A Demon's Contract

by Delmire Hart

  “Did you take on my contract because you were bored?” Barkley pressed, unsure if he really wanted to know. It would sting if he had, but did that matter as long as he could complete his contract and save his family?

  Zaxor was quiet for a long moment before replying, “Partially. But then, all the contracts I take are to ease the passage of time. There’s also the bonus of adding souls to my collection, as I have explained earlier.”

  “My mage exam,” Barkley said, changing the topic abruptly. The sharp sting of pain at his contract being a way to combat boredom did not hurt any less for knowing it was coming. “You’ve taught me some basic magic already, but I don’t know what they will ask me to do. You said you won’t perform tricks for the amusement of others, but what if I give you something in return?”

  Zaxor narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t respond. His tail stopped moving as he sat still, waiting. There was an air of interest but also annoyance about him, and Barkley bit his lip in worry. He needed to know if Zaxor would help him or not. The demon was so contradictory to Barkley that he honestly couldn’t predict if he would agree.

  “And what else do you have to offer me?” he replied finally, his tone surprisingly cold.

  “Me. I mean, you already have my soul, but there is more to me than just that.” Barkley’s face heated as he fidgeted under Zaxor’s intense stare.

  “Are you saying that because you want to or because you are desperate?”

  “Does it matter?” he bit back, bitterness creeping into his voice.

  “If you are offering me your body, like I think you are, then yes it does. Don’t misunderstand, this isn’t a matter of morals but my own personal preference. Rape is a surprisingly common human fantasy, one that many an incubus or succubus has been contracted to fulfil, but it does not interest me. I am not so lacking for partners that I would resort to such measures either.”

  Barkley sighed as the weight of all his worries settled over him, threatening to choke him. He wanted his family to be safe and to do that he needed to get his mage licence. He had already given his soul away, proving that he would do anything for them. What was his body compared to that? Especially if it secured him the demon’s help. He had enjoyed when Zaxor had ‘comforted’ him earlier as well, it wouldn’t be such a chore to go further.

  “This is strange for you, Barkley,” Zaxor said softly, suddenly close. Barkley hadn’t heard or seen him move, yet now he leaned over the bed staring at him. “I have a counter offer for you, but first, let me lift the weight from your shoulders. I will help you during your mage exam. It is in accordance with the spirit of our contract after all.”

  Some of the weight lifted from him at Zaxor’s words, just like he said it would. The crushing feeling of despair lightened enough for him to feel more like himself, the faintest light of hope seeping back into him.

  “That’s rather good of you,” Barkley said wryly, “going with the spirit of the contract and not just the literal.”

  “It would be miserly of me to stick to the letter of the contract when I’m getting your soul in return, would it not?” Zaxor replied, raising an eyebrow in question. “Although it depends on what you are asking me to do.”

  “So then, what’s your counter offer?”

  Zaxor grinned then, his sharp teeth glittering in the magelight. He looked almost feral as his eyes took on a faint glow.

  “Exclusive lovers.”

  “What?” Barkley asked, bewildered by the unexpected offer.

  “This has no bearing on our contract, of course. I merely find myself rather intrigued by you, and you seemed to enjoy my ‘comfort’ previously. It was quite the arousing spectacle.”

  “Do you do this with all your contracts?” Barkley had asked the question before he even registered that he had spoken aloud. The arch look Zaxor gave him in return practically answered for him.

  “No. That is not to say I haven’t slept with humans before, but usually those that interest me personally are not those that seek to forge contracts with me. If you decline, nothing about our current contract changes. If you agree, well…” Zaxor’s grin widened. “Then you can have all of my attentions. I don’t particularly care either way about exclusivity, but I have found humans to be rather jealous creatures. I’m sure you can keep me entertained, however.”

  Barkley stared up at the demon looming above him. By telling Barkley he would help regardless, it took all the pressure off his choice. It seemed the demon truly wanted him to make his choice out of his own free will. That knowledge added a new piece to the strangely contradictory personality of Zaxor. Did the demon truly see him as him or was he more a toy? It was hard to say. Their perspectives were so different that perhaps there was no comparison. Although, by calling him a lover, that would imply something more akin to an equal.

