Chapter Seven

(Adonis)

"Thank you for taking my gag off, My Lord. I like talking to you." He tells me, looking around to make sure the room is clear before leaning down to leave a chaste kiss on my neck.

I pull away slightly and stand up, leading him to my bedroom. I don't want to do anything sexual right now, but it would be nice to have him hold me while I look for uniforms for the servants. I do really like the way they look in leather, but I'll be sure to make it different from Cerberus' and Hades' uniforms.

Once we get into my bedroom, I lock the door and turn to Dion. My cheeks turn bright red when I think about what I'm going to ask. That's embarrassing. What kind of god just wants to be held? That's weird isn't it?

"Um… t-take your shirt off, and then lay on the bed on your side."

He tilts his head curiously, but obeys, stripping off his shirt before laying on his side with his hand under his head and his elbow sticking out slightly.

"Like this?" He asks, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I roll my eyes at him and take my shirt and cloak off as well before grabbing one of the magazines and laying next to him, pushing my bare back flush against his hard chest. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me even closer so that our hips are touching and my head is using his strong bicep as a pillow.

We've never done this before. We've had sex plenty of times, but it's always hard and quick and rough, but this is… gentle. I like feeling his body heat warming me up, and having his skin against mine just makes my heart soar. I can feel his breath against the back of my neck as he adjusts himself so he can see what I'm looking at.

I open the magazine and start looking through the items, trying to ignore the warmth in my chest. I know this feeling well, and I don't want it. Why can't I fall for a god? Someone more… durable? I'm going to get him killed, and it hurts. I don't want to lose him. Every time Dion is around people stronger than him I always tell him to show no fear, but isn't that hypocritical? I'm terrified. I'm just a scared kid who doesn't want to fall in love again.

"That one's nice." Dion whispers in my ear, lifting his finger to point at the outfit on the top left corner.

It's a leather catsuit like I wanted, but it's a turtleneck and has no sleeves. The zipper is on the front as well making it easier to take off and put on. It does look really nice compared to the others.

"It is." I agree, looking at the number. "I'll have Linus call and order 10 for each of the servants. They'll need multiple if they have to wear it all the time. When they get here I could just cast a size spell so it fits anyone who wears it."

"Maybe you should get one." He mumbles, kissing the shell of my ear before moving his head down to kiss my neck. "Your ass would look really good in it."

I turn around on the bed and lean in so that our lips are just barely brushing against each other. "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like that. It's Alek's style, not mine."

I go to pull back, but before I can, Dion pulls me closer and presses his lips against mine in a slow kiss. I want to fight it at first, but he seems to draw me in even more than I draw him in. Our lips move together perfectly. No tongue or nipping or anything to deepen the kiss. It's just his warm, soft, wet lips moving in harmony with mine.

Eventually, I snap out of my daze and pull back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "D-Don't kiss me!"

"No smack this time?" He lets out a deep chuckle that makes me want to just go back to kissing him, but instead I sit up and turn away from him so that my legs are hanging off the side of the bed. I hope he just leaves instead of torturing me further.

He doesn't. In fact, he actually moves closer to place a soft kiss in between my shoulder blades and then on the nape of my neck, making me shiver as my arms fill with goosebumps.

"Lord Adonis? Could I touch you more? I want to have sex, but not your way. I want to make love to you, and treat you like you should be. I want to make you feel good, not hurt you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dion! Get dressed and let's go. We have to go to Asphodel to get your magic armlet anyways, so we might as well just stop by the warehouse and get the uniforms while we're at it." I grumble, hoping that I can change the topic and get his mind off of… that.

Of course it's tempting. Pain didn't always excite me the way it does now, but if there's no pain and there's no selfishness then does that mean that I do love him? I always thought if I let him fuck me for just my pleasure then it didn't mean I was attached, but here I am. Falling in love again like an idiot.

"Do you want me to get Linus before we leave?" He asks, pulling his shirt on over his head. It takes everything in me not to whine or pout because I can't stare at his chest anymore.

"I'll go get him. He knows his way around better than us and could help us find where we need to go. You make sure the other servants have dinner ready by the time we get back, and have someone tell you the address of the warehouse in Asphodel." I tell him, putting my clothes back on as well before tossing him the magazine.

My powers are beginning to regenerate from all the healing I've done, but I'm still in no position to be using them. I hope teleportation won't mess them up too much.

I leave my room and wander the house, using a little power to find Linus. It's not that I have a good sense of smell or anything. It's that I can feel someone's energy, and where the source is.

Once I get to his bedroom door, I open it, my eyes widening at the sight.

He's naked. Not only is he naked, but he's riding on top of a man I've never even seen before. His eyes are glowing a bright pink color, and he seems as if he's in a daze. It's a tad bit embarrassing to interrupt something like that but it's urgent.

"Linus? I need you. Let's go." He doesn't react. He doesn't answer and his face doesn't change either. It's like he didn't hear me at all.

