Demon's Alter-Ego Ch. 24-25

CHAPTER 24

We sat on his bed with his fingers of one hand playing with the ends of my hair, his touch, gentle, soothing sifts followed by short tugs. He wore soft loose pants and no shirt. This gave me a wide expanse of stormy gray chest to stare at. And I most certainly was. It was a work of art, not anything like eight pack abs, something more resembling a Gordian knot. Strong curved muscles wove over and under each other and I couldn't process the physics of it. Without even thinking twice I reached out and touched. I felt him still completely but it didn't caution me in the least. My hand brushed the all that smooth hardness in front of me and I felt a tumble of movement like rapids in a canyon. I placed both palms flat on him and looked at him in wonder.

"It's amazing! What am I feeling?!"

"Darkness, power." He studied me with mercury eyes, "You are so reckless."

I shot backwards but didn't get far when the tight pull on my scalp stopped me, "I'm sorry. I should have asked." Although why I felt I should have probably had more to do with his temper. Our reactions were not alike when it came to so many similar behaviors that we exchanged between each other.

His reply wasn't to acknowledge my apology, "I now fully understand everything that has happened to you and will continue to happen to you." He slowly unclenched his fist from around my hair and lowered his hand.

I grew flustered and felt my face redden. He was being condescending again. I was sure of it. I turned my head to the side to avoid looking at him. The lightest touch of his finger and thumb on my chin had me following his movement to look back towards him. I bit my lip hard, unwilling to voice my insecurities in a verbal attack at him.

He dropped his hand only when he was satisfied that my gaze would stay on his and started talking. "Ezra's request took up so much of my time in research. I almost put you back in the depths of Ila's files because I simply didn't believe what I was reading. So full of anger, kindness, and recklessness. The combination of which opposed the normal and solely justified behaviors of hunters. You were one of two that I called my brothers into the office for." He gently pushed on my shoulder with one finger in a request for me to lay on my side. It wasn't until we lay face to face that he continued.

"Can you guess what they told me?"

My answer was to look at him in inquiry. Shorn telling me his thoughts was worth the silence I held.

"The ones that met you on the outskirts of their temporary bindings said you interacted differently than other hunters. You weren't instantly weary, didn't acknowledge them as a threat. After talking with you my brothers felt that you saw them as a being of worth. They told me that they wouldn't want to kill you because of who you are, not only because of what you are." He snorted at me, "Some of them were so irate with your kindness that they went out of their way to anger you."

I couldn't keep the noise of disbelief from erupting out of my mouth.

"Do you doubt me?"

"No, but how do you know they told you the truth, because there was no 'some' about it, Shorn, all of them went out of their way to harass me. I chose to ignore it."

His face hardened in displeasure, "They know better than to lie to me. And you ignored it so well that they had to push you. It was in their best interest to determine if you were blissfully unaware, employing a charade, or," his touch was fleeting on my cheek, "gods help us, sincere."

I scowled and mumbled, "It's no more than what you did when you called Oldavai and me into your office."

He gave me a half smirk and tugged on my arm, "Get closer."

I moved in.

"Closer."

I looked askance, "We are close."

His eyes hooded and his arm pulled me in hard and fast.

"Oof," my hands smacked into his chest. "That's close."

He placed his chin on top of my head, "You want to instigate touch, so touch. You will always have my permission to touch."

My arm tentatively moved over his ribcage and in response his leg curled up and around me. My own leg naturally glided between his while the fingertips of one hand grazed gently over his back. The other semi-trapped one between the bed and his body glided over his shoulder. It found its place curled around his neck with my fingers threaded in his hair. I felt him relax, inch by inch.

His voice whisper soft, barely disturbed the silence, "Remember, Dove, I have the same permission to do so to you."

I had been subject to that in so many little moments, being aware that he stopped asking for my consent. The ramifications of his thought process weren't lost on me and, as this was Shorn, I knew I needed to be on guard before I let him sneak in so far that he was in control before I even realized it. Refusing to let these meanderings keep me awake, I snuggled my face into the hollow of his neck and let myself take advantage of the peaceful sleep he always afforded me.

