The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

"Someone you know?" I asked quietly.

  "One of mine. Yes."

  Ezra released me, though he threaded his fingers though mine, keeping a hold of my hand. Right now was not the time to deal with any sort of weird touch withdrawal.

  The possessed man opened the door for us. Ezra didn't hand off my bag, probably because of what it contained, instead putting it on the floor of the town car, before helping me slide in. Mayhem hopped in after me. I made room for Ezra and once we were all inside, the driver shut the door.

  I sighed in relief, though I couldn't help but look back toward the terminal. Nicki stood just outside the door, staring at us. Though the windows were heavily tinted, she waved as if she could tell I was looking at her, managing to convey a great deal of irony with that little motion.

  "Fuck," I muttered.

  Mayhem whined softly.

  Ezra put his arm around me, and despite all my conflicting emotions, I snuggled into his embrace.

  She'd caught me off guard once. She wouldn't again.

  "Want to talk about it?"

  "It's a small world, mate, but not that small. I just can't see her being here as any sort of coincidence." I rested my head on his shoulder and he leaned his cheek against me.

  Wow, weren't we cozy cozy all of a sudden. She'd done more than just piss me off, though I doubted she knew it. I didn't have a half angel here to negate whatever Ezra was doing to me, and while I had some pretty significant will power in some ways, when it came to getting laid, my will power was negligible. The arrangement with Mal, Aaron, and Sabian certainly made it so I wasn't going to go out and get randomly kinky with just anyone. Especially since I had much higher standards now than I had a few months ago, but Ezra wasn't off limits, and I was sure he'd live up to my new expectations.

  "How do you know her?" Ezra prompted.

  This close, Ezra's scent caught my attention and distracted me further. Sharp cinnamon combined with the woodsy scent of a campfire. Comforting, enticing, and entirely a scent I wouldn't mind being covered with. I buried my face in his neck and ran my hand up his silky shirt. It was every bit as soft as I'd imagined, contrasting nicely with firm muscles underneath.

  "You smell good," I murmured.

  Ezra went still, holding his breath, his hand tightening on my arm where it had been loosely draped.

  "We're in the back of a car in the middle of New York City," he reminded me, his voice sounding strained.

  "You're a demon. Aren't you into naughty things like that?" I just barely stopped myself from licking his neck.

  He took in a shuddering breath. "If you keep on like this, you're going to find out," he replied, voice low.

  We were on the edge of a precipice, and the only thing that kept me from tumbling over the edge was the car pulling over to the curb. Mayhem barked quietly, as if in warning.

  With a shuddering breath, I straightened, clenching my hands together.

  Ezra took a deep breath as if to steady himself, before removing his arm from around my shoulders.

  I instantly felt empty.

  "Ezra, we gotta do something about this." I was nearly trembling with desire and my leg was still pressed against his. Before, touch had calmed the need, but now it wasn't helping.

  "I have a few ideas," he replied.

  "I don't think fucking is going to help our problem," I grumbled.

  Ezra laughed. "While that is certainly on my mind. That's not quite the solution I had planned."

  "Right, gottcha." I blushed, voice hoarse, and reminded myself that he hadn't really been into touching when he'd first possessed me. This was likely just as uncomfortable for him, but for different reasons.

  The demon prince's reply was interrupted by the door opening as the driver got around to our side of the vehicle.

  Ezra got out, leaving me quivering in his absence though he was still within touching distance. Mayhem jumped out. I grabbed my duffle and took Ezra's offered hand, letting him help me get out of the car. It was more to touch him again, than because I needed help.

  He said something to the driver that I didn't hear, and then tucked my arm under his and led the way to the hotel.

  I gawked like a tourist. It was clearly some fancy as shit establishment and I was sure I'd embarrass Ezra with my lack of class pretty fast. They even had a guy at the door who offered to take my bag, though the look he was giving me bordered on horrified. He seemed to be familiar with Ezra, though.

  Before I could object, the demon took my duffle and handed it to the young man along with some money.

