"What about me? My safeword ispainand I don’t want any of it."
"Are you sure?” He smirked. “Even pain can be fun in the right circumstances."
Oh no, he couldn’t distract me with his sexy face and mild innuendo. “Bold talk for the guy holding the knife.”
"Don’t you remember your request? If I torture you, it should be sexual torture."
"Okay, that’s not fair! You can’t just use my own words against me like that."
I took a breath, then pointed out the obvious. “If you’re wrong about this, if our little experiment works… we’ll get what we’re asking for. We’ll be connected.”
For two guys who’d never had sex, that was pretty intimate.
Orion only nodded. “I told you that I thought you could help me. Whatever happens, you can still prove me right.”
Even for being an incubus,thatwas the most tempting thing he ever said.
See, my shitty bluff about dabbling in all kinds of magic? Bullshit. Us mages only did that to learn the basics while we searched for our calling. We weren’t supposed to fly solo forever. Our powers could only go so far without purpose.
I’d been at this for nearly five years now. My calling and my people hadn’t revealed themselves yet. At a certain point, a guy had to wonder if he’devermake progress.
But if this powerful, successful man saw my value, that meant Ihadvalue. Even a short connection with him was something. I wouldn’t be on my own.
I’d been drifting so long. I wondered what it felt like to have a purpose.
I still eyed the knife doubtfully. The best place to start? With him and not me. “You first, big guy.”
He positioned himself near one end of the circle, giving me the space opposite him. This represented where we started, two people from different worlds who were coming together for our shared goal.
“Ready to start?” he asked.Speak now or forever hold your peace.
“What the hell. Let’s do it.”
One small step into the circle felt so loaded. The motion spoke volumes, here we were meeting each other halfway.
“One mage and one demon freely enter this exclusive agreement.” He looked me right in the eye while delivering his magical vows. “I partner with you, Rob Walters, to find the one responsible for these disappearances and deaths.”
Even my smartass mouth understood the serious nature of magic and that this wasn’t the time to say a pithy ‘ditto’ or veer off script.
“I partner with you, Orion Lennox,” I repeated. “I pledge myself to you and to our cause. I pledge my magic to you and to our cause.”
His eyes were still locked onto mine. Orion’s eyes were so dark they might as well be black. If I stared into those eyes long enough, would I be able to find colors there? What else would I find? The only thing I saw in his gaze was a clear challenge as he stared me down and cleanly sliced his palm and let it bleed in the chalice.
“Let our energies join together in this circle,” he continued. “And our blood mix together in this chalice, not unlinking until our mission is complete.”
Now it was my turn.
Orion offered me a different athame because we could still connect magically while following basic hygienic practices.
A small smile appeared on his face, almost daring me to follow through. His crackling energy called to me on the other side of the circle. I understood so clearly why he was an incubus. He might not be all soft and inviting, but he still embodied pure temptation.
A stupid part of me ached to spill my blood, for it to mix with his. If this were the only opportunity to get close to him, I’d take it. Plus, I’d always been bad at resisting a challenge and worse at resisting a pretty face.Here goes nothing.
“Shit,” I breathed when my fingers brushed against the knife handle. I changed my mind. “You do it.”
"Are you sure?"
“Yeah. Not giving Rob the knife? Good call.” I left the knife in his large, capable hands and waited. “I’m still in. Do it. Come on, just get it over with—”ouch, sonofa— “bitch!”
