Page 21

Nightmare

“ Y ou dislike the food, sweet?” Nightmare asked, glaring at the tiny, offending chicken carcass across from him, with its glazed brown skin and assorted little potatoes.

Matteo glanced up from his task of poking at the chicken listlessly with his fork. “What? No, it’s delicious.”

“Yet you do not eat it.”

Matteo stared at his fork, as if surprised it hadn’t made it to his lips. “I’m nervous, I guess.”

That much was evident from the way his gaze kept sliding to the side of their table, where the Book lay next to his plate.

Matteo hadn’t wanted to leave it in the hotel room. “What if Chaos decides to steal it back just for fun?” he’d asked. And while that outcome was unlikely, it wasn’t impossible, so Nightmare had agreed to bring it with them and shroud it in his shadows.

At least the news of Dominico’s knowledge of his whereabouts had dampened some of Matteo’s twitchy fear of strangers. While that may have been due to shock more than anything else, it made eating in this restaurant less agitating than it could have been for them both.

They’d come to a place recommended by Cooper. Chaos’s shy human had told them he’d taken Chaos here on the way to Seacliff before.

The restaurant claimed to be farm to table, though Nightmare saw no barns nor livestock in the vicinity. But it had secluded booths for seating and a quiet atmosphere, and the hostess hadn’t frowned at Matteo’s casual attire, so it would do.

Cooper and Chaos had bowed out of dinner, much to Nightmare’s delight.

They’d declared that they’d had other matters to attend to first. Nightmare had no doubt those “matters” included Chaos immediately tattling about Nightmare’s intentions to the other demons.

But that would work in Nightmare’s favor, if there was to be a confrontation in Seacliff.

Any backup would be welcome—even the incubus could be useful at times.

Cooper and Chaos would rejoin them in Seacliff instead. Their agreement was to head back in the morning and then have Matteo seen about town as much as possible, to lure either Dominico or his men out into the open.

But first, there was an eternal bond to attend to.

Nightmare nodded toward the Book. “You may ask me questions.”

“We’ll be together forever?” Matteo asked immediately, like he’d only been waiting for the opportunity for reassurance.

“Yes, sweet. Forever.”

Matteo nodded, finally taking a real bite of his chicken. Even after he’d finished the mouthful, he didn’t pose another question. Nightmare cocked his head, silently inviting more.

“Oh.” Matteo hummed, seeming to think it over. “Will I change somehow?” His gaze darted up to the empty space above Nightmare’s head where his antlers would be in his demon form. “Maybe get my own pair of accessories?”

He didn’t seem opposed to the idea, a fact that made Nightmare smile.

“No accessories. Though your lifespan will increase drastically and your aging will slow,” Nightmare explained. “You will gain access to demon strength and healing, to call upon when needed. You will be very hard to kill.”

“But not impossible to hurt?”

It was a reasonable question for Matteo, who’d been hurt so thoroughly and so often by those around him in the past.

“Demons and their mates can be harmed, yes,” Nightmare conceded. And that may have been true for demons in general, but it wouldn’t hold true for Matteo; Nightmare would make sure of it. “But you will have me.”

“Always,” Matteo prompted, a new ferocity in his voice. “That’s what the bond means. I’ll have you always.”

“Yes.”

Matteo smiled for the first time since they’d sat down for dinner. He slouched back in the booth with a contented sigh. “Okay.”

“Is that really all you have to ask?”

Nightmare knew, somewhere in the deep recesses of his soul where his reason lay, that he was asking for far too much too soon. It made sense that a rational human might have many questions and reservations for him.

Did Matteo really care so little for his life as to enter such a bargain so hastily?

The thought had Nightmare gritting his teeth, his rage suddenly overwhelming. Not toward Matteo, but toward the world. This realm. For failing to protect him. Failing to nurture his tender spirit.

A small hand covered Nightmare’s clenched fist, squeezing lightly.

“I want to keep you,” Matteo said clearly, looking straight into Nightmare’s eyes. “The rest is extra. I’m not hopeless, Scary. I’m hope ful , for the first time in my life.”

Nightmare allowed the words to soothe his anger. He unclenched his fist and turned his hand, clasping Matteo’s fingers with his own. “We’ll be linked, our souls tangled together. You may feel my emotions at times, which could be…disturbing for you.”