  "This is Ms. Price," Ezra introduced me. "She's one of the key speakers at the convention we are attending. Please treat her as such."

  The guy's eyebrows nearly disappeared under his hairline. "She is?" He cleared his throat. "My apologizes. That was uncalled for." He bowed. "It's a pleasure, Ms. Price."

  "No worries, mate. I get that a lot."

  He seemed a little reassured. "I'll see your bag up to your suite. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask." He didn't notice Mayhem.

  "Thanks."

  He held the door for us, and I let Ezra drag me away from my belongings.

  "You sure that's safe?" I muttered. "Not worried about the clothes, obviously."

  "Yes, Chris. It will be fine. Let's go."

  "What convention?"

  "As soon as we're in our suite I will explain as much as I can."

  "Our suite?" Awfully presumptuous of him.

  "Neither of us is safe right now. It's easier to put protections on one room than two." He gave me a slightly annoyed look and tightened his grip on my arm as if I might try to bolt.

  Right now, there was nothing further from my mind. I wanted to melt into him to such a distracting degree that there was no way I was going to be able to function until we fixed whatever the fuck was wrong with us.

  The floors were marble, and my boots clunked loudly as we walked across them. Ezra made barely a sound. A few women in suits, with perfectly coifed hair, looked down their noses at me. I was really tempted to get some hair gel and spike mine up just to fuck with them, though I did try not to gawk quite so obviously. That kind of ruined the image that I might, in some small way, actually belong here. If you stretched your imagination to its limits, anyway. Maybe it was the pizza parlor logo boldly displayed on the back of my jacket. Maybe it was my entire image. I almost laughed as I thought I heard someone exclaim in horror behind me. Yeah, the jacket was definitely getting as much attention as the rest of me was, if not more.

  Ezra hit the button on the elevator, laughing quietly. "You do make an impression," he said as the doors slid open.

  "It's true," I agreed with him. "Not my normal crowd by any stretch."

  "Certainly not the types I tend to socialize with," Ezra replied. "Business on the other hand."

  "Really?"

  He nodded.

  "That's disturbing."

  Mayhem pressed up against my leg and I leaned on Ezra, tremors still working their way through my body.

  "Please tell me you can fix this."

  "I will try. Trust me, it's not any more pleasant for me."

  Right. He really didn't want to touch me.

  The demon sighed. "That's not what I meant, Chris."

  "You don't like touching."

  "Oh, I very much like touching you."

  I shivered, his low, seductive voice going straight to my very center, which made my ovaries do a happy dance. A soft moan escaped my lips before I could clamp them shut. I was going to need a cold shower and change of clothing by the time we made it to our suite.

  "The physical level of need, whatever this is, is completely unacceptable, though."

  "Yeah," I managed to get out. "How are you going to fix it?"

  "As soon as we're safe, I'm going to tinker with your aura."

  Any other time that statement would have been like dropping a bucket of cold water over my head, but right now I just hoped it worked. Messing with someone's aura w
as a pretty big no-no from everything I'd ever read. Even messing with your own, other than cleansing rituals and meditations to help charge your energy centers, was supposed to be super dangerous.

  "Any idea what's going on?"

  "A few."

  He didn't elaborate and before I could question him further, the elevator dinged, and we stepped out into a hallway every bit as ornate as the lobby had been.

  "This place is probably the nicest building I've ever been in."

  "It is extremely decadent. I tend to prefer places a bit more down to earth, I guess you could say, but sometimes it's nice to be in such surroundings." Ezra shrugged and I filed that tidbit of information away along with the rest of the small amount of information I had about the demon. "I didn't choose the hotel for the meeting. It is one that's been used before, and while it's not to everyone's tastes, it will do well enough."

  The hallway was short and there were only three doors on this level. Ezra led me to one, pulled a key out of nowhere, and opened the door.

  Mayhem went inside first then Ezra followed, deliberately putting me behind him. I pulled the door shut and turned the lock. Were we worried about something?

