Godwin had booked a room in the hotel above the Speakeasy, but instead of heading towards the bank of elevators, he dragged them out the door. The sun had gone down while they were in the bar, and now the sky was dusky as the last of the day disappeared beneath the horizon. It was truly cold now without the sun, and she wished she had something thicker than tights on. Godwin said nothing as he pulled them down the street. Josh wouldn’t look at her, wearing his guilt in his shoulders.

Godwin released her arm long enough to hail cab, then pushed them all inside the car before anyone could protest. He gave the driver, a tired looking middle eastern man, the address to his block, then sat back, Seneca and Josh on either side of him. He was fuming, she could feel the heat of it pouring comfortingly off of him, but he remained quiet.

“I’m sorry, Godwin,” Josh apologized meekly, staring a hole into Godwin’s hand on his arm. “I didn’t-”

“Silence, Josh Crocker. My anger is not for you, but we will not speak of this now.” The command in Godwin’s voice was impossible for her to disobey, and apparently it was for Josh, too, as the rest of the fifteen minute ride was passed in tense silence. Godwin paid the driver with a fifty dollar bill, the first time she’d ever seen him pay for anything, then he pushed them all out of the car without waiting for his change.

“Godwin…” she began. He had never invited Josh to his apartment. Her jealousy was back, gumming up her veins with its oily black sludge.

“Seneca, I have…I must.” He released them both, pacing the sidewalk furiously. He turned to Josh on the third pass of his pacing, his gaze intense. “Josh, she will…roseau woulii,” he swore. Seneca vaguely remembered him use the term before, though she didn’t know what it meant. He sighed heavily. “Seneca, I am unable, my anger, I cannot make a good decision of this. Sabati will take him to spite us, to spite you for speaking out against her. Does he stay with us or do we let him go? It is your decision to offer the choice.” He leaned against the wall. His eyes were pure silver. “I am having difficulty maintaining my form, I need to rest.”

“She can go to hell, Win!” she exclaimed passionately. “She was talking about him like he was a thing. She wanted to treat him like a sex toy! She said we were…oh, Win, I hate her with every fiber of my being. Josh…” she said, turning to him. He was shifting uncomfortably, completely embarrassed.

“Seneca, Godwin, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t resist her! I’ve never felt anything like that. It was like she had me by the balls. I’m still so hard it hurts, and it felt like the only thing I could do to make it stop hurting was please her. She made me want her, I couldn’t-”

“Of course you couldn’t!” Godwin snarled. Josh cringed, and Godwin’s tone softened as he continued. “The unrestrained force of a SynLilin to those without proper defense is like that. Generally incubus are more powerful than succubus, but she has gorged herself here and I….never mind that, all that matters now is that I was unable to hold her back as much I wanted. She is a rich child here. She sees humans as toys, and she cares not which ones she breaks, there is always fresh stock to replace them. Incubus and succubus of this realm are the ones who could not learn how to follow the rules of our culture.”

“What about you, Godwin?” Josh asked softly, still not looking at either of them. “You aren’t like her.”

The incubus laughed ruefully. “No, I am not, but I was like her once. I am here because of a defect, not because of my behavior. Sabati is here because she never matured. An immature SynLilin is dangerous,” he explained, head to the sky as he tried to calm himself.

“That girl, Grace? Was she her ghanza?” Seneca asked softly, remembering how sickly the girl looked, how pale and fragile she seemed.

Godwin laughed callously. “Sabati has no collar to give, hansa. That damaged creature is her possession, nothing better than livestock. There are two ways to translate nalsurr te salstise. The first is simply as a pet, something that is dear to you, but not equal. The other meaning, the meaning she implies, means livestock. Creatures only fit to eat. To me, you will never be nalsurr te salstise, not in either definition. I am not better than you, either of you.”

Josh moved to Godwin’s side, though he didn’t touch him. “May I…Godwin, may I touch you?”

Godwin shifted but said nothing. Josh hesitantly reached out his hand, his fingers resting on the incubus’s shoulder. Godwin shivered at his touch, then his incubus slipped out, his clothes disappearing in a ripple down his body. Josh gasped, but he didn’t shy away. Godwin didn’t move, his eyes shut tight as he rested his head against the building.

“Oh my god,” he muttered, taking in Godwin’s demonic form.

