by Emma Jaye
“That’s better, young man. I’ll send Santos and Oscar over by air elemental, to give her a choice. And Ezra? Welcome to the family. Don’t be a stranger.”
The screen went blank, and the two incubi looked at each other.
“How did you know Finn was a vascellum?” Avery asked.
“I didn’t, not at first. He caught my attention straight away, and I put more effort into pursuing him than I had anyone else for years. But I didn’t definitely know until I tasted him and found echoes of other people’s energy.”
Avery nodded. “That’s how it happened with Frederick, but as soon as I bonded him, he became ‘visible’ to other sex demons, like Finn is to me.” He paused. “There are a hell of a lot of humans in the world and not many sex demons. That’s a lot of tasting for any of us to find another vascellum, if one exists. Especially if they are as flighty as you said Finn was at first. There are so many eager meals walking about that most of us just move on if a human isn’t immediately receptive.”
Ezra twigged. “But if Finn can pick them out of a crowd...”
A smile twitched Avery’s lips. “And if he can find other male vascelli, ones who like women, he’ll never have to–”
“–Not that we would pressure him into doing anything he wouldn’t like anyway–” Ezra added.
Avery nodded. “Oh of course, we’d never do that, being the moral, upstanding demons that we are,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Ezra pursed his lips. “You know, Finn said he wanted to travel.”
The blond demon’s eyebrows rose. “Really? How very interesting. And I suppose the places he’d like to visit are heavily populated? Festivals, concerts, political rallies, busy airports, train stations, that sort of thing?”
Ezra grinned. “Even if they’re not, they’re going on the list. I’ve always wanted to try foreign food, but first, I want to try out that kink club with Finn.”
EPILOGUE
Ezra resisted sighing as Finn leaned up against him. Another soulless hotel with staff who gave them odd looks when they asked for the biggest family suite awaited them. He hoped they’d get away without an extra cleaning charge due to dog hair this time. He didn’t moan when the cousins or Jericho shifted in their hotel rooms. Without knowing if the surrounding area was safe for them to run in their animal forms, the shifters didn’t have a choice when they needed to express their nature.
Travelling had been a dream for all of them, but the shifters were getting increasingly edgy without a home base. They’d toured the world, heading south and east from Avery’s Mediterranean island, visiting every large gathering of people they could while hunting for other vascelli. America was next, and they’d already ‘done’ Hawaii. The list of events Milo held on his smartphone didn’t fill him with enthusiasm, and to be honest, he missed Silas and Pixie.
Right now, as well as him and Finn, their group consisted of the four shifter cousins and Jericho. Pixie and Silas had volunteered to escort Finn’s last find, a street kid from Honolulu who called himself Slinky, back to Avery’s island. The odds that the slippery petty criminal would be arrested for picking pockets had halved by letting the older supernaturals take escort duty rather than leaving it to the shifters. Whichever demon ended up with Slinky would certainly be kept on his toes. If he hadn’t already had Finn, Ezra would’ve had his hand in the air to take on the mouthy, mixed race, twenty-five-year-old.
“Wish I was there to see Avery’s face when they turn up with him.” Gethin said from the front seat of the hired minivan. Emmett drove while Milo, Jericho and Glyn sat opposite Ezra and Finn.
Finn’s teeth were white in the darkness as he grinned. “He’ll smell him before he sees him, Christ, he stank.”
Milo let out a long-suffering sigh. “Why do you still do that? You know that as soon as he’s bonded you’ll feel different, just like you did with Madame Risler before we left. I bet you’ll like the other three you’ve found too, now they’re bonded.”
Finn folded his arms and scowled. “I doubt it, not in his case anyway. But at least everyone will know where to look when wallets and valuables go missing.”
“And where is he going to sell them on Avery’s island?” Milo said.
Finn scowled. “The place is full of demons, remember?”
Ezra would never tell him, but he found Finn’s overwhelming, usually violent, jealousy of unbonded vascelli a huge ego boost. According to Finn, revelling in another’s discomfort wasn’t ‘nice’, wasn’t ‘human’. One day, Finn might stop picking on the vascelli he found and give up on his attempt to undemonize Ezra. Both were as likely as Ezra sprouting a halo and angel wings.
