Their Precious Own

by Lia Black

  Peterson answered on the second ring. “Derek, that you?”

  “Yeah. How are things going there?”

  “Arrested Sapetti and Meyers and one of the others— Davis McAulif. Name mean anything to you?”

  “Nada. That the guy I shot in the hand?”

  “The very same. None of them are talking. Well, nothing rational, anyway.”

  “What about the other guy— the one who was running out with Sapetti?”

  “No clue. Do you remember what he looked like?”

  Derek rubbed his forehead, dropping onto his worn-out couch. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good look at him. I was kind of stunned by seeing Sapetti.” God, he was bone-weary. Kayle was a lot heavier when panic wasn’t priming Derek’s muscles. “Can I ask a favor of you?”

  “Sure, whatcha’ need?”

  “Perrine said he had nineteen syringes full of something he needs to survive… don’t suppose you found anything like that in his room?”

  “No. It looked like somebody was ransacking the room while… well, anyway, I did manage to grab a few clothes, although underwear and black suits are hardly an entire wardrobe.”

  Derek chuckled. “Try telling him that. Look, he’ll be at my place for a few days so I can keep an eye on him. I need you to keep his location quiet, though.”

  “Gilchrist has already been asking. The shit that went down at the Bentley is all over the news feeds.”

  Fuck. Derek had been afraid of this. There was no public news service, just people spouting opinions over shortwave radio. The Clan either didn’t know about the underground news service, or else they didn’t see it as enough of a threat to care. Odds were, if you ever came across a bunch of straightened, wire coat hangers held together by tinfoil and sprouting from a rooftop, it would be one of their broadcast stations. “What are they saying?”

  “Little bit of everything. That the City Director is filling the police department with Variants and burying evidence, Perrine is the killer and we’re being bribed or threatened to protect him, oh, and that Meyer’s crew was trying to arrest the murderer when he turned into a monster and attacked them. It’s getting ugly. I’m doing damage control in the ranks the best I can, but it’ll get worse before it gets better.”

  “Well, I’ve got more bad news. Apex is sending an Envoy to investigate.”

  “Yeah. That’s bad.”

  “And while this witch hunt is going on, the real murderer is still out there. How much you want to bet he knows about Perrine being here and he killed the male escort knowing Perrine would be blamed? My guess is he goes quiet for a little while and the trail goes cold.”

  “I don’t think you’re wrong about that.”

  “Look, Peterson…Lyle… I’m sorry you got dragged into this…”

  Lyle made a huff of breath on the other end of the line. “Seriously, Derek; it’s not a problem.”

  “I really owe you for this. Thank you.”

  “Don’t you go getting all mushy on me. I’ll leave Perrine’s stuff at the dead-drop behind the church.”

  Derek disconnected, feeling eyes on the back of his neck. He turned his head to see Kayle leaning against the doorframe. He was pale and his eyes were sunken. The one that had gone black still hadn’t switched and every once in a while, Derek was sure he could see the edge of a horn breaking through the failing barrier.

  “Hey, that was Peterson. Bad news on the syringes, I’m afraid.”

  Kayle sighed. “I thought as much. Thank you for checking.” He shuffled out of the room, and plopped down in the chair opposite Derek. The scrubs he was wearing were baggy on him, making him appear smaller than he actually was.

  “Can I get you anything? Uh, coffee?”

  “No. Thank you.”

  Derek fidgeted until he had to get up. Kayle was just sort of staring off into space and Derek had a sneaking suspicion as to why. “Look, if you need something, just tell me.”

  “I… I think I can hold out until the Envoy arrives.”

  “You can’t. Dr. Ray told me that it takes energy to heal and to use your glamour and right now it seems you don’t have enough to manage either one.”

  “What?” Kayle gasped. He touched his cheek as though he expected to feel something there.

  “Have you looked in the mirror?” Derek pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

  “I don’t think I want to. I’m sorry. I never wanted you to see me like this.”

