Darkest Misery

by Tracey Martin

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend more time in Tom’s company, but I wasn’t up for exploring on my own when I was exhausted. Better to let him direct me to a decent restaurant.

  Marie bade us good night, so it was just the two of us. The place Tom took me to must have been popular with the Gryphons because the owners recognized him even without his uniform. Sadly, I barely tasted my food, and the wine Tom insisted I have with it only made me sleepier. After deciding on a time to meet tomorrow, I practically crawled my way to my hotel room.

  Tossing my phone on the bed, I groaned. I hadn’t unpacked a damn thing, and I knew I should contact both Steph and Lucen before I went to sleep. Hopefully, the time difference meant it was earlier there. My brainpower had been sucked dry, and I could no longer be sure how these pesky time zones worked.

  I yanked my boots off and flopped on the bed. I hadn’t been able to get a signal in World’s basement, so I’d put my phone in airplane mode to avoid the battery draining. When it reconnected, I discovered several emails and missed texts.

  One of the emails was from Steph, and I opened it first.

  Those goblins and their 20th-century computer were using 20th-century encryption. I’d have expected better from them. Doesn’t greed extend to technology these days? Got a bunch of files for you. I’ll assume you know what they mean. They’re attached.

  Don’t get dead, you owe me.

  XO, Steph

  “You’re a genius,” I told her. Then, because I wasn’t so tired that I’d forgotten she couldn’t hear me, I emailed her with the same praise.

  Rather than try opening the files on my phone tonight, I sent them to Tom and prayed the information we needed was in them. Tomorrow, I’d find out.

  Next, I went through my texts and responded to those from Lucen asking me to let him know I’d made it safely.

  He wrote back almost immediately. Took you long enough. Talk later. Meeting started.

  So that was that. By the time he got out of the meeting, I planned to be asleep. Might as well get on with the plan.

  I found my toothbrush and started to the bathroom when someone knocked on my door. I froze, and fear trickled down my spine. The other side of the door was an emotional void, meaning either preds, magi or addicts. But that shouldn’t have been possible. The only people who should know where I was were Tom and Marie.

  The hairs on my neck rose. Putting the Atlantic between me and any potential goblin assassins was supposed to keep me safe. So much for that. I dropped my toothbrush and reached for my knife.

  “Jess, for sin’s sake, I can feel you in there. Stop contemplating ways to kill me, and open the door.”

  The fear left me in whoosh of breath, replaced by annoyance. Cursing, I chucked the knife away and threw open the heavy door. “What are you doing here?”

  Devon stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking smug despite his hair not lying in its usually perfect black waves or his shirt remaining wrinkle-free. “All in good time. But honestly, when someone knocks on your door, consider asking who it is before you begin contemplating ways to dispose of their bodies.”

  “I have reason to worry, or did you forget I was attacked yesterday?” I frowned. “Wait, was it yesterday anymore? I’m so lost and tired.”

  He rested his head against the doorframe. “Please tell me you’re not too tired. I spent the last hour tracking you down. I need you.”

  “For what?”

  He gazed at me with pleading, puppy-dog eyes, an expression that suited his face far too well when he wanted it to. “You remember the conversation I had with you a couple weeks ago about how the pred-addict bond works?”

  “You mean how you need to dump your excess emotions on your addicts? I’m not likely to forget. Your point?”

  Devon cleared his throat. “When the bond gets stretched thin, say by distance, say by an entire fucking ocean, using it becomes challenging.”

  “You traveled here without an addict?” I hated myself immediately for thinking of a human being like a travel accessory, but clearly from Devon’s point of view, one should have been. Even Claudius had brought two addicts with him to Boston.

  “I left on short notice. Bringing someone would have delayed me. Besides, they could have gotten in the way while I was here.”

  “So you need…?”

  “A good fuck. Probably several. I’m starting to lose my mind, and since you know what that’s like thanks to Lucrezia, I thought you’d be sympathetic.”

