by Lia Black
He was on his side now, the stab-wound had to heal from the inside out, so he did his best to keep pressure off of it. His eyes moved around what he could see of the room. From what he could tell, he was in some kind of storage room, or empty lab. A gray curtain stretched across the open doorway instead of a door. He supposed he should be grateful that he hadn’t ended up on a metal slab.
There was a shriek of metal rings scraping across the pole as someone tugged the curtain aside. Kayle pressed his teeth into his cheek to stop them aching from the sound.
“How are you feeling?” Dr. Ray asked, poking her head through the opening.
While he’d been breathing in his own blood, he hadn’t realized just how much this place stank of death. Now that he could smell again, he was hoping that he’d be able to leave it soon.
“It will be a few days at the rate I’m going,” Kayle sighed. By this time tomorrow, his energy stores would be completely depleted. “I don’t suppose you were able to send a message to Apex?”
“I was able to get through but was told an Envoy has already been dispatched. Apparently, word travels fast through their channels. They will arrive the day after tomorrow, if all goes as planned.”
Of course it would go as planned. Anyone traveling from Apex did so by air. Great, mechanical dragons, equipped with enough weapon power to wipe out several settlements, accompanied the Gentry’s aircraft, though the threat of anyone being able to shoot them out of the sky was less than zero. Humans simply did not have the weaponry required, nor the knowledge and materials to make it. The fleet’s weaponry was more a show of dominance and prestige. Frightening from the ground looking up, but empowering from the sky looking downward. It had been one of the few times Kayle felt nearly like he belonged with Clan. Standing on the bridge and looking out over the vast expanse of never-ending land and sky with his father at his side, it had been a moment of profound joy. Kayle had almost told his father how much he admired and loved him. But that was simply not how things were done where Clan was concerned. Succubae and their offspring were too emotional, too full of passions of all kinds, another reason why they were so undesirable to have around. Kayle had trained silence into his being. Whenever too bright a light shone in his heart or head, he crushed it out— muffled, muted, and buried it to maintain a consistent shade of gray.
“An Envoy…This is…concerning,” Kayle said of Dr. Ray’s news. “But not entirely unexpected. They shall want to speak with Detective Childress as well, I should think.”
Dr. Ray nodded her head. “Most likely. Speaking of which, Derek has been asking about you. I think he’s quite concerned, and not without reason.”
Kayle felt something bubble up inside of his chest— the same kind of sensation that started this whole mess when he’d thought it was Derek at his door. He reminded himself of how that had turned out. “Did you tell him I was in a stable condition?”
“I did, but I think he wants to see that for himself.”
“You kept your promise, then,” Kayle said, forcing his voice to remain low and steady, though his pulse was catching and his blood hummed in his ears.
“Yes I did. I don’t think you have anything to worry about from Derek, but it’s your decision to make.”
“Thank you,” Kayle sighed. That was good of her. Although Derek had seen him without glamour already, the circumstances were outside of his control. He didn’t want Derek to remember how he’d looked then, without the masking.
Kayle couldn’t remember if they’d had any interaction when he was in that form, but he was certain his appearance had been shocking to behold.
“You know,” Dr. Ray said, sliding into a metal chair next to his bed. “Derek lost his previous partner less than a year ago. They were very close, and he’s still mourning.”
“I…was aware, yes.”
“Well, I’ll leave any details to him if he ever wants to share, but you can imagine how traumatic seeing you in that condition might have been. If you’d been human, I’m sure you would not have lived.”
And had Derek not shown up when he had, Kayle was sure someone would have been dead. If his attackers had followed through with the rape, it would have healed him, and even at a fraction of his strength, an incubus— or succubus, for that matter— was far stronger than a human being. He knew his mother had fought hard when she’d been attacked in their home, but he also knew that the men who’d attacked her had been ready. He turned his thoughts to other things as his chest began to tighten and bile burned up his throat.
Dr. Ray stood up. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll send him in.”
Kayle bobbed his head, unable to speak past the lump that had formed in his chest.
The doctor stepped out of the room, and a moment later, Derek came in. His hair was messy and he hadn’t shaved, but Kayle felt an odd sensation of lightness in his chest. He struggled to keep his aloof mask in place, and it became easier the closer Derek came—he must have been smoking the entire time that Kayle was unconscious.
“You stink.” Kayle crinkled up his nose.
“If you’re talking cigarettes—”
“I am.”
“—Then I will have to agree with you. Other possible answers would have been rancid breath and BO.”
“No. Just cigarette.” Kayle fought back the smile that threatened. He turned his head, covering his mouth to hide it.
Derek’s face relaxed into a smile. “I never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m so glad to have your insults back.”
“I—” Kayle’s words left his brain before they reached his lips.
“I’m sorry,” Derek said, coming closer to the bed.
“Sorry?”
“For… not giving you the benefit of the doubt. I shouldn’t have said what I did about your reaction to the last victim.”
“You had every right to speak your mind.” Kayle didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he changed the subject. “Thank you, by the way for… showing up the way you did.”
“I only wish I’d been there before any of it happened.”
“Nevertheless. I am in your debt.”
