Incubus Freedom

by Emma Jaye

  “Not right away he won’t. Right now, his mental health is more important than his belly. Thanks to you and Silas the night before the trial, it’ll be a while before he’s too hungry. And there are plenty of people to feed him here. Avery runs this as a specialist tourist resort, for people who want to–” She turned a little pink. “Well you can guess what it’s for given that Avery is an incubus too.”

  Finn glanced towards the door, wondering what manner of sexual depravity went on out there.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be close to him, we’ll simply keep you out of sight. Come on, I’ll show you the room we’ve set up for you next door. I got some stuff brought over from the flat and I sent an email to your mum to say you’re going travelling for a while.”

  Holding his elbow, she encouraged him to sit up, and then swing his legs over the side of the bed. Her guiding hand on his arm as she tried to lead him to the doors was firm, but he still hung back. The visceral need to touch Ezra overwhelmed.

  “Ugh, go on then, but nothing that’ll wake him; it’s only a light sedation.”

  The tiles under his bare feet radiated warmth and he wondered where they were, not that it mattered as long as he could stay with Ezra. He hated that Ezra needed more than just him in his life. The incubus would always need people to feed him, unless Finn managed to collect enough energy so that Ezra didn’t require food from anyone else.

  Despite what Pixie had said, Finn couldn’t believe Ezra would try to hurt him, or that he’d ever hurt anyone physically. Ezra left broken hearts in his wake, not broken bones.

  Sensing Pixie’s eyes on him, Finn approached the other bed. Ezra looked so peaceful. The slight stubble on his chin proved they’d been here a day or two. Had he been completely clean shaven, it probably would’ve worried Finn even more. Ezra’s beauty shone as brightly as always, but without his conscious vitality... The way that mouth, now so relaxed, said and did such wicked things...

  The urge to touch him bypassed the awkwardness of being watched.

  “Hi,” he whispered, running his finger down Ezra’s rough cheek before tracing those lips. How many times had he wished to simply admire Ezra, to bask in his beauty? Yet now he could, Finn wanted him to wake up, grin, say something smutty and make Finn feel like the centre of this powerful being’s universe. But Ezra didn’t even remember him.

  That Ezra was a demon, one who had used his demonic powers to ensnare Finn, didn’t matter. Magic or not, Finn needed the dark, beautiful demon more than he needed to eat. The urge to climb into bed with him, to have skin to skin contact made his entire body itch, inside and out. Finn took a shaky breath, trying to control the urge.

  When he’d been up in the tree, he’d heard someone say he’d die if Ezra did. He didn’t doubt it. The thought of being away from him, not touching him for more than a few seconds at a time made him shake.

  “You have to come back to me.” Finn willed the dark eyes to open, to glow with desire for him, but they didn’t.

  A hand landed on his shoulder. “Come on, Finn, time to go,” Pixie said.

  Finn shook his head, dumbly.

  “I’m sorry, but the sooner you leave, the quicker we can wake him up and see if the last attempt to return his memory worked. If it did, you two can be back together within the hour. If it doesn’t, it’ll take a bit longer. We can’t risk mucking about with his mind any more, he’s fragile enough as it is.”

  The hand tugged on his arm, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t leave Ezra of his own free will. The hand left him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. The door opened behind him, and without thought, Finn pulled the thin blanket up and climbed on the bed. Moulding himself to Ezra’s side, he put his head on the broad chest and let the sound of Ezra’s heart and his spicy vanilla scent sink into his soul. Ezra might have needed to stare at the waves and sky to feel content, all Finn needed was this.

  “Finn, look at me.” He didn’t want to, but something about the low, calm voice had his eyes opening. A gently smiling, painfully handsome face gazed at him across Ezra’s chest.

  “You need to leave him now. Pixie and Jericho will look after him. He’s going to be confused, frightened, perhaps violent. The difference this time is that we have you to help. For his sake, you need to be strong. Remember how you seduced the shifter brothers? How you did what he needed you to do, even though he was in pain and you were scared?”

  Finn nodded. Ezra had been counting on him.

