La Petite Mort by Pelaam
Book 4 in the The Devil’s in the Details series
General Release Date: 19th October 2021
Word Count: 45,548
Book Length: SHORT NOVEL
Pages: 195
Genres:
ANGELS AND DEMONS, CONTEMPORARY, EROTIC ROMANCE, GAY, GLBTQI, HORROR, MÉNAGE AND MULTIPLE PARTNERS, PARANORMAL
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Book Description
The little death… Sometimes you never wake up.
When Samael, an incubus-possessed witch, escapes Garen and Luke, leaving not just another victim but also one of their own injured in the process, Garen is determined to track down the demon.
Its trail vanishes when it leaves New Zealand, only to be eventually picked up again by a team working in the UK.
Invited to assist them, Garen and Luke travel to England to meet the other team of investigators—Emery, his husband Alex and their friend Kadin. They also meet an unusual and unofficial team member, Grim.
The incubus has gone to ground in the country home of Steven Huntleigh, rich playboy and president of the Hellfire Club.
Emery, Luke and Kadin infiltrate the club and Kadin risks flirting with the incubus.
When the time comes to battle the demon, will the team be able to resist its lure—or will they become additional victims of its insatiable appetite?
While Garen had his conversation with the hotel manager regarding the fountain unit, Luke got busy in the room they’d been given. The rest of the team were working in the basement area. First things first. I need to make a blessing oil.
Humming softly to himself, Luke rummaged in the bag he’d brought and set out what he needed. To a flaxseed-base oil, Luke added five drops of sandalwood, three of rosemary, one of orange and one of patchouli. This gives me a mix of spirituality, cleansing and purification, joy and protection. With this, smudging and salting, the areas should be safe enough.
Walking once around the room to familiarize himself with it, Luke retraced his steps. Starting with the door, he moved in a clockwise direction, smearing a little of the oil onto every door frame and windowsill.
“With this blessing oil I cleanse this space. I ask the god and goddess to give their blessing and make it sacred and pure. Negative energy be gone. I release you. Away!” Luke raised his hands, releasing some of his power, then took a deep breath. “That’s much better.”
The oil in one hand, Luke grabbed another and tucked it into his pocket before leaving the room to find the cupboard Garen had selected. Thanks to Thomas, the room was bare. Luke set his oil down and pulled out the bag from his pocket.
Bending over, Luke sprinkled a line of the salt just inside the door. After getting onto his hands and knees, Luke continued the line so that there was an unbroken circle of salt inside the cupboard. Standing up, he dabbed the doorframe with his oil.
Taking a step forward so that he was inside the salt circle, Luke set down his jar of oil and raised his hands.
“Et mundaret. This is now a space of safety and purity. I ask it in in the name of the god and goddess. As I will, so mote it be.” Luke inhaled deeply and nodded. “Fresh and clean. Perfect.”
Having purified the room and the cupboard, Luke stood outside and waited for Garen to join him.
“All sorted?” Garen asked as he approached, and Luke nodded.
“Both the room and this cupboard are clean and safe for our people to use. They just need to renew the salt circle in there.” Luke indicated the cupboard.
“Good. I think we should go home and get some rest while we can. We won’t be relaxing much after today.”
“Good idea.” Luke stood on tiptoe to peck a kiss to Garen’s nose. “I’ll run a bath for us—to both relax and help protect us for the coming days.”
“Perfect.” Garen slid his arms around Luke’s waist and drew him close. “I have other ideas about relaxing—for after the bath.”
The trip home didn’t take too long, and Luke left Garen to his own devices while he worked getting their bathroom ready. Humming and murmuring softly to himself, Luke prepared their bath. The room always had a range of candles they lit if the bath was in the evening. However, in the center of the room, he set a thick blue candle. Blue to represent peace, tranquility and calmness.
Then he turned his attention to their oversized bath. Luke dipped his fingers into the water and nodded. The temperature was perfect. He added a scoop of Epsom salts, a half scoop of dried jasmine flowers and a quarter scoop of rose petals.
Running his finger along his selection of essential oils, he set jasmine oil beside the bath, ready to add as he and Garen were about to settle. Jasmine is good for calming stress or anxiety and fatigue. Checking his iPod, Luke picked pan pipes.
“Everything is ready in here.” Luke slipped off his robe as Garen came in. Already naked, Garen held a couple of glasses of wine—a red, which was Garen’s favorite, and a rosé for Luke. Garen set them where they could be easily reached from the bath, then turned to Luke.
