Page 10 of Devil May Hunt (The Devils of Vitality #8)

“I don’t know enough about alphas to take one on,” he tentatively agreed, not wanting to set the older man off, but knowing he was running out of chances to speak his mind.

One way or the other, he needed to end this between them today.

“I do know you need an omega, or at the very least, a beta, to be fully satisfied. I’m neither of those things.

Your life experiences vastly outweighing my own added to that, makes me certain this would never work.

We’ll have nothing to talk about, and nothing in common.

We don’t make sense. Why make both of us miserable in the long run over what was arguably nothing more than a couple of days of good sex? ”

“We have tons in common,” he disagreed. “Neither of us wants to walk the path our family chose for us. We’ve both fallen for someone we shouldn’t have—though, I intend to be more successful in that department than you were—and we both like this planet enough to not want to leave it.”

Brennon frowned. “You’re staying? Here?”

“What did you think this house was for?”

“I thought you were using it as a touchstone while you waited me out.” If the alpha was planning on relocating to Vitality indefinitely…He shook his head. “That doesn’t change anything.”

“It means there’s nowhere for you to hide, and no way you’re getting rid of me,” Gunho insisted. “I’m in the process of procuring a business as well. Soon, I’ll have a steady form of income, real ties to this planet, and there will be no more excuses you can give to reject me.”

“I don’t need a reason to not want you,” Brennon snapped, noticing when that had the alpha bristling. If he were smarter, he’d drop it and try again later, but he was stubborn and petty as a result of his upbringing. “You want the truth? You aren’t my type. I like the soft boy style. Not…this.”

Gunho already looked the part of a corporate CEO.

Or a cocky Imperial prince.

Either one.

He didn’t look like the cliché image that came to mind whenever Brennon thought of alphas. He’d always pictured burly, rugged men with bulging muscles and heated tempers—stereotypes, for sure, which wasn’t cool of him. Obviously he’d been wrong.

Gunho Idris was stunning in an alluring way that would force people to give a double-take on the streets.

He was tall, with a muscular form that was proportional and not at all over the top.

His body had been honed for swift movement on the battlefield, and thinking about it brought back all sorts of broken memories of how he’d used that same body to take Brennon in all sorts of positions…

“Should I bed you, mate?” Gunho practically purred, the sound rumbly and low and doing strange things to Brennon’s gut that it definitely shouldn’t be doing.

“No.”

“You’re admiring me,” he pointed out. “Are you certain? I could have you convinced we’re a match if you ride my cock again. Fully conscious and present this time, without the alcohol to muddy things.”

Brennon remembered the pleasure when he’d been seated in the alpha's lap, bouncing on his cock, driving them both higher and higher.

But he recalled the pain and the discomfort as well.

How impossibly full he’d felt whenever the alpha drove in all the way.

How deep he’d insisted on penetrating, until Brennon felt like he was pushing into his intestines. It’d been a sharp feeling that he hadn’t been a fan of, even once that’d turned to mind-bending ecstasy the longer he was forced to take it.

“You’re too much for me,” he admitted. “I can’t handle you.”

“You were perfect, pretty lover.”

“I was wasted and out of my mind. I couldn’t do that again sober, and something tells me you’re not in the market for an alcoholic mate.”

“I’m not,” he agreed. “There’s no need to be concerned over this. You’ll learn. Practice makes perfect, isn’t that what they say? Within a month, I’m positive I can have your insides molded to perfectly fit me.”

Brennon shivered, unable to hold back. That was scary, and yet also a bit of a turn-on even though it shouldn’t be.

He shouldn’t be curious if that statement was true, or possible, or if it’d start to feel good like the alpha seemed to believe if they just did it enough times.

The snippets of memory he was getting back definitely proved there’d been something between them that other partners had lacked.

Though, it wasn’t like he had much experience with explosive sex.

Was that what this was? His hesitation must stem from curiosity.

“Even if we have great sexual chemistry,” he said, not sure who he was trying to convince, “that doesn’t mean we’ll be a good match in other departments.

The age difference is only part of it. We’ve lived very different lives, and we come from vastly different cultures.

Your expectations of me, and mine of you, won’t align.

For example, you want a mate. I want a partner. ”

“Omega and beta rights have been greatly improved upon,” Gunho argued. “On Glyph, everyone is treated equally. Being an alpha doesn’t mean being a dictator.”

Brennon lifted a brow. “And on Synastry?”

Gunho clicked his tongue and looked away.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The alpha wasn’t fooling anyone. “You might technically be Glyphian, but let’s be real here. You’re a Syn through and through. I’m the only child of my line. I grew up wealthy, pampered, and most importantly—”

“Spoiled.”

Well, yeah, but he didn’t like the way Gunho said it.

“I’m not used to taking anyone’s orders outside of the Academy,” Brennon continued, pretending not to be offended.

