Chapter 11
Agnes
I awoke to a cold nose pressing against my cheek and the tickle of fur on my skin. Blinking sleep from my eyes, I found myself staring into the dark brown eyes of a silver fox perched on the bed next to me. His tails swished behind him, which I'd come to learn meant he was agitated.
"We need to leave." Touji spoke in a deep human voice that shouldn't have come out of such a cute little fox mouth. "We can't stay here for too long."
I groaned, burrowing deeper into Zan's warmth. His massive arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer, and his tail curled around my upper thigh. The demon's skin radiated heat like a furnace, a stark contrast to the chill seeping through the chalet's timber walls.
"Five more minutes," I mumbled, nuzzling into Zan's chest. His rhythmic breathing told me he was still fast asleep, oblivious to our furry alarm clock.
Touji's nine tails swished faster. "There's no time. We must go."
Zan stirred beside me, his golden eyes fluttering open. He fixed Touji with a sleepy glare. "Why the rush, foxy? My magic's already coming back. I can feel it tingling." He wiggled his fingers for emphasis, though I saw no evidence of magic. "Soon I'll be able to transport us wherever we want to go."
"You are in this realm illegally, Zan. The Guild wants to return you to your home," Touji insisted, pacing back and forth on the bed as he spoke. His little paws were so cute. "It's why I’m here. I seem to have forgotten that in all the hubbub, but the Guild will send enforcers if I fail."
"The snow is so deep, though! We could stay a couple more days," Zan purred, his voice a delicious rumble against my ear. "What's the harm? I'm not interacting with any humans, and we could pass the time with more... pleasurable activities."
“There’s paperwork, even if you’re not doing harm!” Touji insisted.
Zan moaned and pressed his growing erection against my thigh, and through our connection, I felt, with fascinated wonder, what it was like when a man got hard. My body flushed with heat, remembering the threesome from the night before. The way Zan had touched me, the things he'd made me feel... I found myself seriously considering his suggestion.
Touji let out a frustrated little fox growl, then nipped Zan's foot.
"Ouch! Calm down, Touji. Once my magic returns, we can portal back to my place in The Above," Zan continued, his fingers tracing teasing patterns on my skin. "I'll show you my gardens. And my bedroom. And my sex swing." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and his mind pulled an image of himself, bound and helpless in leather straps, as I rode his cock and Touji fucked his hole. I shuddered, heat pooling between my legs.
"Is that all you think about?" I asked.
"Can you blame me?" Zan replied with a wink. "When I have such exquisite company?"
Touji huffed, and it was the cutest sound ever. "We can't stay here. Humans fear demons like Zan. If we're discovered..."
Zan's chest rumbled with laughter against my back. "Me? Scary? Nonsense. I'm a perfect gentleman."
"Oh yeah, real gentlemanly behavior last night, big guy," I teased.
His golden eyes gleamed wickedly. "I didn't hear you complaining, love."
Heat rushed to my cheeks as memories flooded back. I playfully swatted his muscular chest, then deepened my voice in a poor imitation of his booming baritone. "I am Zangraxath the Destroyer and I will devour you!"
Zan's face fell. "Why does everyone always take that the wrong way?" He sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I just wanted to wreck your pussy and make you come so hard you can't walk for a few hours, that's all."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't suppress a grin. "Sure, because that's totally how humans would interpret it."
As I gazed at Zan — from the pitch black skin to the rippling muscles, sharp fangs, and piercing golden eyes — I realized how truly oblivious he was to his own intimidating appearance. I supposed when you're an immortal demon, you lose perspective on how terrifying you might look to mere mortals.
"Face it, babe," I said, patting his cheek. "You're not exactly warm and cuddly at first glance. Not like Touji over there."
We both looked at the cute white fox, who was staring at us with disdain in his dark brown eyes.
"You two are impossible. There's a second demon on the loose, terrorizing your hometown, Agnes, and all you can think of is fucking this one."
That gave me pause. "Terrorizing?"
Touji cleared his throat. "Well, not for sure. I actually don't know what he's doing, but he's there."
I reached for my phone, frowning. "Surely Tabitha would have mentioned a demon terrorizing our hometown." Text messaging was pretty reliable here, and we'd exchanged a few messages. Most recently, I'd told her not to mail my passport until I had an address to send it to. Her response had been brief but cheerful, and didn't seem like the response of someone being terrorized. Quickly, I typed out a question, asking if anything strange had been happening in Yarrow Creek.
Tabitha's answer came almost instantly, and I frowned down at it. "She says she's been hanging out with someone named Other Sam, and all is well."
"Sam? Can I ask her some follow-up questions? For my investigation?" As he spoke, Touji shifted into human form in all his naked glory. My mouth went dry as my eyes dropped to the soft cock laying against his left thigh. He gestured again for the phone, and I dumbly unlocked it and handed it over to him, waiting while he typed out a quick message to Tabitha. He frowned at her answer, then returned my phone.
