Page 36 of Dead Air
“Me? How could I be anything but delighted? You were perfect, my love.” The words feathered against Niall’s temple and his cheek.
“Did you have someone before you…turned into a demon?” he asked gently.
There was another quiet pause before Cenn shook his head. “I know I did but it was so long ago and I can barely remember the time before or right after. There are bits and pieces but I’ve let them go because the parts of me that cared died with them.”
“But there was someone?” Niall verified, his heart aching at the thought.
“I had a family and I believe they are why I…turned.They were gone or too much time had passed when I was sentient again.”
Niall wiggled and twisted so he could wind an arm around Cenn and kiss him. “I’m so sorry!”
“Ssshh!” Cenn chuckled as he petted Niall’s hair and kneaded his back. “Thank you but it’s all very hazy and I don’t… This will sound terrible but I don’t care enough to dwell about who or what I was or how much I might have lost. When you’re new all you want is to be stronger so you can survive and feed the darkness. You have to feed the darkness within and create more of it or the light or other demons will get you.”
“That sounds brutal.”
Cenn made a bored sound. “It is the essence of nature and how the universe works, not just demons. There are only a handful of species that rear their young to maturity. Most demons don’t have parents in the biological sense but a baby demon isn’t that much different than a cub. You have a steep learning curve but that’s what drives you, not your memories or emotions. Those get flushed along with your soul so you’re left with nothing but instinct and hunger.”
“I don’t know if I buy that…” Niall leaned back and looked deep into flaming blue, past the smoke and Cenn’s demonic glow. “Youcareabout me and I think you might evenlove me,love me.” He pressed a finger against Cenn’s lips when he tried to argue, causing his eyes to widen. “You’re supposed to be a demon but you were so careful not to scare me when you revealed your true self for the first time. And you pay attention to the little things—minutethings—that nobody else would notice unless they really cared. You can’t fake that!”
He removed his finger and Cenn laughed softly as he kissed him. “Love and obsession are closely related. But obsession is love’s wicked, oafish cousin. It’s easy to confuse the two but I was…sugarcoating the truth before when I called you a demon’s pet. I’m more like a parasite and you are my host.Nothinggives me joy or pleasure—except power and darkness—but I can siphon off yours if I’m close enough. Anything that feeds your soulfeeds me.”
“Nah.” Niall shook his head. “I call that sharing because you wouldn’t take anything I didn’t want to give you.”
Cenn drew back. “You—?” He reeled for a moment, then captured Niall’s lips, laughing as he kissed him. “You must be right. You are the most amazing man I’ve ever met and this is why I would do anything to keep you safe.”
Niall’s nose scrunched and he shook his head. “Don’t say ‘anything.’ That makes me nervous and today has been so lovely.”
“Lovely?” Cenn groaned and his smoky lip pushed out. “I defiled your soul and penetratedallof your orifices, including your pores. You can’t call that ‘lovely,’ not if I can’t say ‘anything.’” he complained. “I’m not much of a demon if you’ve had a lovely time and I can’t doanythingto protect you.”
“I’m sorry,” Niall said, even though he felt like he was floating again as he nibbled on Cenn’s lip. “You areveryscary but I don’t want you to scare or hurt anyone else on my behalf. You can do the orifices thing again, though. Later,” he added quickly and Cenn smiled.
“We’re definitely doing that again later.”
Sixteen
So far, Cenn was pleased with how matters were progressing with Niall, especially when they were confined to his cramped cabin. Inside and alone, they rarely bothered with clothes and Cenn lavished Niall with all the affection and attention his starved, lonely heart could handle. No longer required to go through the motions, Cenn could entertain himself during mealtimes by feeding Niall—often with his fingers—and baths became decadent adventures and lasted hours.
Niall’s bed was Cenn’s sanctum. There, he catered to Niall’s every whim and wallowed in the pure bliss of his soul as he slept.
“I wish we could stay like this,” Niall yawned out one night, just after they had fucked.
Cenn was wrapped around Niall, holding him close and still buried deep in his ass as their bodies cooled and their breathing settled.
“We can, if you’d like.”
“Really?” Niall turned his face to see Cenn’s in the dark. “It wouldn’t get uncomfortable for you and you won’t get soft and slide out?”
“It won’t get uncomfortable. I can stay just like this for as long as you want.”
He nodded off with a sated smile on his lips and Cenn was deliriously happy to pass the hours saturated in Niall’s soul. And it was glorious when Niall came awake and was instantly aroused to find Cenn still deep in his core. He whimpered and mewled as he wiggled and writhed, sliding back and forth as Cenn pinched his nipples and stroked Niall’s cock. Niall refused to sleep any other way after that, which was just fine with Cenn.
Outside the cabin, the pressure was rising. Lennox MacIlwraith and his cohorts had been made aware of Cenn’s presence and were currently planning to rescue Niall. He was a little unclear as to how they had learned of his arrival but they were deeply concerned about Niall and he could hear their murmured plans. They were coming and would be there in a few days. If Cenn’s luck held, he and Niall could fool them into leaving without too much fuss.
That would be tricky but if Cenn was careful and kept a light touch, he might be able to go unnoticed by Merlin Oglethorpe. He would have to coach Niall well and enchant the cabin—and air it out—then keep a distance until the threat had passed. They would most likely return but by then Niall would be beyond their reach and Cenn planned to have Hugh Dùbhghlas in his pocket as well.
HowCenn would back out of their deal and outsmart the warlock was a problem for another day but he was confident he’d find a way. Niall’s soul was no longer on the table. Cenn had claimed it and defiled it in every way but one, preserving its preternatural virginity so Niall’s covenant with the Otherworld remained intact. He would belong to Cenn for as long as his mortal shell existed, and then, Niall would rest for eternity in glory.
That was all that mattered to Cenn now. He didn’t care about his own power or all the souls he’d forfeit. He would still be Cenn Cruach and his magick could not be erased.Hebreathed those ancient charms to life and gave them their poison and their potency. Cenn was the source from which dark magick sprang and he would always be connected to it. He could die a thousand deaths but the demon flame within him would always flicker back to life, inextinguishable and insatiable in its need to consume the light. His hunger would make him strong again and he’d eventually regain whatever he had lost.