  Avery’s smile broadened. “Well now you need to be that strong again. He agreed to go through this for your sake; you need to show him you’re strong enough to be worthy of his sacrifice.” The incubus’s eyes were glowing, an ice-cold blue pierced his mind. “You can do that, for him, right?”

  Finn lifted his cheek from Ezra’s chest, and attempted to turn to look at the face of the demon he loved.

  Avery’s eyes crinkled at the corners, as his hand cupped Finn’s face, keeping him from looking at Ezra.

  “Best not, eh?”

  “You’re compelling me, aren’t you?”

  Avery’s eyes widened a little, and after fading for a second, his smile broadened. “Yes, I am. For him, for both of you. Let’s go see where you’ll be staying while he recovers.”

  Without further protest, and with Avery making sure he didn’t get captured by Ezra’s face and scent again. Finn left the room absently noting that Avery was wearing tailored linen shorts and a polo-shirt rather than a designer suit. Somehow, it struck Finn as ‘wrong’.

  The blond incubus walked him a matter of ten feet before opening another door. The small room looked to be a hastily converted office, rather than a bedroom. The furnishings consisted of a wooden, single bed frame and a small cabinet with a bag he recognised as his on top of it. A desk was pushed up against the far wall. Finn wandered to the window, knowing that Ezra was only a few feet away on the other side of the wall. They’d be looking at the same view soon. Avery perched on the desk near the door. There was no way to leave the room without the incubus’s agreement.

  He was about to ask if he and Ezra were prisoners when a smooth as honey voice came from the doorway.

  “Hi.”

  Finn turned to see a tawny-haired woman, her tanned breasts almost overflowing her scarlet bikini top. A short colourful sarong, that barely concealed her curves, hung on her hips. Her eyes ran over him as she sashayed towards him. ‘Vulnerable’ didn’t cover what he felt considering he was still in a short, wrap around hospital gown. One pull on the ties and– Finn glanced over at the incubus, as the woman hadn’t seen Avery yet, but he merely raised his eyebrows.

  Great, is dealing with her on my own some sort of test? His heart dropped. I’m not expected to do something with her, am I? The thought made him cringe.

  “Sorry, it’s not much,” she indicated the room, “but from what Lord Avery said, you’ll both be more comfortable if you’re close to each other.” She smiled. But rather than being turned on by those full red pouty lips, as she clearly intended, Finn imagined them stealing his breath like a leech while he flailed, trying to escape.

  “I’m Freya, and as you can probably tell, I’m a succubus. I’m built for pleasure, just like you, little vascellum.” He wanted to say, ‘less of the little, you’re shorter than me.’ Instead, he froze like a mouse who had spotted a snake.

  “My husband and I are bar staff. Fun, sun and limitless food, what more could people like us want, right?” When he didn’t answer, she carried on. “We’re so glad you’re here, you’ve got no idea how long we’ve–”

  The hunger in her eyes as she almost flowed towards him, made Finn take a step back. He had nothing against women, but he didn’t find them sexually attractive and this one clearly wanted to swallow him whole.

  “Not yet, Freya. He’s only been awake a matter of minutes and–”

  Her mouth dropped open as Avery stood up and moved between succubus and vascellum. Finn hid his sigh of relief as the cavalry finally decided to appear. If he�
�d failed the incubus’s ‘social interaction’ test, Avery could stick it where the sun didn’t shine.

  Freya’s eyes went wide, flicking between him and Avery. The incubus wasn’t that scary, was he? Finn took another look at Avery. He didn’t appear to have grown horns or a forked tail.

  Bowing her head, words fought each other to escape her obscenely red lips. “I’m so, so sorry my Lord, I didn’t mean to offend, make the vascellum uncomfortable, or remind you of your beloved, please forgive me.”

  For a moment, Finn thought the slight bob she performed would turn into a full-blown curtsey. The supernatural world he’d stumbled into was weird, but it was his world now, and the sooner he got used to it, the better. Although saying ‘my Lord’ without putting on a Downton Abbey accent and tugging his forelock would be a test he’d probably fail.

  Avery gave the succubus a tight smile. “It’s alright, Freya, I understand. He’s always in my thoughts anyway. But yes, this isn’t easy for any of us.”