"So, what's up?" I asked. "Everything okay?"
"It's fine," Touji huffed. "And I suppose you’re right. We don't have to leave quite yet. I just spent the whole night worrying about what was going on in Yarrow Creek, and how we would stop that from here."
“Could’ve spent the whole night cuddling,” Zan said.
He ignored Zan and turned towards the kitchen, scrounging around in the cabinets for more food. He was still buck naked, but we were, too. And holy hell, the man was a walking wet dream. Even with that cranky expression on his face, he was gorgeous. And he moved so gracefully, as agile as he was in his fox form, and watching him was a delight.
"Damn," Zan whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
I nodded, unable to tear my gaze away from the curve of Touji's ass. "Oh yeah. Round two, please."
Touji's head whipped around, his piercing eyes narrowing suspiciously. There was a wave of hurt coming off of him, and I realized that there was something about the way Zan and I connected that bothered Touji. "What are you two whispering about?"
Clearing my throat, I tried to focus on Touji's emotions, but Zan was right. It was as if there was a wall there, and only a little energy was leaking through.
Obviously I'm right. Zan's voice echoed in my head, smug and self-assured, making me giggle. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make him ours.
"Seriously, what is with you two?" Touji demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're being weird again."
And that was when it hit me. Touji wasn't irritated by us. He didn't hate us. And he certainly didn't want us only for sex.
He feels left out. Zan's thought in my mind confirmed my suspicion. I stood, drawn to Touji like a magnet. That urge I always felt to soothe people's wounds was strong with Touji, and I couldn't resist the pull. I wanted to take him between us and let him know that he fit perfectly, that he was a part of this — whatever this was.
Touji's eyes widened as I approached, placing my hands on his chest and gently pushing him backwards against the kitchen counter until my bare breasts brushed his chest.
"We're not being weird," I purred, running my fingers through his silky hair. "Just... connecting. And we want to connect to you, too."
His eyes were soft and worried as he studied me. "What if you can't?"
"What makes you ask that? Why shouldn't I be able to bond with you?"
Touji shrugged, and a wave of hurt washed through me, obviously coming from him. "Why should you be able to? I don't fit in. I'm a geek, an academic. I'm more interested in history than people."
"History is about people," Zan murmured, still lounging on the bed, watching us.
"There's no real place for me. I'm not human, not kitsune," Touji continued, as if Zan hadn't spoken. "They're both part of me, but neither group understands me."
"I know, sweetheart," I said, because I did, because as he talked, that wall started to crumble, just a little, and I could see his pain. I slid my hand down to his cheek, coaxing him to meet my eyes. "I understand. Do you think I don't? I was supposed to be a powerful Delfina witch, raised by my grandmother on spell-casting and potions. And instead, I'm just… me." I shrugged.
"Pretty damn powerful still," Zan muttered.
I met Touji's eyes. "Does your family not love you as you are?"
"They do," he said quietly. "But they don't understand. I'm 64 years old, but I look like I'm in my twenties. My kind can live for centuries, while my remaining family is all human. My half-sisters are lovely, but they don't share the kitsune blood. They're younger than me but look and feel so much older. They'll die, and everyone will be gone, and I'll just be…"
"Alone," Zan whispered, and Touji's eyes raised up to meet his. "It's a blessing and a curse, the length of time we live for."
"How do you bear it?"
Zan shrugged, standing to walk over to us, stark naked, his beautiful body on full display. His tail swished over and curled against Touji's side. "I'm told my magic can make people's lives longer if I truly love them. But that hasn't happened, at least not in recent memory. It's a lonely life, but it's my life, and I try not to worry too much. I try to live each moment to the fullest and stay grounded in the present."
Touji smirked. "Which is why you seem so fickle."
Zan laughed, his eyes lighting up, his warmth pouring through me from the inside out. "I know what people think when I tell them I want to devour them. I'm not that stupid."
Touji huffed a laugh. "I couldn't understand why you were pretending not to get it."
"It's partly that your reactions are all so funny, and partly a test. I'm looking for people who'll stand up to me. People who stick around long enough to find out what I really mean."
"Someone like Agnes?" Touji asked.
"Or like you," Zan said. "You're brave and you're not afraid to be yourself. I like that in a partner. You don't give a shit what anyone thinks. And Agnes is warm and funny, and a delight. She throws her all into helping people in any way she can."
"So that's why you snatched me from the party?" I asked.
Zan snorted. "I snatched you off the table because you were the most beautiful person there."
His words made a flush of heat rise to my cheeks, and he smiled as pleasure coursed between us. "I wanted to take you back to my house for some fun, but our friend here put a stop to that." He turned and faced Touji. "I know about that little toy in your pants pocket, the one that's disrupting my portal magic. I know you stopped us from leaving this place. But why?"
