Eliana

by Evey Brett

  Kon too seemed to appreciate her nudity. His gaze went from her face to her breasts and continued downward before returning to her eyes. A shiver ran through her as their gazes locked. More, his eyes said. Please.

  She lashed him, moving outward from his chest toward the more tender areas on his arms and legs. Kon trembled but did not cry out. His breaths came in heavy, panting gasps, yet she didn’t stop. If she were at risk of harming him, Dane would have stopped her. Instead, he stood passively as she thrashed his lover.

  The newfound power made Eliana giddy. A blow here and Kon writhed against his bonds. A strike to his inner thigh and he moaned. She loved the control and wondered what would happen if she landed a blow atop his straining cock.

  Dane set his hand on hers. “It’s too much. A light touch will do.”

  She calmed and took a closer look. Kon’s eyes were glazed over as he stared into space. Dane was right. She tossed the switch aside. Any more harshness would push Kon too far.

  She knelt in the snow. Cupping his balls in one hand, she lifted his cock with the other. The only evidence of Kon’s awareness was an increased tremor throughout his body. A kiss to the tip of his cock and it grew stiff and hard. She took him into her mouth, tasting the salty smoothness of his skin. She ran her tongue around his length and savored the way he jerked and twitched. He clearly wanted a blowjob, but she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction—not until she got her own.

  She stood and released his wrists. Dane caught him as he collapsed and gently lowered Kon onto the ground. He settled Kon’s head in his lap, stroking his cheek with a loving caress. Eliana knelt beside them, taking in how different Kon’s body looked now that he was lying down. Cradled by drifts of snow, he appeared even more angelic.

  She met Dane’s gaze. He nodded. Straddling Kon, she eased herself down and let his hardness fill her. She waited a few breaths to let their bodies become accustomed to one another before lifting up and sliding down again. His cock stroked her inside, rubbing against a point which sent tingles all through her. She was amazed at how comfortable and right it was to have him there. Up and down she went, taking him deeper each time. She kissed him, driving her tongue between his lips to taste the sweetness of his unresisting mouth. He moaned, and she took it into herself, feeling the sound vibrate throughout her body.

  Once she sat up, Dane caught her face and kissed her, licking at whatever remnants she’d gotten from Kon. He nipped and sucked at her mouth as if he were feeding on her very essence. The kiss grew harder, deeper, and more frantic as her mind reeled from being penetrated at either end by two different men—two very handsome men who didn’t frighten her and had only mutual satisfaction in mind.

  She tightened her body around Kon’s, determined to wring every possible ounce of pleasure from him. He twitched and jerked, then tensed.

  Wet heat flooded into her as Kon climaxed. Eliana gasped, unprepared for the sensation. In response, her lower belly drew tighter, then crested into a throbbing release. Her body gripped Kon’s and released again and again.

  Before she’d finished gasping, Dane was there, mouth atop hers, murmuring his own appreciations. Breathing hard, they both gazed down at Kon. The look of absolute bliss on his face was worth every moment. For a while, at least, the sadness was gone.

  * * * *

  In the darkness, Dane rolled onto his side and fumbled in the sheets for Kon. His lover wasn’t there, and it took him a moment to remember why.

  He lifted onto his elbows and gazed off the side of the bed. Kon lay on the floor, one arm crooked under his head. The hurt from Kon’s words remained. Dane was willing to accept Eliana and to train her—if she was willing—on how best to please Kon in order to make Kon happy. The fact that Kon didn’t trust him to do so was a blow that had struck deeply.

  Dane had the inclination to blame Kon’s attitude on Evan, who, as Chief Warden, provided the greatest professional influence over Kon, but most of the other Wardens agreed with his viewpoint. Dane didn’t like being relegated to a second-class existence for the sole fact that he might one day lose control of his demon and he might hurt someone. Plenty of full-blooded humans ran the risk of harming their partner, deliberately or not.