  “I’ve seen you, Kayle. I don’t know why it’s something that bothers you. I mean… it’s strange, but…” Derek shrugged.

  “It’s hideous. Most people never see me. Not as I truly am.”

  “You wear glamour in Apex as well?”

  “No. I mean… humans. The few times when I… feed from them, they see whatever they want to see. Whatever they find the most pleasing.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “The chemicals in my pheromones can have slightly hallucinogenic properties. It’s like camouflage. Imagine seeing… imagine opening your eyes during sex and seeing what you saw in the hotel room.”

  Derek had to admit, that would be disconcerting. Probably not a lot of humans that would find that a turn-on. “So from the moment a human sees you, they see what they want to see?”

  “Mostly. In Ramon’s case, he’d already seen me with the glamour, so I had to maintain it. He… didn’t mind my appearance as a human. But then, it was his job to make someone feel… attractive.”

  Were they really going to go down this road? “So where you come from, you’re considered unattractive?”

  “Among other things, yes.”

  Some of the things that Dr. Ray had mentioned were beginning to make a little more sense. “Well you’re not on Apex. You’re here, in my apartment, and…” Derek couldn’t believe he was about to say this, “…If you need help to replenish your energy, I’m prepared to help you.”

  Kayle stared at him blankly, despite his one eye being a little sinister. “What about your special relationship with Dr. Ray?”

  “Huh? Oh, it’s not like that. I mean, if I were into women, then I’d wish it were like that, but…I’m…not.” From Kayle’s expression, it seemed that he hadn’t known Derek was gay. Well this was... awkward.

  Kayle cocked his head to the side, and again, Derek got a whiff of his scent.

  “You are offering to…”

  “I’m offering you sex, or whatever you need, yes.” Derek’s common sense realized too late what his mouth was saying, but it was beyond the point of taking it back.

  “I… normally, I would refuse. But after what became of Ramon… I’d be afraid to tempt fate with another escort.” Kayle was absently chewing on his pinky-nail that was long and curved and black. “Why don’t… why don’t you take a shower and take a while to think about what you’re considering.”

  “Um… look, water is kind of limited here. You probably need a shower too, and I honestly don’t think you’ll be able to stand up for long without help.”

  “You’re suggesting we shower together?”

  “Yeah.” Derek scratched the back of his head, maybe hoping it would shake loose some common sense. It was just a shower, and then— maybe— just sex.

  After several quiet seconds, Kayle asked, “Would you mind keeping the lights out?”

  “Seriously? Yeah, if it makes you feel better.”

  “It would.”

  Derek shrugged. “Fine by me. Need help?”

  “No. I can manage, thank you.”

  Derek got up and went into the bathroom, waiting until Kayle arrived before he started the water. This time he was certain he could see a horn and patches of Kayle’s skin were becoming darker, patterned with swirls, and stripes, and other intricate markings, like some exotic animal. He tried not to stare, schooling his features into something that he hoped looked convincingly composed. This was nuts. He’d just offered his body to an incubus. He’d offered sex in order to feed a creature that should be t
errifying, and he was finding himself more nervous about his performance than the fact he was going to be performing at all.

  “Lights please?” Kayle did not raise his head.

  “Uh, sure.” Derek reached over Kayle’s shoulder and clicked off the light. Because it was the middle of the afternoon, an anemic gray glow filtered in through the window in the living room, and the narrow one in his bedroom. He could barely make Kayle out in the darkness beyond a silhouette as Kayle pulled his shirt off over his head. Derek began to strip as well.

  “Can you see all right in the dark?”

  “Yes. Much better than you.”

  “So you can see me naked right now?” Definitely two horns now, and his eyes gleamed like mica in the dark.

  “You have a tattoo on your left arm. It appears to be a wolf wearing a chain with a heart-shaped padlock. Does it mean something?”

  “It’s very personal. I’ll tell you all about it when you’re ready to show me the real you,” Derek bargained.

  “I see,” Kayle said with his consistent lack of passion. Derek would have thought that a sex demon was charismatic and emotional, but not this one, for some reason.

