The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

  "Yeah," I breathed.

  "Trust me?"

  Taken aback by the question, I leaned back so I could look at him. "Of course, I do."

  He grinned and shifted out of bed. His sleeping pants sagged around his hips and his muscles slid under his skin as he moved. I licked my lips.

  Wondering what he was up to, and momentarily distracted from my disappointment, I watched as Mal went over to his bag, which he'd stashed on the floor by my bookshelf last night, and pulled out a rope.

  "You're going to tie me up?"

  "If you're interested." He brushed some of his dark, wavy hair out of his face, his eyes glinting with mischief in the low light.

  "Never let anyone tie me up before. Couple of guys wanted to, didn't trust them."

  "It's completely up to you, Chris." He came back over to the bed and handed me the rope.

  It was soft and intriguing. I trusted Mal.

  "Yeah, I'm game." I grinned at him.

  "Sit up."

  I did what he instructed, heart speeding a little at the extra note of command in his voice.

  "You can tell me to stop any time," Mal said as he scooted around behind me. "Get on your knees."

  I complied and he hooked his fingers under the hem of my sleeping shirt and pulled it off over my head. I let my arms fall back to my side and shivered as he ran his fingers gently down my arms before taking my wrists and pulling them behind me. He slipped the rope around my wrists and tightened it, pausing to kiss my shoulder as my heart picked up speed.

  "Okay?" he whispered against my skin.

  "Yeah."

  He nipped me gently, before going back to my arms.

  I'd expected him to simply tie some knots but whatever he was doing was more involved than that, as he twined the rope up my arms, tying knots as he went. Then he hooked the rope through my upper arms, pulling tight until I had no choice but to pull my shoulders back and open my chest. He wrapped the rope over my shoulder, between my breasts and around my back, bringing it up over my other shoulder, and down again before tying it off to my hands. This framed my breasts which were on fairly prominent display because I had my shoulders pulled back.

  "Okay?" he asked again.

  "Yeah," I breathed, heart thudding in my chest, breath coming fast, but not in fear. Mal was in complete control, but I was comfortable.

  "The only problem with tying your arms behind you is you can't see the knots." He sounded a little saddened.

  "Take a picture. I'll look later."

  The slow caress across my shoulders paused and he kissed my neck again before he grabbed one of our phones off my nightstand. When he was done his attention was back to me as he ran his fingers down the front of my body, over my breasts. He paused at my nipples, tweaking them gently with his fingers, rolling them into hard peaks. I leaned back against him, and he supported me as he played my body like an instrument. His heightened senses let him know exactly how I was responding to his touch, and he lingered in the places I liked the most, though he paid attention to every bit of skin with his fingers.

  He hadn't even gotten below my hips yet, and I was already panting with need. It amazed me how much being tied relaxed me. The only thing I had to do was trust Mal and enjoy the ride. He pressed against me, my arms trapped between us, and I could feel his hard arousal against my hands. Clearly, he was enjoying this as much as I was.

  I moaned as he finally worked his fingers lower, sliding under my panties, teasing my folds, brushing along my clit, before plunging into my entrance. I was already soaked, and I spread my knees wider and tilted my hips, trying to encourage him to go faster.

  "So impatient," he murmured against my neck, nipping at me again.

  This time I felt fang.

  I couldn't reply as he complied, working his fingers inside me, rubbing and hitting my g-spot with his fingers, while he swirled the fingers of his other hand over my clit.

  Pretty soon I was quivering with need, crying his name out in small gasps as he brought me so close, building me higher and higher. I whimpered, almost not able to handle the intensity of the feelings coursing through me.

  He pressed his fangs against my neck, and I exposed my throat in reply.

  The sharp pain of his teeth sinking into my skin was quickly replaced by ecstasy as my body shattered from the combination of his bite and his fingers in my pussy. I came hard, vision blackening until all I could focus on was the pleasure coursing through me.

  "Wow," I breathed softly as I came down from the intense orgasm, still on my knees, leaning back against Mal.

  "Let's get you untied," he said.

