CHAPTER TWO
An hour later, and with the help of the two cheating males at the table, Asher had managed not only to rack up a large tab at the bar, but he had also lost more coin to The Den of Iniquity, aptly named by the owner considering the activities happening under his roof.
“Oh dear, it appears your luck didn’t change after all, Levi.”
For the past hour, Darius had sat directly behind and just slightly to the side of Asher. Leaning forward, he had an arm draped over the assassin’s shoulder and a hand resting on his upper thigh. To say it was distracting was an understatement. It also hadn’t helped that every now and then, the tips of his fingers would brush against the length of his thinly covered semi-hard cock.
If his aim had been to distract Asher, he had accomplished his mission, but then it worked well with what the assassin had planned, so he wasn’t too put out. As it stood, he currently owed Darius DeVere and his Den of Iniquity a purse of gold.
Once more, laying the cards on the table in defeat, Asher leaned back in his chair, which allowed Darius to thread his fingers in the hair brushing the nape of his neck. Asher’s head rolled a little to the side, and Darius took the opportunity to trace along his skin to play with the rim of his arched ear.
“Mmh, didn’t it?” Asher’s softly spoken words were met with a soft chuckle when he leaned into Darius’s touch.
“So you were playing for more than gold, Levi? Well now, that was very brave of you.”
“I can always make more money, Darius. That’s easy, but your type of distraction is rare, and if losing a few coins means your attention, I would happily pay it.” Asher pushed his chair back and reached out to touch the tempting male.
Two guards at either side of the room took a step forward but were halted in their tracks when Darius held his hand up, “It’s fine. Back to your posts, Levi here will not hurt me, isn’t that right, darling?”
Asher winked at the guards as he turned to the dark-haired male at his side, “Only if you asked me nicely.”
Darius barked out a laugh and reached for Asher’s hand, pulling the assassin to his feet. “It’s late. I don’t suppose you fancy a nightcap on the house, of course. I have taken enough of your money for tonight.”
Looking down at their linked hands, Asher glanced up at Darius through his long lashes. Tilting his head slightly, he smirked, “A nightcap, huh?”
Darius didn’t answer. Instead, he raised a brow, and with a playful smirk that matched his own, the owner of Iniquity walked ahead of Asher, pulling him along. They walked quietly out into the hall, neither speaking. It wasn’t until they approached an open archway, the one Asher knew led to all the naked goodness, that Darius stopped and tugged roughly on his hold of Asher.
Asher’s back hit the wall.
Before he could even react, Darius pressed against him, his body aligned perfectly, hips to hips, chest to chest, and raging hard-on pressed firmly against his own. His face was so close that Asher could see golden specs in the den owner”s eyes.
About to speak, Asher’s lips parted only to be claimed.
As hands traced over his sides, Asher let a soft moan whisper past his lips and over the lush, full ones nipping at his lower lip. The hands rounded his hips to firmly cup his ass and hold him against the handsome male.
Asher hooked his finger into the waistband of Darius’s pants, his other hand fisted the hair at the nape of his neck, taking control of the kiss. Lips parting further, he slid his tongue over the seam of their lips before dipping past, so eager to taste the male.
A cough sounded just down the hall, but neither male took notice as they fought for dominance in the embrace. Tongues dueling, teeth clashing as they became frenzied with a need to taste more and take more.
There was another cough, closer this time.
It was Darius who broke first, pulling back, ending the kiss but keeping close enough that as he spoke, his lips brushed over Asher’s. “This better be important....”
Asher chuckled softly.
“Mr. DeVere, sir...you asked to be notified as soon as the shipment arrived.” The poor guy sounded anxious, nervous about having interrupted his boss locked in such an intimate clinch.
Darius sighed as he pressed his forehead to Asher’s, his eyes closed as he appeared to be debating if he should stay or go. Asher fought to regain his calm demeanor and take control of himself and what was happening.
He blamed the wine for allowing things to get out of hand. He never normally lost control but blessed Solslorn, the god of Summer, if Darius DeVere wasn’t worth a moment of insanity.
“I better get back to my lodgings anyhow,” slowly withdrawing his hand from the male”s hair, Asher then quickly sidestepped, the opening of the dark room behind him pulling a pained groan from him at the smell of hot, sweaty sex.
It was going to be a long night if he didn’t double back and call in to see the two delicious fae he had been with the night before in the whore house across the street from where he now stood. And as he would take his pleasure in both their bodies, he would be thinking of the dominating male he had just detangled from.
“Another time Levi.”
“Perhaps,” Asher smiled, his eyes alight with mischief.
“I wasn’t posing a question. I was making a promise.”
