Demon Read online

  “In the one I work at, yes. Most of my kind get greedy and out themselves fairly quickly. Demon hunters are always on the lookout for those of us who harm humans.”

  “What makes you different from the others?” Kieran asked. “How do I know you won’t… eat me?” He didn’t really want to find out firsthand what ‘getting greedy’ actually entailed.

  “Most demons like me live among humans to find ways to become more powerful so they can return to hell and move up the food chain. But I’m just a weak demon that happened to find a way onto this plane of reality by chance. Earth is so much better than hell for someone as small as me, as you can probably imagine, so I want to stay.

  “I need to maintain a certain level of power so I don’t snap back to where I’m supposed to be, and the only way a demon of my type can do that is by feeding on sexual energy.” Takeshi gave him a small smile, trying to be comforting, it seemed. “I would never ask this of anyone unless I was absolutely sure I wouldn’t hurt them in the process. You’re the first human I’ve met that easily has sufficient energy to do that.”

  Based on his experience with the energy weirdos, Kieran had some sort of evidence that what he said in that respect was true. Then again, apparently he needed to avoid hunters. Maybe Takeshi could be trusted in other ways as well.

  “Is your name even really Takeshi?”

  “Demons don’t have names unless they’re part of high society,” Takeshi replied. “When I took on this human form to blend in here, I realised I’d need an appropriate human name to match. Does the fact I chose it myself mean it’s not my real name?”

  Kieran shrugged. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The answer had been more complicated than he’d anticipated.

  “So,” Takeshi added when the silence persisted. “Did you call me here today because you want to try what I’ve been offering? I think you can see how keeping you healthy is in my best interest.”

  From what Kieran had gathered so far, it seemed if Takeshi damaged him by taking too much, he’d only be depleting his own renewable energy resource. It all seemed to be mutually beneficial.

  “I’m not religious, or at least, I wasn’t?” Kieran paused for a moment, wondering what Takeshi’s existence said about that sort of thing. “But I guess I just have a bad feeling about this because of what you say you are.”

  “Belief systems are just based off what that human society understands about the other plane,” Takeshi began, but he seemed to realise that wasn’t the more pressing part of Kieran’s concerns. “For most humans, allowing a demon to feed off them would be a life-shortening experience. But like I said, you’re different. Your energy level is astronomical. I’ve got to say, I wasn’t expecting someone so small and nerdy-looking to have such a crazy amount of sexual energy.”

  Kieran folded his arms, not a fan of being called either of those things. “Well, it’s not like that sort of thing is inherently masculine,” he muttered, feeling his face heat up.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Takeshi said as he approached again. This time Kieran didn’t feel the urge to back away. Takeshi dropped down to stand on his knees so they were closer to being at eyelevel. “That wasn’t a very nice thing for me to say, was it? Won’t you let me make it up to you, and show you what I can really do for you?”

  Kieran swallowed thickly, but slid forward in the chair so he was sitting at the edge of his seat. He loosely wrapped his arms around Takeshi’s neck, lightly resting his forearms on his shoulders.

  “Yeah,” he whispered, and it seemed to be enough.

  Takeshi smiled softly and caught Kieran’s mouth in a chaste kiss. They separated and met each other’s eyes. Takeshi looked excited, but also carried a sense of tenderness. This time Kieran initiated the kiss, opening his mouth to catch Takeshi’s bottom lip between his.

  Takeshi hummed happily, making Kieran shiver. He moved his hand to the back of Takeshi’s head, feeling soft strands of hair between his fingers. He still wasn’t sure whether he understood how Takeshi made himself look human, but the illusion was certainly convincing enough to keep him invested. Takeshi shuffled closer and pressed his torso into Kieran’s crotch, then moved so they were plastered against each other chest to chest and could no longer continue the kiss.

  Takeshi’s chin came to rest on his shoulder, and he pressed the side of his head into Kieran’s. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the closeness. He focused on how he felt, wondering if he would be able to sense Takeshi taking his energy as he did it. But all he felt was a small twinge in his abdomen that could have simply been his imagination.

