Chapter 27 Luciu
Suggested Listening: Boom by bbno$
Idon’t know what to do with my hands or where to be. I’m still so out of my element here that it makes me want to crawl out of my skin. And tomorrow things will get weirder.
In a good way.
I pause and stare at a dish of bespelled jewelry on the dresser in Gracie’s room. I don’t know what any of it does, and I would never touch it without permission. But tomorrow I’ll be able to say: that belongs to my wife.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.
Mom made no secret about hoping I would find a witch or warlock at school, fall in love, and stay there.
I was open to it. But the one thing witches on both sides of the Atlantic share is a propensity for arranged marriages.
The fact that I’m a warlock still mattered.
It’s why the relationships I had were so flimsy.
No one was willing to commit to anything more than a little fun.
Until Gracie.
The other morning I scrambled up to the door praying my life wasn’t over, and suddenly it all changed for the better.
Sure, the binding isn’t ideal. But I don’t mind being forced to stay close to my witch.
She’s so unassuming about her power. Yet even I can tell she’s special. And tomorrow I’ll get to call her mine the same way she’ll call me hers.
I always thought love was something that took time to cultivate. Yet here I am, head over heels for a woman I just met.
Vyslan’s booming voice startles me out of my head. I turn to blink at him standing in the doorway to Gracie’s bedroom. “Oh, come on, lads. You can survive without our luscious witch for one damn night.” He claps his hands together. “Let’s have ourselves a celebration!”
“Vys,” Ezra grumbles and sets a carefully fluffed pillow in Gracie’s spot on the bed.
Darius sits up from where he’s sprawled on the black rug in front of the fireplace. He almost goes too far and has to brace himself with both hands on the floor. He seems awfully bendy.
“Party, yes!” he hisses with a belated fist pump and goofy grin.
It’s so hard to see the Darius-Puck relationship in moments like this. Puck would never. And that’s why I like Darius so much, I think.
I chuckle and shake my head before glancing at Vyslan. The demon still makes my balls try to crawl up in my body, but the more time I spend around him, the more I like him. He’s free in a way I envy.
Vyslan spreads his arms and takes a few steps toward me. There’s a small voice in the back of my head that’s screaming at me to run, but I’m far more intrigued by him now. He isn’t bad to look at either. In fact, he seems to preen just for me with the way his chest muscles ripple.
“You’re getting married, man. That’s something to celebrate,” Vyslan says.
Fuck.
My stomach is suddenly in knots. I rub the back of my neck as the overwhelming truth of it washes over me.
Has she told her dad yet? He might be human, but I’m pretty sure he could tie me into a pretzel if he isn’t into the idea of us getting married.
Still… The idea of being married to Gracie makes me smile. I can’t help it. I don’t mind being bound to her, but married? As equals? That’s something special.
“Come on.” Vyslan waves to Ezra before hooking an arm around my waist, dragging me over to the sitting area where Darius is sprawled. “Come on, guys.”
Darius glances around. “Wait, where’s my brother?”
Vyslan sighs. It’s a long-suffering sound, and I have to wonder what words the demon and fae traded. “Puck had something he wanted to do, so he’s not joining us.”
I haven’t known Puck long, but I doubt he said it so politely.
Ezra sinks down to the carpet alongside Darius while Vyslan drags me down to sit between him and the vampire. I’m not quite ready to be sandwiched between them, but I do enjoy the view. Damn, they’re both nice to look at.
As if he can hear my thoughts, Vyslan winks at me. He can’t read my thoughts, can he? Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t understand an incubus’ powers at all. Yet the way Vyslan looks from me to Ezra says that he knows how interested I am.
“Okay, we’re here.” Ezra stares across the haphazard gathering at the demon. “Now what?”
“Now what? Now what, he asks.” Vyslan shakes his head and snaps his fingers.
I think he enjoys being a dramatic ham. There’s this poof of magic, and then a homemade, rustic pizza along with a plate of freshly baked cookies appears in the space between us alongside a metal tub full of ice, beer, and a few orange sodas.
He gestures at the food and grins. “Now what?”
Ezra rolls his eyes while his lips curve into a smile.
“Also, seeing as none of us intend to go anywhere, now’s a good time to get us all on the same page,” the demon says.
I pause with a piece of pizza at my lips. “What do you mean?”
“Well, liked our conversation in your new office space.” Vyslan grins at me. It’s almost sly. “It’s good to know who is into what or whom. As an incubus, gender isn’t something that defines my attraction. It’s about the person. I’d fuck any of you.”
Darius continues to stare off into space while his familiar glances around at each of us.
