Page 17

Chapter 17

Jasper

C aleb loved him.

Caleb loved him.

And Jasper loved him back.

It’d been easy to say, as Caleb held him and fed him gently. By that point, Jasper was sated. He just liked being close to Caleb. And shit, he’d almost died. A little life-affirming sex was fair game, right?

As soon as Jasper was up to it, though, they’d spent an entire day in bed. It was just one day, but Jasper was perfectly content to let Caleb eat every single thing in the fridge and get right back to it.

And it’d been perfect. Not just the sex, but Caleb tickling his sides, smiling at him, being so happy.

But then he thought about the people Malcolm brought home, and how glassy-eyed they’d get after a day or so in his company. And the thralls Elrith kept around to suit his fancy. And how it was practically impossible for anyone to break out of an incubus’s hold.

So, yeah, Jasper loved Caleb. He loved him too much to hurt him like that, and he’d proven it was in his nature to be selfish with him. After all Caleb had done for him, Jasper could always take more.

“Hey.” Jasper shifted under the blankets on the couch and nudged Caleb’s thigh with his foot. Caleb was eating a bowl of cereal. He’d already gone through all the eggs in the house, most of the lunch meat and cheese and grapes and a truly startling number of carrot sticks.

They were sitting on the couch, watching The Princess Bride . And like every other damn thing with Caleb, it was achingly wonderful.

“Yeah?” When Caleb looked at him, his hazel eyes were soft. He was a little gruff sometimes, sure, but he was pretty good with his words too. And still, his eyes were what convinced Jasper that Caleb meant it when he said he loved him.

How long would it be before Caleb didn’t have a choice? He’d look at Jasper, just as glassy eyed and empty as the rest, while Jasper used him. Over and over, because that was what he was—a demon who used people.

“I want some Oreos,” Jasper said, nibbling his bottom lip.

“Oh, baby wants some cookies?” Caleb teased. He set his bowl aside and leaned over Jasper’s legs to squeeze his sides. “I don’t know where they go.”

Jasper grinned. “They’re what makes me so damn sweet.”

“Ah.” Caleb leaned in then, like he just had to see for himself. His lips were a soft press against Jasper’s. When he opened, Caleb’s tongue swept into his mouth, and Jasper sighed. “Yeah. Pretty damn sweet.”

With a light shove, Jasper cocked a brow at him. “And your fridge is practically empty.”

“Mmkay,” Caleb shrugged. “I’ll go later.”

Right then, it seemed he couldn’t be bothered. He sank forward, dropping his head on Jasper’s chest and turning to watch the TV. He stayed there, not pushing down hard, but a warm, firm weight on top of him. And for once, all they did was watch the movie.

There Westley was, right on the screen, promising Buttercup anything. “As you wish,” he said, not because her magic or her nature demanded he bend to please her, but because he wanted to. He loved her. Simple and human.

As Jasper combed his fingers through Caleb’s thick hair, holding him through witches who weren’t witches but wives, and adventures and revenge, he wished more than anything that he were simple and human too.

Later, after Caleb got dressed to go to the store, Jasper had a moment’s panic. He didn’t have much to take with him. He’d put his clothes back on—his jeans stained with blood, but clean from going through the wash again. His keys were by his phone on the nightstand, his car useless and forgotten in the woods. When he left, there’d be nothing left of him here but some rumpled sheets, and Caleb would have those clean soon enough.

But he couldn’t stay—Caleb was too good for Jasper to turn him into a snack, hollow him out, drain him dry.

And as much as Jasper didn’t want to hurt him, his instincts demanded it. He hadn’t wanted to get out of bed the day before. He’d been all too happy to watch Caleb eat and eat and eat so he could take what he wanted.

It wasn’t right, and Caleb deserved better.

But he couldn’t just leave . On the table sat Caleb’s note from when he’d gone after the monster. Jasper swallowed, blinking a little too fast, when he read it again.

Love, Caleb .

Fuck.

He flipped it over and scrawled a quick note on the back.

I really do love you. Enjoy the Oreos for me.

Jasper

It wasn’t enough—wasn’t enough by such a wide margin that Jasper felt sick. But now that he was better, he couldn’t have this. It sucked, that surviving meant he didn’t deserve the only thing that’d gotten him through it. But incubi didn’t settle down. They couldn’t have just one person, not forever, not without?—

He couldn’t think about it. Caleb would be better off without him. He grabbed his keys, shoved them in his jeans, and set out for the hike back to his car.