  It seemed this still wasn’t close enough for Takeshi. His hands started to travel up the back of Kieran’s shirt, gently kneading the muscles in his back and shoulders. Kieran gasped as a hot twist of arousal shot through his middle.

  “Mm, there we go,” Takeshi murmured in a husky voice. “It is in there among all the chaos.”

  “Y-you did that?” Kieran asked as he debated taking his shirt off. He reached for the hem, and Takeshi moved away from him just far enough to let him pull it off over his head. He knocked his glasses slightly askew, so Kieran reached up to fix them. The positively predatory smile Takeshi gave him made it worth the effort.

  “I don’t have total control, but I can influence your energy directly to help you feel pleasure more intensely,” he explained softly. “Your energy feels so good,” he added as he pressed close again.

  Kieran gasped as Takeshi left a wet trail up the side of his neck. His pants were starting to feel restrictive. As though reading his mind, Takeshi reached down to fumble at the fastenings.

  “Hey, you need to take your clothes off as well,” Kieran reminded.

  Takeshi looked down at himself, as though surprised he was still wearing them. “Oh, yeah,” he replied with a smirk. His clothes vanished, leaving only toned muscle and smooth skin.

  Kieran flushed, and he doubted Takeshi’s manipulations had anything to do with how he felt this time. At least, not directly.

  “You look good,” Kieran said quietly. Some part of him was embarrassed to give a compliment like that.

  “I know,” Takeshi teased. “My appearance is based off what you find arousing, remember?”

  “Right,” Kieran murmured. Takeshi’s attention returned to undoing his pants, and Kieran looked down to find Takeshi was aroused too. He was thick and a decent length, but not intimidating. But then again, of course he had exactly what Kieran liked.

  Kieran braced his arms against the chair and lifted his hips so Takeshi could pull his pants and briefs down. Takeshi gave another pleased hum as he pulled them all the way off, and his eyes roved over Kieran’s naked body. The urge to cover himself up rose, but he resisted doing so. He wanted to have a good time with Takeshi right now, and the demon had no reason to judge him.

  Takeshi pushed his clothes to the side and ran his hands back up Kieran’s legs, starting from his ankles, going up over his knees, and then slowing down when he reached his inner thighs. Kieran flushed as Takeshi seemed to be entirely focused on his cock. He felt himself twitch under the scrutiny. Kieran flushed even brighter when Takeshi only licked his lips.

  Takeshi wrapped a hand around him and Kieran made a soft, desperate sound in the back of his throat. Takeshi looked up at him with a gentler expression.

  “I’m lucky,” Takeshi commented as he slowly began to stroke him.

  “W-why do you say that?” Kieran managed to ask before closing his eyes tightly and curling his toes. He never felt like this when he touched himself. He wondered if any of it was a result of the energy stuff Takeshi kept talking about.

  “Well, first of all, I came across someone like you. Someone who can give me enough energy to last a week and hardly notice.”

  Takeshi ran his thumb over Kieran’s slit, gathering the beads of fluid that had started to appear. Kieran squirmed and felt his mouth fall open.

  “On top of that, you are incredibly cute,” he added as he spread the wetn
ess to ease the friction a little. “But more importantly, you’re not a tyrant. I’d do almost anything to have access to a source of energy like you, but you don’t seem to be the type to hold that over my head.”

  “You do keep saying this is a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Kieran reasoned. “So far I believe it.”

  “You don’t sound that sure,” Takeshi said with a small smile. “So allow me to prove it to you.”

  Takeshi’s lips parted, and all at once his mouth was wrapped around Kieran’s member, slowly taking him deeper and deeper. Kieran moaned at the sight and sensation, feeling another jolt of arousal through his middle. It burned white hot and took an age to fade, under Takeshi’s influence he was sure. He ran his hand over Takeshi’s head fondly, then gripped the strands tight as another wave of burning pleasure washed over him.

  Between the energy work and the physical sensation of lips and tongue stroking and sucking him, Kieran could barely think straight. Instead, he focused on feeling.

