Page 7 of Moth & Flame
Vale swipes a thickly muscled arm across his forehead, which only serves to smear his silver blood. “See you downstairs?”
I nod and turn to leave as Artemis chimes. “You’ve a new client today, Master Vale. Would you like me to read you the details?”
Vale retrieves a moist towel that Artemis has supplied in the dumbwaiter. “How long until they arrive?”
“Not until eight this evening, sir.”
“I’ll check my Spyder Mail later then. Thanks, Arty.”
Artemis’ voice turns sultry. “I live to serve, my lord.”
Vale’s brows lift as he directs a coy grin at the floor, speaking in a husky tone. “If only you had a body to worship, my darling.”
Artemis hums her pleasure. “Perhaps, one day, I shall.”
“If I lick the floor, will you feel it? Would it hasten your desire to join me?”
I shut the door, eager to escape their foreplay and make myself presentable for the female I can no longer deny is mysoulbound.
DRAVEN
After returning from Hella’s, I spent much of my morning and afternoon in a restless state of either sleeping, or stroking my cock into a gods-damned chafe. My female is driving me fucking mad. So much so that I can scarcely manage to focus on the administrative tedium Moth & Flame requires of me.
When I see Klaus is behind the stone reception desk with his assistant in the foyer of Moth & Flame, a wicked grin splits my face in anticipation.
Wherever Klaus goes, unintentional hilarity follows. He and his assistant are murmuring something I dutifullypretendnot to hear as Klaus’ eyes lift to mine over the rims of his tiny, circular spectacles. They’re not even large enough to conceal the entirety of his eyes, and I have no idea why he bothers to wear them. But if the male is anything at all, it’s eccentric.
The salt-and-pepper-bearded immortal, with the bald head dressed only ever in some variation of tight black leather, is richer than sin and has a phobia of germs and being touched. Why the fuck he would choose to provide kink release is beyond me, but you’ll never hear me complain about it. He drives a solid thirty percent of Moth & Flame’s revenue.
Shortly after I opened Moth & Flame, Klaus showed up, assistant in tow, and eager to patronize. The only problem was his kink was servicing others, and allowing a client to service other clients would raise all sorts of legal red tape. So I hired him. Within months, the male had become, quite literally, famous.
As if the thought alone cued a devoted patron’s entrance, one of the double doors swings open, and in walks a pretty female. She squeals with delight at the sight of him and rushes towards the desk. I halt my forward movement, giving my own silent squeal of delight in anticipation of witnessing Klaus at his finest.
“Klaus! Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods!I’ve waited for six months for this appointment, and you’re finallyhere!I’m Layla! I’ve beendyingto meet you!”
Ibarelysucceed in suppressing my glee as I watchLaylaextend her hand in the very human gesture of a handshake. I have to bite my cheek so hard it bleeds as Klaus bestows Layla with something that resembles a smile–like the wince of a too-hard-pinched nipple.
Klaus clears his throat, composing himself andwillsa small prosthetic hand on a slender telescopic rod into existence. With careful precision, he gently places the fake hand in her hand for her to shake. His voice becomes a dramaticcoo.
“The pleasure is all mine, darling.”
The delight on Layla’s face falters as she hesitantly shakes the miniature prosthetic before she makes a high-pitched sound that I imagine is not too dissimilar to how she’ll sound when he’s providing his renownedmanual stimulation.
No one knows exactly what that involves. Every one of his clients signs an NDA that forbids them from divulging how he coaxes his clients into such intense orgasms they travel far and wide to be serviced by him. No one knows what type of immortal he is, where he comes from, or if his real name is even Klaus.
When Klaus releases the telescopic end of the prosthetic hand, his wraith assistant, Camilla, stands by with a bin. Layla looks up at Klaus with wide, adoring eyes. “May I keep it, Master Klaus?”
Having imbibed my dose of joy thanks to bearing witness to the bizarre interaction, I ascend the steps to my office to complete the finishing touches on the newest model of my Crypts & Chimeras character–a rogue female Sanguinati assassin that bears a striking resemblance to the female I’ve fallen head over heels in love with as I wait for her arrival.
HELLA
“This is by far the most disastrous idea you’ve ever had.” I’m sitting across from my magistrate, Balthazar, who’s peering at me from over the rim of his round, wire-framed spectacles.
“The only consequence that concerns me is that spending my life with Allister will be the death of me.”
The delicate, bejewelled chain dripping from the stems of his glasses tinkles as he massages the bridge of his nose and heaves a sigh. “Darling, I admire your determination. Really, I do, but I’ll fear for your life more if you try to leave him than stay with him.”
“Balthazar, I’m fairly certain that once we do marry, it’ll only be a matter of time until he disposes of me, just as he does his mistresses. I will not be dissuaded.”
