Epilogue
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Luke
“ O h God,” Luke moaned. “Don’t stop. Don’t stop. I’ll die. I’ll fucking die.”
His cries echoed off the bathroom tile, soaring above the rush of the water pouring out of the showerhead behind them.
“Don’t worry. I’m so close,” Matteo growled. “Couldn’t stop even if my life depended on it.”
Wet skin slapped as Matteo pounded into Luke’s welcoming body.
Luke’s hand shuttled up and down his cock until all his muscles tightened and he shouted his release.
Electric bliss blazed through his body, igniting nerve endings and shorting out his brain.
Matteo swore and sped up, fucking Luke through his orgasm.
A heartbeat later, Matteo groaned and came deep inside Luke, coating his tight, hot channel, making Luke his once again for the hundredth time. But who was counting?
Matteo collapsed on top of Luke’s wet back, wrapping his arms loosely around him.
They both panted as if they’d run a race, and the world spun.
There were definite difficulties in having sex in the shower.
One of them was the need to remain standing even after his legs had been reduced to cooked spaghetti.
Not that they’d planned on having sex in the shower.
Nor was this the first time they’d had sex today.
Luke had woken to Matteo’s talented mouth on his cock and had finished in him.
They’d drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours and woken up crusty and gross.
Showering together was supposed to save water and time.
Instead, soap-slicked hands had glided over wet bodies. Hungry kisses and soft whimpers had led to Matteo pushing Luke against the cool tile wall and fucking him until neither one of them could stand.
But really, was there any better way to begin a lazy Sunday?
Luke turned his head and pressed a gentle kiss to Matteo’s chin, causing his lover to hum.
“Love you,” Matteo murmured, his words slurred in his relaxed state.
“Love you too, honey.”
Matteo’s hand drifted down to caress one ass cheek. “Feeling relaxed?”
This time, Luke was the one to hum happily. “So relaxed. I so love Sunday mornings with you.”
“Only because we’re so bad about getting out of bed.”
He made a grumbling noise. “We spend so much time out of bed during the week. We need one day where we don’t have to get up. Except we had plans for today,” Luke reminded him.
Matteo groaned. “Do we have to?”
“It was your idea.”
“I was insane. You need to call me out on my nonsense.”
Luke huffed a soft laugh and shifted. Unfortunately, Matteo’s cock had grown soft enough to slide free of Luke’s body. He giggled. “I can feel your cum running out of me.”
Matteo lightly bit Luke’s shoulder and pushed two fingers into his hole.
His body was still loose and slick, allowing him inside easily.
A soft cry escaped Luke, and he pulled away for a second, then shoved onto Matteo’s fingers again.
He slowly fucked himself on Matteo’s hand, making needy little noises.
“Just need me in you all the time,” Matteo whispered.
“Yesss,” Luke hissed.
“Don’t worry. After we get a few things done today, I’ll fuck you all over ag— ahhhhh !”
Matteo’s words of seduction changed to a frozen cry of surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Luke demanded, half twisting to see if something had attacked Matteo.
“Out of hot. Gotta hurry.” Matteo grabbed Luke’s arms with both hands and swung the slender man around so that their positions were swapped. A shrill screech rose from Luke’s throat.
They snagged the soap and scrubbed off with lightning speed.
Thankfully, they’d washed their hair before they’d started having a little fun.
By the time they were rinsing off, the water had gone from tepid to icy.
Luke could not get wrapped up in his towel fast enough.
His poor dick and balls were so confused, they were threatening to retreat into his body after such abuse.
First sex and then an icy bath. Fuck you very much.
At least his libido had been cooled off for the time being. The blood had returned to his brain, and he could remember what they were supposed to be doing this Sunday. Wrapped in a towel, Luke followed Matteo down the hall to the bedroom they were now sharing.
His sexy, talented, brilliant boyfriend had agreed to move in with him at the beginning of the new semester rather than continuing with the frustration of dorm life. While it was a longer trek to campus, Matteo stated that his new roommates were much better than his old ones.
Azroth and the demons hadn’t had a problem with adding Matteo to their household and had even shifted the living arrangement, giving Luke and Matteo one of the big bedrooms on the second floor while Annod claimed the attic room as his own.
They might have needed to do a bit of remodeling and had acquired new furniture.
Azroth and the demons had even gifted them with a luxurious king-sized bed that Luke and Matteo had been happy to break in.
“You’re going to talk to Azroth today, right?” Matteo checked as he stepped into a pair of boxers.
“Yes. While we’re working on the design for the new roost. After this last winter, I’m leaning toward something that has solar panels so it can be heated.”
Matteo chuckled. “I think Atticus and the boys would appreciate it.”
“You’re with Mullmag and Bath’tuk today?”
Matteo grunted. “Mullmag discovered spicy seed, and we want to try it.”
Luke paused in the act of pulling a sweater over his head and stared at his boyfriend. “I’m sorry, what? Spicy seed? My brain is going to so many disturbing places.”
Matteo crossed and pressed a kiss to his lips before snagging a pair of socks out of the drawer. “That’s because you’re my naughty boy.” He sat on the end of the bed and pulled on the socks while Luke dragged on his shirt.
“Spicy seeds are seeds that have been coated in chili pepper dust, I think. It doesn’t bother birds, but squirrels hate it,” Matteo explained.
“We want to test some out on the bird feeders now that the squirrels are coming out of their hibernation and the birds are returning to the area. If it works, I want to put some seeds at the bottom of a saucer of milk. See how the neighbor’s cat reacts. ”
Luke snorted and shook his head. The war with the neighborhood cats continued, and Matteo had picked up the gauntlet to aid in the fight with the demons. Especially after he’d learned Luke was allergic to them.
“Don’t worry. I promise to video the reaction of the squirrels and cats when they try the seeds.”
