Grand Master (Demons, #3)

by Simcoe, Marina

  Unable to resist the promise of his touch, I leaned into it, wishing for more.

  So much more.

  As if having guessed my wish, the velvet-clad hand was joined by others in a sensual dance along my body.

  Sometimes barely there, like the flutter of butterfly wings against the sensitive skin inside my arms and thighs, sometimes with a gentle squeeze of my breast or my hip, the two pairs of hands fanned the flame of desire coursing deep inside me.

  A throaty moan reached my ears, and I realised it came from me.

  Lost deep in the rhythm of the strangers’ hands on me, I rolled my head. The side of my face brushed by something cold and hard.

  Helmets?

  Did the ones who touched me wear masks?

  Nameless and faceless.

  Just like I wanted.

  A fierce wave of arousal, unleashed by the caress of their hands, flooded me.

  VADIM

  He watched the Source writhe on the cross, just as he had watched them every single night for close to a year now, sitting in this very armchair. Before that, as one of the Council members, he sat just a few chairs down to the right. For centuries.

  Tonight, something was different.

  From the first delicate filament of her energy that reached him, he realised she was not from the Base.

  This Source must be one of those that Andras had hired. Although, her energy was something that none of the others had produced.

  Another wave of her arousal reached him, and he sucked it in greedily.

  Blinded by the undiluted potency of her passion, he struggled to collect his thoughts to figure out what made this woman so different from anything he had experienced before.

  There was no fear in her—no darkness of panic or any trace of the muddy fog of insanity. The small cloud of initial worry had cleared quickly from her, and the hint of nervous anticipation that lingered for a while added a heady spice and effervescence to the taste of her emotions.

  Never, in the centuries of his existence, could he recall sampling anything like this. Neither could he remember seeing anything similar to the vortex of light and colours that burst out of her with every touch of the Handlers.

  Every shade of pink. The glowing warmth of orange. A bright, magnificent red.

  All churning in an ever-growing whirlwind, filling the room wall-to-wall and curling through the beams under the ceiling.

  Spectacular!

  Needing to get more of her intoxicating taste, he shifted from his usual reclining position in the chair. His hands pressed into the armrests, he leaned forward, ready to lose himself in her lust.

  More.

  The essence of his very being focused entirely on the delicious energy bursting out of her in fountains of exploding stars.

  Take all of it—the very last whiff, spark, and strand. Reach deep inside her and consume her whole . . .

  Until none of it was left.

  He blinked, forcing himself out of the trance she had put him under.

  With a jolt of surprise, he found himself mere feet away from the Source, writhing through the shudders of her first climax. He had no memory of getting up from his chair, led by the all-consuming hunger for her enticing emotions.

  His attention still on her, he sensed a movement in the room, which alerted him. All members of his Council had abandoned their seats and now circled the Source like a pack of starving wolves ready to pounce.

  None of the thirteen wore gloves, him included. If they touched her—she’d be no more. Then all of this spectacular energy would be lost forever.

  No!

  Without a word of command, he threw his arms out to the side, spreading them wide to halt the demons.

  They didn’t all stop at once. Struggling to obey their Grand Master, some still made a few halting steps, lured to the Source by the power of her desire.

  Their bodies vibrated with strain, as they fought to control themselves. They closed their blazing red eyes, to sever the visual contact with the delicious hurricane of temptation, and froze in place, absorbing what they could from their distance and savouring each and every drop of it—the same way Vadim did.

  Feet planted firmly on the concrete floor, hands fisted at his sides, he waited until the magnificent lightshow of her orgasm had subsided.

  With a small throaty moan, she slumped in her restraints. And the eyes of all the demons opened again.

  Silently, he gestured for the Council to return to their seats. This time, they obeyed without a moment of hesitation. Mentally, he gave himself the same order and increased the distance between her body and his avaricious hunger.

  Only when he was back in his chair, did he allow an exhale of relief from his chest.

  He knew that Andras had promised absolute safety to the women he had sourced.

  As the Grand Master, it was his responsibility to ensure this promise was fulfilled. Yet he realised how close the Source had come to being drained tonight.

  Centuries ago, he vowed to do everything in his power to make sure no Source was ever drained in this room again. Eventually, he understood that the only way to fulfil his vow was to attain the title of Grand Master, and he had spent the rest of that time working to become one.

  In the past eleven months since he took this seat, he had been able to keep his promise—no Source was drained. However, he’d known it was unsustainable—if he continued to run the Base following the old rules, sooner or later the women would start dying again.

  Human beings were fragile creatures, their physical and mental health deteriorated quickly if they were held in the captivity and isolation required by the rules.

  Vadim had spent every spare minute, trying to find a way to ease their sufferings without jeopardizing the wellbeing of the Incubi who were his main responsibility.

  Andras had piqued his interest with some promising ideas, and Vadim let the demon work in peace.

  He knew that Andras had to be feeding outside of the Base, since he refused to participate in the Feedings when invited. However, Vadim chose not to prosecute him for breaking the rules, never even ordering an investigation.