Touji blanched, eyes widening. "I — It was because I didn't want you to portal us to somewhere dangerous."
"And now? Why is it still switched on now?" Zan asked. "I'm thinking it's because you want another go at turning me into your little slut. Or because you haven't had a chance to fuck Agnes yet."
Touji glanced at me, and I could feel his resolve softening. He reached over to his pants, which were laying across the kitchen counter, and pulled out a small, round object that looked like a pocket watch, tapping the glass. I leaned forward and gasped as I saw the intricate, tiny gears inside, ticking away, sparkling with a strange magic.
"It's a timer. It operates with the knob on top," he said quietly. "You can reset it by pressing it inward, and your magic will return. But, so you're aware, if you portal us back to your house, the Guild may be there waiting. They'll have questions about your hibernation."
I watched as Zan met Touji's eyes, and very deliberately picked up the little object, turning it over in his fingers. "Fascinating," he murmured. Touji tensed beside me as his fingers skimmed over the knob. But then Zan did something unexpected. He turned it, adding more time to the timer. "Oops," he said with a wink.
"Zan," Touji huffed. "We could leave…"
"Why did you want us to walk to the village?" I asked. "If you had this all along."
"Because," Zan said. "He's afraid we'll disappear through my portal and leave him behind. When we're walking through the Swiss Alps, we need his fox senses. But once my demon magic works, we don't need him for anything."
Touji gasped softly, his chin dropping as he took a shaky breath. “Maybe a little. But it’s mostly because my boss is expecting me to have trapped both you and another demon. You most definitely are not trapped, but even worse, I don’t even know where the other demon is.”
“Except you do now.”
“Tabitha said she has him handled,” Touji said, blushing.
I stepped in closer, grazing a knuckle against his chin. Our nudity hadn’t bothered me a moment ago, but now I was hyperaware of all the subtle brushes of his skin against mine.
"We want you here, Touji," I said, smiling, trying to project the warmth I felt around him in a more purposeful way. “You don’t have to worry about us leaving you behind. And whatever’s going on with your job? We’ll figure it out.”
"And technically, I need your dick," Zan added.
Laughing, I met Touji's eyes, feeling the tension in his body drain away as I slowly snaked my arms around his neck and leaned in, pressing my breasts against the hard planes of his chest, nuzzling my lips against his. For a heartbeat, he was still. Then, with a growl that sent shivers down my spine, Touji crushed his mouth to mine.
The kiss was wild, possessive, desperate. His fingers dug into my ass, pulling me flush against him as his tongue swept into my mouth and he lifted me onto the kitchen counter, stepping between my legs as he devoured my mouth. And I felt his walls beginning to crack, felt the light that shone deep inside his lovely mind starting to shine through. I held him tighter, pressing my core against his hardening cock.
I was wet for him already, and I shifted, trying to find an angle where he could just slip inside me.
Just as suddenly as the kiss began, Touji wrenched his mouth away. "I... I don't know why I did that," he panted, though his grip on me didn't loosen.
Before I could respond, a loud crunch shattered the moment. We both turned to see Zan, his massive form hunched over the kitchen counter, shoveling handfuls of potato chips into his mouth.
"Holy shit," the demon exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder. "These are even better than the Doritos."
We both stared at the gorgeous naked demon as he took another bite of potato chips.
“What? I need nutrients to fuck,” Zan said. “And you guys had things pretty well handled. Carry on. Touji, you might as well let your cock slip into her. She was squirming like she hoped to let you in.”
I met Touji's eyes, and we both laughed, even as Touji shifted, making sure I could feel all of his hard cock against my slit. The strange combination of laughter and arousal, of joy and passion, was delicious, and I wanted more.
"Let our little fucktoy eat," Touji murmured, a wicked glint in his eyes. "He's right. He’s going to need the energy for when I rail him later."
I stared into Touji's dark eyes, seeing the swirling depths of loneliness and yearning that he usually kept so well hidden. My heart ached for him. I nuzzled closer, my lips brushing his ear as I whispered, "Let me in, Touji. I'll make it all better."
I had no idea how I knew exactly what he needed. But the truth of it resonated in my bones.
Touji's grip on me tightened. "No one can make it better," he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. "It's not possible."
"Bullshit," I countered, pulling back to meet his gaze.
"Just imagine her telepathic powers during sex. You can feel her pleasure as your dick pounds her pussy. You can find the perfect angle for her that sends you both over the edge. It's epic," Zan added.
"Zan," Touji warned. "That's insane."
"Try it and see!" Zan exclaimed, crunching another chip.
Touji huffed out a breath, but he was smiling down at me, so I kissed him again. This time, I poured everything I had into it — all the compassion, all the desire, all the determination to break through his walls. As our lips moved together, I focused on that feeling I'd experienced with Zan, that strange opening of my mind.