Categories > Original > Fantasy > To Dance With the Devil
Title: To Dance With the Devil
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: NC-17
Category: Original Fantasy, "Above and Below” series
Pairing: Venkata/Cameron
Warnings: Slash, M/M, Anal, Angel/Devil sex, Mention of past child abuse
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, and FicWad. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my Yahoo!Group to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Status: Complete/One-Shot
To Dance With the Devil
Chapter Six: Strange New World
It was strange, not waking up alone. There was an arm thrown possessively across his hip, holding him tight to the body behind him, the steady beat of another heart pounding out a rhythm against his back. It was soothing, the gentle presence of another living creature pressed close against him, warmth engulfing him, and Cameron found himself lulled into an easy calm as he shook off the last remnants of slumber. It was an altogether unfamiliar sensation. A most welcome one, as well. Cameron smiled, feeling utterly content, stretching his body and wondering at how he was a mixture of sated contentment and sore muscles. Then he remembered why, exactly, he was sore. After the flood of memories came rushing back he was anything but content.
He and Venkata had made love, and that in and of itself did not bother Cameron, the memory being a very pleasant one. The thoroughness with which his lover attended to him, the gentleness of his touch, the kind yet forceful dominance that Venkata controlled their encounters with was something that Cameron would be more than happy to get used to. What did bother him, however, was the memory of his winged lover smiling down at him as he pleasured him with a surprisingly flexible tail and kissed him with a devilishly forked tongue. It wasn’t the appearance, that didn’t bother him, but the implications of what the man’s appearance meant that staggered him. Cameron remembered talk of devils and angels, of other worlds, and of soul-mates meant to bring peace to their people. It seemed as impossible in the light of day as it had the night before.
“Do you always squirm around this much first thing in the morning?” The words were slurred, distorted by a yawn, and accompanied by the sound of nails scratching across flesh. “If so, I’ll have to start tying you down before bed.”
Cameron couldn’t make himself turn around, no matter how hard he tried. He pulled himself free of Venkata, sitting up and swinging his feet over the side of the bed in one fluid motion, looking at the far wall while wondering if he could make it out the door without offending his lover. Venkata’s words were casual and he’d yet to say anything about the previous night’s discussion, but to Cameron’s frantically racing mind words like soul-mate hung heavy in the air, causing his pulse to quicken and his breath to stutter. All he’d wanted was a lover who took care of him, who gave a damn about whether or not he was happy, and now he had to worry about acting like an angel? He didn’t know what to do. Cameron considered just ignoring the night before, like Venkata seemed to be doing, perhaps pretending as though he remembered very little of what had been said. It would be so easy to just sink into the welcoming embrace of his lover and spend the morning exploring each other until exhaustion and hunger eventually drove them out of bed and into the real world. So very easy.
“You think too much.”
“I-“ He was suddenly falling backwards, strong arms wrapped securely around his chest, holding him almost painfully tight. He tried to ask what Venkata thought that he was doing, but then there were lips suckling at the side of his neck, just the way he liked it, and a frighteningly skilled tail was sliding up the inside of his thigh. Cameron found that he didn’t care enough to ask questions after that.
“You?” Venkata prompted, his voice muffled against Cameron’s neck, hiding his smirk as he let one of his hands join his tail, cupping his lover’s rapidly reawakening sex with his fingers and giving a quick tug. He knew that he wasn’t helping matters, but the breathless moans and gasps of pleasure were far preferable to what he was sure Cameron had been about to say. Venkata knew that he thought very little of himself, the way that he had seen the younger man allow himself to be treated by others proof enough of that fact, and even if the angel did believe him about Above and Below Venkata seriously doubted that he believed that they were soul-mates destined to bring peace to their people. But he didn’t want to hear any arguments, since he knew the truth and wasn’t about to back down on the matter. So, he had decided the moment that Cameron had opened his mouth that it needed silencing. “Must not have been very important.”