  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “There’s a whole city of people out there.”

  “And yet I sought you out.” He smiled pitifully. “Don’t make me remind you that you owe me two favors.”

  I wanted to bang my head against something, preferably before collapsing in my bed. Yet I couldn’t deny there was something endearing in the fact that Devon had looked for me instead of finding a random stranger. It wasn’t as though a random stranger would—or could—turn him down. A satyr with as much power as he had could magic the vestments off a priest.

  “Fine,” I said, wondering if anyone in the close-by rooms had heard this conversation. “But this counts toward one of those favors.”

  The charming mask slipped from his face. “Come on, that’s mean. It’s not like you don’t enjoy it.”

  “Yes, but I’m exhausted.” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him into the room.

  Devon didn’t bother to argue. He barely bothered to close the door before pressing me up against the wall and kissing me so hard I forgot to breathe. His power didn’t gently roll over me. It nearly bowled me over with its strength and ferocity. My exhaustion didn’t stand a chance. I went from painfully tired to unbearably wet in seconds.

  Good thing because Devon gave no hint of letting up. He kissed me like a man starved, and in a way, he was. But he clearly hadn’t been exaggerating about the effects distance from his addicts had on his body.

  Unbearable and excruciating were how he’d once described what it was like to be a pred with no addicts on which to dump emotions. Unfortunately, as he’d noted, I had a good idea what it felt like to have a body raging with insatiable lust. Lucky for him, too, that I could empathize because this was not going to be the best sex of my life.

  Devon was too needy, too desperate for release to do more than pay cursory attention to my body. He knew it too. I could see in his eyes how genuinely distressed he was. Whatever his faults, not striving to please me had never been one of them.

  “I’m sorry, Jess,” he murmured into my ear. His hands fumbled with my jeans button, and I sucked in a breath as he shoved my pants and underwear to the floor.

  In spite of the strangeness of the situation, my body didn’t care. I could feel myself growing wetter, my skin begging to be touched and my ache longing to be filled. He didn’t have to tease me to make me as hungry as he was. The clove scent of his power was intoxicating, and his lack of restraint more so. Our roles were always reversed. It was satyrs who drove people mad with lust. To see one driven wild by his own was a surprising turn-on.

  Fingers, one then two, slipped inside me. My knees shook, and I moaned, dying for more than that, but Devon’s breath hitched. “Damn it, Jess. I’m sorry. I need you now. I can’t…”

  “Shut up,” I told him, grabbing his head and pulling him closer.

  Devon’s hands worked to unfasten his own pants, and every time his knuckles brushed my bare stomach, I tensed in anticipation. Then finally he was free, the heat of his erection splitting me in two and sliding inside me, backing me harder against the wall.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck for support, trying in vain to taste his skin and being stymied by the shirt he’d never removed. I bit his shoulder and figured it was his fault if I stained his clothes.

  Devon thrust harder, his cries growing louder and more guttural until he gasped for breath. “Jess, I’m so
rry.”

  I held him as he shuddered over and over, and my body let out a silent scream of frustration. I was certain Devon could sense it. Even if I’d been prepared to do so, there was no such thing as faking an orgasm with a satyr. Not when unfulfilled lust was their meal of choice.

  My distress only increased when he pulled out, and he brought me close and buried his head against mine. “I’m so sorry. I feel like an idiot teenager all over again. I’m going to make this up to you.”

  I patted him on the back and relaxed my body against his. The warmth of his skin, especially the heat of his still-hard cock, had my nerves singing with a beautiful agony. I wanted to wrap my fingers around him and plunge him back into me, and I didn’t think he’d mind if I did.

  But being held by Devon was a weird phenomenon. Weird enough to distract me. He wasn’t usually the hugging sort, and although the first time we’d had sex I’d spent the night in his bed, that had been the only time. And we hadn’t exactly spent the waking hours there cuddling. Our sex had always been hot, but never particularly emotional.

