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down. Cory had to resist every temptation to fight
back, to use any sort of force to defend himself.
Submitting to the demon would only make things
worse.
The demon and its darkness tugged at him the same
way they had before, trying to breach the barriers of
his sensitivity and tear him apart. For several terrifying
moments, Cory was certain he d lost. There was no
way of getting Tristan back from this, and he d been a
fool to think he could. His Tristan was gone, overcome
by this cruel, fearsome creature one man s greed had
created.
The glint of metal caught his eye. Blanco, gun
raised, ready for the moment when Cory decided it
was over. He d never seen such an unhappy expression
on anyone. If Tristan died, Cory would ruin three lives
that day.
 No, he whispered. Cory closed his eyes and
pictured the dolphins, how they slid easily through the
water. Blanco s movements had been like that,
flowing, gentle, smooth. No force. No greed.
The demon s yearning for pain continued batter
against Cory s newly created mental barriers. Tristan
pounced on him, ripping at his clothes, kicking up
166 Demon's Dance
sand. Cory caught one thrashing arm and stroked it,
encouraging the force to dissipate.  No. This is better.
And this.
Again the demon lunged at him, and again Cory
countered its intended move with something gentler,
more pleasant. The demon whimpered and lashed out,
but it succumbed to Cory s ministrations. The darkness
faded to leave a demonic, exquisitely sexual creature
without the pressing need for violence. Cory breathed
hard, admiring his work, wondering how long it would
last.
 Tristan. If you can hear me, come back to me.
Come back now.
***
Words. Images. Laurence, over and over, pounding his
body into Tristan s. Laurence, chaining him to the bed
while the demon writhed, unable to reach the satiation
it craved.
Laurence, knife in his hand, raking it along
Tristan s back to prove himself to his friends.
That was the creature Tristan fought against: the
demon of his body as well as his mind. He felt like
Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, facing the ghosts
of his past, present and future, half-certain it was too
late to make any meaningful change. He was a
cambion, doomed to live alternating as half human or
half demon, never able to reconcile the two.
In the past, Blanco had saved his life. In the
present, Laurence had raised him, taught him, abused
him. And in the future, Cory&
Tristan reflected on the pureness of their
Evey Brett 167
lovemaking, how Cory had been the first to keep him
here, in his body, without letting the demon take over
for sex. He had a chance at a future, and if he wanted
it, he d have to take it now.
 Tristan. If you can hear me, come back to me.
Come back now.
The words came from a distance, but they gave him
something to latch on to. Like the dolphin, he swam
hard toward the surface, desperate to breathe. He
followed Cory s voice like a lifeline and emerged into
a body that was both his and not his. Never before had
he actually shared it with the demon and been so aware
of the power they possessed together. There was his
hair, his hands, his cock hard and aching, but alive and
tingling in ways he could never have imagined.
 Tris. Cory s voice. Cory s gray eyes hovering
worriedly over him. Tristan reached for him, needing
the feel of Cory s hardened body against his. All the
sensation overwhelmed him, and he wanted something
familiar.  Wait, Cory said.  I know it s hard& 
And just like that, Cory touched the arm Tristan
had extended, and it fell limply back to his side. Fear
surged through him, that familiar emotion Laurence
had enjoyed provoking. Accepting his demon would
never work. Better to let the demon take control so
Blanco could end his life quickly than to risk hurting
Cory.
Cory stroked his face.  Don t go. Stay. Feel it. I m
here. Nothing s going to happen.
He stayed. He had to surrender, to trust, something
he hadn t been able to do with Laurence for years.
Slowly, almost as if Tristan was a puppet, Cory
allowed certain movements. A hand. Fingers. His
168 Demon's Dance
head.
 Learn again, Cory said.  I m taking you back to
the beginning. Learn with me, how to move, how to
feel. I m not Laurence. This is how I m going to touch
you to keep you safe. And if you want to be human,
you have to be with your demon. Absorb it. Accept it.
Harder than Cory made it sound. Indescribably so.
As he tried to accept his demon half, memories
returned of when he d blacked out and the demon had
acted for itself. Laurence might be dead, but Tristan [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]