And on those parting words, Darius DeVere tugged on his tunic to straighten it, and glancing back to give Asher a flirting wink, he cut quietly into the dark room and was gone.
If he looked at the timepiece once, he looked at it a hundred times as he paced by it. Not wanting to seem too eager to get back to Iniquity, back to Darius, Asher had spent the day beautifying himself for his last meeting with Darius.
Now, standing before the hall mirror, he admired what he saw reflected there. He had spent time having a stylist braid his hair on one side. He wanted a hint of skin to be on show. That little bit just at the back of the ear. Asher closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, catching a hint of the scented oils he’d had massaged all over his body earlier in the day. His signature scent of jasmine, vanilla, and sandalwood had been thoroughly and sensually poured over his naked body before being rubbed in, in slow sweeping strokes.
Just as he secured the cloak around his shoulders, the timepiece on the mantel chimed midnight. He had decided it would be better to arrive late to the den to give Darius the impression he had been gathering as much coin as he could to clear his wagers.
After all, he had lost his imaginary home in the Spring Quartaine the previous night, and what male of sound mind wouldn’t want to buy his home back?
Asher chuckled at the thought of being mature enough to run a business, never mind owning property. His acting skills really were perfect. Running his fingers through the unbound section of hair, he gathered it in his hand as he carefully pulled the hood up and into place. He would be damned if he saw Darius DeVere tonight looking anything other than mouthwatering.
Being sure to stow his daggers, securing them over his tall frame in hidden pockets of his specially designed attire, it would be difficult to tell without patting him down that he had a small arsenal on his person.
Asher glanced one last time around the room to ensure he had left nothing behind. He would not be returning when the job was done. It would be too dangerous, and he was sure Darius had him followed last night, so it was too risky. As soon as he had the wager slips in hand, he would use his ability to evanesce to the outskirts of the town where he had a horse waiting. No better way to make a quick escape.
Iniquity was warded heavily, and if he had to hazard a guess, he would say one of the wards was to stop someone from being able to appear, grab their wagers, and disappear again. He would have to make it outside the building before attempting the spatial jump.
Lost in thought, his plan running over and over in his mind, Asher walked until he found himself walking up to the establishment of Darius DeVere. He was nervous though you would never guess by looking at him. He knew he would possibly have to get up close and very personal with the stunning male, though this thought wasn’t what was giving him the ball of fluttering butterflies in the pit of his stomach. He was trained for this after all.
From the age of sixteen, Asher had an extra class added to his schedule at the Guild. His already packed day had yet another thing added to it...he was to be taught the art of seduction.
He had heard the older kids talk about it, and they’d had a confusing mix of thoughts on the class. Some had ignored him or shooed him away when he would ask what happened in the class. Others would tell him what he believed to be tall tales of carnal pleasures.
But he was sure that no one could have prepared him for those lessons.
Asher was pulled from his thoughts as he entered the building. Sliding the hood of his cloak back, he quickly assessed the scene before him. There appeared to be a party of sorts happening. Once he had made it past the second set of doors leading from the entrance chamber into the main hall, he was met by a sea of skin. Males and females all were naked, with one exception. Upon their faces, they wore golden masks molded into the shapes of animals.
A lithe, petite female walked past him with such grace and poise that he was surprised when she passed to find she had a fox tail. Not a real one, of course. Asher smiled as he watched it sway with every step she took.
Interesting.
Asher walked behind her, his eyes dancing over her pert behind, admiring how plump and enticing it looked. He hated that he was here to work because this was his type of party.
Approaching the doors at the end of the hall, where he had spent most of the night before, were closed. He was about to place his hand on the handle to see if the doors were locked when he sensed someone standing close behind him.
A small smile tugged his lips as he closed his eyes and reached out mentally with one of his gifts to caress the aura of the person brushing against him.
A soft, warm breath caressed his cheek, “Levi...I was hoping you would stop by, but I am afraid you are a tad overdressed for tonight”s festivities.”
Darius DeVere, the stunning male himself, stepped even closer, his hand settling over Asher’s on the door handle.
“Had I known you were to host such a fun party, I would have arrived earlier and got into costume.” Asher didn’t remove his hand. Instead, he leaned back into Darius’s strong, partially naked frame.
“I’d say your costume looks delicious.”
Asher could feel the male’s hot breath feather over his skin, his breath hitching at the sensation. The tip of Darius’ tongue traced the ridge from the lobe to the point of his ear. A shudder of desire ripped down his spine, and once more, for the second night running, he found himself sporting a hard cock.
“Fuuuck, that feels so good.” Turning his head slightly, his hair slipped off his shoulder to give Darius access to more of him. As much as he could with them both fully clothed, “Is this how you treat all the fae who owe you money?”
“Only the ones I would like to fuck.”