He was gone when I woke, but the portal remained open into his office where he sat at his desk diligently working, a quill in hand. I heard him sigh as he looked up at the door.

"Enter."

A woman in auburn robes entered and shut the door behind her. She pulled back her hood and nodded to him. "Have you given any thought to our proposal?"

He placed the quill down and tapped his desk with one of his fingers. "Did it ever enter your self-absorbed mind why your circle gave this mission to you?"

I heard cracks of electricity as she verbally defended herself, "I'm not self-absorbed!"

I knew he was smiling his tight smile. I could hear it in his voice when he replied to her. "Think of it as a hazing."

She grew flustered, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Will you take him to Hell or not?"

My entire body grimaced at her bluntness.

Shorn continued his tapping, "No one else would dare ask me that. I do not take beings into Hell, but if you would like to know where I take them, I will be happy to drop you off. As for your sorcerer, he is no threat."

Her face reddened, matching her robe, "He will be your problem soon."

"Are you sure you are not the problem?"

"What do you mean?!" she retorted with indignation.

"Go away and think about it, Miranda."

She sputtered and Shorn picked up the quill, his fingers flitting through the feather.

"I do not know what game your circle is playing but advise them to stop. I do not appreciate it and they may find themselves on the receiving end of a manipulation gone wrong. As for your imaginary problem, kill the sorcerer or put him in the prison, like we all do to our own trouble makers. Now, please leave."

She didn't leave, but with her hand raised it looked like she was starting an incantation.

I watched the subtle realignment of Shorn's back. The movement told me how angry he was even though none of it reflected in his tone as he calmly asked, "How sure are you that you can use your magic in my office?"

Although I firmly believed that Shorn could handle this without violence, I was positive that he had passed that point. I had no intention of ruining my morning or dealing with the repercussions of him in a bad mood. As far as I was concerned, it was my calling to be a mediator between his race and others, at times a protector if needed.

I stepped into his domain and listened to his neck and shoulders creek and pop. "Good morning," I said pleasantly and walked towards him. I twirled my fingers through his hair and trailed my fingertips down his now slightly spiny neck.

Miranda's face registered shock at my arrival. I watched her immediately lower her hand, trails of blue electricity following the movement. I'm not sure if her reaction was because I was a witness or because I startled her so badly when I stepped out of nothingness. My guess it wasn't because I was a witness.

A grumbling started low in Shorn's chest until it spilled out of his mouth in a stuttering growl that had a residual feel of inevitable despair in it, it wasn't his despair. A little trill of fear speared me, but I didn't move and didn't change my expression. Her own terror swallowed my own.

I smiled kindly at her, "I believe he gave you his answer, his advice, and politely asked you to leave."

The sorceress looked from him to me and back to him. Her face an open series of quickly made decisions on how to salvage her pride. I was grateful it was only a nod and door slam on the way out.

Shorn lowered his head to stare at his desk. He was so good at hiding from me, but I figured he was probably exasperated with my interference. I decided to speak quickly before he lectured me.

"I have enjoyed being with you and I don't like to see you angry, heaven knows I irritate you enough." I continued, "Is threatening each other the norm at this office or are you just special?"

I watched his entire upper body rise and fall with deep breaths, his head still lowered. Not sure if he wanted me to touch him while he was in such a mood, I dropped my hand from his neck. We stayed in the moment for several minutes while he seemed to shove all his adrenaline back into the fist of his self-mastery.

Finally he spoke, "What would you have done had she used offensive magic against me?"

I chose to touch him again as an additional reassurance with my next words. It was my hope that he would believe I would not have fought against him. My hand settled on his shoulder, "I would have stood by your side."

He finally turned his bright silver eyes to mine and stood up. Slowly he put his hand behind my head as if giving me time to step away. I didn't. "Reckless and kind."

And yet another staring contest between the two of us, our breath mingling from inches away. This time I wasn't sure what was going on in his head until he said it.

His finger touched my lips in the softest of caresses across them, "I'm going to kiss you now."

