The Gallery Read online

  "Then I suggest you do something about it," Laurence growled, then grabbed Rex by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. "I've had enough chit-chat, Assistant Curator. They liked to call me heartless partly because I was always generous to those I fucked but never kept them around. I have little use for love, but plenty of use for willing men with pretty mouths and prettier asses." He reached up and removed his fancy silk tie, turned Rex roughly around, and bound his wrists with it.

  Turing him back around, Laurence pushed Rex to his knees and settled back in his chair. "Now, my little pet, show me just how talented that mouth of yours can be. I've seen you with the others—show me why they moan and beg and use you like the sweetest little slut ever born." He opened his slacks and pulled out the long, hard cock that Rex vividly recalled from that tantalizing glimpse several weeks ago.

  Rex wasted no time in sucking it down, mouth stretched nearly to the point of pain, moaning as Laurence only barely gave him time to adjust before roughly grabbing his hair, holding him in place to be thoroughly used.

  Laurence's face was composed even as he used Rex's mouth, forcing him all the way down the length of his cock and then pulling him back up, those hips working in tandem. Laurence used him as though Rex had no other purpose in life, like he existed solely for Laurence's pleasure. But his eyes were blue fire, intense and searing, and Rex thought he understood why so many people had been disappointed when Laurence had wanted nothing from them but a night or two of sex.

  "Good boy," Laurence growled, and came down Rex's throat, not releasing his hair until Rex had milked him thoroughly. When he finally let his softened cock slip free of Rex's mouth, Rex expected to be pushed away, but instead Laurence hauled Rex up into his lap and kissed him thoroughly.

  Oh, yes. Rex could definitely see how Laurence had left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Rex wondered if Silenus had plans for Laurence, who might not be inclined toward romance but probably would not mind a close friend to join him in his private universe. He'd hardly be the first permanent exhibit to find such, even if that was not typically a goal of those who called the gallery home.

  Laurence opened Rex's pants and pulled out his cock, stroked him off hard and fast, taking his mouth again as Rex cried out in release. "You are a pretty little thing, incubus," he rumbled as he gave Rex his hand to lick clean. "One of Silenus's finer acquisitions, I must say."

  Rex laughed, squirming until he settled more comfortably in Laurence's lap. "I do like being an acquisition."

  Laurence lazily stroked over Rex's body. "I like the idea of you bent over my desk, screaming my name while I fuck you into it."

  "That does sound like fun," Rex agreed.

  "It's a wonder to me that Silenus doesn't keep you on a leash," Laurence said with a laugh. He pushed Rex face down on the desk and removed all but his shirt. Before Rex could ask about it, Laurence opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a pair of scissors. The shirt was gone moments later, leaving Rex naked, bound, and ass up on Laurence's desk.

  Laurence palmed his ass, then pushed two questing fingers into his hole. "Someone's already had a bit of fun today," he said, stretching Rex's still-slick hole with ease, twisting and crooking his fingers, making Rex moan into the desk. "Who's already fucked you, pet?"

  "Silenus, who else?" Rex said.

  Laurence pulled out roughly then shoved back in with three fingers. "Who else, indeed."

  "Clarissa had fun with some of her toys for a couple of hours," Rex gasped out.

  "Then used you like a toy, I bet." Laurence chuckled, low and smug. "Is that what she did? Used you like a dildo? Like one of those living dolls the world waits anxiously to be available on store shelves?"

  Rex smiled. "Maybe."

  Laurence gave a soft snort and removed his fingers. Then that cock Rex could still feel in his sore throat and aching jaw was inside him, shoved in hard and fast, making Rex jerk and gasp. "Maybe. It's a good thing you aren't trying to fool anyone, little incubus, because you would fail miserably. You enjoy being surrounded by people you can't control, people who could use and discard you as easily as all the people you sustained yourself with. I bet you can be a cute little top when you want to be, but that's not really your preference, is it?" When Rex just moaned, Laurence yanked hard on his hair, forcing his head up and back at a not-quite-painful angle. "Is it?"

  "No," Rex gasped out.

