Page 13 of Saint (Demons of Foxglove Grove #3)

The house was quiet when Nix got there. He took his time removing his shoes at the door before heading up to Lake’s bedroom. Nerves ate away at him, but there was also anticipation, and this strong sense that something important was about to happen.

As much as he hated admitting it, mostly because it was barbaric and controlling, the Night of the Nightshade had turned him on. Really, he couldn’t be blamed, could he? He was the intended sacrifice, after all. If not for Juri stepping forward, it would have been Nix led up that spiral staircase earlier.

Would Lake have been the one to take him there?

Or would it have had to be all three?

That thought doused some of the fire licking at his lower region, but not enough to get him to change his mind. Birthdays were meant to be special, that was how Nix had been raised, and this was the only thing he could think of that the Imperial might actually want.

It didn’t hurt that he was thinking ahead. If he treated Lake well for his special day, there was a good chance that consideration would be returned once Nix’s birthday came around. Getting the upper hand, no matter the means, was never a bad idea.

He carefully took off and folded his clothes, setting them off to the side before climbing onto the bed. The skylight above showed a darkening sky, and he vaguely wondered if Yejun had made it to the match yet.

Nix hadn’t expected to see the Demon at the hospital, but he’d been more surprised when he’d realized the older woman Yejun was with was mostly likely his mother. Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he’d stuck around, though he’d been telling the truth when he’d said he couldn’t hear much of their conversation.

Yejun had seemed like he was barely holding himself together during the entire exchange though. It’d been odd, watching him contain himself, seeing his pinched expression and the way he held himself stiff as his mother talked down to him.

He hadn’t just been putting up with it. He’d been enduring.

It made Nix wonder how much June had endured throughout his life.

Their talk afterward had been…necessary. Though they’d left things a little better than when they’d started, Nix still wasn’t sure how comfortable around the Demon he could be. He wanted to get back to how they were, not only because that would be the simplest and safest thing for them all, but because he missed Yejun too.

His hope was that if he said it enough times, it would actually stick. Healing worked in mysterious ways, after all. While it was true he couldn’t force it, he could make the conscious decision to work toward it. He’d tested the waters by having coffee, and then a late lunch, with June. His body hadn’t reacted negatively by his closeness, so that was good.

Nix had spent the past few nights in West’s bed, but he knew he couldn’t stay there forever. If they were all in this together, they had to be together . Which meant he needed to create safe spaces with all three of them.

That was half the reason he was here now, lying naked in Lake’s room.

Nix had originally planned on going with the others to West’s match, which was being held at a different school out of town, but he’d changed his mind at the last minute.

West hadn’t seemed too disappointed by that, probably sensing that there was a reason for it. It was odd that out of the three of them, it was West who was able to understand Nix’s thought process the best.

Nix lay back and planted his feet on the mattress, allowing his thighs to drop open. He was already semi-hard, anticipation bubbling beneath his skin as his hand trailed down. When he grabbed himself, his skin was hot, and his eyes shut as he began to slowly stroke himself to life. His dick grew in his hold, thickening and flushing. In no time at all, he felt his balls drawing up and he had to stop to keep himself from coming too soon.

He'd timed it well enough he thought, knowing Lake was always prompt. The Imperial had told him he’d be home by eight o’clock, and the neon numbers projected onto the wall across the room showed there was only one minute to.

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps in the hallway reached his ears and Nix sighed in relief.

He had one hand squeezing his balls and the other stroking his dick when the door finally opened.

Lake froze just beneath the threshold, eyes landing on Nix in obvious surprise.

“It’s cold,” Nix whined. “Shut the door.”

For a moment, it seemed like he wasn’t sure what to do, but then Lake entered and closed the door behind him, hovering at the side of the bed with a slight frown.

“What are you playing at, Songbird?” his voice was throaty, doing nothing to hide his lust. “Why are you wearing that?”

“Don’t you like it?” Nix was naked aside from the mask, the one Maestro had ordered him to bring along. Up until now, it’d sat in Nix’s suitcase unused, but he thought this was the perfect occasion to dust it off.

