A Study of Fiber and Demons Read online

  "Now, don't be like that," Alim said, but he didn't push Liam's hand away. "You're my nemesis. What would people say?"

  "Do you want me to leave?"

  Alim had been teasing, but he considered the question. Liam was not wrong that Alim would be tossed into the street upon his return, regardless that Jack had been the one with murderous intent. If they were to show up after the board had already taken Jack's word on everything, it would make the board look foolish and no doubt launch an ethics investigation that would inconvenience everyone. The administration at Pinnacle didn't care about the truth, and once Alim and the others reappeared to challenge whatever tale Jack had spun, there was no question that the board would be rid of them as easily as they could be. Sweep everything under the rug, lest investors and buyers coming for demonweave get spooked by stories of academic murder conspiracies.

  That in mind, it did not seem worthwhile to keep clinging to a professional grudge.

  But again, he didn't answer quickly enough, and Liam started to turn away.

  "Wait, wait, wait." Alim grabbed Liam by the hips and pulled him back. He put more force into it than he meant to, assuming Liam would be more resistant than he was, and Alim found himself chest-to-chest with him. "Ah, sorry for the roughness."

  "I hardly mind," Liam said. Alim shuddered, his mind abruptly alit with notions inspired by the little books tucked into his desk back in his office. "You're sure you wouldn't rather be left to rest? Today was grueling for us all."

  "I could use the distraction, I think. After everything went so sour with Jack, well… It's nice to know my prospects are not entirely depleted." Liam smiled and rested his hands on Alim's hips, but he was no more forward than that. Alim dared to lift a hand, running his fingertips over the demonweave clinging to Liam's chest. The fabric was smooth and flexed under the pressure, sending waves of faint shimmers across its surface. Liam did not answer the touch with any further gestures, only lowering his gaze to Alim's lips.

  "And the nemesis thing, there's something dangerously erotic in that, don't you think?" Alim asked.

  "Unhealthy, some might say," Liam replied lightly.

  "It can't be any worse than all these obsessive grudges." Liam opened his mouth to supply what was surely some other witticism, but Alim cut him off. "Would you quit stalling and kiss me already?"

  Liam's look of wide-eyed surprise was worth it, but Alim only got a tragically brief glimpse before Liam's fingers tangled in his hair and dragged him close for the kiss. Alim expected a gruff, burly man like Liam to be a rough and sloppy kisser, and he was exactly right. As Liam slid Alim's lips open with his tongue, Alim took advantage of the limited space between their bodies and ran his hands up Liam's chest, cupping the curves of Liam's torso as he went along. When he reached the collar of Liam's deep crimson suit, Alim ran his fingers along the edge, brushing against the skin of Liam's neck. He trusted a scholar like Liam was clever enough to get the hint.

  Liam shoved Alim against the nearest wall, but rather than use the moment to disrobe, he leaned one-armed against the wall and examined Alim's own demonweave getup. "Astonishing, what they can do." He spoke in a throaty, awed whisper, but even the positive attention made Alim squirm.

  "True, but I still hold that this is a silly design."

  "I disagree—you look perfectly handsome in it." Liam's eyes scanned the length of Alim's mostly-exposed torso.

  "I would prefer to be out of it." For more reasons than one.

  Liam ignored his complaint, tracing fingertips down Alim's chest to his ribs, stroking the sensitive skin there in small circles. Alim closed his eyes against the faint dizziness that swept over him. Liam's fingertips dragged further down, reaching the edge of the suit's absurd torso cut-out. Alim opened his eyes again to watch Liam slip his fingers under the lacey edge of the cloth covering Alim's crotch. Those warm fingers brushed playfully at Alim's pubic hair, and he arched his hips into the touch.

  Alim's legs buckled under the partially-involuntary movement, and he might have collapsed to slide down the wall if not for Liam catching him by the waist. He wished he could say the wobbling was entirely from arousal, but hiking through the sea tunnels had taken a hefty toll. Too embarrassed to admit that outright to Liam, he nodded toward the bed. "Perhaps horizontally might be more effective." Liam kissed him again before backing toward the bed, guiding Alim along.