  Chuckling again, Laurence bent to give him a quick, sharp kiss, then pulled back and settled to fucking him—hard, rough, the fabric of his slacks, the bite of the zipper, digging into Rex's skin. The hard movements dug his hips painfully into the edge of the desk, and his sweaty skin stuck to the wood, leaving it rubbed red and raw. Sweat dripped in his eyes, made his hair damp and clingy, itching fiercely. But Rex could only lie there and be used, unable even to use his hands for leverage as Laurence continued to fuck him so hard the desk occasionally moved.

  Finally, though, Laurence fucked into him one last time and came hard, fingers leaving fresh bruises on Rex's hips.

  Then he pulled out, threw Rex over one shoulder, and carried him off through a door on one side of the office.

  Rex was dumped unceremoniously on a ridiculously huge, wickedly soft bed. All around them were windows looking down on endless expanses of green—hills, wildflowers, patches of forest, broken up by gleaming blue-green ponds and walking trails made of dark gold stone. "Wow. It looks like a fairytale forest or something."

  To his complete and utter astonishment, a dull flush came to Laurence's cheeks. He turned away and started to remove his clothes. "I've always enjoyed both the city and the country, but could never live exclusively in either. Here in the Gallery, I don't have to choose."

  Rex smiled as he turned back. "I can certainly appreciate how nice it is not to have to choose between two loves—two needs."

  "I suppose you would," Laurence said with another of those soft smiles. Rex had the feeling those smiles were a rare and precious thing.

  Returning to the bed, Laurence removed the tie around Rex's wrists, but before Rex could do more than rub away some of the ache in his arms, Laurence was hauling Rex further up the bed and tying his wrists to the posts. Withdrawing, he then knelt closer to the foot of the bed and looked Rex over like a king surveying his kingdom. "What a shock that you look quite at home that way," he drawled. "Perhaps I should simply leave you here until Silenus comes looking for you."

  "Aww, is the big, bad, sort-of demonic tycoon worn out after only two rounds?"

  "Perish the thought." Laurence playfully slapped one of his thighs, leaving a pleasant sting. "Even if I was, your presence would make me want to try for a third anyway. How did you survive so long around mere humans?"

  "I survived," Rex said wryly. "I certainly didn't live, for the most part. What about you?"

  "Me?"

  "You say having demon blood makes you different, but you don't seem all that different to me. A bossy top with a little bit of a sadistic streak. Bisexual? Pansexual?"

  "Pansexual."

  "And aromantic. Good with business and money. You don't seem terribly demonic."

  Laurence gave a tired laugh. "I'm very good at pretending those things. The only one of them that's perhaps true is that the gender of my partner or partners is wholly irrelevant. Even that could be as much the demon in me as the human. I'm certainly not aromantic, though it's easy to think that, so please don't apologize. It's not like it's an insult. But aromantics are born that way, or come to be that way through life. I have more in common with children born of alcoholic or drug addicted parents, or who otherwise do not develop correctly in the womb because of outside forces. I wasn't, you could say, given a fair chance to develop the way I should have. What I would have been like as only human, we'll never know. The demon blood shuts off or warps many things—like love. The ability, the potential, is simply not there. I care as much as I can, but my humanity stops after a certain point, and love is well beyond the barrier of how far my huma
nity can go."

  There was nothing Rex could say that would not be completely useless or mistaken for pity. Instead, he simply said, "Well, I certainly like the way you fuck, human or demon or otherwise. Get back to that."

  Amusement, heat, and something like gratitude flashed in Laurence's eyes. He crawled up the bed to settle between Rex's thighs, lifting them up over his shoulders and, to Rex's complete astonishment, putting his tongue where his cock had been only a short time ago. Rex moaned and writhed helplessly in his bonds, but caught between ropes and Laurence's strong arms, there was nothing he could do but endure the evil, wonderful torment of that shockingly talented tongue.

  Laurence eventually drew back, wiping his own come from his mouth. "You taste good full of me, pet."

  "Wouldn't mind more of you, hint, hint," Rex replied.

