Page 3 of Dead Air
Was it too peaceful, though?
Niall moved the thawed bags of dinner and dessert to the bucket of water simmering on the pellet stove, then considered the coffee table/bathtub. Niall had cut the old barrel in half and sealed it so it was waterproof. He’d rigged a hose from the rainwater tank behind his cabin to fill the tub. The bucket of water heating his dinner would also warm up his bath. He’d need two buckets of hot water but he’d eat while waiting on the second.
“Wild night at Niall’s!” he said with a wry chuckle but his smirk curved wickedly as he considered the new natural loofah in his hygiene kit and the glass dildo under his mattress. “Really wild night at Niall’s.” His brows wiggled in anticipation.
Suddenly in a frisky mood, Niall went to find the radio, some charged batteries, and his “sassy” mixtape. It had been a while since he had really treated himself and Niall was hoping that might take the edge off. He’d been extra restless lately and often found himself turned on for no reason whatsoever. The air around him seemed more sexually charged and while it wouldn’t be accurate to say he felt like he was being watched, Niall couldn’t shake the sensation that someone else was there and he was putting on a show.
He never felt creeped out, like someone was truly on the other side of the window or following him in the woods. But when Niall was alone and naked or when he was touching himself, he felt just a bit naughtier and like he wasn’t the only one appreciating the performance. Which tickled Niall’s imagination and caused him to linger by the window when he was dressing or arch his back a little more when he was lounging in bed. He posed like a hussy as he tied his shoes and stretched a little extra before a hike, showing off for… whom?
It should have been thelastthing in the world to excite Niall but he had been a bit of an exhibitionist and a voyeur before Andy and had indulged his submissive tendencies whenever he could. He had been exploring those kinks in adult clubs and considered that another form of trust that Andy had violated and one of the few things that Niall missed from his old life. The nearest venue for that sort of play was hours away and Niall didn’t know if he would ever be able to explore that side of his sexuality with strangers again.
When he was outside, in nature, he was totally fine being in close proximity to other adults. But alone in his cabin or other intimate settings? Niall shuddered whenever he imagined inviting Shelby up for dinner. He had almost asked but Niall nearly had a panic attack the one time DeeDee came up to deliver his supplies. He’d caught another terrible cold and she had thoughtfully arrived with his supplies and soup but Niall behaved as if she’d come bearing a box of cobras, running her out of his cabin like a wild man.
Luckily, she chalked it up to him having a fever and being delirious from too much sleep and cold medicine. She still teased him about it and everyone said Niall was a hermit and the “oldest man” on Hawksbill Mountain even though he was just thirty-two and eight years younger than Shelby and four years younger than Kerry.
If they only knew…
Niall shook his head quickly. No one needed to know that his hobbies were limited to semi-vegetarian meal prep, recycling and upcycling, and masturbation. He couldn’t say how much of that was because of Andy or Niall just being a weird guy. He’d always been a more solitary person but curious about his sexuality and adventurous in the right setting. But it was Andy who had introduced Niall to shame and had sent him into isolation.
“This isn’t so bad, though,” he reminded himself while searching the box under his bed for the small radio and tape player and his favorite tape. He had two: one a mixtape of dance songs, the other a recording of an NPR broadcast. The DJ had a soft, sexy voice and had played several of Niall’s favorite classical pieces. He’d left them in his bedroom at his aunt’s house and they had become Niall’s most prized possessions after his townhouse had blown up.
They were from his college years, long before he had met Andy and when Niall had given himself permission to be as wild and as gay as he could be. He planned to be a Serious Adult™ after he graduated, with an important job and a mortgage. There wouldn’t be time for partying later so Niall had sown his oats between his studies and shifts as a paramedic.
Was there some overlap between the studying, working, and sowing? Obviously. He’d had flings with a TA and a few guys from his study groups and the aforementioned men in uniform. Niall was human and in hindsight, it made life as a hermit a little easier. There was never any shortage of memories that didn’t include Andy to keep Niall warm at night.