His lips were on mine before I even had a second to acknowledge or even process his words. It was a ferocious kiss. Dominating and biting kiss. So at odds with the way he touched my lips with his finger. He spun me so my butt leaned against his desk and lifted my body, sliding it further and forcing me down as he climbed over me. His arm swiping anything off to the ground that got in his way. In no time at all my back was flush on its slick, obsidian surface and he was straddling my hips. I quickly brought my hands up to grip the forearms framing me that held him aloft. I'd like to think we both were surprised at the direction this was headed, but I wasn't sure.

He looked at me with an expression as if I was his last meal. It was exciting and completely unnerving, and I was startled by my insides clenching in lust and tension. I shivered, then my shirt evaporated. I barely got out the start of a word before his mouth was back on mine. I let him shut me up because I was so lost in that open mouthed kiss. He forced his tongue past my lips and swirled it around every inch he could touch. A whisper of a growl trickled out as sharp teeth pressed in dangerously where they touched my face. I didn't even remember what I was going to say.

I felt the grip of his hand curving around the back of my head again so he could bring me closer. Part of me loved how much he controlled the situation, my nipples pebbling into hard peaks as a result. Another weary part told me to pay attention, practically shouted at me that I didn't know this side of Shorn at all. Unfortunately, that internal voice came through a long tunnel, sounding more and more far away.

Then, Oldavai's warnings shot through my thoughts until Shorn's own emotions engulfed me with their savagery, as if they wanted to take up every space within me so I had nothing left of my own. My brain tried fracturing into a dozen pathways to find a way to relate, but they were so unlike a human's that I couldn't get a read on even one. This far out of familiar waters caused my mind to turn into a complicated, twisted mess. A fleeting thought realized that every part of his being and power snapped right at my heels, trying to distract me from anything resembling rationality. His next move was to dig his claws slightly into my neck.

And I liked it.

I focused on the kiss pushing me down from above, in combination with the fierce grip pulling me from behind until I was, once again, flat on the surface of the desk. His refusal to break off for a separate breath from mine made me breathe in his air. On my inhale I was greeted with a complex explosion of the sweetness of rain carried in the wind, earth quenched with water, and sparks of lightening showering down my throat. I gasped at the sensation and shot forward trying to breathe as much as I could, my kiss becoming just as demanding as his. I could feel the dew of my sex soak through my panties.

As if in acknowledgement of my fervor, his pelvis ground down, rubbing so hard that I grunted in pain, pulling my attention away from anything else. I stopped responding and tried to interpret the independent movement of something thick and wide trying to cover and cup between my legs despite our clothing. My eyes widened as I felt what I assumed to be the equivalent of a growing erection that was completely alien to me.

He abruptly stopped, as if feeling how spooked I was, and lifted his head, cocking it to the side. It was a choppy animalistic movement and my heart accelerated wildly. Then my bra disappeared, and his head quickly nestled between my shoulder and neck. I jerked at the quick procession of everything happening and processed the feeling of wetness coating my skin from strangely relaxing licks of a coarse wide tongue. Confusion and a bit of terror took hold as my brain started to kick in. What the hell was I doing?! What the hell was Shorn doing?! I could feel the bones in his face start to change and widen as he continued lathing me with his saliva. I had a physical jolt of concern for my welfare that caused my whole body to shudder.

I turned my head, rubbing against something silky, and was absolutely shocked to see his jowl firmly embedded in my shoulder. It was one of those crazy moments when my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest because I didn't feel a thing despite what I saw. His jaws were huge and they completely swallowed the right top portion of my arm. Was he hitting bone, arteries... I really couldn't feel a damn thing! He had completely numbed me!

Then something worse happened.

The most amazing feeling of euphoria hit me. I was floating on air, and nothing mattered. It felt like a long time until his head finally moved into my line of sight. First it was shaped the way I was used to but then it blurred into a gray and silver sphere of spikes. Then it snapped back again, everything in place.

I was in a daze, but he wasn't, "Time to take you home."

He picked me up, walked me into the Dark and placed me directly on his bed. By the time I felt the pillow underneath me I knew I was completely naked and didn't care. His fingers trailed literal sparks up and down my skin and I watched, mesmerized by their runic patterns shooting up in the air.