Teeth caught his lobe, tongue flicking the flesh in teasing strokes before they nipped. The bite was hard enough to mark, a sharp whip of pain drawing a soft moan from Asher’s lips.
Such ecstasy could be found when walking that fine line between pleasure and pain. Funny how that sharp pull could elicit the memory of long ago. Marcia, a female more than two hundred years his senior, had been the first to teach him how riding close to his pain threshold could bring the most intense orgasm. Such an indecent lesson to be taught to a seventeen-year-old, but given what would come soon after, it would be one of the more bearable.
By the time the lesson was over, he was allowed to return to his room. Asher had been burned, beaten, cut, and worshiped all in the name of pleasure. He wasn’t sure how he had made it back. The next morning he had awakened smelling of healing salve, his skin healed and almost scar free.
Almost as good as new.
Almost.
He could only guess it was one of the other males who had helped him.
The hand that snaked up his chest and settled gently around his throat brought him back to the now. Fingers flexed, and the grip tightened briefly before relaxing.
“You want to fuck here, in the hall, for all to see?”
Darius purred, his chest vibrating against Asher’s back, “If that were something you would like, I would consider it.”
Asher pressed back further into the strong, broad chest of the male at his back, his ass brushed roughly against the hard length that was trapped, straining in Darius’ pants. “As hot as that sounds,” Asher’s purr matched the males behind him, “I think I would prefer to be alone with you. Voyeurism is not one of my kinks.”
Asher used the closeness and turned slightly. His tongue teased a long wet trail over the rim of Darius’s jaw.
The male shuddered behind him, and the soft resonating purr fleshed out into a predatorial growl.
“Done.”
Asher blinked. One moment they had been in the hallway; the next, they were somewhere else entirely. He was no longer wedged between the door and Darius. But the male was still behind him, holding him firmly against his bold solid frame. One hand still at his throat, the other snaking under his waistband and dipping lower underneath.
Asher made a mental note that Darius had the ability to evanesce too and within the wards. It made sense but also made things possibly more dangerous for his escape.
His breath caught when fingertips brushed the tip of his cock and withdrew. Turning as much as he could, he caught the dizzying sight of Darius as he licked Asher’s precum of his fingers. This male was going to drive him crazy. He was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate on his assignment.
The plan had originally been to get in, flirt a little, sneak off, grab the betting slips then disappear. Now, standing there being held in such an intimate embrace, Asher wanted nothing more than to forget everything except the devilishly handsome male tasting him right now. Could he be selfish just once and take his pleasure in this male tonight?
“Tell me, Levi, did you come back to pay off your wager, or did you want to finish what we started last night?”
Darius’s hand returned to where it had been moments before, fingertips softly, teasingly brushing the tip of Asher’s cock before stroking down the hard length, now straining to be freed.
On a soft needy groan, Asher pushed himself towards that tempting touch chasing more, and Darius gave him what he desired as he curled his fingers around his thick girth and flexed his grip before speaking again, “I am going to stop touching you unless you give me a verbal reply.”
Asher was lost to the pleasure of the soft yet masculine palm gripping him. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was lonely. He wanted nothing more than a real connection with someone who wanted him, not someone he paid to spend time with him. But someone who found him attractive, who wanted him as much as he wanted them. If Darius was offering that, he was going to take it even if it was only for one night.
“No, don’t stop. Both. I came back for both. Paying my debt is a necessity, but the second, to take up where we left off last night was a wishful thought. I had hoped─” Asher”s breath caught on a sigh, his reply cut short as he was rewarded for his honesty.
The fist gripping him moved slowly, pushing all the way down his substantial length only to be dragged back up to the tip.
Grinding against the hand, Asher whimpered.
“Such a good kitty. You are such a mouthwatering balance of masculine frame with feline grace. I have never had such a beautiful creature in my grips before. Tell me, are you coming to buy back your debt or ask for more time?”
Darius’s thumb and forefinger pinched the head of Asher’s cock, pulling a loud purr from his lips.
“I, uh...” He struggled to string words together as the male palming him was so gifted at teasing. “I have the money to clear it...my debt, I mean.”
A soft guttural growl sounded close to his ear.
“I have most of it anyway. I don’t know the exact amount with the bar tab to be added.” Asher grunted softly as he tried to turn his head in the direction of the growl, only to have his chin caught in Darius’s grip.
“What if I don’t let you settle it, hm? Maybe I should add interest, keep you coming back?” His voice was low and raspy as he flexed his grip once more before riding it down to the base of Asher’s shaft.
“You can’t–”
“Can’t what? Do that?” His laugh was soft and intoxicatingly sexy. “Of course, I can. This is my house, therefore my rules.”