Matteo shrugged. “I doubt that.”

“Matteo,” Nightmare chastised, the flippancy beginning to concern him again.

“Scary,” Matteo countered in a singsong tone.

They were interrupted by the arrival of their waitress, who began refilling water Nightmare hadn’t been drinking, leaving his glass close to overfilling.

She had short dark hair, equally dark makeup, and enough tattoos to rival Nightmare’s own (though his were not human ink but the evidence of his magical contract etched onto his flesh).

She’d commented on Nightmare’s marked skin when she’d first arrived to take their orders, and Matteo had growled at her, disguising the sound poorly with a contrived cough when she’d looked at him in alarm.

Now, as she leaned over their table to take away the small plate Nightmare hadn’t used, Matteo stabbed into his chicken with alarming force, his gaze on her all the while. He savaged the animal’s flesh with his teeth as she scurried away.

Nightmare let out a soft huff of laughter. “You know where my interest lies, little human.”

Matteo gave him a sheepish look as he swallowed his oversize bite. “I can’t help it. Everyone’s always ogling you.”

“I stand out.”

Matteo ran an assessing gaze over Nightmare’s human visage. “We should put you in something with a hood.”

“I prefer my vision unimpaired.”

Matteo pushed his plate away with a huff and grabbed the Book. “Can we do it here? Now?”

Nightmare’s blood ran hot at the sudden enthusiasm, and his shadows itched to come out to play, to reward Matteo for his eagerness.

Even Nightmare’s cock twitched with interest, with the knowledge of what was to come.

Still, he shook his head. “You would not appreciate the location, I think. The bond requires…consummation.”

Matteo’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. “We get to fuck?”

“Your body will demand it,” Nightmare explained. “As will mine.”

Matteo’s dark eyes shone across the table. “I’m done with dinner,” he said firmly.

“You have taken but two bites.”

“I’m done . We can get a box if you want.”

“So eager,” Nightmare murmured, unable to keep his sharp smile contained.

Matteo nodded, unashamed. “Yes.”

When the waitress arrived to drop off the bill, Matteo did not so much as look at her. His gaze was locked on Nightmare, his eyes full of promise.

They would wait no longer.

Nightmare followed as Matteo rushed through their hotel room door, the Book clutched to his chest.

“Okay!” Matteo yelled as soon as the door was shut, whirling to face Nightmare.

“We recite the verse, right? Is that how we do it? And—and blood. We exchange blood, right?” Before Nightmare could confirm, Matteo bit down hard on his lower lip, splitting the skin anew.

“I’m ready,” he said, his lip shining red.

Nightmare stepped forward, cupping his mate’s eager face with both hands. “Matteo.”

Matteo’s face fell. “No. No waiting. No—”

Nightmare ran his thumbs over Matteo’s cheeks, shushing him gently.

“The bond will require penetration, sweet. And you have yet to be penetrated by more than my fingers. You will allow me to prepare you before we begin.” It was not a negotiable request for Nightmare.

He would not allow himself to harm his summoner. Although, perhaps he was assuming…

“Unless you’d prefer to do the penetrating?” he asked.

Matteo’s big, pretty eyes widened. Had he not considered the possibility? “Oh. Oh wow. Maybe—maybe later? But this time I want you to—I need you to—”

Nightmare nodded his understanding. “Then you will be patient and you will allow me this.”

“Yes,” Matteo agreed, licking the blood off his lower lip.

Nightmare’s cock ached at the sight. Soon enough that blood would be used to bind them together for eternity. Any essence belonging to Matteo was precious, but that fact made it even more so. “I’ll undress you now, shall I?”

“Yes.”

Nightmare’s shadows rushed out to strip Matteo of his clothes, and soon he was standing before Nightmare clad only in the few shadows still teasing at his collarbone.

He was so beautiful, Nightmare’s summoner. Scarred and slender, narrow of shoulders and hips, with sharp lines and wiry muscles usually hidden by his baggy clothes. And graced with a substantial cock, already filling with blood.

Nightmare nodded to the bed. “On your stomach, sweet.”

Matteo seemed to need no further encouragement. He scrambled up onto the bed, and Nightmare tucked a hotel pillow under his hips.