“Not even my parents could control me. I might not know a lot about your kind, but the fact you hunted me down the moment I left the hotel, practically dragged me all the way here, to a house you bought on a whim…Hell, you wouldn’t even let me leave until I promised to eat something. ”

“I’m taking care of you.”

“I don’t need someone to do that. I’m an adult.”

“Who can barely stand on his own two feet for longer than a minute, and yet insists on walking out of here.” Gunho stood slowly, and Brennon got the impression it was done in an attempt not to spook him.

It didn’t work. He went still as a statue, air freezing in his lungs when the alpha made his way around the table to his side. His mind screamed at him to get up and move away, but instincts kept him frozen in place, even after the alpha stepped behind him and disappeared from view.

Strong, warm hands settled on the tops of Brennon’s shoulders, and he jolted but didn’t turn or attempt to shake the man off.

“See?” Gunho praised. “Your subconscious knows how to please me. Your fears are misguided.”

“I don’t want to cower from my life partner,” Brennon replied, but his voice had dropped, lacking the bite he’d held only a moment ago. His eyes remained fixed on the sink across the room, the need to drop his gaze and curl up on himself strong.

“This is submission,” he corrected, “not cowardice. You know if I’m happy, you’ll be rewarded.

You should also know, if you displease me, I won’t harm you, pretty lover.

You’ll be punished, absolutely, but you’ll come to enjoy those punishments too.

” His right hand moved, catching Brennon beneath the chin, lifting his head back with pressure on his jaw.

“I want respect, but you don’t have to fear me.

In return, I’ll show you the same kindness. ”

He snorted, momentarily breaking the spell, and grateful for it. “When have you respected me, exactly? When you fucked me even though I was too drunk to give proper consent, or when you forced me into your hovercar and brought me here against my will?”

“I’ll apologize for taking you while you were intoxicated,” he surprised him by conceding. “I was also not in my right mind. The rut had started to take control, and I couldn’t resist how pretty you look and how pleasing you smell.”

“I don’t smell.”

“You do. It’s delectable. Better than any omega, I would imagine.”

“Imagine?” Brennon frowned. “That sounds like you’ve never smelled an omega before.” Oh. He’d sort of mentioned that, hadn’t he?

“Synthetically, I have. But I’m unable to catch natural scents emitted from their scent glands. It’s rare, but not unheard of. There has to be an almost perfect genetic match for me to be able to smell my mate. That’s how I knew you were the one.”

“I’m not an omega. Smelling me shouldn’t make a difference.”

“You have Syn blood,” Gunho stated. “It’s written in your medical files.”

Brennon shot into motion, shoving Gunho away and darting from the chair. He swiveled on his heels and moved to put the table between them once more. “You’ve read my medical files?”

“I’ve read everything about you,” he confirmed, not bothering to come after him.

Instead, he allowed him the space, slipping his hands into his front pockets, as though he had everything under control and Brennon’s reaction had been expected.

“It isn’t hard to access personal files when you’ve got a title like mine. ”

He moved fast. Really, really fast.

Brennon ran a hand through his hair, a bit panicked now that the reality of his situation was starting to drive home.

“You’re serious about all of this.” Everyone knew there was no reasoning with an Imperial once they set their mind to something. “What if I begged you? Would you let me go then? If I insisted I don’t want you, or this?”

“I’ll make you want this.”

“We’re talking about my life here!”

“Your life belongs to me now.” Gunho cocked his head, giving him a sultry once-over.

“As does your body, and your mind. I’ll consume all of you, mind and body, blood and bone.

Hopes and dreams. I’ll infiltrate your thoughts and take over your heart, and you won’t be able to stop me, pretty lover, no matter how much you resist. If you give in now, I promise to go easy on you.

But if you continue to push me away, I’ll make you work for it when the time comes. ”

What kind of cryptic bullshit was that?

He wanted to ask what he meant, but he caught himself. No more playing into the alpha's hands. Brennon was just giving him the reactions he wanted.

“I’m leaving. You promised I could go once I ate, and I did. Are you going to keep your word?” he demanded, suspicion growing when the alpha held out an arm, pointing toward the hallway.

“By all means.”

“You can’t follow me.”

“I have other engagements that will keep me occupied for the time being,” Gunho said, then he chuckled mockingly when Brennon didn’t move. “This isn’t a trick. Go back to the life you’re clinging so strongly to. You have my permission. I won’t follow. There’s no place for me there.”

“Why do I get the sense you want to add the word ‘yet’?”

The corner of his mouth tipped up wolfishly, but he didn’t respond.

“Whatever.” Brennon retreated. “I’m really leaving.”

Gunho bowed his head slightly.

Without a backward glance, he rushed to the exit, heart still pounding wildly in his chest even after he’d hailed a cab and was halfway back to the Academy. He kept turning to check out the window, but it didn’t seem like he was being chased.

That’d been too easy.

What was the alpha playing at?

And why was Brennon every bit as curious as he was afraid of whatever that could be?