Demon's Alter-Ego Ch. 24-25

That vibrating growling purr started low in his chest and escaped his mouth, stopping him from speaking and causing a flood of heat into my sex. He curled his fingers slowly back and forth inside of me and I let out a murmur of enjoyment. His tactics changed again and he pressed two fingertip pads flat and up inside my inner walls. They started moving in a fast circle and there wasn't a single complete sound coming out of my mouth. He flicked them and I rocked up and down, straining into the tension of my enjoyment.

Once he was able to speak again he slowed down, "No coming until I give you permission."

I could only groan out his name in frustration, drawing it out, "Shoorrnn!"

I watched that pleased smile spread across his face before he continued, "The simplest no from you had a domino effect on me, a yearning I couldn't understand because I'd never known it before. For the first time in my existence, I didn't want to kill or even get you out of my presence as quickly as possible."

More purrs trickled out from between his lips and I felt it roll over my nipples, giving me a tingling sensation on their hard buds, making me desperately ache for him to pinch and pull their tips with his fingers. I wiggled back and forth, making them sway, asking without words. I had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes dilate and laser in on their display, but all he did was curl his claws close to my spine and dig in slightly.

"I would fill your space with brimstone to make you uncomfortable and you never said a word. I was trying to make you leave, so I could chase you."

I watched his chest move as he took a deep shuddering breath, "The one time you did run out of my office, Oldavai got in my face. And there is no doubt in my mind he suspected my need to grab you by neck and drag you back to me. He just didn't know why." He closed in an inch from my face, "I wanted to keep the hunter bonded with Ezra drugged and in my grip, indefinitely. Ironically, the hunter I gave freely to the eldest and strongest of us all."

He moved quickly, shoving his face into my hair, inhaling and exhaling a warm breath over my scalp. I saw cottonwood branches shake in the wind right before my eyes. They dissipated into the air as he slowly moved towards my breasts. His mouth, a warm, wet suction that had my eyes rolling back in my head. I was surrounded by an ocean, being swallowed into a whirlpool.

Suck. The tips tingled.

Suck. Bite. Oh gods, my breast were so heavy with desire.

Suck. Pull. My body arched, aching for him to just fuck me hard, imaging the full feeling of being battered vigorously. The sliding, forceful pull and push ravaging inside me no matter how much my muscles clenched him.

Suck. Move to the other. Suck. Pull. Mmmm, I could feel it on the nub of my clit.

His whole mouth devoured my breast, his tongue flicking my nipple. Teeth pressing in. Eeerrrggggg.

He drew back with his lips until just his mouth was sucking again on the engorged, pink tit. That drawing sensation continued on my clit, lips, even the tips of my fingers. My eyes were still rolled back and I was desperately fucking his fingers. My channel so tight I briefly wondered how his fingers could still fit. Unable or unwilling to find fulfillment until he said I was allowed.

I sighed, half in grateful pleasure and half in frustration when he did a final lick and pulled away. He tapped the bone on the side of my eye and I opened them.

His gaze speared into mine and I gave him my full attention, my body stilling, "And then, in his own peculiar way, Ezra was threatening me and giving me permission simultaneously," he paused, "with two conditions. Conditions that I don't know if I can concede to, but if I can't, you should not be in my home, I should not have bitten you, and you should not be filled with my nox." The fingers of his other hand skimmed over my side, kneading over the softness of my breast, to continue up to press on the teeth marks on my shoulder. This caused a thin stream of running warmth to spread down through my arm. Nothing like the rush from before.

He continued, "Incidentally, I should also not be planning on making you come all over my hand and in my mouth."

I blinked at Shorn, enthralled with his revelations, hoping I would remember when I was in the right state of mind. I was so drugged, just like he said. His fingers knuckle deep in me and I wanted more. I reached up towards the lines of his cheeks and he moved closer to accommodate my touch. I relished the feel of his bones underneath. My fingers moved until they were under his chin and then separated into opposite directions. My thumb followed the curves up to his lips, the other hand splayed down his wide throat. A tentacle slipped out of his neck and lightly curled around my wrist like ivy. I didn't even blink.

