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“Grandma…Caleb, no, please, don’t-”
I opened my eyes into the dark, body trembling and breathing quickly. It wasn’t a freezing night, but if one hadn’t known better, judging by how I was shaking, they’d think I was down with an illness. A whisper pushes past my lips as I finish the sentence.
“-don’t go.”
This was the reality, and the truth was that I had lost Grandma and Caleb in that explosion. No matter how much I wished I could turn back time, how I wished I had died together with them that day, for some reason, I’m still breathing. And being in the N109 Zone only amplifies how alone I am; stuck in a wasteland, sleeping on a bed that isn’t mine and not being any closer to avenging Grandma and Caleb. I bit down on my lower lip, nearly drawing blood, but not hard enough for the dull pain to overpower what I was feeling inside.
I sat up on the bed, glancing to my side where the sheets had been lifted and were bunched in the middle. I hadn’t even realised he’d left.
Trying hard to ignore the emptiness and self-doubt, I adjusted my nightgown as I lifted myself off the bed and walked toward the balcony. The cold stung at the soles of my feet with each step I took. As I leaned against the railing, I noticed for the first time how this room had a perfect view that overlooked the land, yet with absolute privacy. One didn’t even have to listen closely to hear the occasional gun or bomb going off in the distance; it further cements the belief that there’s rampant, violent madness going on beneath these dark skies. If Linkon City is heaven, then this place must surely be hell.
The roar of a motorcycle pulling into the estate interrupted my thoughts. I pointed my eyes downwards, just in time to see the familiar figure remove his helmet, revealing a wild head of silver hair. It’s then that it crossed my mind. In every hell, a devil shall exist, and sometimes they don’t come in the form of a red man with pointed horns.
As he made eye contact with me, the light catching in his ruby irises, I felt an involuntary shudder escape me.
I suppose sometimes, the devil can come in the form of everything you could ever desire.
The realisation caused my mouth to go dry, and I broke the connection between us first, going back to looking out at the city, although seconds later when I looked back down, he was already gone. The disappointment would have continued to mount had I not heard the room door open minutes later and the sound of his footsteps getting closer and closer. It feels ridiculous that one could even memorise the sound of another’s footsteps, but I had. I knew all too well the weight, pattern and speed he usually took, although this I’ll never admit to anyone, much less him.
His arms encircled around my waist, and I let out a breath I didn’t even realise I’d been holding.
“Sylus,” his name sounds needier than I’d have liked. It must be because it’s the middle of the night, all due to a lack of sleep yet too much brain activity.
“Another nightmare, kitten?” He nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck, and I, in turn, take a deep breath, noting notes of gunpowder mixed with his usual masculine scent and spritz of cologne.
“It’s just the same thing. You’ve heard it a million times,” I drawled.
“If it helps you feel better, I’d listen to it a million times more.” His leather jacket presses against the exposed skin of my back, its metal buttons cooling. Yet something about his giant body enveloping mine makes me feel safe and protected, a stark contrast to what being in the N109 Zone should feel like.
“I was just…so scared to leave the dining room,” I said, as a mix of my memories and imagination stung deep within, “Grandma and Caleb kept asking me to go, but I couldn’t move. It felt like if I did, the moment I left, the explosion would…”
I stopped to blink my tears away. I was sick of feeling this way, like a little girl who couldn’t get ahold of her emotions. Sylus didn’t tease or reprimand me this time. Instead, his arms tightened, and he spoke.
“I guess I shouldn’t have left you alone tonight.”
It was at the tip of my tongue to say, "I’m fine; I can be alone." But the words refused to come. Instead, I chose to ask, as if I had any control or say over where Sylus could or couldn’t be.
“Where’d you go?”
I wasn’t expecting the unabridged honesty that followed.
“Tracking down the people who killed your family.”
I whipped around, eyes searching Sylus’ face. Now that I’m seeing him up close, I can pick out the bits of debris and dust in his hair, like he’d been in another fight again. I made sure to comb every inch of his skin for injuries, and it felt downright silly, knowing just how strong and feared Sylus is in the N109 Zone and how he can heal himself with his abilities, but he isn’t God. If someone pumped enough bullets into his body, he could still be vulnerable. He could still get hurt-
His low chuckling broke my concentration. “I don’t hate the look of worry on your face.”
I shot a glare at him. It only served to widen the grin on his devilishly handsome face.
I ignored him. “I could’ve helped you if only you told me. You know I can fight.” I could wield a gun or sword just as well as the next hunter. Or, at the very least, I could lure our enemies out.
