Page 18 of Wreaking Havoc (Demon Bound #1)

17

Sascha

I t took Sascha more than a moment to reorient to reality, heaving gasping breaths as he stared at Alexei.

He’d just agreed to the most impulsive decision of his life, and with Kai’s mouth on him and his bulge pressed so nicely against Sascha’s dick, Sascha had honestly been gearing up to consummate that decision in this…gross, dusty attic.

On second thought, maybe it was for the best that they’d been interrupted.

Kai’s teeth were bared, and his talons were digging into Sascha’s hips almost painfully. If Sascha hadn’t known any better, he might assume Kai was just turned on. But he could read Kai better now—Sascha’s demon was furious, and maybe a bit panicked. It was enough to have Sascha’s stomach twisting into knots as well.

“He can’t have taken it,” Kai growled, setting Sascha back down on the floor as Alexei’s head disappeared back down the ladder. “I can still sense it in the house.”

But he was already climbing down after Alexei, and Sascha rushed to follow.

Alexei explained as they hurried to the living room, “Jay and I went out into the backyard. I was worried if I stayed inside any longer, I’d shoot Ivan with his own gun. When I heard the front door slam, we came back in. Jay noticed right away that the Book wasn’t in the living room.”

“Then why can I—” Kai’s words cut off as he stopped in front of the coffee table so abruptly Sascha almost slammed into his back.

Sascha peered around him to see what had caught his attention: a single piece of thick paper. It had an eerie design in black ink etched on its surface, one that sent a shiver down Sascha’s spine for some reason.

“Nightmare’s mark,” Kai murmured, reaching out a hand, his fingers stopping just before they would have touched the page. “That’s what I can sense.” He frowned down at it. “I didn’t think the pages could come out.”

Sascha’s brow furrowed as he looked at the creepy mark. It wasn’t one he would have traced in nail polish for fun; that was for sure. “Isn’t the Book, like, ancient? Of course it’s coming apart.”

“It’s not an ordinary book, pup.” Kai sighed, lowering his arm. “But I suppose it’s for the best. We wouldn’t want to see your brother with Nightmare at his disposal.” His frown deepened. “Although, I suppose Chaos could still do quite a bit of damage…”

Sascha almost laughed. “That’s what you’re so worried about? Ivan summoning a demon?” He tried to picture it, but it was a challenge to even imagine. It was just so strange to think of his cold, rigid brother dabbling in the paranormal.

Then again, Ivan did love consolidating his power.

But Kai was looking as distressed as ever. “We need the Book to bond,” he reminded Sascha. He closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. “I can’t sense its location. It’s moving too fast.”

He could sense that thing even when it wasn’t in the building? Would Sascha ever learn the extent of Kai’s powers? He supposed, if they had close to an eternity together, he eventually would. Maybe every bonding anniversary, Kai would reveal another neat little demon trick.

Focus, Sascha .

“I’m sure he’s driving straight back to New York,” he reassured Kai. “The paranoid dummy probably isn’t even stopping for bathroom breaks.”

“Then we’ll find him there,” Kai said, his tone decisive. “That’s where your Caruso family is, anyway, correct?”

“And we’ll help!” Jay offered from where he’d joined them, tucked under Alexei’s arm.

Alexei frowned down at him. “Jay…”

Jay bit at his lower lip, his brow furrowing. “I know, but…”

Sascha looked between them. “What’s going on?”

“Jay’s animal shelter is opening in Hyde Park Monday,” Alexei explained, rubbing Jay’s arm, somehow looking both concerned and proud. “He’s been working really hard on it.”

Jay was frowning down at the floor now. “Your brother needs help though.”

“And he has it.” Alexei looked to Kai. “After you’re bonded, can Sascha be hurt?”

“By a human weapon?” Kai shook his head. “No.”

“And does the Caruso family pose a threat you can’t handle?”

Kai scoffed, folding his arms against his chest, biceps bulging. “Hardly.”