  Apparently yes, because Mayhem dashed about the entire main room of the suite, nose working, and Ezra got that slightly unfocused look in his eyes that both he and Mal did when checking wards.

  Unable to help myself, I pushed up against him and wondered if maybe, just maybe, a solid fuck might help.

  "It might make it worse," Ezra said, eavesdropping on my thoughts.

  I inhaled his scent, moaning.

  Ezra turned, shoving me back, sandwiching me between himself and the door, the heat from his body burning through me. He cupped my jaw with one hand, not quite gripping my neck. The other dropped to my hip, digging his fingers in. His eyes burned with desire. I rubbed against him.

  "Let me see if I can fix this," he said roughly, breath coming fast. I could feel his heart beating hard. "And then if you still want me, I'm all yours."

  I focused on his lips, not quite registering what he'd said. Those lips were just out of reach, and his grip on my jaw tightened slightly, his thumb brushing across my lips. I parted them, wanting to taste him, but he moved his thumb before I could. I dug my fingers into his very fine ass, pulling him more tightly against me.

  "Abyss help me," he muttered before his lips slammed into mine.

  I already knew he was a good kisser from when he'd possessed me. At least in whatever space it was that we had been able to interact together. That was nothing like having Ezra take control of my mouth in person. He seemed to know exactly how to meld his lips to mine to a degree even Sabian couldn't match, and I was well and truly lost in the sensation of being possessed by this demon prince all over again when Mayhem bit my leg.

  "Ow!" I jerked back, cracking my head on the door I was leaning against.

  Ezra also leaned back, nearly panting.

  Mayhem growled, and I guessed the next person in line for a solid bite on the calf would be Ezra.

  "He's right," Ezra said. "This isn't a good idea. Something strange is going on. I've never heard of anything like what is going on between us happening after a possession. I need to look at your aura."

  "Yeah, go ahead," I managed to get out, though all I could think about was getting his lips on mine again. Even the dull ache from hitting my head on the door barely registered.

  I felt Ezra's power burn through me, but unlike before, it was more of the pleasant bordering on painful heat of sitting just a little too close to the campfire on a cold night, rather than the agony of having to house his energy and my own and exorcise another demon prince.

  He muttered to himself as he sank his power further into my aura. I'd never had anyone do anything like this before and it was freaking as intimate as sex and my body was responding similarly. I was on the edge of an intense orgasm when the feeling of him melding with my energy faded.

  Whimpering with denied need, I clutched his shirt in my fists.

  "Chris, do you feel any better?"

  "No, mate," I groaned.

  He sighed. "Can you think about anything but fucking me?"

  I opened my eyes and met his. They still seemed to contain the universe, but I could look away from them now.

  Ezra brushed his fingers across my forehead, dragging a lock of hair out of my eyes where it had gotten plastered by sweat. I was drenched in sweat. Ezra's hair was matted down, too, and I unclenched my fingers from his shirt and brushed them through his damp curls.

  "Okay, yeah, I do feel better. Kind of. What happened?"

  "I don't know how it happened, but I suspect our demon friend laid something of a trap as you expelled him from this plane. Clever really. Somehow, he tied a few knots in our connection that pulled us back together more and more tightly until that was all we could think about. Fair chance we would have regretted it if we'd continued on without first fixing this problem. I think I've got it, though."

  "Knots untied?"

  He smiled grimly and nodded.

  "No more lusting after each other?"

  "Perhaps more normal levels of lusting?" He tilted his head in a question.

  I was still sandwiched between him and the door and I sure wasn't complaining about being there, but I could think again.

  "Yeah, maybe more manageable now." I certainly still wanted him, but my semblance of self-control was back. "Great, so what do we do now?"

  He leaned forward, until he was whispering in my ear. "Now we're either fucking," he said, his breath tickling my neck. My heart, already pounding, sped again and I sucked in a breath. "Or I'm taking a really cold shower. It's up to you."

  "I…" I didn't know what to do. Falling into his arms was such a bad idea, and he and Mal weren't getting along. If I could avoid drama, maybe I should.

