Page 20 of Demon’s Desire (Lovers of the Damned #3)

ONYX

“Are you going to call me a brat for behaving like that?” Onyx asked as he heard Nico join him in the back room. He didn’t bother turning around.

“No. Not unless you want me to.”

Onyx was so tense, his back cramped. Not even Nico’s perfect response helped. Onyx was rooted to the spot, staring blankly at a shelf packed with empty vials and glass jars.

He’d been right to avoid Ash and Dante. They’d managed to make seeing Luc even worse than it already was. Whose side are you on? Onyx wanted to scream until his throat bled.

How many thousands of years had Ash known Onyx and never seen him as an individual? Onyx was nothing but a nuisance tied to Lucifer. They wouldn’t have missed Onyx if they’d left him behind. He’d been so stupid to follow them to Earth. Even now, they’d be glad to get rid of him.

A woodsy citrus scent tickled Onyx’s nose.

“Hey.” Nico had moved closer without Onyx realizing. He didn’t touch Onyx, but he stood near enough that Onyx sensed him hovering at his back. “Tell me what you need right now.”

What, Nico would give Onyx what he needed? Why would he want to after witnessing Onyx’s temper and terrible relationship with his brothers?

Not that it mattered. Onyx’s needs were too humiliating to admit.

He needed Nico to wrap his arms around him and crush him until his joints popped. Then, Nico needed to whisper in Onyx’s ear, spouting all his stupidly sweet sex-babble about not leaving, and fucking mean it.

Onyx cleared his throat. “I’m going home.” He couldn’t move, but that was immaterial. The intent was there.

“Look at me,” Nico ordered, not sounding mad but undeniably stern.

Onyx’s shoulders dropped, a small coil of tension leaving him. “No.”

“Yes.” Nico pressed closer, his chest to Onyx’s back. “Look at me and tell me you’re going home and that you want to be by yourself, and you can go.”

Onyx’s pulse spiked, and a chill wound down his spine. Had Nico guessed it would be impossible for him to leave once they were face to face? Onyx didn’t have the energy to fight right now, but that didn’t mean he’d give in.

“Onyx.” Nico laid a hand on his hip, fingers curling possessively around him. “Talk to me.”

Tension returned with a sharp snap. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

Nico’s hand tightened. “Then look at me, tell me you want to go home.”

He must know Onyx was lying. Why did Nico have to make him admit it? Could he sense that Onyx was even needier now than he’d been when he’d shown up outside his window?

The damn witch could give Onyx what he wanted, if he knew so much. But he wasn’t. He was making Onyx earn it.

It was enough to get Onyx to turn around.

But that left Onyx chest to chest with Nico. He craned his neck and met Nico’s eyes, finding soft understanding written all over his face. Fuck. Onyx choked on his next breath. Nico was easier to deal with when he was pissed off and playing along.

“I should have left you at home.”

Nico’s lips quirked. “But you didn’t.”

No, he’d been foolish. Nico was like an emotional support blanket, a beautiful and understanding presence that Onyx suddenly didn’t want to live without. One little spanking and Onyx was hooked.

The stress of seeing Luc was obviously too much for him.

Onyx bared his teeth. “Didn’t anyone tell you that I’m impulsive and make silly choices? Bringing you here was nothing but a whim. Don’t read into it.”

Nico’s brow furrowed. “I can’t imagine you making silly choices, and I doubt you could have founded your gallery on impulse.”

“I wasn’t talking about the gallery, I was talking about you, and all the other dumb shit I do in my life.”

“I don’t believe you.” Nico cupped the back of Onyx’s neck, fingers threading through his hair.

Onyx fought not to melt into the touch. “Ugh. It’s not like you know me better than I know myself.”

“Maybe not, but describing yourself as impulsive and silly sounds like someone else’s words. You don’t really think that.” Nico’s stare sharpened. “You shouldn’t.”

Onyx rolled his eyes even as his chest fluttered and stomach flipped. “Stop with the motivational crap. It’s gross.”

Nico laughed, hand tightening in Onyx’s hair. “Gross or not, you’re relaxed now. Aren’t you?”

“No,” Onyx snapped. But he was. His body had gone lax, and his raging internal fire was all but snuffed out. He was still mad at Ash and Dante, but when wasn’t he?

“My mistake.” Nico’s eyes shone, and Onyx suspected he was laughing at him. “In that case, would you like help relaxing?”

Onyx would love it, especially if it involved Nico’s cock inside him. But he shook his head. Nico was too smug about all this. He acted like he had Onyx all figured out.

“No?” Nico teased, and Onyx’s fire sparked at his sheer nerve. “Then tell me you want to go home.”

Fuck, back to that? Damn him. Onyx pulled away, but not far enough for Nico to have to let go. “Why are you like this?”

