“Are you? I need to know,” Jase insisted, refusing to look away.
“Yes, I am,” Ennis answered calmly.
Jase busied himself with a plastic fork and coleslaw. “What kind are you?”
“Gray spade, shadow.”
That had been on the site. The demon had been blue-gray and called more a myth than a reality. “The site said those were myths.”
“Shadows aren’t common and aren’t commonly known about,” Ennis told him. “The man who attacked you is a death stalker. He would have killed you if I hadn’t showed up. They always kill their prey.”
“Am I prey?” Jase asked. “Is that why you’re sleeping with me? You want to feed off me.”
“I enjoy feeding from you,” Ennis admitted. “But I don’t have to bite you to feed. It just makes for a more satisfying meal. I can draw energy from a crowd in a club where sexual energy is high. I’m over two hundred, and I don’t have to feed more than once a day to maintain my energy.”
“Two hundred, but you…”
“To fit in,” he said. “When we move to a new city, if we pretend to be young, we can stay in a city longer without having to account for age,” Ennis explained.
“But your parents…you—”
“They are my parents, and we came here because my father thought it was time I developed my own house,” Ennis told him. “Most incubi live in units that look like families, and sometimes are. They can contain up to fifty members or as few as five. Mostly we live with a caretaker who manages our household, acts as our historian, and our PR person.”
“PR person?” Jase asked.
“That person ensures that whatever story we use to explain our connection to each other, our past, is backed up in documents, and pictures.”
“How many people are in your house?”
“Fifty. They all work for me,” Ennis told him. “I don’t have a live-in caretaker. I put him to work in the company with me instead.”
“Bale is your caretaker?” He would be.
“He was trained to be,” Ennis confessed. “His job would have been to ensure you were no threat to me as well as manage my household.”
“That’s why he wants you not to see me?”
“He’s worried you’ll get hurt, not that you’re a threat to me,” Ennis answered. “And yes, that was me you heard screeching yesterday morning. The sun burns me from the neck down. Some incubi have human blood because their ancestors were unable to have children so they bred with humans to try to keep their bloodline alive. It worked. They don’t burn in the sun, but they still have some sensitivity to it.”
“Do you have human blood?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m pure demon. My ancestors didn’t want to muddy their demonic power with human weakness. It’s part of what makes me a shadow spade.”
Jase fell into silence contemplating Ennis’s admissions. He wished he hadn’t heard them because now it was real. He knew Ennis wasn’t human, and he had to make a decision.
When they finished eating, Jase piled the trash into the bag. “Do you think you’re going to catch the demon soon?”
“The sooner I solve this case the better, right?”
“I think so,” Jase murmured. “I can get back to my life.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jase stepped into the hallway of Ennis’s home later that evening, still a little uncertain about what he wanted. Ennis was a demon, but he’d never been anything in his presence but a good man. He’d seen his kindness, been the recipient of it.
Just by looking at him you couldn’t even tell he was a blue-gray demon that could kill you in a heartbeat. But he was so good in bed and he was sweet.
“I thought you said Trinity was staying with us.” Jase turned to face him in the silence. He didn’t want another night like last night where they had engaged in lifeless conversation.
“He won’t be here for a few hours,” Ennis answered. “I’m going to check out the house.”
Jase stood there impatiently and tense as he waited for Ennis’s return. He could hear him moving around as he checked various things throughout the house. When Ennis returned, Jase’s heart beat rapidly as he came toward him.
“The house is fine,” Ennis said. “Are you okay to be here with me alone? Are you afraid?”
“No,” he said irritated. “I trust you.” Surprisingly, he did. But he was afraid that he’d choose wrong. He didn’t want to walk away before he knew what he was walking away from. On the other hand, he didn’t want to deceive himself into thinking a demon could love.
“Then, allow me one last night with you, Jase,” he said in a pleading tone. “One more sweet memory.”
