STORY EXCERPT

“It seems the Warrior has taken a liking to you,” Raphael said as he marched Zion down the cold concrete steps. “Too bad I can’t recruit him as one of my guards.”

Zion wanted to spit in the man’s face. Raphael was a mean and sadistic demon. Kobe hadn’t done anything wrong and Raphael was going to…to…Zion nearly shouted out his anguish as he thought about what Raphael was going to do to Kobe and his friend.

Never before in his miserable life had anyone wanted to help him. But Kobe had come back for him. It was insane, but the man had stood there and defied Raphael—something no one had ever done before—just to free Zion.

If he could get his hands free, he would rake Raphael’s eyes out.

A strong breeze blew over Zion as they exited the building, making him shiver. Once again, there was a fey standing there, waiting. The same fey was always there when Raphael needed to be transported. The guy never said anything, just did as he was told.

Like all the other sheep in this city when it came to Raphael’s demands.

“Take him back to my penthouse.” Raphael removed Zion’s gag before shoving him toward the fey. “And don’t let him fucking escape.”

The guy quickly grabbed Zion by his arm and they both shimmered out. As soon as they were in Raphael’s home, Zion pivoted on his heel to face the man. “You have to help me.”

“You know as well as I do what Raphael will do to both of us if I help you,” the man replied. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Zion raked his eyes over the man in distaste. “You can shimmer out anytime you want. Why are you helping that piece of shit?”

The man’s eyes turned sorrowful for a second before he masked his emotions. “Because, Marino has my brother and I do what he says in order to keep Iam safe. He loaned me to Raphael.”

Zion didn’t know the man the fey was talking about, but he understood the threat against the man’s brother. “Can you at least get a message to someone for me?”

The fey took a step back, his eyes wary. “What message?”

Zion quickly glanced around the apartment before stepping closer to the guy. “Tell Panahasi that Raphael has two of his Warriors and is about to kill them.” Zion felt the desperation take hold as he gazed at the fey. “You have to do it now. Raphael went back into the warehouse to kill them.”

“He’ll know I helped you,” the guy said with a light panic. “What if he tells Marino that I helped you and that fat bastard hurts my brother?”

“Tell the demon leader about Marino. I know he’ll help you.” Zion wasn’t real sure about that. He had never met Pahanasi before. But he had heard great things about the man. If anyone could help them, it was the leader.

The fey shook his head and Zion felt his stomach take a dive. “Panahasi is already looking for my brother. He hasn’t found him yet.”

“Please,” Zion begged, his voice growing rough and strained as he tried to hold back the tears. “Don’t let Raphael kill two great Warriors. We need as many of the good guys as we can get.”

If his begging didn’t work, Zion was ready to pounce on the man and beat the snot out of him. His hands may be bound, but he was beyond scared for Kobe and his friend.

Relief cascaded over Zion when the fey nodded. “I’ll tell him.”

He hoped the man wasn’t tricking him. Zion couldn’t think of another way to save the Warriors. He couldn’t beat Raphael, and no one in Remtin would stand up to the man. Hell, most of the population revered the guy as some kind of hero.

As Zion took a seat on the floor, pressing his back into the wall, he knew that there was a large chance that if the leader got the Warriors out, he would be left behind.

But was it any surprise? Zion’s fate had been sealed long ago. He was never getting out of Remtin so he needed to stop dreaming of his freedom. It wasn’t happening. Dreams were for fools and Zion was nobody’s fool. He may get used a lot, knocked around, and degraded, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think his life would get better.

Maybe doing the right thing would save his soul. Zion wasn’t too sure about that, but he knew he couldn’t let two innocent men die, not when he could get someone to save them.

Zion looked up when the apartment door opened forty minutes later. As usual, he couldn’t read Raphael’s expression. He didn’t know if Panahasi had saved the Warriors in time or if Raphael had executed them.

The demon didn’t look roughed up. His suit was as crisp and clean as always. The man had impeccable taste. Too bad he was the devil himself.

Removing the binding from around Zion’s wrist, the man said, “Go shower.”

Raphael walked over to the living room area and took a seat, lounging back like he was the king of the world. “And then come back here.”

Zion knew better than to question Raphael. It was bad enough he had sold himself to the guy. He didn’t want a beating as well. He walked down the hallway, unsure of where he was going, but found the bathroom after a few attempts of peeking behind closed doors.

Shutting the bathroom door behind him, Zion let out a shaky breath. He knew what the man wanted and there was nothing he could do to save himself. He just prayed that Raphael wasn’t rough and mean like the other demons who took their frustrations out on Zion.

As he began to pull his clothes off, Zion felt someone behind him. He spun around, his lips parting when he saw the fey who had brought him here. “Did you get them out in time?”

ADULT EXCERPT

“It makes it very hard to trust anyone.” He moved his arms out of the way when Zion inched so close that he was at Kobe’s side. “I’m always afraid someone is going to use me. I hate living with that fear.”

Kobe reached out and brushed Zion’s hair from his eyes, tucking it behind the demon’s ear. “I was the same way, still am. But there are a few who I’ve learned I can trust with my life.”

