Demon Seed

  “She mimicked Jeff and showed up at my place wanting to get boinked.”

  Jeff looked more than confused. “What?”

  Ryan became enraged. His face reddened as he roared, “Bera, illuminati appareo!”

  She didn’t appear.

  He set his coffee cup on Jeff’s desk. “Fuck.” He disappeared.

  Poor Jeff, he did his best to follow along but had gotten lost. “Um, Aid, what the heck is going on?” He stared at Ryan’s still-steaming coffee cup, which now occupied the corner of his desk.

  Aidan rubbed his forehead. “That chick was bad news, buddy. Real bad news. Let me go get dressed and I’ll come back and explain.”

  He started to stand when Jeff put a gentle hand on Aidan’s shoulder. Aidan saw Jeff wore that damn cute smile he loved.

  “How about staying dressed like you are and telling me? I kind of like the view better.” Jeff’s hand dropped to Aidan’s thigh, where he traced one of the orange happy faces gracing his blue silk boxers.

  Aidan couldn’t help but smile back.

  * * * *

  Ryan returned fifteen minutes later. He picked up his coffee, realized it was cold, then set it down again.

  “Well, the whore has gone to ground. I’m guessing off-Earth, although I’m not exactly sure how unless she’s got help. She’s not strong enough to do it on her own. I know none of us would help her.” Aidan knew the “us” in question meant himself, Ryan, Will, Gery, or Purs. There were a few other older archdemons and Demis who could open the barrier, and the Dodeks and Titans of course, but they wouldn’t. Not even her own father would dare help her.

  Not for the likes of Bera.

  “What about Jeff?” Aidan asked. “What do we do?”

  Ryan shrugged. “She can mimic him now. You’ll have to pay attention to whatever the two of you do.”

  Ryan noticed Aidan and Jeff both blushed and didn’t push the subject. He’d only poked Aidan about his preferences one time, and that was simply to provoke an angry reaction from Will and keep Will from sensing the truth about Kal’s true nature. He didn’t care what Aidan did in his personal life as long as he wasn’t hurting an innocent. He knew Aidan had a good heart.

  “Isn’t there anything?” Aidan asked.

  Ryan studied the men. “He’s not your soul mate. Not yet, at least.”

  Aidan shook his head and mentally replied to Ryan. “We’re not even sleeping together yet. Not that I don’t think about that a lot lately. Practically all the time—”

  Ryan sighed. “Wait here.” He grabbed his coffee cup and disappeared, returning a moment later with a fresh cup of steaming hot coffee and something in his hand. He handed it to Jeff, a fluorite amulet on a black satin cord. “Wear that, all the time, and I mean all the time for now. Don’t take it off, even to shower. You won’t hurt it.”

  Jeff fingered it, nodded, and put it on.

  Aidan stared at it. “What is it?”

  “It’s not what you think it is, but she can’t duplicate it, not that. It’s for you more than him. She won’t know he’s got it, but you do.” Then Ryan said to Jeff, “Keep it hidden under your shirt.” He took a sip of coffee. “I’ll also place a barrier around your condo and Aidan’s house to physically repel her and not just prevent her from appearing and disappearing.”

  Jeff tucked it under his collar as Aidan sent another silent thought to Ryan. “It’s not an amulet?”

  “No, it’s simply a talisman. No powers of protection. He’s not your soul mate yet, so I can’t even begin to think about giving him one of those. I don’t know if he’ll have any of your strengths to warrant one. You can home in on him now, know it’s him immediately. Try it.”

  Aidan did. “Thanks, Ryan,” he said aloud.

  Jeff smiled. “Thank you.”

  Ryan nodded. “I’ll keep you posted when I find out something.” He glanced at Aidan’s boxers. “Oh, and Faust? Go put some clothes on.” He disappeared on that remark and left Aidan laughing.

  Aidan stood and turned to Jeff. He fell into Jeff’s blue eyes, and then they were kissing. After a long, breathless minute, Aidan smiled. “You keep doing that, I won’t be able to leave.”

  Jeff pressed against him, enticingly working his hips against Aidan’s. “Maybe I don’t want you to.”

  Aidan indicated his shorts, which were now obviously tented. “I can’t work all day like this.”

