Page 28 of Wicked (Dark Delights #5)

Shadrach blinked. The concept of anyone ‘deserving’ anything was foreign. Slowly, he said, “In my opinion, he did.”

Isaac raised his brows curiously, so Shadrach went on.

“He stole ten grand from me. It was the nineteen-twenties. That was a lot of money.”

“That’s still a lot of money, Shad.”

“Ah, then you agree it was enough to kill over.” He grinned, and Isaac rolled his eyes, fighting a smile.

“You don’t have to stop at Hawley, you know.

The wards are still down at HQ. I could go and get you the doctor who diagnosed you.

I could get Sloan. We could keep them alive for days and have all the bloody fun we want. ”

One corner of Isaac’s mouth rose, but there was resignation in his eyes. “They never enjoyed hurting me the way Hawley did. And pain isn’t that much of an issue, really.”

“It’s not about the pain, killer. I know you didn’t care about the physical pain. They made you believe something was wrong with you. They made you believe you were lacking in some way.”

“Aren’t I?” Isaac asked. “Do other humans dream about killing people? ”

“I honestly don’t care whether they do or not,” Shadrach said bluntly.

“You are the only one that matters to me. And the fact that they,” a snarl rattled out of him, “tried to break your spirit, tried to make you like them , makes me want to rip their tongues from their mouths and shove them up their own asses.”

“Ew,” Isaac declared. He blew out a breath, twining his arms around Shadrach’s neck as though having a snarling demon in his face was reassuring rather than worrisome.

“You said he never tried anything like that before, right? He never touched you like that before? I’ll find a gate to Hell and rip his soul to shreds myself if he did.”

Isaac’s eyes were wide, but Shadrach saw no fear. It was awe. “No, he didn’t. I think he wanted to. He always seemed so eager for our sessions. I don’t know if it was the whipping or having me on my knees. Maybe he was a sadist who liked to dominate ? —”

“Hey now, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Shadrach interrupted with a teasing nip to Isaac’s jaw.

Isaac chuckled. “Dominate little boys .”

“Oh.” Shadrach’s lip curled. “But you haven’t been a little boy for many years now.”

“I know. But I was his only victim. He didn’t have access to any others. Not in that way, at least.”

Shadrach traced the curve of Isaac’s cheekbone. “And now he never will.”

To his surprise, Isaac pressed his face into Shadrach’s neck to muffle his laugh. His hands pulled Shadrach’s dress shirt from his trousers and slid up his back. The touch of bare skin, even muted in dreamland, sent a shudder of delight down Shadrach’s spine.

“I never thought I’d feel like this,” Isaac said breathlessly.

Shadrach pressed open-mouthed kisses down his neck and shoulder. “Feel like what, killer?”

Isaac was panting in his ear. Shadrach tipped them over, and they landed on a soft bed.

The rest of the space around them was black and hazy.

It didn’t matter where they were. All that mattered was that Isaac’s powerful thighs were lifting around his hips, and the clothing between them was gone, and all he could feel was skin.

“Free,” Isaac said, arching up against him. “I’ve lived my whole life by their rules. I never knew I could have anything different. But this is—” He stopped, gasping as Shadrach sank inside him with no prep, aided by the painless, fuzzy nature of the dream. “Oh God .”

Shadrach sank his teeth deep into Isaac’s shoulder, and Isaac’s scream seemed to echo through the darkness around them, his cock bucking hard between them. He liked pain, and Shadrach loved giving it. Especially here, where it did his human no real damage.

“There’s no god here, killer,” Shadrach growled, rutting deep into his body.

Ruby red blood dripped from his mouth to stain Isaac’s neck, chin, and lips.

“No morality. No justice. Just you and me.” He pressed Isaac’s wrists to the mattress above his head, and when he slid his hands away, there were soft black cuffs holding him in place.

Isaac pulled at them once and gasped. The most telling thing, Shadrach thought, was that Isaac left them there.

He knew he could change things in these dreams, but he didn’t want to.

The knowledge burned through Shadrach. There were so many wonderfully dark things he wanted to do to Isaac.

“Oh fuck, harder, please,” Isaac moaned.

“Yes.” He wrapped his hand around Isaac’s throat, forcing his head back to bare his throat as he snapped his hips forward, as deep as he could go.

“Say it!” Shadrach roared, tension winding tight within him. “No god. Just you and me. ”

“N-No god.” Isaac moaned, hooking his ankles around Shadrach’s back. “Just you and me.”

“Yeah. That’s right. You and me. That’s all that matters. Always.”

Isaac leaned up and crushed their mouths together, the blood slick and hot as their tongues met.

Shadrach’s release boiled over with Isaac’s thighs clamping hard around his hips, and even in this muted space, his vision whited out as pleasure exploded within him.

Isaac whimpered into his mouth, his seed spilling between their bodies from his untouched cock.

Isaac went limp beneath him. “I can’t believe you made me tired in a dream . That shouldn’t be possible. I can’t go to sleep when I’m already asleep.”

Shadrach chuckled, licking the blood smeared around Isaac’s mouth. “You can have a nice, dreamless rest after this.”

“No, fuck that,” Isaac grumbled. “Stay. I can rest with you here.”

He softened. How could he possibly turn down such a gift? “I’d like that, killer.”

Isaac kissed him. “Why do you call me that? You’ve been calling me that since we met. I hadn’t killed anyone then.”

“‘Killer’ suits you. You like killing things. You like knowing you have the power to.”

Isaac studied him for a moment, and then settled back against the pillow with a crooked smile.

“It should be strange that a demon can read me so well. But somehow it’s not.”

Satisfaction spread through Shadrach. His human accepted him. They were meant for each other, and he was starting to see that.