The Gallery Read online

  "Expecting you to be like Ben is like expecting a shark to behave like a minnow, my pretty little incubus."

  "My—what?" Rex asked, head jerking up. He stared into those unbelievably green eyes. His heart twisted painfully in his chest, then began to beat faster than ever. His eyes stung, and he blinked rapidly to banish the sudden, unwanted sensation. "Incubus? Why do you call me that?"

  Silenus looked amused. "Have you never heard of an incubus before?"

  Rex rolled his eyes. "Who hasn't? They're demons that sleep with human women. I guess they might sleep with men too, but I don't recall reading that anywhere." He frowned. "Actually, I think they turn into incubus when they're with women, and then turn into succubus when they're with men. It all seemed kind of determinedly heterosexual to me."

  Making a contemptuous noise, Silenus sat down beside him on the bench. "That is not an incubus. That is a very watered down, insultingly dull explanation of a true incubus."

  "So what's a true incubus, then?"

  Smiling, Silenus brushed a strand of hair from Rex's eyes with a butterfly-soft touch and said, "An incubus is a being that literally feeds on lust and love. They crave sex, need sex, the same way people need food. They also need affection, love, like a human would need water. But the truly fascinating part of incubi is that they spread what they crave. That is, those who lie with an incubus, tend shortly to find or grow closer to their loved ones. I would wager that everyone you've ever been with has found their true love—or loves, as the case may be, or grow even closer to the loves they already have. Many legends of 'cupids' and other such beings are really bits of incubi lore broken off from the source and warped by time and the nature of storytelling."

  "I don't know what happened to them all; there's too many to count, to be honest," Rex said. "I know a few are happily settled now, but we don't really cross paths much, you know?"

  "They have," Silenus said. "Do you always feel unsettled, hungry, like there's some unnamable itch on your skin and under it?"

  Rex drew a sharp, startled breath. "How did you know that?"

  "Your parents are probably separated."

  "Yeah," Rex said, even more shaken. "My father kicked my mother out when I was ten. He called her a filthy slut who couldn't keep her legs shut. Never saw her again. I stopped putting up with him when I turned eighteen and he said I was the same as her."

  "You're a starved incubus. Technically, a half-incubus, but supernatural blood tends to win out and totally consume the human half. Incubi, especially those like you who don't know what they are, tend to have variations of the same story."

  "Oh," Rex said, feeling overwhelmed, but not able to freak out the way he probably should. "Are you an incubus?"

  Silenus laughed, but not meanly. He smiled warmly at Rex. "No, I'm a satyr—the king of the satyr, strictly speaking. 'Silenus' is as much a title as a name. But you're not likely to meet others, not in this city, anyway. Satyr are territorial and don't share well with others of our kind."

  "Oh," Rex said again, unable to come up with anything else. He motioned to the gallery. "Why all this? Do you need lust like I apparently do?"

  "Not quite the way you need it, though I certainly do need it," Silenus replied. "But the permanent exhibits are more than that. The Gallery, as I said, is a place for people to find their heart's desire, whatever form that may take. The Special Exhibits are those beings who wait for love to find them, who for one reason or another, cannot wait out in the real world. The Permanent Exhibits are beings who prefer to leave the world behind and call the Gallery home. They share their power, magic, wealth, or strength, and in return I protect them and provide them with homes. We're a strange family, but a happy one."

  Rex nodded, eyes stinging, throat raw. It took a few tries, and a couple of hitched breaths, to get words out. "Why—why are you showing me all of this? I was just along to keep Gary company and help with his interviews and stuff."

  Silenus brushed back strands of his hair again, his touch warm and tingling. Rex wanted to lean into it, beg for more, beg for a kiss and whatever else he could coax out of Silenus. "Because I'm in need of an assistant, someone to help me run this place, perhaps expand someday, reach out to still more people. Someone who can handle what I do, the nature of my work, the very carnal aspects of it. Someone who understands that it is my nature to love one, but also to love many." He regarded Rex somberly, green eyes intense.