I watched my hands be gently floated to the bed by his own, "One more for today, Dove, and then you can come as often as you'd like."

He leaned over to my hip and started stroking it with that wide, coarse tongue of his.

I had the brief thought along the lines of, this probably isn't good no matter how amazing it feels. Then it didn't matter because I was flooded with his poison again.

The second bite flipped a switch in Shorn and he was no longer bidding his time, his hands were all over me. As for myself, every movement I made was slow or fast or I was seeing double. I don't know which because it all felt so strange and beautiful and colorful. He sucked between my legs, kissed me until I couldn't breathe, turned me into a hot pool of liquid with his fingers, and held me fascinated with those silver eyes of his.

For spates of time he would stop and gaze between my legs using his fingers to tease all the outside parts of my sex. I was gasping for breath as he'd squeeze, then pull. Nudging everything farther out so it was on full display for him.

He looked up at me with an expression completely enrapt, "So pink and puffy. So very soft."

His gaze stayed riveted on mine when he stuck his tongue out. I watched, fascinated as it licked, feeling it start almost at my ass, pull up until it pushed slightly into my hole, fitted itself between my folds until it washed over the bud of a thousand nerve endings. I couldn't keep the moans from coming out of my mouth.

The slightest scraping touch of his nail had me gasping as shocks of electricity spread throughout my core making me arch again. Those nails turned into claws and he raked them down the inside of my thighs, following with nips of teeth. Then, he surged up, spreading my legs even wider.

I made a gasp of surprise at the stretching sensation until that tension was unimportant next to his growl vibrating into me as he forced his entire jaw around my vulva, pressing in hard with his teeth. My pleasure had me bucking into him, coming in a flood into his mouth, the danger of everything turning me into molten lava.

When he refocused all that intensity on the pin point of convergence of my legs again, my knees and pelvis rose up trying to get as close as possible to his mouth. Every time he made me come I swore it was a river of honey he eagerly lapped up, his tongue lengthening to reach depths that had never felt such a presence before.

I was groaning, fingers feeling the softness of moss between them, and found myself shockingly, undeniably greedy for everything he could give me. His growling purr circled me like a snake, tuning me to his deep vibration that I could feel in my entire body. Twice he started to coat areas of my body with numbing spit only to stop his teeth from breaking the skin. I was grateful in an unappreciated sort of way. He kept playing me expertly even as I lost the high his poison gave me.

When I finally was able to string enough coherent thoughts into a sentence I spoke, "Did we have sex?"

He looked up from where he was mock biting my hip, "You mean did I have intercourse with you?"

"Yes, that."

His mouth twitched in a small smile, "No, Dove."

"Have I been hallucinating...," what did I say, foreplay, sex with no sex... ask him which parts I imagined?

His smile got wider as he answered my half-finished question, "No. I intentionally abandoned a good portion of my self-control."

"We didn't have intercourse though?"

He started licking my waist. Now that I knew to pay attention when he numbed it, I tried to stop him. I spoke harshly to hide my nervousness, "Don't bite me, Shorn," my hands moving to push him away.

They were instantly grabbed in a firm hold that completely encircled each wrist without him ever looking up. I couldn't help but tug at his grip. He kept licking, layering the area with his saliva. Finally, his tongue paused, his tone completely serious, "Are you demanding something of me?"

Even as my heart stuttered at his words I knew I was far from defenseless, "Please don't bite me, Shorn."

I felt his smile form on my skin as he mocked bit my waist. He let go of me, "Better." He pushed himself up so that our eyes were level with one another. "I didn't have sex with you because it will not be familiar. My sexual organs are different."

"Did you always know?"

"Yes."

I felt weird asking the next question, but I was too curious not to, "Have you had sex with a human before?"

His low vibrating growl whispered up his chest, "No, I just have a keen intellect."

"Sooo...," I drawled out the word, "you watch porn?"

Shorn threw his head back and laughed. That damn unnerving cawing. "I can smell your anxiety when I laugh, and it always tastes so sweet on my tongue."

Maybe it did, but I knew that alone wouldn't stop my snarky comments.