  “Again, I’m so sorry for your loss, my Lord, my parents said that Frederick–”

  Fuck, he hadn’t even considered what being around another vascellum did to Avery. His chest tightened at the thought of living without Ezra. Even having his demon unconscious set him on edge.

  The blond incubus inclined his head, every inch the lord Freya had mentioned. “Thank you. I have fond memories of your parents. Do pass on my best wishes next time you speak to them. But like everyone else, you will have to go through official channels to secure a time slot with them, same as before. And only when they are ready. I’ll have my staff dust off the application procedures as soon as things settle down. As Ezra and Finn are new to their responsibilities, I and my staff will be handling things for them.

  “I hope we can count on your help while they are here? Once news gets out, we could receive a lot of unsolicited visitors. I’ve brought some security with me, but extra eyes will be appreciated.”

  She nodded, her hair shaking with the vigour of her movement. “Yes, yes of course, my Lord.” She turned her perfect green eyes on Finn. “My husband and I will protect you with our lives, sire.”

  Finn stared, speechless, as after performing the graceful deep curtsey he’d feared, she backed out of the room, head lowered.

  He turned to Avery, who took one look at his face and burst out laughing.

  “Sire?” Finn finally managed after opening and closing his mouth in dumb amazement.

  “It’s an oldie, but a goodie.” Avery chuckled a few more times before sobering. “You really have no idea how important you are, do you?”

  “Is everyone going to call me sire, or ‘the vascellum,’ from now on, because that’s kinda freaky.”

  Avery shrugged. “You’ll get used to it. Being called ‘the vascellum’ is currently a unique term of reverence, seeing as you’re possibly the saviour of our entire species. I’d think a great many human women will be desperate to carry your biological children too, just in case the vascellum gene is dominant. Can I ask if you have any brothers or sisters?”

  Finn opened his mouth to say that he had at least one half-brother, but he didn’t have a clue about the identity of his father, when he froze. A surge of panic followed by a wave of longing nearly sent Finn to his knees.

  “He’s awake, isn’t he?” Avery’s soft voice held profound regret.

  Finn nodded, and turned towards the window as if it was a magnet. The pull of the view of the sunset couldn’t be denied.

  Avery moved to stand behind him. Warm, firm hands rubbed his shoulders, making skin to skin contact. Finn knew the demon influenced him, but he didn’t mind. Dealing with Ezra’s raw emotions on his own wasn’t easy.

  “It’s going to be alright. He’s strong, stronger than you could possibly imagine, and so are you. I know you didn’t share his memories of what they did to him, but I did, and I doubt I would have lasted as long. He’s remarkable, and with your help, his recovery will be swift. Confidence and patience is the key. You’ll be back to being Finn and Ezra again sooner than you know it.”

  Finn doubted they’d ever go back to living above Ezra’s sex shop, seeing as he was now a ‘sire’. Did that make his dark, curly-haired incubus, ‘Lord Ezra’? Finn’s mouth twitched at the thought; the vain bastard would get one hell of a kick out of that. The thought that he’d have Ezra back soon, grinning and turning Finn into a libidinous puddle with just a glance, cheered him further.

  “That’s it, carry on sending him confident thoughts, no matter what he’s feeling.”

  They waited silently, with Avery continuing the skin to skin contact, while voices rumbled next door. Finn couldn’t hear what Ezra said to Pixie, but he could feel his demon’s fascination with the view outside. What Ezra saw was almost superimposed on his own sight. That little else came through the bond except yearning to see the view, and bone deep sadness, ate at Finn’s attempts to maintain positive thoughts.

  “How’s he feeling?” Avery whispered against his ear. Finn had forgotten all about the other incubus, but once he spoke, Avery’s breath and the heat of his body against his back made Finn shiver as desire curled in his belly. Avery stepped back. Finn’s face heated at his highly inappropriate sexual reaction.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to... ever since this vascellum thing, I can’t control–”

  “Don’t worry about it, celebrate it. Ezra’s probably hungry. You’re his vascellum; its natural you want to gather energy for him and it doesn’t mean a thing emotionally. You’re certainly not cheating on him. I know it’s difficult and it’s going to take time, but the sooner you let go of human morality, the–”

  The door creaked open and Pixie’s head peeked through. “Jericho’s going to take Ezra down to the beach, he’s desperate to be outside. It’s about a hundred metres from here. Shanae just tried to get at Ezra and that succubus is lurking around too. I’ve sent Milo, the brothers and Silas out to clear the area. They have orders to stay out of sight. Is the proximity thing going to be a problem for either Finn or Ezra?”