Alexei nodded, then sent a tender look toward Jay. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you to miss this.”

His voice was gentle, his concern clear as day. And it hit Sascha like a bolt of lightning how much their lives had changed. Alexei’s priorities had shifted in a monumental way after running to Hyde Park—he lived now for this man beside him. And that was beautiful, really.

Sascha’s brother really did have a completely new life.

Sascha swallowed a hard lump in his throat.

Alexei seemed to catch it. He gave Sascha a slight smile. “I wouldn’t go if I thought you were in any danger, Sascha.” He jerked his chin toward Kai. “I’m choosing to trust him.”

Sascha cleared his throat, then put his hands on his hips with exaggerated sass. “And you’re okay with me bonding to a demon I just met? Where are your overprotective older-brother instincts?”

Alexei smirked at him. “I’ve found logic doesn’t really come into play when it comes to the paranormal. It’s better to trust your gut. How you feel rather than what you think.”

Sascha looked up at Kai. His stupidly beautiful face, staring at Alexei with the first modicum of respect he’d shown since they’d met. “I feel safe,” Sascha found himself saying. “And I’m realizing I’ve maybe never felt that way before.”

Jay sighed, his hands clasped in front of his chest. “Oh, that’s lovely.”

“Not that it’s any of either of your business,” Kai grumbled, seeming to remember he didn’t care for anyone else’s opinion. “He’d already agreed.”

Sascha coughed, patting Kai’s arm in reassurance. “So you’re leaving?” he asked Alexei.

“It’s only Friday. We can stay one more night.” An almost playful look entered Alexei’s eyes. “For old time’s sake.”

Sascha grinned. “Old time’s sake” was their code. Alexei and Sascha used to go clubbing together back home, picking their… entertainment for the evening. It had been their thing, at least when Alexei had been able to escape Ivan’s demands for a night.

Although, now they were both spoken for.

How boring of them.

“You want to go out?” Sascha hated how hopeful he sounded. But he’d missed his brother. He’d missed having fun together, in the pockets of space they’d made for themselves within their family’s oppressive legacy.

Alexei cocked a brow. “I’ve heard this town has a gay bar. Think they have any decent music?”

Sascha bounced up on his toes. “Really? You want to go dancing?”

Alexei didn’t usually dance, but he would stand in the corner with a drink in his hand while Sascha did his thing in the crowd.

Kai frowned down at him. “It’s a delay, zaychik.”

“Just a little one. Please?” Sascha got up on tiptoes, whispering in Kai’s ear, “I’ll wear one of the new pretty things I bought. You can take it off me afterward.”

A low rumble left Kai’s chest. Sascha grinned.

They were going out.

A familiar himbo was standing inside the bar’s entrance with a little black light.

Buff Dude grinned at Sascha like an old friend. “Hey, man. You didn’t drop your coat tonight.” He raised his fist for a bump.

Sascha couldn’t help it—he grinned back, ignoring Kai’s rumbling growl, and bumped fists like an idiot. “I didn’t drop it,” he agreed. “So where’s your coat check?”

Buff Dude just laughed easily, like Sascha had told some sort of joke, and waved them on. All of them except Jay, that was, who he halted with a raised palm. “Gotta check that ID, little dude.”

Jay beamed at him. “I have one of those!”

Buff Dude nodded, holding his fist up yet again. “Right on.”

He cleared Jay after a flash of his blacklight, and their party walked further into the bar, surrounded by the familiar, comforting sound of 2000s pop divas.

There was a surprising number of people there, a smaller core group already gyrating on the dance floor.

It was promising. Very promising.

Sascha turned to Alexei, raising his voice to be heard over the music. “Grab us drinks? Something easy.” He still didn’t trust this place with any sort of real cocktail.

Alexei nodded, grabbing Jay by the hand and leading him to the bar.

Sascha debated getting a head start on the dance floor, but then a familiar voice cried out from the crowd. “Sascha!”

