Chapter 12
Twelve
Nathan
The animal was friendly the other night. At least he thought it was, even if he couldn’t place exactly what kind of canine it was. Nathan had felt a kind of kinship with the beast, almost as though it was protecting him.
He’d been wrong. So, so wrong.
The fucker had bitten him. Then it had chased him through the woods behind the church and into Purgatory Chasm. Nathan’s heart raced, his body pulsing with adrenaline. He didn’t live a sedentary life, but he wasn’t any kind of gym rat. The exertion was a shock to the system.
Had the creature taken a wrong turn? He’d heard the scratching of its claws, but that had stopped maybe ten minutes ago.
What kind of a thing was it, anyway? Nathan had never met a dog so huge and muscular. And sometimes it moved in an almost catlike manner. He was no expert, but it wasn’t natural.
None of that mattered.
That’s what he told himself. He was safe now. He’d escaped. Regardless of whether the creature was natural, it was gone.
Nathan would be more careful in the future. He’d make sure someone was there with him when he left evening events. He’d avoid midnight walks in the cemetery. That sort of thing.
Realizing he’d stopped breathing once again, Nathan forced air into his lungs. He wasn’t cut out for this. Not just the athletics, but also the weirdness of it all. Whether or not the animal was supernatural, it was just another strange event on top of an ever-growing pile.
Nathan was struggling to process it all.
Just as he was contemplating squeezing back through the narrow passage, a bark echoed from above him. Well, bark was a mild word for the sound. It was almost demonic, like a call from Hell itself.
Nathan’s whole body tensed as he let out a yell. It wasn’t the manliest sound, but he’d never been a paragon of masculinity. The surprise of it set every nerve in his body to firing.
With a thump, that thing—dog, creature, beast, whatever—landed in the soft dirt in front of him. It was practically on top of him, with only a few feet of extra room in the crevice. Its muscles rippled, and its eyes…
They were orange. Bright orange. But beyond that, it was almost as though his fear delighted the creature. He didn’t know why, but he was certain the thing was laughing at him.
“Easy, pup…” Nathan held out a hand in front of him in a calming gesture. The one hand the beast hadn’t already bitten. A faint aroma of sulfur hit his nose as the creature cocked its head, orange pupils flashing in the darkness.
Then, with a shake of its fur, the beast changed.
Nathan was losing his mind. That was the only plausible explanation. He’d never been one of those fire and brimstone priests, preaching against the occult and fantasy novels, but either he’d been wrong about a lot or he was having a psychotic break.
Fire enveloped the canine figure of the creature as its bones lengthened and its fur disappeared, leaving behind the smooth, tan skin of a human.
Its muscles extended as well, reassembling the monster into a man.
A beautiful man at that. A gorgeous man with ropy muscles and a sizable dick. A man who was…Hunter?
“What the fuck?!” Nathan couldn’t help but shout at the now-person in front of him.
The mix of disbelief and fear had melded into anger and, unfortunately, lust. He was doing his best to ignore the perfect specimen standing in front of him—the perfect specimen with the perfect cock—but he was failing.
Which, judging from the smirk on his face and the shameless way he stood with his hands on his hips, Hunter knew.
“Hi, priest. How’s your night?”
“That’s what you say to me?” Nathan did his best to back away from the man, but his back was already against the rock wall. It scraped against his skin, his black button-down doing little to protect him. “What are you?”
Hunter stretched his arms up over his head, letting out a theatrical yawn that showed off his muscles and made his dick bounce. Nathan had been ignoring his own cock, slowly hardening in his pants, but that was getting harder to do.
“I’m a hellhound, human.” Smiling, Hunter gave off an aura of smug self-satisfaction. Nathan wanted so badly to punch him in the mouth.
“A hellhound?” Nathan gave the whatever-the-fuck-he-was a deadly stare. “Sure, fine, whatever. Everything’s insane. Yes. You’re a hellhound. It makes sense you would be an evil creature of Satan.”
As Hunter’s eyes roved up and down Nathan’s body, the priest shivered. He hated how he couldn’t control his response to the man’s—no, the hellhound’s—attention.
“First off, the Adversary’s above my pay grade. And I’m not evil.”
“Not evil?!” The shock was wearing off, leaving rage in its place. “You’re a demon. You run a gambling hall. You tried to seduce a priest. You’re the definition of evil.”
“I think I did more than try to seduce you.” Hunter moved toward Nathan, the priest’s breath catching as the hellhound placed his palm against the stone above Nathan’s head, leaning over him.
“And no, not evil,” Hunter continued, his face inches from Nathan’s.
The scent of sulfur had been replaced with the smell of a campfire: ash and ember and burning pine.
“Hellhounds aren’t concerned with human morality.
We’re here to accomplish a task set to us by both Heaven and Hell, and other than that we’re left to our own devices. ”
“Do you corrupt people?”
“Do I…” Hunter raised his free hand, running down Nathan’s smoothly shaved cheek, sending a shock of electricity down his spine. It took everything for him not to buckle at the knees.
“Not intentionally,” Hunter continued. “You being a priest is a coincidence.”