  Kieran instinctively bucked his hips forward, seeking, demanding more. He felt his head run up against the back of Takeshi’s throat and gasped, but then quickly pulled back. Takeshi looked confused by his actions.

  “S-sorry, I can’t control myself,” Kieran said between fast and hard pants for air. “Are you all right?”

  Takeshi’s expression changed to one of amusement and he pulled back for a moment. “You don’t have to worry about that kind of thing. I only have a gag reflex when I feel like it, and I don’t even really need to breathe.”

  “Oh,” Kieran muttered, feeling his whole body heat up at the possibilities.

  “Go ahead and do whatever feels good,” Takeshi encouraged.

  Kieran looked down at Takeshi, then moved his focus to his own slick and flushed member. Takeshi didn’t move. He was waiting for him to take the initiative.

  “Ok, if it doesn’t hurt, let’s keep…” Kieran didn’t finish his sentence, but he did pull Takeshi’s face closer.

  Takeshi smiled before taking him in his mouth again, and Kieran almost immediately rose back to his previous state of arousal. At first Takeshi let him set the pace by pulling him in and thrusting forward. But soon enough he was grabbing Kieran’s hips and sucking up and down his length, imitating his preferred pace.

  Kieran felt his hips jut forward and his head tilt back as the tension in his abdomen crested. “T-Takeshi, I’m gonna…” Kieran cried breathlessly as he clawed at the arm of the chair.

  Takeshi didn’t pause, he simply stroked Kieran’s hips. Kieran fisted his hand in Takeshi’s hair, and brought his other hand to his mouth as his orgasm crested. He bit into his finger and bent over, not able to control the way his hips continued to spasm. Takeshi eagerly swallowed his load, then continued to gently stroke the base of his cock.

  Kieran took a deep breath and flopped back into the chair. He panted harshly as he stared at the ceiling. Takeshi pulled off of him and smiled blissfully. Kieran opened his mouth to warn him, but the last bit of his come had already landed on Takeshi’s cheek. Kieran blinked disbelievingly as it appeared to sink into Takeshi’s skin, but that was hardly the strangest thing he’d seen lately.

  “Oh, excuse me,” Takeshi mumbled as he realised what he’d done. “I wanted the potential life energy as well.”

  Kieran tried to sit back up again, but ended up just leaning over one of the armrests. “Was that good for you?” he asked as he looked down at Takeshi’s now flaccid member. It didn’t look like he’d come to orgasm.

  “Oh yes,” he murmured, almost sounding reverent. He looked up at Kieran properly and seemed to realise why he was concerned. “I don’t experience pleasure or satisfaction in the same way you do,” he explained gently. “Trust me when I say that right now I feel more satisfied than I’ve ever been.”

  “So you got enough energy?” Kieran asked. He ran a hand over his lower belly, having an inkling that it had to be where most of his energy resided and was produced. Both the weird class he’d had and Takeshi’s fixation seemed to agree on that point.

  Takeshi hummed in agreement. “I don’t know how long it’ll keep me going for, but it could be months before I get back to a subsistence level if I keep conserving it.” He silently looked Kieran in the eye for a few moments. “Thank you.”

  Kieran shook his head slowly. “You made me feel good too. I’m tired, but not in a bad way, if you know what I mean.” He thought back to what Takeshi had said earlier. “I’m satisfied.”

  But now that they had finished their activities, and he was still naked, he was starting to get cold. “I’m going to go get cleaned up. Did you…” Kieran paused when he realised what he was about to ask. Was that overstepping the line? “Uh, did you want to stay the night?”

  “I’d love to,” Takeshi said softly. “But I shouldn’t go near you for a while, so you have a chance to recover your energy and I don’t inadvertently do any damage to you. I can rest out here while you sleep.”

  “Oh, ok. Well, that was really nice,” Kieran said as he staggered to his feet. Takeshi moved to help him, but then seemed to remember what he’d just said a few seconds ago.

  “Be careful,” he said instead as he watched Kieran move to his bathroom.

