Page 115 of Incubus
“No,” Nathan said, trying to lean over Sasha’s back to better see, “an actual, you weren’t just born with it tattoo. Is that a…four leaf clover?”
Recognition must have dawned on Sasha, because he suddenly really wanted to turn over.
“Oh no you don’t,” Nathan said, holding Sasha down. He knew any amount of success was only because Sasha allowed it, but that didn’t deter Nathan so long as he got what he wanted. “Are you agirl?” he teased, since there was indeed a small clover tattoo on Sasha’s right cheek where Nathan wouldn’t have been able to see it until now.
“I was eighteen,” Sasha said, with an actual blush filling his face. “In Canada. And drunk!”
Nathan barked a laugh.
“I am Irish. Kind of. On the human part of my dad’s side anyway.Shut up,” Sasha said more forcefully, even though he was still grinning like mad. “You weren’t supposed to ever notice. Jerk.”
“If you expected sex at any point, how did you think you were going to hide it?”
“Dumb luck?”
Nathan laughed again. He allowed Sasha to move off of him so that eventually they situated themselves lying side by side onthe bed. Nathan generally liked being naked, and considering they had just had sex on Schuester's guest room floor, he was pretty sure he was no longer embarrassed being naked in front of Sasha.Nextto Sasha. With Sasha naked too.
Starting with the incubus’ toes, Nathan cast a long slow look up his friend’s body. There was nothing he didn’t like. That was amazing within itself.
“So…what does this make us exactly?” Nathan asked, smiling crookedly. “Because if you think I’m introducing you as my boyfriend toanyone…"
Another chuckle escaped Sasha, his fangs gone, blue eyes sparkling, but still absolutely beautiful in whatever form. Nathan might even be willing to say that Sasha was even more radiant than normal with his hair tousled and a little sweat on his skin.
“We don’t have to call ourselves anything,” Sasha said, and leaned over to steal another kiss. Then he was leaping off the bed with a sudden surge of energy that left Nathan staring in awe. “I feel so much better! You have no idea. I have to work some of this off.”
Nathan had almost forgotten that what they had just done was how Sashafed. It amazed him that he hadn’t felt anything strange or amiss during a single part of it.
“Where are you going?” Nathan asked once he realized Sasha was haphazardly grabbing up clothing. “I’m exhausted. And it’s the middle of the night.”
“I know,” Sasha said, pulling Nathan’s own discarded T-shirt over his head, “but I’m so wired now. I just need to walk around the block or something. Maybe even a good fly if there aren’t many people around. You don’t have to come with if you’re…too worn out.” He was already dressed in a mishmash of his own and Nathan’s clothing. He crawled enough back onto the bed to hover over Nathan and captured his lips greedily.
Nathan hummed against Sasha’s mouth. He felt energized too but couldn’t bring himself to move. “I’ll opt out this time, but don’t take too long. You’re still a recovering coma victim, you know.”
Sasha chuckled, sliding from the bed again and picking up what Nathan thought was Jim’s abandoned coat. “Maybe, but what you just gave me is the exact cure I needed,” he said, and winked as he moved for the door.
As Nathan watched Sasha go, he couldn’t help smiling, even lying there naked, alone in the afterglow. He settled back on the bed, content for the first time in longer than he could remember.
And waited.
Chapter 45
Nathanwasrunningthrougha large house he didn’t recognize with thousands upon thousands of rooms all blocked by closed doors. He knew that if he could just find the right door, he would be safe. Free. But every door Nathan tried, every room…held Jim, grinning at him with slit eyes.
When Nathan finally found an empty room, he tried to hide in it. But the walls had eyes too, so many eyes, and they were all slit, all staring, watching Nathan and waiting to devour some secret part of him. Nathan tried to block it all out, huddled in a corner on the floor of that empty room, but the eyes were closing in.
It was Sasha’s voice that called to Nathan in the dark, close beside his ear from behind. But that shouldn’t be possible because there was a wall behind him; Nathan could feel it at his back.
May the road always rise to meet you...
Too strong arms grabbed Nathan from behind, completely encasing him and smelling of Sasha. But they weren'tcomforting. They weren't gentle. They were not there to save him.
Why Sasha? WhyJim? Why did the darkness have to look and feel like them? Nathan couldn’t see anything anymore, only black, but he could feel their hands, their arms, and hear Jim's awful laughter marring the words of the lullaby...
Nathanblinkedslowlyawake,shivering from the cold and the remains of his dream. He had fallen asleep on top of the covers, completely nude. Rolling toward Sasha’s side of the bed, Nathan sought out some of that indomitable incubus heat to help banish the unfair images and emotions that the nightmare had stirred within him, but he came upon chillingly cold emptiness in the bed beside him.
Sitting up sharply, Nathan stared at where Sasha should be, but wasn’t. He remembered that Sasha had left, but surely the incubus was back by now, unless Nathan had only dozed off for a moment. He checked the bedside clock to be sure, but it was already late the next morning.
“Walter,” Nathan croaked out, not even caring that he was naked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. “Is Sasha already up out there?”