“Have fun.” Luke chuckled.
Matteo jumped to his feet, fully dressed. He stole a quick kiss. “Grocery shopping for dinner at two?”
“Excellent plan.”
“And then pre-dinner sex?”
“I think we might be able to squeeze it in.”
Matteo rolled his eyes at the terrible pun but still stole a second kiss before walking over to the door. As soon as he pulled it open, Mullmag and Bath’tuk were waiting outside in their demon forms, practically bouncing on their feet in their excitement.
“Are you ready? Are we going to do it now?” Mullmag asked.
“Yes. How much birdseed did you get?”
“Fifty pounds. Do you think that will be enough?”
Luke didn’t hear Matteo’s answer as they continued to walk down the hall, but he was sure fifty pounds would be more than enough to terrorize all the squirrels in the neighborhood throughout spring and into the summer.
Smiling to himself, Luke finished getting dressed and strolled to the first floor. He waved to Ogos in the library, where the demon was working on a crossword puzzle and slowly dissolving the pen he was “chewing” on in thought.
“Luke, fourteen-letter word for window ejection,” Ogos called.
“Defenestration,” Luke replied as he continued on to the kitchen.
He passed through the living room, where Tog and Annod were playing a driving video game that gave points for causing destruction. In the kitchen, Azroth was in his human form, sipping a mug of coffee while looking over a set of plans spread out across the large marble island.
“I just made a fresh pot,” Azroth murmured.
“You’re an angel,” Luke sighed, earning a nasty glare from the demon.
“I thought Matteo was supposed to have a talk with you about your painful wordplay.”
“You mean my painful puns?”
Azroth glared harder. “This is what happens when humans get too much sex. Their brains get starved of blood, and they rely too much on lazy wordplay as a form of wit.”
Luke huffed and pulled a mug from the cabinet. “I’m sorry. Too much sex? I don’t understand this phrase. Is there such a thing as too much sex?”
“So very droll.”
Luke made himself a cup of coffee and joined Azroth at the island. “I’m sorry. Really. You are the scariest, most powerful demon I have ever seen. With you here, I can only imagine that Hell is a pretty tame place now.”
Azroth snorted and rolled his eyes, but Luke could still see the tiny smile peeking out. “You’re forgiven for your sass.”
Luke felt certain the demon loved his sass.
He sipped his coffee to hide his smirk and looked at the blueprints for the massive house he and Azroth had designed for the crows.
It was a huge Gothic manor with lots of small apartments for the crows to build nests in and stay safe during the cold winter nights.
“I was thinking this morning that with the amount of roof space we have, we could put little solar panels on the top. That power could support a heating system within the house. We wouldn’t need the heating system to be all that powerful.
Just enough to keep the house comfortably above freezing.
With some nice straw and insulation, the crows would be quite cozy. ”
Azroth hummed and nodded. “The only problem with that plan would be the heavy snowfall this region gets during winter. Snow would cover the solar panels. If we fail to go out to clear it, the batteries for the heater won’t charge.”
“Damn. You’re right.” Luke rested his elbows on the counter and glared at the plans.
They had thought of placing the crow roost on the flat part of the house’s roof.
It wouldn’t be a problem for the demons to climb up there, but it would be out of sight.
If they were to forget, the crows would get rather cold.
Of course, Atticus or one of the other crows would seek them out to bitch if they didn’t have heat.
“It’s not a bad idea, though. I had thought to extend the electricity from the main house to the crow roost to power whatever heating system we planned for them,” Azroth admitted.
“Really?”
“ Mn . Atticus has been getting pushy about improving his living accommodations. I kept him very busy this fall with you and made a lot of promises that he’s demanding I deliver on.”
Luke grinned and stared at the ridiculously large house for the crows. This was a pleasant distraction for Azroth, but it was very temporary. “You know, I’ve noticed that you and the other demons haven’t thought up a new game to keep you entertained since Matteo and I started dating.”
Azroth shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. “True, but it wasn’t long afterward that Matteo came to live with us. He is proving to be quite entertaining all on his own, and we’re in no rush to come up with a new game. When it’s necessary, an idea will present itself.”
“True. I was thinking…the semester will end soon. It’s expensive to go back and forth between school and my parents, so I thought I might stay over the summer. If that would be okay with you and the others…”
“I don’t see a problem with it,” Azroth replied, sounding a little too nonchalant.
Luke’s heart skipped a beat. “Next fall, would it be possible to continue renting here? I wasn’t sure if you wanted to locate a new college student tenant to torment.”
Azroth rolled his shoulders in such a way that Luke could imagine him resettling his wings about him. “It would be best if you and Matteo remained here. Finding a new apartment would be troublesome, and I would hate for it to interrupt your important studies.”
A grin tried to break free on Luke’s lips, but he held it in. “And after next year, I should graduate with my master’s, but I thought I would stick around Rookborough while Matteo completed his degree since he’ll need more time.”
“Yes, Matteo is your mate now. You need to remain close to him. You must remain here with us so we can protect you both.”
Luke allowed his smile to show on his face as he gazed up at Azroth from the corner of his eyes. “So, it would seem that you and the other demons are stuck with us for a few more years. At least until one of us gets an actual job in our field and we have to move across the country.”
Azroth smirked and turned toward Luke. He arched one thin, sculpted eyebrow at him. “I find it amusing that you think that.”
“Huh?”
“That you believe moving across the country would cause us to part ways.” Azroth reached over and patted Luke on the top of the head. “Silly human. We are family now. Where you and your mate go, we go too.”
Luke had always wanted a close family to spend time with and who wanted to protect him. He’d never expected to find it in a crazy, ragtag bunch of demons and one very sexy, sweet human named Matteo.
Add in a murder of crows, and this was heaven.