  No matter how he thought about it, it made little sense to Barkley.

  All that really mattered was his choice. The demon was attractive, and he wasn’t averse to the idea; if anything, Barkley could feel himself stirring at the thought of going further than before. Zaxor had shown him a side of pleasure he hadn’t known. Maybe that was what he needed to take his mind off his fears so he could keep himself from sinking into despair.

  “Okay.” The word had barely left his mouth when suddenly they were in a different room.

  The dim light made it hard to see, but he could just make out the posts of a large canopied bed. The soft sheets underneath him confirmed his location, and vague shapes of furniture could be seen scattered about the room. A field of tiny magelights appeared scattered like stars across the ceiling above them. A lazy wave of Zaxor’s hand had the curtains around the bed falling shut.

  It was then that Barkley really understood just what he had agreed to. Zaxor loomed above him, a hungry smirk in place as he unbuttoned his shirt. His tail peeked over his shoulder, swaying like a hungry serpent. The demon looked as though he was preparing to eat Barkley alive.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I thought you would just magic your clothes off,” Barkley commented nervously, fidgeting as he watched Zaxor slowly disrobe. “That’s what you did to me last time.”

  “It’s to tease you,” Zaxor drawled as the first glimpse of his collarbone was revealed. “Build anticipation. I also feel like taking my time.”

  “I still don’t really understand why you asked me rather than just doing what you want.” Barkley knew he was babbling, trying to distract himself from feeling awkward, so it almost surprised him when Zaxor answered.

  “If you had a choice between your partner enjoying themselves with you, eagerly participating in the giving and taking of pleasure, or a partner fighting you, crying and saying no, what would you choose?”

  “Oh.” Barkley felt rather stupid all of a sudden. He had been so busy trying to place Zaxor’s choice into the tapestry of what he knew about the demon that he hadn’t thought about it in such terms.

  “Although, if you hold such fantasies, I would be happy to indulge you another time. Exploring your desires is part of my role as your lover, after all, and fantasy is far different from reality.” The lascivious smile aimed down at him sent shivers of awakening heat through him. It held promises Barkley wasn’t sure he was ready for.

  “Uh, no. It’s fine.”

  “Well then, just relax. We have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. Today the planes have shifted and time is moving faster here than in the human plane.”

  Even with Zaxor’s reassurances, Barkley couldn’t relax. He was still feeling off balance, and venturing into unknown territory with this demon wasn’t helping matters. Reaching the last of the buttons down his shirt, Zaxor pulled the fabric away to reveal a chiselled human chest and abs. Barkley only had time to wonder if they were won by physical effort or magic before Zaxor leaned down to kiss him. The surprisingly gentle press of soft lips against his own finally helped him to relax by virtue of turning his brain off.

  Somewhere in the process of their kiss heati
ng and tongues exploring, Barkley’s clothes were magicked away. Much like the last time it happened, he found himself too distracted to care. Zaxor’s skilful hands kept him thoroughly occupied as they caressed his body inch by inch while his mouth greedily sucked down his soft moans. Barkley gasped when Zaxor rutted against him, the demon’s hot length rubbing against his own. Looks like the demon had taken away his pants at the same time as Barkley’s clothing.

  Sitting back up on his knees, Zaxor waved a hand and the glass container from his earlier alchemical endeavour floated itself over to them. Barkley watched, trying to catch his breath, as Zaxor poured the viscous liquid over their hard cocks.

  “What—?” Barkley gasped as the thick liquid warmed.

  Zaxor didn’t reply, but his fiendish grin suggested that he had spent all that time today with the prospect of becoming lovers in mind. Had Zaxor only wanted to be prepared, or had he been that confident that Barkley would agree? Either way it didn’t matter, as his mind blanked out when Zaxor wrapped his hand around his length. It quickly became obvious why Zaxor had spent so much time and effort to make the strange liquid. It was thick enough to ease the motions of the demon’s hand and didn’t dry out. The substance was unnaturally warm, but pleasurably so, and a faint floral scent drifted around the room.