And there was Seth, his full cheeks flushed in the heat of the bar, light-brown curls artfully tousled, with some sort of sparkling shadow on his eyelids. “You came out!” He gave Sascha a quick hug, nodding his greeting to Kai, who was lurking behind Sascha, a warm presence at his back. “You picked a good night too. First Friday has dancing. People come from two towns over, when the roads are good.”

Unsure as ever what to do with such wholesome friendliness, Sascha blurted out, “There’s no coat check.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “Dude. Just toss it in the corner. No one’s taking your coat.”

“It’s designer,” Sascha muttered with a huff. But he did as Seth suggested, revealing the tight bright-pink tank top he’d put on.

Seth’s eyes lit up. “Ooh. That’s a great color on you.”

Sascha was annoyed to feel his cheeks heat at the compliment. But Seth didn’t seem to notice, holding up a finger as he rummaged through the small cross-body bag he had over his own tight T-shirt. “Wait just a sec. I’ve got the perfect eye shadow in my bag.”

“You walk around carrying bright-pink eye shadow in your bag?” Sascha asked doubtfully.

“Pale pink,” Seth corrected. “But it’ll do.” He found what he was looking for, holding up a small makeup pallet in the dim light of the bar with a raised brow.

Sascha glanced back at Kai, who was watching them with curiosity but no censure. Sascha turned back to Seth and nodded, closing his eyes so Seth could smear some of the creamy shadow on his lids.

Seth finished with a gleeful, “Ta-dah!” and then his eyes widened as Alexei and Jay returned with their drinks. “Another Viking, huh?”

Sascha scowled. “Don’t ogle him. That’s my brother, and you’re a child.”

Seth only looked amused, raising his brows at Sascha. “How old do you think I am exactly?”

Sascha hazarded a guess. “Sixteen?”

“The curse of the baby face,” Seth mused, although he didn’t seem all that put out. “I’m twenty.”

“Still too young for a bar,” Sascha pointed out.

Seth shrugged. “I know a guy. Speaking of.” He nodded at Alexei, who was entering the dance floor with Jay. “Has Benny tried to recruit him to his fitness empire yet?”

“Who the fuck’s Benny?” Sascha asked.

“The ‘bouncer,’” Seth said, using air quotes around the word. “My cousin. People give him odd jobs around town.”

“Oh. I’ve just been calling him Buff Dude in my head.”

“That works too.” Someone called to Seth from across the bar, and he shot them a wave. “Gotta go. See you on the dance floor.”

He made his way to the other side through the crowd, and Sascha and Kai were left alone.

People were staring, as they seemed to do no matter what when Kai was around. Although, an almost equal number were staring at Jay and Alexei, which could either have been due to Alexei’s size and looks or the….unique dance moves Jay was busting out.

“It’s like a robot having a seizure,” Sascha murmured, watching in awe.

The heat at Sascha’s back intensified. He looked over his shoulder to find Kai gazing intently at him. “You want to dance?” Sascha asked.

Kai traced a finger down his cheek. “You look pretty with paint on your eyes, zaychik.”

Sascha found himself lifting his chin so Kai could continue his trail down Sascha’s neck. “Thank you,” he said quietly, his pulse beginning to race.

Kai wrapped his hand around the back of Sascha’s neck, leaning down to bite at his ear. “I wish to have you again,” he murmured.

Sascha’s blood rushed south so fast he grew light-headed. “Well, we’re in public,” he reminded Kai. And himself for that matter.

Kai’s sultry expression shifted into something suspiciously close to a pout. “If we were going to delay bonding, we should have spent the delay in bed, with my cock inside you.”

Jesus. Sascha swallowed hard. In public. He was in public. No fucking the demon in public. He did his best to change the subject away from beds and cocks. “What, you don’t like dancing?” he asked.

There was a long pause.

“Oh my God.” Sascha grinned. “You’ve never danced before, have you?” He turned to face Kai, smirking up at him. “Well, lucky for you, you’re a giant hunk of man meat, so you can get away with just standing there, mostly. I, as your sexy twink accessory, will do the heavy lifting.”