“Debt? No, nuh uh.” Derek shook his head. “We’re partners. That’s what we’re supposed to do— save each other’s asses.”
“You still wish me to be your partner? I have not proved myself valuable so far.” Kayle hoped that Derek didn’t hear the pout he found obvious in his own voice. But it was true. The most he’d done so far was point out some scratches on a window and argue with Derek about everything else.
“What? Is that what all of you guys are about on Apex? Listen, you owe me nothing other than to do your job, and back me up when there’s trouble. And I’ll do the same for you. Partnership.” Derek alternately pointed to himself and to Kayle as though elastic stretched between them.
“That may not be the case much longer. An Envoy from Apex is coming. They’ll want to know what happened.”
Derek’s face became shadowed and grim. Pulling up the metal chair, he spun it around and straddled the seat so his arms were resting on the back. “So what did happen?”
Kayle took a deep breath. It was likely he’d have to relay this information numerous times, so he might as well practice what he would say. “I was in the shower… I heard someone knocking and thought it was… ” he faltered, not wanting to tell Derek the truth. “I’d seen those men in the hotel lobby earlier, “ he continued, glad that Derek hadn’t noticed the pause. “It appeared that they were checking in, but one of them looked familiar. When I answered the door, it was those men. I thought maybe they had come to the wrong room… they hadn’t.” Kayle clenched his jaw, and the pain helped him to remain stolid, regardless of the emotions and sensations battling inside.
“They…accused me of killing Ramon…accused me of a lot of things.”
Derek was quiet. He rested his chin on his folded arms, eyes focused but unreadable.
“Have I answered your question, Detective?”
“Why didn’t you fight back?”
Kayle flinched, unable to stop himself. He forced a cool smile to compensate. “What makes you think I didn’t?”
“Because from what I’ve heard, they would have been dead.”
“Then you have your answer.”
“And about a hundred more questions,” Derek sighed and stood up, swinging the chair back around and setting it off to the side. “I don’t suppose your people have had any luck finding you a place to live.”
“Not yet. I can still stay at the—”
“No.” Derek shook his head. “No you can’t. Even if your room wasn’t a crime scene now, it would be irresponsible for you to go back, and worse for me to let you. You can stay with me for the time being.”
“I… I beg your pardon?” Had Dr. Ray not mentioned to him exactly what Kayle was? He opened his mouth to continue his protest but snapped it shut. Really, what choice did he have at the moment? He couldn’t—and wouldn’t— stay in the morgue. Once the Envoy arrived, he had little doubt that he would be relieved from duty, even though he’d tried not to make things any worse than they already were. “Let me think on it for a little while.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Derek let out the breath he’d been holding. That went… better than expected, had he expected he was going to demand that Kayle stay with him. He blamed Dr. Ray for his sudden act of charity. She’d painted a picture of Kayle that made him look a lot more, well, human. With flaws, and imperfections, and a soul.
But he wasn’t human. Derek had first-hand knowledge of exactly what he was, and he had a pretty good memory of what he looked like underneath the glamour.
“I’ll, uh, I’ll have Peterson get what he can of your things. Is there anything you need in particular right away?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, but I doubt he’ll find them. I had a small leather case. It contained nineteen filled syringes.”
“Syringes. Filled with what, exactly?”
Kayle let out a long, suffering sigh. “I’m sure the good doctor told you a few things about me, and one thing in particular that makes all of this—”
“Weird?” Derek offered. Kayle rolled his eyes.
“Sure. We’ll go with weird. Did she tell you what I am?”
“She may have mentioned what she suspected you were.”
“And that is?”
Don’t say sex demon don’t say sex demon. “A ssseeeh, uh. A severely under-represented race.” Derek hoped he’d swerved away from that near-disaster with his ridiculous explanation. From the scowl on Kayle’s face, it seemed he’d driven right into a wall.
“Really. Those are her words?”
“No,” Derek admitted. “That’s me trying not to be such an ignorant ass. And no, I don’t need you to tell me it didn’t work.” He sighed, raking his fingers through his messy hair.
“I am an incubus. The syringes contain synthesized hormones and other human chemistry— the stuff that would normally be released with orgasm.”
“And that, that acts like food?”
“It is similar to IV fluids, I suppose, or any nutritional supplement. It provides me with the base essentials for survival, but none of the pleasure of a meal.”
Derek wasn’t certain which part of that made him more uncomfortable: the thought of Mr. Perfect experiencing pleasure or the idea that humans were a food-source.
“But I can hold out for a few days.”
Derek didn’t believe that and he got the feeling that Kayle didn’t believe it either.
“Look,” Derek said, “I’m a mess, I’m tired, I’m wearing someone else’s shirt and I don’t think I’ve fully processed the implications of this whole thing. But I’m being sincere. I want you to stay with me so I know you’re all right. I want you to be all right. We can figure out the rest later.”
Kayle was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I appreciate and accept your offer. I’ll try not to overstay my welcome.”