“Then why?” Nathan couldn’t hold back his frustration. He was caught between his vows, his attraction, and his distaste for this man, and it wasn’t enjoyable. “Why would you pursue a priest? Why come after me?”
“I don’t think you’re ready for that.” His lips now barely a centimeter away from Nathan’s, Hunter’s voice came out in the softest whisper. “You’re passionate and hot as hell, and I suspect you have an ooey-gooey center. It sets off my predatory instincts like nothing else.”
“Predatory instincts?” Nathan’s voice cracked as he asked the question. Why couldn’t he hold it the fuck together?
“Yes, little priest. Predatory instincts…”
Nathan nearly jumped out of his skin as Hunter’s hand landed on his hip, not moving, just settling there, like a hot poker in his side. It was the simplest touch, almost nothing, and yet it was as though the sun had risen and he was born anew.
He hadn’t felt anything so revelatory since becoming a priest.
Nathan could tell Hunter was waiting for something. Some kind of move, some reciprocation. But Nathan couldn’t give him that. He wanted to, with the very fibre of his being, but if he crossed that line, there was no going back.
“Hunter, I shouldn’t…”
A wide, rapacious grin spread across Hunter’s face. “Are you sure?”
With that, Hunter’s lips were on his, and the hand on his hips had gripped down, holding him in place.
He was being attacked, his walls being scaled, and he couldn’t hold out for much longer.
Hunter’s strength was powerful, but it was more than that.
It was as though the hellhound was a thief, dark and sensual, stealing away his resolve.
The moan that escaped Nathan’s lips was loud, surprising even him and vibrating their lips together. Without breaking the kiss, Hunter chuckled, and the sensation was overwhelming, making his head swim with the intensity of it.
When Hunter broke off, Nathan goggled at him, unable to piece his thoughts together. This was the second time Hunter had eviscerated his reason with a kiss. The last time was more invasive, Hunter’s tongue using his mouth.
He wanted more.
“Fuck it,” Nathan said, discarding the clean language years of seminary and priesthood had drilled into him and reverting to his working-class roots. “Yes. Do it.”
What was wrong with him? How had he gotten so far down this road?
“It’s okay, little priest. I didn’t need your permission.”
In one swift motion, Hunter moved the hand from Nathan’s hip and untucked his shirt, sliding his fingers up inside. At the touch of skin on skin, Nathan shuddered and whimpered. Hunter’s fingertips crawled upwards, not stopping until they found his nipple.
“Oh, God,” he cried out as Hunter found his mark, squeezing gently as Nathan fell apart.
“I think your god approves,” Hunter said. Nathan should have been stronger, should have stopped this violation of his vows, but none of that mattered at the touch of this…creature? He didn’t even know what Hunter was, not really. All he knew was he couldn’t live without this.
Inside his black dress pants, Nathan’s cock was leaking. He’d never been this turned on in his life.
As if Hunter could read his mind, the hellhound removed his other hand from the side of the boulder, sliding it down underneath his waistband and gripping his erection hard.
Nathan gasped, leaning forward against Hunter, who was like an unmoveable statue, easily taking his weight.
“Hunter,” Nathan whispered, “we’re outside…”
“I know, little human…” Hunter nibbled at Nathan’s earlobe, sending his whole body into paroxysms of pleasure. “Isn’t it delicious?”
Every time Nathan found another reason to fight back, to stop this, Hunter did something else that short-circuited his brain with intense sensation. A man had never touched him like this, never pulled on his nipple, never gripped his hard cock.
As Hunter moved his hand, the tremors through Nathan’s body increased.
“I don’t…I’m not going to last. So close...”
“I know, my priest.” Hunter pulled off his hand, which was a horrible loss. He held it in front of his mouth and spat on it before putting it back in place.
The new wetness brought Nathan right to the edge as Hunter reinvigorated his efforts. It was so much. New feelings of desperation raged through his body as Hunter continued, the hellhound’s face buried in his neck, sucking intently there.
He couldn’t stop shaking. He’d never felt so utterly overcome by pleasure before.
“Oh, fuck, I can’t…this is…”
“That’s right, baby. You’re going to come for me. You’re going to show me what it looks like when you let go. I own you.”
With those final three words, Nathan’s whole body tightened as his orgasm hit. He was simultaneously dying and being reborn.
Practically screaming, his voice echoed throughout the fissure, bouncing off the stone formations surrounding them. It was like the choir in a temple to the worship of some god of pleasure, some deity Nathan had never believed in before.
Now he believed. Now he worshipped. He would deny it no longer.
Nathan sobbed as the last of his cum spurted out of him, coating Hunter’s hand.
“What a beautiful little creature,” Hunter said as he lifted his head out of Nathan’s neck. Then what he did next ruined Nathan forever.
Hunter lifted his cum-covered hand from Nathan’s pants and—slowly, methodically, without breaking eye contact—licked every drop from his own fist.
It was both an act of devotion and a profane violation, and Nathan didn’t know what to do with it. Nathan didn’t know anything anymore.
Except that he was very, very tired. It had all been too much. Hunter’s face was the final image filling his field of vision as the darkness took him.