by Emma Jaye
Ezra hastily shut his mouth. What the fuck just happened?
The cold, somewhat slimy mess in his shorts made him shift in discomfort. Being naked all the time had been far easier, and a hell of a lot more convenient, but rubbing through clothing, as if it were forbidden had turned him on immensely. Or had that been all Finn?
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ezra blurted out as Finn climbed off him and stood up.
The young human looked him up and down, and Ezra prayed he still looked like someone Finn might want, even though he sat in dishevelled, spunk stain clothes, having failed to give his partner release.
“You will, it’s not as if I can leave is it?”
Ezra flinched. It was his fault Finn was stuck here with him, but for the first time since the cellar, Ezra decided that it might not be such a bad thing after all.
“You’re not going to find someone else to–” Ezra nods towards Finn’s groin.
Finn sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, mussing it even more. Ezra liked it mussed, even if he hadn’t messed it up himself.
“No, no I won’t. In fact, I’m going to go put the cage back on, just in case. And I only survived tonight because I borrowed a cock ring from Razor.”
Ezra didn’t know what a cock ring was although he made a mental note to find out, hopefully by direct observation on Finn, as soon as possible. It was idiotic for an incubus to be happy about his vascellum not wanting to be with anyone else and not climaxing, but a smile stretched Ezra’s face nevertheless.
“Alright then, see you for breakfast.” The word ‘beautiful’ hovered on his lips, but he didn’t say it.
A grin lit up Finn’s face. “If you are very, very lucky, I’ll think about it. Oh, and if you feel a little something in a few minutes, that’ll be me, on my own, thinking about you without a cock ring on.”
Ezra groaned as his dick stood to attention again. Finn turned and left the room.
CHAPTER 16
Finn exited Ezra’s room feeling a hell of a lot more positive than when he entered it. Through the bond, he could feel Ezra’s confusion, but there were also positive emotions that Finn had his fingers crossed were about him. All in all, a job well done.
“How’s he doing?” The vampire’s low voice caused Finn’s heart to jolt in fear as he detached himself from the shadows.
Finn swallowed, he’d had no idea that Silas was there and wondered if he’d ever get used to the various mannerisms of supernaturals.
“Have you been waiting out here all this time?”
The vampire wasn’t as broad as Ezra, but he was taller and had an air of danger about him that Finn found deliciously scary. He didn’t think Silas would hurt him, but a little bit of him still wondered if the vampire would always resist the urge to sink his fangs into him. Getting pierced by the dangerous being’s fangs and cock at the same time would probably be a far more painful reality than his fantasy version. But he bet Silas had done it to Ezra, and knowing his demon, Ezra had enjoyed it. Finn cleared his throat, all this fantasising did nothing to make his uncomfortable erection go down. Pull it together, Finn.
To his relief, Silas stopped three feet from him. “I failed to look after him before. It’s not going to happen again.” Silas sounded, proprietary, as if he still owned Ezra.
“He’s not yours to protect.” Finn’s anger rose as a condescending smile tickled Silas’s lips.
“And you think you can protect him, hmm?”
Finn lifted his chin. “We’ll protect each other.”
Silas nodded as if he’d said something profound. “Oh, I’m sure you could have wrestled Jericho off him if it’d gone too far.”
“And you could?” Finn shot back.
Another smile tickled the demon’s lips. “Probably. I’ve never tried wrestling a mad with lust Atlas bear shifter. But the point is, little Finn, that you both need help.”
Silas took a half step forward, fear bubbled up and despite the knowing smile on Silas’s thin lips, Finn resisted stepping back.
“We were alright before you lot stuck your noses in.”
Silas let out a snort. “And you were together for what, an entire week, before the shit hit the fan?” He spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Look, I’m not your enemy or a rival. I’m not a vascellum and you’re not a demon or a shifter, and yet you have four canine shifters and a bear who have given up their pack for you.”
The accusation stung. “I didn’t ask them too.”