Jase gave him a little smile. One more night? That seemed like so little in comparison to the feelings he’d carried around with him for this man for so long.
Jase nodded. “I would like that, too.”
“I want you to shower and change into the outfit on the bed. When you’ve done that, stand next to the closet with your head down and wait for me.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jase said. Jase headed to the bedroom after turning the keys over. Excitement thrummed in him as he imagined what Ennis had in mind. He’d done many sessions with sexy men, but Ennis was the one that he was the most eager to be with. He loved the feel of his hand, the touch of his skin, the brush of his lips against his.
Tonight would be a pleasure as well as a test. If he could lie next to a demon and feel no fear, if he could feel the same raging hunger that had inspired him to make a move on Ennis, he wouldn’t walk away.
Jase took a quick a shower and smoothed on some moisturizer before trekking out into the bedroom where he found a black body sling laying out on the bed. There was a pouch for his cock, but the rest of him would be exposed to his lover’s hand.
Jase quickly pulled it on and admired himself in the mirror in the bathroom before going to stand next to the closet to wait for his lover.
Ennis stepped into the room two minutes later and Jase lowered his head and clasped his hands together in front of him. Ennis walked by and bare feet looked back at him. Jase had to force himself not to raise his head to see what Ennis was wearing.
Ennis latched a hand behind the back of his neck and led Jase a few short steps from the closet. He heard a door open, and he was pushed inside. Dim light poured into the room, illuminating the thick, dark carpet lazily sprawled through the room topped with a variety of toys and surfaces including a St. Andrew’s Cross and a spanking bench.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to lift your head, sub,” Ennis said coolly. “So, you don’t get to choose your mode of punishment.”
Jase jerked around to look at him startled and realized he’d made the mistake Ennis had counted on by the smile on his lips. “Yes, Sir.” He turned back around and lowered his head but not before getting a good look at Ennis in sleek, black leather briefs that dipped low in front to enhance his more than ample erection. His broad chest was hairless and bare.
“Because you’re such a disobedient boy, you’re not going to get any warm-up taps, Jase.”
Jase balked but didn’t lift his head. “Yes, Sir.” He allowed himself to be led to the St. Andrew’s Cross. Ennis stroked his fingers along the bare skin of Jase’s shoulders.
“This is where you make a decision,” Ennis said against his ear. “You can have me as I am, an incubus who will feed from you daily, or this can be our last night together.”
His heart begged him not to walk away even though his head told him to run. Letting Ennis get away would be crazy.
He stepped toward the cross and placed his hands on the arms of the cross.
“I want tonight, but I think we should just see where things go beyond that,” Jase said. He couldn’t just jump into an agreement without seeing how he felt after this.
He’d never been attached to a standing cross, and he was a little nervous as Ennis snapped first his wrists into place with the cuff restraints attached to
the cross and then his ankles.
“I can accept that.” Ennis moved to a nearby cabinet.
Jase waited, hearing faint noises, and then gasped when the flogger landed on his ass. The first lash was barely a sting, but the second was a sharper sting that drew a hiss from him.
Ennis drew a hand down the center of his back. He delivered a blow to Jase’s ass that made Jase moan.
“You like being tied to the cross and whipped?” Ennis delivered another blow and then another.
“Oh fuck!” He groaned roughly. He liked that bite of pain from the stinging leather ribbons. It was a seduction he couldn’t resist. “I love being whipped, Sir. It sets me on fire.” He was on fire. His blood was boiling. His skin was ready to scorch.
“I’ve dreamed of having you tied to my cross,” Ennis murmured.
Jase moaned as lashes assaulted one ass cheek and then the other. Again and again. His cock was throbbing and leaking from the pleasure coursing through him. His mind was drifting to subspace, that place where pain and pleasure mingled and became lovers.
“I can taste your arousal on the air, Jase,” Ennis said roughly. “I can feel it.”