The man, on the other hand, glances over to me and then back up at Linus. He waves his hand in his face, trying to get his attention, but it doesn't work. "L-Linus? You're needed for something."

No reaction yet again. He's in a trance or something. A trance I don't think I can break.

"C-Can you give us just a minute?" The man asks, panting and groaning under Linus as if it's the best thing that's happened to him.

I nod and close the door, leaning back against the wall. Definitely a weird encounter. Linus didn't even look like he particularly enjoyed it. He made no noise and his face was clean if any expression. It was just blank.

"He's feeding." Pan's voice instantly snaps me out of my stupor as he comes close and leans against the opposite wall. "Linus is an incubus, My Lord. Sex is like food for him, and if he doesn't feed at least twice a day then he starts to lose his powers and starve. It's not pretty. Anyway, once he starts, he can't stop until he's finished feeding."

"Oh." I mumble.

Maybe I've been in the mortal realm for too long. I know what an incubus is. They're the male version of a succubus, but I didn't know about that. I have no idea about most of the creatures here actually. Maybe I should do research or something. A ruler should know his subjects, right?

"Aww, it's okay, Lord Adonis. We didn't know a lot about it either until Linus taught us. He's not supposed to be here. He's not a Greek creature. He's a type of Christian demon. Incubi and succubi descend from Lust. Lust is one of the seven deadly sins that are like children to Lucifer. Linus won't tell us how he ended up here though." Pan informs me, smiling so brightly that I might be blinded by it.

He's so sweet and kind. It makes me wonder how he hasn't turned bitter from the years and years being a slave.

Being a slave is the worst thing that could happen to someone. Worse than a swift death. Worse than a rape. Worse than anything, because once you're a slave you have no say in anything. Your owner could gut you and hang your corpse on their front door if they wanted to. A slave isn't even a person to most people. They're practically furniture, and nobody gives a shit if you break your own couch.

"How do you smile?" I ask curiously, reaching out to ruffle his hair. It's a true question. How does he smile after being forced to sleep in a cage by my brother's bed, just waiting to be forced to do horrible things?

I'm sure Cerberus isn't his first owner either. How old was he when he was sold into it? What kind of things was he forced to do when he was younger? He's been beaten down and hurt so much and he still manages to smile. How?

"When you've been alive as long as I have then you learn a thing or two about yourself. Mainly that hating someone and being bitter and vengeful won't help me. I won't get my freedom that way, and I'm not sure I want my freedom anymore. Every person has a reason for the things they do. Cerberus has a reason for wanting me there at all times. He put me in a cage so I wouldn't run away, and he wouldn't have to come back to an empty room. I know why he wanted me. He just doesn't want to be alone. It's okay if I'm being used to fill some void for someone. It's okay if they don't use me at all, but I always just try my best to please everyone, because fighting and yelling and hurting my masters won't make them understand. I show them compassion and kindness, and I learned that that's not something they see a lot."

I blink a few times, taking in what he said. I thought he was 16 years old, but that's obviously just appearance. He talks like he's been alive longer than I have, and I've been around for a good few centuries.

Instead of fighting tooth and nail to get away from the sick perverts he's been sold to, he tries to give them what nobody else has. Gentle, kind, compassion.

"Wow. You're special, Pan. Very few and far between. Well, I hope that here I can make you happy here instead of the other way around."

"I'm so sorry, My Lord. I didn't mean for it to take so long, but I was really hungry." Linus tells me, stepping out of his room before closing the door behind him. He's wearing the same leather bodysuit as before, but he changed his belt from blue to red. He turns his back to me, and looks back with a smile. "Could you zip me up?"

I do so instantly, watching him curiously as he runs his fingers through his hair, letting the blue melt into the same shade of red as his belt. I've definitely never seen a creature quite like him before. An incubus… Hmm.

"That's alright, next time I'll try not to walk in on you… eating. I do have a question though. You got the gashes on your back because you refused to be with Cerberus, right? If had to have sex twice a day anyways then why wouldn't you just-"

"Just agree to it? It's different because it's not feeding. I can't feed on a god, because their power would be too much for me and I'd implode. That means that sex with Lord Cerberus is just sex, and in case you forgot about the bruises on Pan, he's not very gentle." Linus grumbles.

He has such a sassy tone to his voice that makes me annoyed with him, but I don't want to punish him. I actually find it refreshing to have someone who won't bow before me and kiss my feet.

He's right. Cerberus never should've even attempted to force him to have sex with him. It's not my place to say anything about it though. I'm in charge of my servants, and Cerberus is in charge of his. If I try to tell him what to do with his, then he could retaliate by trying to take one of mine. Intuition tells me he'd take either Linus or Pan. Neither of which I'm willing to give up.

"Took you long enough." Dion says as soon as we walk into the throne room. I roll my eyes and lift my hand to snap, but he quickly corrects himself before I can put the gag on him again. "Not you, My Lord. I would never disrespect you."

I laugh softly and take both their hands. I close my eyes tightly, imagining my destination before sending a spark of power into them and letting my eyes open once again.