“No, no you didn’t, but they’re here nevertheless, and they are all on your side and I mean you, not Ezra. Don’t you think he deserves someone purely in his corner too? Someone who will stick by him and help him carry on living when you die?”
Cold spread up Finn’s spine. They were alone. Silas could do anything to him and he wouldn’t have a hope in hell of defending himself, not physically anyway.
Finn straightened. Vampires fed on fear as well as blood, and Finn determined to give Silas as little of either as possible.
“Are you threatening me?”
That damn condescending smile irritated the hell out of Finn.
“Merely being realistic, my dear. The average lifespan of a demon, barring being murdered, is over a thousand years. Avery met Frederick when he was five hundred. He’s now around nine hundred and going strong. Ezra will need a reason to carry on living when you’re gone, I hope to be it.”
“You don’t want him for yourself?” Finn said, wondering if the demon would tell him the truth.
Silas leaned in close, sending shivers through Finn.
“Everything about him fascinates me, his joy, his pain, the way he loves and hates with such passion, and you, my dear, turn him upside down and inside out. It’s a show I never want to end, and I will do everything in my power to ensure you survive as long as possible. Because when you eventually die, his grief will be–” Silas closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath in anticipation.
“You love him.”
Silas’s eyes flicked open so fast Finn jerked back. His irises were red.
“Tell me, do you think a demon is capable of love?”
Finn snorted, fed up with the vampire’s games. Silas didn’t want to hurt him, not yet anyway. It was odd, but he and the odd misfit demon were connected in more ways than one. Finn didn’t suppose there was another half-vampire, half-vengeance demon on the planet, any more than there were other vascelli. Plus, he had no doubt that Silas had deep feelings for Ezra.
“I don’t know about you, but Ezra can love. I felt it before you lot sent him back down memory lane, so there’s hope for you yet.” He’d felt Ezra’s love for him through the bond, and as always, Ezra’s emotions swept his with him.
“You won’t mind if he grows to love me too?” The hope in Silas’s eyes completed Finn’s change of attitude toward him from a scary rival to a friend with the potential for more.
Finn lifted up on his toes and placed a quick kiss on the vampire’s stubbled cheek. “He already does. Now go look after our incubus. He’s in a bit of a mess.”
With that cryptic answer, Finn ducked under the vampire’s arm, which had started to cage him against the wall, and jogged out of the building.
Cool night air chilled his skin and he revelled in the solitude. Ever since he’d been here, he hadn’t been alone except in his bed at night and even then he suspected there had been a guard outside his door, just as there had been for Ezra.
Razor had escorted him over to the main resort building after he’d found a suitable cock ring in the dominant’s mindboggling collection. Silas had been lurking in the shadows to take over babysitting duty when he’d entered the resort building. Although the demon had been looking out for Ezra rather than Finn.
The tenseness in his chest he hadn’t acknowledged, eased between one step and the next. He didn’t know whether he liked that Ezra felt comforted by Silas’s presence or not. Whatever the case, it was something he had to get used to.
How would t
hings work now that Ezra seemed to want to live again? His human life had never prepared him for anything like these multiple complications. Would Finn share Ezra’s bed every night, would Silas? Would they each have their own rooms or all share like the canine shifters did in a big pile of warm familiar bodies?
“My, my, a cute little vascellum, out and about, all on his own.” Finn spun around at the sultry female voice. Freya’s hips swayed as she stepped out of the gloom. “I’ve been waiting to speak to you all day, but those damn dogs don’t leave you alone, do they?”
Finn scratched his ear, knowing he looked, and probably smelt a complete mess. At least his dick had gone down, because there was no way on Earth he wanted Freya to think he fancied her.
“I’m just heading back to my room; it’s been a bit of a day.”
She pouted, her lips shining darkly in the moonlight. “Yes, yes it has, but Ezra seems well on the way to recovery. That trick he played on the bear shifter was masterful. So talented for one so young.”