  “I don’t see a problem with it.” Jeff’s steady gaze never wavered from Aidan’s.

  Aidan had to remember to breathe. He forced himself to step back. “How about I take you out to supper later?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Aidan nodded. “Okay then.” He wanted to kiss Jeff again but knew if he did he wouldn’t want to stop. “I’m going back to sleep. That damn bitch woke me up. I’d just got to bed. I’ll keep my phone close. Call me immediately if there’s any news or if that bitch returns.” Aidan returned home before he could grab Jeff and drag him to bed.

  He closed his eyes and homed in on Jeff at the office. Thank you, Ryan. If Aidan concentrated, he could track Jeff’s movements throughout the office.

  It was tempting to lie there and listen for Jeff all morning, but Aidan needed to sleep. Though as hard as he was after his brief embrace with Jeff, it made sleeping difficult. He rolled over and closed his eyes, his erection comfortably pressed against the mattress. He let his mind drift, following Jeff around the office as he worked his hips. What would it be like to lie on top of Jeff and rub against him?

  Aidan’s fingers curled around his pillow as his breath came in shorter gasps. Better, how would it feel to lie there with Jeff’s sweet mouth wrapped around his cock?

  He flipped over onto his back and shoved his shorts down, fisting his cock. Jeff continued going about his day as Aidan mentally observed him and stroked his shaft. Or what if it was Jeff’s hand on his dick while he stroked Jeff—

  “Ah!” Aidan’s body trembled as he climaxed, his juices coating his hand. He lay there for a minute, sated, breathless, still watching Jeff in his mind.

  * * * *

  Boorman returned to his apartment. He couldn’t believe how stupid that woman was. He wasn’t sure which prevailed in her—ignorance or greed.

  It had proven easy to use her for his purposes. She was fixated on getting pregnant to ensure her spot in The Firm. He wasn’t an expert on The Firm, and even he knew that just because she had a line heir didn’t mean her plan would ever come to fruition. Hades could simply take back control and have another child, or bind another soul brother to Ausar and give them the seat.

  That was, he supposed, too simplistic a concept for the Tanuki half-breed to grasp.

  No matter. That worked to his advantage anyway. Tanukis were notoriously short-sighted.

  He walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of spirits, pouring himself a tall glass. She wanted a line heir who would eventually take over and then make her powerful in her own right.

  That was a lot of “ifs” and “maybes” Bera hadn’t considered, too narrow-sighted to plan for contingencies. That was the problem with Tanukis, never seeing the whole picture, too eager to set their sights on a prize, and then develop tunnel vision in their pursuit of it.

  No wonder the race was dying out.

  Of course, he didn’t mind nudging her away from the few doubts and concerns that did sneak into that pea brain of hers, either. It wouldn’t do for her to second-guess herself or her plans. It worked to his advantage. She never realized his primary target wasn’t the Earth. That was just a bonus.

  He wanted Ausar.

  Boorman tried not to look at his reflection in the window. All these years he’d waited for a chance to exact his retribution, and now it was within his reach if that fucking cunt didn’t screw things up again. The first time around, she was supposed to have distracted Aidan and Arnau off-Earth long enough for his men to do their job.

  Long enough for his men to bring him Ausar’s head on the end of a
sword.

  So much for that plan. Aidan and Arnau had returned in time to save their precious soul brother.

  His fingers traced the ancient, deep scar left by Ausar’s sword. Well, at least he had gotten a little revenge out of that debacle. He knew that woman his men killed had been a favorite of Ausar’s even if she wasn’t his mate. He’d retrieved a few ounces of flesh in that regard.

  And yet Bera had believed the story, that her kidnapping plan had gone awry.

  Stupid cunt.

  He’d never been denied, ever, what he wanted in his life. Now Ausar had denied him not once but twice. First, eons ago, he’d denied him the woman he’d set his sights on, and then he denied him his revenge over his wounds. After all these ages, he would not be denied again. It had taken him all this time to find someone he could use for his plans. He was unable to cross on-Earth himself after he’d been wounded, had to spend time cultivating his powerbase on Tavares. If he’d tried to cross on-Earth, Ausar would have immediately known and hunted him down. Advantage lost.

