Page 22 of Devour

“I do. It sounds dirty.”

That made me laugh, and Rhory flashed his fangy grin before creeping toward my inner thigh with his mouth ready to bite.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Rhory harrumphed at me again, but begrudgingly complied. “You’re no fun.”

“Correct.”

I had to draw the line somewhere, and since I might take a vow of celibacy within the next two years, it had to be a very, very firm line. Even if I’d had sex in the past, I shouldn’t while attending seminary. Because even if I didn’t join the priesthood, abstinence would be expected of me. So while sex outside of marriage remained expressly forbidden, sex with a male demon would be… unquestionably sinful. Given the nature of how Rhory preferred to feed, our arrangement could easily become sexual. Still, technically not sex. No penetration. No orgasm. No stimulation. Not sex. Technically.

The only overlap with actual intercourse came from two aspects: having close contact with someone on a semi-regular basis made these encounters extremely intimate, and without a doubt Rhory received some form of pleasure from it. Whether that was sexual or I was his equivalent of cake, I couldn’t say for sure. I almost didn’t want to know.

“Maybe I’ll possess you some time,” Rhory said while his eyes shone even brighter than usual. “Make you see the light through no fault of your own.”

“You won’t.” I smirked down at him.

“Oh, I won’t? Why’s that?”

“Because I wouldn’t talk to you anymore if you did. Never mind letting you snack on me.”

“Meanie.” Another pout. Coming from him, it seemed almost comical. He wanted more than a snack and we both knew it.

Rhory wanted to eat me. And not in a sexual innuendo sort of way. In the knife and fork sort of way, though I doubted he’d use cutlery. Some demons enjoyed eating good people, and some preferred bad people. Rhory claimed to be mostly neutral, meaning he took what he could get when an opportunity presented itself. If someone made a promise to him, then broke it, he would eat that person if he so desired—and he always desired. Though, he admitted some people presented themselves as more irresistible than others for various reasons.

Unfortunately for me, I had a quality he desired, and I had done more than make a mere promise to him. We had a contract, and those contained conditions and limits. It also meant both of us holding up our ends. When our agreement expired, Rhory would come to collect. A demon’s most satisfying feed came from consuming someone’s soul. And that was exactly what he hoped to do on my thirty-fifth birthday. He reminded me of this fact frequently.

At this moment, Rhory was no longer hungry. Despite claiming otherwise, he couldn’t fool me anymore. When he really and truly needed to feed, his voice dipped to the growly version, and he made the surroundings misty with darkness until he satisfied himself. When he was just snacking for the sake of snacking, for the sheer pleasure of it, none of that happened. Additionally, while he often got aroused while feeding, he focused on getting full when hungry. When snacking, well, that was about the pleasure so he rubbed himself against me for however long I allowed—which was never very.

Slowly, Rhory crawled back up and straddled my lap, then wrapped his arms around my waist while he rested himself against me. He made it seem like a hug. It wasn’t a hug. A pleasured sigh brushed my ear before he buried his face deep into my neck again.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have no self-control?” I hinted.

“No,” he panted. He leaned his weight into me until I braced myself against the sofa.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Never had anyone talk as much as you.” Rhory deeply inhaled before nipping at my collarbone.

“Okay, that’s enough,” I said, yet again.

“Just a little more before I have to go.” His hot breath hitting my flesh gave me goosebumps, which only made this even better for him.

“You need to get off,” I warned him.

“Oh, I’m trying to get off.”

“Off. Now.”

“I love it when you’re bossy.” His voice crackled, and he rolled his hips forward repeatedly while he licked at my throat.

We were skirting the line. Until now I’d convinced myself so long as we did not cross said line, then I wouldn’t have to put an end to this entirely. My hand crept up into his soft hair, which always worked as an effective fail-safe. Only this time, I froze. His scalp rubbed against my palm and one of his hands slid under my shirt by the collar. We were careening too close, and I still hadn’t yanked the emergency brake. Oh, the line. The line. The line. The line. We could not cross the line and remain in each other’s lives.

With a shaky breath over that thought, I managed to whimper, “Rhory.”

Rhory’s head snapped back, and he never flew off me so fast before. His nose wrinkled, but he didn’t appear disgusted while he stood in front of me. He actually looked… sad. Incredibly sad.

And I was trembling. Violently. Taking deep breaths did little to help. Every emotion that swirled in me hurt and my throat tightened as if on the verge of tears.