I nod. “Okay. Yes. Let’s go to work together,” I respond, immediately trying to decide how I am going to explain him to Vera.

  With a plan in place, we settle in for the night. I introduce him to the shitty reality TV shows that I enjoy, and they enthrall him. So many questions fly at me about who is in a relationship with whom, and why they are all mad at each other, that my head begins to swim. When he notices that I am getting a little overwhelmed, he apologizes and comes to snuggle with me on the sofa.

  The sweatpants I let him wear do nothing to hide the large bulge in his pants from his two cocks, and as much as I try to ignore the fact that they are poking me in the back, I can’t deny the effect he has on me.

  Cuddling leads to foreplay and foreplay leads to another rambunctious round of sex as he fills me in all the best ways. I learn the taste of him as I swallow his release from both of his cocks, and it again confirms that I will never be able to be without my smoky beast.

  I may never sleep a full night again, but at this point, I don’t even care. I want to consume as much of him as I can. His name may resemble a subtle herb, but he is the spice in my life that I didn’t know I was missing.

  Chapter 15

  Iris

  Basil definitely gets some looks from people on the subway, but thankfully, Hollybrook is a city with enough eccentric people that it doesn’t go any further than sideways glances or second takes. Not that I can blame any of them. The horns protruding from his head, coupled with the grey skin, truly are a sight to behold. I managed to have a set of sunglasses that fit him, so we didn’t have to worry about his glowing red eyes attracting more attention to him.

  “A speeding tube under the street. Marvelous,” he says, as we walk up the stairs to the street level. “And so fast. Though it could be much faster if there were fewer stops.”

  I laugh. He does have a point. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now remember, you are a method actor who is shadowing me at the store because you are in a play about a demon who is also a florist, and you wanted to see what it was really like.” He audibly growls when I mention demons. They apparently have had some history over the years, with the demon’s former leader being shady as fuck. Though Basil admits that the current one is doing much better.

  I stop us around the corner from Petal Pushers, placing my hand on his chest, and gaze up at him. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For offering to spend what could be our last few hours together at my work.”

  Basil slides a finger up my neck, stopping at my chin, holding my face toward his. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  I kiss his lips softly, wishing that we could have stayed at home again. Unfortunately, weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations don’t, and won’t, wait for me to figure out how to have a relationship with the Boogeyman. So work I must.

  The bell chimes over the store door as we enter. Vera looks up from the desk, smiling when she sees me. Her smile quickly falters when she spots Basil behind me. The color drains from her face as her jaw drops and her eyes bug out.

  “Iris. There’s…” Her words trail off as she points behind me.

  I run over to her, taking hold of her hand. “I know. It’s okay.” My hands cup her face, making sure she looks at me. “His name is Basil. He’s okay. He’s a theater student, a bit of a method actor,” I say, trying to make it sound humorous. “This—” I wave my hand in his general direction, “is all makeup.”

  Vera pauses, looks back over at him, her eyes narrowing as she takes him in. A part of me tenses up, partly out of anticipation, hoping she’ll believe me, and partly because she’s currently eyeballing my Boogeyman. When her eyes meet mine again, I see her visibly relax.

  “Well, whoever your makeup artist is, they need a raise. Holy shit, you scared me half to death. I thought Iris was about to be attacked.” Vera laughs playfully as she speaks, walking over to him. She looks up at him, closely examining his appearance. Basil’s gaze flicks to mine, and I nod. He leans down, letting her get a closer look at him. Vera pokes at his face and horns, completely awestruck. “Seriously, this is fantastic work.”

  “Thank you,” he says, his voice deep and commanding attention. I could frankly listen to him speak for hours and never tire.

  Vera giggles flirtatiously at him, as she fans herself before I link my arm in hers and pull her away to the desk, fighting the rising jealousy in my chest. “Alright, what did I miss yesterday?”