A low hum rises in his throat. “There is something beautiful about the way you love, but I wouldn’t say I’m attracted to it.
I appreciate it. But I don’t think I want you to fuck me.
And I definitely don’t want to fuck you. ”
“See?” Vyslan reaches over and smacks Darius’ thigh. “That’s a good thing to know.”
“It could be that I haven’t been around it enough, though,” Darius continues to air his thoughts out loud. “How do you know? Is it universal? Or specific to a person?”
“There’s really no one answer to that, mate. It’s what you feel about a person. Take Ezra here.” Vyslan gestures across the circle at Ezra. “Do you think he’s attractive?”
Darius tilts his head to the side. “Objectively, yes. Ezra is very attractive. But I don’t want to kiss him, if that’s what you mean.”
“Sure about that?” Vyslan asks.
Darius shrugs.
Vyslan twists, rising onto his knees, and leans across my lap to pull Ezra sideways so they’re almost in my face. Ezra merely sighs and stares back with a flat expression while Vyslan tilts his head this way and that.
There is something compelling about watching these two. I saw Ezra punch clean through a scary vampire while Vyslan wrenched a steel door off its hinges. They’re both scary powerful. Yet when they peel back the layers and look at each other? They’re different. Yet equals.
Ezra’s blue eyes soften the longer they look at each other. I don’t know their full story, but it’s plain to see how much they mean to each other. And a part of me wants that.
Vyslan leans in and licks Ezra’s lips before their mouths glue together in a soul-sucking kiss. There’s even a trickle of blood down Vyslan’s chin that gets smeared on the both of them. Ezra lifts a hand to grab Vyslan by the horn, causing the demon to moan.
“Wow,” I mutter under my breath.
Ezra uses Vyslan’s horn to pull their faces apart. This close, I can see the rock-hard tendons and muscles in Ezra’s arm as he exerts his strength over Vyslan.
The vampire’s voice is a low grumble, almost a growl. “Don’t you think that was enough?”
“Hm, I don’t know,” Darius drawls. “I don’t think I’m into it, but what do I know?”
Ezra sputters a bit and rolls his eyes.
I glance over at the fae. He’s leaned back against the sofa and has a vape pen clenched between his teeth while he hand-feeds bits of pizza to his familiar’s stomach. It’s strange watching the belly of the creature just… Absorb food.
Darius winks at me, and it’s like my brain short-circuits. What is he doing?
“See?” Vyslan practically whines. “Not enough research.”
I glance back at Ezra and am surprised by how much pink stains his cheeks.
“No, he’s right,” Darius says. “What do you think, Luc?”
“Uh…”
What are words right now?
Ezra glances at me, and I don’t know if he lets go of Vyslan or if the demon slips out of his grasp, but he lunges across my lap. Sharp talons shred Ezra’s sweatpants in an instant.
“Oh, come on,” Ezra grumbles.
Vyslan fists Ezra’s cock and nuzzles the flushed head.
Right about now, I wish I weren’t wearing jeans. All the blood is rushing straight to my groin, and the way Vyslan’s hips are pressed over my lap isn’t helping.
Ezra leans back, hands braced on the floor, as Vyslan enthusiastically wraps his lips around Ezra’s cock.
This is better than anything I’d imagined. And yes, I’d thought about them together. After the other morning with Gracie, how could I not? And then after hearing the sounds coming from the bathroom?
Some of the toppings on the pizza slide off onto my wrist, reminding me of the food.
I shove it in my mouth while listening to Vyslan’s enthusiastic sounds.
Ezra has shut his eyes, his cheeks a bright red, while his face creases in pleasure and pain.
Vyslan rocks over me, not enough to do more than torment my trapped erection.
This should be weird, and it is a little, but it’s so fucking hot.
I glance at Darius, who continues to watch. Isa glances at me and winks. The damn familiar winks.
Ezra makes a strangled sound and slams his hand down on the back of Vyslan’s head. The demon jolts, but doesn’t fight it as Ezra’s spine makes a beautiful arch.
They really do look good together.
Vyslan’s head springs up and he clambers back across my lap, but not without palming my cock in the process.
“Hm, yeah, I just don’t think it’s for me,” Darius says thoughtfully. As if this is the first time he’s considering this, which I seriously doubt. What the heck is he up to?
Ezra glares at Vyslan and pulls the shredded pieces of his sweatpants around to tie together. But somewhere in the glare, Ezra’s gaze slides to mine, and I can’t look away. He’s too beautiful. Too perfect. Too fucking scary, for sure.