for him. You’ve been my wingman many times when we’ve been out. I see blokes and women eyeing you up, and I move in and give them his card.”
Finn blinked, as he connected the dots. Pixie had pushed him to go to Erotes. “You set me up?”
Pixie winced, then shrugged. “Not as a client. I thought he’d show you what you were missing with that arsehole of a boyfriend, not that he’d want to recruit you. He’s never done that before.”
She poked a finger in Ezra’s direction. “And if you hurt him, you and I will not get along, got it?”
Ezra straightened up, his eyebrows raised. “You’re on board with this?”
Scowling, Pixie replied, “As long as it’s what he wants with no funny business. I’ll even make the appointments for the pair of you while I work in the shop. I am so fed up with being a student.”
A broad smile appeared on Ezra’s face and he bowed slightly towards Pixie. “I’m flattered. Consider yourself hired.”
“I thought I already was. I’ll get a cab home. And Ezra, explain it, properly like you agreed on the way up.”
“Really? I thought you were joking.”
“You don’t joke about sex, do you? So why would you think I’d joke about revealing secrets? This is important, he needs to know. Do it right or I will,” she said over her shoulder as she got out and walked away.
“I haven’t got a clue what’s going on with you two, but are you going to let a vulnerable five foot nothing girl just walk off into the night, alone?” Finn undid his seatbelt, intending to go after her.
Ezra snorted. “Believe me, Pixie’s probably the least vulnerable person within the city limits, apart from me.”
Ezra’s relaxed attitude mollified Finn a little. Maybe Pixie was some sort of martial arts expert. Like he had done all day, Finn felt as if he’d been kept out of the loop, and he was thoroughly pissed off with being treated like a mushroom.
“What does she want you to tell me? Remember, you promised not to lie to me.”
Ezra scratched the back of his head. “Me. Her.”
Finn’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not paying Pixie for sex, are you? Fuck, is she paying you?”
Ezra winced. Then reached out and took Finn’s hand in both of his.
“This is going to be a lot, but try to take it in; I’m not lying. Pixie and I aren’t sleeping together. We never have and we never will; we’re not compatible in that way. Her thing is information, not... lust. She isn’t what she seems, neither am I.” Ezra glanced at him as if gauging how he was taking the news.
“Go on, I’ve already entered the twilight zone tonight, no reason to back out now.”
Ezra blew out a breath. “Pixie is a fae. She’s not human and she’s been working for me for the last fifteen years. She found out something dangerous, and I made the owner of that information forget all about her. She owes me her life. Disrupting the memories of humans I feed from is one of the abilities of my kind.”
If Ezra wanted to play silly buggers, he could too. Finn pulled away, both hands going to his neck as if to protect it. “No wonder you were so concerned about that silver chain. You’re a vampire! I’m so fucking stupid, I’ve never seen you eat or even out in daylight.”
Ezra rolled his eyes, sinking back into his seat. “Vampires, always with the vampires. Hollywood has a lot to answer for. I’m not a bloodsucker Finn; I’m an incubus.
“Your lot converts energy from dead plants and animals into energy, vampires do it with living blood, my sort does it with desire. I can eat human food, and I did exclusively until I became adult, but I don’t need to anymore. I feed on and make a living from entertaining wealthy ladies and gentlemen.”
Ezra was as mad as a hatter, but if the delusion helped him cope with his work, Finn supposed it wasn’t hurting anyone. Or was it? “You’re careful about condoms and stuff, even though you’re a whatever it is, right?”
“Incubus, or sex demon. And yes, for my feeders peace of mind, I do, but it’s not necessary. My kind wouldn’t have survived if we were susceptible to infectious diseases. Besides, I select feeders carefully, always have.”
Was Ezra really delusional or was he playing? Finn’s course had touched on the needs of the mentally ill, and he was bursting with curiosity.
“How did you find them, your ‘feeders’, apart from Pixie?”
Ezra sighed. “Different ways at different times. After I left home, I ended up with a vampire clan.” A wry snort of amusement left him. “As you can imagine, it didn’t work out well. When I managed to leave, I came home and found out I’d inherited this territory. I signed up as a student. Studying was only a means to an end to find prospective prey, so–”
“Prey? Is that what I am to you?”
The wolfish grin that spread across Ezra’s face sent shivers up Finn’s spine.
“Oh yes, little Finn, that’s exactly what you are. A delectable little morsel that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hunting.”
This guy might be gorgeous, but Finn wasn’t going to simply roll over for him like he’d done for Charlie. Roleplay was something that had always interested him, but mental illness was another thing altogether.
“It’s not over yet. I haven’t agreed to anything, especially about going along with this supernatural roleplay kink. Don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in a bit of–”
Ezra closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes glowed in the shadowed interior of the car.
Finn froze. Human eyes didn’t do that.
“I can smell that you want me. The vampires that you humans hold so dear can sense fear, it makes the blood sweeter, which is bad news for their prey.” Ezra’s finger ran slowly down Finn’s chest. “My kind can sense lust from a hundred yards, we need our prey to enjoy themselves, no fear, only pleasure. Only pain for those that like it. And you, little Finn, reek of desire. It’s so powerful I’m having trouble resisting unzipping your fly and sucking it out of you. You want me, far more than you’re admitting.”
Finn had been as wrong as he could be. This man, this... incubus was telling the truth. He should be afraid, should run from this demon who only wanted to feed off his base desires, but he wasn’t. Actually, now he was thinking about it, he wasn’t worried about anything. Not even the fact that he was clearly being influenced. Ezra interrupted his consideration.
“You have no idea what you could do for me, do you? But if this is going to work, I’ve got to be honest with you and not only because it’s the law these days. I don’t want to use you, you’re worth more than that. I like you, Finn, I want to be with you, not just feed on you.
“Hunting possibly unfruitful prey takes valuable time, so Pixie points me in the direction of more likely candidates. I never feed from the same individual more than six times, unless I leave at least a year between feedings.” His lip curled in a self-satisfied smile. “I have a certain addictive quality. Being with me tends to spoil their chances of future relationships; humans don’t really compare to sex demons. Most of the time I only feed once from a person.