  Rex's eyes blurred at the words, the ache in his chest so deep he couldn't breathe for a moment. "Love one, but also love many," he repeated. That had always been his problem, the reason he did so poorly with relationships. Just one simply did not work for him, not the way others expected. "And you think I'm a good fit for the role of assistant?"

  "Yes, I do. An incubus is a perfect fit for me and my work, and as you've already seen, the rest of the gallery is already intrigued by you. The few others who have walked the halls of my permanent paintings last only minutes before the power here unconsciously drives them away. But you already look and feel like you've come home."

  "But—But we've only just met—"

  Silenus cut him off with a warm, husky laugh. "I've been alive a long time, my pretty incubus. You're exactly what I've been waiting for, trust me. But if you have doubts…" He moved fast, and the room spun briefly before Rex found himself flat on his back on the wide, soft-cushioned bench. Silenus's body covered his, delightfully heavy and warm, that beautiful hair tumbling loose to spill around them. His mouth was hot, so very hot, as he kissed Rex.

  It was like no kiss he had ever had before—hungry and claiming, distracting to the point he could not think, could not do anything but kiss fervently back and savor every moment of it. So strange to find himself consumed, when he could always think clearly, always focus, in the heat of passion.

  He was not used to someone getting the better of him. It was the headiest sensation. Rex moaned and wrapped his arms around Silenus's neck, bringing him even closer. Silenus tasted earthy, spicy. Rex craved more, needed more.

  It seemed like he had been fucking people since he was just barely old enough to do it—men, women, younger, older, in twos and threes and on a very few occasions, fours. He had lost count of the number of people he had fucked a long time ago.

  None of them had ever felt like this. Just one kiss, and he was already feeling better than he could remember feeling in a long time. Then Silenus's fingers slipped beneath this clothes, almost burning they were so hot. Soft chuckles slid across the skin of his throat, followed by the graze of teeth. "Do you want to be my assistant, pretty Rex? Hmm, lovely incubus? So rare to find one, even rarer to claim one. All who dwell here will be more than happy to feed you, all the happier because you are mine."

  Rex thought about it—the craziness, that this was probably a dream, that if it was real he would be leaving his life behind.

  And he should set his lust aside and think coolly, logically—but lust was part of him, even more than he had already thought.

  Fuck it.

  "Is that a rhetorical question?" he asked.

  Silenus smirked, but said, "Then say 'yes.' Sometimes, magic requires certainties."

  "Yes," Rex replied, never happier to say such a simple word.

  Making a sound that was equal parts growl and purr, Silenus bent and kissed him again, one hand going to Rex's pants, grabbing him through the fabric, squeezing. "I can't decide what I want to do with you first," he breathed against Rex's skin, tongue sliding slowly, lapping in cat-like fashion.

  "I think a good old-fashioned fuck will suffice," Rex replied, moaning, hips jerking as Silenus continued to fondle him.

  Chuckling, Silenus nipped at his throat, his jaw, then took another hard kiss before suddenly withdrawing and standing up. "Strip, incubus. Show us what you've got."

  The word 'us' made him freeze with surprise, skin prickling as he suddenly remembered that the paintings were not mere paintings, but so much more. He felt the eyes, then, felt the lust and hung
er of their audience almost like a touch. Angelica and Frederick, the twins Sadir and Satim, a bossy little waif named Isabella, powerful Dominic who liked to have that power taken away, and countless others. Rex could feel them all, see them, knew their wants and desires, what each painting would do to him when he went to them to play and feed.

  Standing up, Rex pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it aside. Then he got rid of shoes and socks and pushed off his pants and boxers. He stood naked and hard, proudly on display—and for once without the undercurrent of shame that he'd be judged once the fun was over.

  So strange, and painfully alluring, to be here and welcomed for what he was—because he could feel that too, amongst the lust. There was no one here who would look at him askance and call him a slut. Be disappointed in him for simply being who and what he was.

  An incubus. And now the Assistant Curator.

  "Beautiful," Silenus breathed, coming up behind him, arms sliding around him, a hand on his cock, teasing with slow strokes and light fondles.

