Spellbound (8 page)

“You two about done? Some of us have shit to do today,” the detective cut in before Bill could retaliate. He dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and snuffed it out with his shoe before leaning back against his car.

“Keep your subordinates under control,” Stavros said with a firm finality that made his power clear. “I want my questions answered. Anymore bullshit and you can answer them in a formal hearing with the Council, are we clear?”

“Crystal,” the detective said, posture straightening instantly.

Elion snuck a glance at Stavros and if he was slightly blinded for a moment he could only assume it was because of the harsh morning sunlight.

After their questioning and scene investigation, they walked away with nothing more than headaches and a smell of death that would stick with them for days. They would have to wait for the examiner’s reports, and even with an order to be processed quickly they could take days to get back.

Elion licked his lips and stuffed his hands in his pockets as they made their way towards their hotel. He blew out a small breath before glancing over at Stavros. “So, wanna go grab something to eat with me?”

Stavros huffed quietly. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Elion stopped walking, arms folded over his chest.

“It means,
Elion
, that I am not a nanny. It isn’t my job to keep you entertained.”

“Do you have it in you to be anything other than a jerk?” Elion asked through clenched teeth.

“How is it that no one has ripped your tongue out before now?” Stavros taunted. A few passing humans glanced at them nervously making Elion even more irritated. Leave it to the bastard to make him look like a fool no matter where they went.

“You’re such a miserable bastard!” Elion roared before shoving by Stavros, not that he stood a chance of actually hurting him or getting more than a few feet away, but it was the principle of the matter.

Stavros silently followed Elion back to their hotel room. He didn’t say a word while the elf growled, whined and cussed. His tie hit the ground and his shoes hit the wall when he violently kicked them off. He, without question, looked like a teenager throwing a temper tantrum, but Stavros didn’t care so why should he?

“I want a drink,” Elion huffed.

“Do you even know what time it is?” Stavros asked pointedly.

“Like that matters to you. You can either follow me downstairs or I can drag you out by your hair,” Elion stated, heading towards the door before Stavros could object.

~~

“This is so not what I expected, ya know?” Elion slurred a short time later. His hands drunkenly gestured to the elaborate hotel bar they were sitting in. Stavros looked around nonchalantly, his half-empty cup pressed to his bottom lip as he shrugged. “I don’t really know what I expected, though. I know it wasn’t so much damn paperwork,” he sighed.

Stavros gave an acknowledging grunt and finished his drink, gesturing to the bartender for another.

“My mom was so proud when I told her I was brought on as a detective, as your partner.”

“Why?” Stavros asked, genuinely curious as to why anyone would ever be proud of that.

“Cus’ I kinda idolized you,” Elion said pointedly, as if Stavros should have known this information. “They talked about you in the academy all the time. You’re a legend, dude. Did you seriously eviscerate your roommate?”

“What?” Stavros said blankly. “Did I- what the fuck, Elion?”

Elion waved a hand dismissively and continued, “I don’t think you’re scary. You try, but it doesn’t work. Not on me.”

Stavros’ brows crept up as he stared at the drunken elf. His eyelids were slightly drooped and his cheeks were pink from the alcohol. He could drink a lot more than he was given credit for, but unfortunately he happened to be one of the drunks that wouldn’t shut up, but that really wasn’t a surprise.

“Why do you hate me so much?” Elion asked before tossing his head back and emptying his glass. Stavros wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hear it and with the way it made him frown, he wished he hadn’t. “Seriously, am I that bad?”

The truth was simple. Stavros didn’t know why he hated the brat, or if he even did. He just hated everything about him. He hated how flawless his skin was. He hated how he always seemed to blush at the littlest things. He hated the way he chewed his bottom lip when he was thinking, and how it stayed slightly swollen and extra pink for hours after. He hated how his teeth wanted to sink into the patch of flesh at the base of Elion’s throat, and he really hated how his hands itched to feel the skin hidden under the brat’s clothing. He hated how Elion was stronger than he looked and could defend himself without hesitation. He hated how his eyes were so dark that it was unnerving, but made him want to look deeper, to see what secrets he could find hiding.

“Stavros, what happened this morning?” Stavros was ripped from his thoughts with that simple question. “You were- I don’t know. What was that?”

“I was feeding. I waited too long.” Stavros shrugged, grateful for the topic change.

“It was a defense mechanism while you were out of your body?” Stavros nodded. “So, your father was an incubus?”

“Didn’t you learn this shit in school?” Stavros drawled.

“Somewhat.” Elion shrugged. “So what, you dream walk into someone’s sex dream when you’re hungry?” he asked bluntly. Stavros smirked.

“Something like that, or I can just do it the old fashioned way.” Stavros didn’t miss the way Elion went red around the edges.

“I think I drank too much,” he muttered, putting a hand on the bar to steady himself as he stood up. That had to be the reason that he felt faint and out of breath. It couldn’t have a single thing to do with the incredibly attractive man that pissed him off like no other. It wasn’t even a possibility.

Long fingers gripped his hip firmly and the warmth of another body soaked through his clothing and made him shudder slightly. “Damn kids,” Stavros grumbled as he held on to Elion’s stumbling frame.

Elion wanted to yell at him, maybe make a cheeky comment or two, but he couldn’t. He needed a cold shower and a few realms distance from the man holding on to him. He wasn’t aware of the walking or the elevator ride. He didn’t realize the door had been opened or that his shoes were being pulled off. He tugged at his clothing uselessly before trying to pull his shirt over his head.

“Help,” he whined, flailing his stuck arms.

“Hold still,” Stavros ordered. He was freed from his shirt and hot, slightly rough hands were shoving him back down onto the mattress, soliciting a sharp gasp from him when a hand brushed across his chest. He blinked a few times, desperately trying to clear his vision.