She brushed her hands over her curving hips. “I’d just like to remind you about Malcolm and me. We’ve been waiting so very long for a child and as we are already here, I thought, well I hoped,” she looked at him through her thick eyelashes, “that you’d consider doing us the honour of being your first. Perhaps we could get better acquainted before I’m given the honour of being able to drain you.”
Fear, stronger than he’d felt when he’d been alone with Silas, clutched at his gut. He imagined this woman’s overripe flesh engulfing him, smothering him till he couldn’t breathe. Death by boobs. He physically shuddered at the thought of her sitting on his face.
“Finn? I thought you’d gone home.” Finn had never been more grateful to hear Silas’s voice.
“Yeah, I was on my way. Freya wanted to... chat.”
“I bet she did.” He could hear the smile in Silas’s voice, but he didn’t find being the prey of a demon, male or female, amusing.
“Yeah, well, I’m a bit tired, so I’m off,” he mumbled and turned to leave.
“Are you still staying in hut four?” she asked.
Finn’s heart beat a little faster. The door lock on his hut wouldn’t withstand a demon.
“Never mind where he’s staying, succubus. I suggest you go back to that kinky club if you’re hungry; Finn’s off limits.”
Ruby red lips curved into a smile that wasn’t the least bit friendly. “Now he is, but I’m patient.” She looked Silas up and down, licking her lips. “I’ve never had a vampire before.”
“And you’re not going to have this one,” Finn blurted. Defending himself might be difficult, but there was no way he would let Freya get her claws into Silas. The thought of those wobbly bits desecrating that firm body made Finn want to retch.
Silas bit his lip, clearly holding in a laugh. “What the human said. Now off you trot, Freya, If you really try, I’m sure you can find a cock that actually wants you to suck it.”
The look she sent Silas could have curdled milk at a thousand yards.
“Bye now, good luck with that,” Finn called out after her. She gave him the finger without turning around.
Silas blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two really are peas in a pod aren’t you? Ezra doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut either.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped out a message.
“Who are you calling?”
Finn counted to three before a voice behind him said, “Me.”
“We thought we might as well tag along too.”
Finn turned to see all four canine shifter cousins emerging from the gloom.
“And where were you lot? I just saved him from a very enthusiastic succubus and I only knew because Ezra felt his fear.”
The twins looked sheepish.
“I was sleeping,” Milo said.
“Me too,” added Emmett.
All eyes turned to the twins. Finn felt a pang of sympathy.
“We were erm...” Glyn started, but Finn noticed both twins had wet hair.
“Swimming,” he finished for them. He couldn’t blame them for that. A moonlit swim sounded like a fantastic idea.
“Not exactly,” Gethin mumbled and his twin elbowed him.
Silas let out a breath. “Whatever. To be honest I don’t give a shit what you were doing, but you said you’d look after him and you haven’t. I can’t watch them both if they’re not together.”
“I’m not a child,” Finn stated.
All five supernaturals gave him ‘yeah, right’ looks.
“Can I count on you puppies to keep an eye on him overnight?”
“Yes,” Milo ground out. “Come on, Finn.”
Despite Silas calling the shifters ‘puppies’ Finn felt like a dog as he trailed after Milo towards his room. The high he’d experienced after he’d left Ezra had evaporated. He wanted to be with Ezra, and was intrigued by Silas. The shifter brothers were like a bunch of protective, good looking, not quite bright, friends. Everything was moving forward nicely, but his destination didn’t appeal in the least if it involved dealing with multiple Freyas.
He shivered at the thought.
“You alright?” Milo asked as they reached the door to hut four. “One of us will stay outside, you don’t have to worry about Freya sneaking up on you again.”
Guilt ate at Finn for the poor ‘dog’ who got the job of laying by his door all night.
“Where do you lot sleep?”
