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“Ben…no,” I gasp, then I look back to see his cock filling Theo’s mouth, his fingers threaded through Theo’s hair, not mine. Ben meets my gaze and smirks, causing a rush of anger and jealousy. My shadows still will not obey a single command, but I can barely think of it now with how badly I need Ben to fuck me again. I was on the edge, and now I am spinning out of control.

“This is what happens when you don’t behave, Annie,” Ben says casually, and I bare my fangs at him. He runs his fingers over my clit and through the wetness I can practically feel dripping between my legs. “If you want my cock again, you know what you need to do.” I give a loud, frustrated groan and toss my hair, then face the front of the car again, arch my back, and put on a high, insipid voice.

“Please, Ben,” I simper. Theo moves away, and then Ben presses the head of his cock against my core. A jolt of anticipation tears through me as his hand runs up my spine and seizes a fistful of my hair again, jerking my head back.

“Pleasewhat, Annie?” he murmurs, subtly rocking me back against him, teasing just a tiny fraction of what I know he can give me.

“Please,Ben,” I implore. “Please, have mercy on this poor sinner, and fuck me until I cannot walk.” I know he can hear the derision in my voice, but he merely laughs and eases me back, filling me slowly, deliciously, an inch at a time until neither of us have any more to give.

“That’s my good girl,” he groans. “Goddamn, Annie, you take my cock like it was made for you.” His hands drift to my waist and his grip becomes almost punishing as we find a rhythm that quickly has us both begging the other not to stop. When I look back to see Theo kneeling beside Ben—one hand tangled in his hair and their mouths locked together—it pushes me over the edge.

I call out both their names, letting my body seize and the overwhelming sweetness of release cloud my mind. Ben slams into me again and his body jerks, then a string of curses and praise pour from his mouth. We both go completely still for a moment at the peak, then I sink, draping my body over the front seat. Ben’s hands slide down and lift my hips slightly as he pumps his cock into me a few more times, slowly, almost lazily. His breathing is ragged, labored, but filled with satisfaction.

“Oh, fuck,” I mutter, realizing that my clawed fingers have punctured the seat beneath my hands, leaving ten rather large tears through leather and foam.

“Now you’rereallyin trouble,” Theo teases, but Ben wraps his arms around me and pulls me back against his heaving chest, moving my hair aside to kiss my shoulders and neck.

“Good thing I’m a big believer in forgiveness,” he laughs softly. “Besides, it gives the car a little character.” Theo’s hands find my waist and his lips brush over mine, then move to Ben’s. Ben moves a hand up to hold his face, keeping one arm tight around me.

“You’re both insane,” Theo whispers, “and I’m afraid of how much I like it.”

I let out a quiet laugh too and pull myself off of Ben, then turn and collapse onto his chest. He wraps one arm around me and one around Theo, holding us the way you might hold something sacred: cautiously, gently, but with a quiet certainty that says ‘there is no way in Hell I am letting this go’.

I am able to dress and clean myself rather quickly, relieved to find that my shadows are now operating correctly again as I stand outside the car, waiting for Theo and Ben. I do not know what occurred during our little romp in the back seat, why my shadows no longer obeyed me, but I am unsettled by it. I have never heard of such a thing occurring during a possession, and I dare not attempt to contact my masters, for fear that they will recall me.

I meant what I said to Ben at the soccer game. I do not wish to go home now. Even if the human world is as he says, full of sin and darkness, the bits of it that I have experienced are still full of…something. Not pure light, not unending goodness, or unconditional love, or magnificent grace, but something else: The fullness that can only come from feeling hunger. The joy that must know pain first. The care that can only be born from neglect and cruelty. I believe that is what I have found, and I am desperate to hold onto it, whatever the cost.

Theo and Ben stumble from the back seat and stretch themselves out, then Ben leans against the car and pulls Theo into him. Their lips meet in a long, slow kiss, hands tenderly mapping each other’s bodies and faces. I envy them this. Not the physical sensation of it, but the ease with which they know they can become attached to one another. Ben glances at me and Iattempt a smile.

“What’s wrong,mi amor?” he calls out. “Already wanting more?”

I turn to face them and roll my eyes. “I am hungry now,” I say to Ben, who approaches me and takes my hand, then kisses it.

“Theo, we’d better feed the beast quickly,” he jokes, “before she turns on us.”

“Good idea, even though she’s lying about being hungry,” Theo replies with a laugh. I tense when he comes to stand next to me, unsure if he has actually softened or if it was only the heat of the moment. But he wraps an arm around my waist and kisses the top of my shoulder, which is now covered by Ben’s leather jacket. I lean my head against his and close my eyes while they discuss options for food, but then they go strangely silent. I open my eyes to see Ben staring at the screen of his phone, looking anxious.

“Uhh…” he says softly, “I have to take this. Hang on.” He answers and begins speaking rapidly in Spanish, walking away from us to stand at the edge of the overlook. A line appears between Theo’s eyebrows.

“What is it?” I ask. “Can you understand?”

“No,” he sighs. Before he can say anything else, Ben abruptly hangs up and comes back over, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“I have to go,” he says quietly. “For a day or two.”

A chill runs through my body.

“Where?” Theo asks.

“It’s just a…family thing…” Ben mutters, putting his foot on the bumper of the car and pushing it. “I’ll take you two home and grab my stuff, but then…yeah.” Theo looks at me and I shake my head, unsure what to make of it.

“Alright,” he says, putting a hand on Ben’s arm. “You know we’re here if you want to talk, but if not…let’s just get home.” Ben gives him a weak smile and we all get back into the car. Theo lets me sit in the front and I scoot close to Ben on the bench seat. Heputs on his playlist of country music, then takes my hand and does not let go of it the entire drive. When the song about tequila and favorite sins starts to play, I rest my head on his shoulder.

When we arrive back at the apartment, Ben takes a brief shower. When he comes out of the office, carrying his bag, Theo tenses and puts his hands on the countertop, then closes his eyes.

“Are you coming back?” he asks, voice flat and hard.

Ben’s face falls. “Do…do you want me to,osito?”