  He’d conquered many worlds in his years, and one fucking woman had managed to stymie him and start a chain reaction that landed him…here. Forced to rely on a fucking stupid Tanuki.

  Now it was personal.

  He drained the contents of his glass and smashed it in the fireplace before calling out to his lieutenant. The man raced in.

  “Yes, Master?”

  This man had learned early on not to flinch over his appearance. “Have someone follow Bera, someone who can cross over undetected. Make sure she’s taking proactive steps. I’ve spent nearly three decades on this phase of my plan. I don’t wish it fucked up again when we are so close to my goal. Do I make myself clear?”

  The man paled. “Right away, Master.” He scurried off.

  Boorman walked over to his chair and sat, staring into the fire. When Bera had approached him, it seemed too good to be true. Perhaps he’d placed too many of his own hopes in this venture. The opportunity for revenge, especially using one of Ausar’s people against him, was too tempting to pass up.

  He doubted Bera could make her plans come to fruition, but using her would get him closest to Ausar. On the highly unlikely chance she did make good, end up the mother of a line heir to The Firm, and able to again give Boorman access to the Earth… well, that would be a happy bonus. After all, why would he set his sights on taking over the Earth when he was in the middle of taking over Tavares? He didn’t have the manpower to fight two wars. Maybe once he’d finished conquering Tavares and throwing out the ruling council, then he could set his sights on off-world endeavors.

  Stupid Bera. Never saw the larger picture. He’d instructed his informants, people Bera thought worked for her, to keep her suspicions and doubts at bay.

  Meanwhile, he’d have to put up with Bera.

  * * * *

  Immediately upon waking, Aidan focused on Jeff and relaxed when he homed in on him. Safe and sound.

  He started to lie there and mentally follow Jeff around the office when he realized what time it was. Crap. He needed a shower.

  His heart felt a little lighter though at Jeff’s reaction to seeing him in his boxers. I kind of like the view better.

  Aidan couldn’t hold back his smile as he soaped up. He considered fisting his cock and jerking off in the shower, as he had many times before, with Jeff’s face in his mind.

  No…maybe there was a better option.

  The inevitable option.

  Aidan whistled as he rinsed and dressed.

  It was tempting to simply pop into the office and surprise Jeff, but there were volunteer investigators there this time of day and he didn’t want to risk exposing himself. His pulse increased as he drove to the office and he made it a little after four.

  He wanted to walk straight to Jeff’s office, but when he passed his own door he spotted Kal seated at her desk. The look on her face stopped him in his tracks. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

  “Hey, sweet cheeks. You okay?”

  Her eyes looked red and puffy. She tried to nod, quickly wiping her face on her sleeve. Then she burst into tears again.

  “Aw, come here.” He sat and pulled her out of her seat and into his lap. She sobbed on his shoulder. He softly soothed her with his arms around her. “Let it out, babe.”

  He hadn’t expected to see her in the office. On the heels of his surprise he wondered where the home Will was, and why wasn’t he taking care of her?

  She sniffled. “I thought maybe I could get my mind off things for a while. Dad’s taking a nap. I needed a break.”

  One question answered. “Where’s the big guy?”

  She snuggled deeper into Aidan’s arms. “He’ll bring me back in a little while. Mom thinks I’m taking a nap. Will’s keeping her distracted and helping her with dinner.”

  Dinner.

  On the one hand, he didn’t want to shove Kal out the door. On the other, he reeeally wanted to see Jeff.

  Kal’s anguish made Aidan’s decision for him. He sat with her cradled in his arms as she rested her head against his shoulder, softly humming to her. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

  “Come in.”

  Jeff stepped in. When he saw Kal in Aidan’s lap, Jeff immediately shut the door behind him. He walked around Aidan’s desk and without a word sat in Kal’s chair and pulled it close. Then he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around Aidan. She reached up, patted his hand, and cuddled closer to both of them.

  “Thanks, guys,” she softly said, barely more than a sigh.

  Aidan kissed the top of her head. “Sweet cheeks, lean on us. We’ve got broad shoulders.”

  “Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “Any time, day or night.”