“And I doubt he’ll stink by the time they get on the plane, let alone when he’s presented to the candidates,” Jericho rumbled.
“Poor little shit will be scrubbed within an inch of his life,” Emmett said.
“Do you think Avery will go for him?” Glyn asked.
At Finn’s growl, Ezra sighed and pulled his vascellum onto his lap. Finn needed some physical reassurance that Slinky would never be a threat, and he needed to reconnect with his vascellum for his own peace of mind. Avery was the only other incubus on the planet able to take the energy Finn collected. It still irked Ezra that Finn exhibited jealousy over the other incubus, but it was always worse after a ‘find’. Hopefully, they wouldn’t find another vascellum for a few weeks, if not months. It always took time for Finn to get back to his normal, sunny self.
Shoving a hand up his vascellum’s shirt, Ezra turned Finn’s face to his and brushed his lips over the stubbled chin. Finn’s beard didn’t grow fast, but Ezra loved the scruff he’d developed during their flight to California.
“Mine, always mine, Beautiful,” he murmured against those pliant lips.
Finn’s hand went to his hair, and with a sigh, he deepened the kiss.
“Hey, do you two want to wait till we get to the hotel? You’ll stink up the car,” Jericho groused.
Finn rested his forehead on Ezra’s and asked, “Hungry?”
“Stupid question. If he was human he’d belong to Overeater Anonymous,” Milo said.
Ezra grinned as the glow of Milo’s arousal contrasted with his tone. “I could eat. You lot might have had inflight meals, but I–”
“Had two airhostesses then me, in the staff restroom,” Finn reminded him.
“Ah, right. Forgot about them. But we do need to cork you.”
“I’ll do it,” Gethin piped up from the front seat as he reached for his seatbelt. Ever since the incident on the beach, the shifter volunteered to ‘do his duty’ at every conceivable opportunity. Finn slumped a little, and Ezra agreed with the swirl of disappointment coming through the bond. Despite trying to persuade them otherwise, canine shifter sex was universally fast and frantic. It got the job done, but there was little finesse.
The constant travelling of the last year had lost its appeal for the shifters, and Ezra suspected Finn felt the same way. Seduction, even for casual hook-ups, took time, so their group had become insular on their travels. Finn had filled up with the shifters while Ezra used his compulsion abilities to grab the odd snack. The others might have been experiencing an exotic diet, but Ezra had been confined to the sex demon equivalent of ‘fast food’.
“Don’t be so fast, brother. I think I’ve found dinner for everyone,” Emmett said, pointing up ahead.
Judging from the flashing red neon light that screamed ‘BBQ’ a few hundred yards away, Ezra agreed.
Milo groaned. “Can’t we just go to the hotel? I bet the food in there will make Gethin fart all night.”
“Overruled,” Finn announced then pecked Ezra’s cheek and climbed off his lap. “Bet I can get more than you,” he said. Ezra prayed he’d never get used to the way Finn’s happiness lit him from the inside.
Twenty minutes later, Ezra left the shifters tucking into ribs, and Finn flirting with the barman as if his life depended on it, while he followed the waitress he’d compelled i
nto the storeroom.
The brassy, forty something blonde turned to him with a slight frown. “You know, for the life of me, I can’t remember what I wanted in here.” Her hand went to her hip. “My husband won’t be happy if he finds out you followed me in here.”
It was the first time Ezra had clearly heard her voice, as the noise in the busy bar meant most conversations had to be shouted. It felt as if the walls vibrated with loud lock music, and he bet even if the place stood empty for a decade, you’d still smell smoke, old beer and sweat. The sticky floor tried to hold onto his shoes with every step. Ezra felt like a king in his castle.
Finn had attempted to persuade Ezra that when they’d first met, the demon had possessed refined tastes, enjoying wine and fine restaurants. And Ezra still did, but he also enjoyed places and people that made his aristocratic cousin’s skin crawl.
The waitress held no interest for him apart from as a meal, and as an incentive for Finn to fill up. The thought of his vascellum, filled to the point of bursting, begging for him, was more than enough reason to compel this woman.