"At this point in the mating I would be filling you with as much of my nox as possible. I would bite you here," he gently touched my left shoulder, "here," he caressed my hip, then trailed his hand over my stomach, up between my breasts and curved around the back of my neck, "here. Anywhere I could mark you I would. My goal to keep you drugged and complaisant, so I could have you as long as I wanted, exactly where I wanted."

His smile was soft and pleased. Distantly I felt like I should be arguing with him, but my voice box didn't work the way I remembered. I could feel sounds like footsteps patter up my throat and then stop and lounge on my tongue, as if they wanted to relax. It was too much work for them to leave my mouth and pelt themselves at Shorn. I let them slide back down and melted into his petting touch, completely content to let him make me feel so very, very wonderful.

He continued, "You don't put up much of a physical fight, do you? Just all that verbal sparring." His hand trailed down until he found my slit and slowly inserted a finger into it.

His silver eyes zeroed in on my own as I felt him widen me even more with another finger and then another. I'm not sure how many he had in me, but I closed my eyes, singly focused on the sensation. He kept his fingers inserted without moving for the longest time, letting me feel him invade me. I started to breathe deep from my chest in anticipation, the rest of me still and waiting. It wasn't until he pressed on my clit and finally started sliding in and out that I wanted to arch into the sensation, only to find that couldn't, or rather I wasn't sure if I was or not. But it felt so filling and so good that the disturbing thought passed quickly.

He kept talking and, much to my dismay, never quickened his tempo. It didn't matter. I could hear my own wetness as he continued to wedge his fingers in and out of my tightness, causing my libido to hitch higher. I looked around my own body arching into his caress without even being aware that I had moved into him.

"I have never fallen into pahrgg," he rolled the word in a way my vocal cords could never do, the sound spiraling in front of me in vibrant colors and textures. I raised my hand to touch it, it looked so soft and thick.

I felt those fingers move and they gained my attention. I tried to shove myself into them, wanting it harder. The smile he bestowed and the lack of acceding to my desire frustrated me beyond compare.

"Do you remember the purr I made, sounds a little like that doesn't it? I made the word up because my kind don't speak the way you do. If you understood what that sound meant I wonder if you would have run? You should have run."

He stopped speaking for a long time, looking at me, but I could tell his thoughts were far away. Through his pondering he kept up the slow pumping movement and pressing weight of his thumb on my tiny pleasure spot. Gods, was he ever going to let me come?

Finally, he started talking again, distracting me from the sensations momentarily, "There's no way I would have let you."

I groaned. Let me what? He wasn't going to let me come? Gods and goddesses!

He did his chuckling growl, "I don't believe I could have willingly allowed you to run, Dove. I'll let you come."

Did I say that out loud?! "Oh," was all I could mumble out.

He smiled around his next words, "Listen to me, Dove."

Yup. The word sort of echoed in my mind and I saw cute puppies yapping around me. He tapped me on the cheek, gaining my awareness again.

"The violence of my fuck triggers pahrgg in females of my own kind. I killed them. It's kill or submit for us and I will never submit. But you did the reverse, you triggered pahrgg in me and I didn't even have to have the obligatory physical interaction with you. I didn't even have to touch you, but I wanted to. I wanted to slam you into my desk, bend you over it, and keep you pinned while I fucked you from behind."

Oh my goddess, I gushed.

My body was receptive to his words and more wet than ever, offering itself to whatever he wanted. The brief embarrassment of my lustful reaction was dulled quickly as he pressed on his bite marks, flooding me with a rush of warmth. His intoxicating poison had my inhibitions jumping out the proverbial window. My groan had him leaning closer with a wide open mouth, panting over his tongue. He spoke in a growl, "Perfect."

His other hand skimmed over my stomach, "I felt like I was flying every time you defied me, every time you looked at me in anger, spoke to me in ways that I had never experienced before. And always... always, when you stayed within my reach, even when I knew everything inside you was telling you to run, the Dark would flood my senses with ecstasy. The knowledge that you won't stare me down simply because you care about my welfare infuriates me."