Cal and Willim had managed to wrestle Derek’s passenger seat into the upright position, and clean up the blood left over from transporting Kayle. Derek wished he could just ditch the car, because of the bad memories it seemed to accumulate, but he was one of the few lucky souls who had one of his own. Other cops had department vehicles, but they were soulless machines compared to his car. It had been his grandfather’s before the war, and it had survived to the degree that he and his own dad were able to work together to repair it. Those memories were not always enough to convince him, though. But Kayle was alive— the car got him to help in time, so that tipped the balance in the vehicle’s favor for now.
Kayle was quiet on the ride over to Derek’s apartment. Dr. Ray said Kayle was healthy enough to move, but it would take a bit more concentration for him to maintain the masking glamour.
“So how do you know Dr. Ray?” Kayle asked, his face tilted towards the window.
“Seriously? Uh, well, from my job. She is the one that can officially pronounce that someone is dead and she tries to figure out what killed them… even when it seems obvious.”
“You’re referring to blood being drained from the victims in this case.”
“Yeah, like that.”
“Has she been able to confirm it was done by Clan?” Kayle’s tone was not argumentative, so Derek didn’t respond defensively.
“No. But she hasn’t been able to rule it out, either.”
“I see.” Kayle paused a moment, then said, “you two seem…close.”
“Yeah, I guess we are.”
“Though you still call her ‘doctor’.”
“It’s sort of a respect thing, and kind of a nick-name. She calls me ‘detective’. Keeps things professional.”
Kayle turned his head enough that Derek could see he was looking at him out of the corner of his eye. “Things?”
Derek wasn’t sure what Kayle was trying to get at, but he didn’t like the topic of discussion being so narrowly focused on him. “Look, we both have stories to tell, you and I. I figure you owe me a few of yours.”
“You figure?” Kayle turned his head and Derek glanced over in time to see him checking him out. It was a little unnerving, and not knowing what was going on in his head made Derek begin to formulate his own ideas of what he believed Kayle saw. None of it was positive.
“Fine,” Kayle finally said, turning to look out the window again. “What do you want to know?”
“Well… why you’re so against showing me your true face is a good place to start.”
“No. No it isn’t.” Kayle said curtly.
“Look, Dr. Ray already told me a little, and I’ve seen you… granted, not in the best of circumstances, but—”
“Then let’s just keep it at that. Please.”
Derek sighed. He didn’t want to start another argument with Kayle, especially considering that he was still recovering from being so badly injured, so he remained silent for the rest of the ride.
If it had been possible, Derek would have much rather taken the stairs up to his fifth floor apartment to avoid people, but for Kayle’s sake, they took the elevator. Being the only working elevator in a building with nearly a hundred occupied units, it was unavoidably crowded. Kayle was in the back corner and Derek stood in front of him, trying to block too many prying eyes and prevent people from jostling Kayle. He already looked exhausted and his control was flickering, most notably with his scent. Now that Derek knew what it was, it was impossible to ignore. The fragrance had Derek getting hard and praying that nobody noticed— especially Kayle. He felt oddly protective of him, more so than just concern for his well-being. Probably the pheromones that he was trying hard not to breathe in.
“You okay?” Derek’s voice sounded husky in his own ears. Kayle was mostly hidden by Derek’s body. His arms were pressed up against the wall on either side. He was aware of what it looked like— some inappropriate romance between gay lovers in a crowded elevator, and god help him if he didn’t get some fresh air soon, that’s exactly what this
could turn into. What the hell had he been thinking, inviting Kayle to stay with him? Did he really believe that after Marc, he could turn off his body’s reactions? The sad truth was, yes. It had been not quite a year, and regret was a heavy weight, but not enough of a cock-block when incubus chemistry was involved.
Kayle’s dark eyes rose up to peer at him from under his brow and Derek had to stare at the wall to avoid thinking about how seductive it appeared. “I’m cramped and you smell like a crematorium,” Kayle muttered.
Yeah, so sexy. Derek found that the insults helped to cool his ardor a bit.
“I’ll shower when we get to my apartment… you’re putting out some questionable aroma there too.”
“What? Shit. I’m… damn it, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. So is that like a natural reaction? I mean, luring someone so your body can heal?”
“If you’re asking about my ability to control it— I have none.”
“Just keep insulting me and we’ll be fine.”
What had to be normally a two or three-minute ride up had felt like the longest in his entire life. Talk about edging. By the last two stops, Kayle was slumping lower and he’d completely lost the glamour over one eye. Derek tried not to stare at it; a red disk floating in a pool of black, with a pupil like a crescent moon and fringed with thick, silvery eyelashes. He waited for the last few riders to exit, then he quickly pushed the door button to keep it from closing and sending the elevator back down before he could get Kayle out.
“Sorry about this,” He apologized and swept Kayle up, carrying him down the hallway and over the threshold like a bride. Kayle grunted, but didn’t fuss. Once Derek got him safely inside his apartment, he deposited Kayle on his bed, then excused himself, fleeing to the bathroom so he could jerk off. It was embarrassing but necessary, and he wondered if he should have felt guilty for not offering to share the moment with Kayle. Yeah, that would have gone over well. He decided to wait to take his shower and just washed up as best he could. Grabbing a change of clothes from his room, he checked briefly on Kayle, who appeared to be dozing; then he returned to the living room and called Peterson on his cell.