Cameron wanted to agree. The hands on his body, the lips on his skin, the hardness that was poking deliciously against the small of his back all seemed far more important than whatever he had been about to say. But Venkata’s words were too wrong to be ignored. It was important, what he had to say. And, the sooner that he said it, the better they would both be for it. Venkata deserved to know what a mistake he had made. He needed to know so that he could complete his mission and find his true soul-mate. That person was surely waiting, and was likely far more deserving of being found than he had ever been.
“About last night…” It was hard to think with Venkata’s tongue in his ear and the tip of his tail prodding his entrance, but Cameron tried his best to concentrate as he pushed weakly at the strong arms that were still wrapped around his midsection. It was so tempting to let him continue, to let Venkata do as he pleased, but Cameron felt that it somehow wouldn’t be right. There was an angel out there waiting for the dark devil, and that man, not he, should be the one to be caressed and kissed. “I think that you got it all wrong.” It had been nice while it’d lasted. Cameron was grateful that he would always have his memories of their too brief time together. It had only been a few weeks, but it was still the most fulfilling relationship that Cameron had ever had. “I can’t be your soul-mate.”
“You can’t?” Venkata was honestly curious to hear the answer to his almost-question. He really wanted to know what Cameron thought made him so unworthy that everything else in his tale was believable yet this was not. But, whatever it was, Venkata was certain that it was rubbish. And, in time, he promised himself that he’d prove it to Cameron too. “If you’re not my soul-mate, then what are you?”
“Cursed?” Cameron tried to make it a joke, but failed, glad for the fact that Venkata couldn’t see the pain in his pale blue eyes. /Cursed/. How many times had his mother called him that as a child? And how many times since had he agreed? “A worthless slut that you met in some sleazy club? A good lay, I hope, that you had a bit of fun with? Someone that you’ll forget.”
“Never!” Cameron hadn’t heard the growling, hadn’t realized how quickly Venkata had become enraged, until he found himself spun around and thrown on his back, pinned down by a devil with glowing eyes. “My mate is not a worthless slut!”
“And that’s why I can’t be your soul-mate!”
The two men stared at each other, both certain that they were right and the other was in the wrong, the room silent save for the harsh pant of breath and the occasional rumbling growl. Venkata’s tail flicked uselessly behind him, an unconscious gesture much like the nervous twitch of an eyebrow, as he looked down at the man beneath him. He held tight to Cameron’s wrists, thighs straddling a thin waist, dark hair falling about them both like a curtain of black silk. Then his eyes softened and his grip relaxed. He could see the pain and uncertainty, the fear and the need, the overwhelming desire to be proven wrong all swimming within Cameron’s azure gaze. It tore at his heart and strengthened his resolve.
“You’re a fool,” his voice was soft, tone gentle despite the insult. Venkata didn’t think for a moment that the tears that began to slowly slide down Cameron’s cheeks were the result of his words. Fool was certainly not the worst that the young angel had ever been called. He let his lips follow the trail of one salty droplet, nuzzling his nose in the crook of Cameron’s neck when he lost the tear in the other man’s pillow. “And what did I tell you earlier about hiding your tears? I want everything that you are, even your pain, because your suffering is my suffering.” He let his body settle more fully against his lover’s, warming skin that had grown chill, letting the other man take comfort in his body even if he would not take the same comfort from his words. “My heart bleeds for you and your broken soul.”
“And you said that I’m a fool?” Cameron scoffed, trying his best to sound teasing despite the fact that all he wanted to do was disappear into the mattress, sink down until he was gone, nothing but a memory. That, or wrap his arms around the man hovering above him and beg him never to let go. “Why would anyone want my pain? Especially someone like you?”
“Someone like me?” Again Venkata’s curiosity was piqued. He’d revealed himself, his true nature, to a human or two over the long years, and the reaction was usually the same. He was a devil, a son of Below, and that word held a lot of meaning to most humans. In fact, Cameron was one of the few who had not pushed him away the instant that he’d shown his wings. Then again, none of the others had been his angel soul-match, so perhaps that made all the difference? “And what, pray tell, am I?”