  Kon murmured something in German, then let out a whimper, which made Dane remember the dream he’d just had. The beer coupled with his angst must have inspired the weird images of Kon tied to a tree while Eliana thrashed him.

  And he’d watched as Kon—his Kon—wriggled beneath her. Their bodies had joined, and Dane wasn’t sure whether he was jealous or relieved they both enjoyed themselves.

  Another whimper and Dane relinquished his order to make Kon sleep on the floor. He rolled off the mattress, gathered Kon into his arms, and tucked him into bed. Once Dane crawled under the covers, he balanced on his arm and kissed Kon lightly on the cheek. Kon smiled.

  Dane could never stay mad at him for long.

  * * * *

  Morning light limned the curtain. Kon turned over in bed, surprised to find a cold, damp spot on the sheets, which stuck to his legs. He hadn’t had a wet dream in years.

  Though neither had he had such a realistic, erotic dream for some time. He wandered into the bathroom and flicked on the light, half expecting to see welts crisscrossing his chest where Eliana had struck him. There were none, but his skin tingled with the familiar aftermath of a good lashing.

  He washed up and dressed, barely finishing before Dane rushed past him. Kon caught the severe queasiness and quickly headed out, shutting the door behind him. Having no reason to stay and be party to Dane’s poor decision of drinking beer and too little water, he went outside to meditate.

  Chapter Thirteen

  In bed, Eliana drifted on the last remnants of her vibrant, erotic dream. A pleasant languor made her feel warm and fuzzy. As she slowly let her consciousness drift back into her body, she became aware of another sensation, something she hadn’t felt since before she’d been shot.

  Gingerly, she reached between her legs to find herself slick and wet.

  That’s not possible. Shocked, she yanked her hand back. It was a dream. Only a dream. It can’t happen in real life. The bullet stopped me from feeling anything down there.

  She curled tight on her side and swore at the dart of pain through her hip. Irritating as it was, she preferred the familiar ache to the strange, impossible one. Yet all she had to do was think of Kon and the fullness of his cock within her and—

  Damn it. Stop taunting yourself.

  Dane’s words echoed in her mind. Free him, and in doing so free yourself. It must have been the usual nonsense spouted in dreams. Beating Kon couldn’t possibly lead to freedom of any sort.

  She rose, dressed, and downed a pain pill. Then she parted the curtains to look outside and blinked at the sheer brightness. It didn’t look as if any new snow had fallen overnight, but the sun made the drifts blindingly white.

  When her eyes adjusted, she could just make out a figure beneath a leafless tree. The image caused an eerie shock of recognition, although this tree was too thin and pitiful to tie anyone to.

  Yet the man near it was the same. She would have recognized Kon’s slender, androgynous form anywhere, but he was just standing there, knees slightly bent, arms held out in front of him at chest level. What the hell is he doing?

  She tugged on her boots and coat, grabbed her cane, and went outside. Her breath fogged in the cold air, but she didn’t mind the chill. Kon didn’t acknowledge her presence, not even when she stood right next to him. “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “It’s qi gong,” Kon said without changing his stance.

  The words meant nothing to her. “Okay.”

  “A sort of meditation focusing on energy and health.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.” She turned, embarrassed at interrupting something so personal.

  “Stay. You can do it with me.

  A couple exited their room, carrying luggage. The woman looked at them.
Eliana looked back. “People are staring.”

  “So?”

  Fine. “What do I do?”

  “Stand comfortably. Relax. Focus on your breathing.”

  Easier said than done. She tried to emulate Kon’s posture, but her hip protested at the awkwardness. She shifted, finally finding something bearable with a portion of her weight on the cane.

  “Now breathe. Nice and slow. Let your belly move out. Don’t force it. There you go. Good.”

  How he knew all this without even looking at her, she had no idea.

  “Now feel the areas of discomfort in your body. Imagine the breath flowing throughout your body. Breathe energy in; release pain and tension on the way out.”

  The first part was easy. Her right arm and shoulder ached from using the cane. Her hip throbbed as always, and her left leg had a knot from constantly overcompensating for her weaker right side. The second part she had trouble with. Believing the aches would go away if she organized her thoughts correctly seemed ridiculous.

