Page 9 of Knox

His main power source was other people.

Sexual energy.

Adrian swallowed hard as Knox’s gaze lingered on him.

How often had Adrian fantasized about becoming one of Knox’s willing victims? He pictured himself underneath the incubus. Entirely in his grasp, a slave to the pleasure the monster drew from him. He loved those fantasies. They’d gotten him through some rough nights.

But they couldn’t become reality.

"No," he said, even though Knox had not made a single move toward him. "I don’t know what’s happening," Adrian stammered, "but… I know what you can do, and I don’t… I can’t…" Fuck, he couldn’t even get the words out.

"Easy," Knox said, holding up both of his hands as if he knew exactly what was going on with Adrian. He probably did. That was part of his abilities. Reading people, toying with their emotions, making them want things.

He couldn’t do that with Adrian. Adrian wouldn’t let him.

Adrian backed away, bumping into his desk. He needed to get out of here. Now. "I need some air," he choked out, scrambling for the door. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight with Knox so close. The shadows might have retreated, but he still felt them crawling all over his skin.

He slipped past Knox and out of his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against the wood, his chest heaving. What was he supposed to do? This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Knox was a fictional character, a figment of someone else’s imagination.

He wasn’t real.

Except he clearly was.

Adrian stumbled toward the living room, desperate for space, for a moment to process the impossible.

But the living room offered no solace. The sofa bed, unfolded and made up with fresh sheets, mocked him. It was bad enough that Knox had turned his world upside down, but now Adrian was expected to share a bed with the demon?

Adrian’s thoughts spiraled. He pictured himself lying there, mere inches from Knox, the heat of the other man’s body a tangible presence. He knew what Knox was capable of, the seductive power he wielded, the way he could make someone crave his touch.

It was what had always made him so appealing to Adrian. In Adrian’s dreams at least.

"Are you two about ready for bed?" His grandmother’s voice startled him. She stood in the doorway to her own bedroom. "I think I’m going to turn in myself."

Adrian wanted to tell her that he could not do this, but what help could his grandmother offer him? Could he ask her to sleep on the sofa in his stead?

No.

Dear God, he could never ask his grandmother to sleep next to an incubus.

"I just… need a minute," he said, trying for a smile. "Still processing everything."

"It’s certainly been an interesting night," she said.

Adrian made himself nod. "Very interesting."

He took a deep breath. Then, with a plan in his head, he opened the door to his room again.

Knox was studying all the merchandise on his shelves with obvious interest. "What are all these trinkets?"

"They’re nothing." Adrian licked his lips. "You can sleep on the sofa in the living room. We’ll talk in the morning." If Knox had been anyone else, Adrian might have tugged on his arm to pull him out of the room, but he didn’t dare touch the incubus.

Knox turned to him. "Weren’t we supposed to share the sofa?"

"Yeah, change of plans. I’m staying here. So if you could just leave the room." Adrian fixed his gaze on a spot on the wall just next to Knox’s head. He couldn’t look at the incubus straight-on.

This was all too weird. Too fucking weird.

"You can’t mean to stay in this room," Knox said, looking around. "It’s a mess, and it’s my fault. If anyone should suffer the consequences of my entrance into this realm, it should be me."