  "Good, because you're going to—" Laurence stopped and twisted to look over his shoulder—and a beat later, Silenus appeared, beautiful as ever, dressed simply in jeans and a plain black t-shirt. "Hello, Silenus."

  Laughing as he strolled further into the room, Silenus's gaze swept up and down Rex's form. "Been having a good afternoon, I see."

  "Excellent, in fact."

  Silenus laughed again. "Is this a party of two, or can a third join in?"

  "Oh, I definitely think you should join us," Laurence said, and then he and Silenus shared some look, some silent conversation, that left Rex curious and breathless. Laurence went over to Silenus and, in an oddly submissive manner, helped Silenus remove his clothes, piling them all on a chair before moving around to the other side of the bed.

  Nearly as one, Silenus and Laurence set Rex free. Before he could protest, however, they were all three kneeling on the bed—Silenus behind him, Laurence in front of him. Rex shivered.

  Laurence cupped his ass and bent to kiss him, mouth hot and devouring, leaving Rex breathless and dizzy—but not so distracted he missed Silenus's cock sliding into him. No, that was the kind of thing that was impossible to miss.

  But to his eternal frustration, Silenus didn't move. Rex groaned. "Can we stop with the torture portion of this and move on to the fucking me senseless part?"

  "We're getting there, pet," Laurence murmured, stroking his cheek. For a man who claimed not to feel things like love and romance, he had some impressively sweet kisses and oddly affectionate touches. He looked over Rex's shoulder, speaking silently again with Silenus.

  Who shifted to rest against the pillow, pulling Rex to lie back against him, cock still buried deep.

  It was only as Laurence moved forward and settled between their legs that Rex realized what was going on. He shuddered, shivered, moans filling the room as Laurence slowly and carefully pushed his cock in alongside Silenus's.

  By the time he was fully seated, Rex was panting, shaking hard, feeling like he was going to come apart at the seams. Two mouths peppered his face and throat with kisses, two hands steadied him, and two more tormented him.

  Rex wailed, tried to writhe between them, to escape or beg for more, he wasn't sure which. He just needed, and they were the only two who could provide.

  Finally, finally they took pity on him, working together, thrusting in turns, stretching him wide, overstimulating him to the point of screaming. Rex didn't last long before he was coming between them, burying his hoarse cries in the hollow of Laurence's throat.

  Still they continued, the evil bastards, until he came again, and finally was followed by them—Silenus coming deep inside him, Laurence pulling out at the last to shoot come all over Rex's face and chest.

  They carefully disentangled, and Rex climbed out of bed on unsteady feet, helped by Silenus. "You are magnificent," Silenus murmured and kissed him gently. He slipped away and returned after a moment with a warm cloth he used to clean Rex up. "Did you enjoy speaking with our dear Tycoon?"

  "I think that's pretty obvious," Rex replied, and turned to smile at Laurence—only to stop short as he saw Laurence was dead to the world, sprawled across the bed like a boy wrung out from a busy day of playing with his friends. He looked softer in sleep, deceptively sweet. Rex's smile vanished beneath a wave of fear. "Did I hurt him?"

  Silenus smiled and kissed his nose. "Not at all. I promise, Laurence is more than capable of keeping up with you. But he also has a bad habit of not sleeping. So if anything, you forced the silly boy to take a sorely-needed nap. He won't thank you, but he will be grateful. But I did mean did you enjoy speaking with him?"

  Rex nodded and nuzzled close, happy to cling as Silenus led him away, back out into the gallery proper. "Is everything he said about his demon blood true? Not that I think he's lying."

  "It is true that he'll never be the human he would've—could've—been. That opportunity was taken from him by his great-grandfather. But the nature of any being can never be entirely stripped away. The core of Laurence is still there; it will only take the right person to bring it out. The challenge Laurence has always faced is that the demon in him will not abide anyone or anything it considers less. Demons are very nearly the top of the food chain, so to speak, in terms of power. Demons can be enslaved by those weaker, but they always break free eventually. They love bargains, much like faeries—and bargaining with either is something to do carefully, for both are better at it than the rest of us will ever be. Only one being in all creation is more powerful than demons, and that is where Laurence will find love."

  "What is that?"

