Page 5

Jack dried himself off. The shit Ashley had brewed was still working and that on top of his bath and extra doze meant he was close to feeling well. The bath had relaxed him enough he thought he’d sleep—proper sleep, not the fitful non-rest he’d been getting of late. Being tired hadn’t given him a decent night’s sleep and he thought it might be the best fix for his broken magic.

He slipped naked into bed, the sheet feeling great against his skin, and his cock hardened, something else he’d not managed for weeks—it would be good to clear the pipes to give him an extra push into Morpheus’s arms. He lay back and took hold of his cock. He usually had a few go-to spank bank images in his mind, and he landed on an older fantasy of one of his first mentors, a blond, beautiful man who made sure Jack did as he was told. He let his mind wander and sped up his hand as he thought about being ordered to get on his knees. Most of the time he wouldn’t have described himself as being submissive, but there had been pockets of his life when he’d needed to hand over control and he did like being fucked.

He felt a tingle behind his balls as his orgasm began to build, the curl of desire unravelling in his belly, and focused on bringing himself the pleasure he craved, no longer needing the mental influence to satisfy his lust. He was so close, a little faster, a little firmer and he’d be there. Jack gasped as he came, the ribbons of cum coating his belly.

Another strangulated sob made his eyes fly open and he saw a ghost floating at the end of his bed. Long hair, male-presenting, beautiful and blissed-out, its smile dazed and happy.

Jack screamed. The ghost’s eyes widened, it bit its lip, looked like it was going to cry, and let out a long, soulful sob before disappearing through the ceiling.

The door to his bedroom rattled and moments later Karl and Alex were storming in. “What’s wrong? We heard a scream,” Alex demanded.

Jack grabbed his bed sheet and covered himself and the mess on his stomach. “How did you get in here? I’m sure Ashley warded the door when I got in my bath.”

Karl sniffed. “I can override most wards if I think there’s a danger to an inhabitant of the hall. And I’ve got a tracer on you for medical emergencies.”

Alex stared around the room before coming closer to the bed, he’d be a great source of help and Jack felt a bit embarrassed. “We’re keen to maintain the safety of our guests, if we are alerted to someone in distress then we won’t hang about,” Alex said, unrepentant. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I was surprised by something.” He hesitated, not wanting to overegg the situation. “But it didn’t feel malevolent.”

“Right.” Karl glanced at him and then to the foot of the bed where there seemed to be a glowing patch of ectoplasm on the bed frame. “So?”

“I was startled. By a ghost, well, I think it was a ghost.”

“Ah.” Karl bounced on the balls of his feet and cleared his throat. “Please do not think me indelicate, but were you… erm… partaking in a specific activity at the time?”

Jack was sure his cheeks were flaming. “Such as?”

“Self-care…” Karl coughed and waved his hand in the general area of Jack’s groin.

“Possibly.”

“Then you’ve met Chris.” Alex pointed to the ectoplasm. “He seems to have enjoyed himself as well. I was led to believe he usually stayed out of sight, and it would be rare for him to leave behind a calling card.”

Jack wasn’t sure he understood. “Chris?”

“He’s an incubus… sort of.”

“What? Incubi have sex with women, and he didn’t have sex with me.”

“That’s the sort of bit… Ben told us Chris doesn’t have sex with anyone but needs the sexual energy to survive. He’s some kind of sex spirit.”

Jack shook his head; this made no sense. “I… what?”

“Apparently his modus operandi is to hide under the beds of copulating couples or masturbating individuals. Nowhere near as efficient as actually engaging in sexual intercourse, which is what an incubus would do, but he doesn’t like the idea of having sex with people.”

“That is rather intrusive.” All things considered, it could’ve been more than intrusive, and he’d never heard of an incubus or a succubus acting in such a way. “What were you saying about the ectoplasm?”

“We were told that on rare occasions he leaves behind evidence that he’s enjoyed himself.”

Jack gagged. “Ghost jizz! He got off on me getting off?”

Karl grimaced. “Believe it or not, I think of it as a sign of affection. From what I’ve observed he’s not malevolent.”

He would need to burn some sage, set out salt traps and cover himself in a special cleansing balm. “That’s disgusting.”

Karl started mopping up the sticky mess with his handkerchief, which must have been coated in something special because ectoplasm wasn’t usually easy to clean off wood.

“I’ll see if I can find Chris and have a word,” Karl said, signalling Alex to leave. “Ben insists he’s harmless.”

Left alone, Jack had the sudden desire to sleep in pyjamas. Ashley would laugh his arse off. He couldn’t believe they let an incubus roam about without warning, harmless or not, but then if he were harmless why had Karl and Alex come running so quickly?