With a smile, Luke held out his arms and enfolded Garen in a gentle hug. As Garen readied himself beside the bath, Luke moved the table with the blue candle closer. He added a couple of drops of oil and he and Garen stepped into the bath together.
Luke reached for the candle and held it up as Garen lit it. Then he intoned softly…
“Water run and river flow, goddess, I call you here. Bad thoughts, I let you go. We are calm and have no fear.” He set the candle down, then they settled into the bath. Garen rested against the sloped end, his head on a pillow, and Luke sat between his husband’s spread thighs, leaning back against Garen’s broad chest.
For long moments, they simply lay in the hot, scented water, relaxing and enjoying the simple intimacy.
“Would you like me to wash your hair?” Garen’s voice was a soft whisper in Luke’s ear, and he smiled and nodded.
“Yes. I would.” With a contented sigh, Luke enjoyed the single-minded attention of his husband.
As he did, he indulged all his senses in the hedonistic experience—the scent of the water and his own specially blended shampoo and conditioner, the sound of the music and the water, the gentle light of the candles, the taste of the wine, cool and slightly sweet and finally, the feel of Garen massaging his skull as he washed, then conditioned, Luke’s hair.
“Enjoying it?” Garen asked, his voice deeper than usual and slightly raspy, which always sent tendrils of arousal throughout Luke’s body. His cock swelled, his nipples tightened and he groaned softly.
“Oh, yeah.” Luke ran his hands along Garen’s toned thighs and smooth calves. His own were as furry as his chest, but Garen obviously liked it. Luke twisted around to gaze up into his husband’s eyes and basked in the love he saw. He reached up to stroke his knuckles down Garen’s cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Garen smiled softly. “Let me rinse your hair. “I doubt I can hold out much longer.
“Me either.” Luke wasn’t pandering to his husband. His cock was hard and leaking and he was every bit as eager to be making love.
The rest of their bath was done with the speed and efficiency that Garen was so renowned for. Toweling dry was quick and effective, but the way to their bedroom was slow as they traded kisses along the way.
Once inside the room, Luke smiled as he looked around at the candles, flickering in tall, glass lamps, that illuminated the room, and he inhaled deeply.
“Jasmine. Nice.” Luke stretched out on the bed and reached for Garen.
“Not as nice as you, my love.” Garen eased down slowly, blanketing Luke’s body with his solid weight and using his knees to urge Luke to spread his thighs. He covered Luke’s lips with his own in a soft kiss, gradually increasing the pressure until Luke darted his tongue into Garen’s mouth, earning a low rumble of pleasure.
With a soft sound of his own need, Luke arched up into the contact, letting Garen explore his mouth. When the sensations coursing through his body almost became too much to bear, he wrapped his arms around Garen and ran his hands up and down his husband’s back.
“You’re so beautiful.” Garen murmured the words against Luke’s lips. “Want to make love with you.”
“Yes, my love.” Luke kissed his way from Garen’s lips to his earlobe. “Yes.” Luke sucked on the soft flesh, smiling at the groan from his husband. “Love me, now.”
In reply, Garen left a trail of open-mouthed kisses along Luke’s cheek down Luke’s jaw and pressed his lips against the pulse Luke felt thundering at his throat. Luke gave another soft moan of encouragement, holding Garen in place as his husband sucked hard, nipping and gently biting.
When Luke tilted his head back, giving easier access to his neck, everything else ceased to exist for him other that the scent and feel of the man he adored and the love they shared. Luke gasped his encouragement as Garen licked a path from Luke’s throat down to a hardened nipple.
With the single-minded care that Luke so loved about his husband, Garen scraped his teeth over the sensitive nub, then licked over it to soothe the inflamed flesh.
“Yes…more.” Luke ran his fingers over Garen’s skull, massaging gently as Garen repeated his actions on the other nipple before kissing his way down the center of Luke’s chest, occasionally tugging at the abundant hair.
After dipping his tongue into Luke’s navel and nipping at the rim, Garen looked up, and as Luke gazed deeply into his beloved’s eyes, Garen spoke softly.
“I love you—my nurturer, my soul mate, the other half of me. There will never be anyone else for me but you.”
The words, filled with an equal amount of love and possessiveness, inflamed the primal forces deep within Luke.
Luke reached out to clasp Garen’s hand, and his gaze never faltered as he made his own vow.
“And you are mine—my protector, my soul mate, the other half of me…now and forever.” For a moment, Luke was aware of the way the air shimmered and crackled with the power he and Garen shared. “Make love with me.”