  She fills me in on new orders and the prep for the events we are already booked for. But I don’t miss the looks she keeps giving Basil as he walks around the shop, picking up different trinkets or flowers. When he spots a decorative pot filled with daffodils and tulips, his face lights up.

  “He’s cute,” Vera says. “Even with all that makeup on. I can tell.”

  “I haven’t noticed.” I lie. I’ve noticed. I’ve noticed a lot. “Anyway, Basil is part of a play and is playing a florist, so he wanted to see what our day-to-day looks like. Basil, I’m going to start you with some simple stem trimming. If you could come to the back, I’ll help you get going.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Oooh. I like that.

  I squeeze my thighs together as we walk to the back, hoping it will ease the throbbing. “I could help with that, you know,” he says, breathing onto my neck.

  “I think you’ve helped enough,” I retort, trying to ignore the goosebumps his breath causes. “Besides, we can’t do anything with Vera here.”

  “I’ll be quiet if you are,” he teases.

  I’ve never had sex at the shop. Hell, I’d never even consider it. Work is, well, work. Not a place to get busy. But this Boogeyman… he’s making me seriously contemplate it.

  I watch the stupid smirk on his face as he raises a questioning eyebrow, then shake my head. “No. Work only.”

  I take him to the buckets of new arrivals on the counter and show him how to trim and prep each flower properly. After a few practice attempts, he has it down pat and is on his way. Begrudgingly, I leave him to continue as I head back out front.

  Vera and I spend the day putting together arrangements and taking turns managing customers as they come in. Basil joins us out front in the afternoon and helps build the premade bouquets and arrangements. He’s surprisingly adept and has a great eye for floral arrangement, but his eyes keep going back to the daffodil display from the morning.

  “Would you like to take that display home?” I ask.

  “Oh, no. I couldn’t.”

  “I have seen how much you like it. You should have it. To remember us by.”

  His eyes water, but no tears escape, and he nods. “Okay. I’d like that. Thank you.”

  I smile back at him, knowing that I will never forget this time we’ve spent together.

  Chapter 16

  Basil

  Spending the day with Iris was far more pleasant than I thought it would be. The subway was a marvel, and seeing her engaged with something she’s so passionate about was heartwarming. I loved being able to watch Iris in her element.

  But as I watched, it reassured me of two things. One, I could never ask her to leave all of this behind. I would never want her even to consider shedding a part of herself that is so beautiful and pure. And two, I love her. Iris was quite literally glowing in her shop, and aside from those daffodils, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Not that she could take hers off of me either. I would have had no problem helping her with the ache between those gorgeous legs of hers, but she was all business, which is probably for the best.

  But we aren’t at her place of business anymore. And the pants that hug her generous ass need to come off. Now.

  I slide up behind her as she stands at the kitchen counter, my hands running up the back of her thighs, over her plump ass that I squeeze before slipping around to the front and landing on the button of her pants.

  “You smell divine,” I say into her soft flesh as I kiss my way up her neck. Her head tilts back, resting on my shoulder. She moans as my hand undoes the button and fly and brushes over her soft belly and down her sensitive skin. My finger slips between her slick lips. “Look at you. Already so wet for me.”

  “All day,” she whispers. “I’ve been like this all day.”

  “So naughty. Have you been thinking of how my cocks fill you all day? How it feels to be wrapped around them, pulsing as you come all over them?”

  “Yes,” she gasps, my finger sliding into her wet cunt.

  “And you wouldn’t let me help you?”

  “Had. To. Focus.” Her words come in between gasps as I pump my fingers into her, prepping her for what’s to come.

  “So naughty. Do you think you should be punished?”

  “Please. I deserve it.”

  Removing my hand from her pussy, her head snaps up. “What—” she starts to say in protest. “Take your pants off,” I demand.

  She pushes them down, followed by her underwear, and steps out of them. Standing before me, half-naked and wholly beautiful.

