Page 19 of Dead Air
Cenn closed his eyes, seeking out Shelby and confirming that he was still by the creek, miles away from his office. A quick sweep of his hand closed all the blinds and sealed all the doors, granting Cenn plenty of privacy. He lowered the lights and added a few floating candles and completed the mood with Barry White, humming along with “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.”
He was still invisible but Cenn dropped his metaphysical pants and took out his spectral dick. Cenn thought about Niall’s sweet, unsullied soul, purring as he stroked himself. He recalled how beautiful it felt, wallowing in the sublime softness, basking in Niall’s angelic aura. Cenn whipped up his desire with visions of Niall’s ecstasy until his lust was too potent, overwhelming him and filling the room with a bright blue glow. “Niall! My Niall!” Cenn chanted at the ceiling as he spilled into the palm of his hand, the ethereal essence dripping over his fingers as he staggered to the sofa. “He sall lye intill his bed, he sall lye in itseik and sore,” he sang softly, his hand dragging over the arm and along the cushions where Shelby often slept.
There would be no visible trace of the demon’s charm or his seed but Shelby would enjoy obscenely lurid dreams about Dr. Curn and Niall. They would last until Cenn released him or Shelby gave his heart to another.
“I think my work is done here,” Cenn declared, zipping his preternatural pants and dusting off his hands as he headed for the door.
Ten
What the heck was Chance waiting for?
It had been close to three weeks since he had set up his station in the picnic area in the glade. They had spent just about every day together but nothing had happened. There had been an abundance of flirting and Chance had found about a dozen ways to tell Niall he was the perfect catch but he continued to behave like an extremely proper gentleman. And whenever Niall convinced himself that Chance wasn’t actually interested and was just being polite, the world’s hottest biologist would do or say something romantic or obscenely sexy.
“Here. Finish the last of this,” Chance said, holding up his spoon and yogurt cup for Niall. “I don’t think you eat enough and I know the raspberry is your favorite.” But instead of handing both to Niall, Chance dipped the spoon into the cup and raised it to his lips. “Open for Daddy,” he said with a wicked grin. Niall hadn’t meant to but his jaw snapped open and he leaned in obediently. “That’s my good boy,” Chance murmured as he fed Niall the yogurt.
“I’d like to be,” Niall said once he’d swallowed and found his voice. His neck stretched as he offered his lips and Niall was so sure Chance would finally kiss him.
“Would you?” he asked, his hand sliding around Niall’s jaw and neck. Chance’s head angled and Niall could taste the yogurt and tea on his breath. He closed his eyes and waited, then grunted in shock when Chance’s thumb swiped the corner of his lip. “We missed a bit,” he said, releasing Niall and licking his thumb. “Open,” he ordered and held up another spoonful for Niall.
“You’re a cruel, cruel man, Chance,” Niall grumbled petulantly, then opened his mouth.
Chance chuckled in agreement and kept the conversation light as they finished their breakfast. Those confusing shifts, paired with Niall’s dreams, kept him on edge the entire time they were together. How was Niall supposed to act around Chance when he dreamed about being his good boy and heard him say things like “Open for Daddy” the next morning?
“I’m taking a break from salamanders for the day. What’s on your agenda?” he asked, giving Niall the opening he was waiting for. Chance had mentioned that he was planning to give himself a day off so Niall had plenty of biologist-friendly activities that would keep them in close proximity to each other.
If Chance didn’t use at least one of them to make his move, Niall would have to accept that he was only interested in flirting and friendship. Which was fine! Niall could be cool and respect friendly boundaries. He just wished Chance would play fair if he wasn’t interested in actually being Niall’s Daddy.
“I’m off to do a non-native species survey. Feel like helping me collect some samples and record some data?” Niall asked with a wiggle of his brows. He was versed in all kinds of flirty banter but he was particularly good at nerdy flirting.
Chance groaned and bit his lip. “Samples and data? You know I can’t say no to a survey.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Niall purred and walked his fingers up Chance’s bicep, admiring the way the T-shirt’s sleeve stretched around it. “Wanna hold my clipboard and fill my notes with observations?”
“I can’t help myself, Niall,” Chance said, his tone low and rough as he nodded and licked his lips. “Every time I see you with that clipboard, I want to grab it and fill it with observations and read all of your background data.”
Niall gasped, suddenly breathless as he imagined it. “You know it’s wrong to flip through another man’s clipboard and peek at his data.”
“But you’d let me, wouldn’t you? You’d let me see everything and you’d like it.”
“I would. I’d let you have anything you want,” Niall replied but he wasn’t talking about his clipboard. And the most frustrating part was that Chance had to know as well! Their banter continued to get more and more explicit and Niall was being utterly serious but Chance would stop just short of saying yes and acting on his taunts.
“Let’s finish this and get going,” Chance said as he scraped the last of the yogurt from the cup and fed it to Niall.
This time he used a paper napkin to wipe Niall’s lip and was all business as he gathered up their trash and the remnants of their breakfast. Once everything was safely packed up in Chance’s tent to avoid attracting bears, he gave Niall a gentle pat on the bottom to get him going.
“Lead the way, Ranger Filthy.”
Niall’s lips twisted into a disgruntled pout as he set off, kicking a pine cone and following it because he didn’t have a particular destination in mind. He was mildly peeved and extremely horny, thanks to Chance’s teasing. Were they gettingtheir signals crossed or was it something about Niall that kept putting Chance off?
“I don’t know if you’re cuter when you’re spying on baby skunks or when you’re irritated with me,” Chance said and used a long branch that he had picked up to tap Niall’s shoulder before tossing it away from the trail.
“Why would you think I’d be irritated?” Niall risked a glance over his shoulder, swatting away a gnat and stifling a sigh. Chance looked so impossibly handsome and at ease, strolling through the forest like a godly lumberjack.
It seemed that the gnats, mosquitos, and flies had decided he was too beautiful to be pestered. Niall had yet to spot a tick or even a hive on those sculpted, tattooed shoulders and arms, despite the fact that Chance often wore tight white or gray V-neck T-shirts. The beard hugging his chiseled jaw looked so soft and clean and whatever Chance used on it smelled spicy and warm. His hair also defied nature and always looked and smelled perfect.
Niall was obsessive about hygiene and had mastered the art of bathing without plumbing or electricity but Chance took wilderness grooming to a new level. Maybe that was why he was avoiding intimacy. Some people could be fussy about sex while camping and anal did require a few extra considerations, but Niall was an expert at rustic butt stuff.
If Chance had any concerns aboutthat, Niall would have explained that he ate a really healthy, high-fiber diet and stayed super hydrated. He had a kit for cleansing but he rarely needed it because he paid attention to his body and knew when he was ready and when he wasn’t. Niall also had a jar of good aloe-based lube back at the cabin and kept a small tin of it in one of his pockets “for emergencies.”
