Desires of a Monster - Roe Horvat Page 0,3
he pays me and goes back home to his wife.”
“Have you ever met the Demon yourself?”
“No. Many of us have tried to catch the fancy of his hunters. They only choose the truly beautiful ones. But they are generous and kind. I got five silver crowns from one last week. She told me to go home and stay safe.”
“Did you?”
He only smiled softly. “I have no home to go to. It’s not my time to rest yet.” Then he caressed my cheek with his skinny hand. His fingers were cold, and the bangles clanked by my ear. “Will you stay with me for the night? You’re handsome. I’ll kiss you all over, and you can fuck my throat and my hole if you want. You don’t have to pay me.”
Full lips, big brown eyes, thin but gentle face, he was lovely. I wasn’t much older than him. In another life, I might have taken him up on his offer. Maybe we could have been each other’s comfort during the cold, wet night. But with the grim reaper looming above my head, my time to rest was nearing. Soon, I wouldn’t be able to work anymore, and then hunger might kill me before my illness could. I couldn’t make friends, only to abandon them in a month.
I thanked the boy and told him to keep the rest of my dinner. He didn’t repeat his offer.
I dreamed of the Demon that night. Was Death toying with me already, having my brain conjure fantasies filled with him? Maybe. But the dreams, like his gaze and his challenging smile, weren’t scary. Far from it. I dreamed about him touching me. When I woke in the middle of the night, my hand squeezed my hard cock under the blanket before I even realized. I bit the folded linen sack I used for a pillow so I wouldn’t wake the other two loaders I shared the room with, and I stroked myself. The tales the butterfly boys whispered about him mingled with the images in my mind… steel-gray hands caressed my hips, and sharp teeth grazed my neck. I spilled quietly.
A few weeks later, I was on my way from work, drained so much I didn’t know if I would make it the last hundred steps. Death was licking at my heels, and he made me reckless.
When I saw three dark horses tied in front of a tavern near the harbor, their saddles black, embroidered with silver, I didn’t even think twice about it. I knew whom they belonged to. I sat on the pavement and waited, resting my sore limbs.
Night fell, and the maid came out to light the torches. Behind the girl, a tall woman stepped outside. She was maybe fifty years old, her face weather-beaten, hair gray, but her features beautiful and figure youthful. Dressed like a horseman, with leather pants and a jacket, she wore a long dagger in a cowhide holster tied to her belt. My heart beating faster, I scrambled up and approached her.
She paused and tilted her head, appraising me.
“Good evening, madam.” I bowed my head to show my respect.
Her ice-blue eyes narrowed, and she quickly covered her weapon with her hand.
“What do you want?”
She looked like someone who appreciated frankness, and I didn’t want to waste her time.
“To meet your master.”
Her eyebrows rose, and she lifted the corner of her mouth in a bitter grimace. Then she looked me up and down, slowly and thoroughly, until my cheeks heated.
“You foolish boy,” she muttered.
She walked in a full circle around me, then stopped in front of me, staring into my eyes for a long moment.
“You’re in luck. Come with me.”
The night turned pitch black; it was New Moon. I exhausted both my muscles and my fear, trying to stay upright behind the hunter on the back of her stallion. I’d never ridden before. At last, we arrived at the estate, torches illuminating the iron gate. The horses’ shoes echoed in the square courtyard, which was paved with large flat stones but for tree circular patches of grass where three fat oaks grew. The hunters led me to a small door in the far-left corner, up the stairs, to a room with a bathtub and an adjoining bedroom. They told me to strip while they readied the bath. I tried to cover myself, but they didn’t seem to be bothered by my nudity one way or the other.
“Don’t worry,” said one, a young woman with short red hair and a