Asher attempted to turn and face him, but he couldn’t. The hold this male had on him was astonishingly strong and not in a physical sense. Asher’s body was literally aching for him, and the thought of doing anything to cause all this, his touch, his teasing to end, would crush him.
“Why? Why would you do that?”
“To keep you coming back to me. I am not so fragile in my ego that I can’t admit that you, Levi, have a strange magnetism, and I find myself pulled to you like a Gothlam bug to a flame.”
“If you want me, ask me to stay, don’t threaten to take my business from me.” Asher was lost to his touch, but not so much that he would forget why he was there.
“Oh, but Levi, I want to take so much more than your business. I want everything I am touching right now. I want you naked and splayed out before me. A feast not just for my eyes, but my tongue and mouth.” Darius slowly dragged his hand from Asher’s chin, his nails dragging over the skin on his neck, biting the flesh just enough to draw a welt, yet not enough to break the skin.
Asher reached behind him. He knew from how close they stood just how hard Darius was. He was rolling his hips, causing his solid length to ride the crack of Asher’s ass through the thin film of clothing they were both currently wearing.
Not wanting to lose that sensation, Asher reached behind him and gripped his ass, pulling him closer still. With his other hand, he cupped the back of Darius’s neck, his fingertips teasing, then gripping his hair, pulling on it with each rock against him.
“Your body and actions are telling me you want the same thing. But I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you say you want me to fill you up, stretch that fine ass of yours, and leave my scent all over you so when you leave here...if I let you leave, you will know who had you and marked you.”
When Asher didn’t respond, the hand fisting his cock stopped its movement, and the grip loosened, the body grinding against him stepped back just slightly.
“Fuck...Yes, I want it. I want you.”
A growl of frustration that had started as a whimper grew as Asher tried to move back into Darius, only to have him maintain the distance.
“Surely you can use your words better than that, hm? Your cock thick in my hand, and the sweet dew weeping from it tells me you want it, but I want you to tell me. Not ‘I want it, I want you.’ That is just too bland from such a pretty mouth.”
Asher bit his lower lip as he played the submissive to Darius’s dominant.
“I want you to bring me to your office, strip me, tease me, then fuck me wherever and however you want. I want to feel the bite of that stretch, the feeling of being so full of you that I will forget any other male I have ever been with.”
“That is what I wanted to hear. You are such a good little kitty.” Darius’s voice was all but a rumbled purr. Moaning softly as the hand pulled from the waist of his pants. Asher turned now to face the male who had such a hold over him. Seeing him fully for the first time.
Darius was god-like, his skin a golden honey, unblemished and smooth. Everything about him was beauty personified, everything perfect. Adding to his allure was a beautifully crafted tattoo with an unnaturally muted glow. The head of a dragon peeked over his broad shoulder, the outline in an iridescent inky black, the contrast of color artistic perfection. Watching as Darius turned, hand tracing the length of Asher’s arm to lace fingers, he got more of a glimpse of the dragon. The body ran the length of his back, and the tail appeared to dip below the waist of the den owner”s pants.
Something brushed against Asher’s mental shields causing Asher to gain some detachment from what had just happened.
With his hand still holding Asher’s, Darius walked them to double doors. Just before reaching them, they opened as they approached.
The air around them seemed to vibrate slightly until, before them, a beautiful room was revealed. The walls were dressed in silks, the floor in rugs of rich, vibrant colors. But there, in the center of the room, was a large four-poster bed. It was made of the darkest mahogany, and each post was a twisted vine of naked, entwined bodies. Some of them were in positions that even Asher had never tried.
“I would never defile such a tasty morsel by taking you like a common thug over my desk. I want to take my time with you.” Darius turned to face Asher, “Why don’t you take those confining things off and let me see you better?”
Even though worded like a request Asher was aware it was anything but that. Darius was not just demanding in his business, but it would appear in his private life too. Quickly removing his cloak and tossing it to the side, Asher then gripped the shirt he was wearing at the hem and tugged it over his head to reveal a body that wouldn’t look out of place beside the statues of old fae gods. Skilled in its removal Asher had been careful, ensuring the knives sheathed in hidden pockets remained where they had been hidden.
Without hesitation, his pants and boots were quick to follow the shirt, both discarded on the floor as Asher now stood naked before Iniquity’s owner. Asher knew he was beautiful. His skin was milky white, smooth, and toned. His abs, proof of years of training in the Guild, a washboard of ridges and angles tapering down to a tight v that disappeared under the band of his pants.
The assassin watched as Darius slowly circled him. A hunger in his eyes that Asher hadn’t seen in any other. He couldn’t work out what it was about the club owner that had him being so reckless. But he wasn’t going to give the thought life. He wanted this, needed this.