Luther sighs. “I’ll go,” he says, stripping off his clothes and handing them to Thane. With nothing but his boxer briefs, he lets his demon rise. Imposing wings sprout from his back, his limbs lengthen and thicken, horns curl from his skull, and the thick, prehensile tail grows from the base of his spine. When he stretches and stands to his full height, his wings block the dappled moonlight shining through the trees.
“Don’t let him stay out too late,” I command, and he nods before crouching and launching into the air with one powerful downdraft of his wings, punching through the canopy like a missile and disappearing into the night sky. Thane inhales deeply in the gust of wind that follows Luther’s flight.
“Do you smell that?” he asks, and I detect the traces of Nyx’s scent, lingering in the air.
And on my clothes.
At the realization, a wave of feralneedspreads beneath my skin, burning me from the inside out. My mouth forms a predatory grin that makes his pupils dilate, and he swallows thickly. We don’t speak until the door of our apartment shuts behind us and I collar his throat, backing him up until he’s pinned between me and the wall.
“Do you trust me?” I ask, running my nose along his neck, breathing him in as he bares himself to me.
“Fuck, yes.” He gasps.
“Come.” I release him and walk to my room, activating the silencing rune carved into the door when I close and lock it behind him. He waits for me in the center of my room, for our ritual, before he does anything other than breathe.
“Color?”
“Green.” With his permission, I let my mask fall, here in the safety of our home, and begin.
“Undress.” He swallows nervously, something I still find endearing even after how many years we’ve turned to one another for comfort when the cruelty of this life threatens to crush us. Slowly, he removes his clothes one by one, revealing swaths of dark tattoos that follow the muscled lines of his lithe body until he’s bare before me.
“Are you injured or otherwise physically impaired?” I pace slowly around him, letting the suspense build.
“No.”
I graze my fingertips down his spine, smirking when he shivers. “Do you have any new limitations I should know?”
“No.”
“Safeword?”
“Red.”
“What do you need?” I ask quietly, circling back to face him just as he exhales with a shudder.
“I want to touch you.”
“Then undress me, and get on your knees.” His fingers tremble as he slips his hands beneath my shirt and lifts it over my head. His hands shake as he undoes my waistband and drops to his knees, pulling my pants and underwear down together so I can step out of them.
When he looks up at me like a worshipper before my altar, my demon purrs with satisfaction at his submission. His trust is a precious, sacred gift that soothes the ragged edges of the void hidden in the dark reaches of my mind. The cold, empty place inside of me that’s been carved away, piece by piece, until all that’s left is an ocean of pain andpower.
Thatis his true gift.
The return of what’s been taken.
The sight of him, eager and desperate, sends fire through my veins.
It’s been so long since he’s needed me like this.
Longer still since I’ve needed him.
This time, however, I’m not straining against the confines of my control.
No, my blood is burning for an entirely different reason.
“You may touch,” I say quietly, and he inhales deeply before running his fingers up my stomach, tracing the runes etched into my skin, hidden by the intricate black lines of his own designs. His touch is hesitant, but grows bolder as he explores. It differs from hers—softer, but more confident. Assured.
“I can still smell her on you,” he whispers, brushing his lips across my skin, tasting the memories of her. When his teasing makes my cock throb desperately, I run my fingers along his scalp and pull him into me until his hot mouth envelops the head of my cock. He whimpers when I push him down until I hit the back of his throat, and I stay there as he convulses around me before pulling back to let him breathe. I hold his head between my hands and start a slow, punishing rhythm.