  “Maybe,” Avery wrinkled his nose. “Frederick and I were never more than an arm’s length apart for the first six months so I’m not sure. But we want to avoid any suspicion that he’s got a bonded vascellum, just until the animosity towards addicting humans calms down.”

  He turned to Finn. “There’s a little beach furniture shelter down there that we use in bad weather. We can get there before Jericho brings him out, if we’re quick.”

  After pulling on the first clothes in his bag, some old nylon running shorts and a University of Brighton Athletics t-shirt, they headed outside with Finn still barefoot. Avery wore a pair of navy espadrilles that matched his designer polo shirt and contrasted perfectly with cream linen shorts. Even in stressful conditions, he appeared irritatingly flawless.

  Finn found himself standing behind a windbreak of woven branches on the edge of a white sand, tropical beach. He caught a glimpse of the dark waves before Avery pulled him down to the sand and touched a finger to his lips.

  A few seconds later, Finn heard the quiet footfalls of the big shifter and Ezra. There wasn’t any conversation between Jericho and Ezra, even when they stopped halfway down the sand. Finn itched to hear that smooth, familiar voice, until Ezra’s contentment washed over him.

  Inch by inch, with the sound of the sea in his ears and mind via Ezra, Finn relaxed, his eyes getting heavy as he clung to the bond. He didn’t resist when Avery wrapped his arm around his shoulders forcing him to lean against the larger man. “Sleep, little vascellum; you’re both safe now.” Avery’s words were hardly audible, but they, the sound of the waves, Ezra’s relaxed proximity and Avery’s warm protective body soon had Finn dozing. It had been a hell of a week, and to think he’d been worrying about his end of year exams a month ago.

  An ache in the centre of his chest roused him. He rubbed at it absently as he opened his eyes.

  “You can feel that?”

  Finn sat up, moving away from Avery�
�s embrace, even though it felt... safe. Despite Avery’s assurances, he wasn’t sure how Ezra would feel about him cuddling up with someone his demon considered a rival. Yes, he was meant to have sex with other people to get energy for Ezra, but Avery wasn’t just another food source. He was the most influential supernatural on the planet and ‘my Lord’ to a lot of them.

  But Finn wouldn’t call him ‘Lord’. Finn’s lord was an irreverent, smutty-mouthed, nowhere near perfect, irresistible, low-life demon. And Finn wouldn’t swap him for Avery for all the money and titles in the world.

  The sun peaked over the horizon, and the chill in the air had more to do with Ezra’s absence than the temperature. Finn shivered.

  “What time is it?” he asked the blond incubus, who, even after spending the night sitting on a beach, still looked gorgeous. Finn thought he looked even sexier like this than in his ‘pristine’ form. A little stubble graced his chin and his hair was all over the place. Does he look like this after having sex all night?

  The image of Avery’s perfect body, slicked with sweat, working, pumping into his, holding him tight, filling him–

  “Ah, ah, none of that, not yet, anyway. It’s six a.m. You were rubbing your chest, does it hurt?”

  Finn looked down. His palm lay on his chest, but it didn’t obscure the tent in the blue fabric of his shorts.

  “Chest?” Avery prompted.

  Finn rubbed at it again. “It doesn’t hurt exactly, more like an ache. Maybe I slept funny.”

  “Or maybe you’re reacting to Ezra going back indoors. Frederick couldn’t stand being more than a hundred yards from me, even when we were both comfortable. He punched out a lion shifter security guard once because the idiot wouldn’t let him through when I cut my finger during a meeting. And he was about the same size as you, not that any vascelli are big. Come on, coast is clear, but it won’t be for long. The tourists will be up for breakfast soon, those who went to bed anyway.”

  The mention of breakfast, and what both the demon beside him, and Ezra, would be hungry for caused his dick to twitch.