  "Why, angels of course," Silenus said with a smile. "And given there are demons in this city that need expunging, I think we will be seeing them soon."

  "An angel." Rex smiled. "I'm glad he'll have someone." He turned to Silenus and leaned up to kiss him. "Have I ever said how happy I am to be here—with you, with everyone. I like what you do, what we do."

  "You were made for it, beloved. Now come, there is a scheme I want your opinion on."

  "Lead the way."

  Three Kings

  Rex wandered the gallery, tasting hints of paintings here and there, but unable to decide what he was in the mood for. Something new, maybe. There were still several rooms he'd not had a chance to explore. Being Silenus's assistant kept him surprisingly busy—and not just because of the fucking.

  It was still new and strange, not being hungry all the time. Not until he was full and sated had he realized how hungry he had been his entire life. Even on his best days, when he'd thought he was full, he'd still been starving.

  He could not imagine going back to that—especially when he had this. Silenus. Countless friends and lovers. A home, which he'd always wanted as desperately as someone who understood him and his needs. Which Silenus and all the rest did. There was no space here for people who didn't, or wouldn't, understand.

  And anyone who sought to harm or disturb the peace of those who resided here… Well, most of his lessons thus far had been about protecting the gallery, knowing which paintings to call upon for various emergencies. Some things he would not be able to learn for years yet. Still more he'd probably never learn because it took someone of Silenus's power and ability to do. But he was happy being the assistant.

  Smiling, humming, nodding to the various paintings as he passed them, Rex finally entered a room he had not yet visited. Unlike most of the rooms, which had moderate light to none, this one was brightly lit, the smell of rum and coconut on the air making him think of the beach, of surf and sand, bringing to mind his recent frolic with the intriguing merman in another room.

  But this room—this room had only one large painting in it, a massive triptych of three men who, for all their smiles, looked like they should not be crossed. They were dressed in worn but well-cared for clothes that made Rex think of movies about pirates and thieves.

  The man in the first panel seemed to be at sea, sitting at a table with the ocean behind him, just visible through small panes of glass. He had white, heavily suntanned skin, and long, thick blond hair that fell to just past his shoulders, interspersed with braids of various size and woven wit
h all manner of trinkets. He had a hard-edged, handsome face, weathered and scarred, eyes the color of the ocean behind him, and looked strong enough to lift three of Rex without effort. Each of his ears had multiple piercings, and there was a gold hoop in one of his nostrils as well. He wore a beautiful green jacket that looked straight out of a pirate film, with black pants and leather boots that reached to his thighs. He was leaning back in his seat, idly holding a card up, its long edge resting on the table, displaying the King of Spades.

  The middle panel was occupied by a man sitting in a fancy-looking office. He had short, dark brown hair and cold amber eyes. His skin was pale, like he seldom bothered to go out in the sun, but it had a hint of color to it, like he had some Mediterranean heritage or something. He wore clothes that made Rex think of dukes and earls and boring historical movies about love and misunderstandings. In each ear he had three studs in white, yellow, and black diamonds. There were several rings on each finger, some plain, others ornate, and Rex could also just see a diamond necklace around his throat, half-hidden by his fancy shirt. One of his hands rested on the head of a fancy cane. The other held up a card between two fingers: King of Diamonds.

  The final panel showed a man sprawled lazily against the trunk of a massive tree. He had light brown skin and hair of a dark, muted red that he wore in a long braid that fell over one shoulder. He wore tight black breeches, knee-high boots, and a coat similar to that of the pirate figure, but dark purple and trimmed in black and silver. His shirt was unlaced, displaying part of his chest and the piercings imbedded in it like a permanent necklace. He wore a few rings on each finger and had two small hoops in each ear. There was a handsome dagger stabbed into the earth between his spread legs, and one elbow rested idly on a drawn up knee. Held playfully between his teeth was the expected card: King of Clubs.

  No King of Hearts. Interesting. Rex stepped closer, intrigued, and then he could smell the sea, feel the sand beneath his feet. He looked around and saw he was on a beach, the late afternoon sun shining across it, a cool breeze keeping the day from being too hot.