  Really, the whole point of sex with Devon had been to help me separate sex from emotions. With Lucen, I could let my feelings be involved, even if I knew his weren’t in the same way. Devon, however, was the friend with benefits, a Lucen-endorsed treatment for my human outlook on relationships. There was no hugging or holding and rarely any kissing.

  As if in response to my thoughts, Devon wrapped his fingers through my hair and took my mouth in his. A hint of the same desperation underlay the languid brush of his lips, but he seemed better in control.

  I couldn’t help succumbing to the gentle touch of his tongue or running my fingers over the hairs on his chin. “So this is why you sought me out, huh?” I removed my hand from his face, disturbed by the intimacy of the gesture and its effect on me. “Of all the people in Grenoble, I’m the one you thought it would be okay to leave hanging?”

  Sarcasm—the best defense against confusion.

  Devon swallowed noticeably. “I’ll have you know, if you were a normal person, I would still have gotten you off.”

  “Uh-huh. I’m supposed to believe you?”

  “It would be the charitable thing to do.” He slid his arms down me and carried me over to the bed. “But I’m going to make it up to you. I have it under control.”

  I pushed myself backward so he could climb onto the bed, and I ran my hand along his stomach. Devon closed his eyes and nearly fell on top of me, shuddering. “Yeah, you’re under control.” I smirked.

  Cringing, he placed his hand on top of mine. “Okay, fine. It might take a little more time,” he said, clearly struggling for words. “That’s all.”

  So I gave him time, and when Devon finally worked off enough of his overloaded lust to return the favor, there was no denying it had been worth it. I was more exhausted than ever though as I lay on the bed, and only the power of my curiosity kept me from falling asleep.

  I wrapped my arms around my pillow and stared at Devon. “How are you going to survive if you’re like this after only a few hours?”

  He waved his hand idly. “As you said, there’s a whole city of people. Worst case, I’ll cut off someone in Boston and…” He caught me frowning. “You should be happy. I’d be setting someone free.”

  “And addicting someone local in their place. No net positive there.”

  “It’ll be a temporary move only. If it makes you feel better, I’ll find someone unattached. Someone who might enjoy it.” To make his point, he ran a finger down my spine, and I shivered. “Unless you want to make yourself available every few hours?”

  Alas, part of me was tempted. “I’ll be busy, covered in dusty books and mysterious artifacts at World.”

  Devon flopped on his back. “Pity.”

  “So spill it. Why are you here, and how did you find me?”

  Instead of answering, he picked up the pendant Lucen gave me and examined it. “He has surprisingly good taste in jewelry for someone who spends all his time in T-shirts.”

  I removed the pendant from Devon’s hand. “Not everyone has a job that goes with wearing designer suits. Stop changing the subject.”

  “Fine.” He grinned. “It wasn’t hard to find you. I knew you were heading to Grenoble, and it made sense that you’d be in a hotel close to World. This one is the closest.”

  And then he probably bashed the hotel clerk over the head with his magic and got them to give up my room number. It was easy enough to fill in details. I couldn’t judge, having recently done something even more devious.

  “And you’re here why?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “You have to ask? Part of convincing Lucen not to go chasing after you was promising to find a way for us to protect you.”

  Right. I should have figured it out. Lucen had told me how plans had changed. Apparently this was what he’d meant. “And you got stuck with bodyguard duty. Why not Gi or Melissa?”

  Devon rolled on his side and began playing with my hair. “A couple reasons, but the main ones were Lucen trusts me, and since arrangements had to be made fast, they required someone able to act without taking the time to bring an addict along. I could handle it.”

  “Oh, yeah. You handled it great.”

  “You go ahead and make fun of me, but I lasted hours. Gi or Melissa would have broken down on the flight and joined the mile-high club.”

  “And you didn’t want to?”