Godwin moved so quickly that she didn’t have time to react, grabbing her by the waist. He turned to Josh and they locked eyes. Josh swallowed hard. “I will be back for you, censhin. If you wish to leave us, this is your chance. Neither of us will bear you ill will if you choose to leave.” He didn’t wait for Josh to respond before they were airborne, the sound of his leathery wings comforting her. She snuggled against his chest, holding onto him tightly, feeling like she had come home.

“I am yours, ghanza,” he muttered into her hair as he climbed through his window. He deposited her onto one of the cushions on the floor and she looked at him, her head swirling with the events of the evening. “You are my master. I serve you. I am yours,” he repeated.

“Pelang,” she whispered. “Go get our censhin.”

A possessive look crossed Godwin’s face, followed by a frown. “Do you think he awaits my return?” he asked her, a tinge of doubt in his voice.

“He’ll be there, Win,” she insisted.

“But…” he trailed off, one foot on the window frame, hesitating.

“You are not Sabati, Win. We won’t let Sabati have him, he doesn’t want that, either. You heard him, the tone of his voice when he spoke of what she did to him. He was afraid. Go get Josh and bring him here.”

Again, Godwin, her usually confident incubus, hesitated. It hurt her heart. “You were jealous of him a moment ago.”

“It was petty. Bring him here, Win. Go.”

“As you wish, ghanza,” Godwin replied formally, bowing slightly before he disappeared through the window, his tail trailing behind him.

Seconds later she heard the beat of his leathery wings again, and then Josh and Godwin were in the room with her. Godwin deposited Josh on the cushions next to her and he seemed a little disoriented.

“That was, wow, that was wicked crazy,” Josh said breathlessly as he collapsed to the cushion, his head landing in her lap. He looked up at her with a soft smile, then his gaze returned to Godwin’s demonic form. His eyes trailed over the scars that marred Godwin’s left side, then locked onto his manhood. She could relate. Godwin still flinched slightly at Josh’s scrutiny.  

“I told you, Win,” she said softly, drawing his attention away from his shame over his scars.

“You told him what?” he asked, turning towards her. She could tell he was nervous, his actions felt slightly submissive.

“You did, ghanza. He is here. I must bind him to us,” Godwin muttered. “She would break him and then give him back to us just a handsome shell.”

“You think I’m handsome? Wait, break me?” Josh asked, shifting in her lap. She buried her hands into his soft hair and he relaxed a little. “You and Sabati both mentioned that. Like that girl? Grace? There was something wrong with her.”

“Sabati consumed her,” Godwin growled, making Seneca shiver. “Do not mention her in this space. She did not just feed from that girl, she devoured her, consumed her, broke her. She would do the same to you, she takes joy in destroying beautiful things. SynLilin who are cast aside are all defective in some way.” He turned away from them, using his wings to hide his body.

“How does she break people?” he asked, his face troubled.

“You felt her power. She was abusing her station tonight, and I should have put a stop to it before it went too far. We manipulate emotions, it is who we are. She can control you, and once she is inside your mind, once she brings you enough times, she can break your mind. It is similar to drug addiction.”

Josh shivered in her lap, biting his lip anxiously. “Please, don’t ever let her get me. I hated how I felt around her. It’s terrifying, not being able to control your desires even if you know what’s happening is wrong. Please, Godwin, I don’t want her to do that to me.”

“I won’t let her, Josh,” Seneca said with intensity, her fingers tightening in his hair reflexively. “She won’t touch you, I swear it.”

“Seneca, she does not have to touch him to gain power over him, you know this! Josh Crocker, will you become true censhin to Seneca and me? Will you bind yourself to us?”

“What does that mean?” he asked, a tinge of fear in his voice.

Godwin paced, anger and hatred pouring off of him in waves. His tail twitched like an angry cat, and in any other circumstances she would want to catch it and play with it. “It means how it sounds. You would bind yourself to us, a permanent bond, forged with blood and sex. Will you bind yourself to us? If not, leave now. There is no maybe. Choose now, Josh Crocker.”

He swallowed hard before he answered. “Yes, Godwin. You are both important to me. I don’t want to turn into what that girl was, but I’m not doing it because of that. You…I feel like if I left now, I’d spend the rest of my life looking for what we have together. I don’t want to feel that loss. I want what we have, I want to cherish it.”

“Come here, censhin,” Godwin murmured. He turned back around to them, his hand on his erect cock. He stroked himself idly as Josh rolled off of her and stood, approaching Godwin slowly. “Do you want this?” he asked, nodding to his generous manhood.

“Yes,” Josh whispered, swallowing hard.