  Rex groaned and pushed back into him, trying to thrust into Silenus's hand at the same time. He reached up and back, touching the soft hair, clinging to him. "Sil—"

  Laughing, Silenus bit his ear then let go of his cock and pushed him gently. "Drunk on sustenance already, my pretty incubus? With so much lust and affection to feast on, you'll soon forget what it was like to live perpetually starved."

  In reply, Rex could only moan again.

  "On the bench," Silenus murmured in his ear, nipping it a second time before pushing him toward the bench again.

  Not quite whimpering, Rex did as he was told, arranging himself on the low, wide bench, folding his arms and resting his head on them, ass in the air. He watched avidly as Silenus stripped, broad and slim and fit, beautifully made, cock hard and heavy, leaking pre-come.

  Silenus paused briefly to bend down and kiss him, then slipped around behind him. He smoothed a hand over Rex's ass, and then warm, slick fingers were teasing, taunting, until Rex finally groaned loud and long, demanding Silenus do something.

  Two fingers pushed abruptly inside him, making Rex jerk. He groaned in need as they stretched him, cried out as they moved just right. "Sil—" he gasped out, panting with need.

  Making that growly purring noise again, Silenus withdrew his fingers and slowly pushed his cock inside.

  "Not enough," Rex said when Silenus simply settled, didn't move.

  Silenus laughed and said, "Of course it's not." Then he grasped Rex's hips tightly and began to move, pounding into him, taking him hard and sure and fast, like he knew exactly what Rex could take and would push harder still.

  Rex could only moan and plead and take, drunk on the fucking, on all the attention, on being able to completely and wholly enjoy himself, no longer chased by shame or dread.

  When they both finally climaxed, it was the hardest Rex could ever remember coming, loud and messy and leaving him trembling. He panted heavily, reaching up with an unsteady hand to wipe sweat from his eyes, then tried to move, sort his limbs out.

  Silenus pulled him gently to his feet, tugged him close, and gave a long, slow, sweet kiss.

  "So whatever happened to Gary?" Rex asked eventually. "You said something about Ben?"

  "Gary is fine, and Ben will replace you in life. Everyone will be happy, each having found where they belong."

  Rex nodded and let thoughts of Gary slip away forever, content to focus on his own new life and lover—and lovers. When Silenus bent to kiss him again, he kissed back full measure, clinging tightly. When the kisses finally paused momentarily, he asked, "So what exactly am I supposed to do as your assistant?"

  Smiling, Silenus said, "Get dressed—or not, if you prefer—and I'll show you the rest of the gallery, explain everything to you. We'll get you acquainted with your new home and duties."

  Returning the warm smile, Rex went to retrieve his clothes and pull them back on—but only because he liked removing them.

  Silenus slid an arm around his shoulders, pulled Rex flush against his side, nuzzled his hair. "Welcome home, beloved."

  "It's good to finally be home," Rex replied, and wrapped an arm around Silenus's waist as they set off through the gallery.

  The Tycoon

  Rex was in love with the Gallery. It was exactly what he had always wanted, something he'd longed for his entire life without ever believing it could actually exist. He had a lover who not only could keep up with him, but understood his needs and genuinely enjoyed seeing him love and play with the permanent residents.

  Now that he knew what he was, and was able to be it, Rex could not be happier.

  The day was quiet, cold and rainy, and Silenus had said they wouldn't see anyone that day. Rex was taking the chance to do some more exploring while Silenus worked with some of their friends on preparing new pocket universes for residents that would be arriving in the next few days. He wandered from painting to painting, waiting for something to strike his fancy.

  His interest was finally piqued by a painting he vaguely recalled from his first day in the Gallery—that of a man in a perfectly tailored three piece suit, black with silver pinstripes that brought out the touches of silver in his blue-black hair. Despite those silver touches, he did not look older than his mid-thirties. He was handsome, in a tall, dark, stranger sort of way.

  The last time Rex had seen him, he'd had his cock fisted in one hand. Now he simply sat behind his desk as though patiently waiting for something, cool and imperious. The setting was a high-rise office of some sort, perhaps for a lawyer or a CEO. He had the look of someone who took it as understood that he got what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted.