  A few drops dripped down between Barkley’s cheeks to caress over his hole. Zaxor’s deft fingers followed to tease at the ring of muscle. Leaning forward, the demon pressed his body in close once again.

  “Shall I teach you what pleasure can be given from here?”

  His breath hitched at the foreign feeling and he tensed unconsciously. Zaxor hummed, his finger still caressing between his legs, before he leaned down to swallow Barkley’s cock. The sudden action startled a groan out of him as he melted back into the soft bed. The warmth of the demon’s mouth was highlighted by the strange substance, and pleasure spread through him, relaxing him bit by bit. He had almost forgotten the finger tracing his hole by the time the finger was carefully pressed inside. All the feelings were blurring together in a soft, pleasant way.

  The feeling was strange but not unpleasant, and coupled with the attentions on his aching cock, surprisingly welcome. It was not as though he had not touched himself there before; curiosity had gotten the better of him once he had learned that there was more to sex than was taught to the younglings. But he had been lacking the slick warmth of Zaxor’s alchemy potion, and it felt far better when someone else was doing it. That thought was only compounded when what had to be a second finger joined the first.

  Oh. Oh.

  The slight stretch sent frissions of heat through his body and his thighs trembled with the overwhelming feeling. That was even better than he could have imagined in all his curious fantasies. Zaxor was sucking his length down with a gusto that was surprising but overwhelmingly seductive. The demon seemed to delight in every hitched breath, gasping moan, and muscle spasm he pulled from Barkley. It made his earlier comments about preferring a willing partner who enjoyed themselves freely much more understandable.

  Zaxor’s serpentine tail reached over his shoulder to caress Barkley’s chest. The arrowhead shaped tip was gentle as it explored, the touch leaving a line of heat in its wake. It reached his nipple right as a third finger pressed alongside the others working in and out of his hole. Combined with Zaxor holding his entire length in his mouth, it was too much. Barkley arched off the bed, close, so close to his orgasm but the pleasure was too sudden, and he blindly grabbed the tail. Yanking it away with more force than he intended, he was surprised when Zaxor groaned around his length in response rather than getting annoyed at the rough handling.

  The warm need hummed pleasantly at the back of his mind as he focused on the tail in his hand. Stroking his hand down the length of it as far as he could reach drew a small shudder from the demon who, while still trying to suck on his cock, was looking rather distracted. The fingers pressed inside him had stilled and only moved again after Barkley gave another experimental tug. Zaxor let the hard length slide from his mouth with an obscene slurp as he sat up, his eyes blown black and glowing faintly.

  All appearance of control had vanished, and Barkley only had a brief moment to delight in unravelling the demon’s calm before Zaxor’s lips crashed down against his. Their bodies rutted together, the slick between them easing the way. Zaxor’s fingers pressed deeper inside him, the movement faster than earlier, eliciting a moan of approval. The demon eagerly swallowed up his moans and whimpers as he worked his fingers across the bundle of nerves buried deep inside Barkley. The young man barely had the presence of mind to keep his own hand wrapped firmly around the demon’s tail, mostly holding it, but every now and then he remembered to move his hand up and down the length.

  When Zaxor slipped his fingers free of Barkley to grasp at his thigh, pushing his leg up to rest over his shoulder, there was nothing left but heated anticipation. All the distress and tension from earlier had evaporated, leaving him boneless where he was splayed out across the bed. Zaxor might have been teasing when he referred it to ‘comforting’ him, but it was certainly doing the trick. It was only then that Barkley looked down at the demon’s cock. It was proportionate to his seven-foot stature but otherwise looked just like his own. Zaxor could have passed for a human, just on the larger side of the scale. After carefully lining himself up, Zaxor pressed his cock firmly past the well loosened ring of muscle. There was no rush to his movements, but he didn’t stop until his hips pressed against Barkley.

  The feeling of being stretched that bit wider, of being full beyond what he had ever felt before, sent waves shivering through his body. Zaxor groaned along with him at the feeling. The hand not supporting the demon smoothed over his quivering thigh, then out to pet across his hip and stomach, soothing him. Each touch was pulling at him now, winding that coil of desire burning low in his gut tighter and tighter.