“What do you want to do with it?” he asked, his tone threatening and seductive at the same time. The change in his demeanor was frightening, yet she felt herself growing damp.

“I want to suck it,” he half whispered, a tremble in his voice. Seneca seconded that sentiment, longing to watch them, as well as longing to partake. She pressed her fingers against her panties as the sexual tension instantly amped up in the room.

Godwin moved gracefully across the room, pushing the papers and books from the short coffee table. “Ghanza,” he called without looking at her.

“Yes, pelang?” she replied, moving to her knees.

“You are part of Josh’s binding. He will be bound to both of us. Do you accept his gift?” Godwin asked her. The words seemed heavy with power and she shivered.

“Yes,” she whispered, falling to her hands and knees. The air was so heavy she could feel it building up in the room in layers.

“Sit on the table, Josh Crocker. Seneca Mahon, take him in your mouth,” he commanded. She couldn’t have disobeyed him if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Her core clenched in anticipation of what was to come just from the command, and the pleasure she received when she followed his demands.

Josh sat where Godwin directed on the small coffee table, his hands fumbling with his belt. She pushed his hands out of the way, pulling his pants open. The smell of his arousal was heady and thick as she pulled out his half-hard member. It pulsed in her hands as she positioned her lips on the head of him. “Seneca,” he moaned as she closed her mouth over him. His whole body trembled as his hands weaved into her hair.

Godwin’s hands guided Josh’s head towards his cock as she watched. They all moaned as Godwin forced his way into Josh’s mouth. Seneca felt a little better about herself when Josh was unable to take it all in, gagging on it as Godwin pushed his way inside. He recovered quickly, wrapping a hand around Godwin’s impressive shaft, then he started sucking, riding Godwin’s cock with his mouth as his own cock firmed up quickly in hers.

She sucked him as far as she could and he gasped as her nose touched his belly. It twitched in her mouth, tickling her throat. She pulled off of him, his precum sliding over her tongue naughtily.

“Touch yourself, Seneca,” Godwin commanded breathily as Josh awkwardly sucked his manhood. She could tell he wasn’t sure what to do, his eyes locked on Godwin. “Josh, you are doing well. Suck hard and pull me as deep as you can, yes, like that. Mmm…”

Seneca slipped her fingers between her legs, touching herself over her panties. She wasn’t sure if she was allowed to touch herself directly, Godwin hadn’t said, and she couldn’t imagine assuming his intentions.

She focused on Josh’s hot rod in her mouth, throbbing with each pull. She longed to bite him, to mix his precum with blood, but she couldn’t ask. Just the thought had her getting more worked up, and she sped up her movements on Josh’s cock, her eyes locked on Godwin’s cock in Josh’s pretty mouth.

“She approves of the job you are performing,” Godwin muttered, his voice husky with arousal. “I will give you one last chance to escape before we bind you, Josh Crocker.”

Josh pulled off of Godwin’s cock, his eyes unfocused with his arousal. “No fucking way,” he moaned before he plunged back onto Godwin’s cock. His unbridled desire was hot and had her core gushing.

“Very well, Josh Crocker,” he said softly. “Consume my passion and truly become our censhin.” His words were laced with power, she could feel it in the air around them, thick like honey.

Josh moaned and his cock twitched in her mouth as Godwin threaded his hands into Josh’s hair. Godwin pulled him forward and then began thrusting. All Josh could seem to do was grip Godwin’s hip with one hand and his cock with the other as the incubus rode his face hard, pushing in and out of his mouth. Josh’s eyes completely unfocused as he lost himself to the raw sexuality of the act, his hips dancing, pressing his manhood deeper into her own mouth.

Godwin grunted and threw his head back as he came. Josh tried to pull away, probably a reflexive response, but Godwin held him firmly by the hair, thrusting his manhood over and over again. “Swallow it all, swallow it,” Godwin grunted.

She watched Josh swallow, small streams of pearlescent fluid seeping from the corners of his lips. His eyes were closed, the look on his face pure ecstasy. Josh’s hips lost their rhythm and he ejaculated into her mouth a second later and she swallowed it all just as quickly, continuing to blow him throughout his entire orgasm.

“Don’t stop,” she heard Godwin mutter above her. Josh was still sucking, still swallowing, still riding Godwin’s magnificent cock. Somehow the incubus was still coming, still thrusting into Josh’s mouth, though his hips were slowing down. Josh’s own cock was still rock-solid in her mouth. She pulled off of him and began stroking him, leaning back to watch her incubus’s face as he came.