  As Liam lowered himself onto the bed, pulling Alim down with him to settle on his lap, he began picking at the violet threads of Alim's suit. The intent was clear, but Alim was as clueless about how to get out of it as Liam was. Just as he wondered if they would have to cut him out of it, Liam discovered a tied knot at the collar, small and intricate enough that even Alim had not noticed it. It took an effort with Liam's wide fingers, but he managed to untie it to slip Alim out of the suit. Given the flexibility of demonweave, it was not difficult to disrobe from that point, and Alim might have marveled at the quality of the fabric if Liam's warm hands caressing his chest and sides didn't keep distracting him.

  Liam's suit was easier to wrestle him out of, the top and bottom each separate pieces that Alim could pull off as simply as any sweater. When they were both disrobed and their demonweave suits tossed in heaps upon the floor, Alim laid down across the length of the bed, eager for the softness of the mattress to cushion his aching body. He was both delighted and put-upon when Liam leaned over him, tearing Alim between lust and exhaustion. As much as sleep tugged at him, he hadn't been wrong when he told Liam this was a rare opportunity. Neither of them might ever again have the chance to fuck in a magical demon city, and what a shame it would be if they missed their only shot.

  Liam stroked Alim's belly as he took in the sight of his narrow body stretched out beneath him. "A pity we never knew each other better before." His touch was unexpectedly gentle even as the skin of his fingertips and palm was rough and dry.

  "If you had tried to talk to me at the university, I think I might have bitten your ear off. I doubt we would have ever reached this point from there." Alim writhed a bit where he lay, rolling his hip into Liam's touch, and a small thrill shivered through him as he watched Liam's pupils widen.

  Liam leaned in to kiss Alim again, his lips as dry as his hands but his breath hot and soothing. The mattress flexed under Alim as Liam shifted to straddle him, and Alim's heart began racing as Liam's heat and weight pressed into him. His mind emptied of thoughts of animosity or Jack's betrayal or even the demons. Overcome with simple, animalistic desire, he hiked his hips up to meet Liam's, brushing himself against Liam's erection. Liam met the gesture with force, pinning Alim more firmly into the bed as he grinded against him.

  Allowing heat and passion to pulse through him, Alim was pleased that Liam was no more demanding than warm kisses, caressing hands, and mechanical grinding. Alim was tired and out of practice, and he wasn't sure he could have managed jumping immediately into anything more complicated. He was content to enjoy the pleasure of simple touch for the moment, and he wasn't sure how long they had been entangled together like that before he heard footfalls.

  "Well, isn't that a sight." Liam pulled his lips away from Alim to glance back at Sylvestra, still in her demonweave gown and reaching for a pitcher and basin settled atop a side table by the mirror. "Don't mind me, gentlemen. For all the scrap paper I was able to dig up in my room, couldn't find a drink of water. Please, don't let me interrupt."

  "Paper?" Alim asked. "You've been taking notes?" Liam nudged him with a knee, although he kept his eyes on Sylvestra as she poured herself a glass of water.

  "You're welcome to watch, if you'd like," Liam said. "Provided Alim doesn't protest." Alim, his head already swimming from Liam's attention, couldn't put words to how little he protested the notion and only nodded in agreement.

  "I might just take you up on that, Liam. Today has been too eventful; I could use a bit of entertainment." Glancing over with an expression that betrayed more curiosity than attraction, she almost sounded sarcastic, but
she did move to settle in an armchair across the room, facing the bed. Alim was oddly warmed by her presence, as drawn to her as he was to Liam, but his attention was pulled back to Liam as he enveloped Alim in another deep kiss.

  He and Liam resumed their entanglement, each pawing more desperately at the other as heat rose between them. As passion energized Alim, he began nipping at Liam's chin and neck, caressing his chest or reaching around to cup his ass, while Liam paused a few times in his eager rutting to reach between them to stroke Alim's crotch. It had taken a while—Alim was not as young as he once was—but he was aflush with full arousal, his sleepiness held at bay. Any thoughts he had to shifting now to a more exciting position were interrupted by a soft moan across the room.

  Liam had heard it, too, and immediately halted his groping of Alim to lift his head toward Sylvestra. Alim turned his head to look, as well.

  Sylvestra leaned back in the chair, her shimmering demonweave skirt hiked up past her splayed knees. Eyes half-lidded, she stroked herself as she watched Alim and Liam groping and grinding against each other. Heat had already taken over Alim's body, but it rushed back up to his face, begrudgingly flattered that Sylvestra took an interest in him and Liam, even if it wasn't attraction in the traditional sense.

