Page 5 of Dead

“Unless you have anything else for me, I will take my leave and get to work seeking out these portals.” Eilam stared at the floor, yet the king could feel the heartbreak from across the desk.

Adriel lowered into his chair before his knees went out under him. He grabbed his quill and looked down at the parchment on his desk, not reading a word scribbled over it. “That is all,” he muttered, trying to sound as unaffected as he could.

He sensed the large man backing away and turning for the gilded doors of his private study. Once the doors were closed and he was once again alone, he threw down the quill and sat back into his chair. His body was raging with need—a need that could never be fulfilled.

Over the months, the desire within rose with each day. Each moment spent in the man’s presence was hell. He’d only found one way to calm his aching body. With the snap of his fingers, he was no longer in his study, but standing on a length of white sandy beach.

Crystal clear water spread out before him as far as the eye could see. A sky of robin’s egg blue rose above the sea only to transition into the galaxies beyond. It was both day and night, the shimmering planets and stars overhead still brilliant even with the bright blue beneath it. The beauty was stunning and he could stand there and stare at it all in wonder for hours… but not today.

He turned and saw the mansion surrounded by swaying palm trees. Almost every wall was made of windows, facing out to the beach and the water on nearly every side. Thick, verdant life filled in around the house, making it a tropical heaven. He’d built this place with his magic as a young boy. Of course, originally it had been a vacant space, not much bigger than he was. As he’d learned to control his gifts, the space had grown. This was his oasis—his private space he’d built himself to escape to when he needed to think.

Or had other needs.

After taking off his shoes, Adriel crossed the sands barefoot. The sand squished between his toes as he walked, bringing a smile to his face. He soon entered the open doors into his home away from home. It was quiet but for the sounds of water lapping at the shore behind him. He marched up the stairs and onto the second floor—which only held a large bedroom and bath. This place was his alone, his sanctuary. He had no needs for more.

With the wave of a hand, a cupboard opened and revealed the only thing that would make his ache any better. Another wave and the machine came to life. A machine of gears and metal underneath flesh and magic. The cyborg came to life. It rose from the cabinet, stepped outside, and stretched its powerful body. It then turned to face Adriel with glowing, familiar eyes.

Dark, thick hair lay just like the man of his fantasies. Muscles bulged in a perfect shape. A huge cock grew hard for him—although that part was Adriel’s imagination at work. The rest was a carbon copy of the man he wanted and could not have.

No matter how much it looked like Eilam… no matter how much magic Adriel poured into the machine… it lacked something that was wholly Eilam.

The need.

The desire he had for Eilam nearly swallowed him whole. The sex cyborg didn’t have that piece of the puzzle and Adriel couldn’t manufacture it.

But the cyborg was better than nothing. And fucking the machine wouldn’t spell the demise of Midnight.

“Disrobe me,” Adriel said flatly.

The cyborg moved forward, stalking closer with the grace of a cat. It appeared human in every way, acted as a lover should. But it was simply sex, with no emotion.

It kissed Adriel’s shoulder as he slid down his tunic. The cyborg caressed every inch of flesh as it was revealed, yet the king struggled to find the same desire he once had.

The first time he’d fucked the machine, it had been earth-shattering. But as the weeks marched on, that lacking puzzle piece became too obvious.

“Make me forget,” Adriel whispered. “That you’re not him.”

The cyborg frowned slightly. “I don’t understand.” It cupped Adriel’s cheek. “I am him.”

No. You’re not. But I desperately need you to be.

The cyborg’s lips pressed against his, and Adriel did everything in his power to trick himself into thinking he was in Eilam’s arms.

As they fell into the bed together, he kissed back harder, refusing to see the truth. Later, when the cyborg’s cock drove into him, he moaned, crying out Eilam’s name.

They writhed on the bed together, Adriel pinned under the big shifter.

By the end he’d forgotten for a few moments. He came, delirious in his pleasure, and thought for those few precious seconds he was with the man he’d fallen in love with.

And then the cold, hard light of day returned and he felt just as empty as he had before.

His body was sated, but his mind and spirit were not.

Adriel sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window, feeling more alone than ever.

* * * *

Eilam opened the door to his apartment and kicked the door closed behind him. The anger he’d held on to since seeing the king had only slightly evaporated and he was doing everything in his power to contain it. He marched straight to the refrigerator and yanked it open, and scanned the interior. It was a bad habit, but irritation led to stress eating.

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