Giving one last pump of his dick, mostly just to draw Lake’s attention back down to it, Nix sat up and crawled closer, resting on his haunches when he could reach out and touch the Imperial. His hand roamed down Lake’s chest, stopping at the top of his belt suggestively.

“Nix.”

“Happy birthday.”

Lake’s frown deepened. “What?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Like…what?”

“Your present, obviously.” He spun around, positioning himself on his hands and knees and bumped back so his ass came into contact with the space between Lake’s legs. He smirked at himself when something hard greeted him, and then glanced over his shoulder and met the other guy’s gaze. “Aren’t you going to open it?”

Lake swallowed, the movement of his throat catching Nix’s notice. “This is a dangerous game.”

“It isn’t a game,” he said.

“You’re telling me you’re going to fuck me as my birthday gift?”

“What’s with the sarcasm? I thought that was pretty apparent.” He wiggled his bare ass. “Can’t you see I’m already ready for you? Or do you want to watch me touch myself some more first?”

Nix moved again, dropping down onto his back, this time facing Lake so he had the perfect view of everything when he spread his thighs and bucked his hips into the air. His hand started for his cock, but before he could make contact, Lake snatched his wrist.

“Enough,” the Imperial stated, but Nix merely rolled his eyes.

“It’s time, Lake. We’ve put this off long enough.”

“How romantic.”

He snorted, recalling he’d once said something similar to West. “We don’t need romance. Not right now. Not for this. There’s always been chemistry between us. Even when I couldn’t stand you, that was undeniable. But there’s also always been a reason we shouldn’t take things all the way. We couldn’t fuck because that dumb deal you made with the others. Then we couldn’t because I was too pissed at you to want to make you feel good. There’s nothing holding us back here, Lake.”

“I’m not a gentle lover,” he warned.

“None of you are.”

“Songbird. If we start this, I won’t be denied. You can cry and scream and beg all you like, but if you give me a taste, I’m going to take it all.”

A small thread of fear rippled through him, but it was met with an even stronger emotion.

Excitement.

The Demons must have really messed him up, rewired his brain to long for the thrill of being controlled and possessed. The mere thought of Lake holding him down and forcing him to take that huge cock of his…

Precome gushed from Nix’s rosy tip and Lake’s eyes instantly locked onto that spot of his body.

“You’re really going to let me fuck you,” he still sounded like he didn’t fully believe it.

“Think you’ll be any good at it?” Nix taunted, mostly because he knew that was the way to spur things on.

It worked.

“Roll over,” Lake commanded, and Nix did as he was told, listening as the Imperial got onto the bed. “Did you touch yourself back here too?”

Nix shook his head. “I hadn’t gotten to it yet.”

“Ah, so when you said I needed to open my present, you really meant it.”

“Aren’t I funny?”

“Hilarious.” Lake’s palm came down on his left cheek, shocking Nix. “No more teasing me. You do as I instruct from here on out, understand?”

Nix nodded.

This was it, the thing he’d been longing for ever since Maestro had popped up on his computer screen back home. Since the first time he’d put on this mask and awkwardly presented himself to the camera, much like he was presenting himself to the Imperial now. It was similar in that sense as well, with Lake behind him, Nix couldn’t see him, just like he hadn’t been able to through the computer.

But he wanted to. He was about to break the rules and act alone, but he’d barely made it an inch up before he was forced back.

Lake draped an arm over Nix’s narrow back, keeping him down on the mattress. In the next instant, his tongue shot out, tentatively circling Nix’s hole.

“Are you—” he couldn’t even bring himself to ask the question, covering his mouth with a hand as a moan rumbled out of him when that tongue grew bolder and passed his tight entrance.

The reaction spurred Lake on, and he shifted closer, driving his tongue more forcefully inside of Nix before pulling out to lick him. “West said you like this.” He nipped at his left cheek. “I see he wasn’t lying.”

“Lake.” Nix struggled to control his breathing.

“Already, Songbird?” he laughed. “I’ve barely even started.”

“Lake.”

“No,” he stated, even though Nix hadn’t even asked for anything specific. “I’m taking my time with you tonight. I’ve waited so long for this moment, for you to open up for me. I won’t be rushed.” He licked him again. “I’m going to savor you.”