  The pace Zaxor set was slow and smooth, and Barkley arched up when he brushed over the sensitive spot inside him. It was a maddening combination of not quite enough to reach his peak but enough to push him higher and higher with each thrust.

  “Faster,” he mumbled around a gasp, tugging on Zaxor’s tail. It didn’t have the effect he wanted; the demon groaned but refused to change his pace.

  “No.” Zaxor leaned down to nip at his bottom lip with his sharp teeth. “I’m quite enjoying your wrecked expression.” He paused, his own breath stuttering as Barkley pushed back into his next thrust in demand. “No need to end our fun so soon.”

  A rough kiss swallowed Barkley’s protest. Their breathy gasps and moans made the kiss more a sloppy press of lips and exchanging of breath, so Zaxor abandoned that to drag his teeth down the line of Barkley's throat. His thrusts changed to a rocking motion, slowing Barkley’s descent into orgasm even further. It felt almost like a taunt until Barkley noticed how the sensations became heightened, his skin buzzing with the attention. Teeth closed over a sensitive nipple, nipping and biting before it was sucked into the wet heat of Zaxor’s mouth.

  Abandoning the demon’s tail, the young man reached up to wrap his hands about the curled rams horns on Zaxor’s head. It was all he could do to hold on, not that the demon seemed to mind. It didn’t get him the same electrified reaction as tugging on his tail did, but it seemed to encourage him all the same.

  “Please!” Barkley cried out, finally resorting to begging.

  He was so close, teetering on the edge of release, held by Zaxor in a state of not quite enough. He felt Zaxor’s lips curve into a smile against his skin, then suddenly he was being flipped over onto his stomach. A warm hand smoothed down his back, pushing his face down against the bedding, encouraging him to arch into his touch. Fingers curled around his hip as the other hand left and Barkley gasped as Zaxor entered him again. He spread his knees out further, changing the angle of his body just a touch, then—

  Barkley gasped, sucking in a breath, as Zaxor slammed home just as he had been asking. Right into that perfect spot
, pulling a full body spasm from the human in response. The flare of pleasure spreading through him from the place where they joined was so intense it was like his body needed a moment to know just what to do with that feeling. Not that Zaxor stopped to allow him to categorize the feeling; he kept a steady pace, one hand remaining on Barkley's hip while the other continued to run across his back.

  Finally, another perfect thrust sent Barkley spiralling over the edge with a choked moan that was more a sob of relief. His body trembled as his muscles contracted with the release, his cock spraying the sheets beneath him. Zaxor didn’t stop, continuing through Barkley’s orgasm and into over-sensitivity. It was a hair away from too much but it still felt good, a sharper pleasure now, rather than a warm, languid one. Zaxor’s stuttering hips and fingers tightening about his hips were all the warning he got as the demon found his own release.

  They stayed locked in their embrace for a long moment. Barkley honestly wasn’t sure he could move even if he wanted to. He pitched forward, legs sliding out from under him when Zaxor pulled away, and the demon had to catch him before he fell into the puddle of his spend. His mind was hazy but he was certain Zaxor magicked him to float so he could pull the soiled sheet from under them, using the same sheet to wipe him clean. It seemed oddly effective, each wipe clearing away the remnants of their activities with an ease Barkley presumed magical.

  Not that he cared, all he wanted to do right then was sleep. His orgasm had left him boneless and blissed out while his worries earlier in the day had left him exhausted. Zaxor chuckled as he lowered him to the bed, his body curling languidly around his.

  “I’m beginning to wonder why I never bothered doing that before,” Barkley commented idly as he pushed back into the warm body behind him. Cuddling with him seemed odd, although they had agreed to be lovers, and Barkley wondered if it was for Zaxor’s benefit or his own.

  “You’ll find that the latent magic in the demon plane heightens the experience.” Zaxor’s tail stroked across his hip gently. “To the point I didn’t even need to give you a helping hand. It’s why I much prefer taking part in any pleasure here, although my skills are enough that even the dreary human realm cannot impede me too much.”