The blackness of the boys eyes expanded, blocking out all color until they looked like two bottomless pits of nothingness.
I like to play, The boy said and a malicious smile appeared while his fingers played with the spider hanging on the end of the chain.
*****
Kriss lay in bed on the top floor penthouse of one of the more prestigious apartment buildings in downtown Los Angeles. Hed taken refuge here in order to avoid Tabatha and his growing feelings toward her.
His mind flashed back to the last time he had seen her. Hed steadfastly kept his distance from her for a couple days before the separation became too painful for him. His chest had begun to ache from not being close to her and when he entered their apartment to find her asleep with dried tears staining her cheeks his only thought was to hold her and make it all better.
Hed slipped under the covers with her, not realizing she was naked until he wrapped himself around her in a protective embrace. Thats when hed frozen, straining toward her and away from her at the same time. Shed turned toward him in her sleep, throwing her arm around him to cuddle like she often did her extra pillows. When her breasts pressed up against his chest, the self-control hed always prided himself on snapped.
For months his thoughts had been drifting toward doing things to her with her things that couldnt be done regardless of how much he loved and wanted her. But in that instant, hed wanted inside her enough to risk killing the woman he loved. He felt his hardness throb and brush against her soft flesh.
When an angry shadow fell across the bed, Kriss froze then slowly turned his head and looked up into Deans accusing silver gaze. He knew hed crossed the line from friendship into danger upon seeing that expression on his lovers face.
Hed left with Dean that night, determined that he would not commit the same sins as his father. He felt himself throb again at the memory. Until he got the emotion under control, he knew Dean was right he had to stay away from Tabatha.
As a further precaution, hed quit his job at Silk Stalkings just in case she went looking for him there. Hed done everything he could to make sure Tabatha was kept as far away as possible from him, but the separation hurt him like nothing hed ever felt. When a fallen loved someone it was a step past what a human called love and the madness that the emotion often caused within humans when they couldnt have the one they loved was tenfold when compared to the reaction it caused within a fallen.
Kriss once again jerked on the bindings that secured one wrist hed hated Dean for restraining him. However, Kriss understood what had almost happened. If he had given into his lust the pain of losing Dean and killing Tabatha at the same time wouldve destroyed his mind.
He closed his eyes when a cool breeze drifted through the open terrace doors and over his nude body. Although the restraints allowed him movement throughout the huge apartment, hed laid down hours ago but couldnt sleep and the tumbled mess of covers on the floor was testament to that. Kriss was now lying on his belly with one knee bent against the mattress and the other leg was covered over with the very edge of the sheet.
Another breeze blew through the room bringing with it a familiar scent. Kriss opened his eyes, watching the shadows of the gauzy curtains against the wall in front of him. When a winged shadow joined them, Kriss remained silent and expectant.
Dean had been on the roof, giving his demons prey and an elusive fallen hybrid a rest for the night. Dropping down from the roof of the building to the terrace below, he stood in the open doorway watching Kriss. The white sheet had been kicked aside, exposing his nude body to the glow of moonlight shining in. Dean felt the loneliness Kriss held in his heart and knew staying away from Tabatha long enough would be the only cure for such pain.
His gaze trailed across the supernatural binding that kept Kriss from leaving the apartment during his absence. He didnt want to hurt Kriss in such a manner, but he could feel Kriss' love for Tabatha growing every day. Hed reminded Kriss that to sleep with a woman from this world would be the same as killing her and he hadnt lied the seed of a fallen would take root even in an infertile woman. It would heal the infertility in order to create life if it had to but that life would kill the female who bore it.
Dean had told Kriss the truth of his own sins the one sure way to keep Kriss from being with Tabatha. When hed first been sent to this world hed become entranced with a young girl around the same age as Tabatha. Hed spent too much time with her and one thing had led to another hed fallen in love with a human female.
Thinking the curse would not follow him thinking with as much as he loved her that they would have a fallen child, hed given into to his lust. Shed encouraged it because she wanted him just as badly. Making love to her had been heaven but it had only taken hours for the demon to fully form inside her. When shed awoken him later in the night with her screams, hed had to kill his own child when it began to eat her from the inside.