  To humor Kon, she stood there, breathing, staring at a snowdrift as yet untouched by street grime.

  So lightly she thought she was imagining it, a tingle encompassed her body. It flowed through her, lingering on the aches and soothing the heat and inflammation. For a while she remained unmoving, letting the energy do its work.

  Then the sensation freaked her out. She flinched and shook her arms, trying to rid herself of the strangeness. It reminded her uncomfortably of the melting man and the flashback when Dane had touched her the first time. There was definitely too much weird shit going on, and she’d rather leave it behind as soon as possible. “I’ve had enough. I’m ready to leave.”

  Kon finally ended his meditation. He inclined his head. “We can’t for a while. Dane drank a little too much last night. I think it would be kinder to him—and us—not to put him in a car.”

  “Is he all right?”

  “He will be. He knows better than to drink cheap beer. I should have stopped him. He’s a lightweight and always seems to forget that fact.”

  “Can’t you do anything to help him?”

  “I could, but there are times when a man wants to deal with his stupidity alone. I’m inclined to let him.”

  And without Dane, they were stuck here for who knew how long. “I’ll be in my room. Come get me when you’re ready to leave.” And in the meantime, she’d be paging through the phone book, looking for the nearest bus stop.

  “Would you like some breakfast?”

  The incessant kindness frayed the last of her nerves. She limped toward him and thrust the cane into his chest. “I’d like to get on the road now and get out of this dump of a hotel before I go crazy.”

  Her voice echoed against the building. Someone opened their door to look.

  Kon grasped her arm. “What makes you think you’re going crazy?”

  Frustrated, she shook her head. “I don’t know. You and Dane. You’re fucking strange.”

  “Why?”

  She jerked her arm away and started toward her room. “Forget it.”

  “Eliana.” In a few quick strides, Kon was in front of her, blocking her way. “Is there something you need to ask me? Ask. I don’t care how bizarre it sounds.”

  Just do it. She didn’t want to sound like a fool, but leaving the question unspoken would be worse. “Was it just me or did you see that man melt into a steaming puddle of goo?”

  Unexpectedly, Kon grinned. “It wasn’t just you. I’ll tell you everything you want to know but not here. Let’s get something to eat, and I’ll explain. I promise.”

  “Fine. But if you pick me up again, I’ll beat you into next Tuesday.” She jabbed the head of her cane into his gut.

  He escorted her to the diner and back to their room with french toast, pancakes, eggs, and an order of plain toast for Dane.

  In Eliana’s room, Kon set the foam containers on the table along with silverware. The lids squeaked as he popped them open.

  Eliana helped herself to the food. The pancakes were dripping with butter, just the way she liked. A strange feeling twisted in her belly at the thought of being alone with him in a bedroom. The intensity of the dream hadn’t yet left her consciousness, and seeing him was making it doubly difficult to concentrate. Watching him eat, using the same mouth that had wrapped so succulently around Dane’s cock, roused her appetite for something other than food.

  “If you don’t like it, I’ll get something else,” Kon said.

  “It’s fine.” She forced down a few more bites. Strawberry syrup trickled across her pancakes, as red as Kon’s ass after Dane had spanked it. She slid her plate back. “I’m not hungry. Talk. Who—what—are you?”

  Kon wiped syrup from the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “I’m a Warden. Someone who hunts incubi—”

  The answer was so absurd, so preposterous she laughed. “Incubi don’t exist.”

  Kon’s professorial tone didn’t change. “They’re real. Don’t think with your head. Think with your gut. What did you feel from that man when he touched you?”

  “It was vile. Though, not at first. I almost…” She shivered, recalling how seductive the creature had been.

  “Be glad you didn’t. If you would have had intercourse with it, you would have become addicted to its touch.”