Kai looked at him like he was speaking gibberish.

“Come, come.” Sascha pulled him out onto the dance floor, well away from Alexei and Jay’s writhing, then backed up into him until his ass was pressed nicely against Kai’s crotch. He grabbed Kai’s hands and placed them on his hips. “Think you can manage a sway?” he asked.

He didn’t wait for an answer, just started rocking his hips, raising his hands in the air, getting a feel for the beat. It wasn’t the most graceful dancing of his life, but it did have the bonus of brushing him against Kai’s growing erection again and again.

Kai seemed to enjoy that part very much. He moved his hands from Sascha’s hips to his waist, caressed his chest, trailed them back down again. Sascha let his arms wrap around Kai’s neck, leaning back into the touch.

“I had a thought earlier,” Kai murmured eventually, his breath hot against Sascha’s ear.

“Mm. Did it hurt?”

Kai’s grip tightened. “I thought it would be pleasing to fuck you in my human form.”

All the air left Sascha’s lungs. “Would it?” he managed to gasp.

“Mm.” Kai hummed against his cheek, holding Sascha firmly against him. “I wouldn’t have to hold back, would I? You take me so well as it is. I could fuck you as hard as I wish.” He gave a low chuckle when Sascha couldn’t respond. “You’d like that, hm?”

Fuck. Sascha turned, leaping into Kai’s arms and slamming his mouth against him. Kai responded perfectly, holding Sascha up with firm hands on his ass, kissing him like it was his only purpose.

Someone let out a wolf whistle.

Kai released Sascha’s mouth, smirking down at him. “I like dancing.”

“This isn’t dancing,” Sascha corrected, panting. “This is dry humping.”

Kai let out a low rumble, then claimed Sascha’s mouth again.

Sascha was just considering luring him into a dark corner and seeing what they could get away with before they got arrested when Kai stiffened.

Sascha leaned back. “What’s wrong?”

Kai was staring intently across the bar. “That man in the corner. He reeks of ill intent.”

Sascha followed his gaze to a nondescript dude wearing black, nursing a beer at one of the standing tables. “He does?”

He was watching them, but then, so were quite a few people. Sascha and Kai had been putting on a bit of a show, after all.

Kai lowered Sascha to the floor carefully, his muscles tight with tension. “Do you recognize him?”

Sascha studied the stranger again. “No, but I wouldn’t necessarily.” He caught Alexei’s eye and motioned him and Jay over.

Alexei frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”

Kai pointed out the problem, and Alexei nodded slowly. “He does look the type. Could definitely be one of the Carusos.”

“Why’s he just staring?” Sascha asked, a chill running down his spine.

“He wouldn’t make a move in a place so crowded. They want you to know you’re being watched.” Alexei’s gaze slid to Kai. “Or maybe they didn’t expect you to have a bodyguard.”

Sascha nibbled at his lower lip, trying to push the growing anxiety down. “They wouldn’t. Ivan didn’t even know at first. Ivan’s mole would think I’m unprotected.”

And Sascha would have been, if not for accidentally summoning Kai. He would have been in this town without any backup. Defenseless. Alone.

His stomach twisted.

Kai’s eyes darkened, as if he sensed Sascha’s dark thoughts. “Shall I dispose of him for you?”

“No.” Sascha looked around the bar. At Seth, laughing on the dance floor. At Benny, chatting with some equally muscled dude at the entrance, most likely about gym routines of some kind.

Sascha might still not know them very well, but he wasn’t going to risk these people getting hurt in the cross fire of his baggage. Sascha had brought evil here, to this town that was accepting him so easily. And it wasn’t the demon at his side.

Anger replaced the unease swirling in his gut. Hot and fierce and strangely satisfying.

“We need to deal with this,” he told Kai firmly. “At the source. The delay’s over. Time to clean up our mess.”