Finn had made him agree to no compulsions to make their contest fair. ‘Fair’ was a concept Ezra hoped to break Finn of in time. Till he managed it, the line, ‘Demon remember?’ and a grin, always got him off the hook when his vascellum caught him lying. Finn loved his devilish nature, and if it truly bothered his love, Ezra would never compel prey again.
A smile tickled his lips as he recalled the way Finn scuttled into the bathroom as soon as they entered the bar. He knew exactly what his vascellum was up to. The daft human still insisted that his climaxes belonged to Ezra, so he either used a cock ring, or a cage, to stave off orgasms. It was an odd twist on the stupid human attitude against promiscuity, but if it made Finn happy. Ezra didn’t care. He grinned to himself. Taking whatever device Finn had on, off him, was always fun. The thought chased their contest from his mind. The sooner he got back to Finn the better.
Using compulsion, he told his appetiser, “You wanted me, more than you’ve ever wanted anyone in your life. I’m your guilty pleasure, your fantasy come true.”
The woman pressed her rather ungainly fake breasts against his chest, and on the spur of the moment, he decided to let his fingers do the walking.
“Fuck me, please fuck me, I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Oh no, my sweet, I’m not gonna fuck you, that would be for me, and this is all about you. I’m going to make you cum on my fingers, and I’m gonna watch every twitch, hear every sigh. I want to feel you gasp into my mouth when you cum.”
She groaned and hitched her skirt up. “Oh Lord, that’s got to be the kinkiest, dirtiest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
He got to work, whispering more smut into her eager ear, and absorbing the fizz of her arousal. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could find out what Finn was up to. Had his sweet vascellum managed to seduce the barman? Even cute as Finn was, Ezra doubted it. The contest had never been fair. For Finn to find a willing gay partner in this den of straight testosterone would always be a tough ask.
The woman keened out her climax, and Ezra happily worked her through it before a flash of rage through the bond had him pulling away. She blinked at him like an owl.
“Oh, honey, I have got to get your number,” she said while rubbing the fabric over her breasts.
Using compulsion again, he said, “You need more lemons. Forget this happened.”
Frowning, she turned to the shelves, already looking for the fruit.
Ezra made a hasty escape, hoping that Jericho and Milo could contain the situation. Finn’s intense emotion pointed to another vascellum.
He paused at the door of the staff area, hearing raised voices.
“I said, where is my wife? If you lot are covering for some son of a bitch, I’ll break his balls then come back for yours.”
Ezra heaved a sigh of relief. Hopefully they were just dealing with a protective husband, rather than another vascellum. The simple explanation didn’t feel right. Finn was highly agitated for such a scenario. His vascellum knew that a little compulsion would solve a jealous husband issue in a second, not to mention that the chances of a human actually hurting an incubus were not great.
He hesitated, trying to pinpoint Finn’s location in relation to the door. If the source of Finn’s anger was another vascellum, emerging nearer to the ‘find’ than to Finn would make the usually sweet boy go ‘hulk’. Ezra wasn’t too concerned that Finn would get hurt. Even a whole bar full of bikers couldn’t match five protective shifters and a pissed off incubus. The problem would be avoiding unwanted outside attention.
The bleep of a police siren had him groaning and coming out of hiding. They still had to adhere to human laws, or at least appear to be doing so. If Finn got arrested, the bond could prove tricky. He had an image of himself camping outside a local jail for the next few months. Milo might be a ‘people person’ but he couldn’t compel anyone.
Ezra gave the female police officer his best smile while hoping that Milo and Jericho would keep the overprotective shifter brothers in line if things went south. Compelling more than one person at a time was beyond his abilities.
“Is there a problem with my friends, officer?”
Keeping his smile in place with the animosity rolling off the literally snarling Finn, tested even his ability to charm under any circumstances. It helped to know that Finn would calm down once the unbonded vascellum was more than fifty feet away.
Finn’s slight form being held by a large police officer, produced all sorts of distracting erotic images. Fortunately, nobody else in the small crowd inside the bar found the situation a turn on so he didn’t have to contend with having a boner as well as keeping Finn out of jail.