His hips slowed then stalled, but he continued to hold Josh’s hair, to keep his mouth wrapped around his cock. The hazy, lusty look in Josh’s eyes was so hot that her fingers in her crotch picked up pace, dancing unsatisfyingly over the silky polyester of her panties and the thicker cotton of her tights. Godwin released his head and he looked up, his face full of adoration and worship.

There was a look of disapproval over his face and gone in the next second, but they had both seen it. Godwin cupped Josh’s face with both of his hands, stroking his cheeks with a sad look on his face.

“This is not the way I wished to bind you, censhin. I do not want to force your devotion. I would not manipulate you like that…” he trailed off angrily.

Josh surged forward, pulling his cock from her hands as he stood. He caught Godwin’s mouth with his own and the incubus groaned. Seneca saw that Godwin was still hard and wondered if she might get a turn. They kissed passionately, the surprised look on Godwin’s face amusing.

“Godwin, I think our Josh wants you, and I think it has nothing to do with manipulation,” Seneca purred, climbing up Josh’s body. She reached around him and pulled his shirt open, ripping the buttons. Josh moved to break away, but Godwin’s hands held him. Josh moaned, his hands moving to Godwin’s perfect ass. She tore the fabric away from Josh’s neck, then ran her nose over the exposed flesh.

Josh turned and caught her mouth, Godwin’s flavor still heavy on his tongue and lips. She licked the sides of his lips where it had leaked out, capturing more of the incubus’s essence.He broke away a moment later, both of them panting.

He swayed as she pressed her body against his. There was this overwhelming desire for his blood on her tongue, and she could find no reason why she shouldn’t bite him. Her teeth sank in with a wave of pleasure, followed by another as his blood his her tongue and filled her mouth, more quickly than Godwin’s. His taste was different than Godwin’s, but it was just as satisfying in different ways.

Josh’s legs gave out and she and Godwin sandwiched him between their bodies. Godwin steered Josh’s face back to his own and began kissing him again, then, without breaking away, he directed them to the cushions on the floor. Her mouth broke from his neck as Godwin lay them all down, Josh between them. Godwin’s head dipped down and licked the trails of blood that had leaked out. He pushed her head back to the wound and she latched back on quickly, not wanting to spill anymore of his blood. His hips bucked, rubbing his erection against Godwin’s burnished belly.

As his blood filled her veins, the need to be filled was nearly overwhelming. Her hands were fumbling with her tights and panties when Godwin broke away from the kiss, both him and Josh panting heavily.

“Seneca, stop,” he commanded. She growled in frustration, closing up Josh’s punctures with a heavy lick, removing her fingers from her loins. Godwin’s hand snaked forward and he caught her face, pushing his way into her mouth, still filled with Josh’s blood and undertones of his ejaculate. She kissed him back, her core throbbing, needing him, needing them. Godwin pulled away too soon, Josh’s blood painting his lips crimson. He licked the blood from his lips and she surged forward, trying to catch his mouth again.

He leaned back, dodging her easily as he laughed throatily. He moved to a kneeling position, his massive cock a museum-quality work of art she longed to touch. Josh curled around him, his hand slowly stroking his own cock. “Josh, you stop as well. We must complete your binding, then we will bind our ghanza.”

“Anything, Godwin,” Josh said hazily.

“Sit up, hansa,” he commanded. She was sitting before he finished the statement. “Come here.”

She was crawling over Josh in a heartbeat, the need to please Godwin flowing through her veins. He pushed his fingers into her mouth, stroking her fangs, which were still extended. She sucked down on his finger and he smiled erotically. He pressed his finger into her fang and she felt it as it broke the skin. Sucking hard, she longed to taste him, but he pulled his finger from her mouth after only few drops.

She whined wordlessly as he pressed his finger between the finger and thumb of his other hand, forcing his blood to well up on his fingertip. “What is your full name?”

He blinked, his eyelids fluttering. “Josh Nolan Crocker.”

“Josh Nolan Crocker, I offer this to you. With this, I would bind you to me with blood and sex. Do you accept me?”

The power from his words seemed to fill the room. “Hell yes,” Josh said quickly, his head darting in, catching Godwin’s finger in his mouth. They both went stiff and their eyes flew shut as Josh sucked hard. A second later Godwin pulled his hand from Josh’s mouth.

