Wreaking Havoc (Demon Bound, #1)

by Grae Bryan

Sascha lifted his head from where he’d pillowed it on his hands to peer back at him. “I should have asked before—do we need protection?” Kai frowned at him. Did Sascha think Kai had become careless? “My daggers are close at hand,” he reassured. “What? No—I meant…” Sascha let out a breathless laugh. “You can’t give me diseases, can you?” “My kind have no illnesses to spread to you.”

His head fell back against Kai’s chest, his eyelids fluttering closed. He’d never had reason to be accused of being a pillow princess before, but in this case…all he could do was take it.

Kai nuzzled his cheek against the top of Sascha’s head. “I’ll bathe you. A demon cares for his mate.” “I haven’t agreed to be your mate,” Sascha reminded him, annoyed at himself for pressing into the touch. “You will.”

“We must have different definitions of the word,” Kai murmured. “But no matter—I will spoil you.” He started pouring palmfuls of water over Sascha’s shoulders again. “A demon spoils its mate. And if we bonded, you could not be hurt. You could not fall ill.” He said the last part pointedly, like that was a huge selling point. Sascha gave an incredulous laugh. “You want to permanently bond our souls together because you don’t want me to get the flu again?” “I want to permanently bond our souls because I wish to stay by your side,” Kai said easily.

“But you’re supposed to go home,” he pointed out. “You want me to?” “It doesn’t matter what I want!” Sascha half hissed, half yelled, anger rushing through him without cause. “You’re going—you’re going to leave. You told me yourself. Everyone leaves eventually, and you’re included in everyone so…”

“You asked why I entered my name and powers into the Book. There was the prestige and power, yes. But in truth…” Kai met his eyes, looking more serious than Sascha had ever seen him. “I have been a restless soul for as long as I can remember. It’s why I attached myself to the Book. Why I looked to the human realm for diversion. But when I’m with you, Sascha, I am…soothed. Content. For perhaps the very first time in my existence. It’s the way I would like to feel, going forward.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Sascha’s hand. “I will not regret.”

Sascha’s gaze dropped down to where there was now a quite sizable bulge tenting up the bedcovers. He scrambled off the bed, much more quickly than he usually moved in the morning. “Nope. No funny business,” he scolded from a safe distance. “You broke me last night. And my ass is a national treasure. As such, it must be protected.”

“What’s up your ass?” he asked, annoyed that Alexei was acting pissy when it was him who’d received a threatening pig’s-blood dagger in the mail. Alexei whirled, casting a truly impressive scowl toward Kai, who’d made a beeline straight for the coffee pot. “Did your demon fail to tell you that vampires have excellent hearing?” “What does that—?” The blood drained from Sascha’s face, then rushed right back. “Oh.” Right. The extremely thorough debauching he’d endured the night before, when he’d completely failed to muffle his voice. Vampires or not, Alexei and Jay could have been half-deaf and they probably would have heard something.

“It was some very impressive sex!” Jay, beaming at him from the kitchen table, didn’t seem to share Alexei’s annoyance.

There were a number of voice mails from Ivan, but Sascha didn’t want to touch those. He looked at the texts instead. Answer the phone, Sascha. You’re testing my patience. You want to play games? I can play, baby brother. Get the guest room ready. Oh fuck. Sascha checked to see when the last text had been sent. Yesterday. He cleared his throat. “Um, Alexei, maybe you and Jay should be heading back to Colorado?” “What? Why?” Jay looked back and forth between them. “Is it because I wanted to copy your robe? I don’t have to get the exact same one.” And of course just then there was a knock on the front door. Alexei gave him a small smile, seeming to already know what was on the other side. “It’s fine, Sascha. It’s a reunion long overdue.” He put a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “He can’t hurt us. Not really.”

The slightest tensing of Ivan’s shoulder was the only warning before his hand was in his suit jacket and he was pulling out a gun, firing two shots into Alexei with no hesitation.

“He’s using us,” Kai told him. “You have a weapon at your disposal now.” Kai placed a hand on his own chest. “One he wishes he possessed. He’s manipulating you so you use it.”

“Perhaps it’s time, pup.” Kai cupped Sascha’s cheek, keeping his voice low and soothing. He didn’t want to alarm him, but they had realities to face. “They know where you are now.” But Sascha surprised him. He didn’t panic, didn’t lose himself to strangled breaths. “So…we need to bond now?” he asked, looking at Kai with clear eyes. “Before we deal with it and end the bargain?” Kai tried to tamp down the rush of greed that arose with Sascha’s words. He should by all accounts say something measured. If you’re ready, or, Take your time. But what came out was a fervent “Yes. Yes, Sascha. Now.” Sascha narrowed his eyes. “And you won’t change your mind down the road?” he asked. “I won’t.” “And you won’t regret it?” “No.” Kai tilted Sascha’s head up with a finger under his chin, searching his face. “And what of your regret, zaychik?” “Who, me?” Sascha gave him a cheeky grin. “I’d never let future regret stand in the way of an impulsive decision. How do we do it?”