  He seemed to sense my decision before I'd really made it and backed off.

  Without his heat warming me, my sweat chilled in the cool air conditioning, and I shivered.

  "Which room is mine? I need a shower, too."

  Ezra didn't act upset as he led me to one of the two closed doors and opened it for me. Somehow my duffle was sitting on the bed.

  "Seriously?"

  "The staff elevator is purposefully faster so they can beat you to your room. It's a normal part of the service here."

  "Oh." I twisted my hands together awkwardly, not sure what to say. "Ezra…"

  "Price, it's okay. A little separation between that bit of trickery and anything we might do later is probably a good thing."

  "Awfully understanding for a demon." I grinned at him.

  He shrugged before winking, sly amusement glinting in his eyes. "I've been inside your head. I think I know how to get what I want."

  I gaped at him but couldn't find a reply before he had shut the door. "Fucker," I muttered before turning and looking at my surroundings. One queen sized bed that looked extremely comfortable, nice furniture, posh everything, and the glimpse into the bathroom showed a lot of marble.

  "Well, Mayhem, I don't know that I could exactly get used to this, but I'm certainly going to enjoy the fancy surroundings."

  He woofed and hopped up onto the bed, circling a couple of times before curling up in a fluffy yellow ball.

  "You, too, huh?"

  He wagged his tail before shutting his eyes. I took that to mean he thought we were safe and got to work shedding my sweaty clothing.

  I wasn't going to take a cold shower. I was going to take a hot one. I needed some relief after all of that, and while it occurred to me that Ezra might notice, he was just going to have to deal. It wasn't my fault he had the ability to read surface thoughts. I wondered if all demons did, or if that was just my incubus and my demon prince. At some point I'd remember to ask.

  Chapter 7

  Price

  "Okay, mate. Talk," I ordered as I came out of my room a while later. I tried not to notice how nicely his shirt–blue silk this time–fit him, or th
at he was wearing black jeans again. He looked good in a suit, but the slightly dressed-down look was really doing it for me right now. It was entirely possible he knew that.

  Ezra stared at me, fingers curling into fists for a moment, eyes a little wide, before he took a few deep breaths and nodded, visibly trying to collect himself.

  If his reaction was any indication, he'd noticed what I'd been up to in the shower. Amused and not at all feeling bad about it, I sank into the armchair and tried for an innocent smile.

  The demon shook his head.

  "You still need to tell me about this friend of yours we met in the airport, as well."

  "Ahh, right. This will be quick, so I'll go first. She's a mate from my old infamous exorcist days. Friends with me and Darius and a couple of others. Daedalus and Tiffany. We got into all sorts of mischief. Darius and I were lucky and didn't really get caught much. A few minor slaps on the wrist. She and Daed were a bit more daring and sometimes dragged Tif into their shit. Still, nothing too major. We all studied the occult together and everything was all well and good until Daed wanted to try and summon a demon. Now, I don't summon demons unless they're Sabian, who I didn't even know at the time. Darius and I talked them out of it several times, but finally Daed wouldn't be denied anymore. He said it was perfectly safe if I was there. I refused and we parted ways. Darius had been feeling a great deal of guilt anyway and seemed to feel the need to repent for his sins. He joined the priesthood.

  "I really didn't have a direction, but thought maybe I should get some sort of higher education, so I enrolled in a community college in Colorado. Left them behind in Boston. I came west just to put some distance between us, but I wasn't ready to go back to New Mexico. Lost touch after that. Can't help but think she's here for a reason, but no idea what. That was about five years before my folks died. I still did the exorcist thing and all, just solo."

  "And your parents died five years ago?"

  "Yeah, plus a few months."

  Ezra nodded. "And that's when you quit the occult?"

  He already knew the answer to that, but I nodded. "You've been inside my head, don't you know all this?"

  "It doesn't quite work like that. I didn't exactly get a download of all your memories or previous thoughts. I was, of course, privy to everything going on at the time but the only things that I know from your past are things that came up while I was with you."