  Liam rolled off of Alim, leaving his skin cold and tingling where the contact between them was lost, and strode over to Sylvestra. Alim was captivated by the fluid rippling in Liam's back and calf muscles as he was with Sylvestra's dreamy expression while she continued to pleasure herself. "Apologies, Master Steppard," she said, huffing softly between the syllables. "I didn't mean to disturb your meticulous work."

  Liam knelt before her, likely trying not to intimidate her by looming stark naked while she sat vulnerable. If anything in their interaction made Sylvestra uncomfortable, her relaxed, glassy gaze didn't show it. Alim sat back in silence, panting a bit himself as he took the moment to catch his breath.

  "Care for what you see?" Liam ran his hands along her thighs, and she didn't rebuke or swat him away.

  "Not perhaps in the way you mean it. You might know that I don't feel that particular sort of spark, but simple sexual stimulation can cause arousal in anyone. As I said, I could use the release today." She smirked, reaching out to comb her fingers through Liam's sandy curls. "But I will admit, seeing you two, of all people, so prone and overtaken by your own desire is rather satisfying."

  Alim supposed it was a bit embarrassing to be caught in an ass-naked tumble with his avowed worst enemy, but Sylvestra's teasing only stoked the heat in him. He sat up as Liam leaned in to kiss the inside of Sylvestra's thighs. "Might a more direct stimulation satisfy you as well?" Alim's body shook at the low, rumbling suggestion, even as it wasn't directed toward him. Sylvestra hesitated at the proposition, though, glancing up over Liam's head to look to Alim. She didn't look at his bare chest, his taut stomach, or his exposed groin. She only looked into his eyes, her own glittering with curiosity and calculation and, to Alim's surprise, genuine affection.

  He wanted her—wanted them both—but he couldn't bring himself to beg her to accept Liam's offer, however much he wanted to. If she didn't feel any real attraction toward him or Liam, the whole ordeal would be little more than a simple workout to her, and that might not be worth the social implications and risks of sleeping with two professional rivals. But perhaps, like Alim, she felt she no longer had anything in her career to lose.

  She held his gaze for a long, analytical moment before looking back down to Liam, shifting her hands to cup his face. "Very well, Liam. Let's see what you have to offer."

  Alim couldn't see Liam's expression at her acceptance, but he crept in closer between her legs, lowering his lips to where her fingers had before been working.

  Envy stirred in Alim even as his arousal hiked, but he was not sure which of the two it was directed toward. He watched in impatient silence, feeling a bit petulant and forgotten as Sylvestra entangled her fingers again into Liam's mane as he went down on her. She closed her eyes as he worked, leaning back in the chair and arching her back to give Liam a better angle. Alim stroked himself as he watched, wondering how long he should let them go before he said something.

  Sylvestra's eyes cracked open again after a while, smiling when her eyes again met Alim's. She tugged on Liam's hair, and he pulled away, seeming startled at first until he followed her gaze. "Ah. So sorry, Alim."

  "Terribly rude," he chided. "You only got the job half done before moving on to another. I hope you don't handle your academic projects the same way."

  Liam chuckled and rose to his feet. Sylvestra looked about to make a similar complaint about jobs half-done before Liam bent to scoop her up in his arms and carry her back to the bed, settling her neatly in Alim's lap.

  She laughed, shaking off her surprise as she twisted to look back at Alim. "Well, isn't this nice?"

  "Nice" was faint praise for the soft press of her backside against his pelvis and thighs, for the mild but heady hint of sweat on her skin, for the almost whimsical shimmering of the demonweave dress that hung now a bit askew on her. For once, Alim abandoned his witticisms in favor of action, wrapping his arms around Sylvestra and kissing her gently.

  The warmth of Liam's burly hands seeped into Alim's skin as Liam carefully pushed him and Sylvestra to lie down upon the bed, and together the three intertwined.

  *~*~*

  When they were spent, Alim curled against Liam's broad chest while his lungs heaved for air. Never in his life had he been more ready for sleep. Every pore was opened to release sweat, several points on his body were chaffed and bruised from the occasional carelessly rough gesture, and his muscles screamed at him in resentment for such an excursion after a day of hiking and swimming and being tossed around in the submarine vessel. Just as his heartrate had stilled enough and his eyelids began to droop, though, a stirring next to him jolted him again to complete alertness.