  He’d worried that his lack of punishment in this case might create a precedent for others to follow. Giving leniency to one meant closing his eyes to the misdeeds of others, letting them slip from under the Council’s control one by one.

  On the other hand, during his short time as Grand Master, he’d also realised it was not truly the Incubi Councils who were in control here.

  The real power lay with the Priory—people were the ones enforcing the rules against humanity.

  The Source stirred on the cross, snapping his attention back to her. She stretched through the entire length of her body, forcing his gaze to slide along it—from the thick waves of her long, auburn hair with rich terracotta highlights to the toes she braced against the wood of the platform.

  “Esche ras? —One more time?” she begged. The sweet, hesitant plea in her throaty voice resonated through his body in ripples of pleasure of another kind.

  Blood rushed through his veins, pooling in his groin with a long-forgotten, throbbing ache. The physical response was so unexpected, he had to glance down to see the bulge of his straining cock push against the fabric of his pants, just to reassure himself that it indeed was happening.

  With those two short words, she woke up more in him than just the hunger for her energy.

  “Can I ask you for a favour, please?” With her eyes covered by the blindfold, she addressed the centre of the room. “Could you get me out of the handcuffs? It’s uncomfortable staying in them for so long,” she explained with a short little laugh that stroked his skin like the caress of silk.

  Tonight, she was in charge. All he could do was obey her wishes.

  He gestured to the Handlers. One of them immediately unlocked the handcuffs from around her wrists. The other stepped aside only to return moments later, rolling in a padded table draped in red silk.

  The first Handle
r carefully placed the Source on top of the silk where she stretched again—languidly slow.

  Every curve and valley of hers had been on display all this time. Yet only now did he become fully aware of her body, paying attention to her every move, just as much as he did to each curl and churn of the glowing desire in her.

  Shifting in his seat to ease the pressure in his pants, he gave another signal. Already, the anticipation of more lit his insides with a delight he’d never known.

  Chapter 6

  AFTER A WHILE, I LOST track of my orgasms.

  “I can’t,” I had to whisper eventually, my body still trembling with the last ripples, my inner muscles quivering. “I’m so tired . . .”

  I had no idea to whom I was talking. Without a way for me to know who was in the room, how many of them were there or who was in charge, I spoke into the void. As soon as I had voiced my desires, however—or even before that—all of them had been fulfilled.

  So, it didn’t surprise me that the gloved hands did not resume their dance on my body with my last sentence. Instead, two strong arms lifted me from the padded surface where they had put me.

  Boneless, I leaned against the cool, hard plates on the chest of the one holding me.

  Not just helmets. They seemed to be wearing full body armour, too.

  Even weirder, but that much more exciting.

  Everything about this night was exciting, even if it seemed strange. And most of it was unexpected. Listening to Tanya’s recounts of her sessions did not fully prepare me for this experience. I knew I’d be pleasured, and I could reasonably expect to be brought to orgasm. However, I had no idea it could be done with so much care and attention.

  It seemed they anticipated my every need before even I was aware of it. These men seemed to know what I wanted better than I knew it myself.

  Here I was, heading out into the unknown, thinking I could use some intense, head-against-the-headboard fucking. And what I got was an incredibly sensual night of mind-blowing sex.

  There hadn’t even been any actual fucking involved—no intercourse, not even penetration with a vibrator. Just the caress of dexterous hands and the expert use of toys.

  Yet I had enjoyed it so much more than any of my previous sexual experiences. I had no idea how many times I’d orgasmed. After the first time, it all seemed like one endless ocean of ecstasy, with waves of various length and intensity, from sweet ripples to crushing swells of bliss.

  Afterwards, the armoured man carried me somewhere that sounded like another corridor, then placed me on yet another padded surface. Someone tucked a soft blanket around my naked body.

  “You can stay here as long as you need,” Andras’s voice came from a distance.

  I was fairly certain he was not one of those whose hands had just brought my fantasy to life, just as he was not the one tucking me in right now.

  His voice, always polite and even friendly, otherwise sounded detached and impassive, making it hard to believe he was personally involved in anything that happened around here, beyond coordinating the logistics. In fact, if I didn’t see the man with my own eyes in the car, I would have easily believed he was not a man at all but just a disembodied voice.

  “You can sleep if you wish. We’ll take you back in the morning.”

  “No.” As tired as I was, staying the night in this place had never been my intention. Despite the pleasant experience, I did not feel comfortable enough here to have a relaxing snooze. “I’d like to go home now.”

  Clutching the blanket to my chest, I made a move to get up, but it wasn’t easy. I didn’t feel dizzy or incapacitated, only deliciously tired in every bone and muscle. Sleep tugged at me, and the blanket seemed to weigh me down, luring me back to the mattress.

  With an effort, I sat up. “I need to go home.”

  “As you wish,” Andras agreed. “We’ll help you get dressed.”

  By we, I now understood, he always seemed to mean all of them as a group, for there was no way the hands that reached for my blanket and then started putting my clothes on me could have belonged to him, judging by the distance from which his voice came.