CHAPTER 25

I'm not sure how long we stayed cocooned in his Dark. He didn't go to the office and wouldn't let me mention work after the first time I brought it up. He also refused to let me talk about any other obligations in my life, including Oldavai. He assured me we would return, but not now.

I fell into an effortless cadence with him and enjoyed our time of solitude. There was enough trust being built between us that we could easily debate and argue with each other. I found myself wanting to share my opinions with him and asking him for his.

Even so, we also got into a lot of staring contests because of his choice of words or actions and my umbrage with them. During the frequent times he refused to simply agree to disagree he would pounce, numbing and biting me until I was a happy, listless, sexually satisfied female in his hands. Honestly, it wasn't too much of a hardship when it happened and he didn't use it as a way to terrify me into compliance. It felt like his other self expressing its side of the conversation.

I found myself consciously expressing sex play in a non-drugged state in identical ways, biting, nipping, placing his finger in my mouth and sucking while he looked on with unabashed hunger. And throughout it all, he always had on a pair of pants, never letting me see what was underneath. I didn't tease him about it, although there were times it was difficult.

All the biting was making me sore though and his hands would wander my body, massaging and stroking everywhere. If I got a stab of pain he would numb it, but that too was often a trigger, and I would end up being bitten as much as obtaining his original intent to help ease it.

He was lazily drawing circles with his finger on my stomach when I asked him to tell me what it was like working at the AO.

Shorn took a deep inhale through his nose and I watched with an appreciative gaze as his naked chest moved with it before he spoke, "It has noble intent. We can only hope to do that intent justice no matter how off track all of us get. It's the same as any ruling entity or leader." Here he stared down at me, "I had my reasons for not wanting you to help me around the office.

"Those who choose to work in that building sign a contract essentially stating that their compensation is in direct comparison to their ability to protect themselves in addition to the work they're doing."

I frowned, "I'm not sure what you're implying?"

He leaned down slightly from his sitting position, "It's not that you can't protect yourself, but if you were an office worker I wouldn't let you out of my sight. Inevitably, you would be right in the middle of some conversation gone horribly wrong. What I'm trying to say is, the less ability you have to protect yourself the more compensation you receive for your family because death is always a breath away."

"I don't necessary agree with you on my propensity for trouble," I said off handedly and continued, "but that aside, are you talking about the prison?" I asked thoughtfully.

He sat up straight again and continued tracing swirls on my stomach, "Well, yes, of course, but also think closer. At any time, you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're not human on the third floor and, despite rumor, we're not obligated to stay only on the third floor. Even the sorcerers are barely human in their motivations, and they are on the second floor. I think the closest you get is with witches. It stands to reason that any pure humans walking in that place..." he shook his head, "it's a bad idea, but some still sign the dotted line, as you say, and many of them die."

I stared at him, thinking back to a specific Chronicler, "You mean like that person you yanked out of his chair after Ratha's warrant."

Shorn made a coughing laugh, "Well, yes, but he's not human, Dove. He's a vampire and the basement is a very dark place with a lot of other things down there he needs to contend with. Spells gone wrong, warped beings scurrying through the halls, and I'm not saying that I wasn't a surprise, but that's the joy of working there. In any case, he got the honor to see something he only heard about in office gossip. Angry, impatient me. Do you think I killed him?"

"Can you?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You don't think I have the ability?"

I shrugged and looked away with a smile on my face, teasing him, "You said vampire, so..." I trailed off.

He dropped quickly into my face, and I startled back, "I can kill anything, Dove. I unmake."

I gave him back his stare, "So, did you?"

He pulled back, as if sensing my need for space, "No. I just unmade a little bit for the Dark. Nothing he'll miss and nothing I'm obligated to make recompense for. It's the dangers of working in that office and that's the contract everyone is obligated to sign if they work there." He pushed a finger on my forehead briefly, "And that is why I didn't want anyone thinking you were an employee. If Miranda got it in her deranged mind that you were a contracted employee working directly in the office she could do anything to you without legal repercussions from the AO. It would fall to her favor because of the false impression you were making while helping me."

I pulled my shirt down, as if covering my stomach could hide my embarrassment. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, I just wanted to be useful."

He stared at the edge of my t-shirt, "And that is why you are reckless in your loyalty and devotion."