  He was also modern, which Rex had never encountered before. Everyone else in the gallery came from times and places at least a century gone. But this man could have been someone Rex passed on the street—someone he might have hit on and happily fucked on any given day. As to that, he even looked vaguely familiar now, though Rex could just be imagining things.

  The small gold plate beneath the painting said only The Tycoon, but the man's name was Laurence, if Rex recalled correctly.

  Are you going to come in here and suck my cock, or do I have to make you?

  Rex smirked—and then laughed in surprise as he was abruptly yanked into the painting and dragged across the enormous desk so that his face was practically in Laurence's crotch.

  "Just where I like my pretty boys," Laurence murmured, something of a low growl in his voice, like a pleased wildcat.

  Rex looked up at him, shifting so he could brace his elbows on the desk and see the man better. "You're like me."

  "I'm fairly certain I am nothing like you," Laurence replied, "though that's not an insult. Ah, you mean we are both contemporary. Yes, I've been here only ten years so far." His voice definitely held a bit of growl, that underlying steel of a man who had been in a position of authority practically from the cradle. When he told men to jump, they leapt buildings or threw themselves off them without hesitation.

  "How did you come across Silenus?"

  "He found me on a rooftop moments before I was about to commit suicide," Laurence said.

  Rex froze, smile fading. "Oh. I'm sorry."

  Laurence chuckled. "For asking a question? Nobody made me answer it, pet. I'm quite at peace with myself, past, present, and presumably future. My life had become untenable, for many reasons. Silenus came upon me before I could make a decision there'd be no coming back from. I gave him my wealth and magic, and he gave me a life I enjoy."

  "Magic?" Rex asked.

  That too-pretty mouth curved in a smirk that Rex wanted to bite and suck. "Did you think I was completely human?"

  "Maybe," Rex said.

  "Very few in the gallery are," Laurence replied. "That being said, I am mostly human. But my great grandfather made a deal with a devil—an actual, real demon, I mean, not just some person of dubious moral quality. That demon had dominion over avarice and greed. He bestowed a measure of
his blood, and therefore power and magic, on my great grandfather. What price was paid for it, no one ever said. The blood turned him into a man with a talent for making money." Laurence's face clouded. "But it also turned him into a monster willing to simply take when other methods and means failed. Demon blood sticks; it carries down through the line. An infection, they call it, and they're not really wrong. Every descendent is inevitably a greedy, wealthy, contemptible bastard.

  "My family history is soaked in blood and violence—arson, murder, rape, and more. You name it, we've done it. I spent my whole life fighting not to become what all the others in my family became." He gave a razor smile. "I am still quite the bastard, and always will be. I cannot help that any more than you can help needing sex. But I never stooped as low as the rest of my family did—until the night I did, and hurt people I'd never wanted to hurt. So I decided it would be best to remove myself permanently, and hopefully end the family line at the same time. Silenus found me and offered a different solution, and now here I am. Contained, at peace, and my powers at Silenus's disposal."

  "I'm glad he found you," Rex said. "Does your family miss you?"

  "Me, personally? No. They miss all the wealth that vanished with me. Last I heard, there was a million dollar reward for my return. But that was, oh, eight years ago, I think."

  A memory flickered then, and Rex gaped as realization dawned. "You're—you're Laurence Stone? The man who went missing on his way home from work one night? That was in the paper for years! They're still looking for you."

  "You know my name, how flattering," Laurence replied. "Yes, that was me. Stone-heart Laurence, as they liked to call me. I can't say they were entirely wrong. But it hardly matters now."

  Rex shook his head. "If you were stone-hearted, you wouldn't have nearly killed yourself out of remorse and fear. If anything, you've got too much heart."

  Laurence smirked. "That's very sweet of you, pet. But I do very much have a hardened heart—amongst other things."

  "Believe me, I noticed," Rex replied, and lowered himself back down, and then over the edge of the desk to nuzzle at the hard cock still confined to Laurence's expensive slacks.