Page 40 of Inferno
Oddly enough, the name seemed to fit. He was devilishly enticing. As hot as anything Yorin had ever seen. And the recent display of nudity had done nothing to quell Yorin’s earlier impressions of Nerik as a highly attractive man.
Was it the lure of the forbidden that had Yorin fixated on the idea? Or was this just the natural result of being single for his entire life? Or did his feelings for Nerik run deeper than he’d realised? All he knew was that he wanted Nerik, with a deep, yearning intensity. Oddly enough, the news that he was not human had only made him more intriguing.
But at the same time, he didn’t want to scare Nerik away. They’d both had quite a shock yesterday, and Yorin in no way wanted to dismiss Nerik’s concerns about being exposed to the public. Offering solace in the form of physical pleasure could be taken the wrong way.
But perhaps… Perhaps that was actually a solution. If they made love… Gods, did YorinloveNerik? Surely it was far too early to be thinking of things in those terms.
But if they made love, then Nerik would have almost as much ammunition against Yorin as Yorin did against Nerik. Yes, certainly, if Yorin told the warriors about Nerik, they would kill him, but if Yorin had willingly slept with a demon, while knowing exactly what he was, then at the very least, he would be shunned by the entire town. Or potentially even killed for his perversion. Yes, most likely killed. The thought was a daunting one.
A number of ideas flashed through Yorin’s mind, as Nerik sat there and watched him process everything. Why did it matter so much whether Nerik was anxious about this? If Yorin had no intention of betraying him, did it really matter how he felt? Was sex just a way to level the playing field, or was there more to it? Did he love Nerik? Was he really willing to overlook the fact that his boyfriend – if that’s what Nerik was – was from a hellscape?
“Why did you come here?” Yorin blurted out, and then immediately backtracked. “Sorry, that’s far too vague a question. Let me rephrase that. Why did you come to earth? Why did you cross the gate? Why are so many… forgive the word, but ‘demons’, trying to cross the gate? What is this all about?”
For a moment, Nerik looked stunned. And then just as quickly, a look of relief settled on his face. “Our sun is dying,” he said simply. “The mages have spent decades studying the sun, and the weather, and the rotation of the planet. I can’t begin to understand all the calculations they’ve done, but the end result is that, for whatever reason, our sun is dying. And as it dies, its heating up. Some of the mages think it will explode one day. But as it heats up, it’s destroying Chalandros. Most plants have died. Rivers have dried up. The ocean itself is drying up. We can’t grow crops. No one can go out in the middle of the day; it’s just too hot. People die of starvation every day, and those who are left are fighting each other for food.
“The only place we have left to go is here. But no matter how many times we try to explain it to the warriors, or the rest of the humans, they just won’t listen. They’re convinced we’re demons, and there is literally nothing in the world that will change their minds.”
Yorin sat there, frowning at the table. The explanation made sense. It was certainly a valid reason as to why so many demons – so manypeople– were willing to risk certain death to come here. But it also left a large number of questions unanswered. “Why did you ask me out?” he asked. Was it an end in itself? Or was it part of a larger plan?
“Because I like you,” Nerik said, without hesitating for even a moment.
“But what about all the people trying to cross the gate? What about the warriors? What about all the humans trying to kill your kind?”
Nerik scrubbed a hand through his hair. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
That stumped Yorin. “I don’t know. I just thought that maybe… Well, maybe you’d be too busy dealing with all of that to pay much attention to me.”
Nerik was annoyed. Yorin could see it in the way his hands tightened in his lap, in the way his jaw clenched. “I want to enjoy my life,” he explained, irritation sharpening his tone a fraction. “And yes, I care a great deal about the other Chalandrians, and I do everything I can to help them, but…” He shook his head and sighed. “At some point, I still want to have a life of my own. You’re a part of that life. I like you, Yorin. I really enjoy spending time with you. Why can’t I have both? Why does it have to be one or the other?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Yorin said, realising he’d perhaps taken a misstep. “I’m just trying to understand. There’s a lot here that I haven’t thought about before.”
Nerik nodded, making a visible effort to calm himself. “I get it. I really do. But in this case, I just wanted something for myself. And if that makes me selfish or negligent, then…”
“I don’t think you’re selfish,” Yorin interrupted. “You bend over backwards to help everyone around you. Even when you’re not being paid for it.”
Nerik sagged in his seat, shoulders drooping. “Yeah. So why does everyone just keep asking for more?”
If Yorin kissed Nerik now, would it be a gift? Or a request? An offering of solace or a demand for satisfaction? Would he be easing Nerik’s burden or adding to it? “What do you want?” Yorin asked, realising he didn’t know the answer to his internal dilemma. And the only way to know the answer was to ask Nerik directly. “From me, I mean. What do you want from me? From our relationship?”
“I want to show you that I care about you. You literally saved my life on Thursday night. I want to show you the real me. You said the other morning that you wanted to know who I really am. Is that still true, or…?”
“Yes. I do,” Yorin said. “I can’t pretend I’m not confused about a lot of this, but… I want to know you.” Even in this, Nerik wanted to give, rather than receive. And that didn’t answer Yorin’s question at all.
Nerik stared at him for a long moment… and then, in one smooth motion, he slid out of his seat, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to Yorin’s.
Well, that answered that question, at least. Yorin met him eagerly, sighing in relief as his eyes slid closed. He felt Nerik’s hand tangle in his hair. It was awkward, with him sitting down and Nerik leaning over him, but Yorin had no desire to pull away. One hand found its way to Nerik’s waist, and the other to his shoulder. His lips felt warm and firm, so entirely human that Yorin wondered for a moment if he’d dreamt the events from the day before.
Of course, if he had’ve done, they wouldn’t be having this conversation now.
Finally, Nerik pulled back, his eyes searching Yorin’s face for… something. “You’re not afraid of me?” It seemed more of a statement than a question, but Yorin answered it anyway.
“No, I’m not.” It came as something of a surprise. He could still see the image of Nerik in his mind, black and hazy, with those blazing red eyes. That was something heshouldhave been afraid of. But at the same time, he remembered how Nerik had looked, lying weak and helpless on the kitchen floor, soaked from the storm. Such a creature hardly seemed to be a threat.
Yorin stood up, pleased when Nerik didn’t shy away from him. “You’re still exactly who you were before.” He tugged Nerik forward, kissing him again, this time letting his hand cup the back of Nerik’s neck. Gods, he was warm. Perhaps a fraction warmer than an ordinary human, Yorin mused, even as he opened his mouth to Nerik’s inquisitive tongue.
A low moan rumbled through Nerik’s chest, and Yorin suddenly wanted to see that chest naked again. But this time, without the hindrance of Nerik being half frozen, and without the distraction of worrying about his ‘demon’ form.
With an effort of will, he pulled back, oddly satisfied at seeing Nerik’s lips slightly puffy, at the way his chest rose and fell faster than usual. “Do you want to come upstairs?” Yorin asked, his heart thumping in his chest. Was he really going to do this? Was this some sort of lunacy, or just the release of a lifetime’s worth of longing and anticipation?