He closed his eyes as a lash fell over his legs. His entire body was so sensitive he could feel the cool air stroking over his skin. His blood was a pool of lava flowing steady and burning bright inside him.
His breath came out in a jagged pant. “It feels so good,” he said in a whisper.
“I could devour you.” Ennis kissed the side of Jase’s neck.
Jase breathed out harshly as sharp teeth scraped at his shoulder and nipped at him before soft lips trailed kisses down his back. He moaned as the pleasure from another nibble caressed him, making his hips buck. He tilted his head to one side, encouraging Ennis to bite the side of his neck.
He pushed his ass out, pressing it firmly against Ennis’s erection. He loved how hard he was.
Ennis ground against him even as he reached around in front of Jase and pushed his hand past the pouch of the sling holding Jase’s cock. He grasped the firm flesh of his erection in one hand and used the other to give the head a light pinch.
The slight tickle played around his dickhead and was followed by a hard pinch that sent a wave of curious pleasure down his shaft. Jase groaned and Ennis gave his cock a hard thwack.
“Sir, I—please, I need to come.”
“You need to wait for it like a good boy,” Ennis retorted and gave Jase’s shaft a light thwack.
Jase hissed. Ennis stroked his cock and squeezed it tightly as he used his other hand to play with his balls.
“Are you going to be good for me?”
“Yes!” He was almost there. One more swat or light caress would push him over. He could feel the cum boiling in his balls just waiting to shot forth. Instead, Ennis withdrew his hand and landed another swat to Jase’s ass that had him groaning harshly.
Jase hissed as cool lube licked down the crack of his ass. He shivered and leaned his forehead against the smooth wood of the cross. He trembled in his need.
Ennis worked the lube into the tight confines of Jase’s ass and Jase heard him groan roughly. Ennis smacked Jase’s ass and pushed his finger deeper. He drew it out and delivered a light blow to one firm globe and then the other.
Jase cried out as a tattoo was played on his ass with Ennis’s hand. Damn the licks felt so good he couldn’t think, didn’t want to do anything but feel.
“What, sweetness?” He pushed his finger back into Jase’s ass. “You want me inside you?”
“Yes.”
“You want to break up with me,” Ennis murmured against his ear. “I should make you wait for it.”
His eyes widened. “E—no. Sir, don’t tease me. I’m so hot for you.”
“I’m rock hard for you, Jase,” he answered. “I’m not going to last too long, but I might just jerk off instead.”
He tried to push back against Ennis’s finger to find his hips held in place as Ennis drew his finger free. Jase released a tortured cry. “I need you, Ennis. Don’t do this.” He was begging, and he wasn’t ashamed of it.
Ennis delivered another couple of blows with his hand before the blunt head of Ennis’s cock pushed past the tight ring of muscle and into the depths of his ass. His eyes closed as Ennis forged deeper.
The thickness stretched him, burned him as Ennis filled his slick channel. He caught his lip between his teeth. The pain was pleasure that gripped him tighter.
“Oh, damn,” Ennis groaned. He drew back and thrust all the way in, and Jase moaned softly.
Ennis didn’t make him wait. He began to move, taking him slow at first and then faster, harder. Jase clenched his fists against the arms of the cross as bliss invaded him. “You feel so good, Ennis. Yes!”
Ennis gripped his hips and took him with abandon. His balls slapped against Jase’s ass and Jase moved, met him thrust for thrust as he lost himself in the haze of passion so hot it burned him to his soul.
“Jase.” Ennis thrust into him, holding him tight.
The power of his eruption tingled down his spine, drew his balls tight. Jase cried out, a loud keening wail as his climax swept over him. He fought to breathe as the bliss shook him hard. Then, he felt the hot jets of Ennis’s semen fill him. The sensation triggered another ripple of orgasms, and he cried out.
Behind him, Ennis growled out his own release.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jase collapsed in Ennis’s arms after he was released from the cross. “I can’t walk.” He panted.