  He caught another whiff of Kayle’s scent as he came closer. It smelled spicy with a hint of citrus, again, that undertone of comfort, and something he couldn’t place. Nevertheless, it was making him hard again. “After you,” he said, stepping back so Kayle could go past him.

  The shower was just a small cubicle, already nearly too small for one person. With two, it was impossible to stand without touching. Derek turned his back to Kayle, thinking the last thing he wanted to do was to end up having accidental and uncomfortable shower sex. He could feel that Kayle had his back turned as well, so they were almost standing ass-to-ass under the weak, but warm spray. It just felt so nice to be getting clean, washing off the stress and bloody remnants of the last couple of days.

  “Soap?” He offered the bar over his shoulder.

  “Thanks.”

  Sharp claws brushed Derek’s skin as Kayle took the bar from him. Derek suppressed a shiver.

  “The hallucinogenic properties in your pheromones. You have more control over those?”

  “Yes. Why do you ask?” Kayle’s voice sounded almost machine-like as it bounced off the tiled walls. “Would you like me to use it? I will, if that makes it easier for you.”

  “What? No, no. I was going to ask you not to use it.” He was too afraid of what he may—or may not— see. Marc had been very attractive, but not necessarily fantasy-level hot. Derek was still worried about seeing him through the fog in his brain, and if not him, then who?

  “Very well,” Kayle said, speaking more softly than before so that Derek nearly didn’t hear him over the sound of the water. “I have a request of you as well.”

  “Sure,” Derek agreed before hearing what it was. Fortunately, it wasn’t the mistake it could have ended up being.

  “No kissing on the mouth.”

  That’s where he’d gone wrong with Marc. Well, actually, the entire thing had been wrong, but he’d relaxed his own rule about kissing on the mouth their first drunken evening together, then every time after that. In a way, that exchange of breath and flavors was sometimes more intimate than the sex act itself. Was it considered the same for someone like Kayle? Or did he not like the taste of cigarettes, or maybe his teeth were too sharp, or maybe a million other reasons that Derek knew better than to contemplate.

  “Sure, okay.”

  The timer dinged on the shower and they managed to rinse off as the water tapered to a trickle, then dwindled to nothing.

  “It seems unfair that your water is so rationed,” Kayle said as they stepped out and Derek handed him a towel.

  “I take it that you don’t have rationing on Apex.”

  “No. No we don’t. But as part of the Sovereign’s Guard, there is very little privacy in the barracks.”

  “Have you ever… I mean, is sex forbidden in the barracks?”

  “Not forbidden. Frowned upon. If you’re wondering if I had multiple partners there, the answer is no. I am not regarded highly among my peers. I’d like to not discuss it just now.”

  Right. Probably not the best conversation to be having at this moment, though imagining Kayle being a willing and central participant in a group scene was strangely hot. Derek wondered if it was coming from his own mind, or if it was being encouraged by the pheromones.

  “Bedroom is this way. Sheets are clean, I promise.”

  “I’d expected your home to be a lot more…disorganized.”

  “My career path was chosen at thirteen. Fostering a sense of order was part of that.”

  “And I don’t smell your horrible cigarettes.”

  “I don’t smoke inside.”

  “Well, that’s something.”

  Derek hoped that Kayle wouldn’t keep talking during sex. Even with the pheromones, it was a mood killer. Of course, Derek’s dick didn‘t think so. The bedroom was directly across from the bathroom. He could see Kayle a little better now, but wouldn’t say anything that might risk upsetting him and making him call this off. Kayle was still struggling to maintain the glamour. What Derek could see was startling, but not terrifying. It was strangely beautiful and wild. It reminded him of how Marc described wolves— vicious predators, but with perfect form and incredible markings.

  “So, how do we do this?” Derek asked. He was answered by a warm hand cupping his genitals.

  “Sit. On the bed.” Kayle’s voice was a husky whisper close to his ear.