  “Perfection.” I stare at her, letting my eyes rake over her skin, noting how she doesn’t balk from my gaze. Instead, she returns it, looking at me over her shoulder, letting her eyes linger on the bulge in my sweatpants.

  “Bend over.”

  Iris places her palms on the counter, stepping her feet back and sticking her ass out toward me.

  “Good girl,” I praise, before pulling my hand back and smacking that glorious ass of hers.

  SMACK!

  She jolts forward. Turns her head, looking back at me with a challenge in her eyes. Fuck yes.

  SMACK!

  She moans out. “Yes, Basil.”

  Growling, I smack it again, watching her skin redden. It’s fucking hot as hell, and how she eggs me on? Goddess, save me.

  I move behind her, kicking her feet apart to give me more room. I drop my sweats and kick my feet out of them before lining my top cock with her soaking cunt and push into her.

  Slowly.

  Intentionally.

  Deliciously.

  I soak up every sensation, every pull and pulse of her pussy. I memorize how she feels wrapped around me and the little noises she makes as I slide into home.

  Pulling back, I wrap her flowing hair around my fist, bringing her head back as my other hand grips her hip, and I thrust back into her. She’s too good. Too hot. Too perfect.

  I grunt as I pump into her again and again. I’m so fucking close, but I can’t finish until after she does. I need her screaming my name from the rafters.

  “Harder,” she demands.

  “As you wish, petal.”

  Picking up intensity, I release her hair and grip her hips with both hands, thrusting into that perfect cunt of hers.

  “Come for me, Iris.”

  She slides a hand between her legs, flicks her clit a few times, and crashes over the edge, grabbing my cock in a death grip with that cunt of hers. Another pump later, and I am following right after her, filling that pussy with my cum.

  “So. Perfect.” I lean over, kissing her neck. As I withdraw, my deposit begins to drip down her leg. I lean over, scoop it with my fingers, and stuff it back into her pussy. “Can’t have that dripping out now, can we?”

  “Holy shit, that’s so fucking hot,” Iris says, her breath still ragged and her brow glistening. “Wait, how do you procreate?”

  I palm my top cock, stroking it lightly as it begins to harden again. Knowing that my cum is inside her, and that she finds that I stuffed it back in as erotic as I do, has me raring to go again in no time. Refractory period, who?

  “The same way as you, I assume. Feeding on souls, watching them fight in the pits of Hell, and the winners emerge as new Boogeymen.”

  Iris’s eyes spring open wide, her mouth agape as she tries to find a response. After a moment, I laugh. “I’m kidding. Well, somewhat. That’s how we grow new Boogeymen. But to procreate and create our own children, we do the same as you.” I run a finger down her cheek. “Fuck.”

  “And what about cross…” her words trail off as she searches for the right word, “species? Beings? I don’t know. Anyway, how does it work with someone like you and someone like me?”

  Grabbing the back of her head, I pull her into a rough kiss. Tasting her sweetness dance across my tongue. Pillaging her for all that I can. When I finally break away, I respond, “It’s possible, but more rare. It’s harder for our type to survive in the womb, but not completely impossible. Why? Are you trying to tell me you want to have my children, Iris?”

  Pink flushes up her neck, turning the apples of her cheeks rosy. It’s endearing and churns something deep inside me. I’ve never considered having children. Always preferring to be on my own. But Iris? Oh, she has changed everything about me and my stubborn ways. And now that that thought is nestled in my brain, I can’t say it’s one I want to get rid of. The idea of a little version of us moving about the world seems to heal a part of me I didn’t know needed healing. It comforts me, knowing that part of her would be able to carry on after we are long gone.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” she asks.

  I lift her onto the counter and crash my lips to hers, holding her face in my hands, caressing her cheeks with my thumbs. Iris wraps her legs around me, and I slide both my cocks into her pussy, filling her with the love that she fills me with. “Absolutely not. I could ask for no better gift than to share a child with you.”

  She moans as her cunt stretches to the new addition, swiveling her hips to help adjust the angle and make room. “Yes,” she growls.