Gethin grinned. “They’ve got this room with a huge bed, we all fit in with room to spare. Although we haven’t all been in it at the same time. I had no idea humans were so... versatile. There’s this one girl who can–”
“Shut up, Gethin,” Milo, Emmett and Glyn said at the same time.
Finn swallowed hard. The only other time he’d asked to share someone’s bed had been Charlie, and that had gone so horribly wrong it still made him feel sick with embarrassment to think about it.
“What is it? If you get upset again, it’s only going to bring that bloody vampire running,” Emmet said.
“You are quite welcome to piss off and find that girl Gethin mentioned. I’ll take tonight’s shift,” Milo growled.
“What about us?” Glyn said.
“Well I can’t exactly depend on you two, can I? You were meant to be watching him in the first place.”
Before the argument could escalate, as the cousins seemed to enjoy bickering more than anything else, Finn spoke up.
“Can I sleep with you, instead?”
It went eerily quiet. Finn could hear the palm frond moving above them.
“What, sleep, sleep with him or you know ‘sleep’ with him?” Gethin split the silence. “You human’s are never clear about what you mean.”
“Like you’re such an expert,” his twin scoffed. “Apart from Finn, how many humans have you been with?”
Gethin straightened up. “More than you.”
“Bollocks,” Glyn spat back.
“All of you, and I mean eyes closed, sleeping, not sex. I don’t want to be alone,” Finn almost shouted at the squabbling pair. “And I don’t want anyone having to be awake all night just for me,” he finished but his voice had dropped to a whisper.
A finger under his chin lifted his gaze to Milo’s blue eyes. “I really don’t mind. I’ll be in my canine form; I’ll be quite alright out here.”
A broad arm went around his shoulders. “Stop trying to change his mind. Just so he doesn’t have to worry, we’ll all stay in canine form, how about that?” Emmet said.
“Aw man, really? Gethin snores as a dog,” Glyn whined.
Milo met Finn’s gaze and rolled his eyes, but the fond smile at the antics of the twins showed how much he loved his cousins.
After popping into his hut and picking up a few things he needed for the night, Finn re-joined the shifters.
Half an hour later, Finn, wearing only his boxers, came back into the main room of the hut the shifters had claimed. As soon as he
’d stepped into the shower, and removed the cock ring, his dick sprang to life. That would never do, seeing as he would be surrounded by horny shifters all night. If he got hard out there, the brothers would smell it, and unlike Milo, Finn wasn’t sure they’d keep their words, not that he’d mind a repeat performance with any of them. Still, until Ezra could drain him, he didn’t want to chance getting overfilled. Asking for Avery’s help felt disloyal.
The privacy of the shower, and the slippery shower gel, persuaded him that rubbing a quick one out wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he’d never get that cock cage back on otherwise. Fitting himself into the silicone took a hell of a lot longer than causing himself to shoot ropes of cum over the shower wall.
Weak kneed, and utterly exhausted, Finn wandered back into the main room. Only one tail thumped. Milo, who had to be the blond terrier, moved over to make room for him. Finn crawled onto the bed and fitted himself into the narrow space in the centre of the sprawled pair of mastiffs, and the Irish wolfhound. After giving a jaw cracking, whining yawn, Milo curled up against his chest, gave Finn’s shoulder a warm, wet lick, and closed his eyes.
Through the bond, he could feel Ezra’s contentment and his sense of safety. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to decide that Ezra was in Silas’s arms, or perhaps Silas was in his. Would their two groups ever sleep together?
His lips quirked. He doubted it, especially if the shifters preferred sleeping in dog form.
Both mastiffs snored. Loudly.
CHAPTER 17
Half an hour earlier.
Silas’s sharp features appeared around the door to Ezra’s room and his nose wrinkled. “I was about to ask if you wanted a nightcap, but from that stink, I’m too late.”
Telling Silas what had happened seemed disloyal to Finn, or at least that was what Ezra told himself. Uneasiness gripped his chest.
“What is it?” Silas asked sharply.
“Finn, he’s–” was as far as he got before Silas disappeared again.