“You’re good and kind,” Cameron answered without a hint of hesitation. He’d wanted to say these things to Venkata for a while anyway, so now seemed the perfect time. He feared that he wouldn’t get another chance, not after the other man came to his senses, so he forced the words out despite the difficulty that he had in speaking from the heart. “You’re smart and funny. You’re handsome. You’re amazing in bed. You’re great, everything that any man, or woman, could want. You’ve treated me better than I deserve, better than anyone ever has.”
“Well, yes, I am amazing in bed,” Cameron wasn’t the only one who had difficulty opening up and making himself so vulnerable. But Venkata could feel how tense his lover’s body was beneath him, and that sobered him instantly, taking the weak smile from his lips. Cameron had an old soul, due in no small part to years of suffering unjustly, but Venkata had to remind himself that the young man had seen no more than twenty-two summers, all of those without the love that he deserved, and that no matter how hard this conversation was for him it was even harder for the angel. “But I’m the one who’s lucky to have found you. You have no idea how special you are, how in awe I am that I’d be allowed to claim you as my own, and I promise you that I’ll make you see the truth in time.”
“Time?”
“Yes, time,” Venkata promised. “I don’t say the word soul-mate easily. You’re my other half and I’m going to be by your side always.”
“Why won’t you believe me,” Cameron pleaded. There was panic filling his pale eyes, and he wanted suddenly to be away from Venkata. He needed the devil to stop talking about futures and happiness. He needed him to stop talking about any sort of life together, because Cameron wasn’t at all certain that his heart could take the pain of losing Venkata once he’d begun to believe that he could keep the man. And he was certain that he would lose Venkata eventually. A man like that would never stay with a person like Cameron, he knew that to the bottom of his heart, and the sooner that they both realized that the better. “I’m not your soul-mate.”
“Yes,” Venkata said with just as much certainty as Cameron denied it. “You are.”
“Why would you think that I was?” Cameron tried reasoning. “How do you know that you found the right person?”
“Don’t you believe in love at first sight?” Venkata wondered, thinking back on the first time that he had seen the beautiful angel to whom he spoke. The elders had said that he would know his other half when he found him, having asked the same questions that Cameron now asked, and when he’d found him he’d known that they had been right. The heart did not lie. “I knew that moment that I first saw you that my search was over.”
Cameron was silent. Love? That was not a word that he was accustomed to hearing. Venkata thought that he loved him? It was so preposterous that Cameron almost laughed, and he would have had he not been trying so hard to fight back tears. It was true that he had felt drawn to Venkata at first sight, had felt some sort of instant and unexplainable connection that went far beyond simple lust. It was also true that his heart beat faster when Venkata was near, that he thought about him and longed for him when he was absent, and that the mere mention of the man’s name was enough to bring a smile to his lips. But to think that the other man felt the same way about Cameron? Impossible.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” Cameron sighed, not willing to admit that he wanted nothing more than to beg Venkata to love him as much as he feared that he loved the other man. It didn’t matter, he forced himself to say again inside of his own head, he wasn’t the type meant for love. They’d both understand that in time. “Now let me up. You’re heavy and I need to get dressed.”
“Cameron-“
The ringing of the phone was shrill, stilling Venkata’s tongue, giving Cameron time to push out from under the devil and get some much needed distance between them.
“Yeah?” He didn’t have it in him to try for politeness.
“Mr. Cameron Parish?”
“Yes?”
“This is St. Phillip’s Memorial Hospital calling,” something in Cameron’s chest tightened at the woman’s politely businesslike words. There was only one reason for the hospital to be calling him, but he forced himself to stay calm, matching the woman’s tone almost exactly when he spoke.
“It’s Tommy, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Smithe has listed you as a contact in case of emergency.” Even after their argument, Venkata’s arms around him, circling him from behind, was a welcomed comfort. His voice was calm, but Cameron had begun to tremble, his hand barely able to hold on to the receiver of the phone in his panic. “He’s suffered an attack of his illness, the doctors think that it’s rather serious, and he has had to be admitted.”
“I understand.” He put the phone down without even giving the woman the courtesy of a farewell, speaking more to himself than to her, “I’ll be right there.”