  Kieran smiled before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. The warm water rolling over his back was a perfect end to the night. It was a little disappointing that Takeshi couldn’t be in here with him, but the fact Takeshi was only keeping his distance to try and protect him made up for it somewhat.

  Kieran sighed blissfully under the warm water. He hoped it wouldn’t really be several months before Takeshi wanted to do something like that again.

  He didn’t think he’d be able to stand waiting that long.

  Chapter Four

  K ieran left the classroom with a small sigh of relief. He’d been able to keep up with his conversation partner, and had ended up getting good feedback on the assessment. He was walking toward the cafeteria to get lunch with some of the other exchange students, and some of the local students who were learning to speak languages other than Japanese.

  “Kieran, you were much more relaxed than usual!” his assessment partner, Gabby, praised him.

  One of the Japanese students turned back to join their conversation. Kieran was pretty sure his name was Hiroshi. He really needed to spend more time socialising with the people around him.

  “Really? That’s good, Kieran! Are you getting used to life in Japan?”

  Kieran felt his cheeks warm a little. That was true on some level, but he knew his improvement had a lot more to do with what he and Takeshi had done earlier in the week. His energy had only just started to feel like its usual chaotic self again this morning, but he still felt better than usual.

  “I guess so. I feel a little more confident.”

  “That’s good to hear!” Hiroshi said with a small smile. He turned back to the students in front of him and started speaking to them in rapid Japanese that Kieran could only partly understand.

  “It really is,” Gabby said as they joined the line and grabbed some trays for their food. “Honestly, I was getting a little worried about you. I felt like we were leaving you out or something.”

  “No, no, not all,” Kieran was quick to assure her. “I guess I have trouble controlling my mood sometimes. But I wanted to come to Japan for new experiences and to learn more about the language, so I thought I’d better get onto that while there’s still time.”

  “Oh! You should join the language exchange program, then. You never signed up for it at the start of semester, did you?”

  “No,” Kieran replied quietly, a little embarrassed by the fact. He’d been so overwhelmed, he’d just gone straight back to the dorm every night. “But you’re right, I should do that.”

  “Ok, don’t be shy though! You can always join my group until you get slotted in somewhere formally. We meet on Tuesday afternoons, so you could join us next week.”

  “Thanks, Gabby,” Kieran said
quickly before they split off to pay for their food, then rejoined the group at one of the large tables.

  Kieran was happy to stay on the edge of the conversation around him, mostly just listening and nodding, and trying to practice his language skills as everyone switched between English and Japanese. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and discreetly took it out to check the message. As he’d hoped, it was from Takeshi.

  How are you feeling? Energy going back to normal?

  Kieran smiled down at the screen. He guessed what he felt now was normal to most people, but normal for him was much more chaotic and unfocused.

  I’ve had a really good few days. Super focused. But things are slowly going back to the way they were before. Maybe by the end of this week.

  Kieran purposely mentioned a specific timeframe in the hope he’d prompt Takeshi to suggest they meet up again soon. Kieran returned to listening to the conversations around him while he waited for Takeshi to respond. He ate some of his lunch as he did so. The food was dirt cheap, and though it wasn’t extravagant, it was certainly more than passable. He wished he could afford to eat out as a student back home like this.

  Kieran felt his phone vibrate again and turned his attention to it.

  If you were a hunter you really would be kind of terrifying, you know? I’m still feeling pretty full. If I eat while I’m full I’ll grow more powerful, and if I grow too much I’ll attract attention both from hunters and from other big demons living here. That probably wouldn’t end well for me.

  Kieran couldn’t help the slight feeling of disappointment. He’d let Takeshi have him every damn day if he kept making him feel like this.

  I suppose there isn’t really a way for us to be together that way without you having a feed, is there?

  Some of the group started leaving to go to their next class. Kieran focused on eating quickly, and didn’t check the next message until he was mostly done with lunch.

  Not really. If you learnt more about energy you might be able to keep more of it to yourself, but I can’t teach you human energy techniques and I don’t know anyone who could. It’s better to play it safe, for now.