Ennis lifted him in his arms and carried him to the bed and laid him down gently before kissing him.
He looked down at him, his limp form replete. “Jase, I don’t want to lose you. You already have my heart.”
Jase blinked in surprise. “What?”
Ennis heard the shock in his voice and winced. The demon inside him balked at the doubt in Jase’s mind coupled with unfounded fear.
The demon wanted to shake sense into him and lock him away until he saw reason. The humane side of him knew letting Jase go would be the right thing, but the demon wasn’t interested in humanity. It was already too late to let him go.
“I may be a demon, Jase, but I am capable of love,” Ennis told him quietly. “Let’s get you fed, and I’ll take the guest room.”
“You never eat a lot.”
“Food is something some of us indulge in to blend in with humans, but I do have a fondness for ice cream, pies, and cheesecake as you know.”
Jase grinned. “I know.”
* * * *
A few hours later, Jase picked up his cell phone and punched in his brother’s number as he paced the living room. The warm colors were soothing and the wood shutters closing out the moonlight, gave the room a rustic appeal.
He knew what he wanted, but he was scared, and he wanted to talk to his big brother. He couldn’t tell Jarrett about Ennis, and he didn’t expect any support. He just needed to talk.
“Hello?”
“Jarrett? I didn’t think you’d be answering this late.”
“It’s not even ten yet, Jase,” he answered quietly. “Mom told us what you said. Dad was shocked into near silence all evening and Mom was barely civil to everyone that asked about you.”
“I’m not sorry,” he said, pulling one of the shutters open so he could look out. “Hell, it’s about time that I fully came out to the family.”
Jarrett sighed harshly in his ear. “Maybe. Maybe it would have been better if you’d made the effort to actually date women, Jase. You’d be surprised at what a good woman could do.”
“How would you know, Jarrett?” he asked accusingly. “You don’t date a lot.”
“I work, Jase,” he snapped.
“That’s your story and you’re sticking to it,” he taunted.
“You always spent too much time mooning over him, trying to sit next to him in the car or at games,” Jarrett muttered. “You got jealous and pissy every time he might be dating someone.”
/> “That should have told you something,” Jase murmured. “I’ve been in love with him for a long time.” He sighed, wrapping one arm around himself. Knowing what Ennis was hadn’t changed anything. He loved him more than ever. He was just torn because he still didn’t know enough about his demon lover.
“I started noticing him watching you when you turned twenty-one,” Jarrett admitted. “I asked him why he was always looking at you, and he said you intrigued him. I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to make a move on you.”
“I didn’t know he watched me.”
“When Ennis took over his father’s business, Grandma asked him if the business made good money,” Jarrett said and laughed. “Ennis just told her it did. She said that was good, and he shouldn’t wait too much longer to reel you in.”
“Oh, my God, what did Ennis say?” Jase demanded.
“He asked her what she meant, and she said she knew he was in love with you. After all, no man ever called another man sweetness unless it was his young son. Hell, I only heard him call you that once, and I thought he was making fun of you for being gay.”
“So—” He broke off as he leaned left to get a better look out of the window. Someone was out there and it didn’t look like Trinity. “So, you knew and you still tried to warn him off me?” He strained to see what the black-clad figure moving across the yard toward the neighbor’s was up to.
“I wanted to—I hoped you were just confused or experimenting,” Jarrett admitted. “That seemed so much easier to accept.”
“Jase.”
Ennis’s tone was so calm, Jase didn’t expect to be knocked to the ground. His phone rolled across the floor. Ennis shielded him as glass shattered around them. Jase felt him flinch before rolling off of him.
“Jase?” Jarrett’s voice drifted to him from the phone.
“Stay down. Call the police, Jarrett,” Ennis shouted loud enough for his voice to carry to the phone’s speaker. “Crawl to the wall, sweetness.” Ennis got to his feet and whipped around to face the door of the living room.
Seducing His Brother's Best Friend Page 12
