Page 13 of Dead Air
Sex to appease Niall’s sensual demons? That was Cenn’s pleasure.Intimacywhile Niall was conscious? That was taking Dùbhghlas’s game too far. Cenn didn’t want Niall truly falling in love and getting his hopes up about the future. Lust was fine but love was a crime.
Niall’s dreams meandered, as fresh and as clear as a spring morning on the mountain. He wandered through the glade, talking to the butterflies and singing with the birds. His aura was tranquil and he laughed softly in his sleep, happy to be alive and surrounded by nature. But it wasn’t long until Niall came upon Chance in his tent.
“That’s my cue,” Cenn said with a pleased chuckle, listening for his next clue as he floated over the bed.
Praise kink suited Niall’s psyche like a glove. He desired to be a “good” boy in all ways so why would sex be any different? Being submissive also aligned with his desire to serve others andthe greater good. He was simply a good human to his fellow man and the planet and serving his Daddy was just another outlet for Niall’s innate need to please.
It had very little to do with a void left in Niall’s life by the loss of his father and more to do with his insatiable yearning for intimacy, but with boundaries. After Andy, Niall craved safety and nurturing. He wanted to be cared for and praised for his submission, not scared into it. How could Cenn fulfill those needs while Niall was awake without engaging with his emotions and setting up expectations?
I could keep him. Why couldn’t I give him the perfect husband and the ideal life?
That was a ridiculous idea and impossible. Cenn was a fool for even considering it.
He was, though. A mortal life lasted about as long as a dream for demons. Fifty or sixty glorious years for Niall would pass quickly for Cenn but he could make those years the best of his demonic existence. Cenn ignored how many rules he’d have to break and how much he’d have to sacrifice.
New magick would have to be invented because as far as Cenn knew, there was no way to go back in time. He had a charm to erase a memory and to see the past, but Cenn couldn’tundoa single day or a moment. There were ways to break a demon’s deal or cancel it but the price would be too high and give Hugh Dùbhghlas unmatched power.
I have made new magick before…
Cenn was intrigued by the idea and wondered if he could create something that could save Niall and protect his soul. That would require far more power and time than Cenn had at the moment. It had taken him centuries to breathe his incantations to life and to teach them to enough of his demonic children to make them potent and sacred.
He set the idea aside, not wanting to tempt himself or get his own hopes up over impossible things. Not when he could be cherishing Niall and making his dreams more magickal and satisfying. At the moment, Niall was preparing to give Chance a decadent blow job in the forest. Acts of service were truly Niall’s love language and he had found bliss, nuzzling his nose and lips all over Chance’s sac.
“You’re starving, aren’t you?” Cenn groaned, wrapping himself around Niall and covering his skin in feather-soft kisses. They would feel like the sun in his dream and Niall hummed happily as Chance’s fingers sifted through his hair. Niall opened wide and took Chance deep into his throat, sucking greedily. “Easy, my love! You’ll be so sore tomorrow,” Cenn worried as he filled Niall’s mouth with smoke, causing him to gag and hum in delight.
In his dream, Niall pulled Chance down to his knees to explore the rest of his body. Even in his sleep, Niall yearned to touch, smell, and taste Chance. He rubbed his face all over Chance’s chest, abrading his lips on the hairs and tugging at his nipples with the tips of his teeth. Niall scratched and squeezed and purred like a kitten when he burrowed into Chance’s armpit, breathing in his scent and licking his sweat.
Niall’s desires didn’t come in a particular shape or color, but in smells, sounds, and textures. He craved the presence and dominance of amanand Cenn had clearly created the ultimate trap with Chance. Niall was currently fascinated with the light dusting of hair on Chance’s ass and drooling as he dreamt of rimming him.
“Such a good boy!” Cenn whispered encouragingly while Niall’s tongue flicked and wiggled and he growled in his sleep.
He was so hard and Cenn could smell Niall’s body growing warmer and more aroused. Smoke swirled around Niall’s shaft and sac and curled into the cleft of his ass. Cenn stroked, sucked,and filled Niall with tendrils of smoke, twisting and thrusting until he was as frantic and sweaty as he was in his dream.
Chance was pushed onto his back in the woods and Niall valiantly rode him with only his spit and a wish for lube. In the cabin, Cenn was far more gentle, stretching Niall with heat and smoke and whispering words of love and praise in his ears. This time, Niall was utterly spent when he came, collapsing on Chance’s chest as he was wrapped in Cenn’s embrace.
Three became one, bonded by the pure perfection of Niall’s soul. It had taken hours and both versions of Cenn to quench Niall’s hunger but his spirit was at ease andsomeof the hurt Roger had caused had been erased. Cenn knew better than to assume he’d relieved Niall of the entire burden. His heart was too tender to let a thing like that go without it leaving a mark and it infuriated Cenn becauseheknew how unworthy Roger was. He didn’t deserve a moment of Niall’s sorrow or regret and Roger sure as fuck didn’t deserve his sympathy. Next time, Cenn would be more careful so that Niall wouldn’t blame himself and end up more traumatized.
What kind of demon are you, Cenn Cruach?
The question stopped Cenn and he recoiled, rushing back into his corner and then out of the cabin and into the night. He flew to the cliff where Roger had fallen and sat on the edge, above the ledge where he and Niall had hunted salamanders and where Roger’s body had been discovered.
A decent demon would have seen Roger as an opportunity and a shortcut, instead of interfering before he could reach Niall. Cenn could have offered to save Niall in exchange for a piece of his soul. Or Cenn could have let Roger do his worst, then at the attack’s zenith, offer Niall a chance to reverse their rolls and make Rogerpay.
There were so many ways a decent demon could have manipulated the situation to his advantage but Cenn had chosento play attack dog. And now, he was protecting Niall like a dog with a bone, instead of operating like a respectable demon. He was wasting time and had even imagined playing house with Niall for a lifetime.
What had gotten into him and what was it about this particular human? Cenn had met pious mortals before and had cared very little about their twee souls or what became of them. Niall wasn’t the first wholesome granola Cenn had ever encountered either. He was very present in the 60’s and had a hand in the darker side of the hippie movement.
Something about Niall had corrupted Cenn and began to counteract his demon instincts the moment he arrived on Hawksbill Mountain. Cenn had anticipated that the overly wholesome human would be a challenge, but this was something entirely different. He had felt a foreign compulsion the moment they touched and Cenn’s need to possess and protect Niall grew more fierce with every moment they spent together.
How pathetic will this get and how much pride will I have left by the time this is done?
Cenn sighed down at the ledge, picturing Roger’s twisted, bleeding body. That did very little to cheer him up and Cenn wondered if this was all part of Dùbhghlas’s plan. Matters on the mountain were getting messy and Cenn’s integrity as a demon was already compromised. Dùbhghlas would be pleased if he knew how quickly Cenn’s plans had gone awry.
Buthewas Cenn Cruach. The first and the father of all demons, was he not?
There were two things that Cenn could promise. One, he would prevail because he always did, even if he had to invent new magick or a new way to cheat. And two, Cenn would die and take Hugh Dùbhghlas with him before allowing the warlock to have the last laugh.
Eight