  “Do you want that, Iris? Do you want me to fill you up with my child?”

  “Yes. Basil.”

  I seat my cocks inside her, relishing the way her tight cunt clenches around them. “You were made for me, Iris.” I withdraw and thrust back in. “You are mine.”

  “Yes.”

  I thrust again. “Forever.”

  “Yes,” she moans. “Fuck. You feel so good.”

  “Take what you want. It’s all for you.” I kiss her. “I love you, Iris.”

  “I love you, too.”

  And those four words unleash the beast within. I slam into her, filling her with everything I have, bringing her to the edge again and again.

  Chapter 17

  Iris

  “It’s almost midnight,” I say, trying to make my voice sound more assured than I am. “We should get ready.”

  I’m not ready to say goodbye. I’m not ready for him to leave. To be alone again. I have no idea how I’ll return to my regular life after him. It sounds so ridiculous, but these past forty-eight hours have changed me. Not only have I been fucked senseless, which during the last round in the kitchen, I’m pretty sure I saw God, but I’ve also fallen in love with this monster of the night.

  Only he’s not a monster.

  “Did you really mean those threats? The ones about taking the souls of all my loved ones?”

  Basil walks up to me, wrapping me in his arms. My head tilts back so I can look up at him and meet his gaze. “Absolutely not, petal. I could never harm you or anyone you cared for.”

  I laugh lightly. “Well, you were really convincing.”

  “All a part of my job, love.”

  Love.

  Breathing deep, I clasp his hand in mine and lead him into my bedroom for what may be the last time.

  “Are you ready?” I ask, knowing my own answer is a resounding no.

  Basil turns around, picking up the mud-caked pants he was wearing when he first appeared in my life. The instructions said he needed an item from home, and aside from the pants being from Hell, he hopes that the mud, being direct earth from the land he is trying to return to, will help build a stronger connection.

  He drops his sweatpants, and my eyes instantly go to his unveiled cocks, hanging between his thick thighs. Two cocks that have not only brought me mind-bending orgasms, but cocks that are connected to the most wonderful monster I have ever met. Not that I’ve met many. But meeting this one is more than enough.

  Stepping into his trousers, he pulls them up and does up the button, before looking up at me, where he is met with watery eyes and a rosy nose as I fight back the tears eager to burst free.

  “Oh, petal. Do not shed a tear for me. This is merely a formality. I need a way to be able to get home and back. I have people to manage and a business to run.”

  I dab at the tears in the corner of my eyes. “I know. But what if you can’t get back?”

  “I’ll always be able to get to you. Time, space, none of it matters.”

  He steps forward, closing the distance between us as he takes my face in my hands, kissing me deeply. My knees nearly buckle when his tongue makes contact with mine. I moan into him, trying to tell him everything I feel through the kiss alone. But it will never be enough.

  Beep! Beep! Beep!

  The alarm on my phone goes off, giving us the one-minute warning until midnight. I pull back, breaking the kiss and moving away from the love of my life. Silencing the alarm, I keep my phone in my hand, so we know precisely when midnight strikes.

  We step over to the side of my bed, hands clasped. Basil draws in a deep breath, filling his broad chest as he channels his power. His eyes glow brighter as the magic takes hold, casting a red hue before us.

  “Ten seconds,” I say.

  He lets go of my hand, placing both of his out front.

  I close my eyes and count down. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

  “OPEN!” He calls, his voice firm, deep, and commanding.

  It doesn’t seem like anything happens at first. I’m not sure what I expected, but there’s no sound, no smells, nothing. I can hear Basil breathing deeply beside me, likely spent from having to call on so much power. Cracking an eye open, I see that something did, in fact, happen.

  A faint, but growing dark blue glow emanates from under my bed. As I take a breath, I begin to smell a stronger version of that campfire scent I love so much. It smells like home. Like love. Like Basil.

 

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