He didn't make a fuss as he usually did when I hindered even the simplest of his desires and instead laid down, propping the side of his head in the cup of his hand, "It's you. You blindly step into situations without thinking about consequences." His other hand went back to my shirt and raised it up so he could skim over my skin again. It wasn't unexpected and I didn't object. I liked his touch.

"Without that recklessness and kindness, I would be missing this. Oldavai certainly wouldn't be in your life. Perhaps not even Taurin."

My eyebrows rose in surprise, feeling a blooming warmth that Shorn acknowledged Taurin, "You said his name!"

Shorn made a strange noise I had never heard before, a jumpy breathy growl, "I'd be unwise to dismiss him. Ezra told me about the two of you and I know he is more than a pretty Icelander despite my remark to him. He is the only demon Icelander favored of his Elemental. Truthfully, I know he is the most favored of all Icelanders, demon or not. Ila wanted him dead, I did not, hence the binding option on his warrant. Although, I was expecting her to give it to someone interested in a temporary binding. Instead, she schemed with others and worded it for two hunters that were already ensnared, thinking it would be a foregone conclusion."

He growled his chuckle, "I blame it on being distracted for that error in judgement."

I looked at him sheepishly, "Well, he's not dead, right?"

He huffed and tilted his entire head back in exasperation, his hand moving over his mouth and chin before looking back down at me, "True, much to Ila's annoyance, but he didn't even try to get a temporary binding and that I blame on Ezra. Everyone keeps thinking he'll kill you and he is always so closed mouth about everything." He emphasized 'everything' with an annoyed look.

Shorn rolled his heavy weight over me and I grunted at the unexpected movement. His hands framed my face and I tried to decipher the meaning behind his serious expression. The weight of that mercury gaze snagged me, and I let myself get lost in the swirling beauty of it. He moved slowly towards my mouth and gave me the most unexpected kiss. It was soft and slow. His tongue slowly following the contours of my own lips. I smiled into it and did the same to him, feeling his whole face twitch.

"Are you trying not to bite my tongue?" I asked jokingly.

"Yes."

I snapped my mouth closed, "Don't do that."

"Dove," he warned, displeased with my demands.

I rolled my eyes bravely, "I'm just saying."

His growl was almost a whisper. "We'll go back to the office tomorrow. You need to be ready to fight off the effects of the magic growing inside you." He paused and contemplated me before speaking, "You've killed demons before Ezra entered your life."

"Uh..." Where was this going and was it a bad place?

"They were all young ones, correct? But none in an erratic stage?"

"Not young compared to me," I exclaimed with indignation. I felt stupid for asking, but had to know, "What's the erratic stage?"

His face went blank, "Really?" he asked blandly.

"Sorry. I don't remember learning about that." I felt so ignorant.

He tilted his head, "Maybe it's not known anymore."

I sighed, "That would be a relief, because I was feeling really stupid. I mean, I am, for so many reasons. Even more so, since I only recently learned that temporary bindings were a thing."

He looked at me and didn't smile, "As I've said before, you are guileless."

I narrowed my eyes at him and said sharply, "No, I believe the word you originally wanted was submissive."

He closed in again until we were nose to nose, his dark silver eyes starting to glow, "No need to bark at me. You are exactly what I need."

Huh. He left me speechless. Was he acknowledging that I was submissive or not? I didn't know whether to feel vindicated or outraged. Probably outraged that he thought I was a submissive demon hunter, but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

He started talking again before I could open my mouth to ask, "The erratic ones are young demons that lose control of their power and judgment. They usually end up going on a killing spree. There is only one goal, sniff out any magic and kill. Of course, these are demons, so demon hunter magic is the most appetizing. It's the equivalent of your human puberty. It happens often and they are the reason your kind become vengeful and traumatized."

I shook my head and scoffed, "I'm not so sure I would call that puberty, maybe a violent side of puberty. Only I don't think the statistics on death caused by human puberty can compare with demon puberty."

He wiggled his legs on top of mine, not really trying to get between them, but signaling his intent, "You're right. If their parents aren't there to raise them it's a mess. Too often the parents leave, or there is only the mother, any number of reasons."