Sylus read my mind. He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “You have plenty of other chances to be bait in the future. You shouldn’t be more concerned about me than finding out who took your family’s lives.”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but nothing, not even you would take precedence over finding out my family’s killers.” The lie tasted bitter on the tip of my tongue. Sylus raised an eyebrow, looking more amused than anything.
“So, did you do it?” I swallowed. “Kill them?”
“Only the ones who executed the order. But I should be close to taking out the people who instigated it.”
“I want to see them. If it’s possible.”
“Are you sure?” He runs a finger gently down the side of my face. “Will you promise not to go soft on them?”
“Why, afraid that I won’t have what it takes?”
He smirked, “I’ll let you know when they’re found.”
“Thank you,” I nodded. “I know…you didn’t have to do it.”
“I wanted to,” Sylus’ expression is unreadable now. “If only to help you sleep a little better at night.”
My heart could burst, but I kept it all in, not wanting to reveal how I sank into his every word. It’s a mistake, I told myself. I shouldn’t feel this way for a cold-blooded criminal who left tonight only to claim more lives. But as I subconsciously arched into his touch, into the hand that he brought up to cradle my face, I’m reminded that he did this for me, even when he has nothing to gain. What heartless monster would do that? The more time I spend here, the more Sylus says and does things that he doesn’t need to do, the more it feels–
“I’m going to take a shower. You should go back to sleep.” The moment is over all too soon as Sylus turns to go. The heat from his palm lingers on my cheek momentarily before dissipating all too soon.
I decided to return to bed, thoughts swimming in my head while listening to water running in the bathroom. All I can think about is Sylus taking out the faceless minions of whoever it was that ordered the attack. It doesn’t make me feel better, but it's a life for a life, right? Grandma and Caleb may not want this, but I do. These scumbags should be taken out before they ruin any more families. Sylus has done me a favour and saved me trouble tracking them down.
Warmth suddenly presses against my back again, but this time, there are no layers in between, just skin on skin. A finger comes up to gently swipe at my cheek. I didn’t even realise that I’d been crying again.
“Left the other side empty for me?” Sylus’ voice is low, a whisper in my ear. He smells fresh, with a dash of wood and leather, and all too intoxicating. The more I feel his breath graze the hairs on my back, the more it clouds my mind.
I didn’t answer beyond wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. It feels weak, allowing Sylus to see me like this, all vulnerable and pried open. But there was something that drew me to him, like a moth to a flame. His casual wit, his calm demeanour despite the chaos that surrounded us, but most of all…the way he sees right through me. Exactly like how he’s doing now, his stare piercing into me as I shifted to better look over my shoulder.
“What if I did?” I parted my lips to say. “Leave the other side empty for you?”
He lays a thoughtless kiss on the ball of my shoulder, and I wonder if he can hear how quickly my heart is beating.
“I’m here now.” Just three simple words are all it takes for every bit of fear and unease to disappear. Sylus was so close I could count every eyelash, his lips so near I could just–
Sylus didn’t give me the chance to overthink. He closed the distance between us by slotting his mouth over mine, his tongue prodding at my lips for entrance until I gave in. I turned my body to arch completely into his, nails digging into his muscles, legs entangling with his, and pelvis grinding against his hard bulge so expertly it made him groan for the first time in the night. All that’s separating us are his long pants. One single piece of fabric.
“Kitten,” his pet name for me, didn’t feel unwelcome. “This is hardly a fair deal.” He doesn’t stop trailing familiar kisses from my lips to my jaw to my neck, and I moan at how good it feels.
“Sex in exchange for you taking out the people that murdered my family-,” I threaded my fingers into his hair and tugged hard to bring his lips back to mine. A moan escapes, but I can’t tell if it’s from me or him. “You want more than that?”
Sylus shifts to hover dangerously above, blanketing my body with his own. He brought one of my legs up to hook it around his waist, and I instinctively brought the other up, effectively caging him. It’s almost ironic, considering how he’s the one keeping me here. The action caused almost the entire hem of my nightgown to drop to my hip, and that’s when he pointed his eyes down and realised.
“No panties,” he hums amusedly, hands instinctively finding the side of my body like a default position. His voice, his fingers digging lightly into my flesh, all of it sends the heat shooting straight down. He then drags me back to our original conversation. “I meant, it’s not fair to you. I’d be taking advantage of you, sweetie.”
“Most people would argue that sex is more than well worth it, or perhaps not enough, for what you’ve done for me.”
“I didn’t do it because I expected some kind of repayment.”
“You never do anything that doesn’t benefit you, isn’t it?”