  She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. His matter-of-factness meant he was either crazy to believe such tales or…he was telling the truth. Nothing in his demeanor suggested he was mentally ill, and over the past few days, she hadn’t had the feeling he was anything but honest. “And Dane? Is he an incubus too?”

  “He’s a cambion. His demon—the incubus half—feeds on sexual energy to stay healthy. I’ve sworn to love and protect him and offer my body whenever he’s hungry.”

  “He must have been famished last night.”

  Kon’s cough almost sounded like choking. He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “I should go check on him.” Crumpling the napkin in his hand, he stood and headed toward the door.

  Coward. “Sit down. We’re not done.”

  Slowly, he turned and reclaimed his chair, head bowed, palms flat on the table.

  The sight both amused and bothered Eliana. She liked the power of knowing he’d do what she asked, yet the same authority triggered emotions she didn’t care for. She was intensely afraid of using someone for her own benefit—something her stepfather had done frequently. “What sort of hotel did you take me to?”

  “We—the Wardens—call it an enclave. There are hundreds all over the world. They’re bases from which we hunt incubi and protect cambions—their half-human offspring—and those the incubi have harmed. The enclave can be considered a safe house, though we often provide alternative healing and counseling to ordinary men and women both as a front and as a means of income.”

  “Like you do on TV.”

  “Like that, yes. My colleagues practice related work. They do physical therapy, acupuncture, counseling, yoga, all sorts of healing arts.” He stretched across the table for her hand, looking downcast when she pulled it out of his reach. “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to take in.”

  When she was young, she’d had enough extended family who believed in spirits and demons that she hadn’t really abandoned the beliefs herself. Much as her brain didn’t want to accept what she’d seen, her gut knew the truth. Normal human men didn’t melt when they were shot. She didn’t know if it would have made a difference if she’d known about the incubus sooner. Most likely she would have run and kept going until she reached North Dakota.

  “Is there anything I can do? Anything at all to make this easier?”

  “If you’re expecting me to act like some damsel in distress and faint or cry or freak out, I’m sorry. I’m not that kind of woman.”

  “I know. Your courage is one reason I admire you. You’re not some flighty, ignorant teenager. You’re far more grounded and self-aware than most people your age.”

  The answer both relieved and embarrassed her.
No one had bothered to tell her anything flattering about her mind—only her body, and she’d had enough of that. “So you’re not some madman taking me to a whorehouse?”

  She meant it half in jest, but Kon’s tone changed to deadly seriousness. “Any sexual contact within enclave walls is entirely consensual. We never force ourselves on anyone, especially those who aren’t Wardens. Comprende?”

  “Yes,” she said, more relieved than she cared to admit. “Must be a good deal for Dane.”

  “It isn’t, always. Trust me, it’s not easy to live a life at the mercy of a demon that constantly craves sex. There are other cambions less in control of themselves than Dane. If their Wardens aren’t careful, they can be killed.”

  “And you chose this profession?”

  “It chose me. I’m happy with it. I get to help people like you and Dane.”

  But Dane’s the one who shares your bed. And just because Dane was willing to cuddle with her despite the lack of physical attraction didn’t mean Kon would be. Her fantasies were just that—fantasies, ones that bled into her dreams. Even if she could move without pain, any sort of intimacy would be…lacking. The knowledge saddened her.

  She remembered the dream, how well they’d fit together, how perfect the joining had been. He was gorgeous. She’d seen him naked and at Dane’s mercy, sucking his cock, offering himself. She couldn’t stop the longing to feel his mouth against her skin, between her thighs and against her—

  “I think I should ask the desk clerk where the nearest bus station is and let you and Dane get back to Denver. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.” She groped for the cane.

  “Eliana.” He stood, rounded the bed, and put a hand on her arm. It was warm. Tingling. Her body wanted nothing more than to fall into his embrace for comfort, but her head urged her otherwise.

  She smacked his hand away. “Don’t stop me. I shouldn’t have gone with you in the first place.”

  “I don’t recall giving you much of a choice.”

  No, he hadn’t. She’d thought him an angel that night. Now she wasn’t sure what he was.