TBC ...
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: NC-17
Category: Original Fantasy, "Above and Below” series
Pairing: Venkata/Cameron
Warnings: Slash, M/M, Anal, Angel/Devil sex, Mention of past child abuse
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, and FicWad. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my Yahoo!Group to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Status: Complete/One-Shot
To Dance With the Devil
Chapter Six: Strange New World
It was strange, not waking up alone. There was an arm thrown possessively across his hip, holding him tight to the body behind him, the steady beat of another heart pounding out a rhythm against his back. It was soothing, the gentle presence of another living creature pressed close against him, warmth engulfing him, and Cameron found himself lulled into an easy calm as he shook off the last remnants of slumber. It was an altogether unfamiliar sensation. A most welcome one, as well. Cameron smiled, feeling utterly content, stretching his body and wondering at how he was a mixture of sated contentment and sore muscles. Then he remembered why, exactly, he was sore. After the flood of memories came rushing back he was anything but content.
He and Venkata had made love, and that in and of itself did not bother Cameron, the memory being a very pleasant one. The thoroughness with which his lover attended to him, the gentleness of his touch, the kind yet forceful dominance that Venkata controlled their encounters with was something that Cameron would be more than happy to get used to. What did bother him, however, was the memory of his winged lover smiling down at him as he pleasured him with a surprisingly flexible tail and kissed him with a devilishly forked tongue. It wasn’t the appearance, that didn’t bother him, but the implications of what the man’s appearance meant that staggered him. Cameron remembered talk of devils and angels, of other worlds, and of soul-mates meant to bring peace to their people. It seemed as impossible in the light of day as it had the night before.
“Do you always squirm around this much first thing in the morning?” The words were slurred, distorted by a yawn, and accompanied by the sound of nails scratching across flesh. “If so, I’ll have to start tying you down before bed.”
Cameron couldn’t make himself turn around, no matter how hard he tried. He pulled himself free of Venkata, sitting up and swinging his feet over the side of the bed in one fluid motion, looking at the far wall while wondering if he could make it out the door without offending his lover. Venkata’s words were casual and he’d yet to say anything about the previous night’s discussion, but to Cameron’s frantically racing mind words like soul-mate hung heavy in the air, causing his pulse to quicken and his breath to stutter. All he’d wanted was a lover who took care of him, who gave a damn about whether or not he was happy, and now he had to worry about acting like an angel? He didn’t know what to do. Cameron considered just ignoring the night before, like Venkata seemed to be doing, perhaps pretending as though he remembered very little of what had been said. It would be so easy to just sink into the welcoming embrace of his lover and spend the morning exploring each other until exhaustion and hunger eventually drove them out of bed and into the real world. So very easy.
“You think too much.”
“I-“ He was suddenly falling backwards, strong arms wrapped securely around his chest, holding him almost painfully tight. He tried to ask what Venkata thought that he was doing, but then there were lips suckling at the side of his neck, just the way he liked it, and a frighteningly skilled tail was sliding up the inside of his thigh. Cameron found that he didn’t care enough to ask questions after that.
“You?” Venkata prompted, his voice muffled against Cameron’s neck, hiding his smirk as he let one of his hands join his tail, cupping his lover’s rapidly reawakening sex with his fingers and giving a quick tug. He knew that he wasn’t helping matters, but the breathless moans and gasps of pleasure were far preferable to what he was sure Cameron had been about to say. Venkata knew that he thought very little of himself, the way that he had seen the younger man allow himself to be treated by others proof enough of that fact, and even if the angel did believe him about Above and Below Venkata seriously doubted that he believed that they were soul-mates destined to bring peace to their people. But he didn’t want to hear any arguments, since he knew the truth and wasn’t about to back down on the matter. So, he had decided the moment that Cameron had opened his mouth that it needed silencing. “Must not have been very important.”
