Priest (Trident Agency #2)

12. Oliver

12

OLIVER

C onsciousness was slow to come to Oliver, like his body was fighting waking up. Though the more he was, the better he felt. There was a faint energy buzzing under his skin. He’d never felt anything like it before. He couldn’t be sure if it was from his angelic blood as it continued to wake up and be more aware inside him or if it was from his sexy lust Demon making a whole damn meal out of him.

The longer he was awake, the less he could detect it until it fully faded away, leaving only him and his deliciously sore body behind. He was contemplating falling back asleep, a complete lack of urgency inside him to get up or do anything. Just as he was about to turn onto his side and attempt to drift back off, something thudded on the floor, and then that same lust Demon who’d turned him inside out with the flick of his tongue muttered under his breath, “Oh balls.”

Oliver pressed his lips together to hold back a laugh. He peeled his eyes open and glanced over at the clock, surprised to find that it wasn’t even dinnertime yet, even though he felt as if he had been asleep for an entire day or maybe longer, rested in a way he’d never really felt before. All of the lingering aches and pains in his body were just… gone. Like the explosion and his near death experience hadn’t happened. He had a feeling that was thanks to Priest feeding on him, but he couldn’t say why.

He slowly stretched his arms up above his head and his toes down toward the foot of the bed and then propped himself up on his elbows to see what his Demon was up to. He found Priest on the opposite side of the bed, holding what appeared to be a sparkly, purple dildo in one hand and a rather large black butt plug in the other. A duffel bag that was overflowing with clothes sat on the bed in front of him. Oliver could tell from looking at it that it would never zip close. As he watched, Priest, seemingly unaware that Oliver was awake and he now had an audience, tried to push the plug into the side of the bag.

Just as he was about to give the same treatment to the dildo, Oliver asked, “Where are you going?”

Priest jerked his head up and stared at him for a second, eyes wide, and then he held the dildo up, shook it at him, and said in a very calm and firm voice, “This is a kidnapping.”

Oliver sat the rest of the way up and raised his brows. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

Waving his arm—and the toy—around in the air, Priest paced down to the end of the bed and back. “Oliver, do not fight me on this. It’s too dangerous for us to stay here. Anyone who’s had surveillance on you for the last few months will know that there’s a good chance you’re with me or someone else from Alpha Team. We need to relocate somewhere that’s more isolated and secure.”

Oliver was shaking his head before he even finished. “I can’t just leave. We talked about this earlier. We can work together. I want us to work together, but that can’t mean we just fuck off to who knows where while the rest of your team maybe gets around to rescuing Poe in a few weeks, if at all.”

Priest stopped at the end of the bed and planted his hands on his hips. Their conversation was so serious, and yet, the sight of him in his tight-as-sin jeans and open button-up shirt showcasing his carved muscles, with that sparkly, purple dildo still clutched in his hand, it was all Oliver could do not to laugh, despite how pissed off he was.

“That’s not what’s happening. Do you know where I went yesterday when you decided to just take off, even after everything that has happened?”

Oliver glanced away, guilt growing inside him even though he still felt right, and he’d found something when he was at the bookshop. He’d been able to tap into some ability of his, some latent power that had allowed him to track Poe. He was sure of it.

“No, I don’t know where you were,” he muttered sullenly and then met Priest’s gaze again. “You didn’t say where you were going in your little note that you left. You were just gone, and I decided that if no one else would find Poe, I would.”

“Oliver,” Priest said between clenched teeth. “We’re all concerned about Poe. You cannot even begin to understand the concern we have about people being kidnapped. But that doesn’t mean you can just?—”

“Wait,” Oliver interrupted, leaning forward slightly. “What do you mean, people ? Who else is missing?”

Priest went to rub his hands through his hair and nearly poked out his own eye with the dildo. Seeming surprised to find it still in his hand, he tossed it aside and gestured at Oliver emphatically. “That is what I’m trying to tell you. Yesterday, I got a call. There was another attack. This time, on a law firm run by humans that were publicly supportive of supernatural rights.”