“As you wish.” Garen bent forward to take Luke’s cock into his mouth, sucking slowly, sliding up and down with the same deliberation that Luke knew so well. When Garen finally slid off Luke’s dick and reached for the oil they used, Luke rolled over, resting his head on folded arms and raising his ass high.
The scent of their oil permeated the air, one that Luke had blended himself. Luke gave a purring sound of approval as Garen ran oiled hands across his back and down to his ass cheeks.
But instead of an oiled finger, it was Garen’s tongue that Luke felt at his entrance. Murmuring wordlessly, Luke pressed back into the pleasurable sensations as Garen continued to tongue him, driving the slick muscle inside.
“Oh, yes.” Luke sighed. “More, please.”
Garen’s chuckle sent a delightful vibration through Luke, and he gasped his husband’s name as Garen thrust his tongue deeper. A last sucking kiss and Luke felt the displacement of air as Garen moved back.
As Garen shifted his position, the anticipation built, and the air around Luke shimmered as their power reacted to their display of love and trust. He felt Garen’s cock at his entrance and a thrill of anticipation vibrated through Luke.
“Are you ready?” Garen asked and Luke smiled, loving the way Garen protected him, even when they were making love.
“Yes…more than ready. Join us in body as we are in soul.” Luke looked over his shoulder, locking his gaze briefly with Garen’s before dropping his head and pressing back slowly. The gentle entreaty worked. Garen’s grip of Luke’s hips tightened, holding him in place.
“I love you.” Garen murmured the words softly as he pressed forward and Luke relaxed his body, welcoming his husband inside him.
There were times when they both craved hard and fast, but right then, Luke was glad that Garen slid forward slowly. Luke closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation of Garen sliding deeper, their bodies becoming as unified as their hearts and souls.
When Garen was fully inside, his body pressed hard against Luke’s, he ran a hand over Luke’s back, the touch raising goosebumps in their wake. Luke clenched his inner muscles, indicating he was ready for his husband to move.
Luke raised his head slowly as Garen began. Luke quickly found the right rhythm to rock backward, meeting each of Garen’s thrusts. When Garen’s dick nudged Luke’s prostate, he moaned Garen’s name aloud as waves of ecstasy washed over him.
“Let me do the work.” Garen stretched over Luke’s back, nibbling at his ear, then sat back, pulling Luke with him to sit on his lap, Garen’s cock still buried inside.
With a nod, Luke reached back, running his hands over Garen’s hips as his husband thrust deeper. Garen bit gently at Luke’s neck as he reached around to begin stroking Luke’s neglected dick.
The touch inflamed Luke, and he groaned loudly at the additional stimulation. He twisted slightly, offering more of his throat. Then he tried to rock up into Garen’s hand and press down onto the hard cock impaling him, torn between the two sensations and wanting more of both.
Already Luke’s body was tightening, preparing for release. All his senses were immersed in Garen. The air shimmered, and golden motes danced before his eyes. He was filled with a sense of belonging, of rightness. Luke felt their love like a living entity, strengthening and growing. Their heartbeats thundered in unison until they were no longer two but one being forged by love. Luke felt as if they were soaring, spinning, stretching out into infinity.
And the world exploded. Luke’s body shook with the force of his orgasm, but he still felt their connection coalescing. His pleasure was doubled as he sensed Garen’s climax hit, flooding Luke with his seed.
Exhausted, Luke slumped back against Garen and his husband wrapped his arms tight around him. His last coherent thought was the strength of their bond— two minds, two hearts, two souls joined forever as one.
With his wits slowly recovering, Luke moved onto the bed, burrowing close against Garen as they came fully down from their highs. Words of love and devotion were exchanged until they recovered. Luke raised himself up on one elbow to gaze down at Garen.
“I love you,” he whispered.
With a smiled, Garen reached up and cupped the back of Luke’s head to pull him down into a long, gentle kiss. When they eased apart, he ran his knuckles down Luke’s cheek.
“I love you. I’ll be forever grateful that we met. No one has ever completed me the way you do, and no one ever could.”
“I feel exactly the same way.” Luke settled to rest his head on Garen’s shoulder, with his husband’s arm holding him close. “Try to rest. We’re going to be extremely busy over the next couple of days.”
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Pelaam
Living in clean, green New Zealand, Pelaam is a multi-published author of gay romance and erotica.
When not working at writing, Pelaam likes to indulge in her other passions of cookery and wine appreciation.
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