Cameron wanted to agree. The hands on his body, the lips on his skin, the hardness that was poking deliciously against the small of his back all seemed far more important than whatever he had been about to say. But Venkata’s words were too wrong to be ignored. It was important, what he had to say. And, the sooner that he said it, the better they would both be for it. Venkata deserved to know what a mistake he had made. He needed to know so that he could complete his mission and find his true soul-mate. That person was surely waiting, and was likely far more deserving of being found than he had ever been.
“About last night…” It was hard to think with Venkata’s tongue in his ear and the tip of his tail prodding his entrance, but Cameron tried his best to concentrate as he pushed weakly at the strong arms that were still wrapped around his midsection. It was so tempting to let him continue, to let Venkata do as he pleased, but Cameron felt that it somehow wouldn’t be right. There was an angel out there waiting for the dark devil, and that man, not he, should be the one to be caressed and kissed. “I think that you got it all wrong.” It had been nice while it’d lasted. Cameron was grateful that he would always have his memories of their too brief time together. It had only been a few weeks, but it was still the most fulfilling relationship that Cameron had ever had. “I can’t be your soul-mate.”
“You can’t?” Venkata was honestly curious to hear the answer to his almost-question. He really wanted to know what Cameron thought made him so unworthy that everything else in his tale was believable yet this was not. But, whatever it was, Venkata was certain that it was rubbish. And, in time, he promised himself that he’d prove it to Cameron too. “If you’re not my soul-mate, then what are you?”
“Cursed?” Cameron tried to make it a joke, but failed, glad for the fact that Venkata couldn’t see the pain in his pale blue eyes. /Cursed/. How many times had his mother called him that as a child? And how many times since had he agreed? “A worthless slut that you met in some sleazy club? A good lay, I hope, that you had a bit of fun with? Someone that you’ll forget.”
“Never!” Cameron hadn’t heard the growling, hadn’t realized how quickly Venkata had become enraged, until he found himself spun around and thrown on his back, pinned down by a devil with glowing eyes. “My mate is not a worthless slut!”
“And that’s why I can’t be your soul-mate!”
The two men stared at each other, both certain that they were right and the other was in the wrong, the room silent save for the harsh pant of breath and the occasional rumbling growl. Venkata’s tail flicked uselessly behind him, an unconscious gesture much like the nervous twitch of an eyebrow, as he looked down at the man beneath him. He held tight to Cameron’s wrists, thighs straddling a thin waist, dark hair falling about them both like a curtain of black silk. Then his eyes softened and his grip relaxed. He could see the pain and uncertainty, the fear and the need, the overwhelming desire to be proven wrong all swimming within Cameron’s azure gaze. It tore at his heart and strengthened his resolve.
“You’re a fool,” his voice was soft, tone gentle despite the insult. Venkata didn’t think for a moment that the tears that began to slowly slide down Cameron’s cheeks were the result of his words. Fool was certainly not the worst that the young angel had ever been called. He let his lips follow the trail of one salty droplet, nuzzling his nose in the crook of Cameron’s neck when he lost the tear in the other man’s pillow. “And what did I tell you earlier about hiding your tears? I want everything that you are, even your pain, because your suffering is my suffering.” He let his body settle more fully against his lover’s, warming skin that had grown chill, letting the other man take comfort in his body even if he would not take the same comfort from his words. “My heart bleeds for you and your broken soul.”
“And you said that I’m a fool?” Cameron scoffed, trying his best to sound teasing despite the fact that all he wanted to do was disappear into the mattress, sink down until he was gone, nothing but a memory. That, or wrap his arms around the man hovering above him and beg him never to let go. “Why would anyone want my pain? Especially someone like you?”
“Someone like me?” Again Venkata’s curiosity was piqued. He’d revealed himself, his true nature, to a human or two over the long years, and the reaction was usually the same. He was a devil, a son of Below, and that word held a lot of meaning to most humans. In fact, Cameron was one of the few who had not pushed him away the instant that he’d shown his wings. Then again, none of the others had been his angel soul-match, so perhaps that made all the difference? “And what, pray tell, am I?”