“You’re very arrogant.” “Yes,” Kai agreed. Sascha bit down on his lower lip. “God, why do I like that so much?” Kai grinned down at him. “Because our souls are matched, my zaychik. A perfect fit.”

“Just a little one. Please?” Sascha got up on tiptoes, whispering in Kai’s ear, “I’ll wear one of the new pretty things I bought. You can take it off me afterward.” A low rumble left Kai’s chest. Sascha grinned. They were going out.

“Then why did you steal the Book and summon your own demon ten seconds after discovering him?” Ivan ran a hand through his mussed hair. “I have a mole in my organization, a mob war on the horizon, a loose cannon of a middle brother, and an oblivious younger one.” “I’m not oblivious.” At Ivan’s look, Sascha shrugged. “Okay, sometimes. But that’s the way you and Papa molded me. I have a business degree, you know. I could be an asset, if you’d let me.”

“Yes, actually. I need the address for the Carusos’…offices? Headquarters? Evil lair? Whatever you want to call it. You won’t be taking that deal with them.” “There’s a meeting scheduled,” Ivan told him immediately. “Tomorrow night. The main higher-ups of the family will be there.” Kai was right, Sascha realized. He almost laughed. “You planned this, didn’t you? For me to bring Kai and fix it for you.” Ivan kept tapping his finger. “Maybe I’ve grown tired of cleaning up our family’s messes all on my own.” “Your messes,” Sascha corrected.

Nix’s purple eyes flashed, then darted away. “A bargain’s a bargain,” he said easily. “Plus, he has a deliciously complex soul. Very tasty.” “Rotten, more like.” Kai knew that wasn’t true, exactly. But it was damn close. Nix pursed plush lips. “Not rotten. More…twisted.” He shimmied his shoulders. “Gives me the chills. In a good way,” he said with a wink. “From what I’ve gathered, he doesn’t dally with men.” Nix stood to his full height, cocking a hip in a practiced pose. “But I’m more than a mere man, aren’t I?” he purred.

“Promise I won’t lose you,” he ordered Kai. “Promise that you’ll never, ever leave.” “Never,” Kai swore. He could give Sascha that, easy as breathing.

This was real. This was truth. Sascha’s rotten Mafia legacy meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. He’d been born to be claimed by Kai, as Kai had been born to be at his side. Destined to be his mate.

“You will be mine alone.” “Yes. Oh God. Yes, Kai.”

“I will care for you and spoil you and claim you as my mate. And in return you will give me your soul.” He ran a hand up Sascha’s stomach, caressing his chest. “Not a taste, Sascha. Not a mere morsel. All of it. Every bit.”

If this was what Sascha needed to forget the sorrows of his life, Kai would oblige him. All day, every day for the rest of eternity, if need be. He would give Sascha anything he asked for. His Sascha. His mate.

Kai’s eyes opened in a flash, subjecting Sascha to a weirdly intense look. “You wish to braid my hair for battle?” The rumble emanating from his chest grew louder. “Yes?” Sascha answered. Or asked. Had he just offered up something completely taboo? But Kai gave him a smug smile. “Mating behavior,” he murmured.

Sascha took a deep breath. “Now,” he confirmed. “Except, wait.” He grabbed the remote, turning off the TV. “I can’t get demon-married with The Real Housewives playing in the background. It’s too tacky, even for me.”

Kai laid a warm hand on Sascha’s cheek. “We will procure you friends,” he promised again, apparently deciding to ignore Sascha’s explanation on why that wasn’t a thing. “And, in the meantime, I will be your friend.” “You will?” Sascha asked, his voice coming out thick. He was unaccountably moved by the offer, which was ridiculous. They were about to bond souls, but Kai promising to be his friend had him on the verge of tears.

When they’d caught their breaths, Kai grinned at him tenderly. “Enough jesting, zaychik. I’m making you mine tonight. My own, sweet Sascha Kozlov.” “And you won’t regret it,” Sascha reminded him. “And I won’t regret it,” Kai vowed.

“What do the words mean?” Sascha asked Kai. “If I’m supposed to say them with intent.” Kai hummed in thought. “A direct translation is difficult. But, in essence: I bind myself to you, body, heart, and soul. To be parted from each other only by death, and that parting merely temporary. My soul for my mate, and my mate’s soul for me in turn.” “Oh,” Sascha sighed, tracing the poem with his finger. “That’s kind of nice.”

Sascha could feel him. Kai’s soul, it must have been. A solid, warm weight in Sascha’s chest that screamed safety. “Your soul is lovely,” Sascha whispered against Kai’s neck. He leaned back. Kai was grinning as wide as Sascha had ever seen. “And yours is perfect,” he told Sascha. “But I already knew.”