Kriss had been deceiving himself thinking he could sleep with Tabatha night after night without making love to her but Dean knew that was a lie a dangerous one. Kriss would never be able to live with himself if he signed Tabathas death warrant with the seed of his own love.
The fallen craved love, yet had been sent to a world where they could not touch the women all they had left was each other. Kriss' beauty had always called to Dean, enchanted him even and he knew why Kriss was royalty among their kind. He never should have been sent back to this place to fight the demons. He silently wondered how long it had taken one of the kings to realize their prince had vanished. Kriss was meant to be pampered, loved, and cherished.
Stepping into the room, Dean moved slowly making sure his shadow remained on the wall so Kriss could see what he was doing clearly and have time to stop it if he chose to.
The demons are restless within the city tonight can you feel them? Dean kept his voice calm not expecting an answer. His lips parted when Kriss' melancholy voice sent a soft echo through the room.
Let them come.
Dean pulled the jacket from his shoulders and tossed it onto a chair against the wall. Next came the shirt he unbuttoned it and let it fall from his shoulders to the floor in a soft pile of cotton. He unbuttoned his pants and slowly lowered the zipper, almost smiling when Kriss' breath caught. Slipping off his shoes and socks, Dean pushed his jeans to the floor and stepped out of them.
Moving toward the bed, Dean gripped one of the canopy posts for a moment to stare down at Kriss before slipping in next to him. Pulling Kriss onto his side, Dean spooned behind him and jerked him close, giving into the jealousy that simmered within his heart.
He knew Kriss' sadness stemmed from his love for Tabatha hed felt a premonition of the danger coming the night Tabatha and Kriss had met. Thats why hed attacked Tabatha in the parking lot of Silk Stalkings. His intention had been to warn her of the threat but Kriss had stopped him, using his body as her shield using Deans obsession against him.
Kriss rolled over onto his back and turned his head to gaze at Dean. They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity before Dean swiftly closed the distance between them and brushed his lips sensuously against Kriss'.
When Kriss inhaled sharply, Dean took advantage and deepened the kiss making it more demanding. He was tired of lying beside Kriss night after night watching him morn for a girl he could never have. If he could, he would just inhale Kriss' pain and replace it with the furious love of the fallen.
Kriss felt the fire start to spread through his veins but his own guilt made him turn his face away, breaking the kiss. He tucked himself into Deans arms, wrapping his own arms around Deans body before threading their legs together.
Dean stared silently down at the top of Kriss' head and mentally sighed. The fact that Kriss was holding on to him so tightly was the only thing that calmed him. He could feel the sadness ebb a little before it returned. Hed already decided to release Kriss from his bindings with the dawn but in the face of Kriss' rejection, Deans eyes glowed and the bindings disappeared.
In an instant Kriss turned and gripped Deans wrists, slamming them down into the mattress and holding them there.
Dean stared calmly up into disturbed silver eyes wondering what Kriss would do now that he had the freedom to return to Tabatha. When Kriss simply held him there, Dean lifted his head from the mattress gently brushing his lips across Kriss' collarbone to the arc of his neck. He was rewarded by Kriss' sharp hiss and his release.
Several hours later they lay entwined together as dawn broke. Dean knew, just as Kriss did, that he would be here when Kriss woke in the morning he would always be here.
*****
Kane walked the city streets trying to clear his head of everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Hed even felt glimpses of his old personality come to the surface several times mostly around Michael. He had to admit that he loved the guy.
The tight rein hed kept on his emotions for the last ten years was slipping and he already missed the security the imaginary walls had allowed him. He was sure some well-paid fraud of a psychiatrist would say that was a good thing but he was also sure he could change their minds in record time.
He used the numbness he brought out of the grave with him like a shield keeping him half dead and the people around here safer for it. As it was, it was taking every ounce of control he had to keep his feelings for Tabatha bottled up and protect her from Misery at the same time.
He still got the chills knowing that Michael had finally figured out that it was Tabatha who had set him free from his grave. If hed been thinking clearly, he would have found a way to keep Scrappy away from Tabatha for a while longer while he tried to figure out how to tell her if he told her at all.