“Like what?” Nico pulled Onyx close again. “You mean, why do I call you on your shit? Because you don’t want to go anywhere and you need to learn that it’s okay to admit it.”

It wasn’t okay, though. Onyx was sick of hoping people would like him as much as he liked them. He was sick of staying only to find out he shouldn’t have bothered.

Onyx pulled free of Nico’s hold. “That’s not a lesson I need to learn. Spanking me once doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do. You don’t know anything about me.”

Nico shoved his hands in his pockets, and Onyx was disappointed he hadn’t pulled him back into his possessive embrace. “I know a little about you, but you’re right. I don’t know you well. Yet.”

“You say that like learning more is a given. I might never want to talk to you again.”

Nico nodded. “Maybe not, but you still haven’t left.”

Onyx was making a fool of himself. All his quips were hollow, and Nico knew it. Dammit, Onyx couldn’t have Nico thinking he wanted to spend time with him. That would give him the upper hand and the power to hurt Onyx when he changed his mind.

Onyx stepped closer to Nico. “I seem to remember promising you a blow job. I can’t leave before I make good. That’s the only reason I’m still here. Wouldn’t want you thinking I don’t follow through.”

Nico’s expression didn’t change. Not even a hint of interest flickered behind his eyes. Onyx’s heart sank.

“You don’t have to,” Nico said.

The rejection stung like venom injected directly into Onyx’s heart. He’d thought for sure Nico would want to keep screwing around. “Obviously I don’t have to, but fine. Want to turn down the best head you’ll ever get? Suit yourself.”

He pushed past Nico, heading toward the front room, refusing to let the witch see him blush. He was too easily humiliated around him.

Nico’s hand wrapped around Onyx’s wrist. “Wait. I wasn’t turning you down.”

“Didn’t sound like a yes to me.”

Nico pulled Onyx back in, turning him around until they faced each other. “I want you to suck me off, Onyx. Hell, of course I want that. All I said was, you don’t have to do it because you offered earlier.”

But Onyx wanted to, even more so than he had back in Nico’s apartment. Onyx needed an excuse to stay. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t bring himself to walk away. He needed to feel like someone cared after the way his brothers had spoken to him. He needed some form of connection.

He needed Nico.

Onyx pressed closer and gripped Nico’s hips. “I haven’t changed my mind.” To prove his point, he got on his knees.

Nico ran a hand through Onyx’s hair, sending tingles cascading over his head and down his spine like a waterfall. “Don’t be annoyed that I wanted to double-check.”

Onyx sniffed. “I’ll be annoyed whenever I want.”

Nico tugged Onyx’s hair, tilting his head back. “And I’ll always check in with you. So I guess we’ll both have to deal, won’t we?”

Onyx’s lips parted, arousal pooling inside him as his scalp prickled. Nico held him tight and he fucking loved it. He swallowed. “I haven’t decided if I want to keep dealing with you after this. Why don’t you convince me?”

Nico chuckled. “Weren’t you going to give me the best head of my life? Sounds like you convincing me, not the other way around.”

Onyx reached for Nico’s jeans button. “It will be the best you’ve ever had. But it’s your job to make me want to do it again. I can get laid anytime. I don’t need it to be with you.”

“Liar.” Nico released Onyx’s hair and pushed his hands out of the way.

He opened his pants and pulled them down, freeing his half-hard cock from his underwear. Nico wrapped a hand around it and pumped until he was hard. With his other hand, Nico took hold of Onyx’s hair and held him in place, rubbing the thick head of his cock along Onyx’s lips.

Onyx opened his mouth on instinct, and Nico guided him forward, pushing him onto his cock. Onyx groaned as his lips stretched around Nico’s girth. Musky citrus filled his nose, and his mouth watered.

“This is the cock you want.” Nico pushed Onyx onto him until his mouth met Nico’s hand at the base. “You couldn’t leave without a taste. Don’t pretend it isn’t me you want filling you up.”

Onyx groaned and batted Nico’s hand out of the way so he could sink all the way down and bury his nose in Nico’s pubes.

Nico gasped, and a satisfied thrill coursed through Onyx.

He worked his throat, taking advantage of the fact he’d banished his gag reflex before falling to Earth and didn’t possess the human instinct to gasp for air.

“Fuck.” Nico’s grip on Onyx’s hair tightened until it stung. He thrust, trying to get deeper, but there was nowhere to go. “Fuck. Oh, hell.”

Onyx slowly pulled back, satisfied that Nico finally knew what he was getting himself into. He worked his tongue as he sucked, exploring Nico until he reached his cockhead, and sucked his tip, playing with his slit as his hands cupped and squeezed Nico’s balls.

Nico brought his other hand to join the one on the back of Onyx’s head, and Onyx’s eyes fluttered closed.

Nico pulled his hair. “Hey. Look at me. I want you to know who you’ve got in your mouth.”