  He looked at me aghast. “Have you ever used an airplane bathroom? Some of us have standards.”

  While I laughed silently, Devon took the opportunity to stop messing with my hair and rub his thumb over my breasts. White-hot heat shot through my core, burning off the giggles.

  “So that’s why Lucen’s back at the meeting today.” I managed to get the words out between heavy breaths, determined not to be distracted.

  Devon was just as determined. He nudged me over and lowered his lips to my skin. “Yes. Dezzi doesn’t want either of you dead, but Claudius has put her in an awkward position. As her lieutenant, I can be sent away on domus business for her without Claudius raising an eyebrow. Meanwhile, you escape, and she keeps Lucen close to her side, and hopefully he does a decent job of pretending not to be concerned about your disappearance. It might placate Claudius.”

  My skin sizzled where he grazed his teeth over me. Without meaning to, I grasped his hair, holding him in place and teetering on the brink of leaving my rational self behind to indulge once more in the sensations he aroused. But I couldn’t yet. There was some problem with this plan of his. Something he was making me forget…

  It came to me all at once, and I yanked Devon off me. “What about the information I asked you to get from Claudius? If you’re here, you’re not helping me.”

  Devon sighed, hovering over me, and for a moment I thought he might ignore my question. His breathing was hard, and his body was very clearly ready for more. It took a lot of effort not to reach up and reclaim all that glistening skin.

  Then he bounded off the bed. “Your resistance to my charm is disheartening.”

  “I’ve let you charm me enough for one night, don’t you think?”

  “Not at all.” He pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and tossed it to me before flopping back on the bed with a smug smile. He’d referred to himself as a teenager earlier, and he was acting like one, far too obviously pleased with himself.

  I sat up, barely catching the phone. “And?”

  “I decided your plan, while clever, wasn’t the best idea. We didn’t need Claudius believing there were more issues in the domus than he already thinks exist. So I forewent the idea of lying to him and straight up raided his possessions.”

  I overlooked his casual use of “forewent” for the more important issue. “You raided his possessions?”

  “In a manner of speaking. I caused a distraction, got
him to leave his room and searched it before he returned. I got the idea from Lucen, who got it from you. Anyway, he didn’t appear to bring anything tangible with him, but I found a file on his phone and sent it to myself.”

  I frowned at the image, which was hard to understand in such a small size. “It looks like a scrap of paper with some words on it. Or maybe those are glyphs?”

  “Both, I think.” He pointed to a couple spots. “I also think that’s real parchment, not paper. It’s old, whatever it is, and odd. I honestly have no idea if this was what you were hoping to find, but it’s the only thing I thought might be related. The time period appears to be on target.”

  I swore and zoomed in on the photo for a better look, but I could make no sense of it. “I don’t know if it’s what I need either, but thank you.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Can you send it to me?”

  Devon held out his hand, and I returned the phone. “What would you do without me?”

  Happy but yawning, I dropped back to the pillow. “Get some sleep.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I wasn’t sure how it happened, but when I woke up, Devon was still in my bed. Vaguely, I remembered falling asleep while he rubbed my back, but shouldn’t he have left? He must have his own room somewhere because he didn’t have any luggage with him, and it had been far too early for a pred to fall asleep when I’d finally lost consciousness.

  Not that I entirely minded his presence. Sleeping around other people made me feel vulnerable, but I’d already done it once with Devon and survived. Plus, there was something nice about having a familiar person so close when I was in such unfamiliar territory.

  It was just confusing. Again.

  I gazed at him a moment as he lay on his back, dark hair fanned out across the white pillowcase. His breaths were a steady rhythm in the otherwise quiet room. Amazing how innocent people appeared when they slept.

  Along the nearby wall, thin strips of daylight outlined the drapes, providing just enough brightness to see by. Whatever time it was, I could tell it wasn’t late enough for me to have gotten sufficient rest. Alas, sufficient probably wasn’t happening.