  For me, unable to see anything from behind the blindfold, there was just his voice in the room and a pair of someone else’s hands that followed his orders.

  Before I knew it, my stockings were rolled up my legs, my underwear was pulled up my hips, and the hooks of my bra closed at my back.

  All of this was done in a quick and efficient way. The occasional brush of the gloved fingers on my skin felt nothing like it did earlier. Whoever was dressing me, obviously had no intention of causing further arousal.

  Once my jacket was on, zipped up to my chin, the armoured man lifted me up again and carried me outside, then placed me inside a vehicle.

  I must have dozed off as soon as the car began to move, because when someone’s hand lightly shook my shoulder and Andras’s voice softly called out to me, I had no recollection of the actual drive back to the city.

  “We’re here.”

  “Already?” I mumbled, trying to get my bearings with the blindfold still around my head.

  Andras untied it, and I blinked, squinting in the faint light from the street outside the car windows.

  He sank back into shadows before I had a chance to take a good look at his face, remaining but a backlit silhouette in the dark interior of the car.

  “Thank you for coming tonight.”

  ‘Thank you for making me come.’ The thought made me smile inside.

  “Do you still insist on forfeiting your payment?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Can we hope to see you again?”

  Again?

  Flutters of anticipation took flight in my stomach at the opportunity to repeat tonight’s experience.

  “I—I’d like that,” I replied.

  “Next week then?”

  “A week? No,” I protested, in an attempt to curb my cravings. Even though I felt like I could do it all over again just after a few more hours of sleep, I reasoned I needed to space the sessions out, lest they take over my mind and my life completely, like a bad addiction. “Next month?” I asked instead.

  “Very well. We’ll see you in a month.”

  The door on my side magically opened on its own, and I got out. My legs felt like cotton. Stumbling up the few steps leading to the door to my stairwell, I punched in the code and stepped inside. Through the narrow strip of glass in the door, I watched the car leave then leaned with my back against the wall.

  Everything that happened tonight was surreal to the point that it would have been easy for me to believe it was all just a dream—if it weren’t for the sweet ache of thorough satisfaction in my body and the lingering sensation of the gentle touch of strangers’ hands.

  Chapter 7

  THE FOLLOWING MONTH, the date fell on a Sunday, not Thursday as it was the previous time. I was unsure if my visit to that place still stood as agreed, never having called Andras to confirm in the weeks prior to it. This way it felt more like leaving it up to fate rather than making a conscious decision on my own.

  Yet the anticipation that had been building up inside me as the day approached had reached its apogee. I once again stood by the window with the curtain in my hand, watching the dark street in front of my building for the signs of an approaching car.

  This time, instead of a miniskirt and high heels, I wore biker boots and jeans, which were warmer and more comfortable.

  A pent-up desire warred with apprehension inside me again. As wonderful as my first night with the strangers was, not everything about continuing to go there seemed right. Following my kinky desires felt very much like allowing an addiction to take over.

  There was still no way of telling what the strangers got out of this.

  Was Tanya right when she mentioned videotaping? Could it be some porn production? In which case I was really grateful for the blindfold concealing my face. Still, it didn’t make much sense for them to ask me for my prefe
rences instead of them having a script for me to follow.

  The headlights of the approaching car brought me out of my thoughts.

  Andras did not forget after all.

  The same dark vehicle with tinted windows pulled over to the entrance to my stairwell and stopped, its headlights went off. For a moment, I wondered how long it would remain there if I didn’t come down tonight. Then, I grabbed my leather jacket from the bed and headed out.

  “HI,” I SAID THE MOMENT my ass hit the cushioned backseat of the car.

  “Good evening,” came the reply, and I realised it was not Andras next to me. The voice was deep and pleasant but clearly different from Andras’s low drawl.

  “Who are you?” My back tense, I gripped the door handle, ready to bolt even as the vehicle had been brought into motion already. “Where is Andras?”

  “He had to leave the country for a little while. Sorry for not having warned you. I hope you don’t find me taking over his duties detrimental to your experience in any way.”

  Polite to a fault.

  Who expressed themselves this way nowadays?

  “Any other changes I should know about?” I asked warily, my hand still firmly on the door handle.

  “None. Unless you wish for any.” The even cadence of his voice had a somewhat calming effect on me.

  “No.” I shook my head. “No changes, please.”

  The sudden appearance of another man unnerved me, so it was best to stick to the known for now. Besides, why change what wasn’t broken? I saw no problems with experiencing the same orgasmic bliss tonight as I had last month.

  The stranger silently inclined his head in agreement, and I slid an exploring gaze along his tall form folded into the seat next to me.

  Unlike Andras, he was dressed in modern clothes—a pair of dark pants and an asphalt-grey sweatshirt, with the hood low over his face. Shadows skimmed his smooth-shaved jaw, obscuring most of his face and leaving visible only his strong chin and his full lower lip.

  The way he crushed the black blindfold in his gloved hands reminded me how I had clutched the curtain just a few minutes earlier.