Kai stroked Sascha’s cheek. “My precious mate. I’m going to take such good care of you.” Sascha smiled, tucking his head back against Kai’s neck. Mates. They were mated.

Kai tucked his face against Sascha’s hair, smiling into it. His sweet, perfect mate. Kai could feel him, secure within his chest.

What he’d been able to feel before had been just a piece. A mere morsel. Now Kai was filled with Sascha, the weight of him settling Kai’s own restless soul for the first time in…perhaps ever. It was like he’d spent his long life only partially tethered to his own existence, and now here he was, fully secured. He’d never known anything like it.

Even after having found Sascha, after knowing he wanted to bond with the human, Kai had still been…antsy. Anxious for the bonding ceremony to take place, haunted by that one last incomplete step. What if they didn’t bond in time? What if he was forced away? But now it ...

“See how sweet you are to me?” he crooned. “My perfect mate.” “Ugh.” Sascha released his face with a groan. “It’s too early in the day to be calling me sweet.”

“I need to be there. I need to see it through.” “Then I’ll be at your side.” Kai snagged Sascha by the waist, halting his pointless marching and tugging him in close. “You won’t be facing them alone, zaychik. You won’t be left alone ever again.”

Sascha collapsed against him, all his restless energy leaving him in an instant. “I think my codependent heart just skipped a beat,” he murmured. Kai frowned down at him. “It shouldn’t be doing that. You should be fully healthy after the ceremony.” Sascha only laughed at him.

Sascha shrugged. “I’m outnumbered, sure. And if it were just me, that would be an issue. But, unfortunately for you, I’m not alone anymore.” That was Kai’s cue. He pressed a kiss against the back of Sascha’s neck, whispering, “Close your eyes, zaychik.” And then he stepped into the light.

“Did I do well?” Kai asked, a smirk on his lips. Arrogant bastard. “The vanquishing of my enemies, or the extremely traumatized boy you just foisted on us?” Sascha asked. “Both.” “You know that’s not how human friendships work?”

“I love you,” Sascha blurted out, horrified at himself but unable to stop the words. “I know we haven’t known each other very long and it’s too soon to say, but I do.” Kai cocked his head. “We’re already bonded for eternity, but you’re worried it’s too soon to say those words?” “Yes?” “Sweet Sascha,” Kai crooned. “Now you say it back,” Sascha told him. Kai laughed, grabbing Sascha’s hand and leading him to the front doors of the warehouse. “Humans are so strange.” “Yeah, but now you say it.” “So very strange,” Kai mused. “Kai. Now you say it.”

He found Ivan sitting predictably in his desk chair, looking a bit more put together than their last meeting—his shirt was buttoned, his tie in an immaculate knot, his hair neat as ever. Except… “Is that a hickey on your neck?” Sascha asked in disbelief, flopping down in the seat across from him.

“All right.” Sascha knew that was the best he was going to get. He rose from his chair. “I’m going now. I love you,” he added. Because if Ivan was extending olive branches, Sascha could too. He received a stilted nod in return.

He was happy, in a fierce, bright way he’d never experienced before. So much of his life before now had been spent just…passing time, engaging in whatever activity would cause the least boredom from one moment to the next, trying to walk the fine balance between entertaining himself and not pissing his family off.

“You take me so well, zaychik,” Kai murmured, his talons digging into Sascha’s hips. “You always do.”

He loved every time Kai filled him, in whichever form he chose. Sascha had Kai’s demon cock when he wanted to be stuffed so full he couldn’t think, his human cock when he wanted to be fucked so hard he couldn’t think, and the occasional bout of tenderness when he wanted to be fucked so sweetly all he could do was think, God, I love this demon.

“My mate,” Kai growled, his eyes roaming over every inch of Sascha now. He gave a quick snap of his hips, eyes blazing when Sascha keened.

“The love you have for your brothers isn’t complicated,” Kai insisted. “It’s pure.”

“You’re my mate,” Kai said, suddenly insistent. “The bondmate of my soul. It is beyond words. Beyond human love.” “Sometimes words are nice.” Sascha shrugged, too relaxed and well fucked to get worked up. “I like them. The words.” “You do?” Kai asked with surprise. And then he smiled, as if that was all he’d needed—to know Sascha liked something. “Then I love you, my sweet Sascha,” he crooned. “Better and more deeply than any human could.”

“There’s a paper, hidden between the books on that shelf,” Kai told him, pointing across the living room. Matteo took his eyes off the TV. “Um, okay?” “You copy the symbol. Say the words. Spill a drop or two of blood.” Matteo stared blankly at him, and then his eyes widened. “And then one of you comes out?” Kai waved a hand. “Different from me but still strong. You can make your bargain for protection. Or vengeance, if that’s your preference. And then be done with it,” Kai warned him. “The owner of that mark is not someone anyone wants to keep.”

Kai’s poor, neglected cock (they’d had sex that morning but just the once) would have to wait.