Sylus narrowed his eyes, then dropped them to my lips. He drawls, “You think you know me so well.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? But do you know what?” I rolled my hips against him, eliciting a curse from under his breath. “It benefits me too. Maybe I want to use you to forget about everything, even if it’s just one night.”
Sylus stilled, the expression on his face the most conflicted I’ve ever seen. He breaks into a small smile before I can overthink.
“You’re becoming quite the expert at deals.”
“I learnt from the best,” I tipped my chin up, brushing my nose against his. His eyes are mesmerizing, a deep shade of crimson, that I could get lost in them forever. Sylus tilts his head to capture my lips in another searing kiss as my legs tighten around his body. I was already aching and dripping wet, and he hadn’t even touched me.
“And where should I begin to help you forget about everything?” Sylus pushes the straps of my nightgown down, then yanks the material lower till my breasts are exposed. “Here?” He took one of my nipples into his mouth, circling his tongue around the nub till it peaked nicely between his lips while his fingers played with the other nipple, rolling it between his thumb and index finger. Then he switched sides, careful to give both breasts an equal amount of attention.
“Or here?” His lips leave my breasts to trail downwards silently, kissing, nipping and marking my stomach and the sides of my body with his teeth, making me moan out loud. I don’t care if his henchmen might be listening, which is what they did two nights ago until Sylus caught and reprimanded them. They should know how good their boss can make me feel. How talented his mouth is and how well he can take me.
“Or here?” He slides away from me while manoeuvring my legs to now hook them over his broad shoulders. He positions his mouth right above my nether lips while looking down at my bare pussy, all wet and wanting for him. I’ve never felt more exposed, but I've never been more comfortable with revealing myself to anyone. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, but something on his face almost feels like…admiration.
I breathed raggedly, “Can’t take it anymore. I-I just…need you to-”
“What do you need, darling?” I can feel his breath on my pussy, and it already makes me want to throw my head back.
“I need you to- to fuck me.”
“Louder,” he commanded.
“Fuck me, please.”
“Can’t hear y-”
“Fuck me, Sylus, please, goddammit!” I practically screamed.
And then his mouth was on me, licking an eager stripe up my pussy before dipping his tongue into me. I buried my fingers into his hair, tugging so hard that it should’ve hurt, but Sylus only increased his pace, rubbing my clit furiously while continuing to tongue-fuck me towards ecstasy. He ate like a man starved for days, not letting up even as I pressed my thighs against the side of his head so hard that it should’ve cut off all blood circulation. His tongue trashed about within my inner walls, and I could feel the mounting pressure, the escalating high. I felt like a dam about to break, completely stretched and impossibly close.
“I’m c-coming,” I warned, but Sylus didn’t move an inch. Instead, he flicked his eyes up to watch my face, like all he wanted was for me to fall apart on his tongue. I’d never come on someone’s face before, and this was Sylus, the most feared person in the N109 Zone. I didn’t know if he’d be okay; if I would be okay.
“Relax,” he said as he gave my nub a hard suck, the rumble of his words adding to its sensitivity. “You can come on me. Let me taste more of you.”
With shockingly little apprehension, I did as he said. I let go. And every second of it was mind-numbingly glorious. A kind of high that I’d never experienced before, unfiltered and unapologetic, running through the entirety of my body. My thighs immediately went slack and would’ve slid off if not for Sylus, who kept me in position as he alternated between licking up my juices and peppering kisses onto my inner thighs.
He released me only to snake his body up mine, to kiss me so I could taste myself on his tongue. But despite the gentle way he cradled my face, I could tell he was on the edge, rock hard and as desperately in need of a release as I did.
I gently put my hands on his chest and pushed him onto the bed, eyes running all over his chiselled body as I got on top of him; I wanted to memorise every scar, every imperfection, every flaw that’ll feel nothing short of perfection to me.
He lets me tug his pants down, only staring and drinking me in. Who’s the prey, and who’s the hunter? The lines were so blurred neither of us could possibly tell.
Coming up to align myself with his cock, my eyes flicked back up to his face. Seeing Sylus unguarded like this, waiting and wanting, did something to me. The thoughts plague my mind again, silently egging me internally to admit a kind of affection towards him that I know should never exist.
“We can stop,” his voice was so sudden and soft that it caused my heart to crack just a little.
“I told you what I wanted,” I ignored his words as I ran a finger down his bare chest while angling myself to let his cock head brush against my nether lips. It left him more than breathless. “I want to be fucked, by you.”
“I heard you,” he growled, half-propping himself up and allowing his hands to find my hips. “But it’s not just fucking, not for me, kitten.”
