Chapter 7 Ayden
“Do you usually deal with dodgy packages?” Liam asked from behind him as he strode toward the package sitting in the middle of the tiled Monster Mercenaries logo on the entryway floor.
Ayden swore to himself under his breath for being too distracted to notice his fragile human following him through the portal he’d made to their reception.
Liam was too new to know the protocol for this situation was to clear the area and let Ayden portal the package into a safe location where it could be dealt with.
They had all kinds of clients, some with very powerful enemies, but now that they had the contract with the Supernatural Council, it was a whole other level of risk.
Mish, their receptionist, had already left his post after locking down the doors.
Reaching for the fiery power deep inside him, Ayden paused for a second as he decided whether to portal the package or Liam away first. The package would take longer because he had to put protections in place to make sure it wouldn’t react to his demon magic.
Some magical traps would trigger when they came into contact with another power.
“I don’t get it. It’s just some flowers,” Liam said, stepping up next to him.
“Stay back,” Ayden ordered, eyes fixed on the seemingly innocuous delivery that didn’t smell like it should.
It didn’t smell of anything, a red flag for any supernatural species with advanced senses. That must’ve been what prompted Mish to call him. Maybe it was intended as a happy surprise for someone, but they couldn’t take the risk.
“But they’re so pretty,” Liam said, taking another step forward.
The room disappeared in a flash of white light. Not a power trigger, but a proximity one. That Liam had set off.
Three things happened simultaneously: Ayden tackled Liam to the ground to screen him with his body, the light became agony as it tried to tug apart his every cell, and he screamed like a banshee as he let loose a massive surge of raw demon energy in a desperate attempt to protect the precious man pinned to the cold tile floor beneath him.
It was more power than he’d ever tried to channel as he drew on every demon in the building to shove at the seemingly immovable exploding nexus of magic with everything he had in an effort to force it into another plane, anywhere but where his Liam was. More power than he could safely manage.
As the world turned pitch black, he had no idea if it had been enough.
“What’s wrong with him?” Liam’s voice was a balm to the paralysing fear he’d been feeling.
“Hush, human. Let me work.” That was Lucian. What was Lucian doing there?
“What are you doing?”
“Feeding him energy and breaking into his lair. Then it’s all up to you.”
“Me?”
Ayden groaned as a sharp jolt of power spiked him in the heart, forcing his eyes open. “Asshole.”
“Is that any way to talk to your boss? It’s not my fault you burned yourself out like you’ve got a saviour complex as big as Gabe’s.” Lucian’s voice was tight with concern, but Ayden couldn’t quite bring him into focus.
“What happened?” Ayden asked, reaching for memories that kept slipping from his grasp as his voice slurred.
“I don’t know where you sent it, but whatever it was is gone. It’s going to be a real pain figuring out who was targeting us, and with what, without it.”
“Sorry.”
“Shut up and let me use a drop of your blood in this portal so you can take your human back to your lair.”
“If you leave me alone with him, you know what’s going to happen.”
Lucian just hummed in agreement as he pricked Ayden’s finger with the tip of a dagger he pulled from somewhere.
“Does someone want to clue me in?” Liam asked.
“He’s burned out. He needs a massive influx of energy to replace what he lost,” Lucian said.
“Oh… Ohhhhh,” Liam breathed, finally catching up. Except he hadn’t, not really.
“I won’t be able to control myself once I can move again,” Ayden explained. “If you don’t want to be bonded to a demon for eternity, you need to leave. Now.”
“Don’t leave. He needs you,” Lucian said, making Ayden glare at his boss.
“Of course I won’t leave. He saved me. Now it’s my turn to save him,” Liam said.
“That’s the incubus influence talking. Bonding isn’t something you can take back. It’s forever. Literally. You’ll live an immortal life tied to mine.” Ayden’s words were slow and painful as he fought to make his brain and his mouth work through the fatigue dragging at him.
“Technically, you don’t have enough energy right now to influence him. It’s probably the only time in your life that’ll happen. It’d better be, anyway. I can’t be dropping everything to tether you to this plane every time you get protective,” Lucian said. The bastard.
“He’s right. You’re still sexy, but the constant arousal I usually feel around you isn’t there,” Liam said.
“See. He’s in his right mind and consenting,” Lucian said, ripping open a portal right next to him as he spoke, and scooping Ayden up into his arms like he was some damsel in distress.
“Come, human,” Lucian said, stepping them through the portal and into Ayden’s lair.
Immediately, some of his energy returned. Not enough to recover, but enough to move under his own volition. A demon’s lair was secreted away in the dimension of their birth, the place where they were most powerful.
Sensing the change in him, Lucian set him down gently on his feet. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“Lucy!” Ayden snapped, fear making him revert to the nickname he seldom used.
Lucian just winked at him over his shoulder and stepped back through the portal, closing it behind him.
In his current state, Ayden didn’t have enough energy to open a new one either.
He was stuck there with temptation personified in Liam’s form until he could generate enough desire in the human to feed on and get them back to the city.
“You scared me,” Liam said, moving closer with hesitant steps.
“You should be scared now,” Ayden said, rooted to the spot.
Liam smiled. “Why? In case you give me more pleasure than I’ve ever known? Take care of me better than anyone ever has? Give me everything I need to be happy forever?”
Ayden swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away. It didn’t help much because then he was looking at his massive four-poster bed.
“If you use the restraints to chain me to the bed, I might be able to convince myself to stay put instead of biting you.”
“Is that how you bond? Biting?”
“Yes.”
“Will it hurt?”
Ayden snapped his eyes back to Liam, groaning as he realised the human had toed off his shoes and socks and was now unbuttoning his shirt.
“If you chain me to the bed and give me enough desire, I can go chase down other prey to finish recovering,” Ayden said.
“No!” Liam snapped, throwing his shirt on the floor and stalking over to stab a finger at his chest. “If you’re fucking anyone, it’s me. If you’re bonding anyone, it’s me.”
“I wouldn’t bond anyone else. I only want you.”
“Good. Then hurry up and get your dick in me so you can get your fangs in me already.”
“Liam.”
“Ayden,” Liam shot back, shoving his pants down and stepping clear.
Fuck. He was naked. Ayden’s mouth was watering. His cock was aching. He was dizzy with the sensation of Liam’s desire for him, his need for him, and it still wasn’t enough. He was starving. Starving for his human. His mate.
It was the intoxicating taste of Liam’s energy that finally convinced him. That, and Ayden’s instincts screaming mate and bite on repeat. He was old enough to know how his nature worked. Liam truly desired this. Truly desired him. Not just to fuck, but to bond.
Ayden was done waiting. The stream of energy Liam was feeding him gave him enough power to burn off his clothes in a flash of flame.
“Stop that! You’re going to tire yourself out again, and we’re only just getting started.”
Reaching up, Ayden removed his glasses, folding them to place them carefully aside along with the last of his restraint.