Page 6

Liam

I stretched, enjoying the feel of the silky sheets and my sexy wizard’s warm skin next to my body as the morning sun streamed in through the gap in the curtains.

Technically, demons didn’t need to sleep, but I’d learned that I rather enjoyed it, especially when I got to wake up like this.

It was like getting a reminder that I was here and alive and free every morning.

I hadn’t always thought of it like this.

At first, I’d hated it. Sleep reminded me of being put away when my services were no longer deemed useful.

I never knew when I’d be awake again, never knew how much time would’ve passed.

Back then, I’d hated every part of this half-life that I lived.

Being conscious sucked because I had to do someone else’s bidding, but being unconscious was worse because, well, I might as well not have been alive.

Now, things were different. All thanks to Seth. I loved napping with him, but I loved waking up with him even more.

Seth, on the other hand, hated mornings. Always had.

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled, even though I hadn’t said a single word yet.

I grinned, letting my hands roam his body under the blankets, feeling all the bulges and dips of his hard-earned muscles.

Unlike me, he couldn’t form his body to perfection, and he’d chosen not to rely solely on magic either.

He was the real deal, an Adonis in the flesh, made by hours of lifting heavy.

Seth was grumpy, like he was most mornings, and shoved my hands off. So I formed furry manacles with my soulstuff and bound his hands and feet, waking him up fully.

“I’m just getting even for last night,” I whispered before taking a gentle nibble of his pierced lobe.

Last night, Seth had cornered me after I’d left Hazel’s room

I’d still had Hazel’s taste on my tongue as I floated down to the home office.

But Seth hadn’t been in his seat. The computer screen was still on, and there had been a copy of the finished report on it.

The light in Little Bit, our ball python’s, enclosure had turned off already, which meant it was bedtime, on a weeknight anyway.

Before I could turn, I’d felt the familiar bindings of Seth’s magic settle over me, holding me frozen in place.

Still dematerialized, Seth had reeled me in with his magic, pulling me through the floor and up into our room.

I found myself standing at the foot of our four-poster canopy bed, solid again, but still unable to move.

Deliberate footsteps echoed behind me moments before I felt his hands on me.

“Thought you could order me around without consequence, demon?” He’d nuzzled the side of my neck before nibbling a path down my shoulders.

“Oh no,” I’d admitted. “I was expecting this.”

I was one of the few people who could get away with ordering the stubborn wizard around, but I always knew it meant I’d be taking a few extra orders later on to make up for it. Orders I very happily followed each and every time.

His hands had explored me, kneading every muscle starting at my shoulders and making their way down my pecs and abs.

My cock had sprung to attention between my legs, and since I could form any shape cock I wanted, I formed a perfect one for him.

Thick and veiny, and hard as rock. I also willed my clothing, which was really just part of my soulstuff, away.

I’d closed my eyes, enjoying his touch as every caress lit a fire of desire in me. It was always like this with Seth. I’d once thought that I’d tire of him like I had with every other human I’d ever dallied with. But here I was, years later, and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

But that was last night, and this was the morning. Now, I explored him the way he had me, and he surrendered control to me, leaning back against my body. We took turns holding the reins, and I liked it that way. It was never a dull moment with him.

Could you believe that I used to hate his guts?

Seth had been young when I first met him.

Just a teenager. Back then, I’d hated everything he’d represented.

To me, young Seth had represented yet another generation trapped, slowly losing who I was.

I’d been relatively young, for a demon, when his ancestors bound me through trickery to work for them.

I’d been fearless and dumb, thinking I was above mere mortals.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to grow much since.

Then there was young Seth, lauding his superior magical talent over his peers. In other words, we’d both been young, dumb, and foolish.

On the surface, his father had lent me to Seth while he was studying at an elite private school for the world’s top wizards. But in reality, he’d sent me to watch over and report on Seth while he was away.

To my surprise, Seth didn’t treat me like his forefathers.

He’d always been a little different from other young wizards.

He didn’t have many friends. At first, I’d thought it was because others were jealous of his innate skills or simply because he was a little different and aloof.

But it wasn’t long before it became clear to me that he hadn’t wanted any friends.

Seth gave me a lot of freedom, with the caveat that I not get into any trouble that would come back to him.

It was the first bit of freedom I’d had in a very long time.

It was another century altogether and things were so different from what I remembered.

I’d had to relearn everything. All the while Seth continued to excel in his training, and I’d had nothing but good things to report back to his father.

That was until I realized that he had been secretly studying witchcraft in his spare time as a way to augment his magic.

Had this been why he’d given me such a long leash?

Witchcraft was looked down upon by most wizards.

I’d come clean, admitting that his father had sent me to report back on him, and that I was bound to tell the truth.

Seth had simply shrugged and told me exactly what to report, the truth: he was spending his spare time studying hard to build his magic.

And if asked how, to simply say he’d been at the library researching.

So I did. Since it was all technically true, his father never suspected a thing and never asked for details.

Over the years, as I learned the ways of the twenty-first century and Seth grew to be a formidable wizard, our friendship grew.

Outwardly, he followed the rules and excelled in his studies, becoming the youngest wizard to be welcomed into the Wizard’s Elder Council as a rising star.

But secretly, he didn’t agree with their belief system at all.

He made it clear that he believed demons like me should have rights and never be bound to serve someone just because of their magic.

The Secret Enforcement Agency, now simply shortened to the EA, had already made the binding of intelligent souls and spirits by an individual for personal gains illegal for a century now, but many wizards had gotten away with it simply because it was a rule that EA could not enforce and a fight they could not win.