At least the shifters had the decency to look a little sheepish. They’d gone over the procedure of interacting in a strange environment a dozen times. Someone was to keep a constant close watch on Finn. If Finn’s behaviour changed, they were to get him out of the vicinity as soon as possible. Ezra would join Finn as quickly as he could.
Once he calmed down, Finn gave a description of the unbonded vascellum and other members of the team carried out further investigations. If possible, they recruited the vascellum and sent him or her to Avery’s island to be matched with a sex demon. Ezra didn’t have high hopes for this one. He didn’t seem to be a sharing type of guy when it came to the bedroom.
“I want him locked up. Fucking tourist went for me like a rabid dog. All I did was try to find my wife. The bartender said she’d gone in the back, I took a step, one step, toward the kitchen and Loony Tunes here jumped on my back screaming ‘He’s mine’. Where are you fuck-ups from anyway, South Africa?”
The newly found vascellum didn’t quite match up to Jericho in size, but it was close. His belly was certainly bigger than the shifters. The man’s once muscular body had turned to fat, and his arms sported so much ink Ezra couldn’t identify individual designs. From his scraggly grey hair and beard to his worn denim outfit, complete with club patches, this guy screamed life-long biker.
“Close, give or take six thousand miles,” Jericho rumbled as he stepped up beside Ezra. “I’m Scottish. They’re Welsh,” he indicated the canine shifters. “And those two are Sassenachs,” he waved a finger between Finn and Ezra, “which explains a lot.”
Ezra’ smile tightened at Jericho’s failed attempt at levity. At least with the big shifter almost in between Ezra and the unbonded vascellum, Finn’s anxiety dialled down a notch. He was merely homicidal now, rather than manically homicidal. Ezra hoped the officer had a good grip. Finn could be a tricky little shit when he wanted to be.
The newly found vascellum took a step back. “Not catching is it?”
“Sassenachs is a Scottish term for Englishmen,” Ezra said. “It isn’t polite. If you want to swap regional insults, I’m sure the big guy, who isn’t Scottish as far as I know, will be happy to oblige once we’ve ironed things out.”
The guy
holding Finn chuckled. “Happy to oblige. I just love the accent.”
If that’s all it took to get into an American’s pants, Ezra decided he could channel upper class twat every night of the week.
“Told you we should’ve gone straight to the hotel,” Milo murmured from beside him.
If Ezra had been Avery, he would have agreed, one hundred percent. The leader of the Supernatural Council wouldn’t have set foot in this place if his life depended on it. The bar was a dive, and judging by the number of motorcycles parked outside, it boasted a particular clientele. Ezra loved it at first sight. Avery could keep his ambassador’s balls, and any other part of diplomats he fancied, but this was where real life, the down and dirty kind, happened.
“Look, I don’t give a shit where they’re from or who they are–” The vascellum biker took a step toward the female police sergeant, which put him nearer to Ezra.
“Get away from him,” Finn growled through gritted teeth.
The police officer holding him tightened his grip. “Settle down.”
“He has impulse control issues, and is very jealous, and combined with a few beers...” Ezra shrugged, trying to ensure his eyeballing of the middle-aged, hard looking female officer came off as ‘friendly flirting’ rather than creepy.
The biker stiffened. “You’re all faggots?”
Ezra could see the wheels in his mind clicking round at a painfully slow rate.
“Watch your language, Cooper,” the sergeant warned.
A fat tattooed finger poked toward Finn. “And he thought that I...”
Ezra gave him a cheerful grin. “He’s gay, I’m bi. But I have been known to indulge the odd bear on occasion.”
The low rumble from Jericho made his smile broader.
The man backed up a step, his lip curling in disgust. Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra noted the officer’s grip on Finn had loosened. Homophobes. How quaint. Some things never changed.
“I’m straight. And married.” Cooper displayed a bulky onyx and gold ring as if its presence protected him. That its style matched the one the waitress wore didn’t come as a surprise. If Finn hadn’t been all bent out of shape about this guy, Ezra would have taken this bigot’s attitude as a challenge. Seeing Cooper choke on his sizeable ‘faggot’ dick would have made his night. However, that strong of a compulsion probably had a place on Avery’s ‘don’t be a demonic demon’ rules.