The power seemed to build up further instead of dissipate. They both looked at her, Godwin’s eyes deep silver pools of lust, Josh’s hazel eyes full of desire. She thought she could see a sparkle of silver in his eyes but then he ducked his head, groaning.

“Are you okay?” she asked him thickly, leaning forward to catch his head in her hands. He smiled at her, his irises completely dilated.

“His blood, oh my god, Seneca. It’s crazy proper. You smell so good. I’m going to eat you out now,” he said, pushing her down. She squeaked in surprise, completely surprised by his actions. He ripped at her tights and underpants, pulling them down roughly. She squealed as he vigorously pushed his head between her legs. She moaned when his tongue dipped into her burning core, and he groaned as her hands threaded into his hair.

“Time for you, ghanza, to finish what we have started. Will you bind Josh to yourself with blood? Will you bind yourself to me?” he asked her reverentially.

“Josh, would you be my Wren?” she breathed out heavily.

He nodded without removing his mouth from her womanhood. She looked at Godwin, or at least tried to, but Josh’s mouth was making it hard for her to keep her eyes open. She reached out and grabbed Godwin by the horns, pulling his face to her neck.

“Bite me, pelang,” she whispered between moans, her orgasm on the horizon. His teeth broke her skin and her back arched violently, ripping her core from Josh’s mouth. He licked her neck once, then somehow Josh was at her neck, Godwin’s fingers in her core. As Josh licked blood from her neck the power in the room seemed to condense to a physical thing, and she came on Godwin’s hand. Josh moved quickly, capturing her mouth in a kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as she came. The flavor of herself, undercut by the naughty taste of Godwin’s pleasure in his mouth nearly drove her crazy. Everything was big, larger than life, and she felt more intimately connected to these men than she had ever felt to anything else in her entire life. Godwin pulled his fingers from her and sucked them into his mouth, watching them kiss with a pleased look on his face.

The power fled quickly, like a dial turning down to zero as it seemed to soak into her skin. If she weren’t already laying down she would have collapsed to the floor. Josh folded on top of her and Godwin sank to his knees, then to the ground. Both men were still hard but no one seemed interested, or able, to move to remedy their conditions.

“I would not have pushed you both into this so soon,” Godwin said, his voice hoarse. “I would have liked it to be more natural. If Sabati had taken you, though…”

She could hear the regret in his voice and it offended her. “Don’t, Godwin. That was amazing. Don’t discount it, and don’t you mention that bitch’s name. Not after this.”

“Mmm,” Josh moaned, smacking his lips together. “Everything is good, G. Everything is mad proper,” he said thickly, his exhaustion evident. He rolled so that he wasn’t lying directly on her but beside her, then stretched out, raising his hips off the floor. His erect member lay teasingly against his taut belly, and if she had any energy at all she would have taken it into her mouth. Instead she could barely lift her head.

“I’m so tired,” she mumbled, curling up against Josh’s body. She threw her hand back, looking for Godwin, slapping her hand his against his chest. “Come here,” she mumbled thickly, trying to grab his sweat slicked chest and failing.

“My apologies again, kisnaljac lani,” he said softly, pushing himself up off the ground.

“Huh?” she asked, confused at his Daeva words.

“Kisnaljac lani, my dearest ones,” he replied. She watched him through heavy eyes as he staggered down the hallway. The loss of his touch was unsettling.

“Win, come back!” she called after him.

“Godwin,” Josh whined. “Please.”

“I will return. I am getting bedding, as I cannot carry you both to the bed,” he grunted from the other room. He returned with two big fluffy comforters and pillows shoved under his arms. He pushed them apart, rearranging the cushions on the floor, his movements careful. He undressed them both, gently removing their clothing. Seneca felt like an overtired child, almost unable to keep her eyes open except for the deeply unsettling feeling she had in her gut.

Once they were naked he lay down between them, pulling them in close to his body and lacing hers and Josh’s hands over his chest. The insecurity she had been feeling melted away once her skin was touching his and her hand was clasped with Josh’s. She snuggled in closer and felt Josh do the same. She rest her head on Godwin’s chest and his fingers threaded into her hair.

“This is where I’m meant to be,” Josh muttered softly. “I’m so glad I found you both. I don’t even care how corny that sounds.”

As she drifted off to sleep Godwin’s fingers trailed down to her collar, and she could feel his insecurities. His emotions confused her but she could not fight the heaviness of sleep as it dragged her down.

Chapter 24: The better of two evils

The Game Chapter 26: The Next Day