Darius stomped a hoof on a chunk of wood and metal that was once his desk.

It made a satisfying crunch. He stomped on it again. And again.

Kat. He wanted Kat. Needed.

He went to his door and tried to open it. Locked. That’s right. The hunters had ordered him to stay. He dug his claws into the wood and scratched.

The door abruptly swung open. Darius growled…then stumbled backwards when he realized who stood before him. Dropping to his knees, he bowed deep.

The Lord General entered.

“Human form,” he ordered.

Darius’ wings stretched out. He closed his eyes, trying, but he couldn’t get his incubus to retreat. He doubted he could even talk right now.

A strong hand squeezed the back of his neck, comforting him.

“Focus, young one. You’re not lost yet. Fight it.” The general’s words grounded Darius. He tried again. This time his wings retreated into his back and he returned to his human appearance. He no longer had the energy to hide his bruises. The general’s hand left him. “Good. Put some pants on.”

Darius wasn’t sure when he’d stripped, but at some point, he’d removed all his clothes. He nodded to the Lord General and retrieved some slacks from his closet. As he put them on, he surveyed his room. Only the desk and door had suffered any damage; the rest of his furniture remained intact.

The Lord General stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back. His dark blue eyes watching Darius intensely.

Darius went to stand before him, dropping his eyes in reverence.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Tarrick said.

Darius sagged. The words might as well have been a weapon used to bludgeon him. His life centered around pleasing the Lord General and serving his house. Failing to do so made him…less.

Tarrick continued, his tone hard. “You were aware of an impending calsanic and instead of coming to me, you hid it. With drugs no less. You could have caused a great deal of harm to one of my hunters.” The general paused. The silence was painful, but Darius didn’t dare look up, keeping his eyes fixed on the rug. “Perhaps it’s my failing. Do you feel you cannot trust me?”

“My lord,” Darius whispered, “you have more important things to worry about than me.”

“I get to decide what I worry about, not you. Am I clear?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Kat, you may enter,” Tarrick said.

“No.” Darius’ eyes went wide as she entered wearing a concerned look on her face. He fought back his incubus, doing a shit job of it as his horns emerged and fingers clawed. “Get her out of here. I can’t.”

Tarrick placed his hand on Kat’s shoulder. Darius let out a growl. How dare Tarrick touch her.

The general raised an eyebrow. “You’d challenge me over her?”

Yes. It didn’t matter that he had no hope of defeating the Lord General—a skilled warrior over fourteen times his age—Darius would fight for her. He growled again and flexed his claws.

“Answer me,” Tarrick ordered.

“Yes.”

Darius caught the faint scent of arousal twisted with fear, and his eyes locked onto Kat. Ilertha help him, she looked stunning.

A smile lifted on the edge of Tarrick’s lips. He removed his hand from her shoulder. “Good.”

“Leave.” Darius could hardly believe the command came from him. Ordering the Lord General in his own house was insane. No one did that. For good reason. Other than the High King, there wasn’t a single incubus that Tarrick couldn’t destroy with a few words.

Tarrick’s expression remained severe. “If I leave and you lose control, there’ll be no one to stop you from harming her.”

“I’d never harm her,” Darius ground out. He wanted to add that his Kat—his wildfire—would never allow it, that harming her would be harming himself, that he’d rather cut his arm off…but he had trouble formulating the words.

The Lord General said something but Darius didn’t hear it, his full attention focused on Kat. Some part of him became aware that Tarrick left the room, closing the door behind him.

Standing still, he studied her. She wore a grey cadet outfit today, and while Darius had never found them flattering before, it looked good on her. He narrowed in on her brown eyes, studying the gold flecks.

“Leave,” he said.

She took a step back. “What?”

“I know you don’t want this. Leave. Now. Before I can’t control it anymore.”

“But the Lord General—”

“I’m going to call a feeder. It’ll be fine.” It was a lie. A feeder couldn’t satisfy him at this point. It didn’t matter though. He refused to sleep with Kat if she didn’t want him. “Please, go. The Lord General was right. When I lose control, I might hurt you.”

She regarded him for a moment. Every second that passed he felt his control slipping. If she didn’t get the hell out, in a few moments, he’d take her. “I’m staying,” she finally said.

“No—”

“It’s my choice.”

“You don’t understand—”

“That you’re about to turn into a demon-monster and ravage me with what I can only assume will be a ginormous cock? I think I understand.”