  Aidan looked at Jeff and felt a calm, peaceful aura engulf him. Perhaps this man was deeper than he ever imagined. Aidan tipped his head to the side and rested it against the top of Jeff’s head.

  Jeff lightly stroked the back of Aidan’s shoulders and there they sat for several long minutes. Kal finally sat up and wiped her eyes again. She hugged Aidan, then Jeff. “Thanks, guys.”

  Aidan brushed the hair out of her face. “You ready to go back?”

  She nodded. “Can you send me?”

  “Sure thing. Close your eyes.” She did. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before touching his amulet and sending her back to her parents’ house.

  Jeff didn’t move from where he sat with his head nestled against Aidan’s shoulder. “How was the rest of your day?” Aidan finally asked him.

  “Missed you,” Jeff replied without missing a beat.

  A warm, nearly overwhelming rush of emotions washed through Aidan. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I missed you, too, sugar.” He kissed Jeff’s temple. Jeff tipped his head back, and when Aidan looked into his blue eyes, he wanted to spirit the man off to his house. He kissed Jeff, enjoying it when Jeff slipped his fingers around the back of Aidan’s head and held him in their embrace.

  When Jeff finally let him go, he whispered, “I missed you a lot.”

  Aidan needed a second attempt before he could speak. “You ready to go?”

  “I need fifteen minutes to finish up a project, then I can leave. Purs and Gery will close up.”

  Aidan dropped one hand to Jeff’s leg, left it resting on the other man’s thigh. “Why don’t I go grab us a table?”

  Jeff nodded. “Okay.” He leaned in and kissed Aidan again, this time nipping his lips, nibbling and gently biting. Aidan closed his eyes and savored it.

  He wanted this man. He’d be a lying asshole to deny it. Not just for a fast fuck or for a night or even for a weekender.

  Forever.

  Soul mate.

  Jeff eventually stood, wearing that damn cute smile. Aidan noticed the sizeable bulge in Jeff’s pants as he left the office.

  Aidan’s slacks felt uncomfortably snug, too.

  Chapter Twelve

  A typical late-afternoon Florida
rainstorm descended on Tampa. The bottom dropped out on Aidan as he pulled into the diner’s parking lot. He made a run for it without getting too wet and grabbed them a booth.

  Aidan thought Kal was holding up remarkably well, all things considered. He suspected part of it was the sheer amount of crap going on in her life, for the most part keeping her spinning from one point to another, not giving her downtime to sit and really grieve yet. Probably for the best. There would be plenty of time for that after her father died.

  It also made Aidan think. Especially after the bullshit with Bera, and Ryan’s words ringing in his ears. Perhaps time was shorter than he ever imagined. Knowing he was likely to live countless eons, barring any beheadings or serious woundings, it was hard to remember that those around him weren’t so fortunate.

  Jeff pulled into the parking lot. Aidan smiled and followed Jeff’s progress through the rain as he dodged puddles.

  Soul mate. Life was too short, sometimes. Especially for those who weren’t “immortal.”

  Jeff shook his jacket off in the entryway and smiled when Aidan raised his hand. He quickly walked over and slid into the booth, reached across the table, and squeezed Aidan’s hand.

  “Hey.”

  Aidan knew he loved him. “Hey.” How did he tell him? They hadn’t talked about it. In fact, they’d talked about everything but that, basically.

  They placed their order. After the waitress left, Aidan crossed his arms on the table in front of him and leaned in, hoping this wasn’t a mistake. “I was wondering. Maybe later, after we’re done eating dinner, would you like to come back to my place for a while? Maybe for the whole night?”

  Hopeful, he lifted his gaze to Jeff’s face.

  Jeff smiled. “Yeah. I’d really like that.” He reached out and touched Aidan’s arm, leaving his hand there. “I’d like that a lot.”

  * * * *

  Aidan had been hesitant to push Jeff, afraid of scaring him away at first, then scared of rushing him into something. There hadn’t been much more between them than holding hands, hugging, a little bit of snuggling, and a few stolen kisses here and there. Aidan suspected Jeff was a virgin and didn’t want to push him into anything he wasn’t ready for. Aidan was Jeff’s first serious relationship with anyone, man or woman, and he damn sure didn’t want to be on the losing end.