Matteo shot him an imperious look over his shoulder. “Now you though. With the undressing.”

Nightmare let his clothes fall back to the ether. Matteo eyed his naked form hungrily, from the top of his antlers to his toes, then back to his groin. “No hair,” he said softly.

“No.”

Matteo licked at his lip, where small drops of blood had welled again. “I’m gonna rub all over you after this. All. Over.”

Nightmare grinned. “Yes, sweet.”

Matteo turned his head back and rested his chin on his folded hands.

Nightmare gave in to temptation and placed a knee on the bed, leaning in close, petting along the bare skin in front of him.

He traced his taloned fingertips over Matteo’s shoulders, his scarred back, his bottom.

He kneaded the flesh there hungrily, unable to stop his grip from firming.

There was a dark urge whispering inside him, telling him to hoist Matteo up and claim him with all the full, terrible ferocity inside him.

But there were also Nightmare’s shadows, murmuring in his ear. Reminding him. Soft. Sweet. Gentle .

Nightmare parted those round cheeks, revealing Matteo’s furled pink hole to his gaze. Nightmare let hot saliva gather in his mouth and spat.

“Oh,” Matteo gasped, squirming in Nightmare’s hold.

Nightmare pressed with his thumb—his talons blunted short for the occasion—coaxing and rubbing his offering into that tender spot.

He leaned in closer, breathing in Matteo’s lemon scent.

Nightmare knew what he must look like, crouched and looming over Matteo’s supine form. A monster of the dark, here to devour an innocent, unsuspecting victim.

But while innocent Matteo might have been—in Nightmare’s eyes if not his own—he was in no way unsuspecting. He was possessive and greedy and perfect, and Nightmare was finally stealing him for his own.

Nightmare blunted his sharp teeth and pressed his face in close, tonguing at that precious, hidden spot.

“Ohhh,” Matteo sighed. “Oh. Oh fuck .”

Nightmare groaned into the flesh surrounding him.

Matteo’s skin was musky and rich, the perfect pairing with the lemony sweet of his arousal.

Perhaps Nightmare should have let Matteo bathe before bonding, but he was being selfish, letting himself enjoy the full breadth of Matteo’s humanity as he licked along that furrow, paying special attention to that tender hole.

He was patient as he worked his tongue through the tight ring of muscle. It was easy to be patient with Matteo panting and whimpering his pleasure, mumbling into his hands every now and again, little happy, breathless murmurings of, “Ohh, I like that. I like that so, so much.”

Nightmare’s cock was hardening rapidly, his so-called petals unfurling, allowing his smoky essence to leak from the tip. Nightmare gathered the natural lubricant with one hand, coating his fingers.

He pressed one of those fingers to Matteo’s hole, working it in. Then another.

Nightmare groaned again. He was going to be inside this tight passage soon. His aching cock was going to be sucked and caressed by Matteo’s inner muscles. Nightmare was going to fill his summoner with his demon seed, again and again and again, until Matteo was overflowing with it.

Nightmare growled, his tongue lengthening alongside his fingers, growing longer and searching deeper.

“Oh my God!” Matteo’s whimpers and groans turned to desperate babbling. “Please, please, please! My cock, Scary. Touch it. Make me come. You’re going to make me come. You are, you are, you are.”

Nightmare slid his free hand under Matteo’s hips, circling Matteo’s erection with his fingers, letting him rut against his hand.

Matteo’s hips moved frantically, and he erupted with a high keen, his channel pulsing around Nightmare’s fingers and tongue.

Perfect, so perfect. So responsive to Nightmare’s touch, able to find his release with the slightest bit of coaxing.

Nightmare rumbled his approval directly into Matteo’s skin.

He lifted his head and released Matteo’s cock, licking the salty, bitter essence off his hand as Matteo trembled beneath him.

“Now we do it?” Matteo asked, looking blearily over his shoulder. “The bond? It’s time?”

Nightmare grinned at his human’s naivete. Somewhere along the way, his teeth had sharpened again. He no doubt looked feral.

“Oh, sweet summoner,” he crooned, pressing his thumb to that wet and softened hole, breathing in Matteo’s gasp at the unexpected touch. “I’m not nearly done. Be good and stay right as you are. We have a long way to go.”