Oliver’s stomach twisted, and he thought he was going to be sick for a second. “They attacked somewhere else?” he said slowly, clarifying despite having heard Priest perfectly fine.

“Yes, little human, they attacked somewhere else. Two people are dead, and the son of one of the senior partners is missing, presumed taken.”

Oliver covered his mouth with both hands. Tears burning his eyes, he shook his head furiously. “Why are they doing this?”

Priest’s entire body sagged, and then he threw his hands out to the side. “We don’t know. Not for sure. There haven’t been any ransom demands. No one’s claimed responsibility for the attacks. No manifestos have been printed online or sent to any news outlets. Whoever these people are, they have an agenda, but they don’t want us to know what it is yet, and that’s even more terrifying than if they were screaming it from the rooftops.”

“Why?” Oliver whispered between his fingers.

“Because this is large-scale. This isn’t just one or two bad actors pissed off and striking out because they feel like humans who support supernaturals are traitors. This is a well-funded, well-organized group of people with a goal, one that they’ve probably been working toward for a lot longer than any of us could possibly imagine, and what that goal is might be bigger and more terrifying than any hypotheses we can make right now. There is too much we don’t know and very little we do know.”

Oliver swallowed and swiped at the damp skin beneath his eyes.

Priest’s face softened. “I don’t want you to be even more scared, but you need to take this seriously.”

He nodded. “I am. I have been since the beginning, but I can’t abandon Poe.”

“No one is asking you to. We’re going to go stay with a Hoard I know. One of the Dragons there, he can help you learn how to harness your abilities.”

“Really?” Oliver asked, a little skeptical. “You just happen to know a Hoard of Dragons that’s isolated and more secure who’s willing to take us in and someone there can help me learn about my Angel abilities?”

Priest shrugged and scrubbed at the back of his neck. “I know a lot of people.”

It took Oliver a second to realize that his sex Demon was embarrassed at the fact that he had a lot of friends, or at least a lot people he knew well enough he could ask for a favor like this and they’d give it to him immediately based on the fact a day hadn’t even passed.

“Okay,” Oliver said slowly, running all of the information through his head and trying to see a bigger picture or at least a clearer one, but there were too many holes. “While we’re off learning how I can become a better Angel or whatever—” Priest snorted but waved his hand silently, asking him to continue. “—what will the rest of your team be doing? Is there a plan?”

Priest tipped his hand back and forth in the air. “Sort of. At this point, it’s all about running down possible leads, finding a connection between you or Poe and the people in the law office, specifically the senior partner or his son, seeing if we can figure out why these two businesses and groups of people were targeted. Were you mentioned in the same article or news story, blog post, social media post? Anything like that.”

“Okay. That sounds good.” Sounded more than good. Oliver hadn’t even considered that aspect of it. Sure, he and Poe weren’t overtly vocal in their support of Supernaturals, but they also hadn’t kept it a secret, so who knew how they had ended up on the list to get targeted. “Why were we targeted first?”

Priest scratched his jaw, eyes lifted toward the ceiling as he considered the question. “It’s hard to say. It might’ve been convenience. It might’ve been easier because it was a smaller building, so it was more of a test run before they hit the larger law firm. It could be because there is some sort of personal connection between you and this group or Poe and them, and it could also be that you weren’t the first attack. You’re just the first one we know about. That’ll be something else the team digs into, seeing if there’s anything else we’ve missed over the last few months no matter how minor.”

“That’s a lot of research,” Oliver said quietly.

“It is, and then we’ll also probably have some of the other teams working on it. I think Jeremiah is going to assign the Bravo Team to the physical evidence.”

Oliver wrinkled his brow. “What physical evidence? There wasn’t anything left at the scene.”