In his opinion, some secrets were meant to be kept. Truth was hed never planned to tell Tabatha.
Kane growled becoming annoyed when his thoughts were interrupted. He could feel demonic eyes on him as he walked watching every move he made. He wondered if they had been sent by Misery. He couldnt sense her among them, which actually made a lot of sense. Why should the bitch stalk him when she could have her underlings do it for her? The city was now crawling with her minions dark entities hed helped create.
He quickened his pace to the point where the headlights of the cars coming toward him were suddenly moving away behind him. The red glow of their taillights illuminated the street for a few short seconds before even that disappeared. Hed never been this fast before but, with the mood he was in lately, hed been ignoring the upsurge in power.
Right now all he wanted was to be alone in his own bubble, instead of around Michael and whoever his best friend slash brother had with him. He wasnt so sure he was capable of wearing his Im sane now mask not tonight. His true self was close to the surface and that was something Michael didnt need to see.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Kane continued on in an attempt to ignore the spying bastards following him. Hed reached a more upscale area of the city now and he headed toward the section where a large majority of clubs were situated. He needed a good drink and perhaps a bit of a fight, even if it meant he had to start it himself. The clubs would provide the mind-dulling liquid, and it should be easy enough to locate a nest of vampires for the other.
Turning a corner onto a busy street, Kane caught a sweet scent on the wind and stopped, letting the sights and sounds of the city come back into focus. He could smell her very close by and looked around trying to determine her location. He inhaled deeply, wanting more of her, then wondered if he was a masochist for torturing himself.
He knew he should stay away from her since he seemed to be a homing beacon for demons, but his flip side instantly argued that his soul mate had a way of finding trouble on her own. If she was crazy enough to be roaming around in a demon hot spot, then maybe he should refresh her mind on how bad of an idea that really was.
His sharp gaze landed on a club called Silk Stalkings and he frowned knowing thats where the fallen, Kriss, worked as a dancer. It was an interesting career choice for a fallen but Kane wasnt one to judge. Sighing in resignation, Kane crossed the street and entered the club so he could take Tabatha home before she got herself into more trouble.
Chapter 2
Tabatha stepped through the entrance of Silk Stalkings and looked around. Shed come here looking for Kriss and prayed she would find him. Hed gone missing a few days ago and hadnt even called and hed been avoiding her longer than that. She missed him and was starting to worry. If he was gone for any length of time in the past, hed at least called and let her know everything was all right.
Just catching a glimpse of him would take away her fear that Misery had eaten him or locked him in a cave somewhere.
Sitting down at one of the tall tables, she continued to watch the stage hoping Kriss would come out and perform his act. It was almost an hour later that she realized the time and knew Kriss should have hit the stage by now. One of the waiters walked by her and she touched him on the arm to gain his attention.
Do you need something, Miss? he asked.
Tabatha smiled, Im hoping you can help me. Im looking for Kriss Reed. Can you tell me when his next shift is?
The waiter sighed and shook his head, Youre the sixth woman to ask about him this week. Unfortunately, he quit a while back, no ones seen him since.
Tabatha felt like shed been slapped in the face. A sinking feeling appeared in the pit of her stomach and she lowered her head to hide the tears that started to gather shed lost her best friend.
Are you okay? the waiter asked softly.
Tabatha looked up at him and smiled, wiping away the wetness that threatened to ruin her mascara. Yeah, Im fine. But you can get me a Malibu and pineapple?
The waiter gave her a questioning look before sighing and going back to the bar. He recognized Tabatha as one of Kriss' close friends and figured Kriss had skipped town without telling her. It was shame too she seemed to be a nice girl and Kriss leaving had obviously hurt her.
Tabatha made a show of taking her compact out of her clutch purse and examining her makeup. Hed left without even saying goodbye hed promised when they went to Florida with Devon and Envy that hed never leave her. They had even become closer since her kidnapping so much closer.
Here you go, the waiter announced and set her drink down in front of her.
Tabatha lowered the compact and smiled up at him, Go ahead and start up a tab Im going to stay for a while.