“You’re good and kind,” Cameron answered without a hint of hesitation. He’d wanted to say these things to Venkata for a while anyway, so now seemed the perfect time. He feared that he wouldn’t get another chance, not after the other man came to his senses, so he forced the words out despite the difficulty that he had in speaking from the heart. “You’re smart and funny. You’re handsome. You’re amazing in bed. You’re great, everything that any man, or woman, could want. You’ve treated me better than I deserve, better than anyone ever has.”
“Well, yes, I am amazing in bed,” Cameron wasn’t the only one who had difficulty opening up and making himself so vulnerable. But Venkata could feel how tense his lover’s body was beneath him, and that sobered him instantly, taking the weak smile from his lips. Cameron had an old soul, due in no small part to years of suffering unjustly, but Venkata had to remind himself that the young man had seen no more than twenty-two summers, all of those without the love that he deserved, and that no matter how hard this conversation was for him it was even harder for the angel. “But I’m the one who’s lucky to have found you. You have no idea how special you are, how in awe I am that I’d be allowed to claim you as my own, and I promise you that I’ll make you see the truth in time.”
“Time?”
“Yes, time,” Venkata promised. “I don’t say the word soul-mate easily. You’re my other half and I’m going to be by your side always.”
“Why won’t you believe me,” Cameron pleaded. There was panic filling his pale eyes, and he wanted suddenly to be away from Venkata. He needed the devil to stop talking about futures and happiness. He needed him to stop talking about any sort of life together, because Cameron wasn’t at all certain that his heart could take the pain of losing Venkata once he’d begun to believe that he could keep the man. And he was certain that he would lose Venkata eventually. A man like that would never stay with a person like Cameron, he knew that to the bottom of his heart, and the sooner that they both realized that the better. “I’m not your soul-mate.”
“Yes,” Venkata said with just as much certainty as Cameron denied it. “You are.”
“Why would you think that I was?” Cameron tried reasoning. “How do you know that you found the right person?”
“Don’t you believe in love at first sight?” Venkata wondered, thinking back on the first time that he had seen the beautiful angel to whom he spoke. The elders had said that he would know his other half when he found him, having asked the same questions that Cameron now asked, and when he’d found him he’d known that they had been right. The heart did not lie. “I knew that moment that I first saw you that my search was over.”
Cameron was silent. Love? That was not a word that he was accustomed to hearing. Venkata thought that he loved him? It was so preposterous that Cameron almost laughed, and he would have had he not been trying so hard to fight back tears. It was true that he had felt drawn to Venkata at first sight, had felt some sort of instant and unexplainable connection that went far beyond simple lust. It was also true that his heart beat faster when Venkata was near, that he thought about him and longed for him when he was absent, and that the mere mention of the man’s name was enough to bring a smile to his lips. But to think that the other man felt the same way about Cameron? Impossible.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” Cameron sighed, not willing to admit that he wanted nothing more than to beg Venkata to love him as much as he feared that he loved the other man. It didn’t matter, he forced himself to say again inside of his own head, he wasn’t the type meant for love. They’d both understand that in time. “Now let me up. You’re heavy and I need to get dressed.”
“Cameron-“
The ringing of the phone was shrill, stilling Venkata’s tongue, giving Cameron time to push out from under the devil and get some much needed distance between them.
“Yeah?” He didn’t have it in him to try for politeness.
“Mr. Cameron Parish?”
“Yes?”
“This is St. Phillip’s Memorial Hospital calling,” something in Cameron’s chest tightened at the woman’s politely businesslike words. There was only one reason for the hospital to be calling him, but he forced himself to stay calm, matching the woman’s tone almost exactly when he spoke.
“It’s Tommy, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Smithe has listed you as a contact in case of emergency.” Even after their argument, Venkata’s arms around him, circling him from behind, was a welcomed comfort. His voice was calm, but Cameron had begun to tremble, his hand barely able to hold on to the receiver of the phone in his panic. “He’s suffered an attack of his illness, the doctors think that it’s rather serious, and he has had to be admitted.”
“I understand.” He put the phone down without even giving the woman the courtesy of a farewell, speaking more to himself than to her, “I’ll be right there.”
TBC ...
Sign up to rate and review this story