Priest smiled at him. “There was plenty left. Traces of magic, the explosives that were used, possible footprints. Some of the blood that Knight picked up on could belong to someone other than Poe if he was able to defend himself when he was grabbed. He could have injured one of them. They’ll be doing all the lab work, running down where parts could have been purchased from, figuring out what spells could have been used, things like that.”

Oliver felt foolish.

He had been so sure he was the only one taking things seriously, that Priest and his team didn’t actually really care about one missing human when they had royals and senators and celebrities to protect, and yet, here Priest was, laying out a half dozen next steps he and his people would be taking, and all Oliver had planned on doing was following his instincts.

Not just following them—he’d been sprinting toward them, so sure that he would find Poe on the other end of whatever had been pulling him along, but what would he have done then? He had no idea where Poe could be, what kind of building he might be in, how many of these assholes would be with him, or how well armed they might be. And what if he wasn’t in the country anymore? They could have taken him outside of the Siren kingdom into any number of more anti-Supe countries, some of them thousands of miles away. Was he going to run that entire distance?

“We don’t have to leave,” he finally said. “I understand now how much you and your team are doing, and it sounds like you need to be here to help. I promise I won’t take off again.”

Priest shook his head. “I appreciate you saying that, but even with the warding on the house, I don’t want to take a chance of a group coming here with overwhelming force and stronger magic. I can’t risk it. I can’t risk you.”

“But you’re needed here,” Oliver said again. “Maybe I should go alone to stay with your friends.”

“Absolutely not,” Priest said emphatically, marching around the side of the bed until he was towering over Oliver. “I can work on doing research just as easily with the Hoard as from the office here. I can call in when there’s meetings. And if need be, I could even fly back, but I’m not sending you off to go stay with a bunch of horny Dragons without me.”

Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Sure, Hoards were made up of a group of mates—and Dragons were notorious for the number that they took—but they also didn’t just invite anyone into their family.

He sobered quickly when he remembered how jealous Priest had gotten the day before when he thought Oliver was going to leave and go to Azriel, and then the first chance Oliver got, he left the safety of his warded house to go gallivant around the scene of the crime and play detective. It was no wonder Priest was feeling insecure.

“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said gently and slowly peeled the sheets off his body, pleased when a solid black ring grew around the outside of Priest’s irises.

Sure, they weren’t his full Demon eyes, but it was still sexy, and it made him feel more attractive than he ever had before in his life. The fact that just the sight of his bare skin was enough to make an Incubus start to lose control of his lust was a heady feeling.

“When do we have to leave?” He said it casually, acting like he wasn’t tracing his collarbones with his fingertips before slowly moving down and circling one of his nipples.

Priest’s eyes were locked on where he was touching himself, his chest expanding with deeper breaths as he sucked Oliver’s desire right out of the air.

When he didn’t say anything, Oliver gave his nipple a pinch and then said a little louder, “Priest, when do we have to leave?”

Priest cleared his throat and said in his low, growly Demon voice, “The plane won’t be ready for a few hours.”

“Once I know how to use my tracking power, we’re coming back, and we’re finding Poe.”

Priest ripped his gaze away from where Oliver was teasing himself and met his eyes. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Oliver said softly and then spread his legs, bending his knees and planting his feet flat on the mattress beneath him.

Priest was on him before he could even begin to tempt him with some sexy, come-hither line. He kissed his way up Oliver’s stomach and sternum before beelining over for the same nipple that Oliver had been touching. Using his human tongue on it, he licked over the nub several times and then sucked it into his mouth.

Oliver sank his fingers into his hair, keening softly. “You know, you won’t always get to boss me around.”

Priest grunted, pushing up for a moment and ripping off his shirt and undoing his pants. Oliver licked his lips, taking in the sight of him. He wasn’t big and hulky like the Hellhound that led their team, but he was still ripped and gorgeous. His white skin was a soft tan color, like he spent an odd amount of time out in the sun without any clothes on.