Slowly, I’d developed feelings for Seth that were completely and utterly inappropriate.

At first, I denied it, even to myself, especially since choosing him, a wizard, would alienate me from others of my kind.

Many demons had raging hate-ons of wizards, and for good reason.

But the connection between Seth and me could not be ignored.

I was still nibbling him awake when a knock on the door reminded us that we were not alone.

“Um, Seth?” It was Hazel, and she sounded a bit panicked. “Something’s happening in your living room.”

I frowned, and so did Seth. He threw off my manacles easily and got out of bed. He snapped his fingers, and the robe that had been draped over a chair rose up. It offered him first one armhole and then another before tying its own belt neatly around his trim waist.

Then he was out in the hallway with Hazel and looking down from the railing into our home. I joined them, wedging myself in between.

A portal had just opened in our living room, and by the way it shimmered with darkness, I knew it led to Desmon’s estate.

Technically, this portal was Seth’s own magic, just bottled, or rather, canned, for future use.

I expected Desmon to step through but found Mateo instead, who was in his upright manticore form.

Mateo’s mate and wife, Eva stepped out after him, her dress covered in cat hair.

“Mateo!” Cooley exclaimed, clearly recognizing Darlington Museum’s head of security even though he often worked with a strong glamor spell so he wouldn’t scare the patrons from out of town.

In the last year or so, Desmon had declared Fridays to be casual Fridays so that the monsters working there could work as themselves sans illusion.

It was quite an attraction and had brought in plenty of people who weren’t usually museum-goers.

“Hey! It’s Officer Cooley.” Mateo looked Hazel up and down, not missing the fact that she was not only in one of Seth’s shirts but also one that didn’t cover her at all. He waggled his brows suggestively and eyed Seth. “So you finally did something about that crush you have on her.”

Hazel stepped back from the railing, realizing that Mateo probably had a perfect view up the hem of her top. If she were surprised by the bit about Seth having a crush on her, it didn’t show. Maybe she thought it was a joke. Seth and Mateo were both jokesters in public.

But Seth’s posture stiffened. It was barely perceptible, and if I hadn’t been so strongly linked to him and looking for a reaction, I probably wouldn’t have caught it.

“Mateo,” Eva chided, “don’t be an ass!” She waved up to Hazel. “Hi, I’m Eva. Mateo’s wife. Nice to meet you, Officer Cooley.”

Hazel waved awkwardly.

“Ever heard of cell phones, Matty?” Seth demanded. “You could’ve at least given me a call before portalling into my living room unannounced.”

“I did. I called both of you,” Mateo said smugly, ignoring the use of the nickname we all knew he hated.

Seth frowned, then stuck out his hand in an exaggerated way. His cell phone, which was currently on our bedside table, flew to his hand like it had been magically magnetized. “Who the hell put this on silent?” He stared at me. “Liam?”

I looked everywhere but at him and whistled like I wasn’t paying attention. I’d wanted a little more time this morning with him, so sue me.

“I would’ve waited,” Mateo said, “until after the two of you—or is that the three of you—were finished doing whatever the three of you were do—”

“Wait! I’m not a part of this!” Cooley exclaimed, gesturing to the two of us.

“... but this is serious, and no one makes Desmon wait except maybe his mate. There’s been an issue at The Breach.”

That had the tone in the room turning serious.

“Shit. I’ll get dressed.”

“Actually, Seth, you’ve been temporarily barred from going anywhere near that thing. Desmon wants Liam to go check it out.”

“Now wait a minute,” Seth said, “Desmon’s contract is with me and me alone. Liam helps me out, but Desmon can’t just demand he do things for him.”

Aww, it was so cute when he stood up for me like that. But he really didn’t need to, not this time. I was curious about what was happening at The Breach, and besides, I’d stolen a kiss yesterday from Hazel, so I should give Seth some time to catch up.

“It’s okay. I’ll go,” I said. “But why can’t Seth go near it?”

It was Hazel who replied. “Because he has magic.”

Mateo and Eva nodded.

I exchanged a confused look with Seth.

“I got a message just before you arrived,” Hazel said. “It was what woke me. Apparently two of the EA agents threw themselves into The Breach.”

“What the fuck?” Seth was as shocked as I was.

“Yeah, you would’ve known if you’d picked up your damned phone,” Mateo said.

“Most of the men we had trouble with yesterday had had magic of some sort,” Hazel continued. “Even the first guy we brought back to the station. They’re all male, and they all use magic.”

“Interesting. We figured out the magic part, but we didn’t realize they were all men,” Eva said. “Maybe I can—”

“No way, Little Thief! You’re not going anywhere near that thing.” Mateo pulled his mate closer. “What if it’s only a coincidence that they’ve all been men so far?”

“True,” Hazel said.

Eva didn’t have a lot of magic on her own, but she was the owner of an extremely powerful artifact.

Or did the artifact own her? It was complicated, and I never figured out how it worked.

But I knew that the scepter—which was not a scepter but a locket, I told you it was complicated—was useless without her, and she unremarkable without it, but together they were extremely powerful.

“Either way,” Mateo said. “After the thing swallowed the other two wizards, it grew again, and Desmon wants us to sneak in to check it out before the EA sends more people.”

That meant it should be pretty fast because they’d kick us out when they arrived.

“I’m coming,” I said.

But before I did, I pulled Seth in for a peck on the cheek, then whispered into his ear. “You should ask our Babygirl about our little secret.” Then, I gave a surprised-looking Hazel a peck too, before following Mateo and Eva through the portal.