“The Demon Warriors?” Zion asked, his head leaning toward Kobe’s hand.

“You kind of learn to trust a man when the both of you rely on each other to stay alive.” It had been the hardest lesson for Kobe to learn. Trusting did not come easy for him. But after living and fighting by each Warrior’s side, a bond had formed, making their small group very close knit. He knew he could rely on any Warrior to have his back and be there for him. It was a treasured feeling and a trust Kobe would never break.

He wanted that same trust with Zion.

But the guy just sat there, staring up at Kobe. He knew when a man was hungry. The look in Zion’s indigo-blue eyes said he wanted Kobe. But Zion had to give himself freely. Kobe was not going to take.

“I think maybe I should go to bed,” Zion said, but didn’t move. Kobe wondered if that was an invitation, but wasn’t going to assume. Pressing his back into the couch, Kobe tossed his arm on the cushion, opening himself if Zion wanted to make any kind of move.

“I really should.” But again, the little demon stayed at Kobe’s side.

The air became charged with sexual tension as the two gently danced around each other. Zion moved just a fraction of an inch closer to Kobe, and Kobe leaned in just a hair’s breadth. Pale-brown eyes locked with indigo-blue, both breathing just a little faster.

Kobe had his fair share of sexual experiences, but nothing came close to the anticipation singing through his veins. He’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted Zion.

“I want you.” Zion’s words were a mere whisper.

“Are you freely giving yourself to me?” Kobe asked as his pulse quickened.

Zion’s eyes dropped and Kobe feared the man would say he couldn’t do this, but then he gazed up at Kobe under the fall of his dark lashes and Kobe knew he would never want to be with anyone other than Zion. “I am.”

Kobe reached out to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Zion’s ear before he ran the knuckle of his hand down the man’s cheek, watching in fascination as Zion rubbed his cheek gently against Kobe’s hand.

The man was hungry for touch, so great the man was starving. Kobe could see it in Zion’s deep-blue eyes.

Kobe didn’t move when Zion placed a slender hand hesitantly against his chest and then tucked his head under Kobe’s chin. It tore at him how much Zion was starving for affection. He had been the same way, and honestly still was. Kobe would just never admit to anyone how much he’d craved something like this. 

He held onto Zion with one arm while the other moved rhythmically over the man’s slender back. The demon’s body was pure heat and drove Kobe’s senses wild.

When Zion leaned back, tilting his head to look up at Kobe, he leaned down, pressing his lips to Zion’s, then gently covered his mouth. He knew to go slow, to ease Zion into whatever was going to happen between them. Kobe should have been frightened at his need for Zion, a need so deep that it was overpowering. But the fear of losing himself in this small man wasn’t there. Kobe wanted to lose himself in Zion.

Stroking his thumb over Zion’s chin, Kobe turned, slowly lowering Zion to the carpet. He braced his arms on either side of Zion’s head, careful of his weight. He threaded his fingers through the smaller demon’s raven hair, the strands feeling like cool satin over his fingers as his tongue stroked Zion’s lips.

 “I’ve been dying to taste your lips since the first moment I saw you.”

Zion stayed closemouthed for a moment, and then he opened to Kobe. Sweeping his tongue inside the warm, wet cavern, Kobe could feel his cock thickening at the taste of Zion.

He could also feel the demon quivering below him. Zion’s lush lips parted, pulling Kobe’s tongue into his mouth. Kobe’s tongue slid over satiny inner cheeks, strong, even teeth, and danced languidly with Zion’s tongue.

The exhilaration shot through Kobe, straight to his groin where his cock became heavy with arousal. He was hard, needy, and his cock hurt so fucking badly that, for the first time since leaving adolescence, he thought he was going to erupt in his pants.

Zion seemed to be just as needy. He ran his fingers over Kobe’s head, pulling him down as the little demon sucked at Kobe’s tongue. The action only made Kobe’s cock throb like a frenzied heartbeat in his jeans. He had to do something to relieve the pressure.

It was a rush of excitement that shot through his veins as he kissed the man lower, on his neck, savoring the sweet aroma of salty skin and a racing pulse.

“I want you, Zion,” Kobe breathed roughly against the man’s skin as he inhaled deeply, the exquisite scent racing through his veins. Zion was unbidden beneath Kobe, and that was all that mattered to him. The pulsing in his jeans intensified as he moved lower and pushed Zion’s shirt up, kissing his navel and tracing a long, wet line over his abdomen. Zion moaned and his stomach jerked before Kobe bit the man’s button of his pants.

Even beneath the fabric he could smell Zion’s desire. It was the sweetest scent in the world—strong, musky, and all for him. He nuzzled the pronounced outline in the demon’s jeans, leaving a wet mark before he used his fingers to unsnap them, pulling the zipper down slowly, teasing not only the man beneath him, but himself.

“W–what are you doing?” Zion pushed up onto his elbows, his eyes wide and filled with confusion.

“Short stuff, if I have to explain—” Kobe stopped speaking, cocking his head to the side as understanding dawned on him. “No one has ever sucked your cock before, have they?” The obvious knowledge blew Kobe’s mind away. “They always took but never gave.” It was a statement, not a question.