Priest grabbed his legs and pushed them up toward his chest. Oliver bit his lip to hold back a whimper, knowing exactly what was coming and craving it like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

“Okay. Outside the bedroom, you won’t get to boss me around.”

“Yes, dear,” Priest muttered, his voice so low and Demonic it shuddered through Oliver, alighting all of the nerve endings in his body, and then he stroked his tongue over Oliver’s hole. “Are you too sore?”

He probably should be, considering the size of Priest. He’d known from his research Incubi were generously endowed, but he hadn’t really thought about it in regards to Priest until he’d come face-to-face with all ten inches of him. But his desire was already building, bubbling inside him like a freshly uncorked bottle of champagne.

“Never,” he said, gasping when Priest licked over his entrance once more. “You can have me whenever you want, however you want, anytime you need.”

Priest growled against him. Oliver shuddered and moaned at the sensation, meeting Priest’s gaze when he lifted his head to look at him. His eyes were completely black now, his Demon just beneath the surface.

“You shouldn’t say things like that to a Demon like me.”

Oliver gripped the sides of his face, making sure he had his full attention. “I’m not saying them to a Demon like you. I’m saying them to you. Because I trust you, and I know you would never take advantage of that.”

“I won’t,” he said, and then he looked back down, his forked tongue appearing as he stared at Oliver’s entrance. He glanced up at him once more and said, “You might want to keep hanging on to me.”

And then he was devouring Oliver once more, just like he had the night before, using that deliciously dexterous tongue to tease him inside and out, over and over.

All Oliver could do was clutch at Priest’s hair and hang on, moaning and begging for more, even when he thought it was too much. The ecstasy building inside him was almost terrifying in its intensity.

Priest didn’t stop like he had the night before though. He just kept going until he found the perfect rhythm of fucking his tongue into his hole, rubbing against his prostate, and then drawing it back out again, fast, driving Oliver out of his mind.

He didn’t realize he was crying until after he came, screaming Priest’s name and shooting come all over himself. Priest extracted his tongue and reached up, gently wiping the wetness away and bringing his fingers to his mouth to lick clean.

When he started to push inside, Oliver’s body couldn’t handle it. He was so oversensitive from his orgasm he immediately whimpered and shook his head.

Priest shushed him, stroking his thighs and not moving. “Just this much,” he groaned, only the head of his cock breaching Oliver.

He nodded wobbly. “Yeah, just that much.”

Priest wrapped a hand around his shaft and jerked himself, staring at where he disappeared inside Oliver’s body. Oliver couldn’t take his eyes off him. His straining muscles and glistening skin, the barest peek of fangs behind his panting lips.

He was so gorgeous.

When liquid heat splashed against his insides, Oliver moaned, finally letting his legs relax. He mewled pathetically when Priest gripped the back of his thighs and kept them in place, dipping down and using his slender tongue to gently push his come back inside Oliver’s aching body. If he had even an ounce of strength left, he was sure he would get hard again just from the feeling.

Once he was satisfied, Priest crawled up to him, plastering himself to Oliver’s front, pressing the softest of kisses right over Oliver’s thudding heart, and then resting his head on his chest. Oliver caressed his shoulders and neck, scratching at his scalp and just lounging, enjoying the feeling of his fucked-out body and the amazing Demon who had brought him so much pleasure.

He thought maybe Priest had fallen back asleep and was considering taking a short snooze himself before repacking the overflowing duffel bag when Priest said quietly, “I have to protect you. I have to do everything in my power to keep you safe because I don’t think I could live in this world without you now that I know how perfect we are together.”

Tears burned at the back of his eyes. Oliver stroked his hair, murmuring soft, encouraging words, letting him know he understood.

And he really did. He didn’t know how he could feel the same way, that his entire existence was now bound to this sexy and endearingly awkward sex Demon. It should have been terrifying.

But as he lay there, sweat drying on his skin and heart finally slowing, he realized it wasn’t scary at all.

It just felt… inevitable.