The other demons might use chains and ropes and toys, but Valac didn’t need any of that. He had everything he needed to manipulate Julian’s body how he wanted it already. There was no greater feeling than wrapping his human in his own power, listening to his desperate moans and soft whimpers as Valac worked them both toward that hot, distant peak.
He took his time, fucking in and out of Julian’s body until he was writhing with need, his wrists and ankles pinned to the bed and spread wide, barely able to cant his hips back to meet Valac’s steady, powerful thrusts.
He didn’t know how long it lasted. Not long enough—never long enough. Julian’s shoulders and back were peppered with blemishes and bite marks, shaking and sweating and sobbing into the mattress as he came for the second time. The tightclench of his hole around Valac’s cock was enough to finally send him over the edge.
When he gave Julian the freedom to use his limbs again, he found Valac’s hand and threaded their fingers together, in no hurry to have Valac move off him despite his substantial weight. A fond warmth for him bloomed in Valac’s chest, and he leaned in, kissing Julian’s temple softly.
His pretty blue eyes fluttered open at the brush of Valac’s lips. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
“I know you said I’m yours. Does that mean… forever?”
Ah. This was a conversation better had face to face. Valac shifted his weight, his cock finally slipping from Julian’s warmth. When they were both under the blankets and facing each other, Valac said, “Yes. For me, it’s forever.” He couldn’t imagine ever feeling differently about this human. He knew himself well enough for that. This wasn’t a fanciful whim. It was eternal.
Julian relaxed, taking a deep breath. “Good. Then I want to leave.”
Pain struck Valac so suddenly his face slackened, and Julian’s eyes widened.
“No, wait, that came out wrong! I don’t mean leaveyou,” Julian said quickly. “I mean… I want us to be together. But I don’t want to livehere.” He looked at the room around them. “This apartment is fine, but it’s not home. I miss my house. I know we can’t go back there, but I want to find something new. Something that can belong to both of us. Something the paladins don’t know about. We can ward it against our enemies and remodel it to make it our own.”
Valac’s heart felt like it might stutter to a stop. “You’d want that? With me?”
Julian kissed his fingers, one at a time. “Of course, Valac. I feel like you’re the only thing in my life that makes any sense these days. Unless—if you don’t want to?—”
It was Valac’s turn to rush his words. “I do! I do.” He lunged forward, capturing Julian’s lips. “I want everything. I want the back deck with the grill and the string lights. We can invite the Sentinels over once it’s all set up, like you used to do with your squad, if you’d like. I want you to have friends, family. I want you to want for nothing with me. I want to give you everything.”
Julian smiled. “I’d like that. They’re good guys. Although I imagine we’ll wind up being nocturnal if I go to work at the Rink. They seem to stick to a late-night schedule.”
“Demons are generally nocturnal,” Valac said with a nod. “We don’t like sunlight, so it makes sense they keep to hours their demons are also comfortable with.”
“True. Wait. We’re in a fishbowl. Are you saying the sunlight has been bothering you all this time? I haven’t even thought about closing the curtains. I’m sorry.”
“Fishbowl?” Valac repeated, not understanding.
Julian laughed. “Yeah. All the big windows. Fishbowls are just these glass bowls where fish live. People use it as a term for having no privacy, kind of.” He shook his head. “Or, in this case, being exposed to sunlight. Do we need to keep the curtains closed? Has it been hurting you?”
“Only in direct sunlight,” Valac said. “It’s not going to do any real harm. I don’t burst into flames when exposed to the sun, and I don’t expect you to live in darkness, either.”
Julian snorted. “Okay. I don’t mind a little darkness, though, especially if it saves you discomfort. I want you to be happy, too.” He kissed Valac lazily, and when they parted, he kept his eyes closed. “I’ll have to go do some logistical stuff.”
“What does that mean?” Valac asked. Was it ‘stuff’ that Valac could help him with?
“Well, I had homeowners’ insurance on the house. That means I paid for this service that would cover any damages.”
“Oh. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I’ve been MIA—uh, I’ve been missing since the fire, though. You took me away and I haven’t been back there. I haven’t shown up at work. They’re probably looking for me. I’ll have to show up and answer some questions.”
He looked so uncertain, Valac grew uneasy. “Will you be in trouble for hiding?”
“I don’t think so. I can tell the cops I was the victim of a hate crime, maybe. They’ll want to know where I was when the fire was started.”
“Tell them you were with me.”
Julian smiled softly. “I’d like to, but you don’t have ID. If they question you, they’ll look you up. There’s no record you exist.”
“Oh.” That wouldn’t work, then. “One of the Sentinels?”