Stavros was hovering over him with dark eyes and a furrowed brow. “Go to sleep,” he ordered.

“Gods, you’re so pretty,” Elion breathed, awed. His fingers stretched out and grazed over Stavros’ abdomen, drifting down his thigh before falling back to Elion’s side.

Stavros almost blushed. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck and he forced himself away from the drunken brat. He was a bastard, but he never fed from anyone unwilling, but if the little shit didn’t stop shifting his hips and chewing his bottom lip, he wasn’t walking away without a taste of him. Elion didn’t even know what he was doing. There was no way he knew. He had gotten bold in the past weeks, but only a night prior he was blushing like an innocent maiden because of a shower. Stavros wasn’t new to feeding from someone simply because they were curious or had heard what sex with an incubus could be like, and Stavros usually obliged. He was sated in every way he needed and there was no drama about the morning after, but someone like Elion- he couldn’t just jade that kind of innocence.

“Stavros?” Elion slurred worriedly, shifting under the sheet thrown over him. Stavros paused for a moment, waiting for him to say anything else, but he didn’t. His wiggling stopped and his breaths slowed.

Something tugged in the bottom of his stomach. It wasn’t painful, not in the sense that he needed to be healed. He doubted there was even a cure for what was happening to him, but he knew he had to stop it immediately.

Chapter 9

Elion could only hold his pounding head in his hands and hope that he hadn’t done anything stupid the night before. He was still breathing so he couldn’t have pissed Stavros off too much. He vaguely remembered questioning Stavros about his odd sleep behavior, but everything after that was blurred.

He had never questioned Stavros’ habits when it came to feeding because it had never seemed relevant, and it really wasn’t his business; but he had never met an incubus cambion and he was naturally curious.

It was sad, really, and it made Elion see Stavros in a different light. It couldn’t be much of a surprise for Stavros to be such an emotionally constipated hard ass when intimacy meant something completely different for him.

Elion groaned softly, desperately needing a toothbrush and a shower, but he didn’t have it in him to wake up Stavros; because he was terrified of what he may have done or said, and because there were still a few hours before dawn. He looked around for any clothing that was within reach and cringed, hoping he hadn’t tried to seduce the bastard or done something equally as embarrassing. He knew he had a tendency to sometimes get touchy-feely after a few too many.

He hadn’t planned on even getting drunk. He just wanted a few drinks to forget about the shitty start to a shitty day. He had thought he and Stavros would knock this case out of the park with ease, that maybe the older man would give him a little bit of credit, and life would continue. Instead, he was quickly finding out that being a detective was not all it was cracked up to be.

He winced at the sharp pain in his temples that moving antagonized and slid off the side of the bed. He grabbed his laptop before that damned tugging gave him an unneeded reminder that he was still stuck to Stavros. He grumbled to himself and glanced over his shoulder at the man sleeping a few feet away. The sheet covering Stavros was crumpled just below his navel, exposing every defined muscle he had to offer from the waist up. His lips twitched every few moments as if Stavros was going to speak at any moment. Elion could easily follow the curves of muscle in the bicep that was draped above his head, showing only a fraction of the power that he knew Stavros had, and Elion realized that maybe being bound to him wasn’t so bad… and that was bad.

It wasn’t much longer before Stavros was scowling himself awake. Neither spoke to the other until they were both showered and their teeth had been scrubbed free of any lingering bitter tastes from the night prior. Stavros looked almost as rough as Elion, but he didn’t remember his partner drinking half as much as he did. Either way, when Elion ordered breakfast for him, Stavros didn’t object or complain like he normally did with every single move Elion made.

Stavros rubbed his sore eyes and glanced up. Elion was sitting crossed legged on his bed, his brow slightly furrowed as he read the screen of his laptop. Every few minutes he would bring a piece of fruit to his lips and slowly slip it in before sucking the juice off his fingers. Stavros tightened his grip on his mug and wrestled with the want to cut them off and throw them out the window so the brat couldn’t do it again.

Elion’s lip twitched into a confused frown after he clicked something and his dark eyes scanned the screen. “Stavros, the only exhibit messed with was the ruby necklace, right? They’re absolutely sure?” he asked as his slender fingers darted around the keyboard.

Stavros nodded as he set down his mug. “Supposed to be worth millions in the human world.”

“It’s been making its rounds at museums for years. It was put on exhibit here months before the break-in. Nothing else was touched; not even the artifacts that are easily worth as much and probably easier to steal.”

“Is this going someplace?” Stavros asked, his voice missing any real malice as he studied Elion’s face.

The tips of Elion’s ears darkened before he continued. “So, four nightwalkers were murdered yesterday. Two bodies show standard burn patterns from sunlight, despite the accelerant that was poured on them. Someone called the police complaining about loud noises. An officer was on scene within four minutes. By his calculations sunrise was less than two minutes prior to his arrival.”

Stavros gave Elion a narrowed eye look that silently demanded he quit beating around the bush. The elf sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m trying to show you my thought process. I’m supposed to be learning from the best. You could quit trying to make me feel so stupid and tell me if I’m doing this right,” he said sternly. Stavros’s expression stayed blank for another moment before he nodded.

“Alright.” Elion blinked a few times, trying to register the simple answer from Stavros. The older man leaned forward slightly as if trying to make his attention known.

Elion blew out a surprised breath and cleared his throat. “Right, so the other two bodies… why weren’t they like the others?”

“What do you mean? All four were defanged and burnt.”

Elion frowned and tapped his screen. “Examiner’s initial findings. Only two were obviously combusted by the sun. We don’t have the examiner’s report yet, but two were burnt like any human would be when doused with gasoline and torched. And why didn’t they fight back? Four of them would be a force by just that number.”