  Derek felt the searing, moist slide of a tongue across his neck. Every touch against his skin was lighting fire to an erogenous zone, and Derek worried that he’d come before they even got started. He no longer cared if this seemed weird or inappropriate; all he cared about was getting his cock inside something and going at it until he had nothing left to give. Claws lightly raked down the sides of his body as Kayle’s tongue slicked a warm path lower. Derek’s hips gave an involuntary thrust upwards when he felt Kayle’s hot breath ghosting across his erection.

  “Ah, Christ!” Derek gasped, pulling his arms back over his head, gripping the blankets, to prevent himself from grabbing Kayle’s head. Soft lips enveloped him, sheathing the head of his cock inside the wet heat of Kayle’s mouth. Derek had received a few decent blow-jobs in his time, but nothing that could even come close to this. Kayle’s tongue coiled around his shaft, something a human tongue could never do, and he rasped the flesh lightly with his sharpened teeth. Not enough to break the skin, but the threat sent an odd thrill racing up through Derek’s spine. Each time he felt himself getting too close, Kayle seemed to be aware. He would pull off his mouth to work at Derek’s balls, or the inside of his thighs, with tongue and teeth and lips. From their current position, the light from the window was angled just enough to reveal his face to Derek, and Derek watched him, this beautiful, terrifying creature, the embodiment of sex, sin and bliss. He couldn’t imagine any fantasy that would be better than this. Maybe he was twisted, but having a demon kneeling between his legs, worshiping his cock was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

  Kayle had brought him to the verge of orgasm several times now, so when he finally let Derek come, it was explosive, and then frightening, because it seemed that the orgasm might never stop. He remembered what Cal had said about death by sex and he felt panic welling up inside. But then he smelled that fragrance that reminded him of his home as a child, of the comfort of a warm embrace on cold night. Derek felt hands, petting him, soothing him, and he began to calm down. His heart slipped into a regular rhythm. His orgasm had finally subsided and become a muted tingle through his limbs. He felt the warm weight of Kayle’s body sliding up against his, then a gentle kiss on his forehead before the blanket of sleep dragged him into its dark cocoon.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Kayle wouldn’t have done it if he’d had another choice, but the truth was, he couldn’t have held out much longer. Even though Derek insisted he’d be o
kay with a full-fledged incubus wandering around his home, Kayle was not okay with it. It was what he was, but it was not a good thing to be. His kind were loathed by Clan and the rest of the Variants. He was only tolerated because of his father, and because he worked hard to mimic the Clan’s solemnity. Perhaps his ability to prove that he could conform and succeed in a Clan-ruled society like Apex might do some good for his breed, but that was not his primary concern. His concern was self-preservation, and that was why he’d had to draw energy from a man who, just a few days ago, would have been just as happy to see him dead.

  Derek was sleeping, as he would be for several hours. Kayle had taken a lot from him, but he would recover and suffer no ill effects. That’s why Kayle liked to leave them sleeping. It helped a human’s body to rest and rebuild all of the chemical and hormonal stores that he took from them during orgasm. If Derek had tried to get up and go on with his day after their encounter, he would have passed out from a lack of energy and ended up with a severe migraine. Most incubi never thought about this, because many ended up killing any human they lured into their beds. He could have ended up the same way, assuming he’d survived after his mother’s murder. He would have grown up hating humans for what they’d done to her, and hating Clan for his own existence. He would have killed indiscriminately and died for it. But that had not been his fate, and he was thankful for it every day, even those days when he was ridiculed and avoided by his peers in the Sovereign’s guard. Despite his father being Clan and the right hand of the sovereign, Kayle was still an abomination.

  Kayle sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Derek, stretched out on his back and snoring lightly. He was not beautiful. He was rough and imperfect. His hair was too short to settle and too long to be tamed, he always had a shadow of stubble, he was scarred, he smoked, had a short temper, and was generally disagreeable. But Kayle believed he was a good cop and a good man. It must have been something about that, which made Derek much more attractive.