  Next to him, Sylvestra sat up, trying to comb her hair in place. The demonweave dress had never come quite off, but she adjusted the skirt and tucked one escaped breast back into the bodice.

  "You're welcome to stay," Alim said, even as he was certain she wouldn't accept.

  "A kind offer, dear, but this bed is not quite big enough to fit all three of us for the entire night. I'll return to my room for what hours are left." She patted his leg, her eyes distant and dazed. "That was great sport, though."

  "Great enough to revisit sometime?"

  She smiled as she stood, and Alim couldn't help but notice that she said nothing to nor looked at Liam. "That's a conversation for when we return to the human world. Sleep well, boys. I expect the coming days will be a trial for us all."

  Alim watched her go, not sure if Liam next to him was still awake. When he glanced over, Liam's eyes were closed and his breathing even, though perhaps not deep enough for sleep. Alim didn't want to say anything to him about the abrupt uncertainty he felt—didn't want to acknowledge it even to himself—so he nestled against his remaining partner and allowed the void of dreamless sleep to encompass him.

  Five

  Liam groaned when he woke up, rolling into Alim's side and wrapping an arm over his waist. Alim might not have minded the affection so much if it didn't disrupt his work. "Do you mind? You bumped my arm."

  Liam blinked slowly several times before spotting what Alim held in his hands and had sprawled across his lap. "Paper?"

  "Snuck into Sylvestra's room. There was plenty to spare." The demons' wide charcoal sticks left something to be desired, but as much as it cramped Alim's hand, his writing was still legible.

  "How long have you been at this?" Liam released his embrace on Alim to pick up several loose sheets.

  "Only about three hours."

  "Only?" Liam's brow wrinkled. It was cute of him to be concerned, but Alim would rather finish the notes he was taking on the amethyst dome. "And how much did you sleep?"

  "I got a full five hours. Quit fussing."

  Liam sat up next to hi
m, caressing Alim's arm as he took a peek at his in-progress notes. The touch was warm and as intimate as the telepathic connection through demonweave. What would become of their strange attraction—to each other or Sylvestra—once they returned to the human world?

  Liam nuzzled Alim's cheek. "We were supposed to rest."

  "I just told you, I did. And if you felt that way, you wouldn't have followed me into this room last night trying to pinch my ass."

  Liam frowned. His dark blond curls stuck out in a ruffled mess of tendrils, and a shadow of stubble was forming on his jaw. "I never tried to pinch your ass."

  "I know. Very disappointing."

  "Ah. Perhaps I could remedy that another time." When Alim tensed without answer, Liam reached over to rest a hand on his wrist, covering the bracelet still tied there. "Once everything with the university is… figured out, you should call on me sometime."

  "A shame it doesn't actually work that way." Alim meant the bracelet, but just as he heard the second meaning in his own words, they were interrupted by Tailor gliding into the room. In its arms were dark blue and brown bundles—their university travel uniforms. Cleaned, hopefully. "Oh, thank you, my friend."

  Tailor turned toward Alim, the first time any of the demons had reacted to the humans' verbal speech. Shifting its gaze to the discarded violet suit on the floor and back to Alim on the bed, he realized Tailor's frustration. "Ah, you didn't happen to feel anything that we—" Tailor dropped the bundle gracelessly on the floor and floated back out. "I don't think it appreciated last night. I hope your demon isn't upset, as well."

  "It would be interesting to study these creatures' sexualities," Liam said as he crawled out of the bed, "but I fear this is a signal to prepare for our departure."

  While Liam began dressing himself and Alim tried to gather up his scattered collection of notes, Sylvestra joined them, already dressed back in her drab travel clothes, which were dry but wrinkled and blanched from the sea water. Alim felt an unexpected ache at the sight of her. While Liam's affection was certainly exciting and intriguing, Alim wondered too what his standing with Sylvestra was. He had grown rather fond of her in their recent ordeal, though perhaps in a different manner than he felt toward Liam. There was less resentment and fewer personality differences to overcome with Sylvestra, but he wasn't sure if she saw him or Liam as anything more than distracting curiosities. When she met his gaze, however, there was something there under the exhaustion.