Zach finally stopped laughing, and then he nodded. “Okay, yeah, you got me there. Iamcapable of some horrible things,butI don’t have any intention of making your life a living hell while I’m here, Drew. I like you. Your friends and family are safe from me.”
It shouldn’t have made him feel all warm and fuzzy to hear that a freaking demon liked him, but it did. Drew tried to hide his pleased smile, but he could tell by Zach’s expression he’d failed. The waitress arrived back with their pie and he watched as Zach dug in, holding off on taking a bite of his own. When the demon’s eyes fluttered closed and he moaned a little around his forkful of pie, Drew hurriedly shovelled a bite into his own mouth to distract himself. That sound had shot straight to his cock and he was close to giving away how much Zach was affecting him. He may have Zach’s promise that he wouldn’t torture Drew’s loved ones, but he seemed to be quite content to torture Drew. Slow, sexy torture.
Maybe he had hidden kinks he didn’t know of, because to Drew, that actually didn’t sound too bad.
Tether
They had gone back to Drew’s tiny apartment and Zach walked inside like he owned the place, making himself right at home. Drew didn’t seem to mind, just took off his jacket, plugged in his phone, and excused himself to go to the bathroom to start a load of laundry. Zach knew the kid had no idea about the limitations of a summoning, and so he figured he’d definitely have some fun with it tonight. He quickly stripped out of his suit, down to the snug, black boxer briefs he wore, and then waited idly by the bed.
The door to the bathroom opened and Drew stepped out, his pale-blue eyes going wide once more, this time at the sight of Zach almost naked—it was definitely Zach’s favourite look on him. Drew’s mouth opened, but all that came out was a squeak.
This wassomuch fun.
Plastering an innocent expression on his face, Zach gestured to the small bed. “So, which side do you prefer to sleep on?”
“What?”Drew managed to say, his voice cracking. His eyes were drawn down from Zach’s face and seemed to settle on the softly glowing lavendergem embedded right above his heart, but he didn’t look repulsed or even curious. If the dilation of his pupils was any indication, he was more aroused than anything.
“The bed,” Zach repeated in a kind voice. “Which side do you want?”
“Why are you going to be sleeping in my bed?” Drew asked, his voice coming out a little stronger.
“Well, I’m certainly not sleeping on the floor,” he declared with disdain.
“I mean, why are you staying here at all? Can’t you get a hotel somewhere? There’s not really enough room for you here!”
“Drew, think about tonight. What’s the farthest we’ve been apart from one another?”
“I don’t know! What does that have to do with anything?”
“Do me a favour, will you? Go out the front door and walk down the hallway towards the stairs.”
“Why doIneed to go?” Drew demanded. “Why can’t you go? You have two feet and a heartbeat.”
Zach gestured down at his current state of undress. Not that he cared of course, but he needed Drew to be the one to walk away, to experience what happened. The human need for decency would serve him well here.
And it did. Drew glanced back down at Zach’s torso, his cheeks going pink, and then he dragged his eyes away and nodded. “Okay, yeah, fine. I’ll go.” He strode across the room, opened the door, and stepped outside into the hall. Before he’d gotten even a foot away from the door, he was yanked back into the room by an invisible hook, landing on his ass. “Ahhh! What the fuck?”
Zach crossed the room and shut the door, and then helped Drew to his feet. “You summoned me here, Drew. The spells for summoning always include a containment field, otherwise you’d have demons running off all over the place,actuallytorturing and murdering your loved ones. This one looks to be set to about ten feet.”
His face paled as this sank in. “You mean . . .”
“Yes, Iliterallymean you’re stuck with me.”
“But . . . how am I going to explain that?” Drew cried, beginning to panic. “I have classes to attend! And study groups. And I have to visit Aunt Harriett at some stage!” He clutched at his head, fisting his hair and tugging on the strands as he paced back and forth. “What are we going to do? Shit, this is insane!”
As Drew swept past Zach again, he reached out and snagged him by the shoulders, bringing him to a halt and angling him so he was facing Zach. “Drew, calm down. I have some ideas, okay, but let’s just wait until morning to go over them. I don’t want you freaking out any more than you already are.”
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, you’re going to do crazy things to my friends’ memories, aren’t you? You’ll wipe their minds and they’ll forget they ever saw you, or worse, they’ll believe they don’t know me at all. Oh, God, you can’t do that to Aunt Harriett, please. She’s given up so much for me as it is. Please don’t hurt her, Zach, I’m begging you, please—”
Zach reached up and placed a hand on Drew’s forehead. “Sleep,” he murmured and then caught him as he slumped against Zach. He felt bad about forcing Drew into a sleep but he’d been almost hysterical and needed to calm down. A good night’s rest was what he needed and he’d be calmer in the morning. Scooping Drew into his arms, Zach turned and placed him down on the bed and then climbed in next to him. He reached up and gently moved Drew’s head so he wouldn’t wake up with a crick in his neck, and then he concentrated briefly and the lights went out. The room wasn’t dark, though. The gem in his chest produced a pale glow that illuminated the soft features of Drew’s face, making him appear almost angelic. With an ache in his chest, Zach forced himself not to dwell on the past, and he finally fellasleep.
When Zach woke the next morning, Drew had migrated across the small distance that had been between them during the night and had wrapped himself around Zach. Well aware that Drew would probably pull away out of sheer embarrassment if he realised, Zach carefully began to extract himself. He was almost certain the kid was completely inexperienced, and as much as he thought Drew was cute—and was obviously attracted to him—Zach really wasn’t enough of an asshole to deflower him. Who the hell wanted “fucked by a demon” on the record of their sexual history? Especially for their first time? No, it was better for everyone if Zach kept his hands to himself. Mostly. Maybe with the exception of some harmless flirting. After all, Zach wanted to havefunwhile he was here.
He stepped away from the bed and into the small bathroom to splash some water on his face, and even at this short a distance he could feel the tugging of the spell, like a hook around his spine. After drying his face, Zach pulled the washing out of the washer-dryer and neatly folded the clothes. He then went back into the bedroom, placed the laundry on the floor by the wardrobe, and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached out and brushed a feather-light caress to Drew’s face, encouraging him to wake up, and with a fluttering of long lashes, Drew came awake and lay there, staring up at Zach, blinking slowly. “So . . . that wasn’t some crazy-ass dream?” he eventually asked.
“Nope, it actually happened,” Zach confirmed.
“I have a real live demon in my apartment?”