The air seemed to still. A chill ran down my spine, but I wasn’t ready for this conversation from Sylus right now.
To make it stop, before another word could come out of his pretty mouth, I sank down on his length. The stretch and how he’s sheathed in my heat are perfect. We groaned in tandem, so loud that Luke and Kieran could surely hear them even if they were at the other end of the house. I started to move, slowly lifting and sinking back down, enjoying the way his eyes glazed over and the blush that coloured his cheeks. He looked so…beautiful. It was not long before Sylus began thrusting his hips, hitting that one spot within me that made me cry out.
He sat up farther to press our chests together, to lick and suck on my neck, to kiss me harder than he’d ever kissed me.
“You’re so tight for me.” He pounded upwards into me fervently, fingers clutching my ass to keep me in place for him. “Do you have any idea how good you feel right now?” It turned me on so much I clenched involuntarily around his length. Moaning into his ear and scraping my nails along his back muscles, I said.
“Y-you feel so good for me, too, Sylus.”
I kissed him, wanting every single part of us to meld together. I wonder if he knew how intoxicating this feels for me, how much I want to drown in this ecstasy forever. I wanted him to touch me everywhere, to reach into the deepest parts of me that I didn’t know existed. Sylus, likewise, held onto me like he was clinging to a life raft, unable to let go. He kept pushing and pushing, and I felt like a rubber band, ready to snap at any time.
“Can you come in me?” my voice was a whimper. Sylus nodded, looking as though words were beyond him right now. He gave me another kiss before pausing suddenly to push me onto my back. Then he was back, body on top of mine driving into me at full force, pounding me senseless into the mattress and making me scream so hard I could lose my voice.
Everything in my mind drew a blank except for the visual of him. I wanted Sylus to mark me, carve his name into my body and hold me hostage for as long as he wanted. I wanted him to lose every inch of self-control the way I do with him.
“Sylus, I’m so close.” I couldn’t stand it. I felt him intertwine his fingers with mine, his gaze steady yet gentle, never bending, never yielding.
My calm in the storm.
I cried his name again as I came a second time, shaking and convulsing. It sent him over the edge as well, and I could feel my insides grow steadily warm, completely filled with every drop that he had to give. Sylus collapsed next to me, trying to steady his breathing but not failing to remember to pull the covers over us and tucking the stray hairs behind my ear. When he was done, his fingers returned to intertwine with mine, and strangely, I welcomed it.
“Do I have something on my face?” he asked. “Or else, why are you staring at me like that?”
I couldn’t help myself. I wonder if anyone else got to see Sylus like this and found myself immediately hating the thought.
“What do you get out of this, Sylus?” I asked softly. There must be something, a catch somewhere. The leader of Onychinus doesn’t go around avenging people’s families’s deaths in person for the sake of it.
“Other than seeing you be able to sleep well at night?” he tightened his grip on my fingers. “Nothing.” He no longer wants to look at me, choosing to barrel his gaze into the plain ceiling.
Maybe it’s the dead of the night, where I feel I could be myself, shrouded in this darkness. Or perhaps it’s because Sylus offered me a kind of honesty that no one else had ever given me. He didn’t shower me with fake concern or sympathies. Instead, he went and took them out directly. I simply wasn’t brave enough to face up to what had been staring in my face the entire time.
“I’d rather you be here than risk your life for me,” the words tumbled out quickly. “Because I..I-”
It was scary admitting what I felt, far scarier than facing even a group of wanderers headfirst. But I wanted to say it.
“-I do care about you, Sylus.”
“Hmm,” he turns to press his forehead gently against mine. “Are you finally admitting what I think you are?”
“I really was afraid, Sylus. Of you getting injured. And…I can’t tell yet if what I feel towards you is anything more or if you even want it to be more, but what I know is,” I swallowed hard after my little ramble, “I don’t know how to turn it off.”
“Turn what off?”
“My feelings for you.”
Sylus leaned closer to brush his lips against mine, kissing me in the gentlest way he knew how.
“I forbid you to ever turn them off.”
My chest swelled at his words, and I tugged him towards me just so I could kiss him again. We’d then go on to make love till daylight broke, spewing promises while fucking like animals on the bed, atop the dresser, against the wall, on the floor, until I was utterly shattered and a sweaty mess, with only Sylus on my mind.
Not many would get to know Sylus the way I do, and to me, he’s much more than the feared leader of a faction. I don’t know if what we have is forever, but beneath the scars and layers, the man I once called a heartless monster has a spirit that burns brighter than most others.
If this man is the devil, then I will be the first to admit.
It’s the devil that I want.