Eternal: At Arm's Length

From childhood to age eighteen, and twenty-two to the present day, Margaret had been a Christian when not sorely tempted, and repentant after each temptation. From eighteen to twenty-two, she'd practically been a demon herself, and this was why she said, "Hey, your dick feels like one of those rubber sex toys my roommate had in college!" It hardened in her hands, but it never reached true firmness, bending and stretching as she toyed with it.

"I was afraid you might not take that well--"

With one hand, she pulled it taut. With the other, she plucked it like a guitar string, sending vibrations along its length. He stopped speaking for a while.

"That's enough," he finally said. "It's my turn to do something for you. If you'll lie back on the bed . . ."

They arranged themselves in a sixty-nine position, and he moved his head between her legs. "Careful with the clit," she warned him. Margaret was very sensitive, and prolonged stimulation to her most tender spot was more than she could handle.

Well, he didn't do anything to her clit, at least. His tongue tested the inside of her cleft, no more than an inch in. Then two inches. Then, after a long while, three. She almost screamed at him to move faster, but she was willing to give him his fun--she'd find out soon enough how deep he could go. And if he was taking his sweet time, she could take hers as well, giving his cock one single, slow lick, then another that was even slower . . .

In time, he sped up, and she matched his pace, but he slowed again somewhere deep inside her. That far in, she pressed tighter against him--did he reach my cervix?,she wondered. Physically, there was little pleasure to be found there.

Emotionally? The man she still loved had accepted the gift of her body, and was using it like no human ever could. She couldn't be more turned on as the tip of his tongue gently teased at her narrowest place. She wondered if, were they to do this for many nights, Dan could condition her cervix to open, and his tongue could reach inside her womb. (Probably not, but she'd tried dumber sexual experiments.)

She couldn't do for him what he was doing for her, but she took his cock in her mouth as the pleasure washed over her. She tightened even harder around his tongue as she came, and as if in response, a strange, sweet fluid poured into her mouth. She savored the taste as she swallowed it up.

You've drunk from me, and I've drunk from you,Dan's voice said in her head.If you want, we can seal a Contract. Then every time we do this, we'll feel it as one.

I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that. And I'll need you out of me for the next thing I owe you.

Dan sounded shocked. Perhaps he knew what was coming.Margaret, I--

This was the best night of my life. I wish it could last forever, but we both know it can't.

Dan withdrew, of course. He wasn't the type to do otherwise. "Do you still think that I'm not really Dan?" he asked.

"Dan, you asked me once if it bothered me that you and I were from different denominations. Do you remember what I said?"

"You can ask for something from someone, but you can't ask everything. It would be nice if we went to the same church, or if I didn't snore, or if I was a millionaire, but I'm a good enough guy, even if I'm not perfect."

"After all," Margaret finished, "if you were perfect, I wouldn't deserve you, because I'm not perfect, either. I know you're Dan, and I know you still love me. If I'm honest, I still love you, too. It's just a question of what we ask of each other."

"Margaret, what do you want?" Dan didn't even sound angry, just . . . resigned.

"I want to get married in a church--any church--without the pastor throwing us out. I want to go out to the movies, and to be allowed in with you. I want to be able to walk down the street without hearing whispers. I want to not have to decide between you and everyone else." Dan tried to speak again, but she cut him off. "And yes, I know we could go someplace far away, where no one would ever know you're a demon, but how would we live? You'd still have no legal identity that wasn't dead. Besides, this town is where I belong, and I won't give up my home and my friends, even for you."

"Maybe we don't have to live together. Maybe I can just visit you when the night gets lonely."

"Dan . . . I think I've found someone. His name's Tim Trenton, and he's a pastor at a small church not far from here. He's smart, and wise, and kind, and we haven't done anything yet, but I know we could."

NowDan was angry. "Two weeks? That's how long it took to replace me?"

"Isn't there someone for you as well?" Margaret asked. "Some lovely demoness promising to do things with you that my body could never manage?"

For what felt like an eternity, Dan stood silent. "Yes. There is." A shorter silence. "I'll go now."

"I gave you my explanation, but I still owe you one more thing. The man I told you about, Pastor Trenton . . . watch out for him. He doesn't have much influence yet, but I know he'll be a great leader someday, and he's still deciding what he thinks about demons. It would be wise not to disappoint him."

Dan only nodded in response. He left by the window, unable or unwilling to teleport in her presence.

This time, when she flopped down on the bed, she had the strength to cry.