“We really don’t like being called demons,” he whispered.

She shrugged.

“Kat, please listen to me.”

“Don’t you want me?”

“Gods, yes. But I can’t risk—” He fell silent when she began to unbutton the top of her cadet uniform. His skin itched as his incubus stirred; the monster was done talking. He watched her fingers work, hating the distance between them but refusing to be the one to close the gap.

There was so much he wanted to tell her. How no other had ever sparked him like this before. How much he enjoyed her passion. How the way she challenged him on everything made her all the more appealing. How he loved showing her his world and seeing her react to its wonder.

Her resolve seemed to melt, and she trembled. Even from a few feet away, he felt her nervousness.

She didn’t need to be nervous. He’d take care of her…satisfy her every desire. He tried to speak. Only a growl of frustration rolled from his mouth.

She took a step back, which frustrated him even more.

He fought to stay in place while silently pleading for her to leave. But she didn’t. Instead, she came forward and touched his cheek. He leaned into her warmth.

“Even if I’m still a little mad at you, I don’t want you to die.” She dropped her hand and fiddled with a button on her shirt. “I’m…not very experienced. I don’t really know how to do…sex. I might not be that good.”

Impossible. Her sexual experience, or lack thereof, didn’t matter to him. And actually, he found the idea of teaching her appealing. Together they could learn her body. Explore every position, every fantasy. He wanted to dominate her. Submit to her. Bring her pleasures no human partner could ever hope to achieve.

Wanting to reassure her, Darius leaned in and kissed her neck. His lips brushed against her soft skin, testing to make sure she wouldn’t pull away. She tilted her head, and her breath grew ragged.

He tasted her. White-hot energy flooded inside of him. Ilertha be praised, she tasted so pure. As he worked his way across her skin, he consumed the golden light shedding from her.

She gasped when he nipped her. “It’s nice to see you know how to kiss in the usual areas.”

Hot air escaped his mouth as he huffed out an amused chuckle.

Kat ran her nails over his hard abs, her fingers mapping each muscle. They moved downwards until they hit his waistband. She hovered above a bruise. It had already begun to heal, but he desperately wanted to glamor what was left of it away. Hide the imperfection.

“You have a really nice V,” she said. “Like, insane. I’ve never seen anyone this cut in person, only pictures. Models.”

Darius rolled his shoulders peacocking a bit, loving that she enjoyed his body.

Her hand hovered over his groin. “How big are you?”

More than happy to show her, he began to paw at his button, trying not to rip his slacks with his claws. Failing. She grabbed his clawed hands to stop him.

“I’ll do it.”

Her fingers snaked to his button and popped it open. Slowly—painfully so—she lowered his zipper and tugged his pants down a few inches.

With no underwear on, his cock sprang free. Thick and hard, it bounced once and settled. As she studied his erect length, he wished she’d touch it.

“Jesus. You could be a porn star,” she said.

Darius squeezed the base of his thick shaft.

“What? Did you want me to do something with that?” she asked, teasing.

He grunted and released his grip. He tugged at her uniform shirt.

“No,” she said. He stopped, confused. She bit the bottom of her lip. “Tell me, would you do anything I asked?”

Yes.

“Hm.” She thoughtfully looked him up and down. Reaching out, she squeezed his nipple. A moan escaped him. “There’s something I want to do…”

Anything.

She pressed her hands against his chest, pushing him backwards until his legs hit the bed and he dropped on it and lay back, waiting. Nothing happened.

He pushed himself up on his elbows and found her studying him. Naked, he felt exposed in a way he never had before. Nudity didn’t bother him—it didn’t bother any incubus actually—but she made him feel bare, as if the layers of armor he kept around himself weren’t needed.

She hesitated. The confidence she had moments ago faded. He desperately needed to be inside her. Filling her with him.

“Please,” he managed to say.

With renewed confidence, she grabbed his knees, sliding hands to the top of his legs, his hips. She grabbed the base of his dick—her hand unable to fully circle it—and licked the drop of pre-cum from his opening.

A desperate sound—something between a moan and a plea—escaped him.

She licked again, longer this time, mapping his glans.

At this speed, sex wouldn’t happen for a while. Normally he’d be content to let her discover him, but he couldn’t fight his nature anymore.

As his consciousness fell to instinct, his last hope was that he wouldn’t hurt her while he fucked her brains out.