“And that Thoren guy from the TikToks,” Niall said with another wiggle of his brows. “Let’s see if I can fool myself into believing my new loofah is a beard.”
Three
There was no such thing as Hell. At least, not a dedicated place, run by a single Devil. Hell could be anywhere and everywhere all at once and demons did all they could to spread the darkness. Miserable souls were easier to reap and Cenn’s job as a demon was to prevent souls from leaving their suffering, mortal coil and ascending to the glory of the Otherworld. For a few chosen and heroic souls, the Otherworld was like Olympus or Elysium. But the rest found a glorious, glowing eternity, acting as the light and source of life in the Otherworld.
Cenn was currently in his own hell as he crouched in the corner of Niall’s cabin, invisible and aching with hunger. A soul had never looked more tempting and Niall was beautiful as he stripped off his clothes and danced while washing his silly plastic bags and his chipped, mismatched bowls. He had been so adorable as he sprinkled granola on his dessert and giggled as he toasted it with a candle lighter he’d found on a hike.
His craftiness and independence amused Cenn and he found Niall’s resilience remarkable. He wasn’t hiding because he had given up on mankind and he still wanted to help his fellow man, even if he didn’t always feel safe and secure around them. Basedon Niall’s performance reviews, he had never shirked his duties and had performed some impressive rescues single-handedly. None of his friends and coworkers had a clue about his traumatic past or the scars he hid.
They didn’t know he was an excellent dancer either.
Silas Shelby had some pretty erotic fantasies about Niall, but they paled in comparison to reality. He believed Niall was as sweet and innocent in the bedroom as he was on the trail, that Niall would be shocked if he knew the things Shelby had imagined. A smile spread across Cenn’s invisible face as Niall stepped over the side of the tub and slowly lowered into steamy, lavender-scented water.Shelbywould be shocked if he knew what Niall was capable of.
What was he planning to do with that loofah?
There really was no telling and every evening with Niall had been a delightful experience. He didn’t always get off and Cenn enjoyed the nights when Niall quietly read or sang to himself while tinkering with his box of unclaimed solar gadgets. And while Niall’s tastes weren’t extreme or even that particularly shocking, the variety and frequency of his sexual activities were rather impressive for a single man in a cabin without electricity.
Cenn moved closer to the tub when Niall raised the wet loofah and rubbed it against his cheek, giggling as it brushed his ear. He scrubbed his neck and gasped. “You can bite but don’t leave a mark!”
A low purr rumbled from Niall as he dragged the loofah across his chest and there was a weak whimper when it swept and swirled into his armpit. His eyes were shut and his teeth dug into his lower lip as Niall drew the rough sponge all over his abdomen. He rose on his knees and held onto the edge as it cruised over the neatly trimmed hairs at the base of his cock and around, gently nuzzling his sac.
“Suck me!” he begged, squeezing and stroking his shaft with his other hand, the wet sliding sound carrying through the cabin and making Cenn thirsty.
Soon enough…
Cenn had never craved a human’s skin and mouth and cum this intensely but he could not rush. The stakes were too high and Cenn wanted every advantage possible before he faced Niall. He’d watched Niall for close to a month, learning everything he could but had found no other weaknesses to exploit. Aside from his escape from Willoughby and his overactive libido, Niall’s conduct and character were unimpeachable. He was a competent, stable, and otherwise well-adjusted person with nothing to be ashamed of.
If anyone was looking for the ideal gay mate, they would have hit the jackpot with Niall. For a demon looking to barter for a soul, Niall Gilpatrick was a big problem. Cenn had to take a few steps back and gird himself when Niall slid the loofah around his hip and along the cleft of his ass. He bucked impatiently against it and his ragged keening taunted Cenn.
“Please eat my hole!”
The loofah was mashed against Niall’s ass and it was agonizing, watching him writhe as his cock dripped with bathwater and pre-cum.