  He made the process of untying just as erotic as the tying, rubbing my skin, kissing my neck, releasing me slowly and gently before lying me back on the bed and giving my legs the same treatment. He hadn't tied my legs, but I'd been effectively trapped on my knees.

  Once I was left feeling satiated and languid on my bed, he leaned back and studied me.

  "You're so beautiful, my dear exorcist," he marveled, running his fingers along the tats decorating my stomach. "Thank you for trusting me."

  I grinned. "You always deliver on my trust, Mal."

  His return smile tugged at my heart. I wasn't sure how I'd gotten so lucky as to have this vampire in my life, but damn I was glad he was here.

  "Let's get you cleaned up and fed."

  I arched an eyebrow, surprised he wasn't going for more. "You satisfied?"

  Mal nodded and gave me a wry grin. "For now. I'm also in danger of running late if I get too occupied. I did tell Olivia I'd cover for her today."

  "Ahh, real life intruding on the fun." I laughed.

  "It happens." He reached over to the nightstand and handed me my phone.

  I unlocked it and took a look at the picture he'd taken.

  "Wow, that's, uh, beautiful." I'd never expected to describe anything about myself as beautiful, but the way Mal had positioned me, wound the rope, and tied the knots up my arms was a work of art.

  He ducked his head when I tried to meet his gaze, though I caught the glint of pleasure in those liquid brown eyes.

  "It actually is an art form. Erotic knot tying. I had a friend who was into it years ago and I let her tie me up all the time. Eventually I learned, so I could reciprocate."

  "Well, we'll have to play some more," I said.

  "I'd like that."

  "Game night, tonight? Right?" I switched subjects before I tackled Mal back to the bed and made him late for work.

  Recognizing what I was doing, Mal allowed the topic change, offering me a hand out of bed. "Yes. Ready?"

  "I think so. I'll bring home pizza for me and Aaron," I called as I headed for the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

  "Looking forward to it."

  Mal was in the kitchen by the time I got out of the bathroom. Mayhem was prancing around the vampire's feet, the Pomeranian shaped hellhound obviously ready for his breakfast. My stomach growled.

  Aaron was already gone. He really was an early bird. Since it was the weekend, he was probably out jogging. Soccer practice was Saturdays, and he usually spent the vast majority of Sunday exercising. He said it let him spend the rest of his week at the office with a lot less restlessness.

  I settled into my place at the table and Mal brought me a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast.

  "Thanks, Mal."

  "Any time, Chris." He kissed the top of my head before settling into the chair he usually occupied and drank his coffee. Mayhem came over to sit next to us while I scarfed my delicious breakfast.

  I thought I'd take a page out of Aaron's book and go for a walk before I headed into the pizza shop. Mayhem would probably appreciate it and I could use a chance to stretch my legs. Billy, my manager, wasn't expecting me until later anyway and it wouldn't be too hot out for a while yet. I'd woken up earlier than normal.

  Mal gave me a quick kiss goodbye when I was done eating and headed out. I glanced down at my hellhound. "Want to go for
a walk?"

  The little yellow dog wagged his floofy tail and padded toward the door.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  It was hot enough by the time I went outside that I'd relented on the jacket. I wore it tied around my waist. I didn't have much of a tan, so I wouldn't stay out too long. Walks weren't my normal habit, but now that I had a dog I felt like I should take him for a walk. Not that Mayhem didn't follow me everywhere anyway, so he was hardly lacking for exercise.

  Still, he seemed to enjoy the simple activity, sniffing at rocks and other things as we walked down the road, and occasionally peeing on them. I didn't exactly live in a neighborhood but there were other houses nearby and the actual neighborhood that was near me did have sidewalks, so I headed that way.

  The hot sun beat down on me and a few lizards scuttled out of Mayhem's path. Not needing to pay much attention to the hellhound since it was his job to guard me, I let my mind wander to how much things had changed in the last month or so. Darius wandering back into my life. Finding Mal, Sabian, and Aaron. And Ezra, a quiet voice whispered. I told it to hush. Losing Sabian again. The pain of not getting him back last night stung, but we would figure something out.

  Mayhem woofed and I halted, looking around for whatever had bothered the hellhound. The little dog was staring off to the west. At first, I couldn't figure out what he was looking at. However, he hadn't shifted into his much more impressive hellhound form, so I thought it likely wasn't too dangerous. Well, I hoped not, anyway.

  Then I caught sight of something blending in with the heat waves coming off the ground. Equine shaped and pawing at the ground if my eyes didn't deceive me.

  "Huh," I wondered aloud. This was the second time I'd seen a riderless horse in the distance recently. Once about a month ago when I'd finally dug up all my old occult stuff, and now. It couldn't be a coincidence.

  "What is it, Mayhem?" I wondered if hellhounds could communicate somehow outside of dog noises, but no answer appeared in my mind and after a long moment of staring, the horse wheeled around and raced out of sight.

  It was far enough away that I couldn't really make out a lot of details other than horse shaped and I had no idea what to make of it. I'd have to see if Mal had any ideas.

  Shrugging, I bent over to scratch Mayhem on his fluffy head, and we continued on our walk.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  My stomach grumbled as I poked at the administrative work on the computer. A quick check to make sure Billy's work was up to my standard–it was probably better than my standard–and then all the little things a restaurant owner had to deal with. If I hadn't let it pile up, this wouldn't have taken long, but I hated doing it. If I got it done today, I could ignore it for another few weeks though, so there was that motivation.

  If I didn't have dinner plans, I would have grabbed some pizza or breadsticks or something, but it wouldn't be too long before I was heading home with a large pizza covered in cheese and meat. Fresh out of the oven was best, but it wouldn't burn my mouth if I waited until I got home to feast upon it.

  Wow, I was fantasizing about pizza. Maybe I should get a snack at least. I did still have a couple of hours before I was planning on heading home.

  One more task and then I'd take a break.

  "Hey, Price?" Billy stuck his head in the office.

  "Yeah, mate?"

  "Someone here to see you." He said this hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, and it was obviously a stranger, or he would have told me who it was.

  "Not blowing up the kitchen or anything, are they?"

  "No. He's wearing a suit, though. Kinda weird."

  I raised my eyebrows. If it was an inspector, they were welcome to look around. Everything should be fine.

  "Huh. Okay." I closed down my task and followed my manager out through the kitchen and into the dining area.

  Billy didn't even have to point. My gaze was drawn to my visitor as if he had a direct line to my soul.

  I froze when he met my eyes from across the dining area. Fuck.

  Short, dark curls, dusky skin, dark, almost black eyes that seemed to contain the universe. Fucking Ezra. Well, to be fair, we had called him. How in the hell had he gotten into the restaurant? The wards were still up. They should have kept him out, or at least reacted to his presence in a way I would have noticed.

  Mayhem, my unobserved shadow, brushed against my leg as if to remind me he was there.

  "Someone you know?"

  "Yeah, he's a friend I guess you could say. I just wasn't expecting him here, well, ever."

  "Okay. Do you need anything?"

  I took a breath and shook my head. "Naw. He's a friend," I emphasized the last word as if to convince myself, too. "Thanks."

  "Sure, boss. Holler if you do."

  "Will do." Not that there was fuck all anyone but possibly me could do about Ezra. I wasn't even sure I could handle him. At least not in a fight. I'd certainly entertained the idea of handling him in other ways while he'd been possessing me. Though Ezra had blamed Sabian's influence, he'd had similar thoughts. I knew what he looked like because we'd spoken 'face to face' in some sort of mental space the demon had been able to pull me into.

  Ezra tilted his head and I realized I'd been standing there staring for a really awkward amount of time so, chest tight with some unidentifiable feeling, I forced myself into motion.

  "Hey, mate," I said when I got to the table they'd stashed him at. The overwhelming desire to touch Ezra made me clench my hands at my sides. He slid out of the booth and stood before gesturing for me to sit. Such manners.

  Not having any reason to refuse, I took the seat and he slid back into his.

  "Hello, Price. How are you?"

  "Uh, still lacking an incubus. You?"

  Ezra's expression darkened a bit, brows furrowing. "I am also lacking a certain incubus, and I'm not particularly happy about it."

  I glanced around but we were seated in an empty part of the restaurant. I fished the rock we'd summoned the night before out of my pocket and held it out.

  Ezra cupped my hand and tilted it so he could see the words on the flat part of the rock.

  I sucked in my breath, something like electricity tingled through me at his touch. If I hadn't seen Ezra shutter his eyes for a moment and take a surprised breath, I would have accused him of doing something on purpose. As it was, I couldn't get myself to pull my hand away. Touching his warm skin was suddenly a visceral need that seemed to pull strings all the way to my core.

  "What the fuck," I whispered.

  "It says help," Ezra replied and jerked his hand away from mine, as if it was one of the more difficult things he'd done in a while. "Where did you get this?"

  I shoved the crystal back in my pocket with a curse. "We tried to summon Sabian last night. We got this instead."

  Ezra's eyebrows rose. "I'm amazed you managed to get even that much. Well done. Especially for, what I'm assuming, was your first try at summoning a demon?"

  I glanced around again, nervous, but we were still alone.

  "Yeah, first time. Didn't work." I gritted my teeth.

  "I can't even retrieve Sabian through a summoning and it shouldn't be an issue for me."

  "What happened?"

  Ezra glanced over my shoulder. Stacy, one of my servers was coming over slowly, as if to give us time to warn her off. She came over the rest of the way quickly when I made eye contact.

  "Chris, we weren't sure if you needed food or anything," she asked hesitantly.

  I glanced at Ezra. Did demon princes eat pizza?

  He tilted his head as if considering. "I'd love to try some of your famous pizza, Price," he finally replied.

  "Yeah, thanks, Stacy. Just, uh, put in my normal and I'm also going to need a large extra cheese, all the meat, to go here in a bit." I could not remember what demonic sounding name they'd changed the meat lovers pizza to when they had rebranded last month after I'd exorcised a demon in front of most of my staff.

  "Su
re thing, boss. To drink?"

  After a glance at Ezra, who shrugged, I replied, "ginger beer for both of us."

  "We'll have that right up."

  "Thank you, Stacy."

  "Yes, thank you very much," Ezra added, his voice warm.

  Stacy blushed and darted away.

  "What are you doing here?" I demanded, voice low.

  "I need your help with something, and you need mine to get Sabian back. I'm offering a trade."

  That was not what I had expected.

  "What do you need my help with?"

  "I'd prefer to talk about all of this in a less public setting."

  "Yeah, probably best. They know too much as it is," I replied. "How'd you get in?"

  "Those wards are very clever. Your Mal is quite talented. However, he opened them for me to get in when I was in possession of you. I can get in anywhere you could at the time."

  "Oh. Right." Well, that was obvious, and I should have thought of it right away, but still, fuck. At least he was a relatively friendly demon prince. And the itch to touch him was back.

  I threaded my fingers together and tried not to fidget.

  Ezra looked nearly as uncomfortable as I felt, brow furrowed, shoulders hunched slightly. Finally, he muttered something annoyed sounding under his breath and shoved his leg against mine so our lower legs touched under the table. Hopefully, that was hidden from view. There was cloth between us, but nothing else.

  The almost painful need to touch him eased instantly.

  "Well." I breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess at least it's not just me, but what the fuck is that?"

  "Side effect, I'm guessing. This is a first for me, Chris."

  "Don't usually have pizza with people you've possessed?" I grinned at him.

  "Well, no. That is certainly a first, as well, but possession was never really my thing, anyway. It's happened a time or two, but I'm more of the bargaining for souls type. Well, I was."

  "How did you get back up here?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, but it was going to bug me until I found out.

  "I'm currently rather in favor and was granted a different way out of hell than a summons. Conveniently. Of course, that favor comes with some responsibilities."